The Emperor Is My Brother’s Best Friend

As soon as Rose arrived at the manor, she was immediately examined by a waiting physician.

He skillfully healed a few scrapes from her fall and a wound that they found on the sole of her foot.

After confirming that the physician had safely completed the treatment, Wells left for the Imperial Palace, saying that he had to discuss the kidnapping with the emperor.

Rose put a pillow at the head of the bed and sat back, soothing Anne's panicked heart as she refused to leave her side.

Anne couldn't stop her tears, as if she were the reason her mistress had been kidnapped.

"Anne, don't cry. I've come back safely."

"Whaa... That, but... I should have been by the Young Lady's side no matter what---the same thing happened the last time and this time too. Even if I get punished by my master for my error in judgment, I really have nothing to say. Whaa!!!"

"I'll tell my older brother about the past events, Anne. Do you know what happened to the knight we'd left there with?"

"I think he is now on probation."

"Then you should tell him this too. The fault is neither yours nor the knight's, but the man who kidnapped me at his own will."

"Bha! Still, we must be punished for failing to protect the Young Lady."

Anne is pretty stubborn. 

Rose patted Anne's shoulder.

"Alright. If being punished is what will calm your heart, then that is what we'll do, haaa... I'll tell you what your punishment is so you can take a few days off from work."

The tears did not fall from Anne's eyes, as if she had finally stopped crying, but the aftermath of her crying still lingered along with the shaking of her shoulders.

Anne couldn't hide her depressed spirit when she saw Rose's feet under the covers.

"You even hurt your leg!!!"

"I lost my shoes while escaping, so I had to spend quite some time walking barefooted. I'm alright now, Anne."

There was a moment of silence that was soon broken by Rose when a thought occurred to her. 

"Anne."

"Yes, Young Lady?"

"What if I was in a situation where I was seriously injured? What do you think it would be like if there were no injuries after?"

"Young Lady, are you hurt?!"

Anne exclaimed in surprise, causing Rose to grab both of her arms.

"I said if! If!!!"

Anne was apparently quite surprised. She paused and controlled her shaky breathing. 

She recalled the words of the physician who examined Rose belatedly. He'd reported that there were no serious injuries except for her legs, so she honestly answered Rose's question.

"If there was a chance of you getting seriously injured but you didn't, then I'd think that you were seriously lucky."

"What if it wasn't just once but several times?"

"Hmmm. Wouldn't that be the case, though? If it were me, I wouldn't think it was strange. I would just be grateful that I wasn't hurt."

"You would, truly?"

Rose's hands slipped from Anne's arm listlessly. 

I guess Anne is right---no, Anne is right. 

If I think of it from a different perspective, I would have thought it fortunate if my older brother was unharmed in a situation where he almost got seriously injured. I would have thanked God that he returned to me safely. 

She remembered the expression her beloved brother made after listening to her suspicions. He wasn't pleased.

He was not relieved by Rose's story.

She couldn't answer what Wells' expression was that made him appear dissatisfied, but one thing was certain.

Wells felt complicated when he heard that Rose hadn't been hurt, even though she had taken risks that would have severely wounded someone else.

It was as if he had heard a story he shouldn't have heard.

...What is going on? What is going to happen?

Rose shook off her anxiety by touching the hem of the blanket and calling Anne's name again.

"Anne, is Ilya in the manor?"

"Yes. She came back from the outing before Master and Young Lady arrived."

"Ah, alright. Has she retired to her room?"

"Yes, she had skipped dinner because she said she was tired. Earlier today, another lady-in-waiting stopped by the room to pick up the laundry but said she was sleeping."

Rose hesitated as she tried to lift the covers to get out of bed.

Are you truly sleeping? How is it that I find that hard to believe?

"Okay. I'm tired too, so I'll close my eyes and get some rest."

"You've had a very stressful and surprising day, Young Lady, but have a good rest."

As Rose lay down, Anne arranged a blanket for her to cover her.

Anne then turned off the lights that were brightening Rose's room one by one and quietly left the room in darkness.

Rose, who had been lying flat with her eyes closed, turned over, and after a while, she turned over once more.

She found herself unable to fall asleep easily and tossed and turned, eventually opening her eyes.

After being kidnapped by Stanley, her body finally realized the terror it had been through. The shock and fear finally had a chance to seep into her awareness. 

[TL/N: The adrenalin from trying to escape and the desperation to live had blocked her instincts to freeze or fear, thus all of those delayed emotions are coming back to her now that she's relaxed.]

Rose's room was so quiet, she could hear her heartbeat become louder than the ticking second hand of a clock.

Being in this silence where nothing can be done, all sorts of miscellaneous thoughts come to mind.

"Let's talk to Ilya tomorrow. If it is true that she sent Stanley to harm me..."

Rose was speechless, and she couldn't say anything behind her back. 

Instead, what came out was a self-deprecating laugh.

"If true... Let's talk to my brother then. It should be---I have to."

Rose closed her eyes tightly to try to fall into a sleep that never came.

After arriving at the Imperial Palace, Wells headed straight for Russell's location.

He almost always lived in the office, so I thought he would be in the office this time too.

A quick discussion with the knights of duty proved that he was wrong, and Wells changed directions to the emperor's bedroom.

"His Majesty must have been tired too. He says he has good stamina, but he came back on horseback. Unfortunately, after riding a horse for a long time outside the capital, he must have been worn out."

Wells murmured with concern for Russell.

However, contrary to his feelings for his best friend, his steps were heading toward the Emperor's Palace without hesitation, not the least concerned that he might interrupt the emperor's rest.

Upon arriving at the palace, the first thing that greeted him were the knights standing guard.

"Greetings, Duke Honeywell."

"Good evening. Is His Majesty in the bedroom?"

"He is. Wait a moment as I announce your presence."

[TL/N: A fancy way of saying: Stay, I'm going to ask if he wants to see you or pretend to be sleeping.]

"No, he probably knows I'm coming. I will go by myself."

Wells walked past the knight and entered the palace.

The servants and maids who were working in the palace recognized Wells and greeted him.

He was greeted along the way and walked up the familiar stairs and hallways to reach Russell's bedroom.

A knight guarding the bedroom caught sight of Wells' approach and knocked on the door, announcing Wells Honeywell's arrival.

Inside, Russell's permission was granted, and the knights opened the door for Wells to enter the bedroom.

"Your Majesty, Wells Honeywell is here."

"Come right in. How is the condition of Lady Honeywell?"

Russell was reading a book while standing in front of the bookshelf.

What book are you reading? No, not reading. Searching. There are several books strewn about at his feet.

Wells looked at them for a moment, then ignored them.

"She hurt her leg, but there is nothing wrong with walking for now. Other than that, fortunately, there are no injuries."

Flip. Flip. 

Russell's hand stopped as he was flipping through the book.

"...She hurt her leg?"

"Yes, she hurt the bottom of her foot because she was not wearing shoes."

Russell frowned.

"She wasn't wearing shoes? Since when? When I was there with her, there seemed to be no problem with her walking, so I didn't know she had injured her feet."

"I also hadn't noticed. I found it by accident in the carriage. It seemed that Rose herself did not know that her foot was injured."

"Were they scratched?"

"No, she bled a lot. Even if she didn't bleed much, I came because I have something to say to Your Majesty."

Russell put the book he was holding back on the bookshelf.

He sat down on the couch and gestured for Wells to take a seat next to him.

After Wells obeyed, Russell immediately opened his mouth.

"Why don't you tell me about Lady Honeywell's injury?"

Russell focused his attention on listening to his friend as he told him of Rose's wound, which he didn't know about.

The emperor tried to hide his expression and waited for Wells to speak.

"From what Rose told me, this isn't the first time she's been hurt."

"It isn't the first time?!"

"Yes. During the hunting festival, she injured her ankle, but when she woke up the next morning, she said she was fine. Not only that, originally, Rose was a child who easily get sick if she was exposed to even the lightest drizzle. At the time, I thought she was just lucky..."

Russell quietly listened to Wells.

"Seeing that it happened again, I'm afraid it might have something to do with that thing inside of Rose. This happened two days in a row..."

Russell swallowed. 

After listening to Wells' explanation, there is one thing I can guess.

He ruffled his hair as if to show his frustrated feelings.

"I think that that might be related to the evil entity."

"Entity?"

"Yes, during the hunting festival the other day, I went to the cave where I found Rose and Duke Proud. Do you remember?"

"I remember, though I can't remember the exact location."

Russell paused for a moment. 

How can I explain this to Wells?

Russell let out a short sigh, opened his mouth, and confessed.

"In that cave lies the holy sword that sealed Abaddon."

"That means..."

Wells found he couldn't continue, but Russell completed it for him.

"I wonder if Lady Honeywell's presence has caused a problem with the soul sleeping inside."

"It's not a guess I'm sure of. We can't handle this lightly."

"This has never happened in the history of Tristan. If we hypothesize that Lady Honeywell became a painless body, feeling no pain or injury due to being the vessel, we cannot rule out the consequences."

Wells' mouth snapped shut as fear filled his eyes.

The fact that the monster's soul was transferred to Rose's body bothered Wells, but it was now harming Rose.

Russell looked at Wells and lowered his gaze.

I still can't get the words that Rose said out of my head in the carriage.

If Abaddon's spirit has been released a little, it makes a little sense and relates to her words.

But why... This hasn't happened before, not once in our entire history, so why did it happen when Rose was a soul vessel?

"Could it be that Your Majesty was looking for books pertaining to the monster?"

Russell looked in the direction Wells pointed.

On that side was a bookshelf that he had been messing around with until Wells arrived. Russell nodded in agreement.

"But nothing has been written about what to do or how to deal with the awakening of Abaddon's spirit."

The two were silent.

It's not like a solution comes out of keeping one's mouth shut, but the two couldn't open their mouths.

After a moment of silence, Wells was the first to speak.

"If Duke Proud's family had an object that sealed the monster's body... Rose shouldn't be involved with him any more."

"Yes. Just being in the same place as the holy sword causes problems with the soul, but if she got closer to the body..."

If that happens, I really don't know what will happen.

In the worst-case scenario, the monster that had been dormant for hundreds of years could wake up again.

...Whatever happens... It shouldn't happen.

If that monster wakes up, the Tristan Empire, even the continent, will be engulfed in a sea of fire in an instant.

"Your Majesty, why don't you tell Duke Proud everything? Speaking of Rose being the vessel that holds the monster's soul... Maybe he will understand too and can provide insight."

"To tell Duke Proud..."

"Yes, we know very well that the vessel that holds the soul and the mirror that seals the body must be a secret to each other's families, but... I'm afraid something big will happen to Rose."

Wells was terrified.

Russell had known Wells for quite some time, but he had never seen him look as frightened as he was now.

Russell touched his chin.

If Elliot gets engaged and even married to Rose, Rose will live with the Proud family.

If that happens, it is only natural that something unknown will happen to the seal of the soul.

Russell narrowed his brows.

...All this time, I thought that the reason Elliot didn't break off his engagement to Rose was simply that he fell in love with her.

But what if that's not the case? From the beginning, he... What if you knew Rose's identity, Elliot?

Russell felt stabbed in the back of the head.

It was not comfortable in a sense, but he felt his mind wandering at the fearful plan that the servant he believed in might be making behind his back.