A Nightmare Came To The Place I Escaped - Chapter 8

Chapter 8

***

Ian also seemed to have read Rachel’s thoughts from her face.

“Stay with me until my interest wanes.”

Then, his eyebrows twitched slightly as if he didn’t like her.

Rachel realized only then that she was being rude, and quickly schooled her expression.

“Let’s go.”

Ian walked towards the front door of the mansion as if he was finished with the conversation.

“Interest…”

Stay with him until he loses interest.

Does that mean he’s interested in me?

What kind of interest does he have in me?

Rachel tried to grasp Ian’s meaning by reflecting on it, but stopped thinking about Ian’s gaze and hurried to follow him.

***

After they finished their meal, Ian gave Rachel some books to read when she was bored.

Then he got in his carriage, and returned to the Imperial palace.

Rachel, who was left alone in the mansion again, sighed as she looked down at the books Ian had given her for a while.

“Ha…”

The Ian from Rachel’s memories sometimes did things that she didn’t understand.

But it was never to this extent.

Honestly, Ian now seemed to be out of his mind.

She felt like he was crazy.

If he was in his right mind, he wouldn’t have left the Imperial palace’s dining room and the Imperial chef to eat here.

Also, there was no way that he would allow the maid who abandoned him to live in such a luxurious mansion.

And…

Ian, who she hadn’t seen in six years, had changed a lot from what Rachel remembered.

His unique lack of interest and bored expression was the same as before, but something had changed quite a bit.

Rachel buried herself deeply in a rocking chair, and quietly became lost in thought.

‘Interest.’

Yeah, she didn’t know what the reason was, but Ian seemed to be interested in her.

What happened to him six years ago?

Interest… Does he mean the curiosity between a man and a woman?

Or was it interest in the maid who dared to abandon him and run away?

“Is he interested in how to bully me, and take his revenge?”

She was frustrated because she didn’t understand why the heck he was interested in her.

“Huh, something doesn’t seem to make sense…”

On the day his interest waned, would she be able to go back?

Or will she have to pay for her actions that day?

For a while, Rachel’s forehead was deeply wrinkled.

“Ha…”

However, no matter how much she thought about it, she wasn’t able to figure out what Ian was thinking.

Rachel sighed and began reading the book that Ian handed her before leaving.

All Rachel could do in this spacious mansion was read Ian’s books.

***

The Emperor’s Office.

Harmond, an aide to Ian Dakendov.

A man with fiery red hair and brown eyes, he was currently reviewing something silently.

Harmond Bourke, the second son of Count Bourke, was famous for his brilliance since childhood. He’d graduated from college with excellent grades at a young age, and quickly became the assistant to the emperor.

“Hmm.”

Harmond, who was bent over his desk and working on something, suddenly put his pen down and raised his head.

His eyes under his bright red hair were a dark brown, but some people mistook his eyes for red because of the intense color of his hair.

His brown eyes blinked slowly.

“….”

Harmond sat with his back to the window, he gazed silently at the hard-working emperor.

He was so perfect in appearance that even a man could see his beauty. He was a young emperor with excellent swordsmanship and intelligence.

‘Who the heck is it?’

Harmond had recently heard that Ian was leaving the Imperial palace, and the reason seemed to be a woman.

He couldn’t guess who the heck it was. He was an emperor who had no connection to any noblewomen.

“Hmm…”

Harmond knew quite a bit about Ian Dakendov as a child. That was because he’d become an Imperial celebrity after the prophecy about the next emperor came out.

He’d been interested in Ian before the prophecy came out, mainly because he was a powerless third prince.

As a child, Harmond used to enter the Imperial city with his father, Count Bourke.

Count Bourke, who excelled at learning, entered the Imperial city once a week as a teacher to the princes. He would teach them lessons on the empire’s history and world history.

During that time, Harmond would read books at the Imperial library and wait for his father, but Count Bourke’s face was never happy after the class.

In addition, he would always sigh and say he was worried about the Levskaya empire having a future.

According to the Count, the princes were all hopeless.

The first Prince was bad-tempered, greedy, and cruel.

The Count said, “He was greedy for the one piece that someone else had, even if he already had ten, and he’d callously take it away. Also, if he judged that you were weaker than he was, he’d behave brutally without the slightest mercy.” His servants always lived with small bruises, so there was nothing more to see in his opinion.

The second Prince on the other hand was somewhat shady.

However, he was very short on patience and wisdom. He never understood the classes and every time he took a test, he wouldn’t answer a single question, but one thing he was outstanding at was understanding his brother’s moods.

The second Prince acted like a ghost around most people, but in front of his brother, he tried to win his heart by making concessions. It seemed that his mind had developed only in that direction.

In addition, he used to often elude situations where he was in the wrong, but the real issue was that he would blame all of his mistakes on those who were weaker than him.

Therefore, if the first or second prince became the emperor, the empire wouldn’t be very peaceful.

The remaining third Prince was quiet about most everything. However, that didn’t mean that he seemed to be distracted or uncomfortable with the people. Count Bourke could not easily describe the child.

He was just indifferent even when taking his class, or after class.

Even when he was asked if he understood the lessons well, the third Prince never gave an answer. However, his eyes always glimmered with intelligence.

He was expressionless, but his eyes were cold, like he wasn’t afraid. So, the Count called on him, hoping to get an intelligent answer, but he never responded.

An abnormal child, who grew up without receiving love or attention, and seemed to be missing something.

There didn’t seem to be many who would allow the third Prince of low birth to sit on the throne.

He was likely to live ignobly for the rest of his life, or become a puppet emperor.

There wasn’t a day when Count Bourke wouldn’t sigh deeply because all of the princes of the empire were in this hopeless shape.

It was a problem if the first or second prince, who had the predisposition to become tyrants, became the emperor. He was also worried if the third Prince, who was indifferent to everything around him, became emperor and was easily swayed by the nobles around him.

However, after one particular day, Count Bourke’s thoughts on the matter completely changed.

It was the day Count Bourke entered class with refreshments he’d received as a gift.

He brought them in hopes of getting the attention of the distracted princes, who wouldn’t concentrate on class.

When Count Bourke handed out the tea cakes to the children one by one, the first Prince ignored the snacks in front of him, and was busy thinking about how to get the rest of the Count’s sweets.

The second Prince quickly stuffed the tea cakes in his mouth and ate them before the first Prince could notice them.

Of course, the third Prince just sat still as if he wasn’t interested in the treats.

When Count Bourke said that he would distribute more tea cakes if they actively participated in class; the first Prince raised his hand faithfully and pretended to participate in class; the second Prince squirmed, looked at the first Prince, then he’d quickly steal the tea cakes off of his desk and cram them into his own mouth.

He then wiped his mouth, and shouted loudly.

“Hey! He stole the food and ate it!”

The first Prince, who’d walked up front to the blackboard to look good in front of Count Bourke, hurriedly looked back at his desk at his younger brother’s words, but his tea cakes had already disappeared.

The many tea cakes he’d received from the Count had been stolen from the first Prince.

The first Prince’s face turned red as if it was about to split open from the anger of having something that was taken from him.

Then, without even thinking about holding back his anger, he rushed to the third Prince.

With his larger size, he swung his fist powerfully, and knocked down his smaller brother.

The Count could not help but break out in a cold sweat at the first Prince’s violence, but the reason he remembered that day was not because of the first Prince’s brutality, or the second Prince’s odiousness.

“Oh my God!”

It was because of the tears of the third Prince, who never seemed to desire anything.

Count Burke had seen the third prince being beaten by his brothers many times. Even while he was getting beaten, the boy acted like he had other things on his mind.

It was the first time that such a child had shown tears.

The Count was a little surprised that the third prince had expressed his feelings, but thought that perhaps the child’s tears were to be expected.

If he were to be beaten mercilessly, he would’ve cried helplessly.

That week’s class ended in violence, and when the princes left the room, the third prince, who’d bowed his head and who’s shoulders shook from crying, suddenly straightened up and wiped away his tears.

As if it was all fake.

The third prince had returned to his characteristic expressionless and apathetic face, as if he didn’t feel the need to continue his performance even for the Count, took his belongings and left the room.