For the One Who Hates Me - Chapter 69

Aura stared at the second piece of Finn. She already had the first piece. But there was no need for her to tell Ryan that.

“…Is this it?”

“Yes, it is. This is Finn. It looks like a simple ice shard, doesn’t it?” Ryan held the piece up to the light of the chandelier. The transparent shard glittered with rainbow colors. He stared at the light as if he was in a trance and asked, “You don’t seem to question the appearance of this shard.”

“I already know that Finn is a crystal orb that was broken into three pieces.”

“Then you must have already gotten one from His Majesty the Emperor.”

“I’ll leave that to your imagination, Your Grace. Whether I’m here because I got the shard and no longer needed to be in the palace… or because I couldn’t get it and had no choice but to come here.”

“I suppose both sound plausible.”

“…”

“I have a feeling that you have at least one piece of Finn, Your Majesty.”

“…”

“Well, it doesn’t matter to me anymore.” Ryan dropped Finn onto an empty plate.

Clang.

A sharp sound echoed through the dining room. Ryan snapped his fingers again, and a maid moved the plate to Aura.

She toyed with it for a moment before gripping it tightly. It was hard and cold.

The second piece of Finn… Her business with Ryan was over.

“Now, please have some food. It’s going to get cold.” Ryan began to eat. But Aura didn’t even touch her food. Not the food, the utensils, or the napkin. She didn’t know where the poison might be hidden.

Ryan saw this and chuckled. “Then… since I’ve given you a piece of Finn, it’s Your Majesty’s turn to speak.”

“What do you want to ask?”

“How much do you know about Finn?”

“According to my informant, Finn is a crystal orb that sealed the magical power of the Zenia people. As for how to break the seal… I was going to ask you, Your Grace.” Aura wondered if Ryan would tell her the truth. The truth that it was she, of all people, who had to die.

Ryan seemed very pleased and said, “I can tell you that. The method of breaking the seal… it’s quite… interesting.”

“I’m listening.”

“Am I doing all the talking again?”

“If this is a place where we are meant to be honest and open… the one with the most secrets has the most to say.”

Ryan poked his steak with a fork. “Hmm… Well, that’s fair. I don’t think I’ll be the one who gets upset after hearing it. It’ll be Your Majesty.”

“The very existence of Finn is not a pleasant thing for me.”

“I suppose that’s true.” He gave a playful shrug, then became serious. “When the Crown Prince was alive, he once said that he wanted to conquer Zenia and lay the foundation for a new imperial power.

“…”

“So I decided to help. It seemed like a good idea. That’s how the Crown Prince, myself, and the current Duke Tein got together.”

“Are you going to tell me the location of the remaining piece of Finn?”

“I think you already know. You are the Empress, after all.” Ryan shrugged. “The magical power of the Zenia mages is powerful. It’s so powerful that regular spells couldn’t touch it. We needed a strong but dirty and despicable magic. So I recommend the great image of Silcia. He was also a strong but dirty and despicable mage.”

He was talking about Julius. Aura’s throat felt dry from the anger boiling inside her. Ryan was the one who recommended Julius. If it weren’t for him, Zenia would have been…

“The mage said that to prevent the seal from being broken, a crucial sacrifice was needed… So the Crown Prince suggested the sacrifice of a True Blood. In other words…” Ryan looked at Aura and smiled. “Your death, Your Majesty the Empress.”

Silence filled the room. After staring at her for a long time, Ryan spoke again. “You… you already knew. No, you knew and still came here.”

“How I feel is none of your business, Your Grace.”

“But if you were to die, the Zenia people would have no one to trust and follow, would they?”

“That’s for the Zenia people to figure out. Again, it is none of your business, Your Grace.”

Ryan’s expression became visibly bored. He poked the table with his fingertips like a child. “In any case, thank you for the pleasant conversation. I enjoyed the food as well.” Aura gestured to the untouched plate and got up.

“Then I will be leaving the castle. As you know, this is not a leisure trip for me.”

“Your Majesty.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“Please stay one more day.”

“That would be difficult.” Aura didn’t want to stay in Ryan’s castle any longer. On top of that, she didn’t know when Karl would show up.

“Then what about this?” Ryan leaned his chin on his hand. “What if I tell you a way to break the seal on Finn without your sacrifice…?”

“!”

“Will you stay here for one more day?”

Ruan was feeling anxious. The way Aura had been acting. The way the Archduke was trying to meet her alone. All of it made him nervous.

I have a bad feeling about this.

He endlessly paced around his room.

After reading the documents from Hosea, Aura seemed different somehow. She was more calm than she needed to be when the monsters appeared. And after meeting with Ryan, she seemed resigned.

This won’t do. I have to look at the documents Aura hid in her saddle.

He opened his door. Three guards were standing guard outside. When Ruan tried to walk past them, they blocked his way.

“Step aside. I am the Empress’s knight.”

“Security is very tight in Sutra Castle. Outsiders cannot walk around alone.”

“If you’re going to keep me here, who will protect the Empress?”

“We are just following orders.”

The intent of the order was obvious. They were trying to keep Ruan and Aura apart.

Ruan finally drew his sword. But the guards didn’t back down. It seemed they were ready to draw their swords at a moment’s notice.

“If you don’t move, I will cut you down.”

Just as Ruan was about to tighten his grip on his sword, “Ruan.” At Aura’s voice, he turned his head. She appeared at the end of the dark hallway.

“Ruan, what are you doing?”

“Aura.”

“Put your sword away. Now.”

Ruan had no choice but to put his sword back. Aura stared intently at the three guards.

“What is going on here?”

“Since outsiders cannot walk around alone, we were advising him to stay in his room.”

“Then is it alright for my knight to be with me?”

“That’s…” They reluctantly replied, “Of course that’s alright.”

“Ruan, where were you trying to go? Come with me.”

Ruan hesitated. He couldn’t tell her he was going to go through her saddle.

“You were taking a long time, so I was worried and was going to look for you.”

“I’m sorry. The conversation was a bit long. Should we go into your room for a bit?”

“Yes, please come in.” The two of them went into Ruan’s room.

“Aura, did you get Finn?” Aura took out two pieces of Finn from her pouch and showed them to him. Ruan let out a sigh of relief. At least they got what they came for.

“How to break the seal on Finn?”

“I… I haven’t heard it yet.”

“What? Then…”

“Let’s stay here one more day, Ruan.”

Ruan was surprised by her words. “Are you serious? You don’t trust the Archduke.”

“I think we can afford to stay for one more day. If he doesn’t tell me tomorrow, we will leave without a word. Just stay here with me for one more day.”

It was a plea. And Ruan had never refused her plea.

“Alright. We’ll do that. If you don’t leave, I won’t leave either.”

“Thank you.” Aura gave him a faint smile. “My room is at the end of this hallway. Come find me if you need anything. And Ruan.”

“Yes?”

“You don’t have to be my bodyguard tomorrow. Just rest in your room.”

“I can’t do that. He’s dangerous. As you know…”

“I know, but it will be easier for me to talk to the Archduke if you’re not there. Don’t worry about me.”

Aura smiled as if to say goodnight and left his room. Ruan glanced outside the door. The soldiers were still standing guard in front of his room. It was as if they were trying to keep Ruan contained.

Ruan was certain that Aura was hiding something.

Tomorrow… I have to find a way to get to the stables.

The night in Sutra was getting deeper.

Creak… creak…

Ryan was walking through the snow-covered garden. The fur cloak on his shoulders was heavy. The cold that seeped into his neck seemed to be spreading through his entire body.

He hated being cold more than anything in the world. That’s why he also hated Sutra, where he had lived his entire life.

When he was five years old, he had gone to the Imperial Palace with his mother. The place was warm, and the people were bright. If he could have, he would have never wanted to return to the cold and barren land of Sutra.

That was until he heard the word “lowborn.”

One late night, the young Ryan sought out his mother, Lillian Casa. Lillian, who was staying in the Imperial guest room, welcomed her son warmly.

“Come in, Ryan. Did you have fun with your brothers?”

His ‘brothers’ were all men who were more than twenty years older than him. Lillian had wanted Ryan to be among them.

“Yes, I did. They gave me a lot of good food and told me interesting stories.”

“Interesting stories?”

“Yes. Mother, what does ‘lowborn’ mean?”

“…What did you say?”

“My brothers said that my mother and I are lowborn.” Ryan gripped Lillian’s silver hair with his small hand. “They said this was the proof.”

Lillian hugged Ryan tightly. She said in a trembling voice, “Ryan, you must remember this. You are noble. You are more noble than anyone else.”

“…Yes.” Lillian stared into the air with bloodshot eyes, as if the golden-haired men of Casa were there.

A smile spread across her lips. “Ryan. You saw that child who was born a few days ago, didn’t you? The one born to the black-haired consort.”

“My nephew? His name is Karl.”

“Yes. A child like that is what you call a lowborn. Ryan, not you… but him.”

Ryan’s footsteps led him to Aura’s room. He quietly looked at the closed door. The light that had been seeping out from under the door was now gone. It seemed she was getting ready to sleep.

Ryan grabbed the doorknob. Nobility, huh…

He chuckled and let go of the doorknob. He still had one more day.

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