Empress of Self-Ruin

Chapter 34: Crying Over Spilled Tea

It was past midnight when we finally ended our drinking session. Leon seemed to be absolutely impressed with the fact that I managed to drink almost a whole bottle of such strong liquor and was still pretty much alright—only a little tipsy.

He himself didn't drink much, probably afraid of getting drunk, so he was completely sober.

Leon offered to walk me back to the central downtown of Icorith. It seemed like he was worried that I would get into more trouble.

He walked beside me quietly. Our eyes were focusing on the road, or rather the sky.

In the blanket of generous black velvet, I felt as if I was part of nature, alive and unseeing. The darkness made the moon so beautiful, as if setting a stage for it to stand upon. It was the pure black that gave it its beauty.

It didn't take long until we reached my destination. Leon didn't pry further when I told him I would walk alone from there. He seemed to get my implication that I couldn't disclose the location of the secret passage.

"I guess, this is where we part ways," he said.

"Yes." I smiled. "Thank you for today."

"My lady..."

"Yes?"

"If you need a company—or anything at all, please contact me, my lady."

I stared at him for a moment.

"Ah, I'm sorry if I'm being out of line. You probably don't want—"

"Is it really okay for me to contact you when I'm in need of company?"

He seemed surprised, but immediately got over it and answered, "Yes. Of course."

I gave a small smile of satisfaction. I wouldn't say no to such development. My goal was to win his favor after all.

We said goodbye to each other. Before I left, I thanked him again for the—I didn't know. I had lost count of how many times I thanked him for that night alone.

We parted ways and once again, I was back in the tunnel, heading back to the palace.

I hadn't paid much attention before, but when you were left alone with your thoughts, sometimes you just couldn't help but think about the most random things.

I found myself thinking of the tunnel walls; how centuries of stories were locked inside their stony, cold facade. They had seen it all. Loss, rejuvenation, rebellion—yet they still stood strong, unchanged.

I envy that.

I walked leisurely. After such a wild night, the journey back was rather uneventful and I got to the palace safely.

But as I stood in front of the door that led back to my dressing room, I suddenly changed my mind and turned in another direction.

It was only then that everything started sinking in. After the anger burned out, only the ashes of sorrow were left. Everything was truly pointless. And it was a night I felt so alone. I... really didn't want to be alone.

My feet led me to the other entrance of the secret passage.

As soon as I opened the door, the first thing that greeted me was a sword on my neck. I did expect this though, so I took a step back to avoid it from grazing my skin. This was the reason why someone shouldn't creep in on a sword master.

I wasn't angry. On the contrary, I was actually quite satisfied with this reaction. Constant vigilance. It was very important for people like us, who were in constant threat of assassination.