The Wind Calms the Fire - Chapter 46

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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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Episode 46
Her kiss was so impossibly sweet that Carrion couldn’t maintain the slightest concentration.
A wicked voice in his mind spurred him forward.
Pull her close, lay her down on the sofa, take her with burning hunger.
But he couldn’t. He mustn’t.
This act was meant purely as treatment—nothing more.
He had to remember what a profound kindness it was that she’d consented to this kiss to help him.
A man with a conscience could not entertain such base thoughts.
He seized his reason with superhuman restraint.
The moment he had to break contact felt unbearably cruel.
“That night.”
Her closed eyelashes trembled.
“I did something terribly wrong to you, Your Highness.”
Lea opened her eyes slowly.
“I remember everything that happened in those early hours. Though I cannot say whether the memory is complete—at some point it simply ceased, and when I came to, it was morning.”
“You just fell asleep suddenly. What you do remember is likely all there is.”
“I believe there has been a misunderstanding. I assumed you meant to treat what happened that night as trivial, to brush past it. But you were actually being considerate—you thought I remembered nothing, so you chose not to raise the matter. Is that not so?”
Lea nodded slowly.
I must apologize for my transgression that night. I am fully aware that my life is a debt owed to you. And I fear my thanks have come far too late.
The two stood in silence, their gaze locked together.
Their eyes held nothing but each other.
Without either of them quite aware, their faces drew steadily nearer.
Knock. Knock.
Someone tapped at the door from outside.
“It’s Penny. I’m coming in.”
Lea jumped in surprise, rose quickly, and stepped away from the sofa.
Penny, entering the room, spotted Lea standing and halted.
“Penny. Our guest is taking his leave.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
After answering, Penny tilted her head uncertainly.
The guest was the master of the house, so how far was she meant to see him out?
Penny chose to open the door and stand beside it, bowing her head respectfully.
After Carrion left, Penny looked at the spot where he’d been sitting before he stood, and her confusion deepened.
‘Wasn’t he sitting on the other side just a moment ago?’
But Lea took Penny’s hand gently and led her to the sofa, and the thought slipped from her mind.
“Penny, as promised, the Fourth Prince has conveyed our story to His Imperial Majesty. We’ll be entering the Imperial City soon to have an audience with him.”
Penny answered with determination in her expression.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Let’s all gather for supper this evening. We need to prepare and make our plans.”
Watching Lea’s smile, Penny smiled back.
She thought the princess was in good spirits from hearing the welcome news.
But Lea was smiling for a reason Penny could not have guessed.
‘He has the fundamentals. He can admit when he’s wrong. He knows how to say thank you, how to apologize—with sincerity, no less.’
Whatever manner of man the Fourth Prince Carrion might be, she would do everything in her power to ensure he did not die as he had in her past life.
It was her promise to Nella, and the only way to repay a debt to her benefactor.
Still, if it came to that, she preferred to make the effort for someone good.
Had he proven to be beneath her standards, her heart would have been conflicted—but he was turning into someone worthy, and that brought her deep satisfaction.
Lea felt that all her effort thus far had borne meaningful fruit.
* * *
That morning, Luke finished his dawn exercises and wandered across the Manor courtyard.
Hearing a carriage come to a halt at the front gate, he turned toward it.
‘Has a messenger come from the Imperial City?’
He’d been told that the Emperor’s messenger would arrive soon to announce the date of the Grand Assembly.
Luke went right to the gate to examine the carriage.
“Hm?”
The person alighting was not dressed like an Imperial City attendant.
It was an elderly woman with hair white as snow.
He stood and watched as she approached the gate.
“May I ask your name?”
The old woman studied him carefully through the latticed bars of the gate, then spoke in a crisp, resonant voice.
“Why is the third son of the Astel Family working as a doorman?”
Luke’s eyes went wide.
“That’s a terrible way to greet a guest. Did I not teach you better?”
Luke recognized the elderly woman and let out a strangled gasp, his face draining of color.
Hearing the door slam open without so much as a knock, Orbin looked up from his work.
There was only one person who’d ever burst in like that.
“What is it.”
“Orbin!”
Sure enough, the intruder was Luke.
Orbin’s concentration shattered. He clicked his tongue irritably.
“Get out.”
Luke slammed his palms flat on the desk, too agitated to be properly angry.
“What the hell is going on?”
“What do you mean.”
“That witch — why is she here?”
“You’re not making sense. I told you to explain clearly.”
Luke launched into a rambling account of his encounter with that terrifying person at the front gate moments ago.
“I’m scared she’ll show up in my dreams. Ugh.”
Luke’s intensity piqued Orbin’s curiosity.
Luke usually took everything in stride — it was rare for him to show such strong dislike toward anyone.
“Who is she?”
“Veronica Belua.”
“That doesn’t tell me anything. What does she do?”
“She’s a tutor.”
“Ah? Oh, I see.”
The memory came back to Orbin, and he nodded.
“She must be here for the Princess. We heard she was looking for someone to teach Imperial culture.”
“What? Why of all people?”
“Why do you hate her so much?”
“Because she’s a witch, I’m telling you.”
“She tutored you too, didn’t she?”
“It was the worst, most horrifying experience of my life. Two months locked in a room listening to nothing but lectures! No Sword Training, no riding!”
“When was this?”
“When I was fifteen.”
Something clicked in Orbin’s mind.
“Fifteen is when someone from a family like yours would typically debut in official society alongside their parents. You hadn’t learned a shred of etiquette or dance by then? So your parents brought in an emergency tutor — someone they knew you couldn’t handle.”
Orbin watched Luke’s expression and knew he’d hit the mark.
Luke had no comeback. He muttered, “Tch,” and flopped onto the sofa.
“Why couldn’t you push back? You usually ram your way through things you don’t like.”
“…She’s not someone you can push back against.”
“Why not?”
“She’s the Previous Emperor’s daughter.”
“What? A princess?”
“Not officially. She was never recognized as a princess.”
Which meant she was the Previous Emperor’s illegitimate child.
“He was very fond of her, apparently. Though she’s not a member of the Imperial Family, she maintains steady contact with them and holds considerable standing in High Society.”
“You’re not afraid to defy the Emperor himself. There’s more to it than that.”
“…She’s flawless.”
Orbin let out a soft laugh.
“So she’s a logical perfectionist — her words and actions always align.”
Luke was helpless against that type of person.
Which was why Luke had no defense against Cedric either.
Orbin studied Luke’s sullen face and asked him something.
“What’s her name?”
“Veronica Belua.”
“Belua? That Belua Family?”
The Belua Family was one of the three most distinguished bloodlines in the entire Empire.
“She’s not a direct heir.”
Of course she wouldn’t be, but it was still remarkable.
For the proud Belua Family to acknowledge a consanguineous marriage with the Emperor’s illegitimate child — that spoke volumes.
The Previous Emperor’s influence must have been at work.
After Luke had finished brooding in the room and left, Orbin made inquiries about the person called Veronica.
She was far more formidable than he’d initially thought.
During the Previous Emperor’s reign, she had played a crucial role in organizing scattered customs and ceremonial protocols, establishing the foundation for the official Imperial Family Etiquette.
Subsequently, the High Society rules created on the basis of Imperial Family Etiquette had, by the present day, become universal principles governing noble society.
At one time her influence in High Society had been considerable; now she was in semi-retirement.
Armed with this information, he sought out Carrion.
“Hmm.”
Carrion read through it with evident interest.
She was someone connected to the Imperial Family, yet he’d known nothing of her.
“Is there some problem with this person?”
“That’s what we need to determine now. But truthfully, I believe we must conduct a thorough investigation of the Zephyros Princess.”
The very fact that she had appeared at the command post without alerting anyone and made her way into the commander’s office undetected from the start had been suspicious.
There must have been either someone on-site assisting her or prior intelligence gathered from within the Northeast Command Post.
We must uncover the details for the security of the Northeast Command Post.
A princess knowing the information about forest paths in regions far removed from the capital makes no logical sense.
The princess’s connections to figures of prominence in High Society also demanded explanation—especially if this was truly her first visit to the capital.
If all this intelligence came from the capabilities of the Zephyros Kingdom, we would need to reassess the kingdom’s capabilities upward by several degrees.
And it struck him as suspicious that a kingdom possessing such formidable abilities would send its princess to the empire to offer surrender.
Orbin laid out the Zephyros Princess’s suspicious activities point by point, speaking with passionate conviction.
He didn’t say outright that she must have ulterior motives for approaching Carrion, but his meaning came close enough.

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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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