Chapter 153 – Why Call Me Elder Brother? (2)
“Is that true?”
“I love her. So I accepted her offer immediately.”
Heinley’s proud declaration stunned Koshar, and the latter was forced to rea.s.sess his impression of the other man. Heinley transformed from “a sc.u.mbag king” to “a king of good taste” in Koshar’s eyes. Yes. A sovereign king of a nation should have excellent judgment.
Koshar soon swelled with pride. Come to think of it, the young king had a handsome face and a charismatic atmosphere. He would look good standing next to his younger sister.
However, a sliver of doubt remained inside Koshar. Rumor had it that Heinley was a huge womanizer…
“I’m not a womanizer.”
When Koshar’s eyes narrowed in suspicion, Heinley quickly noticed what he was thinking.
“I may appear that way, but it was intentional. I’ve never crossed the line.”
“Intentional?”
Heinley did not want to explain this part. There were two reasons why he pretended to be a free lover: one was to blind people’s eyes as he prepared for war, and the other was to appear to be relatively less qualified compared to his brother. However, neither reason was worth telling Koshar. The war preparations were confidential, and it would be dishonorable to say he was lesser than his brother.
When Heinley remained silent, Koshar s.h.i.+fted the topic.
“I understand that you promised marriage to Navier. What about the process? What did you decide to do? Are you sure she is getting divorced?”
“That’s the problem.”
Heinley sighed.
“Oh, listen while you eat, brother.”
Koshar wanted to tell him to stop calling him “brother”, but he bit his tongue and picked up his fork.
“Alright.”
“Originally, Empress Navier and I communicated by messenger bird.”
“Messenger bird?”
“Yes. This time as well, we decided to communicate the finer details through messenger birds.”
Heinley’s face darkened.
“But as I was taking a bath, I received some bad news.”
“What news?”
“I believe Emperor Sovieshu noticed that the Empress and I were in communication.”
“Ah!”
“We can’t communicate directly anymore…and I’m worried. I need to find another way.”
“Do you have a plan in mind?”
“I have a friend staying in the capital, so I considered sending a bird through him instead.”
Heinley shook his head.
“But I don’t believe it will work. Emperor Sovieshu likely will keep a lookout for any suspicious birds from now on.”
Heinley’s expression was grave. Koshar set down his fork and studied the young king carefully. He didn’t know much about Heinley. This was the first time he had met him in person, and the rumor among the social circles was that he was a womanizer, along with Duke Elgy.
However, Heinley did not act like a frivolous man. He even had someone bring Koshar here to the Western Kingdom. The king seemed genuinely concerned for Navier, and even if it was love from a tomcat…
‘It’s better than being divorced and doing nothing.’
Koshar knew that being empress was not simply holding a seat. He had watched as Navier grew from a child who watched other children playing through the window, to one whose tenacity and pa.s.sion was only focused to that of becoming empress.
She couldn’t play because she had to be the empress.
She couldn’t eat because she had to be the empress.
She had to endure this because she had to be empress.
Navier repeated these thoughts to herself, giving up on her childhood for her future dream. Koshar could only imagine how much pain she would experience being ousted from the throne without any wrongdoing.
It was for that that Koshar decided to join hands with the eccentric King Heinley.
“I have a way.”
“What is it?”
“My friend, Marquis Farang, lives right outside the capital. He can accept the letters.”
“Ah! I can send letters to that place!”
“He won’t look at the contents. You can send messages to Navier through him.”
Heinley’s face brightened.
***
“Although ‘that woman’s’ story was published in the newspapers, no one outside is in an uproar.”
“Everyone is speaking as if she were a fairy tale character.”
There was no good news among the stories gossiped by the ladies-in-waiting.
Rashta would love this. When the people heard that the commoner concubine had found her lost parents, they called her “a living fairy tale.” If Rashta were to ascend to the position of empress, there would be even greater public fixation. The common people would surely rejoice.
It only hurt me to think about it, so I turned my thoughts to figuring out a way to communicate with Heinley. The best plan I had was borrowing Marquis Farang’s messenger bird, but that also had its problems. The bird may go straightaway to Heinley, but I didn’t know how Heinley’s bird could come straight to my room.
Speak of the devil—as I deliberated over my options, the man I had been thinking of came to see me.
“What is it?”
When the ladies-of-waiting left, Marquis Farang smiled and held out a letter.
“I have something to deliver.”
To my surprise, it was a letter from Heinley.
“How did you—?”
“I was asked by Koshar.”
“Brother!”
“What is it? He asked me not to read it and to deliver it quickly.”
I shook my head in wonder and accepted the envelope. I broke open the wax seal and quickly pulled out the letter.
– I’d like to hear more from you. We should make plans together. Do you have time, or do you need to move quickly?
– I met your brother. He looks strikingly similar to you. I miss you.
– What color do you like? What kind of room would you like? Let me know and I’ll furnish your room in advance.
When I saw it was Heinley, my worries faded away. I gave a soft chuckle. He had a skill for making me feel at ease, even as I was dealing with these things…
“I don’t know what letter it is, but it seems to be a good one.”
“Ah. Marquis Farang.”
I forgot that he was still standing there. When I belatedly noticed his presence, he gave a playful grin.
“So it’s a good letter. You should reply. The messenger bird is still in my home, so I will send it back.”
“…Was it a blue bird, perhaps?”
“Yes. I put him in a feeder, so he should be eating right now.”