Chapter 83: Chapter 83

Marianne smiled at Hess who grabbed her hand and held a towel.

“Really? Thank you. Your eyes are beautiful, like opals.”

“Pardon? Oh no…Thank you.”

Hess bowed with a rushed voice.

Unlike the villagers in which she was born and raised, her fellow priests did not hate or laugh at her injured eye. They didn’t point their fingers at her, nor did they label it as an ominous sign.

But it was the first time Hess heard such a kind compliment.

Hess quickly washed her body with a flushed face. Marianne smiled at her, looking at her often as if she was cute.

The three were done taking a bath in a warm atmosphere. They dried her hair and applied ointment on the wounds all over her body. Although she was bare-faced, she still looked wonderful compared to her miserable appearance when she came into the temple.

Siel politely handed over a dress that she laid on one side of the bed. A simple and plain dress was unfolded, usually worn by a poor baron’s daughter. Without any delicate lace, the skirt was not even well shaped.

“Sorry, my dear. It’s not good enough, but these are best clothes we have at the moment…”

“What are you talking about? Maybe the worst clothes in the temple right now are mine and the emperor’s. So, don’t worry.”

Marianne pointed to her dress, stained with drops of blood, juice, earth, and dust. Siel laughed as she couldn’t find anything to disagree with.

“I’ve heard a lot about the exemplary life of the priests who are honest but poor. So, don’t be ashamed of it.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

Siel and Hess helped Marianne dress up. Finally, a red diamond necklace was worn around her neck. The mix of overly fancy ornaments and an overly simple dress made her look a bit funny, but she didn’t care at all.

“Then I will go see the emperor for a moment. As the room is opposite this place, you can rest here.”

Marianne left the room, stroking her loosely braided hair. The fatigue and refreshment after the bath gave her a pleasant drowsiness. Her cheeks were reddish due to her elevated body temperature.

As soon as she confirmed what the priests took out of the opposite room, she hardened her face.

The brass basin was full of red blood. Between the half-open doors, there was a dreadful smell of medicine. In a moment, she had a guilty conscience.

‘How can I forget the emperor’s pain when I feel more comfortable now?’

Mariane ran into the room, pushing aside the servant holding bloody clothes.

At the same time, Kloud’s embarrassed voice came out.

“No, Your Majesty. You can’t forcibly proceed with the engagement ceremony tomorrow in this condition.”

Marianne stopped at the door like a broken wooden doll. The servant who left the room last closed the door.

Click.

Kloud, who habitually turned back and looked at the door at the small noise, changed his facial expression and stepped back. As Curtis was sensitive to any little noise, he had been watching her the moment she entered the room.

“Lady Marianne!”

While the two showed their manners to her, Eckart, sitting slightly crouched at the end of the bed, slowly looked away.

He was exactly like an injured soldier. He looked good as the servant wiped blood and dirt from his face, but he still looked haggard. The middle of his back was wrapped with white bandages. His broken arm was also wrapped in a clean cloth as if it was splinted anew.

Standing still, she looked at his eyes.

She could now discern why his complicated feelings were reflected in his blue eyes: terrible pains that had bothered him since yesterday and his protracted fatigue that he couldn’t express in the cave.

“… I don’t know when I can get back to Roshan if I leave here.”

It was Eckart who avoided her eyes first. He grabbed a silver cup on a low table. A blue bloodline was visible on the back of his trembling hand.

“It was probably the throne of the emperor, which was empty while I was away that those who plotted this incident were aiming for. Though they failed, they must hope for a different result from their original purpose.”

“… Oh, what you mean is they want to at least break your engagement, even though their original purpose of killing you failed?” Kloud said with a frustrated expression. Eckart nodded.

“Now I got it. The first thing Ober aimed for was Lennox. Think about what rumors they have ever created. I’m sure they’re going to fabricate all kinds of rumors about my incident. For example, they can say ‘Look at the incident even before they hold the engagement ceremony. Isn’t it ominous? God did not allow it. It’s a corrupt bond.’ Right?”

Eckart spoke evasively and took a breath. He tilted the silver cup. He emptied intense herbal alcohol in it.

But it wasn’t just alcohol that raked his stomach.

“Doesn’t anyone know how much Duke Kling cares for his only daughter? As you know, there is a strange rumor that I’m forcibly trying to marry her. I think the Ober faction will mobilize all means to make the duke to break up her marriage.”

“…”

“And that’s the same case for Marianne, who is regarded as Ober’s woman.”

His blue eyes, which were completely indifferent by now, glanced at her.

Marianne looked at Eckart intensely all the time, but she didn’t speak.

“And… as they embarked on a dangerous plot, she needs a more stable position.”

Kloud and Curtis were standing silently. They thought what the emperor said made sense, but didn’t actively support it because of his safety.

Eckart was their most honorable master. But they couldn’t force the emperor to sacrifice himself after they saw him get severely wounded. They felt they would rather be more comfortable with sacrificing their lives on his behalf.

“Doesn’t it take another day or two for the supporting units from Milan to get here? You don’t have to waste your time.”

Eckart, who could not stand any unreasonable excuses, pressed them.

“But your engagement is a long and cumbersome ceremony, Your Majesty. Didn’t the healing priest emphasize it a little while ago? She said you should not move as little as possible before your wounds are healed…”

“Then, make the ceremony as simple as possible.”

Kloud, who was making various excuses to delay the ceremony, finally shut up.

It was Marianne who suddenly cut in. She walked over to Eckart. Her blue skirt was gently dragged over the floor carpet.

“Let me meet the cardinal and ask her a favor. I’ll tell her we are worried about your condition, and we want to go back to the capital quickly. If we play the baby, explaining our miserable situation now, nobody would doubt our situation.”

“… Marianne.”

Finally, Marianne approached him and sat right next to him. She took away the empty glass in his hand. Very briefly her finger touched his and fell off.

Eckart bit his lower lip. His fingertips felt even numb. When he pulled away his hands, she laid her hands on them.

“We can’t have the ceremony tomorrow. Let’s do it the day after tomorrow.”

She looked straight at him with her moist, shiny green eyes which looked like a jewel just lifted from the water.

“Marianne, if you say that on my behalf…”

“Don’t be mistaken. I’m saying this because I’m worried about you. I’m just too tired. I want to have a good night’s rest.”

It was a white lie. Not only Eckart but also Kloud and Curtis could guess her intention.

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. It was only the ever burning fire that could melt her steely stubbornness.

Although she had told such a blatant lie, she didn’t bat an eye.

She looked at Kloud and asked, “Is the rest of the party at the residence?”

“Yes.”

“Then, did they get the news that the emperor returned alive?”

“I haven’t conveyed the message yet. Unfortunately, the messenger bird was sent off to the residence… As it’s too dangerous for a messenger after dark, I’m going to send him early in the morning.”

“Oh, I see. Then make sure to send the messenger after sunrise. We have to make sure there should be no more injured people.”

“You’re too benevolent, Lady Marianne.”

Kloud quickly praised her. She appreciated his compliment by smiling a little.

But Eckart narrowed his eyebrows while hearing their conversation that was meant to persuade him.

How could they expect him to believe their childish lies?

Nonetheless, Marianne began to soothe and persuade Eckart more dramatically.

“Look, Your Majesty. We haven’t yet conveyed the news about your return to the people at the residence. And the process of the grand duke at the residence will will arrive here tomorrow afternoon.”

“But…”

“Besides, do you think they can proceed with the engagement ceremony right away even if they arrive here? We need to have a day or so to prepare. Everyone was hurt and stunned by this incident.”

“I can’t afford to pay attention to such trifling things…”

“Wait a moment. You don’t want to say cruelly that you don’t care about the situation of the servants and maids at the residence, right? I hope you don’t. I don’t want to be recorded as a tyrant’s wife in history.”