Chapter 193

The commander in chief returned to the army. The Northern Alliance forces, who had been holding their breath and waiting without easing their tension, finally began to move.

Five couriers rode hard toward the five cities of Ugel. Had they delayed even a little longer, the presence of the alliance troops stationed in each city would surely have spread not only to the capital, Pahan, but throughout Ugel’s many colonies as well. In every sense, the commander’s return came at an exquisitely timed moment.

Ruben pushed aside the tent flap and examined the presence of his lord striding toward him. It was clear that the man had not escaped these past days without severe strain. The sharp lines of his face looked as though they had been carved away by a blade.

“Your Grace, are you….”

“I am not fine.” Rezette cut off his subordinate coldly and swept his gaze over the map.

“We will take Pahan within twenty days. Before Cherry is born.”

“Cherry, sir? What is that?”

Ruben asked in confusion, only to receive the full force of his lord’s piercing glare. Isaac pinched Ruben hard at the waist and whispered, “What do you mean, what is it? Can’t you tell. It’s obviously the baby’s name.”

Ruben sucked in a breath and snapped his mouth shut.

Rezette began constructing a plan to seize Pahan in the shortest possible time. He combed through the mental map of Ugel spread inside his head, along with the detailed layout of the Pahan royal palace, searching every corner for weakness. The palace, nearly smothered in thorny vines that blocked magical power, was notoriously difficult to breach.

The king’s neck… the king’s neck.

That was all he needed.

To the people of Ugel, the king meant far more than a simple ruler. From what Rezette had witnessed, they had always raised their king as the justification for their continental war of conquest.

A being worshiped like a god by barbarians who do not even fear the mages of Argan.

Throughout Grandel’s history, there had been neighboring states that coveted Argan’s magic. However, in the present age, no one outside the Argan imperial line truly understood the power of magic. It was an era in which magic itself was slowly fading from the world.

And yet Ugel alone drooled openly over it. As Elise had suspected, there had to be a reason.

The barbarians referred to their master as the Undying King.

The people of Ugel clearly knew something. Or possessed something.

If what they hold is a clue to eternal life or immortality, then it must be taken.

Since he had already left, Rezette intended to tear the roots of the wasteland out quickly and completely. Just as Elise had said, if he wanted to watch their child grow by her side, he would not be able to leave Rotiara again for years to come.

“So first, we take the king.”

Bang. Rezette slammed his scabbard down mercilessly, crushing the mark that indicated Pahan on the map.

“Feasting comes after.”

Though it was not the season for madness to seize him, Rezette’s pupils narrowed dangerously.

One week passed after Rezette’s departure. Time moved with an almost cruel speed.

***

…I already miss him.

Curled inward, Elise clutched the edge of her blanket tightly.

When her husband had been beside her, she had been filled with a vague confidence that everything would work out. Now that he was gone, each passing day became frightening in its own way. Her body grew heavier by the day, and whenever her abdomen tightened, pain shot through her as though the ground were falling out beneath her. Chills and dizziness came and went without regard for day or night.

This isn’t going to turn dangerous, is it….

There had been nights when she sniffled quietly, overwhelmed by an uncontrollable sense of dread. Even so, it was far better than the days she had slept alone at Riosa Castle. Ivetsa stayed glued to her side, chattering endlessly from morning to night.

“You have no idea how shocked I was when I woke up, Your Highness. I had just left Rotiara, and when I opened my eyes, I was in the east. And not only that, I was lying in the Irrien estate.”

“Yes, the Irrien duchess dragged us there. How did you get out? There couldn’t have been anyone in Norella to help you.”

“It was the Grand Duke’s order. Knights from Rotiara escorted me to a neighboring territory of Norella. From the look of things, if I had stayed at the Irrien estate any longer, I would not have escaped with my life. It was truly fortunate.”

Ivetsa paused, choosing her words. She had helped the Grand Duchess flee at close range, fully prepared to be executed on the spot if the Grand Duke discovered her. It was a grave crime, beyond question.

The order conveyed through the knight had indeed been as expected: “Your punishment will be decided after Her Highness returns. Go back to Rotiara and wait quietly.”

Yet just as she finished preparing to return to Rotiara, the command changed. She was to cross immediately to the southern continent to attend the princess.

“How did you feel when you woke up?” Elise asked.

“Honestly, completely fine. They said I had been lying there for nearly three weeks without eating anything, but when I woke up, my body felt normal. I did have some muscle soreness, but nothing serious. I could prepare and travel right away.”

A small seed of hope sprouted in Elise’s chest.

Now that she thought about it, the people whose bodies Sameshita had borrowed after Ivetsa had been the same. They had simply lain unconscious for several days, then risen alive and well.

Ivetsa’s prolonged unconsciousness was likely due to Sameshita using magic while inhabiting her body. If even then the physical effects were minimal…

Then Andrei might not die the moment Sameshita leaves him either.

There might still be a way to reclaim Andrei from the dragon. Once the Argan army retook the imperial capital as planned, she had already sent messenger birds instructing them to monitor the catacombs immediately.

All she could do now was pray that Sameshita had read both the diary Gallian left behind and Ignashio’s records, and that something within them had reached her.

Lady Petisson and Freya arrived ten days after Rezette’s departure.

After three weeks of forced marching, the two women looked utterly exhausted.

“Your Highness, if you were unwell, you should have said so instead of hiding it.”

Rebecca Petisson’s monocle sat crooked as she glared and unleashed a stern scolding.

“To choose that moment to flee, of all times. I have watched you closely for half a year, and it seems you have a tendency to overestimate yourself.”

The elderly head maid, as always, stood with ramrod posture and spoke in a sharp tone, but her authority was considerably diminished by the yellow dust caked into her cloak and hair.

Elise smiled weakly. Once, she had shrunk under that severe gaze. Now, even the nagging felt welcome.

“Thank you for worrying. The baby is fine, so please don’t…”

“This old woman’s lifespan has been shortened by ten years over the past half year alone. One of you crosses the sea while pregnant, and the other has completely lost his mind. When the Grand Duke returned to Rotiara holding nothing but a fistful of your hair, do you know how terrified I was? I thought that hair was all that remained of you.”

“My hair…?”

Lady Petisson’s snort followed as she noticed the blue brooch resting on the bedside table. It was the cloak brooch of Rezette that Elise carried like a talisman.

“And come to think of it, you two don’t even have a token of marriage. Living together for half a year without exchanging even a ring. This is entirely my fault for failing to educate him. How do you expect to raise a child when you are this impractical? The baby will surely inherit that stubbornness whole.”

“Let’s leave that for later, ma’am.”

Freya, burdened with an armful of books, cut her off.

“I visited every physician in the capital and gathered all the research texts on dragonkin fetuses that I could find. Fortunately, our little one is far calmer than the cases described here, but once labor begins, we can never be too careful. Childbirth is painful not only for the mother, but for the child as well.”

“I see….”

“Yes. Still, the progress so far has been excellent. By the way, does the Argan imperial palace have a library? Forgive my boldness, but since the imperial family are mages by lineage, Your Highness may also carry a special secret regarding your birth…”

“Oh my goodness, both of you are far too worked up. Her Highness is still a patient. Please stop exciting yourselves and go change your clothes.”

Waving her hands, Ivetsa ushered Lady Petisson and Freya out of the bedroom. Rebecca Petisson returned shortly after, somehow immaculately composed, carrying an overwhelming amount of luggage.

“The left side contains Your Highness’s dresses and nightwear, as well as items for your recovery after delivery. The right side is for the baby. The cradle, swaddling cloths, clothing, toys…”

“Your Highness, did you ask for cherry confit?”

The chef Hummel shouted loudly from below the stairs as he arrived late, hauling two supply wagons.

“I brought every preserve we made last summer. I’m bringing them up now.”

Watching the commotion, Elise let out a small laugh. A glimmer of moisture shone at the corners of her eyes.

“Thank you… all of you, for coming.”

Lady Petisson, who had been quietly watching her, gently enclosed Elise’s hand.

“Congratulations. This comes terribly late.”

Elise’s damp, golden eyes widened slightly.

It was the first sincere blessing she had received since learning she was with child. Until now, there had been no one around her who had even offered hollow congratulations.

“You must have suffered greatly from the day you first entered Rotiara. I am sorry.”

“No, it’s all right. You don’t need to apologize…”

The three women looked at the Grand Duchess with tender concern as she fumbled for how to respond to the congratulations. Not so long ago, she had been a young, fragile woman who knew nothing of coupling. From fleeing without even knowing she was pregnant to now, on the verge of full term, she had endured with everything she had.

Despite the fact that no one believed she would.

“Your Highness is strong. Steel your heart.”

Rebecca Petisson stroked the back of Elise’s hand.

“All of Rotiara awaits the baby’s birth. The child will be born safely amid love and blessings, so do not worry. Everything will be all right.”

“That’s right, Your Highness. Your husband will return with news of victory as a gift for the baby, so focus on recovering your strength and leave the outside matters to us. You understand, don’t you?”

Freya and Ivetsa chimed in one after the other. Overwhelmed, Elise could not immediately find her words and nodded firmly instead.

The suffocating fear and uncertainty that had plagued her since Rezette’s departure seemed to melt away like a lie.

***

As Elise prepared herself near the border of Regal, the Argan army led by Baron Conrad, together with the support forces of the Kingdom of Regal, advanced toward the heart of Argan, the imperial capital.

After crushing in succession the three colonial armies that the people of Ugel had installed in western Argan over the past year, they marched straight for the capital.

They had expected to suffer heavy losses at the imperial city, but once they scaled the walls, the rest came with surprising ease.

A thunderous cheer erupted from the Argan army. The barbarian banners were torn down from the walls without mercy, replaced by the empire’s orange standard rising proudly into the sky.

Yet one man, Baron Conrad, could not relax.

I never thought we would retake it this easily.

Only after setting foot in his homeland’s imperial capital for the first time in a year did he understand why. The imperial church built on the eastern side of the inner city had been more than half destroyed.

Broken spires and collapsed walls revealed the building’s bare framework. The entrance was shattered, blocking access to the interior. Worse still, the protective barrier that had once been limited to the catacombs now completely enveloped the church and parts of the imperial palace, preventing entry not only into the sanctuary, but into the inner stronghold itself.