(remember to pay attention đđ)
Silence filled the room.
Irene didn't answer immediately. Instead, she continued to look at Emilia, contemplating the anger etched across her face. It wasn't an ordinary kind of anger.
Irene took a steady breath, then spoke in a quiet voice, trying to soothe the tense atmosphere.
"I understand that you do not wish to return to those matters, my lady, but... even if your wish comes true and you live the rest of your life in peace, will that change the reality of what is happening to your people?"
She paused for a moment, her voice growing more serious: "I know you have a roof to shelter you, enough food to eat, and a family to return to at the end of the day. And I do not blame you for wanting to preserve that. But what about the rest of your people?"
Emilia did not answer.
"There are people who cannot find enough to eat, my lady. Mothers who cannot feed their children, standing helpless before their starving little ones with nothing they can do about it."
Irene's voice dropped lower. "I saw it with my own eyes."
She wasn't speaking of something she had read in a book, nor of a tale passed down by someone else. She had seen with her own eyes how those people lived, and she had felt, if only briefly, the crushing weight of the world they were forced to endure.
She looked steadily at Emilia to see if she recognized the truth in her eyes.
"I am not asking you to sacrifice your family for my sake, nor to trust me simply because I am a princess of Askard. I know you tried your utmost to deliver the truth to the people, but they chose to criticize you..."
Emilia's lips trembled slightly before she interrupted sharply: "And what do you want me to do now?!"
She slammed her hand down on the desk, causing some of the papers scattered over it to flutter.
"Tell me, Princess, what is it that you can do?!"
She stepped forward, her eyes blazing with fury. "Do you think you are the first one who tried to help them? Do you think I didn't try to do something?!"
Her voice faltered for a second, as if the following words were too heavy to push past her lips.
Then she cried out: "I tried every possible way!"
Silence hung heavily for a moment before she continued in a shaky voice: "Many tried before you, and I too tried to change what was happening. And the result? I lost my husband and my son at the same time!"
Her voice cracked at the mention of them, but she quickly raised her head, as if refusing to allow herself to look weak before Irene.
"And now, you want me to go back to all of That? To put what remains of my family in danger once again?!"
Irene did not move.
She could have argued...
Suddenly, she remembered the old man she had met in the South.
She remembered his words, his gaze, and the way he spoke about the life he had lived and the things he had endured.
At that time, Irene hadn't grasped the full picture. She had needed someone like Emilia to tell her the whole story. From the old man's words, she had realized that Emilia de Roville might have belonged to the Outcast families who surrendered their lands to Valerian in exchange for a noble title and standing within Valerianâwhich had been one of the primary reasons for the people's suffering years later. After the minority fled the war that erupted between Askard and Valerian, they were rounded up in prisons, pardoned on the condition that they fight for Valerian against Askard in exchange for their freedom. But once the war ended, they were relocated to isolated, heavily monitored zonesâturned into an open-air prison and subsequently abandoned...
Yet, what Irene had come to understand was how the war broke out, how the lands were discovered, why they remained hidden on maps in every book, and countless other questions that no one else could answer except Emilia de Roville.
As for now, she was beginning to understand.
Emilia wasn't refusing to help her because she didn't care about her people, but rather because she feared her intervention might once again cost her what little she had left.
Everyone was terrified for the people they loved.
Even Irene herself.
She had lost her entire family, and she knew what it meant to have everything stripped away from you without being able to do anything to stop it.
Yet, unlike Emilia, she no longer had a family to fear losing.
She had nothing left to cling to except her goal.
And perhaps that was what enabled her to keep going when others chose to turn back.
Irene understood from Emilia's words that she hadn't been the only one who tried to fight, but she was certain of one thing...
She knew how to fight using her status as leverage...
And because of that, she did not let Emilia's anger shake her steadiness.
Instead, she simply looked at her and said quietly: "Then don't do it."
Emilia stopped, staring at her in bewilderment. She hadn't expected to hear that answer.
Irene continued: "Do not put your family in danger for my sake, and do not do anything you do not wish to do. I have no right to ask you to sacrifice everything you have left after you have already lost so much."
Her voice lowered further. "But I beg you to think of my words. Not for my sake, but for the sake of the people who are still suffering out there."
She then added: "If you ever decide to cooperate with me, send me a message, and I will come to meet you directly. I will not force you to make a decision you do not want, and I will not return to bother you if you choose to refuse."
Emilia did not answer.
She looked at her in silence, some of the fury fading from her features, though the guarded caution she was accustomed to wrapping herself in remained.
Irene rose from her seat, then bowed respectfully. "Thank you for your time, Lady Emilia. I truly appreciate that you gave me a chance to speak with you."
She turned toward the door, but stopped before reaching it.
"I will await your reply."
Then she looked back one last time. "I hope you make the decision you deem right, whatever it may be."
She bowed once more and headed toward the door with calm steps. Perhaps Irene would need to find another way to acquire accurate information... hints of disappointment were beginning to show on her face.
But before she could exit, she heard Emilia's voice behind her:
"Wait."
Irene stopped, then turned around slowly.
Emilia had seated herself once more behind her desk, reaching out her hand toward one of the papers laid before her. She picked up a pen and began writing something, without explaining what she was doing.
Irene watched her in surprise, making no attempt to interrupt.
Moments later, Emilia folded the paper and held it out toward her.
"Take this."
Irene stepped forward, took the paper, and unfolded it to read the name written upon it.
William Clair.
She knitted her brows slightly.
Irene knew the names of most noble families in the kingdom; she had poured a great deal of effort into learning their lineages, family trees, and the standing of each house within high society. Yet, this name did not sound familiar to her in the least.
She raised her eyes toward Emilia. "William Clair?"
Emilia nodded. "He is a young man of about thirty years old. At least, that is what I know of his age."
She paused briefly before adding: "However, William Clair is not his real name. It is an alias he uses, but you will be able to find him under that name. I do not know where he resides at present."
Irene looked at the name once more, then asked: "Will he be able to help me?"
Emilia replied: "If you are searching for answers to your questions, he just might be the person you need. I won't say he is a man who trusts easily, but if you tell him I sent you, he will agree to help you."
Then she leaned back against her chair and completed: "I do not know his exact whereabouts, but I am certain you will be able to find him in one of the gambling dens. Those are the places he habitually frequents."
Irene raised her brows slightly.
That wasn't the kind of place she expected to find someone who could lead her to the answers she sought.
As for Emilia, she continued in a calmer tone: "He knows things even I do not know personally, and he may be able to assist you in matters I cannot. That is why I gave you his name. Furthermore, his father worked inside the palace for many years before he and his family were assassinated. He is the only surviving member of his family, so he has nothing left to lose, unlike myself."
Irene contemplated the old woman before her. It seemed fortune had decided to stand by her side once again...
Irene didn't know what had driven Emilia to change her stanceâwhether she had done so out of a sense of guilt, or because she couldn't entirely ignore her words.
Yet, she realized that Emilia was not yet ready to join her cause herself.
And perhaps this was the absolute most she could obtain from her for the time being.
A warm smile touched Irene's lips, and she bowed with a deeper respect than before.
"Thank you, Lady Emilia. I believe you have made a wise decision."
She raised her head, looking at her with calm eyes.
Emilia said sharply, "Do not attempt to return here ever again!"
Irene didn't dwell on her demand, but instead replied with confidence: "Do not worry about your family. I will do my utmost to ensure they suffer no harm because of this matter."
She hesitated for a brief moment before adding frankly: "I do not know how you lost your husband and son, and I will not pretend to understand everything you have been through. But I know what it means to lose your family... yet I promise you that I will not allow the blood of those you lost to be forgotten, and I will ensure that those responsible for what happened to them receive their just punishment."
Emilia did not answer.
She continued to look at Irene in silence, her expression far more complex than it had been at the beginning of their meeting.
As for Irene, she maintained her calm smile, bowed one last time, and turned toward the door.
Irene opened the door only to stumble upon Eleanor and her mother, who had been plastered against the door in vain... neither of them had managed to hear a thing.
Both of them felt thoroughly embarrassed while Irene simply looked at them.
After returning to the palace, Irene gazed through her window, holding the slip of paper tightly in her hand.
"William Clair," Irene said aloud.
She wondered whether she could trust him, and whether he truly was the winning card she had secured after years of searching.
To be continued...