I Became the Childhood Friend of the Northern Duchess - Chapter 169



169 – The Name of Emperor

As daily life became quiet again, new news was suddenly heard around the time when snow began to fall in all lands except the northern region.

“Your Majesty is in critical condition?”

When the person he had sent to the imperial palace returned and spoke to him, Yulken jumped up from his seat.

Until Ariel visited the imperial palace, I had never heard such a story, so it couldn’t have been quite sudden.

“Yes.”

“Are you sick or something? How…”

Helen, who was sitting next to her, was equally surprised by her unexpected news, so she asked a question to hear the details.

“I’m not sure about that, but… What is certain is that his complexion was not good and there were quite a few testimonies that he vomited blood in the middle of the day.”

“How many years has your Majesty had this year?”

“I understand you are fifty-one.”

Not that old.

Moreover, considering that previous emperors were usually over 80 years old and lived well, his health deteriorated at an unprecedentedly early age.

“Honey, I guess it would be better for you to go to the imperial palace with Ariel…”

After hearing this, Helen looked at Yulken with worried eyes and asked if he should at least come and say hello to her to check on her safety.

In her name, she is currently the head of the family, so of course she is present.

“… I think it would be better to wait and see for now. “If it is really that you are in such critical condition, the imperial palace will also send you some kind of communication.”

However, Yulken reacted somewhat strangely to this.

Before he became the monarch of a country, he was also a close friend from his childhood.

Even though he knew in his head that he had to go, for some reason his heart was pounding and he couldn’t easily separate his feet.

‘That’s strange.’

Yulken had felt this sensation a long time ago.

Not long after he inherited the position of head of the family, he was involved in a battle with foreigners near the far west, and when he almost fell for the enemy’s trick, he felt this way and turned his head.

In other words, the intuition that was dormant in a corner of my mind recognized the danger before reason.

Since then, Yulken has come to believe in intuition.

“Reginard.”

“Yes!”

After calming his pounding heart, he sat back down and called out to his subordinate, who bowed his head in a stern voice.

“First, you should head back to the imperial palace. And after finding out as much as possible whether this fact is true or not, I will come back with only the accurate information.”

“That means…”

There is no one in the world or anywhere in the world foolish enough to falsely spread the fact that the emperor, who is no one else, is in critical condition.

But if there is someone who wants that, they probably don’t have good intentions.

When Regina De, whose thoughts had reached that point, tried to speak carefully, Yulken, who had read his thoughts first, shook his head with a bitter smile.

“No, it’s just a rumor, so don’t worry too much about it.”

“If you say so… All right. Even though it may take some time, I will narrow it down to the clearest possible items and bring them back.”

“Yes, please.”

When Reginald quickly disappeared after receiving his orders, Yulken, who had been staring at the place where he had disappeared, inadvertently cast his gaze out the window.

Helen, who felt something in her, her actions, quietly walked to his side, folded her Yulken’s left hand with both of her hands, and gently swept it.

“Honey, I’m sure you’ll be okay. “He is a very upright person.”

“… “I guess I’ve noticed a lot.”

“Hehe, others may not know, but you can’t avoid my eyes.”

Because of the years they spent together, it was clear in Helen’s eyes.

Although she pretends to be as calm as possible, she is worried about the safety of her distant lord and childhood friend.

“You are right. However, I hope being rigid doesn’t become a problem…”

“Is there anything you can point out?”

From left to right.

After shaking his head just once to express his denial, Yulken responded in a low voice without taking his eyes off the window.

“No. That’s probably why I’m more anxious.”

There is nothing more uncertain in the world than the unpredictable future.

It would be nice to have even the smallest clue, but Yulken knew that it was too much to hope for right now.

For now, I just hope nothing happens and do what I have to do in my position.

That’s just it.

*

Cough. Cough.

The sound of dry coughing filled the ornately decorated room.

The source of that sound is none other than Bartheus.

His complexion was so bad that anyone who saw him lying in bed could tell at a glance.

“Your Majesty, please hurry…” ” …”

And a man who was watching from the side gave a remonstrance and looked sad.

From the fact that he sets foot in the emperor’s bedroom, you can see how much of a trusted confidant this man is.

“… No, it’s done. “I’m not fit to be a doctor at best, so don’t worry about it.”

“But…”

“Even if it was done.”

His tone of voice was somewhat cold, but he showed consideration in his words so that his subjects would not worry about him.

The man also knew this, so he chewed his lip and blamed himself for not being able to come up with a solution.

“More than that, Abel, what happened to what I told you to do?”

“Yes, after investigating as you ordered, the rumor is that people have disappeared from several shabby villages in the southeast.”

Boom!

After hearing what his confidant Abel had said, Bartheus struck his bed with his fist and ground his teeth.

I thought there was a rumor going around, so I checked to see if it would happen, and it turned out to be true.

There is probably only one person who would do something like that.

However, the most unfortunate thing was that even if he knew this, there was nothing he could do.

“Your Majesty, are you okay?”

“… Okay. I guess I’m getting emotional because I’m not feeling well. “Don’t worry about it.”

Even though he was his henchman, Bartheus could not tell him the reason for his current anger.

Even though I think this bedroom is safe from the gaze of others, there is something unique in this world.

As long as there is one thing left in the bay, he cannot even lick his lips about the current situation.

At best, it’s just a matter of twisting or delaying a tragedy right before it happens.

Just like when his old friend’s daughter and her lover visited the imperial palace.

It is a sad reality that the title of emperor of an empire is so shabby, but what can one do?

Tragedies left behind by previous generations are always passed on to future generations.

And he, too, will fulfill his duty and someday, as his foolish predecessor, he will be remembered for a long time in the back of history.

“Has there been any communication from the Robeheim family?”

“Yes, there was no further contact.”

“Thank goodness. Please be careful not to let this matter get to your ears.”

Bartheus still clearly remembered the conversation he had with that person earlier.

I don’t know for what reason, but he clearly seemed to regard the current head of the Robeheim family and her lover as a thorn in his eyes her.

Because of his personality, he rarely said, ‘I wanted to see your face at least once.’

It mostly didn’t exist in a good way at all.

Usually, those who heard those words in person were lucky as long as they didn’t end up floating in the river the next day.

Therefore, Bartheus tried to send those who came to the imperial palace back as early as possible that day, but he could not do so because he was worried about Albrich’s eyes his.

Fortunately, she took after her father and decided not to stay in the imperial palace, but she headed somewhere else, which saved her trouble.

But we can’t guarantee that he won’t do something malicious next time.

Moreover, if he was truly considered a thorn in his side her her her, he was a man who did not know how far he would extend his reach her her her.

If Yulken, or Ariel, the current head of the family, comes to replace him after hearing the news that Bartheus is in critical condition, that man will show up at the imperial palace again.

That had to be prevented somehow.

‘He’s been particularly proactive lately. Is there a reason?’

Originally, she was a man who rarely showed herself in front of others, and even if she did, her emotions could not be read.

But these days, his actions are so strange that they are noticeable enough to make you aware of them even if you don’t want to know.

In Bartheus’s eyes, he looked like a child who could not control his emotions because he was so excited about the toy he had been looking for.

‘It’s complicated.’

What was most unfortunate for Bartheus was that he knew everything about him, but he himself did not know him.

I just have to sit here like a caged bird and spend my time in this helplessness, not knowing anything about the true purpose of what they are doing.

‘Is there really no way to change it?’

This miserable reality is a curse passed down from ancestors who did not want to lose their wealth and honor, and the result of the hands of an evil wizard.

From the time he inherited this curse, Bartheus promised to change the future, but his eyes were so dark that he couldn’t even tell if he was opening them.

So much so that one wonders if even the previous emperors were wallowing in this helplessness and eventually gave up on everything.

Sometimes the miserable reality shakes even a person’s values.

‘But I guess I’ll have to struggle.’

Nevertheless, without giving up hope, he still wanted to struggle a little more from his fate.

From noble mtl dot come

Even if the world collapses tomorrow, it’s human nature to take measures and try to resist fate.

It wasn’t much different either.

“… That’s enough. “Go back, Abel.”

“I guess you’re thinking of going to bed early.”

“Hmm. “I’m not feeling well, so wouldn’t sleep be the best medicine?”

“Yes. “I sincerely hope that Abel gets well soon.”

Bartheus only smiled bitterly at his confidant, who spoke sincere words without knowing whether they were empty words or not.

Immediately after that, the door closed, and his eyelids also closed.

In the pouring water, Bartheus felt as if he heard someone’s voice.

Thinking that it would be great if it were the voice of a savior, he fell asleep like that.