Young Master, Please Put Some Pants On! - Chapter 114
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 114
“Your Majesty the Empress, Lady Mellis has arrived.”
Shortly after, the place where Mellis arrived was the Empress’s Small Study located in the Empress Palace. At this unexpected location, Mellis rolled her eyes slightly and looked around.
‘There was a place like this in the Empress Palace.’
This was her second visit to the Imperial Palace, but it was the first time she learned that there was a small study in the Empress Palace. The space, which was less than half the size of an ordinary study, gave off a cozy and warm atmosphere.
Though not noticeably splendid, looking at the antique furniture decorated according to the Empress’s taste, Mellis guessed that this was Reiana’s private space. She wondered why Reiana had called her to this place.
“Mellis, it’s been a while.”
Reiana, who had been sitting in an armchair reading a book, greeted her warmly. After exchanging light greetings with Reiana, Mellis carefully took a seat in the chair across from her.
‘That is…’
At that moment, Mellis, who had discovered something, blinked silently. The condition of the flower placed on the side table next to the Empress looked very poor.
It was crushed in all directions as if someone had trampled on it violently. It was puzzling enough to wonder why the Empress was keeping such a flower instead of throwing it away.
‘Is it a forget-me-not?’
Looking at those blue flower petals, Mellis slightly furrowed her brows at an inexplicable sense of déjà vu. Just when she thought something was coming to mind, Reiana spoke first.
“I’ve been hearing stories about you two, it seems you’re getting along well with Kerman.”
At Reiana’s subtle smile, Mellis’s face grew hot. It wasn’t just once or twice, but every time she revealed her romantic relationship, it was still inevitably embarrassing.
However, on the other hand, she was also worried that she, being a member of the Imperial Family, might disapprove of her relationship with Kermanomon.
“The reason I called you here today is because there’s something I want to give you.”
Something to give her. At Reiana’s voice that had become subtly lower, Mellis also tensed up and swallowed dryly.
‘Don’t tell me she’s going to give me money or something and tell me to break up with the Grand Duke…’
Of course, she knew that Reiana wasn’t that kind of person, but in her mind, a scene she had once read in a novel was vaguely emerging.
Soon after, seeing Reiana place a paper envelope on the table, Mellis’s eyes widened. Reiana still wore an inscrutable smile as she pushed it toward her.
“Would you open it?”
Mellis, who had checked inside the envelope while extremely tense, tilted her head. Contrary to her imagination, what was inside was a single small key. The key, about the length of one finger, was quite heavy and looked very antique at first glance.
At the end of the key, there was an engraved white lily pattern. As Mellis fingered that part, Reiana spoke again.
“It’s a key that Imperial Consort Lilia entrusted to me. She said that someday when someone like her appeared, I should give this key to them then. And I think that person is you, Mellis.”
“Someone like the Imperial Consort means…”
“Probably referring to a pureblooded imprinting partner.”
A key left by the deceased Imperial Consort Lilia. Mellis couldn’t guess at all what it meant. However, Reiana wore a mysterious smile as she quietly sipped her tea.
“Why did the Imperial Consort leave me a key?”
“Well, I don’t know that much either. There’s a room in the northern part of the Imperial Palace that the Imperial Consort used to use. I think there might be something there.”
Reiana, who had put down her teacup, let out a deep sigh for a moment. A thinner smile than usual was hovering around her lips.
“After that, it’s entirely your choice, Mellis.”
“…”
“And no one can undo that choice.”
Reiana looked at the vase placed next to the side table. It was the same vase that had caught Mellis’s attention earlier.
“This vase was something our mother particularly cherished. But when I was young, Fel and I broke it while playing around. That day we got scolded more severely than ever before.”
“Really? It doesn’t look like it was broken.”
“We spent a fortune to have a restorer work on it. But whenever I look at this vase, I remember those fragments that were shattered to pieces.”
Reiana, recalling old memories, carefully caressed the vase.
“Relationships are like that too. Once a relationship is broken, there’s no way to restore it no matter what you do. No matter how perfectly you hide it, tiny cracks will remain somewhere.”
“….”
“Most importantly, every time you look at the repaired vase, those fragments will come alive in your memory.”
Mellis slowly raised her gaze at the emotionless voice and only then noticed that Reiana’s eyes were subtly reddened.
“So think carefully and make your decision. You must never make a choice you’ll regret.”
Her blue eyes that had shone like a transparent lake were now deeply sunken, having lost their vitality. Feeling as if she had glimpsed into Reiana’s abyss that shouldn’t be seen, Mellis had no choice but to lower her head again.
Lost in contemplation, Mellis quietly fingered the engraved surface of the key.
* * *
Returning to the Imperial Palace, Mellis headed straight to Lilia’s Room in the north as Reiana had instructed. The path leading there was filled only with silence. Breathing out softly, Mellis gripped the key in her hand and grasped the door handle.
Contrary to her expectation that it would be firmly locked, the door opened smoothly. It was an embarrassing moment for the hand that had been tightly gripping the key. Carefully opening the door and stepping inside, Mellis thoroughly examined the interior.
“Wow….”
The Imperial Consort’s room was a bright space neatly decorated with oatmeal-colored furniture. The window where warm sunlight poured in brightly showed the languid atmosphere of an afternoon. As Mellis slowly examined the room, she stopped in front of a large portrait hanging above the fireplace.
The portrait contained images of Persiana and Lilia wearing happy smiles. The way they looked at each other was so affectionate and happy that it made even the viewer’s heart feel moved. Standing in front of it for a long time, Mellis suddenly noticed that the Imperial Consort’s room was extremely clean.
Whether she looked at the window frame or the table, there wasn’t a speck of dust anywhere, and fresh white lilies that seemed freshly tended were placed at the head of the bed. Moreover, there was even the soft fragrance of essential oils gently spreading throughout the room. Unlike its departed owner, this room seemed to still have time flowing within it.
“….”
Feeling a strange tingling in one corner of her heart, Mellis unconsciously bit her lip tightly. As she looked around again, a pure white desk caught her eye. One of the desk drawers had an elaborate keyhole made of gold carved into it.
Realizing the key’s purpose, she inserted the key into it, and with a click, the firmly locked drawer opened.
Inside the drawer was a single book wrapped in a thick leather cover. The cover was subtly faded as if no one’s hands had touched it all this time. Discovering Lilia’s name embroidered in gold thread at the bottom of the cover, she furrowed her brow and muttered.
“A diary…?”
As if entranced, Mellis sat at the desk and opened the book to scan its contents. Unlike the slightly faded cover, the records inside were still vivid. The book contained Lilia’s past years in vivid detail.
Mellis unconsciously moistened her dry lips with her tongue. What exactly were the words that Lilia had wanted to leave for her?
Although she didn’t feel good about peeking into someone else’s diary, especially the private domain of someone who had passed away, Mellis had already forgotten even such concerns and fallen deeply into the story.
The diary began from when Lilia met Persiana. Mellis learned that their meeting had happened by chance, and that Lilia had been quite confused upon learning that Persiana was a Grand Duke.
However, the two quickly fell for each other and soon became each other’s world, loving one another. Their love felt so touching that knowing the ending the two had faced, she could only feel more heartbroken.
As Mellis continued turning pages with interest for quite some time, she discovered something and stopped her hand with a start.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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