Albrecht’s Pearl 81

 Chapter 81

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"..what................?"

Louise questioned innocently, but Pauline smiled broadly.

"I know it's not quite time for His Excellency to return, but I can't imagine what you’d be waiting for. I'm sure you’re expecting news."

Louise couldn't help but smile back at Pauline.

"I didn't want to give it away, but.................. I've been found out."

"Oh, Madame. Please be honest with me. Even if we have to wait, it'll go better if we wait together!" 

"..................Will it?"

Pauline suggested, as if she had just remembered.

"Ah! I know the best view in the mansion, my lady. Shall I escort you there?"

"The best view? Not His Excellency's office?"

"There's a better one, but it's only used by the servants, but would you like to see it?"

The truth was, she would receive a letter from a messenger if Caius was coming back.

Nevertheless, Louise nodded. She appreciated Pauline's sincerity in not wanting her to be lonely.

"All right, let's go."

A few minutes later, Louise was up in the attic on the fourth floor. As Pauline had said, it was where some of the male workers' quarters and storage were located, but Louise had never been there before.

She opened the skylight in the sloping roof and looked out over the hillside leading up to Burg. Louise looked down into the dark forest and smiled.

"I can see so well."

"Yes, my lady. There are no trees to obstruct the view from here."

Not a single lantern illuminated the dark forest, but they stood side by side, gazing at the path for a long time.

Louise was about to suggest that they go back to bed when a light flickered in the distance. 

"Look who's coming..................!"

Pauline exclaimed when she spotted it too.

They both ran down the stairs, not sure who was first.

Unable to leave the main building, they circled the main entrance together, afraid to cross paths.

A few moments later, the two liaisons did indeed arrive.

A soldier in Burg uniform leapt from his black horse, dropped to one knee, pulled out an envelope from his chest pocket and offered it to Louise.

The envelope bore the unmistakable seal of Burg.

"This is a letter from His Excellency, the margrave of Burg, to the lady. I will wait for you to acknowledge it, but if you need me, please call me."

Perhaps it was necessary to get a reply. Louise's hand trembled as she took the letter.

She looked anxiously at Pauline, who looked curious. Finally alone, she nervously tore open the envelope.

It was the earliest she could have hoped for, so perhaps it was good news. If there was something wrong, it wouldn't have arrived this early, even if someone had sent it on Caius’s behalf.

She opened the letter, chanting the thought like a mantra.

But Louise's face grew increasingly pale as she read the words.

[Dear Daughter of Ermoli.

The Emperor has refused to recognize Caius because he saw the Prince's dead body 21 years ago, and because he cannot trust the source of Albrecht's pearl.

His Majesty demands the disbandment of our rebel army, using His Highness’s life as a threat, and demands that Ermoli, who offered the pearl, be brought in as a witness.

We're all trying to find a way out of this, but the Emperor is the one on the other side, and we're risking our lives, not to mention the throne.

I know it's difficult, but will you come and testify? If we lose Caius, everything will be over.

Ferdinand von Burg.]

The unfamiliar handwriting was Ferdinand's.

Louise folded up the letter and clutched it in her hands, then called Pauline in in a panic.

"Pauline, Pauline!"

Pauline rushed over to ask what was wrong, and her lips parted in surprise when she saw Louise’s pale face. But what she heard next was even more startling.

"I need to change my clothes............... riding clothes, will you help me?"

"But, my lady, in the middle of the night?"

"His Excellency............ His Excellency needs me."

"What? Tell me, please?"

Louise covered her eyes with her palms for a moment, feeling overwhelmed, but finally calmed down and dropped her hands.

"No, His Excellency needs me. I must hurry................ quickly, the soldiers waiting below will probably take me with them.”

"What?"

Pauline was dumbfounded, but she fished out her riding clothes and helped her dress.

When Louise returned to the garden, sure enough, the soldiers from earlier were still waiting.

"..................are you here to take me with you?"

Upon closer inspection, they weren't just young men sent as liaisons. The men's faces were scarred like battle scars.

"Yes, ma'am. We are preparing the carriages."

Louise shook her head.

"I don't need a carriage. I can ride a horse."

"Yes? But it's already nighttime..................."

“You came on horseback, too. It takes two full days by carriage. Is there any guarantee that His Majesty will wait for me during that time? We must go quickly. Hurry.”

She ordered the coachman to fetch Gloria, and Pauline, who had followed her downstairs, stamped her feet.

"Madame, madame, how can you ride at this time of night............! Can't you at least start to-morrow morning?"

"I can't do that, Pauline."

Her master's voice was so uncharacteristically firm that Pauline stopped dead in her tracks.

Louise then added, a little softer.

"I must go now, I'm sorry."

Soon, Gloria appeared, bewildered, being led by the coachman.

When she realized that she didn't have time to bring a stepladder, her strength surged. Louise put one foot in the stirrup and jumped onto the horse.

As Pauline watched in amazement, Louise made a final request.

"If I'm late.............."

Pauline looked into Louise's wavering emerald eyes and felt an ominous premonition that her master might not return.

"Please take care of Miriam."

"Madame..............Madame..................!"

Pauline clung on for dear life, but Louise had stopped looking at her maid. By now, the soldiers were up on their new horses.

"Let's go."

"Yes, ma'am."

The soldier with the torch rode in front, Louise in the middle, and another soldier at her back.

Pauline watched the three horses gallop off into the darkness and sobbed softly.

***

They rode through the pitch black night, guided by a single torch.

Not far away, she could hear the cries of animals, and the moonlight shadows of the trees made them seem like giant monsters.

Louise closed her eyes tightly in fear and opened them.

The night breeze slapped her face sharply, urging her on. 

To be worthy of my name.

"You may wear a shabby cotton dress, but you are Ermoli, Heidenberg's most valuable servant."

Now was the time to put her mother's teachings into practice.

Dirt crunched under the horses' hooves, and the darkness grew deeper. Gloria shivered at the unfamiliarity of being out at night, but it kept going.

Fortunately, it was late summer, so the night was not long.

By the time she reached Trier, dawn was breaking in the eastern sky.

The soldier threw away his torch, which he no longer needed, and tugged on his horse's reins as they entered the city.

"The horse needs to rest, so we'll stop here."

She could feel her whole body ache from the strain of the ride.

Still, Louise didn't feel like resting, but when she looked down at Gloria, who was panting, she couldn't keep going.

She followed the soldiers toward the city of Trier.

The small city was bustling with activity in the morning, as news of what had happened in the palace had yet to reach the rest of the capital.

As she watched others go about their day, she thought of the days she lost her father and mother. Her parents, who had to leave without ever seeing a doctor because they had no money.

Caius was the only family she had left, the one she met shortly after her parents died. He was the only man with a family name, no matter how false.

She didn't want to lose him like this. Unlike when her parents had to leave him behind, this time she had a way to protect him.

Her parents' presence would be an eyesore to the Emperor, but he would recognize her face, which resembled her mother's, even for that reason.

If she could testify that she gave Caius the pearl as her mother wished, she would be able to fulfill her promise to die leaving her name by his side.

She could put to rest the fear that made her heart pound, thinking that it would help him.

***

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