It’s Not Night - Chapter 200.2

Despite the constant warnings from her subordinates, she never gave up on learning to wield it. It felt like her lifeline, something she couldn’t afford to let go of.

‘Yona, my daughter.’

The woman’s voice echoes in her mind. The woman, slowly losing her sanity, could never maintain her composure for even an hour each day. And what drove her to madness was…

Yona slowly closed and then opened her eyes.

“Zeon.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“You too, need to find something to protect.”

“Yes?”

“You must protect even your younger sibling.”

She gave the Lord a sheepish smile, then turned her gaze back to the sun, which was blocked by her palm.

“You can’t block the sun with just your palm.”

Once again, the Lord looked at her with a foolish expression.

* * *

The overcast sky darkened with clouds, and soon a fierce rain began to pour. It had been more than a fortnight since the deaths of the Duke and Duchess, and the rainy season had been relentless. The amount of rainfall was unprecedented. It seemed as though the heavens themselves knew that the Empire’s last hope was fading.

As the mourners left and the empty front hall stood before her, a knight stepped forward, holding an umbrella. Yona was about to board the waiting carriage when someone grabbed her forcefully.

She felt the cold, trembling hands clutching desperately at her.

“Your Highness! I still don’t understand. Why can’t I reach you…?”

Yona stopped the guards who were trying to block the Lord. She looked at Zeon, who had lost his parents overnight and was being thrust onto the battlefield. His black mourning attire clung to him, soaked by the rain and his face streaked with water.

You’re still such a crybaby. With that foolish expression.

Yona reached out with her gloved hand and gently caressed the Lord’s eyes. As she always did, she softly called his name.

“Zeon.”

“Please don’t abandon me like this… Please…”

“You still don’t understand anything, and yet you’re staking everything on me? It’s like gambling. Always talking in comforting words.”

Yona knew why the Lord clung to her. But what he held onto was nothing more than a rotten string. It was sure to snap one day.

Right now, Yona had no power left.

The youngest princess, pushed to the lowest rank among the imperial family. Her mother had long since gone mad, and to the Emperor, she was just another one of the many children. The only people who had supported Yona were Duke and Duchess Eden, but now, all that remained were the unaware Lord and his young sister.

Yona was now in a position where she could barely take care of herself.

She had paid the price for the attention she had garnered from her brothers through her reckless actions.

“Why do you say such things? Why…”

“I’m saying this for your sake. I told you to find something to protect.”

“You’re all I have, Your Highness! You know that! How can you say this is for my sake?”

Because you can make a better choice.

Yona swallowed the words that were rising in her throat and stared at the Lord, whose tears fell in steady streams. Why is it that you, for my sake, are walking a path you shouldn’t? I can’t give you what you want. After seeing you by my side all these years, why don’t you understand that?

Yona clenched her fist and silently looked down at the Lord, who had fallen to his knees.

“I’ll, I’ll do well. I’ll try. I’ll do whatever you want, Your Highness. I’ll do whatever you ask. Please…”

The boy, who had just entered his youth, cried out. But Yona could not be swayed.

The deaths of innocent people, like that of the Duke and Duchess, had already been enough. She couldn’t let the legacy of the Empire’s prestigious Ducal family be severed by her own choices. Above all, it would end up benefiting her brothers, swelling their power.

Yona firmly resolved herself and pushed the Lord’s hand away.

“Zeon, let me tell you a few things. Everything comes when you’re not prepared, and that’s when a person’s true character shows. So what will you prove to me?”

The Lord helplessly stared at the hand she had pushed away, his mouth opening and closing as if to protest. Desperately, Zeon grabbed at the hem of Yona’s garment.

“Princess, please…”

Yona met his eyes, which were filled with despair, and spoke again.

“Prove your worth to me yourself.”

She pulled her garment away from his grasp and climbed into the carriage. Just before the door closed, she added.

“I don’t keep useless people.”

Without hesitation, Yona left the Duchy. She looked out the window of the carriage, her heart heavy as she saw the Lord standing in the rain, abandoned like a dog. She quickly drew the curtain.

If she couldn’t give him what he wanted, it would have been better to erase that hope from the start. That would be the path that was best for both of them.

“I’m sorry, Zeon. This is the best for you and me.”

But seven years later, when Zeon defied everyone’s expectations and returned as a hero of the Empire, Yona realized that the hope he had carried with him had been transformed into something entirely different.