On the other side of Irene's world, in Iskard, Irene's old and loyal maid, Fantine, had finally arrived at her homeland, just as Irene had asked her to.
She stood before the very place where Irene's family had been murdered.
The house had been abandoned long ago because of what had happened there. It looked worn and dilapidated, while the scent of rain-soaked wood filled the air.
Fantine placed a hand over her chest as she stared at the house, unable to hold back her tears.
Despite her hesitation, she finally managed to open the door with difficulty.
The moment she stepped inside, she found everything scattered and terribly old. She wandered through the house, but she could not bring herself to touch anything. The only sound was her faint sobbing, echoing through the rooms and filling the place with sorrow.
She took a deep breath, then sighed as she spoke to herself.
My dear Louisa... This old woman feels terribly ashamed. I'm sorry for entering your home for the first time like this...
She sat down on the old, worn-out chair and began to take in her surroundings with a broken heart.
"I've missed you so much, my child... I have so much to tell you, but especially about your little daughter."
She smiled sadly.
"I know you must miss her... She has grown so much. She's become a woman as beautiful as you were."
She let out a small laugh before adding,
"Perhaps even a little more beautiful than you."
Fantine began talking about Irene to her mother, Louisa, as though she were truly standing before her. She imagined Louisa's smiling face as she listened to every word.
After several minutes like this, Fantine wiped the tears from her eyes and stood up, the smile never leaving her face.
"I'm sorry, Louisa. They say old people tend to talk too much..."
She looked around the house.
"Irene asked me to find something that belonged to you. Would you help me find it? This old woman would be grateful to you for the rest of her life."
Fantine lit a candle to brighten the dark interior, then began searching.
She wiped the dust from everything she came across and inspected every room of the small house, every corner and every hidden space, but she found nothing of importance.
Still, she refused to give up.
She searched again and again, but to no avail.
Her body gradually grew more exhausted until, at last, it began to give in, especially as she started feeling suffocated by the dust floating through the air.
Just as she was about to sit down, her hand accidentally struck a table, causing the candle to fall to the floor.
"Ah! Oh my God... What have I done?!"
The candle rolled toward the corner of the wall.
Fantine hurried over to pick it up, but then she noticed something strange about the floor.
There were two wooden boards embedded in the floor. They had no nails and looked as though they had been placed there rather carelessly.
She moved closer and ran her fingers over the wood before attempting to lift it.
She immediately gasped when she saw what was underneath.
"Oh my God... Oh my God! Please, help me."
There was another wooden box hidden beneath the floorboards.
Fantine struggled to pull it out, then opened it.
Inside were old, worn-out paper documents.
Fantine began flipping through the papers quickly, trying to understand what she was looking at. They appeared to be property documents and contracts bearing royal seals.
"What in heaven's name...?! What are these documents doing here?!"
She continued turning the pages as questions flooded her mind, until one of the papers slipped into her lap.
It was folded and seemed thinner than the other documents.
Fantine picked it up and unfolded it.
She froze for a moment.
She recognized the handwriting immediately.
It was Louisa's.
She began reading the words, and the moment she understood their contents, tears poured from her eyes like a waterfall.
What she had found was the contract Louisa had made with King Arkson, in which he had pledged not to harm her family in exchange for her surrendering herself to him.
It had been Louisa's desperate attempt to protect her family.
But... had she ever known that everything she had done had been nothing more than ink on paper?
That what happened to her family had been the exact opposite of what was written in that contract?
Fantine finally managed to compose herself, only to collapse onto the floor.
She began thanking Louisa.
"Thank you... Thank you, my child, for guiding me to this box. I swear I will deliver it to your daughter, even if it costs me whatever remains of my hopeless life... I will make the world know how innocent you were, no matter the price."
She promised Louisa that she would deliver everything inside that box to her daughter, no matter what it cost her.
The next day, Fantine took the box.
She carefully wrapped it in a piece of cloth that looked rather expensive, then wrote a letter to Irene and placed it on top.
She carried the box's contents and headed straight to the post office.
She waited for her turn, holding the small box as though she were holding a piece of her own heart.
"Next."
The man working there looked at the box and said,
"My dear old lady, this box is rather large... It will be difficult to—"
Before he could finish, Fantine placed a stack of money on top of the box.
The man quickly glanced around, then took the money.
"I'll make sure it arrives exactly as it is. Don't worry, madam."
Fantine gave a sarcastic little laugh.
"Thank you for your kindness, son."
She then left the place, praying in her heart that the box would reach Irene as quickly as possible.
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In Valerian
On the other side, Irene had spent the entire day traveling.
As evening approached, the sky began filling with clouds once again, and before long, heavy rain came pouring down.
Peter, the knight responsible for guarding Irene, approached her carriage and said,
"My Lady, we're approaching a village. What do you think about stopping there until the rain lets up?"
Irene's voice came from inside the carriage.
"Yes. Do that."
The carriages came to a stop, and several knights dismounted to inspect the area and make the necessary arrangements.
Sally sat beside Irene, watching her distracted expression, which seemed lost deep in thought.
She moved closer and gently took Irene's hand.
"Let's have something delicious to eat. I'll ask the knights to bring you the most delicious food and some fruit."
Irene turned toward her and gave her a faint smile.
"Thank you, Sally."
The carriages remained there until the rain eased, after which the procession resumed its journey.
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In the City
Knock... knock...
"My Lord Lucas... May I come in?"
One of the knights entered Lucas's office.
The smell of alcohol and smoke still lingered heavily in the room.
Lucas was asleep on the sofa, his shirt open at the collar, while his face looked pale from sheer exhaustion.
The knight bowed in greeting before saying,
"Prince Lucas, you have an important meeting today at exactly seven in the morning."
Lucas slowly opened his eyes, then sat up on the sofa, holding his head because of the pounding headache.
He sighed wearily.
"How long did I sleep?"
The knight answered,
"You ordered everyone to not disturb you yesterday after you finished your schedule."
Lucas closed his eyes for a moment before speaking in an exhausted voice.
"Cancel my schedule today and postpone it until tomorrow. My mind is too clouded right now."
Lucas stood up as though preparing to leave.
But the knight hesitated before saying,
"But, my Lord... The meeting taking place today is extremely important and cannot be postponed for several reasons."
Lucas stopped for a moment, then pressed his fingers against his temples and spoke calmly.
"Fine... Cancel everything after it."
The knight bowed.
"Yes, my Lord."
After the meeting ended, Lucas returned directly to the palace.
The moment he entered, the head butler stepped forward to greet him.
"Welcome back, my Lord. I'll have the chef prepare breakfast as quickly as possible."
Lucas stopped for a moment before asking,
"Has the princess had breakfast?"
The head butler's eyes widened in surprise.
"My Lord... Don't you remember? You asked the princess to leave yesterday, and she already did."
Lucas stared at him for several moments.
"She left?"
Memories suddenly began flooding back into his mind.
He raised a hand to his forehead and closed his eyes.
His mind was still clouded by exhaustion and the effects of the alcohol, but little by little, the events of yesterday began becoming clearer in his mind.
Irene.
She had been standing before him...
Then she had fallen to the floor, trembling.
His eyes widened slightly before he muttered,
"Ah... yes."
Then he cursed under his breath.
"Damn it..."
He remained silent for a few moments.
It was obvious that what he had done yesterday was not something he could simply ignore.
The head butler spoke calmly.
"I knew you were not in your right mind, so I asked the princess not to leave. But she insisted on going."
Lucas remained silent.
Then he sighed.
"No... It's fine."
He raised his eyes slightly.
"Staying here alone would have been dangerous for her, especially after some people learned that she was here... So it is better that she left."
He then turned away and added,
"I'll have lunch in my room."
The head butler bowed as he watched Lucas leave.
After the prince had gone, the head butler remained standing there for a few moments before speaking to himself.
"I was certain you had your own reasons..."
All that reaction... was because he was afraid for his wife's safety.
He paused for a moment, then smiled faintly.
Or was your anger because you were unable to protect her at that moment?
The head butler's thoughts paused for a moment as an old memory returned to him—a memory from many years ago, when Prince Lucas was still a child.
It had been a sunny day, and young Lucas was riding his bicycle through the garden with his sister, Violet.
His sister was trying to catch up with him, laughing as she called out,
"Lucas! Wait for me!"
He turned toward her for a moment and shouted,
"Don't follow me down the slope! It's dangerous for you!"
Violet did not listen to his warning and followed him without thinking.
In the next moment, she called out again, laughing as she tried to catch up with him.
"Brother, wait for me!"
Lucas turned toward her for a moment, but he failed to notice that she was getting closer to a small slope.
Suddenly, her bicycle began to speed up.
"Lucas!"
She tried to use the brakes, but she couldn't stop the bicycle.
The servants failed to catch up with her in time.
Lucas's eyes widened when he realized what was about to happen.
"Violet!"
To be continued...