A Blend of Romance and Fantasy - Chapter 50

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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50.
The vase before me was utterly ordinary.
Though the delicate brushwork on its pristine white surface suggested considerable value, I sensed nothing extraordinary emanating from it.
Which made it all the more troubling.
“I detect no particular magical essence, Your Majesty. However, if this is a sacred artifact from Sincester, I cannot discern its true power.”
“So you’re saying the letter’s claim might actually be true?”
A minor curse befalling those harboring impure intentions—wasn’t that precisely like a warning directed at me?
If true, it was a problem. If false, it was infuriating.
Yet since the Princess had accepted what was ostensibly a gesture of consideration, I could hardly refuse to display this vase in the Reception Room.
“How utterly presumptuous.”
If Leonard Blake had merely been competent and gotten in my way, the Princess conducted herself with such constant superiority that her arrogance knew no bounds.
If she’d come to another’s kingdom, she ought to show proper deference.
The Empress turned her head sharply toward the vase.
“Summon the Mages and have them create an identical replica at once. Display it in the Reception Room and destroy this sacred artifact.”
The Maidservant hesitated, but at the Empress’s venomous expression, she quickly withdrew with the vase.
“And send assassins to kill Josephine immediately.”
“Your Majesty? But—”
“Since it wasn’t selected, she’s clearly been exposed. There’s no benefit to keeping her alive. Her husband isn’t particularly indispensable either, is he?”
“But I’ve heard their son possesses considerable magical talent.”
“A mere Baronage, regardless. What could such insignificant people possibly accomplish? Go and have the woman killed.”
The Empress spoke with chilling dryness, her carefully manicured nails catching the light.
The Empress spoke dryly, looking at her beautifully manicured nails.
* * *
“What have you done?” Abigail asked me cautiously, the one who’d sent the sacred artifact.
“I sent an ordinary vase while claiming it was a sacred artifact. The Empress will probably smash it to pieces immediately.”
“But wouldn’t that be bad?”
“She has skilled Mages, so they’ll recreate it magically. However, I placed a blessing on the vase I sent. It’s not a true sacred artifact, but one glance will reveal whether that vase is the one I sent or not. So after the wedding, when I visit later, I’ll be able to thoroughly humiliate her.”
I hummed contentedly at the thought, but the word “wedding” made me clamp my mouth shut.
The wedding.
Now that I thought about it, if I didn’t reconcile with Leonard, the wedding couldn’t take place at all.
‘…I didn’t do anything wrong. Leonard is the one who took my gift, so isn’t he at fault?’
Yet what followed was inevitably a sense of disappointment.
“Sigh, how frustrating.”
“Would you care for a walk?” Dorothy suggested.
I hesitated before nodding in agreement.
Since Blake Imperial Palace was dangerous, I couldn’t leave without my Maidservant and attendants.
Trailing them behind me like a procession, I asked where the Garden with the most beautiful scenery was located and walked in that direction.
By the time we arrived at the Garden, the sun was already beginning to set.
With them trailing behind in a line, she asked where the beautiful Garden was and walked in that direction.
As we arrived at the Garden, the sun was gradually setting.
Beneath the moonlight, the ancient trees stretched their long shadows across the ground, their leaves rustling with soft, delicate whispers.
And within that serene darkness, a man standing beneath the trees caught my eye—wandering as if lost.
This was truly ridiculous.
As if losing my way in Sincester wasn’t enough, I had to lose it here as well?
“…Did you get lost again?”
Before I could stop myself, the blunt words tumbled out.
Yet he showed no sign of embarrassment whatsoever.
Those deep crimson eyes, the neat uniform, the slightly disheveled hair—
All of it suggested he wasn’t lost at all, but rather taking an evening stroll.
But his answer contradicted my assumption.
“I am indeed lost.”
“….”
“…I was searching for the palace where Sara Renande is staying.”
“And what did you intend to do there?”
“To ask for reconciliation with the woman who will become my wife.”
He nodded toward the attendants behind me.
At first, they hesitated, glancing at me uncertainly, but at my gesture, they gradually withdrew.
Soon, only the two of us remained in the garden.
I wanted to respond with cold dignity, finally acknowledging his admission of fault, but I found myself unable to do so.
Alex’s words kept echoing in my mind.
-Demian is simply… His Highness’s reverse scale.
And watching how he had been treated within this Imperial Palace, I realized I needed to understand him first, rather than simply express my anger toward him.
This didn’t mean I would understand him unconditionally.
As a fellow transmigrator, I simply wanted to understand him—someone who had lived a life that was not merely difficult, but nearly desperate.
Amid the turbulent emotions swirling within me, I spoke first.
“Leonard, it doesn’t seem like you view Demian as merely a rival in the succession struggle. Am I right?”
“…Sigh.”
Before I could even finish, he exhaled softly.
“You always cut straight to the heart of the matter.”
“Beating around the bush will only make things worse.”
“….”
His lips parted slightly, then closed again.
It seemed difficult for him to begin, or perhaps he believed that even if he spoke, his words would never reach me.
“Leonard, won’t you tell me? I know I said before that you didn’t have to if you didn’t want to, but now I want to hear it. And we’re going to fight together anyway.”
“…Demian is…”
Finally, he opened his mouth. His voice was low, but resolute.
“A person who has systematically stripped away every reason I had to live.”
“…!”
Though brief, the words carried a weight that gripped my heart tightly. I pressed my lips together.
“It was never a life I wished to live. Yet because of a few people, and thanks to them, I had to survive.”
“….”
“So they tried to survive that way, but you could say Demian killed them.”
Leonard met my gaze directly.
Even as he dredged up a past he’d rather not revisit, he maintained an unflinching composure.
That calm was surely not forged overnight—it was like an expressionless mask layered over countless fractures and breaks.
“I was afraid he might kill you too.”
“….”
“I’m sorry for upsetting you.”
With each word, my voice grew firmer, yet my anger toward him gradually softened.
Unable to fathom how I should face him, I simply wrung the hem of my dress between my fingers.
“I must seem pathetic to you.”
“…!”
“I’m nothing like a male protagonist who conquers every obstacle, am I? I know I’m pathetic too, but still.”
“Leonard.”
I suddenly called his name and cut him off mid-sentence. The moment his eyes turned toward me, I stepped forward boldly.
Then I spoke bluntly.
“You’re right. You really are pathetic.”
Leonard laughed softly, as if he’d expected this.
“You really are a cold woman.”
“But why are you engaging in such self-deprecation? I may enjoy low-confidence male leads in fiction, but I never expected you to be like that in reality.”
“Low-confidence… what does that mean?”
I leaned in close to his bewildered face and explained.
“A male lead with low self-esteem!”
“…ah.”
Leonard let out a deflated sound and swept his hair back.
“Why would you like such a character? Those types always have something broken about them somewhere.”
“I don’t think you’re in a position to say that….”
I muttered quietly so he wouldn’t hear, then crossed my arms.
“Anyway. You’re not even a low-confidence type, so did you really think I’d forgive you just because you put on such a pitiful expression?”
“Then you won’t forgive me?”
His bewildered face was rather endearing. Instead of uncrossing my arms, I placed my hands on my hips.
“…No. I will forgive you. But only if you tell me about your past honestly.”
“….”
“Don’t worry. I won’t force you to speak right now! But if I’d known Demian was that dangerous, I would have burned the gift immediately.”
At my words, Leonard’s lips curved into a slightly sullen smile.
“Charlotte, I clearly told you that anything from Demian was dangerous. You simply didn’t believe me.”
“You can’t expect me to be convinced when you just say it’s dangerous without any explanation! Besides, I couldn’t forcibly take the gift away!”
“That’s…!”
“I was wrong, wasn’t I?!”
When I raised my voice slightly, Leonard let out a dry laugh.
“Yes.”
“Wonderful!”
The moment his answer came, I hesitated for only the briefest instant before throwing my arms around him.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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