Queen in the Shadows

Chapter 6

“How can I send you away? How can I just let you go?”

In Chesana’s eyes, Elena was still so young—she couldn’t bear the thought of being separated from her little girl.

“Mama...”

Elena felt the same longing. Seeing Chesana’s sadness made her want to spend at least one more day at home.

Don’t be shaken. Weren’t you prepared for this?

Elena quickly disciplined her thoughts into strict order. It wasn’t a good idea to use emotions or force and potentially get on Riaveric’s bad side. Doing so would also raise suspicion. For now, Elena would pretend to lose and follow whatever she said.

Though, at the same time, Elena had no intention of just leaving right this instant. She quickly added a condition to her departure.

“I will go, but... Please just let me spend three hours with my parents. No, just two hours is fine. That is my one request.”

Riaveric tapped on the table, estimating the time. In the end, she reluctantly agreed. “I’ll give you two hours. Anything more than that will make things difficult.”

“Thank you. That’s enough.”

As soon as they reached a compromise, Riaveric announced that she would make preparations for Elena to depart and would come back later. When she left the house and only the three of them remained, a strange silence took hold. They knew there wasn’t any time to linger like this, but no one knew where to start or what to say before the unexpected farewell.

“When did my child grow up like this? You always seemed like such a crybaby.”

Chesana stroked her daughter’s cheek. Her reddened eyes looked like they would burst into tears at any moment. While Frederick was trying hard to appear solemn, his voice trembled slightly.

“Don’t worry about us—just take care of yourself. Understood?”

“Mama, Papa.”

Elena gritted her teeth as she felt a momentary surge of emotion. She couldn’t become weak. She couldn’t be shaken. This gifted time was golden—if she wasted it, her parents would lose their chance to live.

“Please listen carefully to what I have to say.” Elena’s voice was filled with determination. “Before Riaveric comes back, you must leave.”

The couple blinked at Elena, wondering what she meant. They clearly weren’t quite able to process the statement. In their minds, Elena had, without hesitation, completely changed her mind.

“Leave? To where?”

“Didn’t we decide to entrust the situation to that woman? I don’t understand this whim of yours.”

Elena had expected that it would be difficult to persuade them. She let go of her anxiety and calmly explained what she had prepared in advance.

“Isn’t all of this rather odd? It was strange for the lord to offer his support to the daughter of a mere fallen nobleman. It’s even harder to understand why he wanted to make her his concubine after that support was refused. What’s even more unbelievable is that, just as we were backed into a corner, Riaveric showed up. It’s like she had been waiting.”

“You’re saying...”

“I’m saying that this all could be fabricated.”

The couple was shocked. They hadn’t thought all that hard about the big picture, so they’d initially overlooked some things—now, they realized that there were one or two details that didn’t add up.

It was, however, difficult to accept all of Elena's suspicions as established facts. Those were just her guesses, and they didn’t understand how Elena had come to her conclusions.

However, the next thing out of Elena’s mouth would confirm her suspicions as truth.

“The one sure thing is that, for whatever reason, the Grand Duchy of Friedrich needs me.”

“H-how... did you know th-that it was the grand duchy?”

Frederick was so surprised that he stammered. He didn’t recall the grand duke being mentioned earlier; he hadn’t gotten any hint that Elena was to go to that particular family.

“I knew the moment that I saw the crest,” Elena explained.

“What?!”

“Please wait a second. I need to give you two something.”

Elena excused herself for a moment, turned around, and went into her room. When she returned, there was a sealed envelope in her hand.

“I know you are curious about a lot of things and want to ask me everything. The answers are all in here—why you have to leave, where you have to go after leaving, and how you two will find a way to live.”

“When did you prepare...?”

More than feeling helpless, the couple felt puzzled. How were they meant to accept this? It seemed like Elena had expected all of this to happen. Otherwise, how could she have prepared all of this beforehand?

“When you go out the back door, follow the trail straight to Mount Lous. From the right side of the zelkova tree on the hillside, take fifty steps to get to the creek. If you follow the creek and cut across the mountainside, you’ll see Ronalf River.”

“Y-you...”

“There will be a ferry downstream. Take it and follow the current to cross the border.”

Her parents were shocked to hear that she had even thought of the ferry. Her words were simultaneous confirmation for both of them—Elena had known something like this would happen and had made preparations.

But how on earth had she known? No, apart from that, how was this level of planning even possible? Now that they thought about it, Elena had been a lovable child, but not a particularly smart or wise one.

However, about two months ago, she had suddenly changed. Not only had her speech and actions become more mature, but her thoughts had also become deeper. It’d been difficult for the couple to understand the education and knowledge that had unconsciously flowed from her during that time. They should’ve noticed then that Elena had changed.

I am disqualified from being a father. How could I know so little about my daughter?

Frederick regretted trying to make decisions for Elena—he regretted trying to judge her by his own standards. How frustrating it must’ve been for her. A person who could only see the trees had been trying to understand a person who saw the whole forest.

Frederick opened his mouth with difficulty.

“We’ll leave.”

“Dear!”

“But you have to come with us too.”

Elena lifted her chin and made eye contact with him. Though she understood her father’s concerns, she was sad because she couldn’t do as he wanted.

“I won’t go with you. No, I can’t go.”

“You just said that this Riaveric is an untrustworthy person! What if she tries to harm you? Come with us,” her mother urged.

Elena remained adamant. “Those people need me for some reason, so they can’t just treat me recklessly. But it’s different for you two. I’m positive they won’t let you live. And even if they do, you’ll become hostages to control and oppress me.”

“What?!”

The couple gasped at Elena’s terrifying implication. Control. Hostage. Oppress. These were words that were difficult to accept without sufficient explanation. But Elena continued to speak without stopping.

“I have to stay behind. There’s something I must do after following them.”

Revenge. Elena’s hatred had barely subsided, and it lurked just beneath the surface. When it rose again, she would have her vengeance. And when that time came, those who had used her—had killed her horribly—would be driven to destruction.

“What is it? Just what are you going to do?”

“Don’t worry about me.”

“Elena...”

The couple felt like their world was falling apart. They felt miserable about running away while leaving their child alone. Elena had said that she had work to do in the empire, but they felt so sorry—it almost seemed like it was their fault that the family couldn’t leave together.

“There’s no time to delay,” said Elena. “She will be back soon.”

“Child, just answer me this.” Frederick stared at his daughter with apologetic eyes. “Have we put you in danger?”

“No.” Elena answered immediately, as if there was no need to even think about his question. She knew the guilt he was feeling beyond his anxious gaze. “This is unavoidable. Like a midsummer rainshower.”

How could one avoid sudden rain sprayed by dark clouds that covered a dry sky? The only relief was to find a place to hide from the storm before one’s whole body got soaked.

The baronet lowered his head weakly. “We’ll... do as you say.”

In the end, the couple prepared to leave, though it felt like they were cutting off their own skin. The only things they carried were light clothes, gold coins, and Elena’s envelope.

The couple stood in front of the back door, ready to say goodbye. When they opened the door and disappeared into the darkness, they would truly be separated.

“Come here.”

Chesana was half sobbing as she held Elena tightly. Frederick spread his arms and wrapped them around his wife and daughter, who were practically on top of each other. They were all so close that their breaths mingled, and their momentary shared body heat was comforting.

“Our Elena... Our only daughter in this world.”

Elena held her breath and clenched her teeth to prevent even the slightest sob from escaping.

Elena, Elena, Elena.

She would keep that name—not in her ears, but her heart. Her name and identity would probably be soon erased from the world. Since she might never hear the name “Elena” again, she engraved it on her soul again and again.

“We’re going.”

That short, calm goodbye was filled with an unimaginable feeling of denial. Was this really happening?

“Take care of yourself. I’m sure we’ll meet again, okay?”

Frederick opened the door, and it was only then that Elena smiled, silent and sad, at her mother.

“Dear, let’s go.”

Chesana acted as if she was being forcibly led away by her husband. The couple walked along the trail to the mountainside, and even as they got farther away, her gaze never left Elena.

“You have to remain safe. Please.”

Elena adjusted her posture as she watched her parent’s figures get smaller and smaller. She placed her hands on the lower part of her stomach, bowed her waist, and offered her final goodbye respectfully and reverently.

Let’s meet again.

She hoped that her prayer would reach the heavens.

Elena raised her head when the rustling though the bushes subsided. It was only when she could no longer find them in the darkness that she physically felt the farewell in her heart.

“Don’t cry... this is just the beginning.”

She muttered this as if making a promise to herself. She wiped the corners of her eyes. When she finally got her emotions together and lowered her sleeves, her eyes were as cold as frost.

Elena, the daughter of a fallen nobleman, was no longer in this world. The only one left was the steel-blooded woman who would dominate the empire’s social world while looking down on everyone with her aloof gaze.

She closed the back door and locked it with the key, then tidied up her disheveled hair and straightened out her wrinkled skirt and sleeves. This act of grooming helped to control her inner self that had been swept up in emotion.