The Price of Breaching the Contract - Chapter 96

Deep in the castle at night, the moonlight of late autumn faintly shone through the window, and only a soft candlelight flickered gently in the room. Yuliana had Shuria by her side and was completing the tapestry with slow hand movements.

Shuria, fast asleep, breathed evenly with colorful breaths, not moving at all in her small, warm embrace. Just watching the child sleep brought an inexplicably comforting feeling.

In fact, this work had already started last year. Originally, she had planned a design centered on the royal crest and wanted to express due respect as the emperor’s daughter on her father’s birthday. However, as time passed, the plan gradually changed. Yuliana’s position, her heart, and the world had changed. She had no choice but to redefine who she was and where she belonged.

And this place, this Makari, became the answer for her.

Now, before being a princess of the royal palace, she was the Duchess of Makari, someone’s wife, and someone’s mother. The mere fact that this small and precious being was by her side seemed to change everything in the world. There was no longer the imperial crest in the tapestry. Instead, she wove into the thread the landscapes, memories, and emotions of Makari that she saw, felt, and lived.

Every time she threaded the needle and the thread slipped along the fabric, every scene engraved in her heart was revived. The endless falling snow, Santia casually taking her hand in it, a single spring flower blooming in the frozen garden, the music heard on the night of the banquet, the light of the garden. And the people who were with her in all those moments.

Yuliana smiled softly, recalling herself thinking of Makari as just a place to stay.

In the center of the tapestry stood a woman as bright as the sun. Gentle water flowed at her feet, and the darkness and shadows around her were expressed as if they were gradually receding. Anyone could see that it was the figure of Yuliana, who was called a saint, but she just thought she had captured what she had faced.

Looking at the finished cloth, Yuliana murmured softly.

“This is now a gift for my father and a gift for myself.”

It started as a gift to send to the Emperor, but now it has become a symbol of self-control. In the past, she had a great desire to be recognized by someone, but now she had a greater desire to show her strengthened self.

“What kind of expression will Father make when he sees this.”

A small breath was heard in her ear. As Shuria wriggled and half-turned, Yuliana gently covered her with a blanket. The saint stone pendant containing beautiful light sparkled faintly on the child’s chest. It was a piece of saint stone created by Makari scholars who had completed compression technology. At first, she was worried that it was too small to be effective, but strangely, the child would embrace the light as if relieved and fall asleep.

The gift was carefully packaged. Yuliana folded the tapestry, wrapped it in soft Makari cloth, sealed it with gold thread embroidery, and put it in a special box. Instead of the Makari crest, a small marigold was embroidered on the surface. It was a flower she had planted in a corner of the saint’s garden, thinking of her child.

Yuliana called Vanessa and carefully asked.

“Please transport it carefully. I can’t go myself, so I’m sending my heart instead.”

“Don’t worry, Princess. I will make sure it arrives at the Imperial Palace without any damage.”

She nodded and held the box in her arms. Then she looked at Shuria one last time. The room was still quiet, and the child’s face was peacefully shining in her small breaths.

Makari.

She now thought that name was something to be proud of. Yuliana was not ashamed of being called a saint or the mistress of the castle. Because the time she had walked had proven it.

And now she had by her side the one and only child in the world, made with the person she loved the most. It was a more precious and beautiful life than any title in the past, than anything else.

Yuliana sat back down and organized the remaining thread. The work was finished, but the lingering feeling remained for a long time. Tomorrow, this gift will reach the Emperor’s hands. She didn’t know how he would accept it or what he would think, but she was no longer afraid.

She was Yuliana Makari.

Because she was soaked in the afterglow even after finishing the tapestry, it took her some time to notice the footsteps that quietly permeated the room. It was a familiar weight of footsteps. When she looked up, Santia was already in the doorway. It was an earlier return than she had expected.

“You’re back already?”

Yuliana rose from her seat, surprised.

Santia approached her without a word and hugged her as she was. Like someone who had found the only refuge between the bustling world of the banquet hall and himself.

“How’s Shuria?”

Santia put his forehead on her shoulder and asked quietly.

Yuliana smiled softly and nodded.

“What time is it? She’s in dreamland.”

His embrace still smelled of going out. The dust and perfume of the street, and the lingering scent of the banquet. Yuliana carefully wrapped her arms around his shoulders and asked.

“But aren’t you here too early? It’s not even the end of the banquet.”

Santia looked into her eyes and raised the corners of his lips slightly.

“Why? Do you hate that I’m here?”

Yuliana laughed as if dumbfounded.

“You’ve gotten more cheeky. You wouldn’t have even said that before.”

He took her hand as it was and kissed it lightly.

“Now I’ve learned how to talk a little.”

Yuliana quietly looked at him, then shook her head very slowly.

“You went all the way there but there was no gain?”

Santia smiled bitterly.

“There was a gain. Places without you are more boring than I thought. I went to show my face in the first place, I never intended to enjoy the banquet from the beginning.”

Yuliana felt a strange emotion at his words. This person was now thinking of a life with her as the center of everything, no matter what anyone said. More important than the splendor of the banquet or the connections of the court were this quiet room tonight, her sleeping daughter, and her own breath.

“I just sent a gift to my father.”

“Is that so? I should have delivered it myself.”

He thought that the tapestry she was preparing would take a little longer. Santia had just met the Emperor, so he thought their paths had crossed.

Yuliana shook her head gently.

“No. I wanted to send it like this.”

“Are you two going to meet?”

“Yes, I want to meet him alone.”

Santia slowly relaxed and sat up straight at her words.

“Before meeting His Majesty, please give me some time alone with you first.”

Yuliana blinked in surprise.

“That’s good is there a special reason?”

He lowered his eyes and said carefully.

“I have something very important to do.”

Yuliana asked with a half-smiling face. It was because Santia was being exaggeratedly serious.

“What is it? You’re making me scared by saying it so solemnly.”

Instead of answering, Santia quietly took her hand. His big hand covered the back of her hand and warmly wrapped it. He didn’t say anything for a few seconds. As if trying to convey something that could not be explained in words, his eyes contained a long-standing determination.

“There is. Something very important.”

Yuliana sat back down and began to organize the thread, and Santia quietly sat next to her and leaned back. There were no words, but more emotions passed between them. It was a warm and calm night that could not be compared to the splendor of the banquet.

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