Chapter 103

“Eat.”

The command was brief and plain.

“I’m not hungry.”

“Eat anyway. You’re skin and bones. That’s why you’re always weak and sickly.”

Jocelyn’s harassment took many forms. Some days he dragged her out on walks. Other days he stuck to her side all through official business, watching her like a hawk. And sometimes, like now, he acted as though he would lose his mind if he could not force food into her mouth.

The joyful news that Anatolia had been reclaimed from the barbarians had arrived only two days earlier, yet he remained utterly uninterested in the war.

In my previous life, he at least pretended to take part in battle. Why on earth is he still planted here?

“If you intended to join the war to earn merit, shouldn’t you be heading out by now?” Odelliana asked coolly.

“Are you worried about my livelihood?” Jocelyn replied, laughing as if amused.

She frowned at him.

“News of Anatolia’s recapture has already spread. If you want even a token share of the credit, shouldn’t you at least go there and pretend to command? I’m asking whether it’s really fine for you to sit around here doing nothing.”

“I’m leaving tomorrow,” he said casually.

Odelliana paused. Jocelyn propped his chin on his hand and smiled brightly at her.

“What, are you relieved that the man who’s been tormenting you so relentlessly is finally going away?”

“…I was just thinking how sly you really are.”

“The achievements of my people are my achievements,” he replied lightly. “Why should I bother suffering myself?”

“You’re planning to just show your face and come straight back, aren’t you? Reclaiming Anatolia doesn’t mean the barbarians were wiped out. They’re probably hiding around Mount Nevis and regrouping as we speak.”

“You sound like you want me to throw myself into a full-scale battle,” Jocelyn said, tilting his head. “Would you prefer it if I died?”

Odelliana did not affirm it, but she did not deny it either. At her blatant attitude, Jocelyn burst into laughter once more. By now, this level of rudeness barely fazed him.

Since Odelliana showed no sign of correcting her behavior, he had grown used to it, tongue-clicking at her stubbornness while also accepting it as inevitable. Perhaps because she had grown up in such an unfortunate environment, he even found himself indulging a pointless sense of mercy, telling himself her warped personality was understandable.

“Unfortunately for you, my life is rather persistent,” he said with a smirk. “Even if I joined the front lines, I don’t plan on dying so easily.”

“That’s unfortunate,” she muttered.

The sharpness in her voice slipped out thanks to the forced meal. Not that she had ever been particularly gentle with her words.

Jocelyn, as expected, did not mind.

“The mongrel you raised is still missing, I hear.”

“He’s not a mongrel,” Odelliana replied sharply. “He’s my vassal knight.”

She put particular emphasis on the words vassal knight. When Matthias had offered his oath, she had wondered if he was in his right mind, but once they were bound by the vow, her heart had felt strangely at ease. The knowledge that Jocelyn could exert no influence over this absolute bond eased her anxiety, if only a little.

“A vassal knight…” Jocelyn repeated, slowly chewing over the words before letting out a mocking chuckle. “He’s young, so I suppose he lacks sense. To bind himself by oath the moment he’s knighted. His abilities outweigh his perspective. There were quite a few people willing to sponsor him back then, yet he chose to shackle himself to you. I can’t tell whether to call that pure devotion or sheer stupidity.”

Odelliana swallowed a bitter smile as she absorbed his words.

How foolish must my love have looked to you as well?

“…To devote everything for love is noble,” she said quietly.

Jocelyn fell silent.

“Even if it looks foolish and pathetic to others, that kind of devotion is the most absolute form of trust a person can give,” she continued. “It’s something you don’t have, Your Highness. And it’s the only thing I do.”

Once, Odelliana herself had thought Matthias foolish for offering his sacred vow. But she could not tolerate this man dismissing his devotion as stupid infatuation.

“The people you keep at your side using your status, power, and wealth are fundamentally different.”

“You speak as if you know me very well,” Jocelyn remarked.

“And you probably do,” he added, smiling faintly. “Could it be that you’ve developed a personal interest in me?”

Odelliana stiffened, and he laughed. “No, it’s just that you see right through me with unsettling precision. Sometimes it gives me chills.”

“Even my fiancée, Odette, doesn’t know me as well as you do,” he said lightly. “At this point, you seem more like my fiancée than she does.”

“Don’t say such nonsense,” Odelliana snapped.

At her open displeasure, Jocelyn snorted and rose from his seat.

“The women of the capital are desperate for my affection, yet you recoil as if offended.”

“Then they must all be blind.”

“Well, perhaps,” he replied easily.

He had preparations to make for the campaign. Though he wished to spend more time with her, a bitter smile lingered on his lips.

He had chosen to march out for the sake of military merit, yet now he had forgotten his duty. He did not want to leave. He wanted to remain here, settled in place. Life here was enjoyable and satisfying, and he knew that most of that satisfaction came from this strange, prickly woman. That knowledge made the coming separation all the more regrettable.

“I’ll be back,” he said softly. “So behave yourself and wait.”

“I refuse,” Odelliana replied flatly. “Don’t come back.”

“That just makes me want to return even sooner.”

Jocelyn reached out and ruffled her hair. Odelliana slapped his hand away and glared at him coldly. He chuckled, rubbing his wrist. What had once irritated him now looked like a child’s tantrum, oddly endearing.

Leaving her with a casual farewell, he departed. Odelliana watched his retreating back and muttered, “If you must return, I hope it’s as a corpse in a coffin, just like my eldest brother.”

Malena, who had overheard the chilling curse, wiped cold sweat from her brow and pretended not to hear a thing.

***

Jocelyn led his troops stationed in Eisenwald toward Anatolia. Watching him step onto a battlefield that was already decided, Liam called him a snake-like bastard, and Odelliana could only agree.

“With Anatolia reclaimed, eradicating the barbarians should be only a matter of time,” Malena remarked.

“…I wonder if that’s really the case,” Odelliana replied.

It had been a full year since the Great Barbarian Suppression began. The reclamation of Anatolia was the result of a year-long standoff, a conflict that should never have dragged on this long. Though the allied forces succeeded in retaking the fortress, most of the barbarians escaped through prearranged evacuation routes.

“Dealing with barbarians hiding in the mountains won’t be easy,” Odelliana said.

“True. I’ve heard the allied forces lost nearly every engagement fought in the mountains, especially at night. And since they’re hiding deliberately, rooting them all out will be extremely difficult.”

“And the beasts drawn by the stench of corpses will be another problem.”

“…At this pace, hoping for the war to end by next year is wishful thinking.”

There was still no news of Matthias.

She was certain he had killed Hermann, yet after that there were no feats attributed to Matthias. She had no way of knowing whether he was alive or dead. The worry gnawed at her relentlessly. Stragglers without affiliation received no protection and often endured the harshest conditions.

“…If he’s alive, you’d think he would return here,” she murmured. “What in the world is he doing?”

If Matthias lived, he would be wandering as an unattached soldier, and she could not imagine what path he had chosen. Worse still, there was no news at all of those whose bodies had never been recovered.

“I think, given his temperament, he might be acting independently,” Malena said carefully. “Or perhaps he joined another unit. I’m sure he’s alive.”

A year had passed. Matthias would be eighteen by now, far more grown than last year. With late summer upon them, he would turn nineteen after winter passed. The longer he remained silent, the more Odelliana’s heart burned with unease.

Please don’t tell me he’s really dead.

The course of the Great Barbarian Suppression had already diverged completely from her previous life. In other words, her ability as a regressor to interfere with events was gone. Nothing unfolded as expected. All she could do was remain here, tend to Eisenwald’s people, and wait.

“By the way, by now the grand funeral for the eldest young master should be over,” Malena said. “I heard it was extraordinarily lavish.”

Hermann’s funeral had been delayed repeatedly for reasons unknown. Transporting his coffin to the capital alone took over a month, and preparations consumed nearly as much time. His body remained preserved but unburied through spring and into summer, until the state funeral finally began a month ago.

It was a grand affair. All central nobles, including members of the royal family, attended without exception. As a state funeral, it was treatment befitting the prestige of House Grusevalt.

State funerals typically lasted a month. With countless procedures and complex rites, interment took a long time. Today marked exactly one month since it began. His coffin would likely be laid to rest today.

“With the heir of Grusevalt dead, the scale must have rivaled that of royalty,” Odelliana said. “Especially since he was commander of the allied forces.”

For reasons unclear, Blair did not attend Hermann’s funeral. Despite the lengthy mourning period, during which he could have appeared at least once, he stubbornly insisted that he could not leave his territory during wartime.

He recovered from his grief and lethargy faster than expected. He was calm, even resolute. Though a general’s death in war was not unusual, the speed with which he cast aside his sorrow was remarkable.

“The duke may be trying to bring the lord back into the family now that the heir is gone,” Malena suggested. “Messengers from House Grusevalt have been coming and going these past few days.”

“With the eldest son dead, the second son should inherit and lead the family,” Odelliana replied. “But since he’s near the front lines, the duke must be frantic.”

Thinking of the duke’s predicament brought Odelliana a grim sense of satisfaction. She could easily imagine his anxiety. With the heir dead, the family’s position was unstable, and collateral branches would surely seize the chance to stir trouble.

“But the lord doesn’t seem inclined to inherit the family,” Malena said.

“My brother already severed ties with the family,” Odelliana replied coolly. “By strict standards, he’s no longer one of them. Dragging him back to train as heir would be absurd.”

“If he refuses, then the only option left is to pass the title to the young lady’s husband,” Malena ventured. “In that case, wouldn’t the Second Prince inherit the title?”

Women could not inherit titles, but a daughter’s husband or their child could. If Blair refused, granting the title to Jocelyn, the prospective son-in-law, was the cleanest solution. Passing it to a collateral branch was unlikely.

Hermann’s death is satisfying, but it’s made things complicated.

In her previous life, Hermann lived, and after Jocelyn seized the throne, Hermann inherited House Grusevalt. In this life, Hermann was dead and Blair refused succession. That meant Jocelyn’s chances of claiming the title were high.

If that happened, he would gain control over the northern territories and their military forces. Even before, House Grusevalt and Jocelyn had cooperated, lending troops when needed, but directly holding command was an entirely different matter.

“Why do you look so serious?” Malena asked.

“The political situation is worsening.”

“Is it really that bad for you if the Second Prince inherits the title?”

“It’s not good.”

Odelliana reviewed the flow of events from her previous life, carefully tracing every step from the First Prince’s death to Jocelyn’s coup.

Time passed, and the second winter arrived. Rumors spread of the Battle of Osades Ridge, followed by news of victory the next spring. And at long last, news of Matthias finally reached her as well.