Duchess Mecklen’s Elegant Revolt - Chapter 26 Part 5

‘Love.’

No words came easily.

It felt as though someone had struck him hard.

Otherwise, there was no reason for the back of his head to feel this numb.

The only other time in his life he had felt such a shock to his head was when he was just ten years old—the day news of his father’s death arrived.

That was the first time young Ernst had tears welling in his eyes. Ernst’s eyes reddened as if he had suddenly lost something, leaving him utterly drained.

Seeing this, Eleanor called out to him in surprise. “You… What’s wrong?”

“What?”

Ernst barely moved his lips. Even though Eleanor asked repeatedly if he was okay, he couldn’t manage a proper response.

“Your face is so pale.”

Ernst looked like someone who had just seen a ghost. The sudden loss of color in his face made him appear quite fragile.

Though she didn’t particularly like him, Eleanor couldn’t help but feel concerned, and she spoke quickly, “I’ll call for a doctor. Just wait a moment.”

“No, it’s fine.”

Before Eleanor could move, Ernst grabbed her arm. He pulled her back, leaving Eleanor with no choice but to sit down again.

Barely able to catch his breath, he finally managed to say a word.

“I should go.”

“Are you really okay?”

Eleanor, still uneasy about letting Ernst leave like this, asked again, “Why don’t you rest here for a while? It could just be fatigue…”

“Enough.”

His voice was chillingly cold.

Eleanor’s eyes trembled slightly.

Ernst, who had erased his confused expression and hardened his face, looked just as he had when they first met on their wedding day.

He was as cold as a winter frost, and he spoke firmly, “Don’t worry about it.”

“……”

“It’s my business.”

Telling her not to interfere anymore left Eleanor with nothing else she could do. She raised her head as Ernst stood up.

She could feel the concern and curiosity in her gaze, but Ernst never looked back at Eleanor again. Or rather, it would be more accurate to say he couldn’t bring himself to look back.

‘She never said anything like that to me.’

Back then, it had been a political marriage, so he didn’t expect anything else. He hadn’t harbored feelings for her either.

They had both approached the relationship without emotions, and their divorce had ended things neatly. He understood logically that there was no reason for Eleanor to say such words to him.

And yet.

“I won’t be coming back for a while.”

“Ernst.”

“We’ll postpone the discussion about my mother.”

Ernst pressed his aching eyes with his fingers. Afraid that Eleanor might see his trembling hands, he hurried out of the room.

Eleanor watched his retreating figure in silence as he opened the door and left.

***

Eleanor headed to the Emperor’s private palace.

In the Emperor’s office, where she’d stopped by briefly, Eger, who was there alone, informed her that Lennoch had taken some work elsewhere. For a moment, she wondered if she should wait until tomorrow, but Eleanor decided to act on her feelings today.

Perhaps it was because she felt unsettled by Ernst’s situation, but she didn’t want to go home. She especially wanted to see Lennoch.

‘I’m going to give him the bracelet anyway.’

After all, Lennoch had been the owner of this bracelet in her past life. Even though it was a gift from Ernst, the bracelet was of no use to Eleanor herself.

Using the bracelet as an excuse to talk with Lennoch, she was sure the bitterness she felt would soon disappear. Though her heart grew heavy as she approached the palace, her steps quickened.

As usual, knights stood guard at the entrance of the palace.

“Lady Eleanor, have you come to see His Majesty?”

“Yes.”

“Please go in.”

The knight who greeted Eleanor had dark red hair.

As he moved aside the spear, Eleanor nodded politely and entered. Since she had been here often before, the way wasn’t difficult.

Entering the study, Eleanor looked around.

“Where could he be?”

Hail was studying with Countess Hilda. If he wasn’t in his room or the study, that left only the bedroom.

The Emperor’s bedroom required passing through two doors. The first door opened to a reception room, which was empty, so Eleanor proceeded to the next door.

“Your Majes…!”

Just as she stepped into the bedroom, Eleanor froze.

The first thing she saw was his broad back, entirely bare. Lennoch had just finished a shower. Each time he moved his arms, his taut back muscles rippled like water.

Eleanor stood rooted to the spot, her body stiffening, as Lennoch, sensing her presence, turned around.

“You’re here?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Please, your clothes…”

All her complicated thoughts from earlier vanished as Eleanor hastily covered her eyes with her hands.

It wasn’t as though this was her first time seeing him like this—they had shared a bed not too long ago. Yet Eleanor’s face, as well as her neck, flushed bright red, and Lennoch walked towards her.

“Are you uncomfortable?”

“No, it’s not because I dislike you, Your Majesty…”

“I know.”

Lennoch, with a soft laugh, placed his hand on Eleanor’s cheek, even though she still wouldn’t show her face. He lightly kissed the top of her head before pulling away.

“A good evening to you.”

He always greeted her in the morning, but this was a new way to greet her in the evening.

Lennoch whispered softly to Eleanor, who stood there, flustered and unable to move, “Won’t you greet me as well?”

“…You know I can’t do that, and you’re asking me on purpose, aren’t you?”

“Of course not.”

Eleanor slowly lowered her hands from her face. Lennoch had already leaned down to her height. Blushing, Eleanor lightly kissed his cheek.

And then she apologized. “I’m sorry for not knocking. I didn’t know you were changing. I would have knocked if I’d known.”

“If you like what you see, I don’t mind anytime.”

“Lennoch.”

Sometimes, Eleanor thought Lennoch’s brazenness embarrassed her even more. He made her feel guilty, as though she were sneaking peeks.

‘Why is his body so perfect?’

Without her realizing it, her gaze kept shifting back to him. His broad shoulders were firm, his collarbone visible in a straight, horizontal line. As her eyes moved down to his sharply defined abs, Eleanor suddenly flinched.

This is going nowhere.

Seeing the shirt hanging behind Lennoch, Eleanor quickly grabbed it.

“Let me help you put this on.”

Lennoch laughed aloud at Eleanor’s transparent intentions. However, understanding her awkwardness, he wordlessly put on the shirt.

Eleanor moved closer to button Lennoch’s shirt, and he happened to glance at her wrist.

“A bracelet.”

“Oh, yes, Your Majesty. It’s Kaham’s Bracelet.”

Distracted by Lennoch’s bare body, Eleanor had momentarily forgotten about the bracelet.

“Do you know about it?”

“Of course. Kaham’s relics are well-known around the world.”

Lennoch took the bracelet from Eleanor and examined it closely.

“Who gave this to you?”

“Well, it was… um, I happened to acquire it while working in the company. I received it, but I don’t particularly need it, so I brought it for you.”

She couldn’t bring herself to say that it was a gift from Ernst. Thinking about him darkened Eleanor’s expression slightly, but Lennoch, still examining the bracelet, didn’t notice.

“How can you say you don’t need it? If you pray, perhaps it will grant your wish. You should keep it.”

“Do you believe in the bracelet’s miracles?”

She was genuinely curious. Since Lennoch had owned the bracelet in her past life, she wondered if he had ever made a wish on it.

Lennoch answered in a calm tone, “I’m not particularly devout, but I do know many hidden stories about Kaham’s Bracelet. It is indeed an item with mysterious power.”

“That’s surprising. I thought it was just an exaggerated rumor.” Eleanor’s eyes widened.

Seeing her reaction, Lennoch smiled warmly. His affectionate smile made Eleanor blush a little.

“This is something that most people don’t know. Do you know that Kaham is the title of a priest from the Lumana religion?”

“Yes, I do know that.”

Lennoch took Eleanor’s hand to help her put on the bracelet. The bracelet fit her wrist perfectly, as if it had been made for her.

“There are many secrets in Lumana that remain unknown to the world. Kaham’s Bracelet was created by the High Priest of the church, but most people don’t know how it was made.”

When Kaham created the relic, one condition had to be met.

“There must be desperation.”

“Desperation?”

“The priest who made this bracelet prayed fervently to the gods because his mother was dying, and it manifested as a relic. However, some say that he prayed not just for her health but to bring her back to life. The story could go on for a while—would you like to sit and hear the rest?”

“Sure.”

Lennoch, concerned that Eleanor’s legs might get tired from standing so long, naturally led her to the bed. Both of them sat, leaning against the soft headboard, and continued their conversation.

“The most widely accepted belief is that he prayed to bring his already deceased mother back.”

‘…What?’

Eleanor shivered as she listened. Suddenly, her spine tingled with a strange chill.

“When a Lumana priest makes a relic, they are given special abilities by the gods. There are three primary abilities.”

“……”

“Creation, Destruction, Regression.”

Regression?

Upon hearing the unfamiliar yet oddly familiar term, Eleanor instinctively glanced at Kaham’s Bracelet, which fit snugly on her wrist. Her heart began to beat faster.

“The priest who created Kaham’s Bracelet supposedly gained the ability of regression. Unfortunately, even though he turned back time, he couldn’t save his mother. At that time, there was no physician capable of treating her illness, and the outcome remained the same.”

“That’s… a sad story.”

Eleanor felt relieved that her voice didn’t tremble. For some reason, she felt that she shouldn’t let him know she was startled.

“It’s a story most people don’t know. Accessing the secrets of Lumana is not an easy task. I found out because I searched desperately.”

“Desperately?”

Lennoch seemed to know an unusual amount about it. Even in her previous life, during conversations between Ernst and Caroline, they hadn’t spoken of it in this much detail.

‘Could it be…’

At that moment, Lennoch turned toward Eleanor. Resting his chin in his hand, he looked down at her with a smile.

“I wanted to turn back time too.”

***

Evan stormed out of the house in fury. Even though Duke Nestor called out to him from behind, nothing reached Evan’s ears.

‘It’s always like this.’

Although he was acknowledged as the next head of the family in name, in practice, Duke Nestor placed his trust in his older brother, Pedro.

His affection for Pedro always came down to the same reason. Because he brought in a lot of money.

Just now, it had been the same. His father ignored all the effort he had put into working under Marquis Delph and Caroline and chose Pedro.

“Do you think I’ll ever come back?”

Muttering in anger, Evan climbed into a carriage, telling the coachman to take him anywhere.

As the carriage sped along, Evan recalled the conversation from moments earlier.

“Evan, when have I ever not acknowledged your hard work? I just want you to see the bigger picture. We’ve come across a huge opportunity, and we can’t let it slip away.”

“How long are you going to keep chasing after money? I’m trying to make money for the family too. But you never appreciate my efforts—all you care about is whether I can make money or not. Even after all I’ve made, you always want double that. Aren’t you tired of it? Is money really that important to you?”

Duke Nestor responded curtly to Evan’s outburst, “You’re stating the obvious. What in this world is as perfect as money?”