Chapter 14: A Familiar Encounter in the Garden

Moments later, a cool breeze brushed against Selonia’s cheek, which she realized had been flushed with heat for an unknown duration. She exhaled softly.

Unlike the stifling air within the ballroom, heavy with the warmth of many bodies, the burgeoning spring air offered a temporary respite, cooling her agitated heart.

***

The Imperial Garden, adorned for the banquet, shone with an even greater splendor than usual.

Magic lanterns, meticulously crafted into crystal-like orbs, hung in long, luminous lines from every branch, where nascent flower buds clustered.

They painted the deep darkness of the long-set night with a shimmering, starlit glow. In the distance, the central fountain’s clear, sparkling jets illuminated the surrounding benches.

She followed the lights for a short while, gradually venturing deeper into the garden. Leaving the stone-paved path, the soft grass offered a welcome comfort to her tired feet.

By the time the music from the banquet hall faded into a lingering echo, the rustle of grass in the breeze mingled with the chirping of crickets.

As her tension gradually subsided and the flush on her cheeks cooled, she encountered a new obstacle.

“……Where did I go last time?”

Her sky-blue eyes rolled with this belated realization. In her previous life, after dancing with Kylos, she had fled the overwhelming gazes of the crowd in similar haste, feeling both fear and embarrassment.

She had sought a secluded spot to cool down, imagining the accusations that she, an insignificant countess, had dared to dance with a Grand Duke.

While she recalled retreating deeper and deeper into the garden, she had no sense of direction whatsoever.

‘How could I possibly encounter Alix in this vast garden like this?’

A belated awareness of her flimsy plan dawned on her, yet there was nothing to be done. Standing lost in her overwhelming thoughts, Selonia instinctively lowered the hand she had raised to wipe her face.

She couldn’t proceed with her plan while her lipstick and eye makeup were smudged.

Selonia pondered her destination a little longer before her shoulders slumped in defeat. There truly was no method that came to mind. Perhaps it would be better to simply wander until she found a quiet spot and linger there.

If their past encounter hadn’t been accidental, but a deliberate approach, wouldn’t she cross paths with him regardless of where she went?

Though she knew her actions were unplanned, she generally preferred to act first and confront problems as they arose, rather than overthinking and meticulously planning. Fortunately, her approach proved effective once more.

After stepping off the path lined with labyrinthine shrubs, she reached a place where the magic lanterns became increasingly sparse, making the area less frequented.

Though she occasionally glimpsed clandestine lovers or couples engaged in fervent displays of affection, the soft grass mercifully allowed her to remain undetected.

How long had she been standing in such a secluded spot, so quiet that even those seeking secret rendezvous were out of sight? The familiar voice from behind her caused Selonia’s neck to stiffen.

“I didn’t expect to find anyone in a place like this.”

Her eyes, which usually held a soft curve yet could appear sharp in certain lights, twisted violently. His words were an exact echo of that night in the garden from her memories.

‘Did he really come looking for me on purpose?’ It was fortunate that the dim light concealed her rigid expression.

With the soft moonlight from the night sky at her back, Selonia managed to compose a voice tinged with feigned surprise.

“……I greet His Majesty, the Emperor.”

She trembled slightly, as if startled, clutching the hem of her dress. Apparently sensing no awkwardness, Alix raised a hand lightly and smiled.

“Ah, did I interrupt the lady’s rest? If so, I apologize.”

A playful, smooth smile and a voice that seemed to sing. Once, she had loved all of it without reservation, but now, her heart, cold and detached, pounded fiercely with anger.

Selonia clenched her teeth and gently shook her head.

“Not at all, Your Majesty. I was just about to return.”

She curtsied, took a small step back, and turned to leave. After only a few steps, his voice, hesitant as she had anticipated, reached her.

“However, haven’t we met somewhere before?”

This, too, was exactly as it had been in the past.

Hearing him utter the precise line she had expected, she bit her lip, unsure whether to be pleased or not, before putting all her effort into playing the part of a genuinely flustered, innocent lady.

Turning back hesitantly, she kept her head bowed, unable to meet Alix’s gaze, and curtsied again.

“I apologize for the belated introduction, Your Majesty. I am Selonia of House Brienne. I recently began serving Her Royal Highness, Princess Consort Camilla.”

“Ah. I have heard tell of it. The rumors of a beautiful daughter in House Brienne were true, it seems.”

In her lowered gaze, she saw his shoes approach her with a confident stride. Anticipating his next words, she flinched, shrinking her shoulders slightly as she saw his hand extended towards her.

“If it wouldn’t be an imposition, I would like to walk with you for a while. Would you permit it?”

How she had once trembled at the thought of walking alone with him beneath a cloudless night sky, where the Milky Way shone clearly, and through a garden intricately lit by beautiful lights that shimmered like ripples on water.

Now, however, all she desired was to stomp on Alix’s foot with her high heel and make him see stars before her eyes.

Each familiar scent, voice, and breath sent shivers down her spine, a primal revulsion. Taking a breath, she forced a smile and gently placed her hand on his arm.

As they began to walk side by side, the breeze against her cheek felt strangely cold.

As they walked slowly, Alix initiated casual, trivial conversation.

He spoke of almost stepping on Princess Telua’s foot during a quick dance, or his favorite foods, appearing more like a cheerful, amiable ordinary man than the Emperor of the Empire.

Yet, knowing how untrue this facade was, her stomach churned even as she offered small affirmations to his words. ‘What was I like at this time in the past?’

For years, I clung to the emotion of love, knowing it would ultimately consume me.

I waited and waited, believing only sweet whispers, until my glittering heart was riddled with holes and shattered, becoming so desolate that I couldn’t even feel its decay. What was I like before that?

From her earliest memories, she had never known a moment of true peace.

Her application for a lady-in-waiting position at the Imperial Palace, despite knowing it was a futile endeavor, was only spurred by her father, Count Brienne, attempting to marry her off as a second wife to an elderly marquis.

Nevertheless, it was clear that her past self, branded a bastard and constantly scorned, had been far more innocent and cheerful than she was after becoming Alix’s lover.

Though her current body, having regressed to the past, bore no fragments of the future misfortunes she would endure, her shattered soul remained.

The pure girl she once was no longer existed, yet this very fact allowed her to view Alix with greater objectivity.

“Ah, it seems I’ve been thoughtlessly monopolizing the conversation. Was it uncomfortable?”

Lost in her deep thoughts, she had forgotten to respond, and Alix seemed to interpret her silence negatively. He slowly halted their steps, then ran a hand through his hair with an embarrassed air, looking down at Selonia.

“Not at all, Your Majesty. On the contrary, I was so engrossed in hearing your stories that I lost all track of time.”

She shook her head as she spoke, lowering her gaze. She thought to herself that the time spent with Kylos, simply dancing without a word, had been far less tedious.

After a brief silence, his voice, when it came again from above her, was noticeably softer than before.

“Being with you somehow puts my mind at ease. It makes me want to share even the most trivial stories, things I wouldn’t normally speak of.”

She felt as though she had heard those very words at some point in the past.

Back then, she had been thrilled and excited, believing he was opening his heart only to her, but now, hearing them, they were nothing more than a calculated ploy.

She bit her lip, glancing at him as if overwhelmed by his gracious words. Holding her breath for a moment, her face thankfully flushed a faint red.

“That Your Majesty found enjoyment is the greatest honor I could ask for.”

As she feigned shyness, withdrawing her hand from his arm and fidgeting with her clasped hands, Alix’s golden eyes momentarily flickered with an unreadable emotion.

He gazed, breathless, at the light—whether moonlight or magic lantern—that subtly alighted upon her abundant pink eyelashes, making them sparkle, before turning his head away.

When he looked back at her, a smile, more awkward than before, played on his lips.