There is No Key to His Cage - Chapter 28
Imperial Palace, Crystal Palace.
As usual, the peaceful Crystal Palace shone brilliantly in the sunlight.
This place, called Crystal because its numerous windows make it as beautiful as a jewel, belongs to Empress Hesilia and is quite large compared to the palaces of other empresses.
So just by looking at the size of the palace, one can glimpse the extent of her power.
However, Decarus, who didn’t have even a shred of interest in such things, walked straight into the palace.
As soon as they saw Decarus, the soldiers in golden armor bowed their heads in salute.
“We greet Grand Duke.”
“Tell Her Majesty the Empress that I have arrived.”
His deep voice drew a horizontal line without any fluctuation.
Soon, the knights nodded and shouted in a loud voice.
“Your Majesty, Grand Duke Scylla has arrived.”
Although his ears hurt from their loud shouting, he stood still with a stern expression.
Then, a weak woman’s voice was heard from inside the room.
“Let him in.”
Creak-
Inside the room wallpapered with ivory-colored paper, elaborately gilded sculptures stood in a row.
Also, on the fireplace built with brownish bricks, a huge elephant tusk stood majestically, exuding its dignity.
The luxurious atmosphere felt from the room matched well with her elegance.
“I greet Her Majesty Empress Hesilia.”
Decarus knelt on one knee and bowed his head in salute.
On the bed decorated with ivory-colored fabric lay the Empress, breathing heavily and weakly.
He frowned slightly at the sight of the Empress, who seemed unwell somehow.
“You’ve come, my child.”
She, who had been wheezing, barely managed to gesture to him with her thin wrist.
“Stop with the formalities and come here.”
Decarus raised his head, stood up, and slowly approached her side.
Her face, more serious than he had thought, was as gaunt as someone who hadn’t eaten for days.
“Great Aunt.”
As soon as she saw his face, she smiled faintly.
It was like sunlight barely peeking through the clouds.
The Empress swallowed once with her dry throat before speaking.
“Noah… Noah has returned. You came after hearing that, didn’t you…”
“Yes.”
Decarus nodded and looked at her.
“There are many unbelievable things in this world, Carus…”
The Empress, who had been coughing dryly while clutching her stomach, grabbed her chest as if her lungs hurt.
The forced smile she made by moving her facial muscles looked just like a withered flower struggling to survive.
“This won’t do, Great Aunt. Let’s…”
“The child who couldn’t be found no matter how hard we tried to look…”
She gathered as much breath as possible to speak.
“He came back on his own after 13 years.”
Dense clouds filled with water gathered in the corners of the Empress’s eyes as she breathed with difficulty.
Once, twice.
Every time she moved her eyelids, the gathered rain fell along her skin.
The tears flowing down her gaunt face fell roughly like dew on leaves.
Decarus slowly turned his head and frowned deeply.
“What on earth…”
“Jerome said so. A pale, skinny boy was standing in front of the imperial palace.”
“…”
“At first, he said he didn’t recognize him because his hair was black. But when he looked closely… it was Noah. He said he looked exactly like Noah did as a child.”
“That can’t be…”
His face, crumpled like a piece of paper, was quite a sight to see.
Where on earth had he been and what had he been doing to only appear now?
He too had made many efforts to find the missing Noah.
But not once had he shown his face.
“How much must he have starved for such a healthy child to have become so thin… Even when asked what he had been doing until now, he didn’t say a word, as if he had become mute…”
“Great Aunt…!”
She, who had been breathing rapidly, could no longer continue speaking.
No, it was a situation where she simply couldn’t speak.
The Empress, who seemed to have difficulty even breathing, was in a critical condition as if she might die soon.
“Call for a physician immediately.”
The soldiers standing close to the wall rushed out at his words.
It would take about 5 more minutes for the physician to arrive.
Decarus put his forehead to her hand and swore.
“I will take good care of Noah. So, Great Aunt…”
She seemed to be trying to reassure him by forcing a smile.
The Empress, who had been panting, tightly grasped his hand and spoke.
“Yes… thank you, Carus.”
The Empress continued speaking with a faint smile.
“The physician said Noah needs to rest now. Unfortunately, you’ll have to go back today.”
“Yes, that’s fine. As long as Great Aunt regains her health…”
She seemed to find him endearing for worrying about her and reached out further to stroke his hair.
“How quickly you’ve grown, from that little child you once were.”
Her smiling face was like a water droplet that could embrace everything.
Decarus smiled at her, struggling to curl up the corners of his mouth.
“It must have been very hard, losing your mother and father like that. And then losing Elena and Noah too… my poor child…”
“…”
She looked at Decarus, who was bowing his head without saying a word, and smiled gently.
“You don’t have to be like that anymore, Carus. You’re not alone anymore. You don’t have to hold back anymore. Neither sadness nor joy. I just want you to be free.”
Decarus silently nodded.
His deepened expression showed no emotion.
Perhaps no one would know what he was thinking.
“Then, I’ll take my leave now. I’ll visit again tomorrow, Great Aunt.”
Decarus stood up and left.
With each step he took, it seemed as if deep loneliness was seeping out.
In the place where he had left, only lukewarm warmth remained.
***
Grand Duke’s Mansion, Decarus’s Room.
In the spacious room, Elena was practicing posture with books piled on her head, while Jane was supervising her.
“That’s it- My lady. Walk like that. Be careful not to let the books fall.”
Jane, with her hands behind her back, held a thin stick and placed it against Elena’s back.
Afraid that the highly stacked books might fall, Elena walked carefully with her back straight.
“Do we really have to do this, Jane? This is…”
Elena looked at Jane with a tearful face.
But there was no way such an aegyo tactic would work.
Jane was as stern as a tiger teacher.
“You must do this to avoid falling out of favor with the nobles, my lady. Your current walking posture is a mess.”
“Jane, you’re really too much.”
“Come on, come on. Keep walking, my lady. We need to do ten more laps today before we’re done.”
After the terrifying etiquette practice was over, Elena was finally able to take a break.
Her waist felt stiff from walking all day as if she were a model.
Now was not the time to leisurely drink tea at the tea table.
“It hurts, Jane. My back feels like it’s aged.”
Elena scrunched up her face and pounded her lower back with her fist.
“My lady, if that’s the case, I would have already become a hunched old lady.”
Jane smiled prettily, seemingly unconcerned, putting her hand to her mouth.
At times like this, Jane can be so annoying, but when you see her sunny smile, that feeling just melts away.
“You must have had a hard time too, Jane… How did you learn all this?”
“I naturally absorbed it from seeing and hearing a lot since I was young. Of course, I also learned from an etiquette teacher.”
“Sigh… My fate. Why do I have to learn this?”
She couldn’t help but sigh.
Her whole body felt like it had been beaten, but Jane was just smiling like a doll.
“You’ll be meeting many distinguished guests soon… You need to learn at least this much to avoid being looked down upon, my lady.”
“Alright…”
Elena stretched her body like a squid hanging on a clothesline and made a sulky expression.
Jane, seemingly feeling sorry for her gloomy state, clasped her hands together and spoke.
“I was once looked down upon too, that’s why, my lady.”
For a moment, a dark shadow fell over Jane’s face.
“Jane…”
When asked in a worried tone, Jane immediately put on a bright expression.
It felt a bit out of place, but there was no time to think about that now.
“Who? Who looked down on Jane?”
“It’s a very old story, so it’s okay.”
“No, tell me. I’ll pulverize them.”
Elena clenched her fists and cracked her neck left and right like a thug, making bone-cracking sounds.
Seeing this, Jane smiled softly, her eyes forming crescent moons.
“Well… It was a very long time ago… I worked in the imperial palace since I was young, so I often clashed with people. I made frequent mistakes and was scolded by the headmaid every time. Well, I was fired right away.”
“Is that why you came here?”
Elena said, holding her hand tightly.
“Yes, my family didn’t acknowledge me either. But thanks to the Grand Duke, I can live like this, and that’s more than enough.”
Suddenly wanting to munch on some side dishes must be just my imagination.
Jane, a Marchioness’s daughter, had a family, but due to the family atmosphere that only cared about sons, she didn’t grow up receiving good treatment.
Also, Jane voluntarily entered the imperial palace at a young age to be recognized for her abilities, but she was discriminated against by the maids there as well.
“Jane… I’ll treat you even, even, even better from now on.”
Elena stood up, opened her arms, and hugged her tightly.
The hand patting her back was imbued with warm affection.
“Thank you, my lady.”
Is this what family is like?
A small, fluffy spark ignited in Jane’s heart.
She vowed several times, chewing over the words, that she would never let go of this warmth.
And this time, she would absolutely not lose her.
