Chapter 62
He almost flew towards them. Berthas spoke in a low voice as he raised his hand to the ladies-in-waiting, who saw his face and tried to restrain him.
âEven though I came here as a guest, I am indeed the Princessâs father so get out of the way.â
As the hesitant ladies-in-waiting opened the way for Berthasâ grim expression, it felt like sparks were flying in his eyes with jealousy. Usman, who was holding Isilis, smiled at him, but Isilisâs face was not visible.
Berthas moved closer, swallowing the feeling of betrayal that rose to the tip of his throat. Then, he turned her, who was being held roughly in Usmanâs arms, to her feet. She was crying.
âIsilis.â
âBerthasâ¦?â
The pupils were blurred. It wasnât the Isilis he knew. The blurry eyes on the tear-stained face were just like someone who had lost their mind, like his mother, who ended her life after losing his father.
Yes⦠she had the same eyes as his mother.
âWhat is going on?â
When he turned his gaze to Usman and asked, he only shrugged his shoulders and said nothing. The ladies-in-waiting who were watching from behind also kept their mouths shut. If so, he had no choice but to hear the answer from Isilis.
âIsilis, get yourself together.â
âBerthas⦠we lost our child.â
Berthas whispered as he hugged Isilis, who was muttering only those words frantically.
âWe didnât lose our child.â
ââ¦We didnât?â
âYes. Our child is asleep, you and my child.â
âWe didnât⦠lose her?â
âI brought her. You and my child. Our daughter.â
âSo I donât have to give birth to a new child?â
What kind of nonsense was having a new child? Berthas, who grasped the situation in an instant, threw a cold gaze at Usman. If a person could be killed with a glance, he would have cut him ten times already.
From the way Usman smiled, it was clear that it was his trick that Isilis was doing something like this.
âWe have a child. Isilis. You donât have to have another child. The child is back, your child.â
âMy⦠child?â
âYes. You and my child.â
ââ¦.â
Saying so, he hugged Isilis, who collapsed as she lost her consciousness. Everyone averted his gaze. Only Usman Khalifa defiantly met that gaze.
âI heard the story. Didnât you ask her to accept you as consort on the condition that the entire Hillenton Empire be handed over to Larchen?â
âUsman Khalifa. You must have something to tell me?â
âWhat?â
âIn this situationâ¦â
âDidnât you get an answer just by looking at it? There was a woman who was grieving the loss of a child. And it was me, not you, who comforted her. As a result, the woman was gradually changing. What do you want to hear about?â
âYou b*stard!â
âShh. What if she wakes up? She will probably cry again and look for the child.â
âWait here.â
He growled his words before hurriedly moving away. Isilisâ body was too light. he frowned at her light body. She was a precious person, the Empress of the Empire and the one he loved⦠yet for her to become like this.
Berthas, who witnessed her miserable situation, felt pain as if he had been cut by a knife. It was he who could not bear the heartache.
Isilis lay on the bed. Berthas couldnât leave the place thinking about this and that, and her eyelids opened.
âIsilis.â
Seeing the eyes staring at him clearly at his call, Berthas was relieved.
âAre you awake?â
âDid I⦠go out again?â
âSince when?! Since when has it been like this?â
ââ¦I donât know either.â
A dark shadow fell over her face as she shook her head. Berthas whispered as he squeezed her slender hand.
ââ¦I am too late. I was not leaving you behind.â
âYou just went your way. You are not late.â
âIf I had been by your side, none of this would have happened. So pleaseâ¦â
He couldnât utter the next word. So please, what? Come back to normal? Those were deceitful words to Isilis. It was ignoring what she had endured so far. That was why he couldnât say anything.
Isilis closed her eyes.
âI asked the imperial doctor, and he said it was slowly getting better.â
âYou donât⦠remember what happened?â
âI donât remember, so I installed a video stone in the room. Usman Khalifa took me back.â
ââ¦.â
She smiled as Berthas didnât say anything.
âHe just took me. He didnât do anything.â
ââ¦I regret going to Hillenton and leaving you behind.â
âItâs better not to regret things that have already passed.â
Taking her hand, a warm aura radiated from her cold hands and Isilis opened her mouth again.
âItâs strange, Berthas. Youâre by my side, but why do I feel like youâre not by my side?â
ââ¦It must be because youâre too tired. Now that weâve found our child, just rest.â
As he stroked her disheveled hair, she gradually closed her eyes.
Berthas tried to hide his ferocious feelings. His eyes shone brightly though Isilis didnât notice it as she fell asleep. After checking the sound of her breathing as she was completely asleep, Bertas stood up. He couldnât hide his heavy breathing.
What the hell happened? Why did Usman Khalifa appear in this situation?
âWhat happened?â
âLord Regent is not yet the ruler of Larchen.â
With Merylâs words, Berthas shouted ferociously.
âIâm not the ruler of Larchen, but Iâm the father of the Princess. I need to know why Isilis became like that and why Usman Khalifa appears in this situation.â
While going to the garden where Usman was waiting, Meryl hesitated for a moment before speaking again.
âI know that the Crown Prince of the Khalifa Empire took care of Her Majesty because the Princess disappeared and she was heartbroken, and she searched for you but did not come.â
âTo say that nowâ¦!â
It was Meryl who threw a sharp gaze at him, who threw a cold gaze back.
âSo, youâre saying we should leave Her Majesty as it is? Who wanders every night looking for her child?â
Berthas lost his words to Meryl.
â¦It was all because he was away. He should have been by her side no matter what. Having the sudden thought, he shook his head vigorously.
It was all useless to regret the past.
He could see Usman Khalifaâs face in the distance. Seeing Usman drinking tea leisurely in the garden, his anger rose again. He made up his mind and sat down in front of him.
âThe tea smells good. Would you like a drink, too?â
âDrink it yourself. I donât know if the ladies-in-waiting will give it to me.â
Saying so, he glanced around him, but no one came close to him. Meryl, who had been looking around, approached and brought him a teacup.
âThank you.â
âI am doing this for Her Majestyâs sake.â
Berthas felt puzzled when Meryl said that if it werenât for Isilis, she wouldnât have even thought of it. Why were those ladies-in-waiting against him?
âWhy is it strange?â
âItâs bewildering because the people Iâm seeing for the first time are cold to me.â
âThatâs why Isilis was having a hard time.â
âYouâve worked hard all this time.â
âWhat?â
As Usman raised his eyebrows, Berthas whispered while smiling leisurely.
âNow that the real thing is here, canât the fake disappear?â
âWhat nonsenseâ¦!â
âIsnât it? Youâve had a hard time acting like me.â
Usman, who was trembling at Berthasâ words, changed his mind as he looked at him. It was because if he continued like this, it felt like he was going to get caught up in Berthas.
âActing like you. It may have started like that. But you know what? Isilis is now opening up to me little by little.â
âLittle by little. I have that kind of heart too. Her heart is open. I got it in a heartbeat.â
He calmed down a bit now. The only satisfaction was that she hadnât given her heart to Usman. The gaze from the surroundings was subject to change. The most important to him was Isilis. Berthas was ready to give anything and everything if only she would give her heart to him.
âThat remains to be seen.â
âI bet. You can be nothing more than her close friend to her.â
âWhat?â
âIf you were going to approach her as her man, you should have done that from the start. Itâs too late.â
Usman blushed resentfully at his succinct words.
Berthas knew. Isilis was stubborn, never changing a decision she had once made, and that fact was what Usman knew. Even though he already knew, it was hard to admit that he didnât want to lose to Berthas Hillenton and didnât want him to take her away.
That was why he was that grumpy. It was too low a tactic to be called grumpy, but at least it was to him.
âYou must already know?â
Berthas laughed. Usman laughed at the winnerâs relaxed smile.
âBerthas Hillenton. You are confident. Do you really think you can have her of her without any fight?â
âWrong, Usman.â
âWhat?â
âItâs not that I have her. Sheâs the one holding my lifeline. She has me.â
Berthasâ words made the surroundings quiet. The ladies-in-waiting who were listening to them from afar also stopped whispering and quietly observed the situation. He laughed at Usmanâs stupid expression.
In an instant, the atmosphere changed.
Although he held out his hand from the beginning, it was Isilis who took his hand. It was she who slowly opened up her heart to him, and it was a relationship that had come so far because she let him by her side.
If it werenât for that, the relationship between the two would not have been possible.
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He remembered the moment he first met Isilisâthe way she nearly fell, the way he held her, the way she told her openly about war in her bar, and the first kiss and all that he did with herâall of that was possible because she chose Berthas.
âIsilis chose me.â
â