CHAPTER 063
Lake Innis was formed by a volcanic eruption thousands of years ago.
The birthplace of the Heltred tribe, founded by a golden lion hatched from the egg of a red dragon at the deepest, fiery part of the lake, marking the beginning of the Heltred founding myth.
As time passed, the traces left by the volcano vanished, and the cold waters of the northern continent's glaciers took their place. Now, Lake Innis is commonly known as Glacier Lake.
On this late autumn afternoon, the lake's color leaned more towards a pale white than blue, embracing the cold sky overhead.
The vast expanse of the lake stirred the imagination, making one think of a sea they had never seen before.
Arabelle's light brown, clear eyes captured the sight of the Emperor rowing on the opposite side.
As the sun slowly set behind Arabelle, casting shadows over the Emperor's face, his expression played a game of hide and seek, appearing and disappearing.
Every time she blinked, the Emperor's expression changed slightly, causing a hint of confusion in Arabelle's round eyes.
When he escorted her onto the small boat at the dock, the Emperor was definitely smiling. It was his usual slightly arrogant, somewhat languid, confident smile.
But as the boat drifted further from the dock, the Emperor's confident smile faded, and his expression changed with each movement of the shadow overhead.
His naturally stern face, now devoid of its usual smile, looked almost intimidating.
Arabelle, unsure of what to do, tried to avoid his intense red gaze but felt that she shouldn't. She met his deepening eyes with her round ones.
The dock and the people on it shrank to the size of a pinky finger. The rowing ceased.
With a creak, the boat stopped in the middle of the lake. Now, the people on the shore were out of sight, and only the dome of the imperial palace was barely visible.
The Emperor stood up slowly. Arabelle looked up at him, his shadow covering her entire body.
Still locked in a gaze with her, the Emperor removed his robe to his waist and placed it over her head.
The Emperor's robe, which completely covered her small head, enveloped Arabelle's entire body. He then untied the red silk sash from his uniform and, kneeling like a knight, wrapped it around her neck like a scarf.
Only then did the furrow between his eyebrows smooth out in satisfaction. He reached out to cup her cheek with his palm.
“You must be cold.”
From within the warmth of his hand, Arabelle's long eyelashes fluttered as she spoke in a small voice.
“I’m fine. The coat I’m wearing is very warm.”
The coat Arabelle wore over her dress was quite warm. Though the temperature by the lake was colder than expected, it was bearable.
Moreover, Arabelle’s mind was too occupied with the thrill of being alone with the Emperor to feel the cold. She was worried her racing heart might give her away.
As long as she could be with the Emperor, she didn't care if her lips turned blue from the cold. The only thing that didn't seem warm was the Emperor's uniform.
Wanting to return the robe, Arabelle placed her hand on the sash around her neck, but the Emperor's thumb brushed slowly over her cool lips.
“Your lips are cold, yet you say you’re warm.”
As the Emperor's fingers spread warmth over her cool lips, Arabelle unconsciously rubbed her flushed cheek against his palm.
The man's Adam's apple bobbed strongly within the collar of his uniform, and his jaw clenched tightly.
Feeling he might not be able to resist any longer and would end up holding Arabelle all night in the middle of the lake, the Emperor withdrew his hand.
Grasping the soft sensation still lingering on his fingers, he clenched his hand into a fist and returned to his seat, resuming rowing.
As his mood seemed to lift, the Emperor’s lips formed a straight line again, and the furrow between his eyebrows deepened, causing Arabelle's round eyes to droop in concern.
Her kind eyes remembered the Emperor's command, [Don't avoid my eyes when you’re with me], and bravely met his sharp gaze.
Seeing her struggle, fearing he was angry, the Emperor sighed internally. She still didn’t realize that he could never be angry with her.
Watching Arabelle walk from the carriage to the dock, the Emperor felt as if his heart was being tickled by countless feathers.
Seeing her approach with a shy smile made his insides tingle, unsure of where to scratch, his fingertips tingling. It was a torturous sensation.
The Emperor experienced the strange phenomenon of his mouth drying up with anticipation in the brief time it took for Arabelle to reach him. It was a feeling he had never encountered before. As a ruler, he had no reason to feel anxious.
Even when he was dropped into enemy territory as the Crown Prince, he never felt this way. His heart was filled with confidence and certainty that he would return to the imperial palace and sit on the throne. There was no room for anxiety.
The only one who noticed the slight tremble in his outstretched arm when he reached for Arabelle was the Emperor himself. His hand, which had never shaken even when leading two hundred soldiers against thousands of allied forces, now trembled.
The Emperor thought as he kept his gaze fixed on Arabelle’s innocent face, nervously gauging his mood.
In truth, the Emperor’s mood was... strangely uneasy.
He had lost sleep last night, eagerly anticipating the private boat ride with Arabelle, the unexpected winner of the third competition. Yet now, he felt inexplicably uncomfortable.
As if something hot and unpleasant was rising in his throat, his brows furrowed. It wasn’t directed at Arabelle. She was still so lovely to look at that he couldn’t help but smile.
Even now, his chest felt so full it was hard to breathe just looking at Arabelle peeking out from under the large robe he had draped over her.
The Emperor’s lips, which had begun to curve into a smile, pressed into a straight line again. No, his lips twisted slightly.
During the competition period… too many people had seen how lovely Arabelle was.
Of course, he was proud and happy that people had recognized her true worth. But now, the most precious gem he had kept secret was known to the world.
People like Timothy, who had realized her true beauty, would admire and desire her. Arabelle, who had grown up in the countryside with wild animals as her companions, had not met many people.
But now, things were different. She would meet many people in the imperial palace, and one of them might become someone she genuinely likes. Just as she said she would follow her master, who knows who she might run away with, holding his hand.
The Emperor cursed inwardly at Arabelle’s potential suitors, feeling anger toward her yet-to-be-determined ideal partner.
Overcome with a sense of hurt towards Arabelle, who had been swayed by a sly and sinister figure resembling a snake in his imagination, he failed to realize that his imagination was devolving into a childish melodrama.
For the first time, a sense of urgency sprouted in the heart of the strong one, who had never feared losing anything, at the thought of possibly losing the most precious thing.
Anxiety. Unease. Jealousy. These were emotions that a ruler, who could have anything in his hands, found shameful to even acknowledge.
Arabelle, looking at him, smiled and then frowned, then smiled again, and finally blinked in confusion at the Emperor's face, which alternated between a smile and a stern expression.
After a while, as the last flames of the sunset spread across the Emperor's face, the corners of his lips slowly curled up as if he had found the answer to his thoughts.
His ruby-colored eyes, redder than the sunset, shimmered with genuine delight as if he had found the solution to his concerns.
Arabelle, seeing the Emperor's pleased smile, also smiled with relief, her eyes forming crescent shapes. If she had known what he was thinking, she would never have smiled.
Even if you try to run away, it's no use. I will definitely find you and bring you back to my side.
And I will make sure you can never escape again. The imperial palace was filled with secret bunkers known to no one else, places where only the Emperor could enter and leave.
The Emperor's red eyes, which had softened as if caressing her innocent gaze, sparkled as if his mood had finally lifted.
As the boat came to a stop at the now-darkened end of the lake, the Emperor escorted Arabelle onto the shore. The view ahead was blocked by tall coniferous trees standing densely together.
With a short whistle from the Emperor, the sound of hooves grew closer from within the coniferous forest, and a large black horse appeared.
It was not the Emperor's usual horse, Cassius. The Emperor's hands gently lifted Arabelle onto the saddle of the black horse, then took his place behind her.
With a light tug on the reins and a tap on the horse's side, the black horse began to gallop through the coniferous forest, seeming pleased as it shook its head.
The Emperor wrapped an arm around the back of Arabelle's head, pulling her close to shield her from the wind.
Large trees swept past their wide eyes. The cherry tree grove inside the annex, and now the coniferous forest they were passing through, seemed to have been deliberately designed to conceal the location.
How long had they been riding? Vines draped from the sky to the ground like curtains, blocking their view.
As the Emperor dismounted and approached the vines, he raised his right hand and reached through the dense foliage.
With a grinding sound, Arabelle's eyes widened as she watched.
She had thought the vines were just a natural part of the tall trees, but they were actually concealing a thick wall made of stones. A part of the wall slowly moved, creating an entrance wide enough for the horse to pass through.
The Emperor mounted the horse again, holding Arabelle by the waist, and brought his lips close to her ear, whispering softly.
"Let me show you the secret hideout of the black panther. After all, the owner should know."
The black horse carrying the Emperor and Arabelle slowly passed through the wall's entrance, stepping onto the opposite side of the coniferous forest.
The air, which had been cold, became warmly comforting, and the thick fog that had surrounded them lifted. Instead of a chilling, opaque lake, there appeared a beautiful, clear lake that shone with a radiant blue even under the darkening night sky.
Large and small droplets continuously rose from the surface of the lake, popping in the air and creating small rainbows.
A warm weight settled on the top of Arabelle's head as a voice, as if inviting her to a bedroom, spoke.
"Welcome to Inis Lake."
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