The Emerald Bishop - Chapter 7
Honestly, you never even filed for a contract marriage between us, did you?
“Father!”
“Sit down first. Niguel has already brought the proof.”
Teophanie’s two eyes held a deep distrust toward the king as she dropped into her chair.
“He brought a colony with military roads and mines from the south.”
Teophanie’s mouth fell open at the absurd simplicity of the excuse.
“You can’t possibly be thinking of accepting it?”
“Paniya.”
“You know the Duke of Maderson has been meddling in the munitions business in secret. Surely not a mere mine… no, right? Tell me. Should we delay the wedding further?”
Even if that was the only hope she could offer her daughter, her heart ached at the thought.
As a king, he should be able to do something, yet the limits of his power pressed so heavily upon him.
The king suppressed the storm of emotions in his heart and gazed at the red hair like his own and the royal consort’s lavish appearance with tender longing.
“What does that man gain by marrying the last royal symbol?”
Teophanie confronted the weak voice from the king with a stubborn expression.
“Therefore, you must not let him go. To restore the royal power, he is absolutely necessary. With the prime minister already on edge due to the Duke of Maderson’s munitions business, and our grandson returning from overseas, he will be far more alert. We must seize this opportunity. Your Majesty.”
His passionate red eyes burned around the edges, turning jet-black as they harmonized with her crimson lips in a mysterious way.
“The majority of the parliament are entangled with him. The entire industry and investment would shake at a single word from him. Is that all? Whether it is the Successor or the Catholic Church, every religious figure longs to reach him. Are you truly going to abandon such a man for a mine?”
“Enough of the political talk.”
The king clicked his tongue and shook his head.
“So you are saying I failed to calculate even one thing, is that it?”
“Father.”
“Let’s be honest. Between you two, is there anything deep between a man and a woman?”
The sight of the king looking at his children in that manner made Teophanie bite her already parted red lips tightly.
“Yes, I forced it. I declared you two to stay away from each other. And whenever there was a gap, I used him to mention you. I did what I could, but what did you do for that long time? While Niguel wandered through foreign lands for six years, you only exchanged letters with that pathetic newspaper or so.”
The king drove his point home at Teophanie, who could not refute him.
“If you felt that strongly, you could have sat on his thighs even in the wilderness of the colony instead of saying it was a slum. No more words. He brought a seventy-year lease that even the parliament cannot touch. It will be yours to keep. Give up your grudge.”
The king waved his hand with a fatigued face, signaling her to leave.
“No, Father. You are right. I will do so from now on.”
Teophanie straightened her shoulders stubbornly and rose to her feet.
“What did you say?”
“So, even if unseemly rumors spread in the future, I hope you will understand.”
Teophanie bowed deeply at the waist, offering a courtesy, then stood straight and withdrew.
As she left the office with strong momentum, a pale-faced maid was anxiously waiting just outside the door.
“What now?”
The maid hurried after Teophanie, who was walking briskly past her.
“Please look at this.”
The maid handed over an envelope stamped with the Gazef seal.
The Gazef newspaper supported the Labor Party and was a media outlet that Princess Teophanie secretly controlled, publishing friendly gossip and news for the royal family.
Just yesterday, the Gazef had run an article about her and Niguel. It detailed how the Maderson family and the royal family had begun secretly meeting after Niguel’s return, and how they were planning to hold family talks ahead of the wedding.
“But a breakup? Impossible.”
“It was sent before we could run the presses.”
Teophanie stopped in her tracks. She took the paper knife from the maid and roughly tore open the envelope with a rough motion.
There was a side article and a single blurry photo.
[Fiancée of the Duke of Niguel]
Teophanie froze, forgetting to breathe.
The woman’s head was bowed, making identification impossible, but the absence of a hat on the noble duke allowed for a clear enough shot to recognize her.
“When was this taken?”
“About three hours ago. Location is Duncan City.”
“City?”
Teophanie’s cool forehead furrowed as she turned to the maid.
“The special department that handled the case of Basil Vlab’s murder this morning.”
Teophanie murmured only the name Basil Vlab with her lips without making a sound.
Even though it was the death of Basil, her former classmate and former suitor, not a trace of sympathy could be found in her eyes. Only hatred filled them densely.
“What kind of disgusting phrase is this? Fiancée? No matter how rushed, how can there be such a blatant typo—?”
“That’s….”
The maid hesitated, glancing at Teophanie’s eyes before taking a deep breath and abruptly pouring out the words.
“According to the investigation, the third son of the Marrow family came to Duncan City claiming he would represent the Duke of Maderson’s fiancée.”
“Carlo?”
Teophanie shook the blurry photo while muttering curses and asked irritably.
“It doesn’t look like a noble even from a distance. Who is he?”
“It’s not entirely accurate.”
Teophanie’s sharp eyes regarded the hesitant maid with a tilted head.
“Kayla. No, she was apparently called Kayla.”
“Who… what, Kayla? That Kayla Moss?”
The person who had long thought her gone seemed to be reviving right in front of her eyes, casting a dark shadow.
“You know her?”
A memory she had wanted to forget seized her from behind.
Teophanie looked down again at the woman in the photo with an expression of disbelief, then crumpled it roughly in her hand.
“Damn it!”
Her red lips trembled slightly before a storm of anger surged across her red irises, a sinister aura spreading.
A black vehicle bearing the double-headed eagle emblem stopped at the Charles River bridge.
When the back door opened, Kayla stepped down from the small basket holding the Pascha, handling it skillfully.
She had come here partly to avoid drawing attention with a strange car, but mostly to observe the scene of the incident.
After the vehicle scattered dust and vanished into the distance, she crossed the bridge.
A few locals were gathered at one point, whispering as they gazed down. Kayla approached them and craned her neck to peer underneath the bridge.
The policemen in uniform had cordoned off the scene with yellow tape, so she could not see the details clearly.
Even as she watched the distant sight, Basil’s death did not truly sink in.
Someone raised a newspaper and mentioned her name.
Startled, Kayla quickly lowered her head and slipped away from the spot.
The already narrow scope of her daily life now felt even smaller, leaving her depressed.
Kayla walked briskly toward the Flat’s entrance and spotted Owin, stopping abruptly.
“Oh, you’re back? Late as usual.”
Owin continued speaking, glancing behind her for no reason.
“I was just about to leave the belongings I brought in the morning.”
The face of Kayla, who was muttering casually, glared at her with a ferocious look before she snatched his sleeve.
Despite his slight build, Owin followed obediently without resistance.
Only when they reached the sparsely populated yard did Kayla release his sleeve as if tossing it away.
Owin stood beside Kayla with a wisteria vine between them and sent a diagonally slanted gaze filled with skepticism.
He then scanned the thin branches with his eyes, smiled bitterly as if he had much to say, but chose silence.
“A lot has happened today.”
Kayla simply stood, fiddling with the basket’s handle with her fingers. Inside, she turned over various thoughts.
Owin, seeming to sense that Kayla was bothering him, stopped glancing at her and muttered bluntly.
“I’ve never once suspected you.”
“……I know.”
Kayla whispered quietly, but the atmosphere was not one of complete forgiveness in Owin’s eyes.
Her face, as if wilted, barely managed to speak.
“……That blood.”
Only then did Kayla’s hazel eyes turn toward him.