Chapter 47 *** - It's not going to happen, so stop doubting yourself and hold on tight. Reaching out with a trembling hand, I clasped the nape of his neck. No matter how much he assured me, I wasn’t relaxed. The spiral staircase was tight and worn, and it looked like it might collapse under the weight of the two of us. One step, two steps. Clinging desperately to him, my body swayed like a swing with his movements. With each calm step up the tower, a nameless feeling blossomed in my heart....
Chapter 46 *** I could feel his eyes on me wherever I went. - Pick me one of those, please. - Is there something you'd like to have? A voice echoed my words. I looked at the crude dolls I hadn't paid much attention to. They were all shapes and sizes. They must have been painstakingly sewn by the children of the capital. For this day, for days and nights. The corners of my mouth curled up as I realized that this was something I was familiar with from my time in the slums. - I like big...
Chapter 45 **** The person I was not too long ago would have taken it really perversely, but now I don't think anything of it, just that it must have happened. - To take it a step further, some of the maids who picked out the undergarments were demoted for choosing the wrong material for the day's outfit, and the one who made the dresses was punished for having the wrong length ribbon knot. It was always about perfection. -It must have been hard for you. The image of the queen overlapped for a...
Largo · 11. February 2024
Chapter 44 ** #D-73 ...... The Lunar New Year, which may be the last, had come to an end. My body was relieved, but my mind was uncomfortable. Only a feeling of desolation remained in my heart, and I sat in place, staring at the endlessly falling hourglass. Who would have thought that I would feel life, know life, and think about what it means to live during a period that was usually just a nuisance, annoyance, and discomfort. Who knew that even this would make me long and ache. Now I, too,...
Largo · 05. February 2024
Chapter 43 *** Naturally, I panicked at the unexpected object that was given. - What the⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯ is this? - It's supposed to be good for you. That was why every month, at the beginning of the month, there was pomegranate juice. I questioned how he knew, and why he was carrying something I didn't. I stared at him, and he just shrugged it off. -You say we have nothing to hide between us. - Of course not....... It's just that we skipped a month, and even I had forgotten that I had a period....
Chapter 42 *** I offered clumsy consolation. I wondered if it was the right thing to do. - It was from me to you, my life, the signposts I'd walked, just as I'd walked the paths of the Seers before me. I tried to make it sound plausible. I said this, I did that, but the moment the wrapping was torn away, - So stop crying. That it was I who wanted to flood the world with a sea of tears. You, the world, knew. - Now it's up to you to do it, and I'm sure you will. By....... I touched her small...
Chapter 41 *** - But life is not what you think it is, and nothing ever goes your way. A vain voice overlaid like a musical note. It must have been me. - You were painting a different picture beside me, and every time I looked at you, I was reminded of the vows I would have recited with all my heart. I resented you for not recognizing my cries, and I resented you for not recognizing my pleas, and I resented you endlessly. The rain of words rained down on me. The things I wrote down, the things...
Chapter 40 *** My hand trembled in his grip. Knowing me so well, he must have guessed the reason for the vibrations in my body. He didn't touch me. He watched me calmly, waiting for the words to come out of my mouth. Taking a deep breath, I parted my lips a moment later. -Your Highness. -Yes, Grand Duchess. - To Your Highness...... I’m sorry. His eyes narrowed at the sudden apology. -Suddenly? What are you sorry for? - You wanted a child so badly, and you didn't get to hold it in your arms...
Chapter 39 *** The hollow goodbyes crumbled silently in my chest. A dusting of dirt fell on the spot where the king had left, but it soon melted into the morning sun. I thought of the coming summer and the illusion of that brief mirage. When the mirage of someone's memories faded, nothing remained in the place where the person had left. The tracks of horses' hooves and carriage wheels were still there, but the tiny traces of humanity, a mere speck in the world, had disappeared with the person....
Chapter 38 *** #D-78 The transition between spring, spring, and summer again, when we were busy preparing for the hunt. The king and queen had announced their return to the kingdom. The king shook his head at the suggestion of a small farewell banquet. #D-77 The couple went their separate ways, as they had come. The Queen left the palace at dawn, never looking back, and headed for the train station, while the King seemed unable to leave. For a long time, he stood in front of the royal carriage....