The Place Where I Was Sold as a Slave Was the Imperial Palace

(71)

＜Afterimages in the eyelids＞

* * *

‘oh my god!’

Reynolds’ face flushed.

Thought dead, the Countess was still breathing.

“Move the countess to the court! Hurry! One o’clock is urgent.”

The attendants quickly moved the countess into the carriage. Lay down a thick fur and put it on top. The coachman pulled the line vigorously, and the wagon started running.

Reynolds followed in another carriage.

‘Strange.’

Reynolds recalled the smell he had smelled when checking his wife’s breath.

It’s hard to explain, but there was a faint smell of something burning in her.

The smell of burnt clothes, and the smell of burning human skin…

Reynolds shook his head.

There was no fire where the Countess had fallen.

‘No, that’s not important right now.’

Reynolds’ face darkened.

Among the Empress’s ladies-in-waiting, the most trusted woman is the Countess of the Empire.

She had served the empress since she first married in this country, and her husband had once worked as an aide to the emperor.

The husband’s side is thoughtful and does not step forward. Now that he is old enough to enter the estate, his son was working as a civil servant in the imperial palace instead.

On the other hand, the Countess was loyal and sincere, but had a strong sense of discrimination based on her status and was easily aroused.

I know that couples are normal.

Like any other aristocratic couple, they spend events or banquets together, and the rest of the time they spend as they please.

Her husband, the count, has several concubines in the manor, and there is one actress he sponsors in the capital where the imperial palace is located.

It is common for aristocratic men to patronize actresses or single noblewomen.

Such a woman is different from a concubine.

It is a kind of lover, but there was an aspect that was considered good deeds because of the system that did not recognize women’s title or property.

The title or property that went to a woman would be held by her husband or son instead. If there is neither a husband nor a son, the next male blood relative will manage. Women had no real power.

If the male bloodline is cut off and there is no one to inherit the family, the title and property will belong to the imperial family. In order to prevent such a thing from happening, noble families tried to have a son who would inherit the family.

Sometimes, when a husband dies without a son or a proper guardian, the wife left behind is almost kicked out of the family without a penny.

If such a woman is shunned even from her own family, it will be difficult for her to survive alone, and she will eventually rely on the support of other men.

A woman sponsored by a count was a case of entering into the second wife of an old man and being kicked out by her ex-wife’s son after her husband died without children.

The Countess did not say anything even when her husband had concubines and mistresses. Can not.

For a man to have such a woman is a kind of display of wealth and power.

The upright aristocratic woman was taught to tolerate and accept it generously.

But just because society is like that doesn’t mean that the mind is bound by it. Women are people too. Just as men are jealous, women naturally have feelings of jealousy.

A woman’s heart is broken and broken when her husband spends the night with another woman, when the other woman gives birth to his child. Even if the thread is forcibly attached, blood will flow from the gaps in the wounds.

The Countess thus sympathized even more with the empress’ anger. She projected herself into the image of the empress, and poured her anger into Nadiagra.

Knowing that his wife was excessive, the Count advised her several times, but the Countess only responded by saying that the person she served was the empress.

As this process was repeated several times, the empress and the countess became more trusting and caring for each other. As they grew older, they became closer than the ladies-in-waiting brought from their home countries.

‘···.’

When the empress thought she was driven to the brink, someone had to comfort her and pat her. Currently, there was no one in the Empire who could take on that role except the Countess.

‘It would be embarrassing if the empress relied on her motherland by mistake…’

She is a countess who was raised and educated to put her husband and family first. If the empress were to give a strange justification to her motherland, of course she would stop it. I was expecting a role like that from her.

The wagon that had been running like crazy stopped, and a sturdy attendant carried the wife on his back.

“careful! be careful!”

While urging attendants to be careful as they enter the hospital, doctors rush out.

She did not die until they arrived at the hospital and took the countess to the doctor. He was unconscious but alive.

But it’s already wrong. The pupils were opened, and urine flowed under the skirt, smearing with the distinctive smell. won’t survive

The doctor, attendant, and countess disappeared into the building in a pile.

Reynolds turned and called for one of the attendants.

“The countess’s son will be on the ascent. Send a message to come this way.”

After suppressing her voice, she gave orders to the attendant and waited for the doctor to finish the examination. Reynolds let out a long sigh. Belatedly, a chill crept into his chest.

‘What would have happened if I hadn’t gone then…’

Should the Countess die or collapse in the absence of a third party, Nadiagrabi might have been falsely accused.

If Reynolds hadn’t jumped in, only the empress’s ladies-in-waiting would be there. It is easy to fabricate allegations.

‘It was really dangerous.’

A number of escort attendants were placed near Nadia B’s residence. If they hadn’t notified me right away, I would have been in real trouble.

While Reynolds was waiting for the Countess’ son, the Empress arrived with her maids. The empress’s eyebrows stood up like a bird in flight.

“What is this!!”

The empress asked with a lot of strength in her fingers holding the fan.

“Empress Mama, the Countess has suddenly collapsed.”

“i know. You ask what nonsense that is. Why is she suddenly healthy without any disease!”

The Empress seems to suspect that Nadiagra did something. Even Reynolds might have thought it odd had he not seen it in person. But really, the countess just collapsed alone.

“Mama’s maids witnessed it right in front of them. There was nothing.”

“…”

Reynolds said, but the empress’ expression was still stern. Perhaps the ladies-in-waiting told her that she hadn’t seen it, but that something must have happened to her.

Reynolds spoke slowly, allowing his voice to penetrate.

“Unlike Nadia Grabi, who always stays in the mansion, the Countess has arrived there suddenly. I didn’t eat, I didn’t touch Nadia Graves or her nanny. Really alone, she collapsed suddenly.”

Reynolds meant that there was no time to prepare the poison or enough contact to make it usable. This would have been enough for even the frantic empress to understand.

“…”

The empress’ fingers that held the fan relaxed slightly. The blood returned to his white fingers and his color returned.

Reynolds, who was worried that the empress would say useless things in front of people, lowered her head slightly in relief.

“There must have been a disease that I didn’t know about. It happens sometimes.”

It seems that the attendant I sent to say goodbye was in a great hurry. The countess’s son came running faster than expected. I was in such a hurry that I was sweating like rain.

Upon seeing the empress, the countess’s son bowed politely and opened his mouth.

“Empress Mama, we apologize for causing concern. My mother used to have dizziness from time to time, but the symptoms seem to have gotten worse because of her age.”

It seems that the attendant told him that it would be difficult for him to survive as Reynolds had instructed. The fact that the place where he fell is subtle because it is the residence of Nadia Grabi.

My son was wise, and he quietly concealed that he had a chronic illness.

From the words of the countess’ son, the empress also seemed to have already known that everyone was expecting death.

His shoulders stiffened slightly and he closed his eyes. After standing like that for a long time, the empress opened her eyes.

“I’ll be in my room, so send someone over as soon as the Countess wakes up. Your mother is not just a maid to me. You are my soul mate.”

“Okay, Mama. Those words, even my mother, will be deeply grateful.”

The Countess’s son bowed his head deeply.

The empress quietly left the court, leading several ladies-in-waiting.

That afternoon, the countess passed away. It is said that consciousness was not found until the end.

The empress did not eat dinner that night. He continued to stay in his room, canceling the prearranged visit. According to reports, the empress’ wails continued until dawn the next day.

* * *

Crackling, crackling, the sound of burning campfires spread quietly through the forest.

There are several wooden skewers with meat on top of the campfire. I made a hole in the air with stones and thick wood to keep it from burning too much.

Levin came to the side and sat down.

Levin, who was a delicate and handsome boy when they first met, has now become a twenty-year-old man.

It’s the same as it was before or now, but the feeling it gives is completely different.

As a teenager, Levin looked naive and foolish, like Sooni, who had just arrived from the countryside.

But now he is a young man with sharp eyes. There was no trace of his immature appearance left. His body has grown so big and strong that he cannot be mistaken for a woman even by mistake.

Levin took out a canteen and held it out.

“There was a stream coming down from the mountain nearby.”

Take a sip and pass it aside. Another soldier took a sip and the canteen was moved next to him.

Right now, Rudy, Levin, and a total of 20 soldiers are in a mock war.

The enemy’s captain is Boris.

The number of soldiers and equipment is the same. There were no magic tools, and water and fire had to be procured locally.

And now Rudy’s team was defeated in the war and was on the run. It’s not that kind of setup, but I actually fought and lost.

Eight of the twenty soldiers were taken prisoner by the enemy.

Twelve people remain by Rudy’s side.

The key is how many people can be left until dawn tomorrow.

In the first mock war, they were all captured within a few hours. You and I were all beaten up. There were no broken places, but the whole body was covered with bruises.

a few years after that,

Although they are still defeated by Boris, as the time until they are all captured increases, many of them remain by their side until the end.

This time, he seized the opportunity and swooped down on Boris and lost. It was a trap. I thought I had entered the swampy area by mistake, but it turned out that they found out the location before the mock war.

Rudy, who didn’t know that, thought this was his chance to win, and quickly led his soldiers into an attack.

To avoid falling into the swamp, we proceeded to step only after stabbing the floor with a spear. As a result, the speed slowed down.

The biggest difference between this team and that team is age.

Tim Rudy was in his late teens and early twenties, and Boris was in his forties.

Boris’ team is seasoned. Experience in war directly leads to life. If it had been fighting with a real spear, all the soldiers in Rudy’s team would have died dozens of times.

The strength of this side is that the body is fast and has good stamina.

However, he abandoned the advantage of being fast as he cautiously passed through the swampy area.

By the time I noticed something was wrong and turned around, I was surrounded by wooden spears with blunt ends.

‘sh*t.’

Had he been studying at his desk with Boris, he wouldn’t have fallen into that trap. I knew it in my head, but when I thought it was an opportunity to attack on the spot, my judgment weakened.

Rudy bit his lip.

Perhaps this side’s strength is only its speed. I don’t even know if my physical strength is up there. The old men are so strong and have so much endurance that they follow them step by step without getting tired. It was like a walking leech.

Someone muttered abruptly.

“Really, if it’s not just old people, I’m going to kill them.”

When one person said that, everyone agreed and agreed.

I understand the desire to be bluffed. But even if your mouth is crooked, you said it right away, and if you can kill it, it will be this side that will die. Let’s not even joke about it. No, I wonder if I need to joke because I am in this situation now.

Rudy cleared his depressed heart and raised his head. He smiled and looked at the soldiers.

“That first place is me. Don’t hit the players.”

The soldiers smirk. You don’t know how stupid your words are when you say them, but you know when others say them. I must have looked like a real idiot.

The smell of burning meat spread among the soldiers. Someone gulped their saliva.

“It must be delicious.”

“I am starving to death.”

the soldiers mumble

Now, thanks to the loss of tail and running away, the distance from the enemy has widened considerably.

Thanks to this, I was able to catch and roast squirrels and birds for dinner.

Thank you.

Last time I couldn’t eat properly and had to run away.

“Really… right now my belly skin is on my back. Let’s hurry up and eat and clean up.”

When Rudy said, the soldiers laughed wahahahahaha.

When Rudy picked up a wooden skewer of cooked bird meat, the soldiers grabbed one by one.

It is clear that the terrible old people are still chasing them. You have to eat quickly and erase the traces.

After a quiet, gloomy meal, they turned off the bonfire.

Cover with sand to kill the embers and then bury the burnt branches in the ground.

When it was camouflaged by covering it with fallen leaves and soil again, two soldiers retrieved a line installed around it for security.

The scout checked the road and the party set off again.

From nob le mt l dot com

During the meal, the overtaken distance should be increased again.

“The devilish old men.”

Someone muttered with a sigh, followed by another sigh.

“…”

Rudy walked silently, replaying the video he had seen yesterday in his head.

It was Rudy himself who gave permission to kill people if they became dangerous to the demonic creatures.

If the opponent has perfect hostility, I thought it would be better to clear it up than to deal with it clumsily.

To say that the demon creature killed the woman would mean that the woman had considerable malice at the time.

But was it really the right thing to do in that situation? Maybe it’s just that things get messed up.

Social judgment is difficult for demonic creatures. Many of the characteristics defined by name at the time of creation constituted the personality of the demonic creature.

Bugs acted like bugs and cats acted like cats in many ways.

That’s why Rudy focused on malice instead of complicated commands. It’s correct… I am a bit worried now. Things would have been a lot easier had he been a little closer.

Rudy suddenly looked up at the sky.

In the clear sky, the firebird flew round and round, producing white light from time to time.

He must have known that Rudy was thinking of Princess Lilitha and the women.

“…”

In the last video, the scene of the women hugging and crying remains in my eyelids like an afterimage. didn’t leave my mind.

How nice it would be if we could hide them from all the suffering in this world.

＜Afterimages in the eyelids＞

(72)

author’s words

sorry. Except for sleeping all day and writing, I didn’t even read a novel yesterday, but it took too long.

＜ The Emperor’s Sorcerer ＞