Chapter 83
Chapter 83
***
***
Ellea, who was showing joy, was startled and stopped talking. And when she realized that she was too close to Terban, she gently released her hand on his shoulder and fell back one step.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I was so happy.”
Terban also coughed, cleared his throat, and pretended nothing was wrong.
“It’s okay.”
Ellea sat back in her original seat in embarrassment.
“But when I think about it, there is a high probability that it is not. If this was the real cause, there would be no way I would not have known.”
Ellea thought about it calmly, and what she said was true. If this was the cause, the Marquis’s person and the people at the imperial palace would have noticed it right away when they checked out the dead horse.
“I think so too.”
She thought they had found a clue, but it came back to the beginning again. The expression of disappointment in her was evident in Terban’s eyes.
“Still, we found something that could be a clue, so let’s investigate it again from the beginning.”
“Yes, thank you.”
After those words, there was an awkward silence between the two.
Ellea was not yet mentally prepared for meeting him after yesterday’s event, so she tried to pretend it was nothing.
“I hope we can find the culprit as soon as possible.”
“Yes.”
Then she suddenly wondered. Why was Terban helping her? Rather, shouldn’t he be offended because she was doubting Rubain’s people?
“But why are you helping me, Your Majesty? What advantage do you have? If things get bigger for no reason, it’s just a hassle for the royal family.”
If this was a simple accident, they could argue with the right or wrong, but if it was someone’s intention, it became complicated.
Because it was related to Ellea, the imperial family might not be able to escape the responsibility. Still, Terban was willing to help her.
“If there is a truth, it is right that it should be revealed. And as the princess said, anyone present could be injured.”
“Actually, Lady Shanil was almost hurt…”
“It has nothing to do with Shanil. I think I said that for sure last time.”
When Ellea mentioned Shanil again, Terban finally raised his voice.
He mentioned what happened last night.
“You must have forgotten what I said last time.”
“It’s not like that, but…”
How could she forget all the words and actions he showed her? Even now, when she closed her eyes, it came to her mind vividly.
“Or was it that difficult to understand what I said?”
With that question, Terban rose from his seat and approached her, and Ellea leaned back with surprise.
But Terban seemed unwilling to allow the distance to widen, so he leaned further toward her with one hand on the chair she was sitting on and the other on the desk.
Seeing that, Ellea closed her eyes and said.
“Yes, it is difficult!”
“What?”
When Terban stopped approaching her, Ellea opened her eyes slightly and confessed her honest feelings.
“I can understand what you said in my head, but I can’t interpret anything.”
She had been thinking about it all night, but she couldn’t come to a conclusion. It was like homework that couldn’t be solved no matter how hard you try.
Realizing what she was saying to Terban, Ellea covered her mouth with her hand.
“Anyway…Thanks for your help today. You were very helpful.”
She thought it would be best to just leave this place, so she took the opportunity when Terban stepped back and tried to get up and walk away, but Terban’s voice was clearly audible because it was quiet.
“I can still vividly see the princess fly her body and get injured. No matter what, I will never forget it.”
At those words, Ellea’s steps stopped.
“I think I was angry when I saw the blood. That’s enough reason for me to help.”
Terban left the words and passed her and exited the library first.
Ellea, who was left alone, felt as if her legs had lost strength, and hurriedly leaned against the bookshelf.
And the only thing she could hear in a library full of silence was the beating of her heart. Ellea hurriedly tried to calm down, but she could not easily do so.
‘What’s wrong with me?’
And she thought again about what Terban had said. She couldn’t believe it herself, but the conclusion she had reached was…
“It sounds like he was saying that he was angry because I was hurt.”
Ellea thought it was absurd, but her cheeks were already red.
She could only resent Terban, who only left confusing words in addition to the last time.
***
On the other hand, Terban, who left the library and returned to the office, felt that his heart was pounding even though he was not running.
Then he shook his head and made a face full of regret.
“What the hell did I say?”
The words that came out of his mouth were clear, but he couldn’t answer Ellea’s question clearly. Because he couldn’t even define what he wanted to do.
However, it was clear that Ellea misunderstood and moved away from him.
“ha.”
A sigh containing the current state of mind came out of Terban’s mouth. He, too, felt it was difficult, just like Ellea said.
Then he heard a voice that woke him up.
“Your Majesty, it’s Bandel.”
“Come in.”
Vandel came into the office to report and saw Terban and asked.
“What’s wrong, Your Majesty?”
Vandel said frankly as he saw Terban.
“I think your face is redder than usual. Are you sick?”
When Bandel asked worriedly, Terban shook his head to signify that he was okay. He looked that way because he was thinking about Ellea.
Still, the appearance of Ellea, who was shaken by his words, was not bad at all.
Rather, it seemed closer to the pleasant side and a smile spread across his lips. And Bandel noticed it too.
“You seem to be in a good mood.”
“Do I look like that?”
“Yes.”
While conversing with Bandel like that, Terban remembered something and suddenly began to look around the desk where the documents were placed.
Bandel asked as he looked for something.
“Your Majesty?”
Terban’s hands, checking the desk and drawers, speeding up, leaving Bandel’s call behind. It even looked urgent.
“What are you looking for?”
“A handkerchief.”
“A handkerchief?”
“It’s not here.”
What Terban was looking for was the handkerchief Ellea had given him.
He kept it in his office, out of the reach of anyone other than himself.
‘Isn’t it here?’
With a sense of urgency, Terban jumped up from his seat. If not in the office, it will be in the bedroom. No, it had to be.
“Your Majesty?”
“Bandel, I’ll see you later.”
Leaving those words behind, Terban passed him and left the office. Like his heart, his steps were getting faster and faster.
And on the way back to the palace, Shanil, who happened to see him, called Terban.
“Terban, where are you going in such a hurry?”
“I have to go to the palace. Ah.”
Terban stopped and asked as he passed her by.
“Have you seen a handkerchief in my office? It’s white.”
‘If it’s a handkerchief…’
As soon as Shanil heard Terban’s words, she remembered the handkerchief she had found in the office the other day.
It was obvious that it belonged to a woman. No, it was from Ellea, to be exact.
Shanil’s eyes sank as she watched Terban search for it urgently, but she shook her head with a face that she didn’t know at all.
“No, I haven’t seen it. But why all of a sudden the handkerchief? Is it something important?”
“Nothing.”
When she said she didn’t know, Terban didn’t say anything and walked past her.
Shanil stood still, watching his back as he moved away.
‘You won’t find it anywhere. Because I have it. Of course, I have no intention of returning it nicely.’
“I’ll use it well, Terban.”
She left unheard words, and Shanil soon turned around and walked away. Of course, Terban could not find Ellea’s handkerchief anywhere.
Shanil, who returned to her palace after breaking up with Terban, was looking at the handkerchief when someone entered the room.
Although it was the first time she had seen her in the palace, Shanil asked a question as if she was dealing with a familiar person.
“How is it going, Reina?”
A woman called Raina explained the situation without changing her expression.
“It is said that the princess and the people came to visit the stable man.”
“And…… .”
“Of course they couldn’t figure out anything. If it was to be found out so easily, I wouldn’t have even started in the first place.”
Shanil, who was feeling down, felt better when she thought of Ellea, who was struggling to find a clue without results.
“She came out so confidently, so now the only thing left to do is be embarrassed.”
“It’s all over now.”
“Reina, you’ve been with me for a long time, you know. I don’t do anything that leaves even a small bud.”
“Then… … .”
“You have to get rid of everything that will come back to me. Make sure he can’t open his mouth forever.”
***
After breaking up with Terban, Ellea returned to her room and sat down in her chair as if exhausted.
“Why am I so tired when I haven’t done anything?”
She went to the library, but in the end she couldn’t find any clear evidence to point to the culprit.
But the reason why her head was really complicated was because of Terban. Today and yesterday, he left her with confusing words.
So she told him frankly, but it was unclear how Terban had taken it.
“ha.”
Even though her heart was excited for a moment, she felt cold when she thought of Shanil standing by Terban’s side. However, this pounding heart could not stop regardless of the owner’s will.
“Princess, it’s Borence.”
“Come in.”
Borence approached her, who was pensive, and handed her a letter.
“What’s this?”
“It was sent to the Princess by Lady Heris Endarin.”
“Heris? Oh, that’s what I asked for earlier.”
Hearing that it was a message from Heris, Ellea hurriedly took the letter. Borence went out and Ellea immediately checked the contents of the letter.
Heris also expressed regret when she heard that they had not been able to find out anything. It was also written that she did not find anything suspicious at the time.
“Is it the same for Heris?”
Then, Ellea’s eyes stopped at the part where Heris wrote that she was sad that the horse that had followed her well died.
‘What’s this.’
She jumped up from her chair, startled by something. Her gaze was still on the letter.
“It’s different from what I saw.”
Ellea, who was searching for memories, had a certain certainty and left the room without having time to think about anything else.
Seeing her hurriedly left, Jane called for Ellea.
“Where are you going, Princess?”
“I have a place to go quickly. Oh, and can you call Sir Bandel?”
After leaving only where she was going, Ellea left the palace again. And she quickly returned to the road she had come in the morning.
‘I have to hurry before it’s too late.’
The place where Ellea arrived in the darkened sky was the wooden warehouse where the dead horses were kept.
Ellea went inside, covering her nose with her sleeve. As soon as she entered, she could smell a horrible stench.
Ignoring it, when she went inside, she found the dead body of a horse covered in white cloth.
‘If my guess is correct, surely.’
As she was about to touch it, she heard the sound of stepping on straw from behind.
When she turned around, she saw the stable manager she met this morning. The man found Ellea and had a startled expression on his face.
“Princess?”
On the other hand, Ellea showed a small smile when she saw the person she wanted to meet.
“Do you remember who I am?”
“Yes. Didn’t you come to see me earlier in the morning as well?”
The man stood still as if frozen, then pretended to be okay and approached Ellea.
However, there was a look of anxiety in his eyes.
“I was surprised that the Princess was there.”
“Well, it’s understandable. But are you here for work?”
“Yes, I have a carcass of horses to dispose of. The Princess should not be in such a place as this, but she should go home now.”
“Well, I guess you have to deal with it quickly.”
“What?”
Unlike the smile on his lips, Ellea’s eyes looking at the man were cold.
After taking a breath, Ellea said in a low voice, even erasing the smile on her lips.
“Because you have to get rid of the horse that Heris actually rode, which you had switched with the horse you showed me today.”
The hidden truth Ellea discovered.