Chapter 13
***
They wondered why the man had retreated without explanation, but his subordinate's mouth revealed something Julian didn't know. Before Sihern had finished speaking, Julian was on his feet and clutching at Sihern's jaw roughly.
The chair Julian had been sitting on tipped over and crashed to the floor as he leapt to his feet.
Julian’s fierce gaze, reserved only for his enemies, locked on Sihern, sending chills down his spine, and for a moment the room fell silent.
"The princess came out? You mean something has happened to Rosette?"
"Oh, didn't you know? I thought you knew....... Hey, let go of me and we’ll talk.”
Sihern’s words fell on deaf ears. Instead, his body seemed to be lifted off the ground as he hung there by an unnatural force that gripped him even harder. The other knights around Julian tried to dissuade him, but to no avail.
"Speak straight so I can understand you, Sihern."
"Yes... My mother told me that, er, the princess, had offered the Emperor of the Kaisen Empire an alliance and that, against everyone's expectations, he had accepted. I haven't heard any specifics, but......."
"And?"
"She said... that the princess has traveled to the Kaisen Empire as a guest of honor to celebrate the union... but I think you're misunderstanding something, and not in the way you think......."
Sihern said each word carefully, trying not to offend the captain. Apparently, Julian didn't care.
"When did she leave?"
"I got a letter from my mother a week ago, so maybe a month ago......."
Sihern pulled at Julian’s hand. The look on Julian’s face was one of unspeakable despair. The knights in the inn could only stare at Julian unable to eat their well-prepared meals.
Sihern, meanwhile, coughed uncontrollably, stroking his chest as if he had been strangled. The look on the captain's face was unnerving, and he couldn't help but hold his breath as well.
The dining hall grew chilly. Then Julian’s words fell from his lips.
"The princess has traveled to a strange land to serve her country, and you’re eating idly. How can you call yourself a knight? I want you all to leave now. Be ready to retrieve her as quickly as possible!"
Sihern cringed as he felt the stinging glares flying around him.
He felt like he'd messed up. The whole roast pig on the table, barely a few bites in, called out to him, but he shook off the disappointment and headed for his room to gather his belongings. His steps seemed unusually heavy.
"What are you doing, why don't you move?"
Julian’s frown, unapologetically contorted, gave away his displeasure, and the group jumped in unison.
Rosette had been his best friend since childhood, and a woman he'd been deeply in love with since he'd discovered the opposite sex. It was a long-standing unrequited love, of course, but he'd volunteered for this dangerous assignment only to become a better man for her, so the news of her departure to a foreign land was like a blow to Julian’s ears.
And then there were the two letters that had come to him recently: one from his parents, asking for his well-being, and the other from Rosette, with the usual chatting.
As he opened Rosette's letter in his hands once more, a passage he hadn't recognized before caught his eye. At the end of the letter, it read something different.
[I always support you, and if you want my happiness, you should support me too. That's my wish, Julian. Please don't get hurt and be well.
Rosette]
Because she supported Julian, he should support her. And why her request that he not get hurt felt like a final goodbye.
Rosette's letters usually ended with a promise of something to come. But this last one didn't say that, so it must be a farewell.
Perhaps when Julian was away there was a war with the Kaisen Empire, and Rosette, though they had been friends young, had sacrificed herself for everyone’s sake. The absence of her letter and his parents' letter asking for his well-being made it clear that she had deliberately intended to keep him in the dark.
If only he had noticed that there was something out of the ordinary in the letter... if only he had stopped Rosette before she left for the Empire.......
Julian clenched his hands, and Rosette's letter crumpled unceremoniously.
***
Rosette's ability to purify the waters of the lake and bring rain to the Tristan region quickly spread throughout the empire. People from all over the empire flocked to the Tristan region, which had returned to its former glory after a long drought.
It was a sacred place where miracles were performed, and it was bustling with people coming to make wishes and offer prayers. As a result, Tristan was undergoing a second revival.
It was also said that a saint had appeared during the emperor's time, and many of the people worshiped her. In addition to aggressive territorial wars, many were hailing the rise of the most powerful emperor the empire had ever seen.
And that day, Rosette was scheduled to visit the Ville Bronze region.
She was assigned a white carriage drawn by a white horse, which had come to have symbolic significance within the Empire, and the holy-looking snow-white carriage was so pure that even from a distance, you could tell she was inside.
The doors to her new white carriage opened, and she climbed inside as if she were used to it and sat down.
The carriage door slowly closed, and at the coachman's signal, the carriage was about to depart. The carriage had barely taken a step when it was suddenly stopped by someone. Rosette's body fell forward for a moment before the force brought her back to her seat. What was going on?
Then, with a hustle and bustle, the carriage door opened, revealing a familiar figure.
It was Theodore.
He casually stepped onto the carriage where Rosette was sitting. He took a seat across from her, looked her directly in the eye, and lifted the corner of his mouth slightly, as if in greeting. It was a strange smile.
The suddenness of his unannounced appearance startled Rosette inwardly.
She'd been avoiding him ever since the unexpected and unpleasant incident not long ago.
She'd been scanning her surroundings every day, desperately hiding or casting concealment at the slightest hint of Theodore's shadow. Even when the ban was lifted, she was still unable to leave her quarters and had to be constantly on the lookout for him, which sometimes made her feel uncomfortable.
After all her efforts, she had thought she'd been able to successfully avoid him for the past few days, but here he was, confronting her outright. Rosette smiled awkwardly at the casual smile on his face. It was a fake smile that tried to hide the embarrassment she felt inside.
"What brings Your Majesty all the way here......."
"I've decided to join the Princess today."
An urgent voice rose in Rosette's throat at the mention of accompanying the Emperor.
"I... didn't... hear you say that?"
"I just decided."
Rosette felt like she was the only one who was stunned. Theodore's naturally virtuous expression made it seem as if nothing had happened between them, and he climbed into the carriage with the lightness of a man out for a walk.
Rosette, who had been avoiding him so diligently, coughed and spoke cautiously.
"Hmmmmmm, I... I don't suppose it's possible to go by carriage alone......."
"Why waste the manpower?"
Waste manpower? Didn’t he send her in a different carriage when they went to Tristan? She couldn't understand what he was trying to say. Rosette was a little puzzled by his casual demeanor, but there was nothing she could do but watch as he climbed into her carriage.
The carriage eventually pulled away, and there was an awkward silence in the small space. Rosette had never been a talker, but Theodore was even worse: He was a terribly reticent man.
She realized they were going to be in this state for hours, and even if they weren't, the stifling air was making her go blind. Rosette kept her gaze toward the window, but her mind was filled with a million thoughts.
Struggling again and again with the awkward air currents, Rosette reached for the teapot beside her and began to prepare to brew tea.
Her mother had secretly packed it in her luggage the night before she came to the Kaisen Empire.
It had been her favorite tea leaf to drink while at the palace, during tea time with her family and at tea parties with the nobility. It wasn't until later, when she unpacked her luggage after arriving in the Empire, that she realized her mother had packed it for her. Her mother's thoughtfulness was that Rosette, who was not of sound mind at the time, couldn't afford to take the time to pack her favorite things.
Rosette would take the tea leaves with her whenever she went out and steep them in the carriage, her favorite lavender tea, one of the finer teas available only in the kingdom of Hercia, which boasted relatively warm air currents.
"It's a tea only found in my kingdom... would you like to try it?"
Theodore's gaze shifted from the window to Rosette, and he gave a small nod.
***
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