Spoiler I Don’t Love You Anymore spoilers

Discussion in 'Spoilers' started by Mikhail_XD, Jan 28, 2020.

  1. i_am_here

    i_am_here Well-Known Member

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    Is Rubiel's mother dead? Also, now that her daughter has become an Empress I'm suprised Neveah mother isn't lurking around her now. What happens to the Marchioness?
     
  2. Celebrianna

    Celebrianna ❤️‍Solo Leveling❣️

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    I think Adele loved Bethel. I think Bethel probably did too but refuse to think more romantically because he knew he was dying. I mean, I just skim through the side story but Adele definitely was upset when she saw the mistress. But Bethel immediately clarified the issue and told her it’s his third brother’s mistress. He tells Adele that he will make the mistress queen and not to worry, the queen won’t threaten her position. So, it seems like there’s a kind of restraint between them but it’s only because Bethel didn’t want to give Adele hope when he knew he will die soon. He wanted her to be able to live strong without him. The author must love them because there are two side stories about them. There’s only one with the main cast.
     
  3. i_am_here

    i_am_here Well-Known Member

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    It's always interesting to notice when you can tell an author is more invested in minor characters.

    So, basically, Renier is actually his half-cousin rather than his "half-brother"?
     
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  4. Celebrianna

    Celebrianna ❤️‍Solo Leveling❣️

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    Yes. Rubiel’s mother might have died in child birth.
    Hmm. I think maybe the answer might be in volume 4 for Niveia’s mom question. I’m still near the beginning of volume 4. I hate Solen so it’s hard to want to read about him..that’s why I sort of went to the side stories to skim through them. I will probably find out what happened to Niveia’s mom after going back to that volume. In any case, Niveia is far away from her mother so there’s no way she can get to her. I know Rubiel goes back to Thierry in the side story to revive the estate. Rudiger took a leave of absence to follow her and help her but I don’t know what kind of relationship they have. This is after 10 years has passed because Niveia’s ten year old, silver haired daughter will go to Thierry with Rubiel and Rudiger to visit with them. Erich, Rudiger’s younger brother, definitely seems to love Rubiel. Niveia’s daughter is lonely so that’s why Arendt tells her she can go with Rudiger. Arendt refuses to have another child because he doesn’t want Niveia to go through that pain.
     
  5. i_am_here

    i_am_here Well-Known Member

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    Thanks! Ah that is a pity I think it would be nice for their daughter to have another sibling UNLESS of course there is genuine concern it could endanger the life of Neveah.

    What happens to the former Princess does she have another child, did she build a bond with Neveah?
     
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  6. Celebrianna

    Celebrianna ❤️‍Solo Leveling❣️

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    Sidica, their daughter is really lonely especially since Rubiel will go back to Thierry. Niveia tells Arendt perhaps they should give her a little sibling and Arendt immediately refuses. Instead he tells her that the son of a duchess will be coming to the palace soon. They will see if the son can be Sidica’s playmate. Sidica had told Erich before that she didn’t want to deprive a friend of their family much like Rudiger had to live in the palace as Arendt’s playmate. I think Niveia should ignore Arendt and just get another child, if she wants.

    Isolde went back to Thierry. It seems that she lives there now. She has a son or maybe twin sons that’s a year younger than Sidica. They joke that there’s never been a red haired Joachim. So, it seems like a lot of them will be in Thierry except Arendt and Niveia and Erich.

    The second side story of Bethel and Adele includes Arendt meeting Niveia as a kid. Since he was ten years old or so, Niveia must have been a little younger. As adults they probably don’t remember meeting though. Unless it was mentioned in volume 4, which I doubt.
     
  7. i_am_here

    i_am_here Well-Known Member

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    Why did Isolde go back to Thierry? Did something happen to her husband, did they get a divorce?
     
  8. Kingdo

    Kingdo Well-Known Member

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    From I don't know exactly where is the spoiler but, it's seem they respect each other. ML mum was a scholar but never really recognize until she meet her husband. She thinks trust and respect is more important than love in a royal relationship, but it look like she likes her husband too.
     
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  9. Celebrianna

    Celebrianna ❤️‍Solo Leveling❣️

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    I think the answer might be in volume 4. I know that Vinfried was a tough experience for her. Remember she didn’t even attend Niveia’s coronation banquet.

    According to Adele’s internal thoughts, she definitely has romantic feelings towards her husband but she tried to keep them in check. Actually, their story seems interesting especially since Adele herself told Niveia that trust is more important than affection for monarchs. When she saw Bethel with the woman after he returned from war, she was jealous and romantically upset. Even she knows this but try to rationalize it.

    I do wonder if Arendt and Adele resolved their differences because Sidica said that her mother would encourage her to visit her grandmother but every time she came back from visiting her grandmother, her father would question her about everything that happened. This is when the child is only a few years old because Adele died when the child was younger than 10 years old.
     
    Last edited: Jul 15, 2021
  10. Celebrianna

    Celebrianna ❤️‍Solo Leveling❣️

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    • The day after her wedding night, Niveia wakes up feeling a dull ache. The first thing she feels is the pain of a terrible headache. She instantly realizes that she’s suffering a hangover from drinking excessively the day before. The last thing she remembers is waiting alone in the bedroom for Arendt. She hears the sound of slippers on the floor and Arendt appears. He sits on the bed and touches her forehead. She inquires about the time and he tells her it’s almost noon. Seeing Arendt looking clean and dressed, Niveia feels ashamed. Her hair is a mess, her face is swollen and she hasn’t washed. She pulls the quilt up from her chin to cover her face and asks why he didn’t wake her up. He didn’t want to wake her because she was sleeping so well. She asks him why hasn’t he gone to work. He replied he intended to leave if she continued to sleep. Niveia lowers the quilt to reveal her eyes. She asks him if he isn’t busy since he worked late last night. He responds that there’s nothing pressing right now. Niveia drinks the glass of water that he gives her and asks if he would like to have lunch together. She tells him that she also wants to discuss about his mother. In her thoughts, Niveia acknowledges that he brought her to restrain his mother so she’s been thinking about their discord. To her it seems as though it wasn’t simply a political difference that makes Arendt hostile to his mother.
    • Unsurprisingly, a blatant look of displeasure rises on Arendt’s face when he hears the topic of his mother. He tells her that he heard she often meets with his mother. She assures him that everything’s okay. As she’s about to bring up Julian, there’s an urgent knock on their bedroom door. It’s Rudiger. Arendt is puzzled but asks Niveia’s consent to allow Rudiger into their room. She’s fine with it since there’s also a section of their bedroom for receiving guests. It turns out that Rudiger is really there to see Niveia. Arendt basically kicks him out of the room soon after he learns this and the atmosphere grew quiet. Just when Niveia thinks she’s alone, Arendt hugs her from behind. He tells her he thought Rudiger was here for him otherwise he wouldn’t have let him into the room. His close whispering voice makes her neck burn with embarrassment. She says he doesn’t have to worry about her. He responds that she’s asking too much. She’s speechless for a moment and then she slowly laughs. She encourages him to go after Rudiger because he seemed upset. In the meantime, she’ll start to get ready. Arendt sighs a little and leaves the room to find Rudiger.
    • Left alone, the dolls bring water and towels for Niveia to wash up. Niveia looks in the mirror and sees her disheveled reflection. Her hair is a mess and the clothes she’s wearing reveals her shoulders and arms. She also sees a red mark like a bite around her collar bone. One of the dolls tell her that they’ll prepare clothes that will cover the mark.
    • Arendt and Rudiger are having tea while they wait for Niveia. Arendt notices that Rudiger seems troubled. It’s because Solen chose the night before to attempt to get his daughter out of the Torben family’s estate. As a result, Rubiel declared that she’ll get engaged to Rudiger’s little brother. (This is just a fake measure) Niveia joins them just in time to hear this and immediately demands that Rudiger take her to see Rubiel.
    • Rubiel and Erich had a rough first meeting complete with Erich’s tears. Rubiel teased him mercilessly but managed to get him to stop crying. Erich doesn’t seem to be close to Rudiger because Rudiger is much older than him and he’s always away working in the palace. Erich was surprised when he heard that Rudiger has the patience to entertain a child like Rubiel especially since his older brother doesn’t play with him. In any case, after their initial friction, they hit it off and the two children spent their days happy together until the night of Niveia’s coronation banquet when Solen came uninvited to the estate. To prevent her father from immediate taking her, Rubiel lied to her father and said that she and Erich are engaged.
    • Niveia is currently visiting the Torben estate. Sitting in the green house with the kids and Rudiger, she questions Rubiel about the engagement matter. She doesn’t agree with any of this at all especially after she wasted her youth on Valer through an engagement promise. However, she decides to respect Rubiel’s intentions. The problem is, the Torbens (Deborah’s family) is a very warm family and she doesn’t believe a political marriage is suited in that family if Rubiel doesn’t actually like Erich. Furthermore, she’s only ten years old and her feelings can change. When Niveia asks Rubiel if she really wants to get engaged, she shouts “no.” Everyone is surprised including Rudiger who asks Rubiel if his brother is so bad of a choice especially since they’ve been getting along so well. Rubiel denies that’s not what she means. She said if she gets married she can’t inherit the Marquis title. Then she throws a tantrum and runs off leaving Niveia stunned.
    (I don’t understand why this kid doesn’t just go back home. If she wants the title, it would be good to start taking lessons that will prepare her before she has to take the final lessons for the heir in the future)

    • Julian is on his way to purposefully meet Valer. That’s because he can’t let go of his curiosity about Valer and the handkerchief. Previously, Valer asked Julian to give him the handkerchief and he’ll return it to Niveia. Julian speculates that Valer seem to have a crush on the empress. As someone who knew Esther and as someone who himself was drowning in unrequited love, he undoubtedly recognized the desperate look on Valer’s face. It was a sign of one-sided love. Julian also thinks he saw that expression on Arendt’s face. He can’t believe it especially when he remembers how long Esther suffered her unrequited love for Arendt. More than anything else, Julian suspects that Valer had some type of relationship with Niveia in the past. He’s convinced because Valer immediately recognized that the handkerchief was Niveia’s. The man is now intrigued and wonders how such a cold, unimpressive empress was able to seduce these men.
    • Julian thinks it will be beneficial to be friends with Niveia as the empress. He had asked for her second dance the night before because he wanted to propose to her that if she accepted him as her lover, he would give her what ever she wants. However, Valer had blocked him. Reflecting on it now, Julian thinks there was definitely something there between Valer and the empress. He wonders if he can use Valer as he makes his way into the palace where the Thierry envoy is staying.
    • Julian arrives just in time to hear someone arguing with Valer. It’s Solen. He asks Valer why did he break up with Niveia if he was going to come out like this now. Does he think he doesn’t know he was turning a blind eye to Niveia all that time? Niveia herself said she liked him and wouldn’t break up the marriage and they were engaged for ten years. Did he get fed up? But now he’s pretending to be honest and trying to make him out to be the only villain. Valer tells Solen that the emperor needs to give the empress time. (It seems like they’re mixing personal and political issues) Solen talks about the urgency of the matter because of Allies (smaller countries that banded together) and border problems. Solen argues that Valer is being stupid. They need to get the emperor’s order done. Valer tells Solen that he shouldn’t talk about Niveia like someone who they can just use to achieve their goal. (I think they want to use Niveia to get Arendt to help them) They start arguing on personal issues again because Solen accuses Niveia of kidnapping his successor.
    • Meanwhile, just by eavesdropping on this conversation, Julian was able to discover the empress’s secrets. Solen calms down and empathizes with Valer. He says that he knows that Valer is a victim too. He knows that he’s not the only one suffering from Niveia for a long time. He knows that Valer has a good character but it’s not a good thing to make a living out of it. He reminds Valer that the emperor cares for him but he won’t back down from the order he gave. Valer asks if the Allies is so intimidating. Valer wants to know what Solen will get out of all of this. He says he knows that Solen’s business is not doing well. Solen claims that all he wants is to take his daughter with him. They start to talk about the Gauren mine and Adelhite’s name is brought up in the conversation. This instantly galvanizes Julian’s attention. Solen thinks Adelhite will help him but Julian believes that she’s probably instigating his downfall instead especially since he noticed that Solen fails at reading the atmosphere. The two men then discuss about putting a maid next to Niveia but it’s mentioned that Joachim arranged her maids and there’s no way to fill the gap. One of them tell the other that it’s their job do to it. The two men separate after that.
    • Julian who was still quietly listening, thinks he’s learned a lot of secrets. He finds it believable that the cold empress was hung up on the duke. He puts a smile on his face and approaches Valer. He inquires if Valer didn’t sleep well the night before because he looks tired. He adds that he wouldn’t be able to sleep too if his loved one got married to someone else. Even more so an ex-fiancée. Valer’s eyes immediately grow fierce. He asks Valer if he can have some of his time.
    • Arendt is lonely so he calls Renier to the imperial city not knowing that Renier had a special day planned to spend with his wife. Isolde doesn’t mind because she wants to visit Niveia. Renier goes to Arendt’s office and mildly complains. Arendt didn’t call him for work though. Renier realizes that Arendt is lonely even though he’s busy working. Renier asks after Niveia and Arendt informs him that Niveia went to the Torben’s estate because of an issue with Solen. Somehow they got to talking about eating and Renier says it’s important for couples to eat together. Arendt takes note of this and resolves to eat breakfast and dinner with Niveia from now on. However, he’s not sure if Niveia would want that. Renier asks him why and Arendt answers that Niveia has been avoiding him. Renier asks why. Arendt begins to say last night something happened but cuts himself off. Renier picks up where Arendt left off and says last night was the first night. He asks what happened. Arendt said that Niveia was tired from the coronation and went to bed early. Renier asks what about him. Arendt smiles unusually awkwardly and says he took Niveia to bed and went to bed.
    • Renier amusingly observes Arendt’s cuteness and decides not to pry anymore since Arendt didn’t seem to want to divulge his thoughts. Renier shrugs and asks Arendt if that’s all, there’s no reason why she would avoid him. He advises Arendt to be brave. Or, does Arendt want him to make an excuse? Arendt looks up questionably at Renier. There was a look in his eyes that seem to yearn for his brother who had successfully achieved the fruits of love a long time earlier than himself.
    • Niveia returns to the imperial city feeling beaten up because of the words Rubiel had uttered with a bawl. Rubiel had declared that if she got married she can’t be the Marquis and doesn’t intend to live in Vinfried for ten years. Niveia now understands that Rubiel’s dream is to become the Marquis. She was surprised by Rubiel’s tenacity to inherit the title but not nearly as much as Rubiel’s declaration that she didn’t want to live there for ten years. Niveia thinks Rubiel was talking about the ten wasted years she lived as Valer’s fiancée. Niveia is quite in an emotional turmoil over this. While she’s ruminating on these thoughts, she arrives at her palace and meets Isolde waiting for her.
    • Niveia almost cried but after seeing Isolde, she suppressed the feeling. However, Isolde asks her why is she crying and who troubled her. Niveia is lost in her thoughts and Isolde loses her patience, drops her tea spoon, and starts to badmouth Arendt. She thinks this must be a problem about Niveia’s marriage only after a day. She asks Niveia what did the emperor do her and starts to say stuff like being a good person doesn’t make a person a good husband. Niveia tells her that Arendt is innocent. Isolde asks Niveia then why are her cheeks red. Isolde tells her that her cheeks are as red as a parrot and not to worry since her husband would be the emperor if Arendt dies. She’s sorry to make her a widow overnight but she’ll take responsibility for her for the rest of her life.
    • Niveia assures Isolde again that Arendt has nothing to do with it. Isolde wants to know what the hell because she risked saying such a thing about killing Arendt and it turns out it’s nothing to do with him. She already noticed that the imperial palace dolls were watching her for speaking so carelessly about Arendt. She asks Niveia to tell her what’s wrong since she might be able to help. Niveia still doesn’t say anything. Isolde tells her who else will understand her or doesn’t she trust her. Niveia finally says it’s about her family history. Isolde tells her that they’re family now. Are there any sisters that live closer than them after marriage?
    • Niveia wants to relieve her frustration but hesitates. She thinks Isolde is really like an older sister but she’s never shared her concerns with anyone before. When she looks up at Isolde, the trust and affection in Isolde’s eyes is readily apparent and prompts Niveia to start divulging her problem as though hypnotized. She tells Isolde about the Rubiel issue. Isolde immediately understands why Niveia is upset after Niveia mentions what Rubiel said about the ten years. She immediately freezes then remarks that she didn’t think Rubiel was so mean. Isolde then asks Niveia why is Rubiel even her problem. She says she really needs to talk to Niveia’s husband. She knows Niveia is nice but she doesn’t understand why she has to solve everyone’s needs. Yes, Rubiel is young and she’s the only child but this shouldn’t be Niveia’s problem. Niveia starts to talk from the perspective of Solen and once again Isolde implores her to please think only of herself. She doesn’t have to put herself in the shoes of others. Isolde asks her how come she’s the only one who doesn’t think so much of herself. She assures her that there’s no reason to even entertain the positions of others who put her through a lot and encourages her to be a little selfish.
    • Niveia says she’s already been selfish. She broke off her engagement, got married, changed her last name and brought her sister to Vinfried. Isolde asks her who did she trample on. Did she destroy her family? Did she slap those who insulted her? Did she kick back the sister from following her? Has she maimed the former fiancé who ignored her?
    • Right then there’s a knock on the door. The doll announces that Arendt and Renier have come to visit. A little later the four are sitting around a table. Isolde strikes the table and declares that someone needs to take responsibility for leaving her sister like this. Arendt who had come to make a move on his wife, says he doesn’t know what happened with this atmosphere of scolding but does he have any responsibility for it? Isolde tells him that he allowed Solen to come to Vinfried. Renier had to correct that accusation and confessed that he’s the one who approved Solen’s entrance to Vinfried and Arendt only found out the day Solen arrived. Isolde gives him a penalty. Next she demands to know what they have done to resolve the issue once Niveia moved Rubiel to the Torbens. Both men are silent. Isolde asks them if they know Niveia had to face Solen alone. Both men are silent. Isolde asks if they know that Solen visited the Torben’s last night to pick up Rubiel. No one answers. Isolde finally asks Niveia to go out. She obviously wants to talk to the men alone. Niveia protests against this at first and then realizes that it probably wouldn’t sit well with Arendt if Isolde scolds him in front of her. Niveia leaves for the gardens suddenly feeling free. While there, someone calls to her. It’s Valer.
    • Back in the palace, Isolde tells Renier to shut up. She’ll deal with Arendt first. She tells him that she knows that he interfered to make business troubles for Solen even before he returned to Vinfried. She asks him if that’s the best he could do. She said he should have intervened to tie Solen’s feet to the imperial command or at least kept him from running into Niveia. She knows Rubiel is young and very spoiled but aside from that, does he feel comfortable letting Solen go haywire in Vinfried. Arendt asks her what should he have done. Should he keep Niveia sheltered and inaccessible? Isolde tells him that he should join in to help her since she only thinks of others. This seems to push Arendt’s buttons because a rare ferocious expression clouds his face. He asks if it’s his fault that Niveia doesn’t tell him anything or asks for his help. Isolde advises him that he can’t wait for Niveia to ask for help.
    • Isolde feels the stark difference between Arendt and Niveia. She thinks Arendt will never understand Niveia who can’t share her problems with others. She also acknowledges that she wouldn’t understand Niveia either if she hadn’t come to Vinfried, had a stillborn child and suffered from terrible depression and anxiety. Isolde opens her mouth and tells Arendt that she understands his position but he should not leave Niveia alone. She thinks no matter how young Rubiel is, she has to solve what she’s done properly. If they leave Niveia alone, she will sacrifice herself to be a shield and cover for Rubiel and Solen will continue to curse Niveia.
    • Isolde inquires about Arendt’s plans. He says he intends to bring down Solen. The three who are present know that it’s something that Niveia shouldn’t know. Arendt explains that’s it’s not just for emotional reasons. He thinks Solen, more than Bertrand, is the one who can influence Niveia. And if there’s anyone to benefit from Niveia’s marriage, it would be Solen and not Bertrand. He didn’t want to face a situation in Vinfried where they’d have to reveal that Solen is Niveia’s biological father, which is not well known there. Even though Niveia doesn’t get along with Solen, Arendt didn’t want Solen to come to imperial city as a state guest. After marrying Niveia, he had already concluded that Solen had to be destroyed. That’s why he started investing in mining to influence the market. Arendt admits that his initial move was to destroy Solen’s internal affairs so that he wouldn’t dare come to Vinfried. The big variable that twisted his plan is Rubiel.
    • Arendt admits that Rudiger seem to care very much for Rubiel and so he had to take that into consideration. When he took over Solen’s estate, he left it to the extent that it can be revived again. In the meantime, Solen came to Vinfried in a hurry because of Rubiel. Solen’s goal is to take Rubiel back as well as get support. However, Arendt admits that now they can’t send Rubiel back and they can’t destroy Solen completely. His current goal is to send Solen back home as quickly as possible. Isolde says that in the end, it’s a situation that can’t be done because of Rubiel. If they don’t consider her, they can send her back and crush Solen but everything goes awry if they keep her in mind. Renier, who was quiet all along says a good solution would be to put Solen in jail.
    • Arendt suddenly jumps to his feet. Isolde follows Arendt’s gaze and says, “Oh my.” That’s because she sees Niveia and Valer through the window walking affectionately in the gardens outside. She tells Arendt that he can go and Arendt excuses himself. Isolde and Renier are left alone in the palace room and they talk about Arendt’s reactions. They’ve never seen him act this way. In her thoughts, Isolde thinks about her recent discussion with Arendt. She thinks a normal person wouldn’t destroy the parents of his wife. And Niveia doesn’t know this either. She gets chills when she thinks of this. Renier asks her what’s wrong. She tells him that his brother is a little creepy. lol She wonders if she should tell Niveia.
    • Sometimes the irreversible past is overlaid on the present. Valer enters the empress’s palace and sees Niveia in the gardens. He reminisces on the past thinking that Niveia will turn to him with a warm smile on her face if he calls out to her. He tells himself that’s not going to happen. He calls out to Niveia, addressing her as Your Majesty. Niveia turns to him with a calm expression. Her eyebrows are slightly raised as though questioning his presence there. Niveia asks him what’s going on. He brings out the finely folded handkerchief and says he has something to return. Niveia recognizes it as the handkerchief she gave to Julian. Valer lies and tells her that Julian was busy so he asked him to return it on his behalf. Niveia thanks him and gets ready to receive it but Valer asks her for a favor. Niveia frowns. Valer says that he just wants a moment to talk with her. Niveia asks why. He says Bertrand sent a message. He’s supposed to ask for an official meeting but he didn’t want to pass the message to the empress and just finish it. Niveia agonizes for a moment and then suggests they can walk in the gardens.
    • Valer is surprised that permission has been granted so easily. It turns out that Julian advised him on how to act and approach Niveia. Earlier, after Julian asked to speak with Valer, he admits to him that he overheard the conversation between him and Solen. Julian’s mouth gets him in trouble and Valer roughly collars him to the point where Julian was trembling. Anyway, after they calmed down, they went into Valer’s room and Julian was talking to him about trying to become Niveia’s lover since that’s allowed in Vinfried. Julian also advises Valer to go see Niveia instead and use the handkerchief as a means to get her to talk with him. After all, there’s still the order from Thierry’s emperor to use Niveia. Julian advised him that it would be good to talk to Niveia personally.
    • Valer is currently walking with Niveia after his plan succeeds and he can’t believe how easily Julian’s advice worked. He knows how ruthless Niveia can be so it makes it even more surprising. They start to talk politics. Valer reveals to Niveia that Bertrand wants her to persuade Arendt. It seems that Bertrand thinks war might be brewing on the continent and everybody knows that Arendt’s parents were war monarchs and therefore Vinfried has a strong national power. Adelhite even developed several projects that were successful for them during war time. It seems that Thierry wants an alliance with Vinfried because they’ve wasted their years in peace and doesn’t have the national strength like Vinfried to stand alone in war time.
    • Niveia asks Valer why is he telling her all of this. Valer says that he wants to help her. She asks if it’s because he’s sorry. She tells him that she doesn’t care about the past anymore but perhaps he feels indebted to her. Valer denies that. Niveia asks him, then why is he saying he wants to help her. Valer questions if this feeling is guilt. He thinks it might have started that way but now it’s not. A sense of loss pushed him endlessly into the abyss. He still remembered the night he stepped alone into Niveia’s room. It was the moment he missed the stifling warmth. He wanted another chance. He actually liked the flowers he received from her. No, he actually liked her. If the feeling he felt was simply a sense of loss and guilt for losing her love, there is no reason to feel suffocated every time he sees her. Not only is he jealous of Arendt when he sees him friendly with her, there would be no reason for him to chase her smile with a hectic eye.
    • Valer pauses, covers his mouth with the back of his hand and blushes. His eyes are red as if he’s about to cry. Niveia mutters that she made a mistake and to please forget about what she said. She thinks she’s still the same as the past. It’s because lately people like Isolde, and now Valer, has taken her side and she’s always hesitant to accept kindness from others. Valer warns her that she should be careful of people who act friendly but hides a dagger behind their back. He’s thinking of Julian who was easily able to see into Niveia’s actions and thoughts.
    • Arendt’s friendly voice interrupts the conversation. Valer notices that Niveia’s face immediately loses its coldness and her voice is brighter than before as she asks if the conversation with Isolde is over. Arendt replies that the big story is over. It’s fine if she comes back in now. Niveia asks him if it was a harsh scolding. Arendt asks if she’s worried and kisses her hand. There’s a brief exchange amongst the three people about Valer’s presence there. Arendt asks Niveia if she needs more time and Niveia says no. Arendt turns to Valer with a fierce gaze which clearly says, ‘get the hell out of here.’ Valer takes out the handkerchief and holds it out to Niveia.
    • Valer tells Arendt that he’s reminded of a dog that reveals itself when its territory is invaded. He adds that as the empress says, their business is over. Arendt sees the handkerchief and asks if it’s Niveia’s. Valer lies and says he was asked to deliver it or is Arendt worried that the empress did something immoral only a day after she married. Arendt tells him what a leap that is and how dare he talk about Joachim’s morality. Valer puts the handkerchief on Niveia’s hand and says that he’s just saying it’s not good to be jealous and that the Joachim family is not a monogamous family so why not keep his composure. He says goodbye to the two after saying these words.
    • Niveia slowly realizes that this could lead to a misunderstanding. She turns to Arendt who seems to have a gloomy expression. She asks if he’s scared again about losing her. She thinks it’s her fault. She reveals to him that the business she discussed with Valer is about Bertrand asking a favor. About taking a lover, she has no intention of bringing in one. She doesn’t have one anyway. She also doesn’t intend to go back to Thierry. She also doesn’t know why she has to have someone other than him. Arendt asks her if he’s the only one for her. Niveia hurriedly nods. She assures him it’s been like that since the beginning. Arendt asks if he’s the most precious to her. Niveia answers that he probably is. Arendt tells her to be sure that he is as he wraps her in his arms.
    • The way Arendt talks, his words and the hand that affectionately hugs her waist reminds Niveia of a whining child. She becomes confused and wonders if it’s okay for them to stay like this. She’s never had contact with him before except when he kisses her hand.
    (Wouldn’t a woman feel a difference in her body after their first night even if she doesn’t remember what happened? Hmmm)
    • Niveia thinks that them hugging like this is like lovers. She’s blushing like crazy. She has no immunity to this kind of thing. Only the dusk hides her red face. She tells Arendt that he’s precious to her. He asks if she means it. She assures him she does. Her skirt meshes with his pants as they’re still hugging. Navier is amazed that her heart could be this strong. Arendt smiles like a rascal when he notices her reaction. He asks if she doesn’t like when he hugs her. She says no, it’s not like that. He asks then why does she look like that. Doesn’t she like him? Niveia’s eyes widen in an instant. She declares it’s not that. It’s just awkward. She doesn’t know if she can do this. Arendt reminds her that they can hug because they’re married. There’s nothing wrong with lending one’s spouse an arm for comfort. Niveia asks if he needs comforting. Arendt responds, yes.
    • Niveia is fine with this and regains her composure. She hugs Arendt back and she couldn’t see Arendt who is secretly smiling. Meanwhile, Niveia is wondering if she’s ever hugged Arendt before. She’s surprised by the large feel of his chest. She also finds his scent sweeter than she thought it would be. She thinks the scent is familiar. She unwittingly puts the tip of her nose on his shoulder and experiences a sense of deja vu. She feels like she’s used to this situation where she’s hugging him. She wonders if she’s ever hugged him before. She wonders what is this familiar feeling. Leaning her body against his hard chest and wrapping her arms around his neck gives her a strange feeling as if something close had happened between them a while ago.
    • Niveia asks Arendt if he feels better now. He says it’s better than being alone. He think it’s nice to have someone to comfort him. It’s been so long that he can’t remember. Niveia responds that the emperor’s seat is lonely. He clarifies that he doesn’t mean that and hugs her more deeply. He too was used to the familiar sensations and has a sense of deja vu. Niveia tells Arendt that he’s comforted her a lot before. He might not remember it but comfort would never be forgotten by the receiver. She says some more things about how she didn’t need comfort in the past because she thought consolation would add to her burdens but she’s glad that she was comforted by him. Arendt, probably feeling guilty now, says he didn’t mean to go this far. Arendt then tells her something like she acts like a stranger so it’s like she’s always alone. She doesn’t rely on him for anything. Why is she like that to him? Niveia asks if he’s blaming her. Arendt says no. It’s just it’s happy and painful.
    • Niveia is stunned. She asks if he has a crush on her. Her eyes widen in shock. She couldn’t see Arendt’s expression because it’s dark. Arendt doesn’t answer her but tells her that he wishes that she would rely on him more. He tells her that he’ll go back first to join Renier and Isolde and admonishes her to be careful of the cold weather. Niveia stares at his retreating figure. A gentle breeze blows and the scent from Arendt’s arms tickles her nose. It’s a familiar scent. She suddenly realizes it’s the scent of her hair. As soon as she recognizes this, the memories of the night before flood into her mind.
    • Isolde goes to chat with Niveia who is still standing in the garden. Niveia’s face is flushed red. Isolde asks her why is her face so red and if she’s sick. Isolde touches Niveia’s neck and forehead to check for fever. Isolde soon realizes that Niveia is all red because of her interactions with Arendt. Isolde thinks that they’re an innocent couple. Based on Niveia’s reaction, Isolde thinks she’s simply shy. It’s definitely the freshness of a married couple who just started their honeymoon.
    • Isolde puts her jacket around Niveia’s shoulders. She changes the subject to address the issue with Solen and Rubiel. She informs Niveia that they’ve found a solution. Niveia had completely forgotten about that problem and she’s still feeling hot from the memories from the night before. lol Isolde tells Niveia that they will soon repatriate Solen. Isolde then gives Niveia some advice. She tells Niveia that she’s married to Arendt now and needs to stop thinking of doing everything on her own. She knows that’s the way Niveia has lived up until now but she should know that there are things that she can’t do alone. Now she has Arendt by her side.
    • Listening to Isolde, Niveia recalls that earlier that evening Arendt told her that he wishes that she’d rely on him more. Niveia thought that Arendt’s attitude then was a sign of a crush although she didn’t actually think he’s in love with her. But then she remembered last night. The look in his eyes, the strange expressions and unfamiliar behavior. There was even passion in it. Niveia realizes that Arendt doesn’t simply want her for political needs. She also thinks that there’s no reason for him to want her to confide in him if he thought of her strictly as a political partner.
    • Niveia tells Isolde that she doesn’t want to be a nuisance to Arendt. Isolde replies that she thinks it’s one thing to create problems but another to close the door. Isolde explains that human relationships are based on understanding. How can a person who doesn’t know anything about her be considerate of her? When people get to know each other, they build respect for each other. That’s how friendship are built. Isolde asks Niveia if she’s ever told her story to anyone else. Niveia doesn’t answer. Isolde reminds her that when she first met her, she told her the story of her stillborn child. Niveia realizes she’s being immature after Isolde points this out to her. Isolde then tells Niveia that now that Solen found out where Rubiel is, it’s better to bring her to the palace. Niveia agrees. Isolde asks her if she minds what Rubiel implied with the decade. Niveia doesn’t deny that it bothers her. Isolde says of course what Rubiel said needs to be scolded but Niveia must keep in mind that the girl is young. After that, the two sisters walk back to the palace and Isolde decides to stay at the palace for the time being.
    • Later that night, Rudiger leads Niveia to a secret passage to pay Arendt a surprise visit. It works because Arendt was very surprised. He asks her if she has something to say. She responds that she’s been thinking about what he said to her earlier in that day in the garden. She tells him not to avoid the subject. Arendt asks her if she’s going to tell him not to be so friendly anymore. Niveia tells him that she remembers what happened yesterday. She remembers their conversation and she remembers what they did. She admits that in the morning she didn’t remember anything. She pulls the neckline of her dress aside to reveal the red marks engraved on her white skin like flowers. Arendt blushes. Niveia steps closer to him and tells him that after they had dinner, her sister (Isolde) asked her to go into the bath together but she had no choice but to refuse. She tells him that he knows too that the marks are not just on her chest area but all over. Niveia’s voice and the atmosphere makes Arendt shudder in agony even though it’s not what she intended.
    • Blushing and flustered, Arendt puts his hand around Niveia’s waist. He thinks his crush has been found out and he’s being punished. Niveia apologizes to him for forgetting everything. She knows he must have been confused. Niveia says that she knows it’s what married couples do and he doesn’t have to be shy about it. She admits she was actually worried about what to do on the first night but he looks pretty good/satisfied so she’s relieved. Arendt hurriedly covers her mouth with his hand. lol Now his face is red as he pleads with her to stop talking. Niveia asks him why. He says he understands enough of what she’s trying to say. Niveia tells him that she hasn’t said the most important thing yet. Arendt asks her what. Instead of answering, Niveia takes his hand that’s covering her mouth and puts it on her waist. She does the same with his other hand. She tells him that he’s the only one that can do this to her.
    • Niveia hesitates a little then confesses that her sister told her that she’s too reticent. Since she doesn’t disclose herself to him, no matter how much they talk, he won’t get to know her and they’ll feel distant. She understands now why he’s anxious and thinks of her like a candle that will blow out. To herself, Niveia also reflects on the real possibility that she might have set fire to his anxiety after she forgot their first night together. That’s also why she came to him so late at night. Niveia hugs Arendt. She reveals that she’s glad that he’s nervous about her. She’s glad his poor peace has been ruined by her every time he worries about losing her. She feels a strange sense of satisfaction from it. She adds that he’s the first person who ever wanted her so badly even though he doesn’t lack anything. That’s why she feels that she’s become someone important. Greedy Niveia wishes that he would want her more but she doesn’t tell this to Arendt. However, she does tell him that she’s the kind of person who’s glad when he said that it’s painful like he said earlier in the garden that night. It made her feel relieved.
    • Niveia knows she has a habit of building trust on the suffering of others. In other words, if someone was willing to suffer for her, she would trust them. Niveia tells Arendt that he told her before that she had too much faith in malice. She can’t deny it. She’s scared of people and that’s why she chooses to trust in their malice rather than their goodness. Even now she thinks that this peace will turn against her someday. She knows he doesn’t understand her. However, Arendt cuts her off and says he understands as he pulls her into a deeper embrace and strokes her hair. He admits that everyone lies. He can understand if she doesn’t believe in anything. He doesn’t mind earning her trust through pain. Niveia rejects this. She tells him that she doesn’t want him to suffer because it would be like digging into her own flesh. Niveia’s hands are climbing up and caressing his neckline appreciatively as she says this. Niveia tells him that she only trusts him. Niveia steps up and touches Arendt’s lips that tremble. She tells him that his reaction makes her happy because it’s proof that he wants her. All Arendt can do, after this provocative move, is whisper her name. Niveia tells him that she forgot about yesterday because of the alcohol but she won’t forget today. Arendt is speechless. She asks him if he needs comfort. Arendt promptly responds that he does. Niveia smiles wistfully and tells him that’s great as a smoky passion envelops them.
     
  11. Kingdo

    Kingdo Well-Known Member

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    Oh! I really want to see that now, so badly :blobrofl:

    :blobrofl::blobxd::blob_patpat: Are you serious Valor ? I can't believe it ! And the worst or better is he really think Niveah will be okay with you in the end ! :blobrofl::blobrofl: OMG let me breathe !
     
  12. nonomo

    nonomo Well-Known Member

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    Lmao at Valer pretty much calling ML a dog and talking about jealousy. Self awareness below zero.

    Normally I hate 2nd MLs/rivals but I love it when they are the villains in stories like this just to see how shameless they can get :blobpopcorn_cool:
     
  13. Celebrianna

    Celebrianna ❤️‍Solo Leveling❣️

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    • Niveia, Isolde, Rudiger and Arendt sit down on a certain day to try to resolve the Rubiel issue. Nothing is working out because the issue has become delicate. Solen is even getting foreign envoys involved with him. Someone says it would have been good if they could get him in jail for an offense. Niveia says Solen is very particular about keeping his name clean so he won’t risk gambling and other activities that would get him in jail. Isolde thinks everything could be solved so neatly if only they could send Rubiel back. It’s also to Niveia’s benefit that she can finally get Solen out of her life. Niveia objects that they can’t send Rubiel back now since Marchioness Solen doesn’t treat her well. An appeal to Bertrand also doesn’t work because the return correspondence would probably take too long and by then things would have already escalated. Basically, they’re stuck with a major headache.
    • Moving on to another topic, Isolde talks about the meetings that Niveia is hosting with various state representatives that came for her coronation. Niveia intends to make good use of the meeting to encourage the representatives to discuss political matters among their nations. Isolde notes that Niveia is already working hard only a few days after getting married. Niveia tells her that she and Arendt has a day off in three days so she has to work hard until then. There’s also a wedding that they’ll be attending. The bride, Charlotte, is one of the ladies who attended Niveia’s first night gathering and was sharing stories about the first night. Niveia remembers her very well because of how talkative she was. Niveia even blushes when she remembers some of her stories. Speaking of Charlotte, Isolde mentions that she heard the marriage is a love marriage so she starts to joke about how love marriages seem to be in fashion nowadays. She’s clearly teasing Arendt whom she looks at with a significant gaze. Rudiger soon joins in to tease Arendt and Arendt complains that it’s unfair that they’re leaving Niveia out when she’s the other half of the marriage.
    • Three days later, Arendt and Niveia attend Charlotte’s wedding. Charlotte is a noble of Vinfried and she’s marrying the Vice Prime Minister of a country called Aspodel. Niveia is together with Arendt, who’s complaining because people are giving him a hard time just because it’s rumored that he’s in a love marriage and not a political marriage. It seems like he feels that people’s questions about his marriage is more jest than anything else. And besides, he’s not the only one who got married recently so why are they only bothering him. After listening to his complaints, Niveia asks him if he’s happy to be married to her. Arendt gets a bit embarrassed but he tells her that she’s asking the obvious. Niveia tries to soothe him. She actually finds it impressive that he’s complaining with a smiling mask on his face as they stand in the wedding reception hall.
    • Charlotte, the bride, approaches the monarch couple and thanks them for attending her wedding. Shortly afterwards, the prime minister of Aspodel approaches Niveia. He’s seen her before in the principality of Silas when she used to represent Valer at state meetings. He exchanges a few greetings with Niveia before Niveia informs Arendt that she would like to speak privately with the prime minister.
    • Niveia and the prime minister walk outside in the garden. The prime minister jokes that before they left the hall, Arendt looked at him like a peregrine hawk that has stolen his chick. Niveia snorts, thinks of Arendt’s smiling face and assures the prime minister that her husband couldn’t have been so bothered. She then asks the prime minister why he remembers her. They didn’t even have much contact with each other at the principality of Silas. The prime minister admits that it’s because of her purple eyes. It’s a color that’s rarely seen outside of his country especially among the nobles. Niveia knows that her purple eyes are from her mother’s origins. The prime minister assures her that he also feels a sense of homogeneity with her and he’s sure other people from his country would tell her the same.
    • Changing the subject, the prime minister advises Niveia that whether she wants it or not, she has a very wide range of influence. She’s at the center of two of the largest countries on the continent and today’s marriage will add a third sphere (Aspodel) of influence through her friendship with Charlotte. The prime minister is the one who’s in charge of the Allies that Bertrand asked Niveia to persuade Arendt to help with. The Aspodel Alliance is a rising power on the continent and Bertrand feels threatened by this and wants to keep them in check. Consequently, the conversation between Niveia and the prime minister is quite relevant when he points out her influence with Bertrand and Arendt. Niveia knows that it’s Thierry that’s getting antsy about the Allies and the prime minister basically confirms it though indirectly. The prime minister reminds Niveia that both of their countries, Vinfried and Aspodel, are in the middle of a transition of power. He reminds her that anything can change and people can become desperate. He takes her hand and tells her to remember him as the only one who first remembered her. He may ask for her favor in the future.
    • In Charlotte’s common bridal room, the young gals of Vinfried are together once again talking about mature topics. It seems that Vinfried is a country with an open dating practice. The ladies are talking stories about their experiences while Niveia silently listens to them. They start to talk about strategies that men employ to get what they want and one of the strategies they use is to ask for comfort. Niveia instantly perks up because Arendt did this to her the day after her wedding. She’s unable to hold back and remarks that if a man needs comfort, why doesn’t go home to hug his blanket. Another lady chimes in and says it’s so obvious that it’s a strategy because if a man truly wants help, he can get it from his knight standing right next to him who is more helpful than a lady in a dress and shoes. As the ladies continue to chat on the subject, it finally sinks in with Niveia that Arendt had manipulated her into comforting him. The ladies realizes that the man that Niveia was talking about must be the emperor and they begin to fangirl over this. One of the ladies tells Niveia that it’s easy to interact simply as a couple but sexual advances are very difficult so it’s understandable that the emperor would do that. Another lady tells Niveia that she’s envious of her for having his majesty’s love. Niveia understands it’s indeed a special thing and it makes her feel good when she thinks she’s the closest woman to Arendt. If Arendt wants consolation, he would come to her and not Isolde whom he gets along with really well. She likes that the only person he wants is her.
    • The conversations of these ladies are quite entertaining. Despite the fact that there were recently two love marriages, by and large, most marriages are still political. One of the ladies, Friede, will be marrying soon and her future husband is a straight laced man so all she can think of is a bleak future. Consequently, she’s living her single life to the fullest by attending parties every day, changing lovers every three days and she’s doing everything a single woman can do. This leads to a discussion about a very important place called The Salon. Niveia doesn’t know what The Salon is so she asks the ladies. It’s a place with a secret membership and it’s quite famous in their society. It’s said to be a dangerous and provocative place. Niveia points out the contradiction of secret yet famous. The ladies say it doesn’t fit but it’s still a famous secret salon. Some of the ladies reveal that they have memberships there. Niveia wants to know why is it a provocative and dangerous place. She learns that there’s gambling activities there as well as secret rooms for carrying on affairs. Moreover, anything can be happen in the secret rooms.
    • Friede also reveals that foreigners have been frequenting the place and more specifically, Friede brought up Valer’s name, which surprises Niveia. Friede mentions that all of her attempts to seduce Valer failed. She even wonders if there’s something wrong with him. Niveia’s face gets hot when she listens to the ladies discuss Valer. She admits in her head that she too once thought that there was something wrong with Valer. She remembers that no matter how she approached him in the past, he treated her like a stone. Back then she seriously began to wonder if he had a physical problem or if he liked men.
    • One of the other ladies comfort Friede and assures her that her current lover is just as handsome as Valer. Friede says she’s thinking of attempting to seduce Valer one more time. That’s why she wants to go to the salon again. She heard that Thierry’s high ranking nobles come and go from the salon so she’s expecting to find Valer there. Another lady tells Friede to take Valer to the back room and Niveia coughs to interrupt the conversation because she doesn’t want to hear about Friede’s sexual intentions for Valer.
    • Later that night, Niveia and Isolde are getting ready for bed and they chat about her conversations with the Vinfried gals. Niveia tells Isolde that the conversation made her think of Valer in many ways. Isolde asks why. Niveia responds that she wants to know why would he go to the salon. And even if it’s not necessarily Valer who goes there, why is Thierry high ranking nobles deeply infiltrating into Vinfried’s social circle? Isolde agrees. It’s the first time she’s heard that foreigners come and go to the salon. She couldn’t enter it either. Even though she’s the Duchess of Arthur, she’s still considered a foreigner. Niveia tells her that she heard it’s a dangerous place. Isolde replies that she didn’t know at the time. She also tells Niveia that Thierry have salons too but they’re bigger in Vinfried society. She informs Niveia that people play games, spend money, play with each other or even do drugs. Niveia is shocked. After all, opium is forbidden in Thierry. Isolde plainly points out that if people were going to actually obey the law, there would be no need for prisons. Drugs has been used for a long time in these salons among people in the know. Isolde is sure that It probably isn’t any different in Vinfried.
    • Niveia is sitting with Rudiger in the emperor’s office. She tells him that she heard about the salon and asks if he’s ever been there. Rudiger admits that he’s never been there especially since the emperor’s knight should never be seen coming and going from such a place. Niveia’s eyes turns to the side where Arendt is sitting next to her, working. She glances at Renier who is sullen because his wife is punishing him for approving Solen’s use of the teleportation device. Normally Niveia would have listened to Renier’s side against Isolde but her sympathy was dying each day as she’s forced to struggle with Solen. Unfortunately, Isolde has also prevented Arendt and Niveia from being together at night since the day after their wedding. It was probably the reason why Rudiger had previously escorted Niveia through the secret passage, very late one night, to visit Arendt.

    • Arendt, who was currently listening to Niveia’s conversation with Rudiger, tells Niveia that Rudiger is right. Most high ranking nobles wouldn’t risk their dignity by going to the salon although he heard some go in secret. He asks Niveia why she’s asking about the place. Niveia tells him that she heard Thierry nobles have been seen going in and out of the salon. It’s suspicious because salons are usually frequented by a minority group of close friends/acquaintances who share similar interests. Foreigners visiting a country usually have no reason to visit the salon of other countries even if the salons did not restrict foreigners. Niveia suspects that there are secret activities going on in the salon that shouldn’t be leaked to foreigners and that’s why foreigners are restricted from entering the salon. She also knows that the security for the secret salon belongs to the state, and therefore, Vinfried. She read in the journals of previous empresses that there’s a mana stone drug, which, according to Rosette, is a primal drug that stimulates all five senses. Niveia has never heard of this drug before and suspects it’s probably sold in the secret salons.
    • Arendt doesn’t deny her conclusion. Instead, he tells her that now she’s a Joachim, she should know. He informs her that the Joachim family is the highest level of management for the salon and that the drug is sold there. The Joachim family has a monopoly on mana stone processing and the drug is refined from mana stone. Niveia says they must make good money from it. Arendt shrugs and tells her it’s just a regular cash cow. Niveia asks him why did the salon suddenly start accepting Thierry nobles since they’re foreigners. Arendt says he doesn’t know anything about it. Since Joachim can’t touch the salon directly, there’s a middle manager and the salon doesn’t fall under the emperor’s jurisdiction. It’s the empress’s jurisdiction. Niveia acknowledges that there are responsibilities that belong to her that hasn’t been passed on from the empress dowager.
    • Niveia shares a possibility with the three men. Suppose there’s a nobleman from Thierry who is running around to sort out the decline of his family. He comes across this secret drug that can only be used and sold in the salon among the nobility. He devises an idea to make money from this drug. Even though he’s a foreign national aristocrat, he makes the assumption that if he’s caught, the punishment will be light. Niveia thinks up this scenario and it seems as though she thinks this might be what Solen is up to. The three men are surprised, skeptical or bewildered by her suggestion.
    • Arendt tells her that she’s acting quite aggressive. Niveia doesn’t deny this. It’s because Solen harasses her every day asking for proof that Rubiel will marry the Torben kid, who by the way, is the heir to a highly prestigious house since Rudiger, as the emperor’s man, won’t inherit the title. Solen also threatened Niveia with her past. He told her that some of Vinfried nobles, whom he became acquainted with, keep asking questions about her life in Thierry. He warns Niveia that there are a lot of things that he wanted to say. He threatens that if she doesn’t give up Rubiel, he will expose her past. After hearing the direct threat, Niveia became more sober minded. As Isolde had told her before, she decided to think only of herself. That didn’t mean that she’ll send Rubiel back to Thierry. Instead she’ll do everything in her power to return Solen to Thierry. In order to do that, she needs to know who exactly from Thierry is engaged in activities in salon.
    • Niveia sent her doll, Rosette to investigate the salon but even Rosette, who possesses the skills to infiltrate various levels of security, returned empty handed. Niveia also thought of asking Adelhite for her help but reasoned that she needed proof that would persuade her. In the end, Niveia decided to visit the salon herself a few days later.
    • Niveia was able to enter the salon using Charlotte’s membership ID card and Friede’s assistance. Friede is the gal who wants to seduce Valer. Niveia is wearing a red haired wig to disguise herself as Charlotte and a mask that covers her forehead down to her nose. When she goes inside the lofty three-storied mansion, all five of her senses are amazed by the ignoble activities within. There were already intoxicated people in the space and fights by drunken members who disputed over gambling. Friede tells Niveia that fights happen because alcohol makes people reckless. Niveia thinks that the place is indeed dangerous. She asks Friede if fights break out for other reasons besides gambling. Friede doesn’t know any other reasons except getting drunk and fighting. Niveia is quick to conclude that Friede doesn’t know about the drug.
    • It doesn’t take long for Friede to disappear with one of her lovers, dragging his tie in her hand like a dog on a leash. Niveia, on the other hand, has two goals: find out what the Thierry nobles are up to in the salon and secondly, to investigate changes inside the salon. Since Friede seemed completely ignorant of the drug, Niveia surmises that it’s probably something distributed a little more internally. Niveia therefore draws the attention of a salon worker by bumping into someone in order to smash her glass. Sure enough, the workers come running full of concerns. In her conversation with the workers, she slyly slips in the term “nameless” and one of the workers tenses up. Convinced that he knows about the drug, Niveia tells him that she’d like to do a reimbursement. Can he guide her?
    • Previously, Arendt told Niveia that the nameless drug was kept secret because if other countries found out that they make a secondary income stream from processing the residual mana in mana stones into a drug, there will be an uproar. It seems like other countries pay Vinfried for access to their monopoly in mana stone processing and it would not go over well that Vinfried is earning additional income from a mana stone drug. This is why few people in Vinfried knows about the drug.
    • The salon worker guides Niveia to a banquet hall situated in the basement. Niveia exchanges glances with her doll, Rosette, and enters the hall alone to avoid suspicion. When she enters the room, the lights are bright unlike the red lights and dimmed atmosphere of the above floor. Here it’s still noisy but the people are sitting on sofas, chatting and laughing amongst themselves. Niveia tries to search the faces under the masks but realizes that if she gazes too intently, she might be found out. She decides to adopt a casual atmosphere as she walks through the crowd. She thinks she sees signs that most people in the room are high on something. She walks up to a game table surrounded by five people and asks for a seat. Since there are no vacancies, she takes out her gold coins and tosses them in the air on three successive occasions. The people with impaired senses scramble to grab the coins and Niveia was able to secure a seat at the table in this way. Meanwhile, Niveia herself is disgusted by the scene. She realizes that there are few people in the hall who are still in their right mind and she suspects that their purpose is perhaps similar to hers.
    • Back at the palace, Arendt finishes practicing sword with Rudiger but is distracted and anxious about Niveia. He knows she’s at the salon and is waiting for her to contact him by turning on her one-way communication device to apprise him of her situation. While Rudiger is asking if Niveia contacted him yet, Arendt finally hears a sound through the ear piece. He hears an ongoing conversation with Niveia, a man and two women. Niveia inquires about the owner of the salon but the others advise her to give up trying to find that information. There’s a strange but familiar laughter that pierces Arendt’s ear before the communication device cuts off. Arendt is alarmed and tells Rudiger that they need to go to the salon. From the sound of her voice, he believes Niveia is in trouble.
    • Rudiger and Arendt ride their horses through an offbeat track. They have to use this route because the official road takes an hour’s journey to the mansion in the suburbs where the salon is located. Rudiger contemplates on the nameless drug. He knows it’s not technically a drug and is more like a magic potion that make the desires of users come true. If the user wants to have a good dream, the user will have a good dream, if the user wants to feel happy, the user will feel happy, if the user wants a good sleep, it will deliver a good sleep, etc. However, the magic of the drug itself is not strong so when a physical thing is desired, it appears only as a hallucination to the user and that’s the main reason why the Joachim family hid the identity of the drug behind the plausible word of a drug. The categories in which the drug could be used were very broad. In the Joachim imperial family, this drug had to be sold to recover the money spent on processing mana stones. However, they had to keep in mind the possibility of risks so they decided to sell the drug in secret rather than releasing it to the world. If Niveia took the drug without knowing it, Rudiger speculates that it won’t have an effect on her unless she has a strong desire for something.
    • Niveia leaves the banquet hall in the basement. Her head aches and her footsteps stagger a little. She had managed to get only a little information but she feels it’s a shame considering how much money she had to toss away to get that information. She leans against a pillar feeling tired and thirsty. A faint feeling of exhaustion sweeps through her body. She feels helpless mostly because there were gains and losses so far. She now believes that it was the salon that spread the rumors intentionally. Adelhite is currently in charge of the salon but since she rarely leaves the palace, Niveia thinks there’s someone else in the middle to consider. In the meantime, she won’t give up her investigation. As soon as she gathers her strength, she intends to re-enter the banquet hall.
    • When she steps out of her secluded corner, a waiter approaches her with a tray of drinks. Since she’s thirsty, Niveia readily accepts one of the glasses of an apple flavored drink. When she finishes it, she looks around the area. She thinks the salon doesn’t seem so dangerous except for the prostitutes and affair partners that are using the private rooms. Otherwise, to her it seems like a place to enjoy various kinds of entertainments for those who wanted enjoy such activities. After thinking this, she passes out.
    • Niveia experiences a hallucination full of natural warmth and happiness. She’s standing in her room in the empress’s palace and although the room is empty, she feels warm and content. When she goes outside in the garden, there’s only the moon flower tree which gives her a natural feeling of happiness. Any knowledge of the old Niveia, who was alone and friendless in the world, seems like somebody else’s gloomy past. This Niveia knows no shadow and emptiness as though warmth and happiness is a natural experience for her. She looks in front of her and sees a man. She recognizes him and calls him by his nickname, Aren. He bends and opens his arms and she goes into them as he hugs her and whispers, “I love you, Niveia.”
    • Niveia feels a vague sense of happiness as she opens her eyes. The first thing she sees is an unfamiliar ceiling. The next thing she hears is the familiar voice of Friede who rushes to her and holds her hand. Friede asks her what did she drink. She advises Niveia that she shouldn’t drink anything without smelling it first. Friede nags her for a while longer and then leaves the room to return to her lover. As soon as she’s alone, Niveia calls out Rosette and asks her to explain what happened. Rosette reports that her majesty lost consciousness after the last drink she drank. From the symptoms, it seems that she ingested a psychotic drug. Almost immediately after her majesty fainted, an unknown man supported her. He escorted her majesty to a room and sent to call the maiden, Friede. Niveia asks Rosette if she saw the man’s face. Rosette reports that he was wearing a wolf mask. However, it seemed to her that the man was already aware of her majesty’s presence in the salon.
    • Niveia contemplates on this information. She wonders if there is a connection between the spiked drink and the man who brought her to the room. She asks Rosette if the man had watched her fall after she drank the drink. Rosette answers yes but she can’t guarantee that her observation is true because she had her full attention on her majesty. Niveia tells Rosette that’s enough for today and prepares to leave. She takes off her mask to tidy her wig and thinks on the dream she had. Was it a hallucination or a dream? It’s the first time in her life that she’s ever heard the words, “I love you.” She remembers the feeling of being loved and for a moment she loved him too. Does she want to receive this love? Does she want to love him?
    • Later that night, Rosette goes to Arendt to report that the empress is asleep. Arendt commends her for doing a good job. And thanks to Friede’s cooperation, Niveia doesn’t know that he was there in the salon. Rosette heads back to the empress’s palace while thinking that all the monarch couples are alike. She also used to cover for Bethel in the past just like she just did for Arendt. She recalls the incident from earlier that night. As soon as Niveia fainted, a man’s arms caught her. When she was about to step out to protect Niveia, Rudiger stopped her from advancing to the spot. That’s because the unknown man was the emperor. He took the unconscious Niveia to a private room himself while Rudiger questioned Rosette about the timing of when the empress consumed the drug. Rosette is convinced that it was the last drink that was drugged and tells this to Rudiger.
    • Before leaving the private room, Arendt asked Rosette to keep his presence there a secret from Niveia. Rosette didn’t readily respond though since Niveia is her master. Arendt knows that Rosette’s loyalty lies with Niveia so he persuaded her that his request is for Niveia’s good. In the end, Rosette decided to compromise with Arendt and intends to tell Niveia the truth only if she specifically asks if the unknown man is Arendt. She figures that a man like Arendt, who hugged his wife and whispered “I love you” to her while she was under the influence of a drug, wouldn’t harm her.
    • Another matter bothers Rosette. After Rudiger had told her to stay behind for another five minutes before following them to the private room, she saw a man who behaved suspiciously. He came to the spot where Niveia had fainted and it seemed to her that he was looking for traces. It gave the impression that he knew Niveia would have fainted.
    • The next day, Niveia reports to Arendt. She reports that she didn’t achieve her purpose for visiting the salon. She didn’t figure out who the custodian of the salon is and she couldn’t clearly understand what was going on inside the salon. She only figured out a little bit how the salon works but it turns out that the salon has very tight security. Niveia asks Arendt if it was like that from the beginning. Arendt doesn’t know for sure since it’s the empresses who control it but since Joachim works efficiently, it’s probably been that way since the beginning. Niveia wants to know if security is so tight, why were there rumors that Thierry noblemen were frequenting the establishment. Arendt asks her if she’s saying the rumors were intentional. They discusses the possibility and Arendt asks if she thinks they were targeting her. Niveia thought so at first. She thought perhaps someone was trying to entrap her in a situation in order to ruin her reputation. Arendt asks her if she doesn’t think that’s possible anymore. Niveia doesn’t think she was the one who was targeted because a man in the salon who knew her identity saved her after she fainted. When she said this, she didn’t notice that Arendt stiffened. Arendt asks Niveia who is the person who helped her. She says she doesn’t know and if she knew, she would express her gratitude. Niveia clarifies that she didn’t conclude that she wasn’t the target solely from receiving help. She also thinks it would be cumbersome to target her by using the salon. After all, the salon will be under her jurisdiction once the empress dowager hands it over. In addition, she thinks there are other people related to the empress to be considered. There’s even Solen who has recently been in contact with the empress dowager.
    • The discussion changes slightly to the empress dowager and whether she would harm Niveia. Niveia jokes that it’s not like the dowager would kill her. In fact they’ve been getting along pretty well lately. Arendt, however, immediately reacts with an expression of holding back tears instead of displeasure. Niveia notices this and raises the subject of his hostility towards his mother. It’s been a long time now since she felt that his hostility stems from personal reasons rather than political reasons. She asks him to tell her the truth because she wants to know everything about him. She doesn’t want to hear about him through the mouths of others. She doesn’t know if it’s a dream or hallucination she experienced the night before but she remembers the happiness in his voice that told her he loves her. It may not have been real but she gains courage from him because the voice and expression of saying “I love you” was no different from what Niveia usually sees when she’s with him. Niveia listens as Arendt finally tells her that his mother killed his father and was involved in the death of his former fiancée.
     
    Last edited: Jul 18, 2021
  14. Celebrianna

    Celebrianna ❤️‍Solo Leveling❣️

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    • In her greenhouse, Adele is smoking and listening to Julian’s report. He reports that the empress retired safely from the salon and Adele has nothing to worry about. Adele seems surprised that nothing happened to the empress even though she went all the way into the salon. (Probably referring time the drug room) Julian replies that the empress acted not to be seen suspiciously and no one recommended the drug to her. As Julian sits before Adele watching her smoke, just eye contact with her makes his ears turn red. He compliments Adele and she reminds him that she doesn’t like flattery. He protests that he’s being sincere. Adele tells him that he indeed doesn’t exaggerate but simply hides the truth or paraphrase it. Despite Adele’s sarcasm, Julian seems to be at a loss to figure out how to get back into her good graces. He thinks maybe it’s natural that she’s still angry with him. It’s clear that he’s infatuated with her and is trying to hang on in spite of her coldness.
    • Julian thinks back to a few days ago when Valer came to see him and refused to work with him. Julian wasn’t surprised by Valer’s refusal because he knew Valer was indecisive in the first place. When he first heard about Valer’s situation, he realized Valer’s love came late. He didn’t care about Valer’s foolishness or lingering attachment to Niveia even after he missed his timing. He just felt sorry for Valer’s lack of action. If he was Valer, he would have put Niveia out of Arendt’s reach. He would have locked Niveia in a bedroom or basement. And if he had lost her heart, he would have had her body before it’s too late? However, Valer did none of those things. He had heard Valer was a very persistent and obsessive man with a great desire to win but now he wonders how could Valer be so slow.
    • During Valer’s last visit with Julian, he gave him a document and asked him not to approach Niveia. The document gave Julian an opportunity to approach Adele. Around that time, it just so happened that Adele desperately needed the help of someone like Julian, who is a high ranking aristocrat with access to secret salons. Previously, when she was the empress, she had dolls at her disposal to execute her orders. However, now that she’s isolated in the empress dowager’s palace, that was no longer the case. That’s why Julian, who fancied himself clever and loyal, capitalized on the opportunity to perform a favor for Adele in an attempt to get back into her good graces.
    • Presently, Julian asks Adele why she wanted to keep an eye on the empress. Adele doesn’t immediately answer but tells him after a while that she wants to avoid accidents like the old one. She warns Julian that just because she used him this time, doesn’t mean she trusts him. She knows that he tried to use the empress to get to her. Adele reflects on the past. It was a time of her complacency and when Julian betrayed her. She had a conversation with Julian where she interrogated him about his involvement in Estelle’s (previously translated as Esther) death. The root of the problem seems to have been the fiancée’s inability to accept that Arendt doesn’t love her. At the time, Adele asked Julian why the hell did he lie like that. Julian told her that he doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Adele asked him if he really thinks she doesn’t know what he said to Estelle. Julian replies that he was trying to help her since Estelle violated her majesty’s orders. Adele tells him if he did the right thing why would Estelle end up dead. Julian protests how could it be his fault that Estelle died because she couldn’t overcome her temper. It’s Estelle’s fault and not her majesty’s fault or his fault. If she had followed her majesty’s words well in the first place, she would have become the crown princess without any hitch and become the next empress, monopolizing a husband who didn’t love her but living well. It’s all Estelle’s fault. Adele told him that he’s crazy. Julian asked her if he’s wrong. After all, they all know that the crown prince doesn’t love Estelle. He argues that what he said to Estelle isn’t any different and everything worked out the way she (Adele) wanted. In the end, Adele gave him a fierce slap, kicked him out of her palace and ordered him to never set foot in her palace again. Julian begged and pleaded and told her it was all for her sake. Adele told him to shut up. She never ordered him to do such a thing. Everything he did was for his own self-interest.
    • Adele of the current time, looks back on this past with unbearable disgust. Her only mistake was ever having Julian around her. Even now that feeling is not much different. Adele suffers a coughing fit and coughs up blood. Julian witnesses this and the guy starts crying. Adele makes up an excuse that she’s suffering from a cold but in her thoughts she notes that it’s time to give up smoking. While she’s thinking on this, a servant announces a messenger sent by Deborah, Rudiger’s mother.
    • It turns out that Niveia conspired with Deborah to have Deborah fake sickness and ask Adele to visit. Adele more than likely knew this but came willingly nonetheless. When she gets to the Torbenger mansion, she, of course, meets Niveia there. It doesn’t take long for Deborah to leave Niveia and Adele to a private conversation. Niveia immediately thanks Adele for her care at the salon. The two are acting circumspectly with each other. They finally get to the point and Niveia asks Adele what is the goal of her plan since she seems to be working with Solen. Adele admits that her goal is to forestall the disqualification of the empress. Niveia asks her why didn’t she tell her about her plan. Adele asks her if she’s confident that she can handle it. Adele tells Niveia that she knows she’s now a member of Joachim but it doesn’t seem to her that she’s much different from Renier’s wife. Her position should be more about purpose than process and more about gain and loss than humanity. But, look at what Niveia did before. She heard a few words from her (Adele) and she ran out at once, grabbed Arendt and cried.
    • Niveia admits in her thoughts that she’s embarrassed to hear the story about her crying but she doesn’t show it outwardly. She thinks Adele is trying to dig into her on purpose. She’s telling her to admit that she’s weak; to come clean and confess that she’s swayed by affection and she still has a lot of fear. Adele asks Niveia how can she trust her and say let’s get rid of her father. If Niveia disagreed, then she’ll only become a stumbling block. Moreover, even if Niveia agreed, can she be confident that she won’t hesitate in the process? Adele contends that being affectionate and vulnerable is not a flaw in a human being but it is a flaw in a monarch that has to give up being human. She informs Niveia that she’s far below the standards of the empress she wants.
    • Adele’s words pokes at Niveia especially since she could not refute them completely. Niveia says she’s sorry to hear that. She tried not to be lukewarm in her own way. She smiles gently and asks Adele, “Did you kill the emperor because you were such a perfect empress?”
    • Niveia recalls her earlier conversation with Arendt when he revealed that his mother killed his father and was involved in the death of his fiancée. Niveia was so shocked that all she could say was that’s amazing. She couldn’t imagine such a thing because the Adelhite she knows seem to miss Joachim XI dearly. She remembers how fondly and reminiscently Adelhite spoke about her husband. She even confessed that she feels like she’s lost her value without him. Niveia remembers many sweet words of longing that Adelhite spoke when she reminisced about her husband and she thinks that Adelhite’s relationship with Joachim XI must have been radiant, if not love. She can’t believe at all that Adelhite would kill him.
    • Niveia had asked Arendt if he’s sure that his mother killed his father. She thinks it’s a misunderstanding. Arendt says there’s no misunderstanding. The medicine that the imperial palace consistently sent to the emperor under his mother’s orders was poison that slowly kills people and the drug was always carried away by his mother. Niveia counters that the imperial palace may be lying about the medicine. Arendt asks Niveia if she really thinks so. His sad gaze froze Niveia for a moment but she couldn’t dismiss her conviction that Adelhite would never hurt her husband. Niveia tells Arendt that in the first place, his mother gave everything for his father. Arendt says that his mother kept his father’s medicine separately and he found it accidentally while playing treasure hunt with Renier and Rudiger. He investigated the medicine and found out the information. The only other person who knows that he suspects his mother is Rudiger. Niveia marvels that he has kept this secret so long while living conflicted. Niveia asks him if Renier knows. He reveals that Renier only knows about his mother’s involvement in his ex-fiancée’s death.
    • Niveia asked Arendt why he told her this secret. She thought he would just tell her about his former fiancée. Arendt smiles and tells her that she wanted to know him so he revealed his secret. Niveia looks at her hand clasped in his hand and thinks that with this hand, she can go anywhere.
    • Niveia asks Adele if she killed the emperor. Adele’s expression instantly cracks. She looks surprised then sad. When Niveia saw the sadness, she had some expectation that Adele would answer honestly. However, Adele asks her how could the empress kill the emperor. Niveia points out that she didn’t say no, she didn’t kill the emperor. Adele wants to know if the doll, Rosette, opened her mouth. Niveia assures her that her doll doesn’t know how to speak. Adele wants to know who the hell then. Niveia answers that her source isn’t important.
    • Niveia changes to subject back to Solen. She asks Adele to tell her what she’s up to. She knows their goal is the same but now she wants to know the process of achieving that goal. Adele contemplates Niveia. She thinks Niveia is clearly a reckless person who knows how to gamble sometimes but is vulnerable to warmth and anxiety. This makes Adele wary of her. She examines Niveia’s attitude and wonders if she’s putting up a tough front in wanting to destroy Solen herself. Adele determines that actions and words can lie but not body language. She sees no tension or anxiety in Niveia’s current disposition. Adele laughs out loud. She thinks she knows that one day Niveia will change but she didn’t expect heartlessness from her so soon. Before she steps down, she thought she would put away all the dirty things with her own hands but Niveia is choosing to do it herself. Adele discourages Niveia and tells her that her judgment isn’t wise. She tells her that the higher up she is, the less useful her hands and feet are. Niveia agrees but since this is Solen’s job, she must finish it herself rather than using others to achieve her goal.
    • Out of curiosity, Adele asks Niveia what is her objective. Niveia unhesitatingly answers that she wants her own peace. This makes Adele laugh out loud. Adele asks her what does she mean by sitting there and wishing for peace. Niveia asks her if her wish is too simple. Adele thinks peace is something she hasn’t been able to achieve for over 20 years. She tells Niveia that she’s surprised that her dream is so big. She thought she would wish for the prosperity of the empire or good health. She tells her that she wants the most difficult thing. She likes the Niveia that wants peace that no one with power wants. Adele informs Niveia that her father came to see her previously and it was ridiculously clear that he wanted money but he couldn’t do anything in Thierry for fear of risking his reputation. Adele mentions that Solen reminded her that she will soon have to pass on her authority to Niveia. (Probably trying to pit Adele against Niveia) Niveia asks her if she really doesn’t mind passing on the authority. Adele confesses that she knows the rumors about herself that she lusts for power. She smiles softly and says that she’s indeed greedy but Solen severely underestimated her. He even told Adele that he will show her Niveia’s weaknesses.
    • Adele lights up a cigarette and tells Niveia that it’s not her business what Solen does on his own time but she can’t let him talk about Joachim recklessly so she decided to take action against him. She entrusted him with the management of the salon. It’s a position that can leave a lot of margins with intermediate deals. Niveia asks isn’t that too big a responsibility. Adele reminds her it’s a temporary job and the manager of the salon is not exposed to the outside world so the general public would not have known he was doing such a thing. Niveia discerns the mind of Solen who pretends to be clean but is not. She knows that if it was an ostensible position, Solen would have never accepted it. But this position is well paid, hidden and directly managed by the imperial family so there’s no need for him to hesitate. Niveia asks Adele about the rumors of Thierry high ranking nobles going in and out of the salon. Adele confirms she didn’t make those rumors. She says it’s a testament to Solen biting the fishing line. In other words, the rumors were probably started when people saw Solen going in and out of the salon without a care. It shows that Solen doesn’t know that foreigners are forbidden from the salon and it’s therefore suspicious to onlookers.
    • Niveia smiles. She thinks it’s funny that Solen would fall without even knowing he had entered a trap. She thinks how frivolous he must have been to bring rumors upon himself. Adele watches Niveia who is laughing silently. She asks Niveia if there’s anything else that she wants to know. Niveia doesn’t want to know anything more but she asks Adele to pass all of the empress’s authority to her. Adele gives Niveia the royal seal. While it doesn’t mean that Adele’s influence no longer existed at all, without the seal, she wouldn’t have enough power to confront Arendt. Shortly after, Niveia departs the Torbenger estate but not before running into Erich who inquires about Rubiel. Niveia asks him if he wants to come with her and he gets permission from his mom. At the palace, the two friends greet each other and Niveia asks if they want to see each other more. The kids like the idea. Niveia tells them that she will make it happen. The children asks if there’s anything they can do and Niveia says no. The wood is already set and all that’s left is to light the fire.
    • Marquis Solen has been in a good mood lately. That’s because his recent troubles have almost been resolved including his money issue. All that’s left is to take his share and go back to Thierry. Furthermore, he had found a much better business than mining. The nameless drug that Adele had entrusted to him was a cash cow. The drug allowed him to pay off his debts at once. That’s because drug addicted people spent a lot of money on it. He reasons that the drug is all needs to start business again.
    • Solen begins to covet all of the money from the drug sale. Since he’s acting as an intermediary, 70% of the sale goes back to the imperial family and he keeps 30% of the sales. That 30% was able to pay off all his debts so he begins to covet the other 70%. He starts to think that the money he gives to Adele could help him start a new business or he could invest the money and receive a return several times the initial investment amount. His greed is ignited as his hunger to refill his empty coffers keeps increasing. Consequently, Solen begins to scheme to take the nameless drug in a single trip to Thierry and sell it there to high ranking nobles without Adele’s knowledge. He thinks of all the money he can make by doing this just in that one deal. And since communication between Vinfried and Thierry isn’t readily available, he thinks he can do this secretly without Adele ever finding out. As a result, he’s been siphoning off the drugs little by little.
    • Solen knows if he gets caught it will be a lot of trouble but currently, he’s in charge of the drug. He thinks he would be safe even if it’s discovered that the drugs inventory decreased. That’s because it would not be possible to question him openly since it wouldn’t be easy to find out that he left Vinfried and that Vinfried was directly managing drugs. In the eyes of Solen, Adele is now a toothless tiger. Adele who had never been nice to any country during her reign with Joachim XI, suddenly became malleable recently. The letter that he held in his hand was proof.
    • A few days ago, Valer suddenly gave Solen the letter and asked him to deliver it to Bertrand on his return trip to Thierry. It was supposedly a response from Adele to Bertrand regarding his request for support against the Aspodel Alliance. In it, Adele informs Bertrand that Vinfried and Aspodel have recently become friends. This probably means that Vinfried’s stance on Aspodel is, at the current time, different to Thierry’s stance. Before Valer leaves Solen, he had indirectly hinted to him that he knows what Solen is up to and warns him. Solen recalls feeling dirty about it. He also knows how easy it is to cripple an aristocrat in the social world.
    • In the current time, Solen grumbles how dare Valer threaten him with nonsense and he slams the armrest of his chair. He regrets not being able to respond against Valer’s warning. The helplessness he felt in the moment and the feeling of being crushed without realizing it were the catalyst for his anger. He’s never felt such weakness in his entire life. Lately, he’d also noticed that the other members of the delegation had become strangely cold towards him. He felt a sense of alienation and a sense of degradation. As a result, he concludes that there’s no reason for him to continue to stay in Vinfried any longer through this humiliation. If he finds his daughter, he’ll go back to his country immediately.
    • Solen forgets his anger when he thinks of his daughter. He thinks it’s been a while since he last saw his precious and pretty daughter. The last time he saw her was at the Torbenger estate. She was hiding behind a little boy and he would have taken her if the older brother hadn’t shown up. He knows that the court has yet to issue a certificate of engagement but he didn’t care about that sort of thing. If he could meet Rubiel, nothing would stop him. He starts to blame that bitch Niveia. He knows Rubiel is in the imperial palace now so it’s more difficult to see her. He thinks about the child he raised like gold or jade. He thinks she has bad influences and want to take her and train her. He thinks everything is messed up because of Niveia. If it wasn’t for her, his daughter wouldn’t have ran away from home. Consequently, if Niveia was an old eyesore for him, she was now a lump of thorns. He had nothing because of her. It’s because of her that the family began to fail, Valer and others threatened him and Rubiel left home. He grimaces that Niveia has never been any help in his life even when she was in her mother’s womb. As Solen thinks about this, he grits his teeth to calm his anger.
    • Solen thinks it’s comforting to know that everything will soon be rectified. His money problems were solved and now he has a man on the look out for Rubiel who will inform him as soon as Rubiel leaves the empress’s palace. All he had to do is wait patiently. Right at that moment, there’s an urgent knock on his door and the messenger informs him that Rubiel has left the imperial palace.
     
  15. Kingdo

    Kingdo Well-Known Member

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    What a good idea.
    Steal imperial properties aka drugs and sell it himself. Like we all know, the royal have absolutely no power whatsoever.
    How can this guy manage his own business until now ?

    Yeah, yeah, it's your daughter fault if you have no money, no reputation, being look down and your other daughter left you. Absolutely not your fault for being an asshole in a foreign country that your fellow delegate country men look down on you.
    Not your fault that your pride keep you to refuse or refund what your daughter buys.
    Not your fault that everyone realize you don't have any relationship with your daughter now empress, making you useless in nobles relationship.
    Not your fault, your youngest was so disappointed in you than she fled.
    Yeah, blame your elder daughter you [the rest of this message was censored, thank you for your comprehension]
     
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  16. Berry.Blast.20

    Berry.Blast.20 Well-Known Member

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    Thank you for the spoilers...Can't wait to see that shit head Solen's downfall
     
  17. Celebrianna

    Celebrianna ❤️‍Solo Leveling❣️

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    @Berry.Blast.20 @Kingdo , Solen’s talk about Niveia gets even worse. I just read some more of the upcoming chapters last night and this man truly hates Niveia. Most of all, he blames her for the reason why he was beaten up by his father, his engagement was canceled and his reputation sullied as a younger man.

    The main story is almost finished. Next post will be the last of volume 4 and I think volume 5 has mostly side stories and a bit of the conclusion of the main story.
     
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  18. Berry.Blast.20

    Berry.Blast.20 Well-Known Member

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    Wow, So he is the saint apparently. He doesn't even realize that he himself is a weak human with low morals as he could not remain loyal to his oh-so-great fiance. Wow...Idiot at its core. I can't wait to read about Ardent punishing him and screwing him over.

    This is a very curt novel huh ?. It looks to the point from your summaries and doesn't necessarily drag. I love that about this. Of course, the manwha will take time but still....

    Looking forward to your last set of spoilers and you truly are an angel for summarising the novel for us. Thank you for the hard work.
     
  19. Celebrianna

    Celebrianna ❤️‍Solo Leveling❣️

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    • On a certain day, as Arendt and Niveia takes a walk in the palace grounds, Niveia ponders if she wants revenge on her father or does she simply want to get him out of her life. Arendt asks her which is it. Niveia really doesn’t know. She thinks it makes sense to simply deport her father but she hates that option. She thinks of the troubles that were brought here from Thierry and wonders who should be blamed. She thinks maybe it’s just her father’s fault. She wonders if any actions she takes will be criticized by others and whether they will affect Arendt.
    • The relationship between Niveia and Arendt has not changed a great deal since they first met but perhaps that’s why their relationship had reached the present state, where, without noticing it, they permeate each other. Niveia had also recently realized how open she is to him. It’s why Niveia can now ask Arendt his opinion on what should she do about her father. Before answering, Arendt asks her if she really wants to ask him that. Niveia responds that it’s fine since he’s on her side. This reminds Arendt of their contract when they first spoke of marriage. He answers Niveia and tells her that he would kill Solen. He explains that those who are self-indulgent and won’t repent should be punished. Keeping Solen alive is a source of trouble. Even if he doesn’t have the power, they don’t know when and how he will come as another threat to them. Arendt also confesses if it wasn’t for her, he would have already killed him. He advises Niveia that if she’s not going to kill him, it’s better to avoid extreme punishment because when a rat is driven into a corner, it will bear its teeth. It’s not about revenge. It’s about getting rid of the rat so that the problem is cut off.
    • Niveia thinks that action could be considered selfishness. Arendt tells her that she often act as though she wants to prove her moral innocence to herself. Maybe it’s a sign of the way she’s lived until now but she’s now the empress of Vinfried. She can do what she wants and no one can blame her. Niveia tells him that he sometimes sounds like a tyrant. lol He responds that the presence of tyrants is a proof of a powerful imperial power. Niveia asks if he didn’t learn about the rapid decline of the imperial power after the tyrant’s death. Arendt tells her he’s a saint from birth so he doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Niveia bursts out laughing. Arendt smiles and tells her that even if she wields a tyrannical power, her husband will cover her since he’s the holy father. Niveia says she doesn’t want to use him as a shield. He replies, didn’t they get married in the first place for her to use him as a shield. Niveia is bothered when hearing this directly from his mouth. She admits that she did marry him to use as a shield but that’s not the case anymore. She confesses that he’s become precious to her.
    • Niveia finally states that she doesn’t care if he’s going to kill her father. She knows that he believes her to be morally innocent but she knows it’s a misunderstanding. In her thoughts, she reflects on the past when she loved Valer and elevated him about all her values. She would have done anything he wanted even if it was a crime. All that mattered to her was his happiness. She acknowledges that this is the kind of person she was for Valer. She hadn’t committed any sins only because Valer was a honest man and he never talked to her. It’s only when it’s her own grievance that she becomes innocent and indecisive. Niveia asks Arendt again what would he like her to do. Arendt answers that she should either kill Solen or send back her younger sister. Niveia contemplates further and then tells Arendt that she has a plan.
    • After Niveia received all the authority from Adele, she holds a meeting with Arendt, Rudiger, Renier and Isolde to inform them that Solen stole the nameless drug and she created a plan to catch him. She audited the books of the salon and discovered the discrepancy. She acknowledges that her father isn’t meticulous about this kind of thing and while she expected to see her hole, the hole was much bigger than she thought. She thinks this is something he normally wouldn’t do so she reasons he must be in a hurry due to his recent financial troubles. Niveia decides that they need to start working to gather the evidence for Solen’s deeds without further delay. She divides the group into three teams. She and Rudiger will take Rubiel out of the palace as bait to draw Solen away from the palace. She knows Solen put someone on Rubiel to tail her. While Solen is away, Renier and Isolde will search his room.
    • As planned, Niveia takes Rubiel and Erich out of the palace on a picnic. The two kids are nervous because they’re aware that Rubiel’s father is always looking to seize her and take her back and they don’t know that Niveia is using them as bait to lure Solen. So, while the kids are tense during the carriage ride, only Niveia is relaxed and at peace as she watches the fairy tale-like landscape and houses. In her thoughts, Rubiel remembers when her father came to take her from the Torbenger estate and it was the first time she had witnessed his temper first hand. Rubiel was scared of him and that’s the sole reason why a tomboy like her had quietly stayed put in the empress’s palace. Now, in the carriage, her uneasiness is apparent so Erich places his tiny hand over hers and reminds her that Niveia said this is what they can do to help. He tells her everything will be fine. Rubiel looks at Erich who is just as nervous as her and nods her head. She begins to feel an unnerving reassurance from Niveia’s relaxed attitude and Erich who is sitting next to her. She still has doubts, however, so she asks Niveia how does her going on a picnic helps. Niveia tells Rubiel that she will find out when she goes there. Rubiel understands that means Niveia won’t tell her the truth until the right time.
    • Niveia, on the other hand, is focusing on the conversation flowing from her ear piece as she looks out the window of the carriage. Isolde’s voice reveals to her that it doesn’t seem that the nameless drug is here. That’s because Renier and Isolde are currently searching Solen’s room to find the stash of nameless drugs that Niveia knows Solen siphoned off. The problem is, so far they didn’t find anything and the room is properly ransacked. Just when Isolde begins to curse in frustration, Renier murmurs that something is strange as he runs his hand over a leather travel case several times. Isolde looks at the item and tells Renier that they should break it open.
    • Meanwhile, Solen is tailing Niveia who is going from picnic in one place to a next. So far they’ve been to three locations. Solen asks how many times is it now since they’ve changed picnic locations. He watches as it’s getting darker and the picnic attendees are still sitting in front of the lake and relaxing. Solen is annoyed. He was quite confident previously that he would be able to quickly take back a distracted, playing child but there were too many people here and Rubiel stuck close to Rudiger while Niveia surrounded herself with nobles who appeared because of rumors about the empress’s picnic plans. While Niveia is stalling for time in this way, she receives a message from Rosette that she found the stolen drugs. Solen hid the drugs at the salon instead of in his room.
    • Niveia leaves the picnic place to head to the salon. She understands why Solen hid the stolen drugs at the salon. It’s easier to make an excuse if the drugs are found out to be stolen but are still on the premises. She explains all this to Rudiger who watches her smiling brightly against the darkening sky. At that moment, Rudiger thinks of the first time he saw her in Thierry. He thinks that there isn’t a single trace of the dullness that he saw in her then. Niveia, on the other hand, looks at the tired, sleeping children. Just as Niveia advises Rudiger to move the sleeping children because of the rattling of the carriage through the woods, an explosion brings the carriage to an abrupt halt. Rudiger protects the kids from the tumble and Niveia holds on to the window. When she looks in front of her, the view turns cloudy and begins to engulf the interior of the carriage. Niveia soon loses consciousness and the carriage grow silent.
    • Solen and his hired hands used sleeping gas to incapacitate the occupants in the carriage. Wearing his gas mask, Solen warns his accomplices not to be careless with their tasks to avoid angering the imperial family. Solen smiles jubilantly. He doesn’t know what Niveia was thinking but the isolated passage through the forest provided him with the perfect opportunity. He instructs his accomplices to take Rubiel and Erich. If they take only Rubiel, then he would naturally become the suspect. Solen looks at Niveia and Rudiger who are sleeping. He thinks they won’t remember what happened because the gas possesses a memory altering effect. He gloats and murmurs that he won over Niveia. He firmly believes that no one can defeat a parent’s obsession over his child (Rubiel). Solen looks at an unconscious Niveia whose complexion had improved since leaving Thierry. His gaze is full of hatred for her. To him her existence is an abomination. An obstacle that tormented him since she was in her mother’s belly. He slams the carriage door shut and orders his accomplices to head to the salon.
    • Today the salon is full of people. Most doesn’t even know about the existence of the drug. Solen, adorned in a small mask, steps down the stairs. The salon manager recognizes him and greets him. They exchange a few simple talk before the manager informs Solen that he was going to contact him because the owner sent someone to see him. Solen doesn’t know who the owner of the salon is. The only person he met before was the former manager, whom Adelhite introduced him to. The actual owner of the salon is a mystery. If it was a business in a different field, he would have thought Adelhite is the owner but he’s more inclined to believe that Adelhite, who’s extremely reluctant to cast filth on the imperial family, would not touch such dirty work. Solen wants to know why the owner is looking for him. The manager doesn’t know either.
    • Solen comforts himself that the drugs he stole are still on the premises. He asks where is the guest and the manager leads him up the stairs to a small room. Every step of the way, his heart is beating fast. He prays that it isn’t a big deal today. He’s ushered into a room and the manager leaves. The creepy feeling that had descended down Solen’s back didn’t go away. The door shuts behind him. In the room feels dark to him but perhaps it’s because of the man wearing a very dark outfit who’s left in the room with him. The man’s hair is a bright silver but silver hair was the most common wigs worn in the salon as a sign of admiration for the imperial family. There was only one other thing that was bright beyond the dark outfit and that was the man’s smile. He orders Solen to sit. From the tone and pressure of his vice, Solen thinks that the man seems accustomed to wielding authority. He wonders how much higher up could the owner be to command such a person on this errand. The man states that his owner was curious about the manager from Thierry and it’s a matter of security of the salon. As such, the owner sent a representative to meet privately with Solen for an interview.
    • Since Solen is from Thierry, the man asks about the empress. He says everyone around him wonders about her but the Joachims are a closed group. Solen, in his thoughts, admits that the fact that Joachim is a closed group helped him introduce himself to others as the empress’s real father. He relaxes his shoulders and relishes the thought that when the story comes out, it’s bound to flow in his favor. He believes that the man came there to review the security as well as to satisfy himself about the rumored father of the empress. So far he’s never leaked information about Niveia while selling himself as Niveia’s biological father. He knows too well that information is valuable only when it’s rare and there’s no way to trace the source. He thinks the case is different in this case though. If information spreads after he returns to Thierry, it will be difficult to find the source of the rumor even if it started from a secret salon.
    • Solen wonders how much of the information on Niveia should he sell. The man tells Solen that he found out some information already and specifically comments on his daughter staying at the duke’s estate for ten years. The man asks Solen, specifically stating it’s a personal curiosity, why does he hate the empress so much. At the same time, he throws a jeweled ring to Solen as payment for his information. Solen gladly picks up the ring that can purchase a mansion. The man says now that Solen received payment, he should answer the question. Was being a daughter of a maid so unpleasant because there didn’t seem to be any other friction between the empress and Solen.
    • Solen declares that Niveia has been his stumbling block since the time of her birth. Her mother spread rumors about her premarital pregnancy so he had no choice but to marry her. He had to break an engagement and his father beat him up. The man points out that it’s not Niveia’s fault. He adds that Solen seems as though he has never thought about this fact. Solen doesn’t notice that the man’s voice had hardened. He was too caught up in revealing his innermost thoughts. Solen admits that he did think that he shouldn’t hate the child but whenever he saw her face, he was reminded of his humiliation and he felt sick. That’s why he sent the child away to the duke’s estate earlier than normal. He wondered why he hated his daughter who was born and looked like him but after his second daughter was born, he confirmed that he had a pure aversion to Niveia. So instead of raising Niveia under the hatred of her father, he thought it would be a better idea to send her earlier to the duke’s house.
    • Until the birth of Rubiel, Solen was troubled. He wondered what he would do if he could not love his child. As soon as Rubiel was born, however, such doubts faded away. His daughter. His ruby. The unconditional love that had brought tears to his eyes garnered him the title, father. Solen confesses to the man that he knew Niveia was a curse to him as he saw his second child grow up. Niveia wasn’t his child. She was a mistake that he could not love.
    • Solen thinks of Niveia as the greatest flaw in his moral innocence and the main culprit of his fault was exposed to the world. The man counters that from Niveia’s perspective, she’s being blamed for something she didn’t even do. He asks Solen if he’s not sorry for that. Solen answers that he did everything for her except love her as a father. He thinks all of his actions gave Niveia the opportunity to meet Joachim XII. He states that Niveia should be grateful to him because the status and background of parents often affect the lives of their children. He arranged it all for Niveia and did his part.
    • The man is silent for a long time so Solen starts to grow somewhat anxious. Normally everyone would be amazed by his generosity when he shared this story and sympathize with his position especially when it comes to being a father. However, this man was silent after asking him questions. Solen asks the man if he’s done asking questions. The man says there’s a limit to being self-centered. He expected it but he hadn’t expected such a positive answer. Solen asks, what?
    • The man gets up and steps closer to Solen. He remarks that the Marquis is right. Parents are human too. Not everyone becomes a parent in a mature state. To the Marquis it was painful to think of his mistake every time he saw Niveia. That’s possible. No matter how the Marquis knows with his head that the child isn’t at fault, it might not work in his heart. The man grabs Solen by the shoulder and makes eye contact. He says he’s not a mature person either. After all, he thinks he shouldn’t kill him with his head but he can’t do that with his heart.
    • Over the mask, the man’s blue eyes glows. Solen finally realizes that from his appearance and speech, the man seems familiar. Anxiety passes through his head quite suddenly. It finally dawns on him that the man has been calling the empress by her name all along. He panics and thinks to himself that he doesn’t think it’s the person he thinks it is. The man says that until the end, his wife is thinking about what to do with trash like him and it makes him sick that Solen doesn’t have a single concern about his hypocrisy. He adds that if it wasn’t for Solen, Niveia wouldn’t have had to do such a hectic job. Arendt states that he won’t go against Niveia so he won’t do as he likes.
    • Niveia opens the door and enters the room looking for Arendt. He approaches Niveia and bows to kiss her hand. Solen is shocked to see Niveia who’s also wearing a mask but her purple eyes and blonde hair are apparent to him. Niveia tells him to ask her what ever he’s curious about. Did he want to know how she came to be in the salon or does he want to know if she’s the owner of the salon? Or, did he want to know how is she here when she was attacked in the woods with sleeping gas? Niveia takes off Solen’s mask and Solen could clearly see the contempt in her eyes. Niveia mocks him saying, he’s a man who chooses to be not completely good but not completely bad. He wants to keep his conscience and reap benefits in the middle. He marries a woman who’s pregnant with his child because he refuse to lose his reputation but then hates the child. She asks him how long did he think that would work out for him. Niveia tells him that she knows he’s a coward so she figured out his plan. As a result, she had the antidote in her mouth for his sleeping gas.
    • A woman who accompanies Niveia ties Solen’s hands behind his back as he’s sitting on the chair. Solen curses and asks Niveia what is she doing. Niveia slaps Solen hard across the face. She warns him not to act up since she’s trying to afford him the last courtesy. Soldiers will be here soon to catch a criminal and the charge is embezzlement against the imperial family. Solen looks like a madman smiling. He says she can’t hand him over on such charges. He claims he stole for the purpose of whistle blowing. He basically threatens to expose Joachim for the sale of the nameless drug. Niveia calmly tells him that she doesn’t know what he’s talking about. She informs him that the embezzlement charge is for taking extra income from the Gauren mine. Solen asks, what? Niveia continues and states that a charge of embezzlement will lead to an extradition to Thierry so she needed another charge to hold him. Charges like allegations of kidnapping a nobleman or harming the imperial family. Charges that can be punished in Vinfried. Niveia thanks Solen for making it easy for her since he kidnapped Erich all on his own. She certainly didn’t expect him to be caught so easily in an obvious trap.
    • Solen’s face pales. He claims she can’t blame him for something he didn’t do in the first place. Niveia tells him then he’ll have to explain where the money came from. Solen realizes he’s in deep trouble. As the manager of the salon, revealing that he kept the drug while selling it as the manager of the salon would cause him a lot of harm. At the same time, he’s accused of siphoning off the drug. Niveia taunts him and says it’s okay to expose information about the drug as long as he’s confident he can survive even if he turns Joachim into an enemy.
    • Niveia tells Solen that she always wanted his affection but knew early on that she couldn’t get it. She just wanted to be an equal as a daughter, as a wife and as an individual. She asks him why on earth does he think she’s below him? Well, she’s no longer his daughter. She’s a military officer of a country. But she acknowledges that no one sees the object of their contempt equally. Solen looks at his daughter whom he had showered with contempt all her life. Her gaze had slight pain left in them. There was no affection nor regret. After being complete strangers, this was retaliation, not revenge. Niveia tells Solen that no matter what choice he makes, he will never set foot in Thierry again. Solen asks about Rubiel. Niveia tells him that she will keep Rubiel.
    • Solen asks if Niveia doesn’t hate Rubiel. Niveia says she can’t answer that if she doesn’t hate Rubiel completely. She tells him if good memories continue to accumulate in the future, then bad memories will remain at a vanishing point. There’s a knock on the door outside and Rudiger announces that he found the children asleep in a bed next to the drug room. Niveia leaves the room to check on the children. Arendt remains in the room with Solen. He says isn’t that sweet? He’s amazed every time by how altruistic Niveia behaves. Arendt knocks over Solen who’s tied to the chair and starts kicking him. Basically, Arendt beats the man bloody even while the man is begging and crying. Solen thinks Arendt just pretends to be nice because his face shows something completely different than his usual smiling facade. Arendt tells him the only punishment he’ll get is corporal punishment so don’t hope for anything else.
    • Arendt joins Niveia in the carriage. Niveia tells him he’s late. He apologizes. He sits next to her and he asks if she’s not going to ask why he’s late. She says it doesn’t matter and leans familiarly into his arms. Arendt had noticed recently that Niveia only opens up to him. He hugs Niveia and she tells him that the important thing is that he’s by her side. He smiles and kisses her lightly on the nose.
    End of volume 4
     
  20. Berry.Blast.20

    Berry.Blast.20 Well-Known Member

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    Wow...This was the best part of the entire storyline. I really loved how this played out at the end. Servers that bastard right. I can't wait to see how that dumb redhead King will react to his oh so mighty pawn's fall from grace.

    Thank you for your hard work
     
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