Chapter 13

Chapter 13

He had been curious about the enemy’s unexplained retreat, but then a fact Julian hadn’t known came from his subordinate’s mouth. Before Sihern even finished speaking, Julian shot up from his seat and roughly grabbed Sihern by the collar.

The chair Julian had been sitting on toppled over as he sprang up, clattering onto the floor.

Julian’s sharp gaze, usually reserved for confronting enemies, fixed on Sihern. The atmosphere became so chilling that cold sweat broke out on Sihern’s back, and the space fell silent for a moment.

“The Princess intervened? What happened to Rosette?”

“D-didn’t you know? I naturally assumed you did… P-please, let go, let go so we can talk.”

Sihern’s pleas to be released fell on deaf ears. Instead, Julian’s brutish grip tightened, lifting Sihern’s body as if he might hover in the air. Other knights nearby tried to intervene in Julian’s aggressive display, but he wouldn’t budge.

“Speak clearly so I can understand, Sihern.”

“Understood. W-well, Princess Rosette proposed a peace treaty to the Emperor of the Kaysen Empire, and breaking everyone’s expectations, he accepted the proposal… My mother told me. I haven’t heard the specific details, but…”

“And?”

“To commemorate the peace, the Princess departed for the Kaysen Empire as an honored guest… apparently. Commander, I think you might be misunderstanding something. It’s not what you’re thinking…”

Sihern carefully weighed his words, speaking syllable by syllable to avoid upsetting his commander. It seemed Julian truly hadn’t known.

“When did she leave?”

“I received a letter from my mother a week ago, so probably about half a month ago…”

Julian flung Sihern’s collar away and roughly ran his hands through his own hair. An indescribable sense of despair was etched on his face. The knights in the inn, their untouched food still before them, could only sneak wary glances at Julian.

Meanwhile, Sihern, feeling utterly wronged, could only rub his bruised chest and cough for a long time. The commander’s expression was ominous, so he had no choice but to hold his breath.

The dinner table had suddenly turned frigid. Soon, Julian’s furious command echoed through the room.

“The Princess left for a foreign land for the sake of our country, and you’re all idly eating? Can you even call yourselves knights?! Everyone is to depart immediately! Prepare for a swift return to base, Now!”

Sihern grimaced, enduring the stinging glares from everyone around him.

He felt as though he had truly caused a disaster. The barely touched roasted pig on the table seemed to call to him, but he reluctantly pulled himself together and headed to his room to pack. Sihern’s steps felt particularly heavy.

“What are you doing? Move it!”

Julian’s deeply furrowed brows clearly expressed his displeasure, and at his furious command, everyone moved in perfect unison.

Rosette was his old friend, someone he had grown up with since childhood, and the woman Julian had deeply adored since he first became aware of women. Of course, it was a long, unrequited love on his part, but the reason he had volunteered for this dangerous place was to become a man more worthy of Rosette. So, the news of her departure to a foreign land was nothing short of a bolt from the blue for Julian.

Moreover, two letters had arrived for him recently. One was from his parents, asking about his well-being, and the other was from Rosette, containing her usual messages.

He unfolded Rosette’s letter from his pocket once more, and a passage he hadn’t noticed then now caught his eye. The last part contained something different from her usual correspondence.

[I always support you. If you wish for my happiness, then you must also support me. That is my wish, Julian. Please stay safe and well.

Rosette.]

Her words, asking him to support her as she supported him. And her plea not to get hurt… why did it now sound so much like a final farewell?

Rosette’s letters usually contained plans for their next meeting. But this last letter had no such content, making it undeniably a final goodbye.

It just so happened that the war with the Kaysen Empire occurred while Julian was away, and though it was called a peace treaty, Rosette must have left as a hostage. The absence of any mention of this in her letter or in his parents’ letter, which inquired about his well-being, clearly indicated an intentional effort to hide it from him.

If only he had noticed something unusual in this letter… If only he had stopped Rosette before she left for the Empire…

Julian clenched his hands, crushing Rosette’s letter held within them.

Rosette’s ability to purify the lake water and bring rain to the Tristan Region spread throughout the Empire in an instant. After the long drought was broken, countless citizens from all over the Empire flocked to the Tristan Region, which had returned to its former state.

It became a sacred place where miracles had occurred. People came in droves to make wishes or offer prayers, creating a bustling scene. As a result, the Tristan Region was experiencing a second renaissance.

Many citizens also revered the ‘Saintess’ who had appeared during the Emperor’s reign. There was also a growing number who praised him as the most powerful Emperor in the Empire’s history, alongside his aggressive territorial expansion.

And on that day, Rosette was scheduled to visit the Bill Bronze Region.

Having gained symbolic significance within the Empire, Rosette was assigned a white carriage drawn by white horses. The sacred-looking, pure white carriage made it clear from a distance that she was inside.

The door of Rosette’s newly assigned white carriage opened, and she ascended into it with practiced ease before taking her seat.

The carriage door slowly closed, and just as the coachman gave the signal to depart, the carriage, having barely moved a step, was suddenly halted by someone. Rosette’s body tilted forward momentarily due to inertia before returning to its position. Unsure of the reason, she looked outside with a bewildered expression.

Then, with a bustling sound, the carriage door opened, and a familiar figure appeared.

It was Theodore.

He climbed into the carriage where Rosette was sitting, his face unperturbed. He then settled into the seat opposite her and met her gaze directly, a subtle curve of his lips like a greeting. It was an unusual, ominous smile.

His sudden, unannounced appearance startled Rosette.

This was because she had been assiduously avoiding him since an unexpected, embarrassing incident a few days prior.

She had constantly checked her surroundings, and if even Theodore’s shadow appeared, she would frantically hide or conceal herself. Though her house arrest had been lifted, she hadn’t been able to properly go out, instead constantly fretting over her surroundings, which sometimes made her feel utterly dejected.

After all that effort, she had thought she successfully avoided him for the past few days, only to encounter him so openly like this. Rosette awkwardly smiled back at his nonchalant expression. She was inwardly flustered, but it was a forced smile, an attempt to conceal her surprise.

“Your Majesty, what brings you here?”

“I decided to join you today.”

At the news of accompanying the Emperor, a frantic sound involuntarily escaped Rosette’s throat.

“I-I didn’t hear about that?”

“I just decided.”

It seemed Rosette was the only one feeling awkward. Theodore’s utterly natural expression made it seem as if nothing had happened between them, and he boarded the carriage with light steps, like someone going for a stroll.

Rosette, whose diligent efforts to avoid him now seemed pointless, cleared her throat and spoke cautiously.

“Ahem, um… Surely, we’re not sharing one carriage…?”

“Is there any reason to waste manpower?”

Then what about before? When she had an engagement in the Tristan Region and was headed there, he had been perfectly content to take a separate carriage. To change his mind now—she couldn’t understand his intentions. His brazen attitude left Rosette slightly dumbfounded, but having no other option, she could only watch him as he boarded the carriage.

Soon, the carriage set off, and an awkward silence filled the space. Rosette wasn’t one to initiate conversation, but Theodore was even more so. He was notoriously taciturn.

To think they had to travel like this for hours. The suffocating atmosphere already made her feel lightheaded. Her gaze was fixed out the window, but Rosette’s mind was racing with a thousand thoughts.

After much deliberation due to the intensely awkward atmosphere, Rosette reached for the teapot beside her and began preparing to steep some tea.

It was something her mother had secretly packed in Rosette’s luggage the night before she crossed into the Kaysen Empire.

It was the tea leaf Rosette particularly enjoyed during teatimes with her family or at tea parties with nobles back at the palace. Only after she arrived in the Empire and unpacked her luggage did she realize her mother had packed it. At the time, Rosette had been too distraught to think about bringing her favorite things, so this was her mother’s thoughtful gesture.

Whenever Rosette went out, she would bring these tea leaves and brew them in the carriage. It was her favorite Lavender Tea, one of the luxury teas that grew only in the Hersia Kingdom, known for its relatively warm climate.

“This tea only grows in our kingdom… Would you like to try some?”

Theodore, who had been looking out the window, shifted his gaze to Rosette, and his face gave a small nod.