Chapter 143: Live to Sienna Pt.143

“Yes. Huge barrels that reach up to my waist. Aunt Kelly says it seems to be a liquor storage that was built for the purpose of secretly storing or distributing alcohol in the past when smuggling was banned. They said they couldn’t drink because they were so old and have changed tastes, so I put out the barrels that were taking over the space and now it’s quite big. I’m using it as a playground for kids now.”

“That’s interesting. But is it okay, wouldn’t the basement be dark?”

“That’s right. I went in, and it was really dark. And what’s interesting is that it’s soundproofed so when you close the door, the sound doesn’t come out. But from inside the sound outside was very vivid. It was built to avoid a crackdown on illegal liquor, so I think it was built like that. I was worried that it would be dangerous for the children because it was dark, but they played well in the dark, maybe they have bright eyes at night. I told them not to go in, but they kept going in and out of my sight so now I just let them be.”

“I guess the kids are happy to have a secret hideout.”

“I think so. If you go underground and take a closer look, there are little hidden things that children value. When I see it, I can feel that they really care about it. But unlike children, Coco gets scared whenever she goes there.”

“Your cat, Coco?”

“Yes. Once the kids took sleeping Coco underground, and they were very surprised at how loud he was screaming and wielding his nails. After that, they never take Coco underground.”

“I miss Coco.”

“Do you really miss him?”

“Of course.”

“Then shall I show you?”

At Roy’s words, Sienna looked back with questioning eyes and asked if it was possible.

“In fact, Coco followed me all the way here.”

“Into the palace?”

Sienna was surprised to hear that the cat followed him into the palace.

“Maybe because of the bad memory of being dragged underground by the children’s hands the other day, he’s been following me around. No matter how many times I explain I can’t be with him today, he’s stubbornly willing to come… he’s probably waiting for me wandering around the garden. Would you like to go?”

“Let’s go and see!”

Sienna was glancing at Carl while talking to Roy. Every time he looked at him, Bluebell looked at Sienna, wrapping his arms around him. It was like a warning not to even look at him because he was hers.

Sienna hated to feel like an uninvited guest. So Roy’s suggestion to go out to the garden was welcome.

“Then I’ll have to take that with me on my way out. Coco will like the unseasoned chicken, too.”

When Sienna looked at the chicken she had her eyes on, Roy winked and said, showing something tightly wrapped in a handkerchief from his pocket.

“I already have it.”

“Hahaha, I was thinking somehow you smell like chicken.”

Sienna didn’t think it was the smell of a priest who didn’t eat meat, but this was what he was hiding. Sienna couldn’t hold back her laughter. He was wearing pretty clothes like a well-grown nobleman and hiding chicken in his pocket.

Sienna and Roy left the banquet hall and headed for the garden.

“Carl?”

Carl couldn’t hear a single word from Bluebell, who was babbling beside him. He seemed distracted since the time he entered the banquet hall. Since he entered the banquet as a partner of Bluebell, not as a partner of Sienna, he felt uncomfortable as if he was wearing clothes that didn’t fit him.

What he saw as soon as he entered the banquet hall was Sienna, standing alone at the banquet hall and looking at him.

She was staring at him and Carl has no idea what the hell she was thinking. Carl thought she looked lonelier today. Was it because he’s not beside her?

Someone acted first when Carl tried to approach her. Carl knew him.

Priest Roy. A temple priest of the earth. In the words of Sienna, he was a great man who could perform miracles of healing. Carl knew for a long time that he was close to Sienna, but he was not happy to see them together with his own eyes.

“Oh, my! Is that priest Roy?”

At the voice of the Bluebell, Carl nodded slowly.

“Good. I asked the Empress to invite him. Can’t you invite him to my wedding?”

“Why?”

“What do you mean why? I’d like to receive his blessing at my wedding. I heard it was really pretty when Sienna got hers. Oh! You didn’t attend the wedding either, did you? So you haven’t seen it.”

Bluebell laughed as if she had made a funny joke.

“Come to think of it, it’s your first time going into a wedding hall like me. Carl’s real wedding is with me, right? Oh, I feel sorry for the Empress. I can’t believe she had a wedding alone. What kind of wedding is that? I would be so embarrassed that I couldn’t even enter the ceremony and would run away crying.”

“Just because she entered the ceremony alone doesn’t mean that the marriage has no meaning.”

When Carl spoke in a dissatisfied voice, Bluebell looked at him and said, “What’s important whether you marry alone or with someone, is whether you marry someone you love or not.”

Bluebell hugged Carl’s arm and looked up at him, and Carl gave no answer. There was no need to express disapproval when they had to get married anyway. As Sienna advised, it was necessary to restore relations with the Ferrer family through Bluebell for the time being.

“It would be better for the Empress to divorce Carl and marry someone she loves.”

“Divorce?”

“Of course I know. Marriage with the Emperor is not something that you can do at your own will. I’m not such an idiot that I don’t know that a royal wedding isn’t just about love.”

Bluebell looked up at Carl with a look of admiration. Carl said nothing, but she said with a big smile.

“When I think about it, I think I’m really blessed. I can’t believe I can marry someone I love. Isn’t that right, Carl?”

Carl looked at Sienna without answering Bluebell’s question. Sienna was smiling and talking to Roy. It was a bright smile that he hadn’t seen on her for a while.

“The one the Empress is in love with is that Roy priest, isn’t it?”

“What does that mean?”

Carl grabbed Bluebell’s arm and asked. Bluebell whined that it hurt and took off his hands.

“I’ve heard rumors.”

“Rumors?”

When Carl showed interest, Bluebell said excitedly.

“It is rumored that the Empress accepted the imperial proposal because she had a crush on the priest but couldn’t get married to him because he is a priest. Don’t you feel teary about their love? Imagine being Priest Roy, having to bless his lover at her wedding. I heard Roy looked really sad that day. I don’t know if it’s because you have to watch the wedding of the woman you love, or if it’s because you feel sorry for the Empress who had a solo ceremony.”

Bluebell explained vividly, as if she had been present, even though she was not there. Listening to her story alone, Sienna and Roy seemed like lovers of tragedy who were star-crossed.

Carl watched Sienna and Roy with a grim look on his face. They set out on the terrace connected to the garden.

“Huh?!”

Carl was dumbfounded and lamented. There’s a rumor going around between the two, and they’re going out to the garden by themselves.

During a banquet, the garden was more widely used in other ways than its original meaning. A secret rendezvous place for lovers. Since the two rumored people went out to the garden, groundless speculation would be rampant.

“Oh my! Her Majesty the Empress.”

Bluebell called Arya in a friendly manner. It was evident how close the Ferrer family and Arya had become.

Carl checked that Bluebell was mingling between Arya and her flock and headed for the balcony. It was a balcony with a good view of the garden.

The darkened garden, a beautiful tree shadow, was covering up the many couples’ intimate rendezvous. But their conversation was vividly delivered to Carl.

Carl turned his mind off them and found Sienna and Roy. The two sat opposite the fountain, where the moonlight shone brightly, without even thinking about hiding themselves.

“Coco, long time no see.”

Sienna was petting a cat that was eating chicken meat, and Roy was looking at her and the cat happily. Despite being so far away, Carl could feel the tight bond between Sienna and Roy. The glass in Carl’s hand cracked with a crunch.

“I forgot, but I have something for you, Sienna.”

Roy took the envelope out of his arms as if he had only just remembered it.

“It’s a letter from the children of the temple to Sienna. It could have been a disaster. If I hadn’t given it to you, they would have been very disappointed.”

At the words “Letters from the children of the temple,” Sienna accepted with pleasure.

“Is it really written by children?”

The envelope was quite thick.

“As soon as they got used to reading and writing, they were so adamant that they would write to Lady Sienna. They asked me how to mail the letter to the palace, but I didn’t know, so I brought it myself.”

Sienna wanted to open it up and read it right away, but because there wasn’t enough light in the garden to read, so she thought she should read it when she returned to the palace.

Sienna gently swept down the words ‘Dear Sienna’ written on the envelope. Carl frowned at the sight. It was because the rumor he just heard from Bluebell filled his head.

Not knowing that Carl’s misunderstanding was deepening, Sienna and Roy smiled brightly.