TROMH 04

Chapter 04

 I Might Be Able to Meet Her Again

The Stern Empire held its coming-of-age ceremonies not in spring, but in midsummer, when the sky opened up with its clearest view.

This was related to the name of the empire. Stern meant “star” in an ancient language.

The coming-of-age ceremony took place from evening until after midnight because one was considered to have officially become an adult only after midnight.

And to conclude the ceremony, they had to identify the star that had given the empire its name—the largest and brightest star of them all.

Coincidentally, that largest star was named Irene.

Because it was a star that symbolized peace, the name Irene was common throughout the empire, regardless of whether one was noble or commoner. I had also heard that it was a star commemorating the suffering the empire had endured in the past.

As a child of a noble family, I had received a basic education in history. However, our family had always lacked the budget necessary to properly manage our territory, so we had never been able to hire a private tutor.

In my case, I suppose I was somewhat better off than David, who had taught himself, because he had passed on what he had learned to me.

Still, I had lived so far out in the countryside that I had never even visited the capital, so there were many things I had apparently lived without knowing.

I hadn’t known that Espers existed in the empire either.

Apparently, a very long time ago, there had been many Espers and Guides in the empire.

But at some point, the Guides began to disappear, and it seemed as though the Espers had also died out, only to begin appearing again recently.

So it was only natural that I hadn’t known.

My family entered the capital after traveling nonstop for three days in a cramped carriage.

The noisy atmosphere of the city reached us through the windows, which we had left open because of the heat.

Because of the special privilege granted in celebration of the Saintess’s arrival, most of the inns in the capital were completely booked.

After going around from place to place, my family had no choice but to settle our luggage in a shabby inn that we had barely managed to find.

Commoners also used the place, but there was nothing we could do about it.

Since the entire family had to come to the capital together, we had to save on expenses.

But somehow, I felt that even the cramped room I shared with Mom, and even the hot, narrow carriage we had all ridden in until just moments ago, would become precious memories.

It was difficult and uncomfortable, but the joy outweighed all of that.

You’d think I would have gotten used to it by now, but even so, I still found my family’s presence amazing.

There were people beside me who didn’t mind being close to one another, even when our skin touched.

A smile naturally spread across my face from the happiness.

“Our daughter must be excited, even if she isn’t saying anything. You’re smiling much more than usual.”

“Yeah…… I’m a little excited. I wonder what the Saintess is like.”

The Korean Guide.

What kind of person was the heroine I had only encountered through a novel?

Was she really as kind and altruistic as she had been portrayed in the novel?

I was curious to see what path she would take after receiving the love of both the Duke, who shared the same name as my husband from my previous life, and the Crown Prince.

And, as a bonus, I was curious about what would happen to our family’s business as well.

We couldn’t bring two carriages, so we weren’t able to bring any servants with us.

I watched Mom unpack our belongings herself and take out my dress before opening the window for a moment to look outside.

Fortunately, we had arrived before noon.

That meant we’d have a brief chance to catch our breath before evening.

Even from the shabby inn on the outskirts of the capital, the Imperial Palace was visible.

It was more magnificent, classical, and splendid than any building I had ever seen.

As anticipation gradually rose inside me, even my usually calm heart seemed to beat a little faster.

[Ciel……]

[Hello, honey……]

No.

Don’t.

Please.

Seohyun!

Whenever he forced himself to sleep at night, he was plagued by auditory hallucinations.

No.

They were hallucinations.

Even though he knew it was something that had not yet happened, the scenes were so vivid that he had once again awakened at dawn today, drenched in sweat.

“Haah, ugh……”

His body experienced such a shocking surge of emotion that it would not have been strange for his eyes to roll back.

Without regard for his will, his abilities activated.

Once again, the curtains and table around him instantly burst into flames and were reduced to ash, leaving traces across the floor.

His blurred blue eyes became clear only after he checked his surroundings.

He rose from the bed and approached the window.

Only after confirming the familiar yet unfamiliar scenery could he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

The butler, who had keenly noticed that his master was awake, knocked on the door.

“Your Grace, are you awake?”

Ciel heard the butler’s voice, which sounded younger than he remembered, and gave an order in a rough, hoarse voice.

“Come in.”

At his command, the butler quickly entered the room and bowed his head.

“Shall I bring you some iced tea?”

“Yes.”

The butler, who had served him for a long time, knew very well that the first thing Ciel did after waking was drink iced tea filled with ice.

He also knew that Ciel needed to be left alone immediately after waking.

Of course, this habit had only developed recently.

The butler quickly brought his master everything he needed and left.

Naturally, he didn’t forget to sweep up the ashes in the process.

Once Ciel was alone, he collapsed onto the window seat.

No one would ever imagine that he would sit like this.

Almost lying down in a completely unrestrained position, he drank the iced tea in one gulp without even pausing to breathe, then poured the ice directly into his mouth and crunched on it.

Only then did the burning sensation inside him calm down a little.

Just a little.

The refreshing scent of mint that lingered in his mouth reminded him of her.

Her Guiding had a distinctive taste that was strongly addictive, reminiscent of mint.

Leaning against the window seat, he blankly watched the sun finally begin to rise.

He remembered how he had been able to return to this place.

No.

He didn’t want to remember.

But the scene came back to him on its own.

He repeatedly replayed the surreal moment when his rampage subsided and the frail body that had been embracing him helplessly collapsed.

The arm that had lost half its flesh to the flames hung limply, while all of her internal organs had melted and bloody foam continuously spilled from between her teeth.

It was difficult to call the body that of a living person.

The only remaining sign that she was still alive had been the black eyes that still yearned for him.

But even those eyes closed and disappeared beyond his reach.

And when that happened, he went berserk again.

He had made the sacrifice of his Guide, who had given her life to save him, meaningless.

“No. I’ve come back…… So I can meet her again.”

The jawline of his increasingly gaunt face was so sharp that it looked as though it could cut someone’s hand.

And it wasn’t only the contours of his face.

His sapphire-blue, crystal-clear eyes contained thirst and hunger, longing and madness all at once, giving them a piercing intensity.

With an expression as dry as desert sand, he waited for the coming-of-age ceremony that would take place that evening.

Because there was someone he absolutely had to meet there.

“Goodness, this is taking forever.”

Mom murmured as she gently fanned my face.

Summer was just beginning, so even in the evening, rather than becoming cool, hot and humid air continued to blow.

Even with the windows open, there was no way it could be cool when we were all huddled together in the cramped carriage wearing our dresses.

Mom was only worried that my makeup might come off and seemed completely unaware of the beads of sweat forming on her own forehead.

“Mom, fan yourself too. You’re sweating here.”

I took out a handkerchief and gently dabbed away the sweat from Mom’s forehead.

Mom couldn’t hide how pleased she was by my actions, and Dad stuck his face forward as he said,

“Daddy’s sweating too, sweetheart.”

I raised the corners of my mouth as much as I could and gently dabbed the sweat from Dad’s face as well.

Then my brother stuck his face forward as though it were his turn.

“Rin, me too.”

“Oh, honestly. You all have handkerchiefs of your own……”

Even though I grumbled with my words, I gently wiped the sweat from David’s forehead too.

In the meantime, the carriage moved forward a little.

It was an unavoidable consequence of living in a class-based society.

There was no way we, who belonged to the lowest rank among the nobility, could enter quickly simply because we had arrived first.

Then again, even if it wasn’t a class-based society, there was unfairness like this everywhere.

How much discrimination had I experienced in my previous life in Korea simply because I was an orphan?

In the end, I took Mom’s fan from her and began fanning myself while looking out the window.

Since I had spent my entire life in our territory, the capital was incredibly fascinating.

And among everything there, the Imperial Palace, radiating the brightest and most dazzling light, was even more fascinating.

I was busy looking at the emblems painted on the carriages gathered around us when I heard the knights shouting from a distance.

“His Grace, the Duke of Leophart, is coming! Clear the way!”

The knight’s words were almost like a magic spell.

The carriages that had been stopped in the middle of the long line, waiting to merge into the road, immediately began moving toward the opposite side.

Just like cars swiftly moving aside when a fire truck passed by in my previous life, the carriages quickly parted.

But it wasn’t the sight that caught my attention.

It was the words the knight had shouted.

The Duke of Leophart.

He was the sub-male lead in the novel.

Ciel de Leophart.

The carriage carrying the man who shared the same name as my husband from my previous life began to glide past us.

It was incomparably more splendid and sturdy than the carriage carrying my family.

The black carriage was decorated with gold, and an emblem shaped like the hilt of a sword was engraved upon it.

Countless blue sapphires were embedded in the sword-hilt emblem, and instead of a sword blade, intricate blue flames were engraved into the design.

It was the emblem representing the House of Leophart.

It was the exact emblem described in the novel, so I couldn’t take my eyes off it.

The carriage passed beside us at a moderate speed, neither fast nor slow.

Unfortunately, black curtains covered the windows, so I couldn’t see the face of the sub-male lead.

But after seeing the carriage of the ducal family, I finally let go of the last thread of doubt I had been holding onto and accepted it completely.

The place where I had possessed this body and lived all this time really was the world inside the novel.