Chapter 6: Everyone, You’re Being Deceived Right Now
Everything was painted in a chilling shade of red.
The fountain, once dazzling in gold and marble.
The garden, filled with the fragrance of blooming flowers.
None of it was visible anymore.
Because of one man.
From a distance, his presence alone was overwhelming.
A life had just been snuffed out as if it were nothing.
Yet none of the onlookers watching the scene let out even a small gasp.
They all stared blankly at him, as if spellbound.
The man who was the focus of so many gazes looked indifferent.
He pulled his sword from the enemy’s chest and shook off the blood.
It was as if he were brushing away an insect.
Gasp! The maids nearby sucked in their breaths, frozen in fear.
Then, his cold blue eyes, which had been staring down at the enemy, slowly shifted.
‘Ah.’
Our eyes met.
They were sorrowful yet beautiful eyes.
For a moment, his gaze flickered.
After looking at me briefly, he sheathed his sword and began walking toward me.
Wait, hold on. Is he coming this way?
By the time I snapped out of it,
“Your Majesty, the Empress.”
He was already standing before me.
“I apologize for the delay in my introduction.”
In a charming, low-pitched voice, he bowed deeply.
“I am Leonard Hilbert, Knight Commander of the Imperial Guard.”
“……!”
The moment I heard that name, my eyes wavered.
Leonard?
The Leonard Hilbert?
At the same time, his name resurfaced vividly in my memory.
‘How could I have forgotten?’
This novel didn’t just have the official male lead, Jerome.
There were several male leads.
And among them, Leonard was just as famous—perhaps even more so—than Jerome, the Emperor.
― He’s a master swordsman who brought the Empire to its knees. And his personality is so loyal and polite…
The friend who introduced me to this book always exclaimed in admiration whenever Leonard appeared.
But it wasn’t just because he was handsome or a brilliant Knight Commander.
‘He is…’
That is to say, the true identity of Leonard Hilbert was—
“Your Majesty, the Empress?”
His voice brought me out of my thoughts.
Leonard was looking at me with a puzzled expression.
I must have unconsciously made a serious face.
“Do you have something to say to me?”
“N-No. It’s nothing. Rather…”
I avoided his gaze and changed the subject.
“What exactly just happened?”
Two people had suddenly fallen from the sky.
I’d inadvertently witnessed their intense fight from the front row.
Although, to call it a fight felt more like a one-sided beatdown.
“I discovered suspicious individuals attempting to infiltrate the Imperial Consort’s Palace and subdued them.”
“Infiltrators in the Imperial Consort’s Palace?”
The Imperial Consort’s Palace was where the heroine, Fay, resided.
Was there such an event in the original story?
I thought hard, but nothing came to mind.
“This is a serious matter. Was anyone hurt?”
“Fortunately, there were no significant injuries.”
At his words, my gaze shifted toward the fountain.
The once-lovely fountain was now in ruins.
And the intruder lay sprawled on top of it.
Following my gaze, Leonard sighed softly.
“Ah. That…”
He spoke in a slightly troubled tone.
“I had hoped they would surrender quietly, but they resisted fiercely. I had no choice but to subdue them a little forcefully.”
Subdue?
That seemed like an understatement. It looked like they’d been subdued permanently.
“I apologize for exposing Your Majesty to such an unpleasant sight.”
His calm, composed voice.
If this had been any other time, I might have thought he was simply a loyal knight.
But I knew the truth.
I knew the real nature of this man.
Then, suddenly—
“Commander!”
A frantic voice called out.
At the garden entrance, knights covered in dust stood with their hands on their sword hilts.
It was clear from their demeanor that something was amiss.
Leonard spoke to me in a polite tone.
“Your Majesty, the Empress. With your permission, may I excuse myself?”
“Of course. Urgent matters should come first.”
“Thank you.”
With a brief expression of gratitude, he led the knights away at a brisk pace.
I watched him for a moment.
‘I didn’t expect to meet him here.’
The unexpected encounter left me flustered.
While I was trying to process the situation, the maids called out to me.
“Your Majesty, the Empress?”
“Is something the matter?”
“Ah. It’s nothing.”
I shook my head.
“Let’s head back.”
Despite my words, I couldn’t take my eyes off his retreating figure.
“…Leonard.”
Quietly muttering his name, I made a resolution to myself.
Never.
I must never face that man again.
***
The next day.
“I heard some good news while I was out!”
Marie returned after going to fetch tea.
A maid tilted her head curiously.
“Good news?”
“Fortunately, it seems they caught all the culprits.”
“Oh my, that’s wonderful news!”
“How on earth did they get in?”
“They disguised themselves as merchants delivering kitchen supplies to sneak in.”
“My goodness!”
The maids gasped in astonishment.
“The security must have been tight. How did they manage to get through?”
Countess Chloe calmly asked.
“With preparations for the upcoming banquet, there have been so many people coming and going around the palace. It seems they took advantage of that.”
“What kind of people were they?”
“Well, that’s the ambiguous part…”
“What do you mean? What happened?”
Another maid urged her.
“When they tried to interrogate the captured individuals, it turned out none of them had tongues.”
“Oh my!”
“How could such a thing be possible!”
“So, it seems it will be difficult to identify their motives or who is behind them.”
Marie scratched her head.
“I’m still scared. What if they hadn’t targeted the Imperial Consort’s Palace but had come to the Empress’ Palace instead?”
“Goodness, you’re right. We were very fortunate.”
It was likely, as in any typical novel, that these were people sent by someone jealous of the heroine.
‘I used to think the heroine was pitiful for always ending up in dangerous situations.’
But not anymore.
Pitiful? Not at all.
I recalled Fay’s duplicitous demeanor.
Why on earth had she behaved that way?
I couldn’t understand.
The conflicting opinions about Fay from the maids also kept bothering me.
“Still…”
Marie’s voice dropped.
“Wasn’t Sir Leonard just amazing?”
“Oh, absolutely. I thought my heart was going to stop.”
“He seems even more impressive than the rumors say. How does he subdue enemies so effortlessly?”
The maids’ eyes sparkled as they spoke.
“As expected, it’s no wonder he’s so popular. These days, he’s popular not just among young ladies but even among noblewomen, isn’t he?”
Apparently, he received so many letters and gifts that it was overwhelming.
Some people even tried to climb over the palace walls just to meet him.
The maids eagerly detailed his popularity.
“But he doesn’t seem to pay attention to anyone, does he?”
“Sir Leonard only knows swordsmanship, after all. He’s pure in that sense.”
“That’s true. And that’s what makes him even more admirable. He’s the idol of all knights!”
Indeed, his swift subjugation of the enemy had been undeniably impressive.
But.
‘Pure and only focused on swordsmanship?’
Knowing the original story, I found this assessment laughable.
If they found out what kind of person he really was, they’d be shocked.
I wondered what expressions the maids would make if they knew.
‘Everyone, you’re all being deceived!’
The voice in my mind echoed loudly.
Focusing only on Jerome and Fay, I’d completely forgotten Leonard even existed.
From Helena’s perspective, Jerome was the person to avoid at all costs.
But in the grand scheme of the original story, that wasn’t necessarily true.
Leonard might actually be even more dangerous than Jerome.
Unaware of this, the maids chattered excitedly.
“To think I finally got to meet the famous Sir Leonard. I’d only ever heard about him, but this was my first time seeing him in person.”
“Same here. He rarely shows himself, even at official events.”
“That’s right. There are probably plenty of people who dream of just catching a glimpse of him.”
What was he, some kind of unicorn of the palace?
Was he really that hard to spot?
If he’d appeared more often, I might have realized his presence sooner.
‘Well, at least he has nothing to do with me, so I suppose that’s fortunate.’
I sipped the tea Marie had brought, maintaining a calm expression.
As dangerous as he was, it was a matter of avoiding him.
I resolved again.
I would absolutely never encounter him again.
Fortunately, at this point in time, there was no clear connection between Helena and Leonard.
Jerome and Fay were already giving me enough of a headache. Adding Leonard to the mix…
Ugh, just imagining it was harmful to my mental health.
In the original story, it wasn’t as though Leonard and Helena had no connection at all.
Toward the end, the two even formed an incredible collaboration.
But that was a distant, future part of the story.
‘So, there’s no need to worry for now.’
Hopefully, I wouldn’t be involved with him, even in the distant future.
If possible, I needed to find a way to escape this palace before then.
It was then.
“Your Majesty, the Empress.”
Countess Chloe called out to me.
I tilted my head and asked.
“What is it?”
“You have a visitor.”
“A visitor?”
I hadn’t been expecting anyone. Who could it be?
As I pondered while sipping my tea,
“Sir Leonard requests an audience with Your Majesty.”
“Cough, cough!”
Who did you say?
The unexpected visitor left me flustered.
Leonard? Why was he looking for me?
While I hesitated to answer,
Countess Chloe smiled warmly and made a terrifying suggestion.
“Shall I let him in?”
—
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