Chapter 267

Where Tara reminisces and the Empress pays her youngest a visit.

This chapter is dedicated to Lhan ! Thank you for your nice comment and support!

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Episode 267. About 9 months (26)

[What?]

[Whether I find it interesting or not, should I answer as a reader or as a fellow writer? Or should I answer as a true friend?]

[Bitch.]

[What can I say without you getting mad?]

[Would that be a big issue if you just said it was interesting?]

[.....]

I sighed heavily and glanced at Author Kim.

[Why are you looking at me like that?]

Arms crossed and teary eyed she sighed heavily as well. So I crossed my own arms and explained seriously.

[At first, you just wanted me to read it, but now I have to tell you it's interesting, and if I don't like it, you get upset? Kim, I think this is going to destroy our friendship. You know it's not a pleasant read, right?]

[That's...]

Author Kim looked like she'd been struck on the head. She stared at me blankly, then hastily put on the smile she wore during pre-interviews with cast members. She grabbed my arm with both hands.

[Ouch! Oh, my fellow writer! My soul mate and dear friend. I've been careless and acted poorly. If you'd be so kind as to forgive your awful friend, I’d be forever grateful ...!]

[That's enough. It's not easy to write. And It's not that I don't understand how you feel, but we need to draw a line. This map part is fun. It's nicely structured!]

Honestly, it wasn't that different from the rest of the novel. I would have prefered a little more urgency than the previous Hunting Grounds incident. But, I didn't want to be too provocative and totally demoralize Kim.

To be honest, the reason I gave the compliment was because I wanted to end this conversation quickly.

[Really? Really? Right? You see? This part is kind of nice, right?]

I nodded as she pulled out her notebook and flipped through the plot points.

[Yes. This case is more interesting].

I replied dryly, but it seemed to be enough for her. It pricked my conscience, but that was what she wanted to hear.

Then, with a smile on her face, she started spouting details that I didn't even ask for.

And I shouldn't have listened to them half-heartedly.

[In the Imperial warehouse...  Button's evil deeds.... The map... The village.... And the map.... The map is a trap.... The location of the villages.... The important thing here is that the 2nd Prince steps forward...]

***

My eyes fluttered open. It was a dream, but about something that really had happened.

"Yes. That happened. We sat in Yeouido Park and talked about this stuff. Yeouido Park... What does this mean? A dream like this at this point in time... Is Writer Kim helping me because I don't remember much?"

I stared at the ceiling in disbelief and quickly recapped the dream.

"A map containing Button's evil deeds. Hmm... Yes. Author Kim always said that he was the most fun character to write. He becomes important in the future of the Empire and he's a sociopath more cruel and cunning than anyone else. She couldn't wait to write the second half because of him. Shit. If you were going to give me information, at least it could have been a bit more accurate, huh? Like tell me whether Hans is responsible for everything that's happened. What the hell? Why does it have to be so flimsy?"

I flopped back down on the bed, pulling the covers around me, and immediately felt pain everywhere.

My whole body ached, but not terribly since I trained regularly.

"I can't believe I am reaping the rewards for my training this way. But wait a minute."

I quickly stood up.

"Ow...."

I couldn't help but let out a groan. I swallowed the pain and wrapped the blanket around me, then walked over to my desk and pulled out my notebook.

I flipped through the pages, and as soon as I reached the page I wanted, I quickly flicked open my quill pen.

<Ocerian Chronicles> Chapter 4, Part 3 [Black Map in the Imperial Palace Warehouse] Incident.

-> A map containing Hans's evil deeds. (I don't know what kind of evil deeds.) 

-> Possibly related to the murder of the Second Prince.

-> The map is in the Imperial warehouse and a village is shown on it.

-> Hans could be behind all of this, and if the map was made by Hans, it's likely incriminating evidence.

-> Could there be a trap in the village, and should we be careful when looking for it?

I looked at my organized notebook lost in thought for a moment.

This was a big clue.

This was definitely a huge hint.

I knew Hans was a villain, and if I could find out what evil he'd done, I’d have a clearer idea of whether he was the mastermind behind this whole chain of events.

I pondered, then froze.

"Should I inform Kyle? Author Kim did say Hans was involved in the death of the Second Prince."

But then I shook my head.

"Am I going to say that I dreamt about it? Or that I saw it in a book in my previous life? Haha... Who would believe that, with no proof..."

I snapped my fingers at the thought.

"Yes! The map could be the proof! Yes. Let's find that map first. But he told me not to do any more research on those three people, Hans included."

I sighed heavily at the thought of being stuck again. After sitting there for a while, it dawned on me.

"No. This isn't about investigating them. I'm having Hans followed by people I've already assigned, separate from the Palace investigation. I'll set aside the people trailing him for now and focus on finding the Black Map. Once I find it, things should be clearer."

Gathering my thoughts, I checked my watch. It was 10:00 am.

"Shit. I overslept. Ha!"

I stretched and crawled back into bed. The morning sun shone down on the bed. It was a nice day to be out and about.

"I'll go for a walk. Did he get home safely?"

My thoughts went straight to him, and as soon as I did that, last night's events flashed through my mind in a panoramic scope.

The rough and ferocious Second Prince Kyle, who had been anything but gentle all night long. 

The words he had muttered under his breath leaning over me, came back to life, echoing in my ears.

[Kindness is a.... difficult virtue....]

Ugh.... It was madness, really.

Naturally, heat rushed to my face.

"Just like a friendly dog. Hehe..." *

Knock, knock, knock.

I shut my mouth upon hearing the knock.

"Miss? Miss. Are you still sleeping? It's almost eleven o'clock already."

"Ah! Beth. I'm up!"

"Why did you lock the door? That surprised me when I came up this morning, Miss. Miss?"

I rushed into the bathroom, listening to Beth grumbling from beyond the locked door.

"Uh, I'm already in the bathroom, I'll unlock it later, Beth!"

I lied naturally. My stiff muscles screamed as I ran to the bathroom, slamming the door behind me. But it didn't feel bad.

"Hmmm.... Maybe a little more gently...."

Immediately, my face heated up, and a weird, crooked smile crept across my face, like a child who'd done something naughty.

And then, his voice echoed in my memory....

[... It’s so hard to leave… I think... I love you.]

My head snapped up.

"Oh my god! Is that memory real?”

***

Three days later, the Third Imperial Palace.

Even though the Empress's message was immediately delivered to the Duke of Toulouse and Joseph, no immediate reply came regarding the scheduled private meeting in the Palace.

After waiting impatiently for three days in such unusual circumstances, the Empress had had enough and traveled directly to the Third Prince Joseph's Palace.

It had been a year and a half since the Empress last visited Joseph's palace.

Leaving the astonished staff of the Third Prince's court behind, the Empress stormed into his bedroom. It was 9 a.m.

"His Highness is in his office."

The Empress furrowed her brow and glanced at the Third Prince's butler, assuming that since this was like dawn for the First Prince, the Third Prince would be in bed as well.

"I'll go to the drawing room. Have him meet me there."

"Yes, your Majesty."

The butler sent his assistant, who was standing beside him, to the staff room, then led the Empress to the drawing room.

"Did you deliver the message?" The Empress whispered as she watched the butler's assistant scurry away.

"Yes, Your Majesty," the butler whispered back.

"I see."

Of course, she thought he would come right away. She figured it wouldn't be more than five minutes at most.

After all, she had come to the Third Palace herself.

She still remembered how enthusiastic and happy he had been during her visit a year and a half ago.

But even after five minutes, Joseph hadn't shown. As 10 then 20 minutes passed, the Empress was so dumbfounded and shocked that she stifled a laugh at the absurdity of it all.

"Wasn't my message clear enough?"

She tried to hold back, but her voice betrayed her anger.

"It was delivered straight away, Your Majesty."

"How dare he...."

She deliberately sat with her back straighter and stared out the drawing room window.

She began to ponder what kind of change of heart had occurred to the timid and kind Third Prince, who had hung on her every word, and was now behaving so rudely.

But there was only one answer.

‘Something must have happened at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and he's being held back by his staff because of an issue. Yes, I'm sure that must be it.'

The Empress had been waiting for Joseph for about forty minutes when she finally got up.

As if it had been waiting for her to rise, there was a commotion outside the drawing room. There seemed to be many men's voices mingling together.

Vivian pressed her lips together and strode stiffly to the door. The startled butler followed close behind.

The Empress gestured to the butler to open the door.

"How dare he make me wait for forty minutes and then mock me at the door?"

Looking sterner than ever, Vivian stood stiffly, waiting for the door to open.

At the butler's command, two servants slowly pushed the door open, and the milling crowd, suddenly recognizing the Empress, quickly bowed in surprise.

"Ah. It's Her Majesty the Empress." 

".... I bow before Her Majesty the Empress."

After finishing their greetings, the men took a few steps back and formed a semicircle around the Empress.

‘What are they doing?!'

Editor's Note -

* OK, so this is quite the extrapolation on my part and there are 2 options as to why Tara says this particular sentence "Just like a friendly dog. Hehe..."

1. There is a proverb in Korean 'A school dog recites a poem after three years' which means 'You automatically learn what you expose yourself to'. And she could referring to her own influence over him over time in regards to Kyle finding 'Kindness difficult virtue'.

2. A few sentences above you have Tara thinking about 'The rough and ferocious Second Prince Kyle, who had been anything but gentle all night long.' In the original version there was a little add-on to this sentence that I removed because.... Well here is it in all it's raw MTL glory: 'The rough and fierce second prince, the one who'd snarled at her all night, had been anything but gentle.' and here is another version: 'The rough and ferocious second prince was not at all friendly to Kyle, who growled all night long.' ^^!

Kyle! You dog! LMFAO!

Sorry, I just couldn't keep that in. It had me in stitches the whole time and I don't think it suits a 'morning after reminiscing'.... And for the life of me I could not figure out how to make that sentence work with that part in it without all of us howling in laughter. But I had to share this with you.

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