LADAD Chapter 32

An unfamiliar carriage came to a halt before the palace's south gate. It was the sole entrance by which outsiders could gain entry to the palace. When the knights standing guard rapped upon the carriage window, a woman showed herself from within.

"The divine maiden rides in this carriage."

Behind the woman who drew back the curtain, the figure of a woman with ebony-black hair elegantly arranged was revealed. At the gaze that slowly turned toward them, the knight straightened his back and bowed.

"Open the gate!"

Then he commanded the palace gates to be opened. The massive gate, as tall as two people combined, slowly began to open.

"Thank you."

Louise said this and drew the curtain closed again. As the carriage wheels began to roll with a rumble, Amelia quietly clasped her hands together.

"Be careful not to limp."

At last, the carriage drew to a stop. Before the carriage door could open, Louise cast a brief glance toward Amelia's ankle and spoke with chill in her voice. Amelia silently nodded.

Only then did Louise knock on the wall a couple of times to indicate her intention to disembark. The carriage door opened, revealing the servants lined up in front of the carriage. Their faces were filled with surprise at the unexpected guest's appearance.

"We greet the Sacred Maiden."

"Nice to meet you."

Mrs. Warner, who was at the front of the servants, was the first to collect herself. After greeting Amelia, Mrs. Warner guided her to the west palace.

"Instead of the room we had originally prepared, we'd like to guide you to a different room. Is that acceptable?"

"That's fine. It's my fault for visiting so suddenly."

"Then I'll have them finish cleaning the room right away."

The room given to Amelia was quite large and arranged with moderate luxury. The large window facing the garden let in plenty of sunlight, giving it a very comfortable feeling.

"You've given me an excessively nice room."

Mrs. Warner smiled and answered instead.

"Since it's such a nice day, please rest on the terrace while we finish cleaning, and if you need anything, just ring the call bell to summon someone."

"I'll do that."

Mrs. Warner said she would bring tea while Amelia rested on the terrace and hurriedly left. Amelia carefully opened the window leading to the terrace and stepped outside.

"......"

The gentle breeze that blew put her mind at ease. At least she didn't feel like she was presenting her neck, not knowing when it might fall, before Aaron. It was when Amelia took a deep breath like a sigh.

"Ian?"

From somewhere, the sound of a baby crying seemed to reach her faintly. Since they had said there were no babies currently in the palace, the sound that came to her must surely be Ian's. Amelia forgot even the peace she had been briefly enjoying and hurriedly escaped from the room. And she hastened her steps toward the direction of the sound, almost running. She forgot even that her ankle was throbbing.

"Excuse me, where is the baby's room...?"

When she caught a maid passing through the corridor and asked about Ian's room, the maid kindly led Amelia to Ian's room.

"Come in."

When she knocked on the door a couple of times, permission came from inside. Amelia carefully opened the door and entered.

"Who...?"

Mrs. Howard, whom she had thought would be a maid or Ian's wet nurse, widened her eyes in surprise upon seeing Amelia.

"You're the Sacred Maiden."

Since a beautiful woman with black hair and black eyes could only mean one thing, Mrs. Howard quickly figured out her identity. Bowing while holding Ian was something that happened almost simultaneously with recognizing who Amelia was.

"You don't need to be so formal."

"I'm Emma Howard. His Majesty gave me the opportunity to work as Lord Ian's nurse."

"I see."

Amelia carefully moved closer to Mrs. Howard, who had straightened up. The child was still whimpering.

"Has Ian been crying a lot?"

"He's been fussing about sleep quite a bit."

Mrs. Howard looked at Amelia, who was gazing down at Ian with eyes as warm as spring sunshine, and rolled her eyes for a moment.

"Would you like to hold him?"

"Thank you."

Then, as though she had read her thoughts, she offered Ian to Amelia. Amelia did not refuse and gathered Ian into her arms. As the soft, warm body heat nestled snugly in her embrace, her heart, which had been restlessly anxious, settled. She felt as though tears might come.

"Ian."

At the voice calling to him, the child broke into a baby's smile. Mrs. Howard's eyes went wide with astonishment at seeing Ian smile—the first time since arriving at the palace, when he had done nothing but cry fit to drive one mad.

"Lord Ian really likes you, Sacred Maiden."

With a face full of smiles, Amelia rubbed her cheek against Ian's forehead. Ian's golden hair was utterly different in color from Amelia's black hair, yet strangely, when they were together like this, there was not the slightest sense of discord.

"When I was looking after him, he truly was such a well-behaved child, so I was startled to hear he had given so many people trouble."

"Even His Majesty was taken aback when he left, seeing the boy cry himself to exhaustion until no sound would come from his throat."

At Mrs. Howard's words, Amelia blinked. For the first time since stepping into this room, her gaze, which had been wholly absorbed in Ian, shifted to Mrs. Howard's face.

"His Majesty also came to see Ian."

"Of course he came to see him."

Mrs. Howard answered hurriedly. Of course, it wasn't because Ivan had any special feelings for the child that he came to see him. Ivan had only visited Ian twice in total so far.

However, if Ian was meant to prove the friendly relationship between the temple and the imperial family, she had to say so regardless of the reality.

"I'm glad he cherishes Ian."

Amelia spoke as if whispering. It was a voice that was happy and satisfied precisely because she didn't know the truth.

"I'll watch Ian, so Mrs. Howard should rest too."

"No, how could I let you, Sacred Maiden..."

Amelia offered her kindness with a pleased expression. Mrs. Howard immediately shook her head, but Amelia said it was fine.

"If he's been fussing about sleep continuously, Mrs. Howard probably hasn't slept properly either, so it would be better to rest even briefly."

She couldn't keep refusing when Amelia went that far. Moreover, at her middle age, having been kept awake and troubled by the child, she was indeed tired.

"Then I'll sit here and rest."

Mrs. Howard took a seat beside the baby's crib. It was a show that she would not yield completely to the very end. Amelia graciously accepted that obstinacy and paced about the room with Ian in her arms.

Ian fell into deep slumber for the first time in ages, there in his mother's embrace. The sound of the child sleeping soundly put Mrs. Howard so at ease that she too drifted off. Amid those sounds that bordered on peace, Amelia turned her gaze to the window where the curtains had been pulled aside.

"It seems the divine maiden should visit the palace."

Naturally, Aaron's voice came to mind. This morning, against the backdrop of a similar garden, she had pretended to drink tea and conversed with him.

"The palace?"

It was unbelievable. These people who wouldn't even allow her to cross this wall suddenly permitted a visit to the palace.

"The child apparently can't sleep properly and only cries constantly. He probably misses the divine maiden, who cared for him like a mother."

For such a trivial reason. Aaron wasn't such a generous person. The person behind him was the same. Amelia had never seen them show mercy. What they were good at was killing, trampling, and abandoning people.

"Since the divine maiden sent the child as a symbol of peace with the imperial family, we can't just leave things as they are."

Their intentions were fundamentally completely different from a god who spoke of mercy, grace, and peace. So there was no way Aaron's story could be believable.

"It would be best to watch over him until the child stabilizes and then return."

"...Until he stabilizes?"

Aaron took a sip of tea and then quietly spoke.

"Yes. As long as you don't try to escape midway."

Aaron seemed to be concealing something. Amelia harbored suspicion toward him, yet could not pry into his true motives. Just as her body would reflexively stiffen upon encountering the dog, each time she faced Aaron, her ankle that had yet to heal would throb with pain.

"Just because you leave this place for a time does not mean you should forget your master."

Aaron was not ignorant of that fact either. His gaze momentarily alighted on Amelia's ankle. It was unmistakably a warning.

"Louise will accompany you, so there is no need to fret about struggling to adapt to the outside."

'Remember my words. Unless you wish your child to be dragged into your foolish acts and perish.'

Even without voicing it aloud, she felt she understood what he meant to convey. Amelia quietly nodded and departed the temple as Aaron commanded.

"......"

She still couldn't know anything yet. The reason Aaron had suddenly sent her to the palace.

And the reason that man who appeared beyond the window had concealed his identity and stolen into the temple in secret, risking death time and again.

Yet foolishly, she chose for now to bury all these questions and feel only joy. Simply because he was there.