Bastian chuckled.
His eyes were as calm as deep water as he stared straight at Isabelle, but only the corner of his red lips slightly raised. It didn't seem like a very favorable reaction.
Intimidated, Isabelle halted her steps, unable to go any further. She was still far from him, but close enough to see his cold eyes.
Looking at the busy entrance hall, Bastian gave a short nod of his head to the butler who was trembling behind.
Understanding his command, the butler hurriedly shut the door, and the silence increased dramatically.
Stopping the servants who tried to avoid the scene, Bastian took strides to close the remaining distance between them. Isabelle's chest, which had swelled with anticipation, immediately froze cold again.
"I'll take you to the imperial palace. Let's go."
Isabelle's eyes overflowed with tears at the ruthless order thrown without a word of greeting for the reunion.
"No. I can't do that!"
Isabelle reached out and grabbed Bastian's sleeve with her trembling hands.
"I barely got out of there and came all the way here. You have no idea how hard it was."
"Yes. It certainly looks like that."
Bastian gave another short sneer.
The bewilderment given by the princess disguised as a maid was now replaced by contempt. The reason Isabelle appeared here was obvious. Or how she had mobilized all the means to do something as ridiculous as this.
At this point, he pitied the emperor. The same was true of the crown prince of Belov, who had to marry a princess of this state for the sake of the national interest.
"People looking for Your Highness will come soon. You must leave before then."
"Please tell me the truth, Bastian!"
Isabelle cried out stubbornly.
"Are you still treating me like a child? Okay, I understand. I was definitely like that when we first met. But not anymore!"
The excited princess threw her hat and it fell onto the marble floor.
"Look at me, Bastian. I am now a grown woman. I'm a woman who is ready to give up her crown for you!"
"Whether Your Highness is a child or a woman, what does that have to do with me?"
Bastian's eyes sank into an innocent light as he looked at the Princess's face.
"Is it because I am a princess? Because of the difference in status? Is that why you can't even think of looking into your heart?"
This girl, who had lived her whole life royally, didn't seem to understand the meaning of the word rejection. She was nothing more than a fanatic who blindly believed that the whole world deserved to love her.
"The fact that I am a princess is very painful, Bastian. How I wish I could throw off this title."
Isabelle began to play dramatic grief like an actress on stage. The emperor's daughter seemed to have completely forgotten about the dignity of her cousin (Odette), who was treated like a beggar, and was struggling to protect her dignity.
Bastian loosened the knot in his tie, lowered his head and dropped his gaze.
He then whispered in a voice so low that only the princess could hear it.
"If I may give you one piece of advice out of loyalty, you'd better hold on tight to that crown, princess. The reason I show this level of patience and consideration even in this situation is because you are the emperor's daughter."
"...Bastian?"
"If you hadn't been a princess, it would have been difficult for you to stand in front of me looking so fine."
"Now… what in the world are you saying… … … … ."
"So please, be deeply grateful to your emperor father, Your Highness."
Having finished his advice, Bastian straightened his head again. The princess's hand, which was hanging from his sleeve, fell helplessly.
"No. This is not it. It's not!"
Isabelle cried out as if she was out of breath. It seemed that the tower of delusion she had built alone over the years was much stronger than he thought.
"What have I done for you! I came this far by committing things I should not have done. I left everything behind, thinking only of you. So don't do this to me. Yeah? Please, Bastian!"
"The only heart I can give to the princess is the loyalty of an imperial soldier to the imperial family. It has always been and will always be so. This is my "truth" that Your Highness wanted to hear so much."
Correcting the shape of the cufflinks the princess had ruined, Bastian drove the final nail into the coffin with a cool tone.
The doorbell of the mansion rang when Isabelle, dazed and as if she had forgotten how to cry, began to stumble.
Bastian calmly opened the front door while the surprised servants rushed towards the princess. The Imperial Guard, who were roaming around the neighborhood disguised as police officers, were at the door.
"The Princess is here."
Bastian was the first to break the silence. The guards' faces showed a look of bewilderment that could not be concealed as they found the princess standing supported by the servants
"She came here looking like that. I was going to take her to the imperial palace, but since you came just in time, I'll leave her in your care."
"No. You should go with us, Captain Klauswitz."
The highest-ranking officer gave the high-handed order.
"You're ordered to come to the palace as quickly and quietly as possible."
***
"Thank you, sister! Thank you so much!"
Excited and speechless, Tira threw herself at Odette, embracing her.
After a whole week of begging and pleading, they had just arranged to go on a weekend picnic together.
Putting down the ladle that she had been stirring the stew for a while, Odette looked at her sister with a quiet smile on her face.
Tira's curiosity about the newly created amusement park in the city center was persistent. Cotton candy. Merry-go-round. Electric Palace. Horoscope machine, ferris wheel. How eager her voice and expression were to tell the stories she heard from her schoolmates. Odette couldn't ignore her any longer.
"It's next Sunday. You can't forget it. Yes?"
Tira held out her pinky finger, emphasizing again. It was the method she used to get confirmation. Odette honestly held her finger and made a promise.
She hoped the man wouldn't call her back in a few days. Even if that happened, Odette had no intention of complying.
"I'm so glad father didn't come back. right?"
Sitting at the dinner table, Tira smiled innocently.
She knew she had to be admonished, but Odette couldn't open her mouth. It seemed she didn't deserve it because her feelings were no different from Tira's.
"Let's go far away after graduation. No father, just the two of us."
Looking at her father's empty seat, Odette made an impulsive proposal. Contrary to her expectations, Tira had an unwilling expression.
"Do we have to leave? We can just get a house and live here, just the two of us."
"The capital city is busy and the rent is high. A quiet little town wouldn't be too uncomfortable to live in."
"Uh… I'll think about it."
Tira smiled reluctantly and concentrated on eating with her head down. Suddenly it came to Odette that Tira would soon become an adult and she couldn't force her to do so.
Odette gazed out at the city through the window, clutching her toothless glass of water.
After graduating and finding a job, Tira would be fine by herself. When that day came, Odette would be able to leave to start a new life without any constraints or restraints.
The tutor job she looked into out of curiosity paid much better than Odette expected. It was a more attractive job in that the housing problem would be solved together.
Although her lack of experience worried her, fortunately the staff at the agency spoke highly of Odette's abilities.
How about a small city with a view of the warm southern sea?
Odette's cautious hopes were brought back to reality when an unexpected name came out of Tira's mouth.
"Oh, sister. Do you know who Klauswitz is?"
" …Where did you hear that name?"
Odette calmly asked back, holding onto the glass of water she almost dropped.
Please.
She prayed earnestly without knowing what she was praying for. But life once again failed Odette.
"Father said Klauswitz would take care of everything? Earlier, when sister went grocery shopping, a visitor came. It sounded like a money issue, but I don't know the details. I guess there's no news because there's nothing special, right?"
Tira chatted in a non-trivial tone and resumed her meal. But Odette could swallow nothing more.
Her father knew about the man.
It was clear what that meant. Especially if it had to do with money matters.
"Can you please clean up?"
Barely able to move her legs, Odette hurriedly stood up from the table.
"Are you going out? So suddenly? where?"
"I have an appointment I forgot. I need to go."
"Appointment? At such a late hour?"
"Yes. I have something I need to return to a relative of the imperial family."
"Ah! That awl-like old lady."
Odette skillfully lied, even though she felt like she had lost her mind.
Fortunately, Tira readily agreed.
After hurriedly preparing to go out, Odette stepped out into the night without hesitation.
She had to meet the man.
That was the only thought Odette could muster.
****
The sound of a hard slap on the cheek echoed through the suffocating silence.
Bastian did not avoid it and accepted the hit. The empress, who glared at him with her whole body shaking, took her anger out by raising her hand once again.
"How dare you fool the princess!"
Wiping the blood from his split lips with the back of his hand, Bastian stood motionless and waited for the next strike. The moment he heard of the imperial order, he had already prepared himself. He hadn't expected that the empress' hand would be so painful.
"Calm down. At times like this, we should remain calm."
The Emperor, who had been watching the situation from a few steps away, said after his wife raised her hand again.
"Help the empress to her bedchamber."
The servants of the detached palace who had been waiting surrounded the empress as soon as the emperor's order fell.
Avoiding further embarrassment, the empress retreated with frosty eyes at Bastian. She was at least a better mother than her daughter.
As the empress and the servants left, a chilly silence filled the air of the private residence.
After staring at Bastian for a long time, the emperor picked up a cigarette with a complicated expression on his face.
From the morning he received the news of Isabelle's escape, to the moment she was captured, the aftermath of a hellish day rushed in all at once. Extreme anger and disillusionment. The arrow pointed at Bastian, the officer who was both a blessing and a disaster for the empire.
There was a faint sound of a bell announcing the hour.
Extinguished his half-burnt cigarette, the Emperor turned his head to look at Bastian.
"Isabelle will be sent abroad as soon as dawn breaks. Until her wedding takes place, she will never, ever set foot on Berg's soil again."
The emperor sat down on the sofa in front of the unlit fireplace and slowly wiped his face.
"The official reason for her departure is recuperation. Because her health was ruined by neurosis, she had time to rest until her marriage."
"Yes, Your Majesty. I will keep that in mind."
Bastian accepted the order with the face of a loyal soldier.
"The conversation is going to be long, so please sit down."
The emperor pointed to the seat across from him with an appearance of deep fatigue.