Regina Lena – To the Unforgiven - Chapter 49

Lynn’s eyes widened as he looked at the woman who was getting farther away.

 

Wavy black hair. dark eyebrows. concave cheeks. pale skin.

 

Exceptionally red lips and bright eyes resembling a wild beast.

 

Naja Aetherner.

 

Lynn’s birth mother and the former Eastern Duke.

 

A ruthless invader who trampled the East.

 

The Slayer.

 

Seven years ago, Lynn jumped off after learning that Naja Aetherner was his biological mother.

 

He couldn’t accept that it was his own mother who trampled on his motherland and killed his adoptive parents.

 

He couldn’t stand the blood flowing in his own veins.

 

It was her. It was definitely her.

 

‘Why are you…’

 

There?

 

The moment the question came to mind, the cracks in the air that were gradually healing eventually disappeared.

 

However, Lynn, who was already obsessed with Naja Aetherner, froze and couldn’t move.

 

He was confused.

 

He couldn’t breathe.

 

He felt like he was going to die.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

Rena looked at Lynn’s pale, tired face and asked. But he didn’t answer. He couldn’t even breathe properly, let alone give her an answer.

 

Lena realized that Rin was not breathing and shook him.

 

“Mr. Lynn? Mr. Lynn!”

[T/N: Late is better than never, right? This whole time, Rena calls Lynn “린 씨” Lynn-ssi. ssi is the honorific used amongst people of approximately equal speech level. The closest, English equivalent would be Mr./Ms. which is how “Mr. Lynn” came to be]

 

When Lynn didn’t respond, Rena forced him to look at her by grabbing his cheeks. She then made eye contact with him, and said.

 

“Look at me. Do you know who I am?”

 

When Rena pulled his face and asked, Lynn’s focus was on Rena.

 

“Breathe, slowly. Look at me.”

 

Rena comforted and encouraged him to breathe. Lynn’s tight breath gradually subsided after making eye contact with Rena.

 

Soon when his breathing returned completely, Lynn closed his eyes helplessly.

 

He stretched out as if he were tired, and Rena hugged his sagging body silently.

 

Lynn rested his forehead on Rena’s shoulder.

 

Feeling Rena’s hand rubbing his back, he endured everything that had hit him just now.

 

***

 

“According to the story, Duke Naja Aetherner had a very fierce personality.”

 

While sitting on the folded bed sheet, the gentle-looking boy priest said.

 

“To a certain extent, it was said that no one dared to talk carelessly to her except for Her Majesty the Emperor. The other dukes would also avoid her if possible.”

 

Then, on the opposite side, a young maid sitting on a pillow sheet made an O with her mouth.

 

Then she asked back as if she couldn’t understand.

 

“Aren’t the dukes on the same level? How could that happen?”

 

“I think Duke Naja was simply that terrifying. In fact, just looking at her achievements, she was exceptional. She finished the subjugation of the dead first, and the East was also successfully conquered. So, it is said that Her Majesty the Emperor also favored the duke when she was still alive.”

 

The emperor liked those who faithfully obeyed her orders. And she judged their loyalty only by the outcome, not the process.

 

 

Naja Aetherner was a duke who was exceptionally favored by such an emperor.

 

“On one occasion, Duke Naja made someone she didn’t like go bloody, and it was said it was a high-ranking southern noble. But that time, Her Majesty took her side and soothed her.”

 

“I’m sure the country is going well.”

 

“… Can’t you say that elsewhere?”

 

The young maid’s profanity kept the boy from continuing his story, but the young maid only snorted.

 

In response, the boy priest Angie was scared for no reason and looked around. Fortunately, there was no one around. It was a sunny day, so everyone seemed to have hung out the laundry.

 

When Angie swept his chest, the young maid, Uni, snorted again and ridiculed his timidity.

 

The place where the two children, Uni and Angie, chatted was the underground laundry of the Imperial Palace.

 

After Angie came and talked to her a few days ago, the two quickly became close despite the difference in status. The wall of status was not so high for the always-dignified maid and the young master of the march who chirped everywhere.

 

So today, the two children who met were sitting on the bed sheets in the laundry room and gossiping. It was a topic that followed when Uni asked Angie a question.

 

“Anyway, Duke Naja Aetherner was notorious for her ferocious nature during her lifetime. The bad reputation is the same for Duke Lignan Aetherner, but the truth is that it is still not comparable to Duke Naja.”

 

“Hmm, is that so…?”

 

Uni folded her arms and pondered the story Angie had told her.

 

The Eastern Duke, that is, Mr. Lynn, is originally a good person, but he has a bad reputation. So what about his mother?

 

Uni shook her head while predicting the possibility. Naja was someone who brutally destroyed countries east of the empire. Such a person couldn’t be nice.

 

Uni, who thought so, was suddenly surprised.

 

“Then the Eastern Duke is the son of the one who invaded his country?”

 

“That’s right.”

 

The ignorant maid was astonished to realize the famous fact, and the educated master responded kindly instead of showing off.

 

“It’s one of the reasons people hate the Eastern Duke. His origin itself is contradictory, so one never knows when he will turn back.”

 

“But how did he become a duke?”

 

“Her Majesty has decided so.”

 

At Angie’s answer, Uni was at a loss for words.

 

Whether he felt the atmosphere was heavy, Angie changed his tone and asked back.

 

“Anyway, that’s it. So, back to the point, is the Southern Representative dating the Eastern Duke?”

 

“How persistent.”

 

When Angie asked the question with sparkling eyes, Uni, who had been listening to his history class, clicked her tongue briefly.

 

It was because of this question that Angie talked about the former eastern duke in the first place.

 

As soon as Angie saw Uni today, he asked about their relationship.

 

To that, Uni spoke in such a way that implied she didn’t know the circumstances of the high-ranking people, and that the Eastern Duke must have a fiancée.

 

Then, Angie replied that there would be no fiancée, and that the former eastern duke was not married, and then talked about Naja Aetherner for a long time.

 

But that didn’t mean he forgot what he was talking about.

 

“Mm? So, what’s going on? Are they really dating?”

 

“Oh, I don’t know.”

 

“You really don’t know? You probably heard about it yesterday, too.”

 

Just yesterday, the Eastern Duke and the Southern Representative created a very strange situation at the Doom Palace. That’s why Angie came to Uni more excited than usual.

 

The two were investigating the Tomb together and leaking a suspicious atmosphere.

 

So everyone was suspicious of their relationship, but yesterday a situation that fueled the suspicion occurred.

 

The two entered the Tomb, and the Eastern Knights and the priests of the church waited patiently for their return. It had already been repeated several times, so they weren’t nervous anymore.

 

But half an hour later, the Eastern Duke returned alone.

 

In addition, his clothes had gone where he was, and his face and body were full of scars.

 

Upon seeing his unexpected appearance, the Eastern Knights knew he was in trouble and rushed to him.

 

But before the knights could ask, the Eastern Duke gave the order.

 

He told them to bring his cloak.

 

The voice of the Eastern Duke saying that was calm, and the knights followed orders first, even though they were puzzled.

 

After that, the Eastern Duke took the cloak and went back into the rift without any explanation. Then, when he came out again not long after, next to him was the Southern Representative, wearing the cloak of the Eastern Duke.

 

In a suspicious situation, the knights and priests looked at the half-naked man and the half-naked woman with surprised rabbit eyes.

 

The Eastern Duke later explained that their clothes were burned because of Those Who Carried the Ashes, but to no avail.

 

“Even if the clothes are burnt, there is no reason for the Eastern Duke to take care of her so much, right?”

 

Everyone thought like Angie.

 

Bringing the cloak was an act of consideration. Nobody believed that the Eastern Duke, not anyone else, was doing such consideration.

 

People did not doubt that the Eastern Duke had some kind of feelings for the Southern Representative.

 

Angie was one of them, so Uni was a little stunned.

 

“You’ve already come to a conclusion, what are you asking?”

 

“It’s not a conclusion, it’s a confidence. Confidence requires support and encouragement.”

 

“Oh, my.”

 

“Besides, neither of them came out today. Mm? Why is that? Did your lady say anything?”

 

Angie asked again as if begging.

 

As he said, neither the Eastern Duke or the Southern Representative, who attended the Doom Palace every day this week, came out today, as if they had made a promise.

 

This is also an unusual situation, so Angie was very curious about all of this.

 

So, he fervently relied on Yuni as if seeking a revelation from God, but Uni was only mean to him.

 

“Don’t jump to conclusions. I can get you a cloak, and what would that tell you?”

 

“What, But I told you everything you asked.”

 

“It’s not your story. It’s something everyone knows.”

 

“You’re so cheap…”

 

“It’s not cheap, it’s wise.”

 

Saying so, Uni grabbed a laundry basket.

 

“Where are you going?”

 

“Do you know who I am?”

 

“Don’t go, if there’s anything you need to do, I’ll help.”

 

“Nevermind that. You can’t even change the bed sheets properly.”

 

Uni slapped Angie, and got up from her sheets.

[T/N: Not literally ya]

 

Angie whined telling her to tell him until the end, but Uni ignored it cleanly and came out to the hallway.

 

There, Uni ran into the old butler from the Ruber family.

 

The butler had a slightly awkward expression, so Uni deliberately greeted him in the eye and passed by.

 

***

 

At that time, Rena was resting in the room for the first time in a long time.

 

However, resting was only the body, and the mind was a mess with worries about Lynn.

 

‘Will Mr. Lynn be okay?’

 

Rena sighed and recalled Lynn’s pale face.

 

Yesterday, Lynn saw a woman in the Tomb. Perhaps he knew her, so when he saw her, all the blood drained from his face.

 

He was so shaken that she couldn’t even ask whether it was someone he knew.

 

He leaned on Rena for a long time, and when he finally calmed down, he muttered that he should take a break tomorrow and shut his mouth.

 

So Rena didn’t go to the Doom Palace today either.

 

‘I didn’t know he’d see something like that.’

 

Rena sighed again as she pondered what happened yesterday.

 

What happened yesterday, that is, it is by no means a common occurrence for the dead to reveal the image of when they were still alive.

 

Rena only saw such occurrence once during her seven years in the Tomb,

 

Only the kings of the dead maintain their ego even in death, and the dead who are subordinate to them move according to their attributes or the will of a king.

 

But to reveal the image of their life against the will of a king. It would have been unimaginable without a fairly strong being.

 

Such a strong being, subject to The King with Many Hearts. And Lynn recognized her.

 

There was only one expected person, so Rena was able to predict Lynn’s situation to some extent.

 

So she was more worried about his condition.

 

The truth of the Tomb is too cruel for the living. Those who face that aspect cannot live a proper life.

 

There is no need to find an example from afar.

 

Because that’s what Rena is.

 

So Rena worried and worried about Lynn, hoping he wouldn’t be like her.

 

***

 

At the same time, Lynn, like Rena, was alone in the room, thinking.

 

But he didn’t break down, as Rena feared. Rather, he was alone in the face of the pouring suspicion.

 

‘It’s not a fantasy.’

 

Lynn was convinced that what he saw yesterday was not an illusion or a fake.

 

‘If it was fake, Rena would have said it.’

 

If the Naja Aetherner who appeared yesterday was a fantasy, Rena would have told Lynn clearly. ‘It’s fake, you can see it in the Tomb, don’t be fooled.’

 

But Rena did not say that. When he was astonished at the woman, she rather tried to understand the confusion and calm him down.

 

So Lynn took seriously the possibility that Naja Aetherner would exist as the dead, and raised the following questions.

 

As the reasoning continued, various pieces were put together one by one.

 

The feeling of completing the picture was absolutely terrible.

 

He thought he’d rather go crazy, but Lynn didn’t turn a blind eye to it.

 

And he thought.

 

About the reason why the power the emperor granted to the dukes resembled the power of the dead.

 

 

The author’s words:

Lynn, 20 years old. Nonetheless moving on.