Bibliophile Princess, page 27
“You have met the conditions I gave you with even better results, and so I will acknowledge you as the crown prince’s fiancée and Sauslind’s future queen.”
I looked up and met his strong and kind eyes, then once again buried my face against his broad chest to check his heartbeat. Oh, Grandpa Teddy...
“However,” he said in a firm voice, “perhaps you should reconsider your choice of spouse. Once he thinks he’s got a good plan, he won’t reveal it to anyone. He wants to take care of everything himself.”
I’d thought that myself too.
I wiped my face and stood up. I saw that the prince was coming over to us. His Highness looked irritated even though everything was settled, and Grandpa Teddy didn’t even try to hide his annoyed expression. They glared at each other, but the prince was the first to speak.
“As I thought before, you’re so old you can’t see clearly anymore, so perhaps it’s best if you retire. It is disgraceful to misunderstand the training of the next generation by clinging to the glory of the past,” he asserted adamantly, which only encouraged Grandpa Teddy even more. I involuntarily retreated away from him.
“You’ve got some nerve, whippersnapper. You only used my guards because you were afraid if I moved them, the other party would notice. You can’t even get any other pawns. You should be ashamed.”
“Don’t get upset just because you were used as a pawn. Why don’t you spend the rest of your life somewhere in peace and quiet?”
“How dare you speak to me like that! Why don’t you see if you can beat me?” Grandpa Teddy challenged, grabbing the hilt of his sword.
This childlike exchange completely dried up my tears. I noticed the guards were confused too, so I went to join them.
Chapter 13: Light and Shadow
Pharmia remained seated, seemingly oblivious to the voices around her. Her father, Duke Odin, was taken away by the imperial guards as if he were a servant, leaving only his daughter behind. She did not look at her father.
Once the guards left, I dropped to my knees, still holding my book. “Lady Pharmia.” She responded slightly when I called her name, and I saw a faint tremor in her cheeks as she lowered her gaze.
I had to settle things with her. I had a feeling this would be my last chance, so I opened my mouth to speak, but she beat me to it.
“It wasn’t for you,” she said.
Now that she had finally spoken, everything she had been suppressing all surged out in one big rush.
“I didn’t do it for you. I’ve always hated you, Lady Elianna. Do you understand how it feels when someone suddenly appears and takes away everything you ever wanted? Why did you have to be here? If not for you, I... Why are you trying to protect me? I didn’t want you to protect me. Anyone but you!”
I held my breath as her raw emotions hit me. My actions must have hurt and cornered Lady Pharmia even more than I had imagined. And just as I had feelings that I wouldn’t back down from, she’d done everything for the sake of someone else.
“You wanted to protect His Highness’s honor,” I said.
The story of His Highness and the Saint had spread throughout the country. It was undoubtedly a strategy of Duke Odin’s faction to spread rumors and make them come true. However, now that the duke’s evil deeds had been exposed and his falsehoods revealed, the only thing left to dispel were the rumors about His Highness and Lady Pharmia. I had a feeling they would remain among the people forever. In other words, it would lead to the disgrace of His Highness. That was why she’d said that she hadn’t done it for me.
I took her clenched hand and smacked it against my cheek before she could pull it away. There was only a dull sound, but she finally looked up.
“Please strike me as much as you like, Lady Pharmia. As much as you want, to make up for me hurting you, even though I didn’t realize that I had. After that, let me strike you too. I can’t forgive what you have done. Despite the fact that you gave the citizens hope as their saint and distributed the dried pomelo fruit, you also worked to spread the virus, and I absolutely cannot forgive that.”
“What...?” A faint light appeared in her eyes. “You... You always think you’re so perfect, don’t you? Always on your high horse. What do you know? You act like you know it all, yet you’re always in a safe place where you’re protected. You don’t know a thing about someone like me. I hate people like you. Don’t talk like you understand.”
She didn’t hit me, but she did dig her nails in. A sharp, hot pain ran through me. Even so, I didn’t back down and continued to face her.
“But I like you,” I said, forcibly thrusting my emotions onto her, stepping into her position. “When I came to the royal capital, I was not used to society, but you always took care of me. Others only paid attention to me because I was the prince’s fiancée, but you always cared about me, and I didn’t take it for granted. I thought you understood people’s pain.”
I’d thought she was a caring person, even when I had been persistently bullied, when my clothes had been soiled, and when others had laughed at me. She had always been there to take care of me.
“Stop it. I told you I hate you,” Lady Pharmia replied.
“But I like you.”
“I said stop.”
At some point, I felt a surge of affection toward Lady Pharmia, whose voice was trembling. I put myself in Lady Pharmia’s shoes for the first time and thought about what she had been through. She wanted to make a name for herself as a saint and become Prince Christopher’s wife. I was sure she had experienced things that I couldn’t even imagine. I had nothing to give back to her either. On the contrary, that would surely hurt her even more. That was why...
“I was always envious of Lady Therese,” I stated. She was the flower of high society, adored by everyone. She was seen as the representative of the next generation who would lead everyone. I had felt this way for almost five years, since I first met Lady Therese. “I also wanted to call you Mia, Lady Pharmia.”
Her hazel eyes went wide. It was as if a dam had broken and her feelings were rushing straight toward me. Drowning in the waves, I couldn’t even breathe.
“Are you a fool?” she muttered, then collapsed into sobs.
Suddenly, her gaze flew to behind me, and I heard Jean yell, “M’lady!”
It wasn’t clear what happened and in what order. The surrounding people had kept a distance from us, and everyone who had committed a crime had already been taken away, so I had relaxed my guard. In my peripheral vision, I saw Lady Pharmia raise her hand, her expression one of terror. Instinctively, I held up the book I always had in my hand.
“Ah!”
Something sharp pierced through the hard book, and the shock waves from it coursed through my whole body. A grubby man in front of me yelled something, and because I didn’t let go of what I was holding, his force threw me around. I was consumed by confusion. Both my arms felt severely numb.
Jean, who was unusually emotional, intervened. “Watteau!” Without even giving the man a chance to counter, Jean stopped him with his dagger in one blow. For a moment, their eyes met, but then the man collapsed and stopped moving. Jean stood up, hiding me with his lanky back. He was panting.
The room became noisy. The guards rushed in and began to move the crowd away. Among them, Jean muttered, “I could have ended up just like Watteau, if not for one thing.”
Both Jean and the man were once part of the royal family’s Shadows. What was this “one thing” he spoke of? I thought about what he’d said. Maybe the person by my side wasn’t Jean as he had been, but Jean as he was now.
I was still holding my large record book. It was an original design I’d created myself so that Jean couldn’t burn it anymore. It was the only one like it in the world.
Stuck deeply in the cover was the sword that had tried to take my life. A thick binding made of copper plate had stopped it from piercing clean through, and now the weapon was stuck. My design had finally demonstrated its purpose.
I muttered involuntarily as I thought. Perhaps I was in a state of mild shock. “Jean,” I said. He turned back and looked at me. “I finally understand. This is like catching a blade in your bare hands, from The Travels of Marco Polo!”
“Not exactly,” he said immediately, and I felt relieved. He was still the exasperated Jean I knew. He groaned as if he were in pain and asked why he must make that retort every time.
After meeting with His Highness the night before yesterday, Jean had come looking for me despite his injuries. Even now, despite his injuries, he had rushed over to save me. I decided that I should at least check on his wounds.
I shook off the guards holding me back so I could see if there were any other suspicious people around, but His Highness fell to his knees to get on my level and pulled me into his arms.
“Eli, please don’t,” he said, his voice trembling. “To come this far and lose you... I just can’t.”
It was as if I’d caught a glimpse of His Highness’s true weakness. He sounded desperate, far removed from his usual confident and dignified demeanor. I put my hand on his back to tell him that I was safe, and when I rubbed it soothingly, he took a deep breath to calm his racing heart. After he helped me up and confirmed that I was safe, his expression relaxed. With a sigh, he gently hugged me again.
Guards surrounded us. As they did, I saw that Jean was holding the book with the sword stuck in it, and I caught a glimpse of Lady Pharmia. Then another sharp sound startled me. The head priestess was coming toward the wall of guards, so His Highness led them and faced her.
Her face was impassive as she said, “I will take care of Lady Pharmia Odin.”
Prince Christopher looked a little hesitant, but he nodded. Lady Pharmia would probably be interrogated about her father’s crimes, but until then, she would be kept confined to the temple.
The surrounding priests moved in accordance with His Highness and the head priestess’s decision. I watched as they urged Lady Pharmia to her feet. As she left, I got the feeling I wouldn’t be able to speak with her ever again. We couldn’t go back to the past, but maybe someday...
I watched her almost as if I were praying, and she turned around and quietly called, “Lady Elianna Bernstein.”
My heart skipped a beat. I couldn’t hide anything from her gaze, which seemed to strip me bare in the empty temple. Her eyelashes fluttered ever so slightly.
“I hope we meet again someday,” she said.
I tried to calm my racing heart. His Highness and I quietly watched as she turned her back to us and disappeared into the depths of the temple.
~.~.~.~
When I came out to apologize to the sick and the doctors for the turmoil in the temple, I was enveloped by even more cheers. It seemed that everyone was aware of what had happened inside, and when His Highness and I had shown up with General Bakula, the cheers had become even louder. In response, we promised to welcome the people camped out in front of the temple inside in the near future, then withdrew to the royal palace.
General Bakula hadn’t finished with his business yet, so he went somewhere else with several Black Wing Knights. Irvin and the second prince of Maldura had also come to the temple to prove that they were safe, but they were moved to a separate room for their safety.
As soon as I returned to the royal palace, the maids rushed over with tears on their faces, probably because they had already received word of my return. However, they were still maids of the royal palace. They restrained their emotions and tore me away from His Highness, after which I began meticulously cleansing myself. After all, I didn’t know from where the disease had originated. I knew that the security was stricter at the royal palace than anywhere else, but to be honest, I was just as mentally fatigued as when I was on horseback.
In order to hide my identity, I had been dressing like a boy for a long time, but now I finally returned to my appearance as a noble lady. The maids were so enthusiastic that even I hesitated a little. From there, Prince Christopher, who had refreshed himself, came to pick me up. He said his usual sweet words regarding my appearance and smiled at me—I was now blushing—then we immediately headed to the person I needed to greet the most.
Deep inside the royal palace, in a spot where only a limited number of people were allowed to enter, the first Imperial Guard, Glen’s older brother, Sieg, and others were guarding a certain room. The servants lowered their voices, but as I entered, someone arose to their feet with a clatter. Queen Henrietta, the queen of Sauslind, stood there with a stern expression. She always appeared imposing to her opponents, but now she looked somewhat emaciated and stunned.
Recalling what happened earlier, I bowed politely to greet her. Then, all of a sudden, she rushed over to me and swept me in her arms. I was surprised by both her warm embrace and her teary voice.
“I’m so...so glad you’re safe...Elianna!”
A wave of emotion rushed over me as I felt the warmth of her joy. So many things had happened, and Queen Henrietta must have been restless for a long time, but here she was, weeping over my safety.
Once that hit me, I burst into tears—from the relief of finally being safe and from the feelings of knowing someone was elated that I was okay. I felt as if I had crossed a very dangerous bridge and arrived at the other side intact. Scary thoughts, terrifying thoughts, painful thoughts, and so on overflowed all at once, and I cried in her embrace.
“Mother...” I said.
After waiting for us to calm down, Prince Christopher explained the situation, sitting at the seat that was prepared for him. First on the agenda was the condition of His Majesty the King, who was lying in a sickbed in the next room.
“At the time the cure was created,” he began, “Alex sent information in secret from the Ralshen Region. The royal pharmacists treated him and administered the cure, and his condition has improved, but we still can’t see him or talk to him yet. Dr. Harvey says the prospects for his recovery have increased.”
My heart ached as I thought of everything Prince Christopher and Queen Henrietta, who were worried about His Majesty, had gone through. It was the same thing I had felt when I was young, and now it had spread not only in Sauslind, but to other countries as well.
Dr. Harvey, the chief court physician, had sacrificed his sleep and kept himself confined to His Majesty’s hospital room. If he was with His Majesty, all would be well. I sighed in relief as my biggest worries melted away.
Prince Christopher then explained the events that had taken place in the temple to Queen Henrietta. He told her about the many crimes Duke Odin, Queen Henrietta’s older brother, had committed. She listened carefully to everything as if she had already prepared for this, and as resolutely as always, she was strict in her judgment, even though it was something that affected her.
“Do justice according to the laws of Sauslind.”
Sitting next to her, I involuntarily put my hand on hers. Queen Henrietta’s eyes softened a little. She looked at me, then returned her gaze to her son without hesitation.
“Those who are too full of themselves will eventually crush themselves. My brother dreamed too much. Perhaps he wanted to become another king who would rule over a puppet king from the shadows.”
There was only one king who governed Sauslind Kingdom. No one should be allowed to manipulate them from behind the scenes. I felt the weight of it all, along with a sense of wonder.
Queen Henrietta’s tone suddenly changed, and she was no longer speaking as the ruler of a nation. “If I had conceded even a little to my brother, I wonder if the results would have been different...”
Before I could utter a word of denial and stop her sad smile, His Highness cut in.
“That’s not true, mother,” he objected. His blue eyes were strong, but his words were somewhat childlike. “Uncle’s desires must have been innate. Even if you had conceded, he wouldn’t have changed. In fact, it’s possible it would’ve made him worse. He never saw me as anything besides a willful child. He wouldn’t have recognized anything but his own selfish desires.”
Everyone was selfish at times, but the important thing was whether you could put that selfishness aside and recognize someone else who was better than you. Relationships, something that I couldn’t understand just by reading books, were difficult and complicated.
The Queen replied with a small smile. “You just couldn’t forgive him for targeting Elianna, could you?”
“Of course not. I would’ve followed him to the ends of the earth and made him regret it.”
That’s a little scary, Your Highness.
“I wonder who you got that stubbornness from,” the queen said with an exasperated smile.
His Highness quietly stood up. “I still have things to do, so I must go. Eli, you rest here, please.” The gentle smile on his face turned stern as he headed for the door. It was the same smile as the one I’d seen earlier in the temple...
I immediately stood and rushed over to His Highness.
“Eli,” he said with surprise.
I grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “I will come with you.”
For a moment, he looked as if he were about to tease me as usual, but then he realized I was not going to back down. He hesitated, seemingly searching for the words to stop me. “This isn’t funny,” he murmured, and with a small breath, he squeezed my hand in return.
I said my goodbyes to the queen, who was watching over me with a smile, and finally, the two of us headed to settle things with one last person.
Chapter 14: One Last Shadow
On the way there, we ran into Jean, who had changed his clothes and was waiting for us. I told him he could rest and again tried to check on his injuries, but he stopped me and returned the book made of copper plate. The sword had been removed, leaving only the damage it had wrought.
Sounding grumpy, Jean asked, “All right if I come along?” He seemed to know where we were headed.
His Highness agreed with a quiet sigh.
Since the inside of the royal palace was still a bit chaotic, we were surrounded by Glen and his guards. When we arrived at the room, my chest tightened. It can’t be. I looked up at His Highness, who had a stern expression on his face, and he wasn’t hesitating at all. That told me he was prepared to face this head-on, and so I strengthened my resolve.
I looked up and met his strong and kind eyes, then once again buried my face against his broad chest to check his heartbeat. Oh, Grandpa Teddy...
“However,” he said in a firm voice, “perhaps you should reconsider your choice of spouse. Once he thinks he’s got a good plan, he won’t reveal it to anyone. He wants to take care of everything himself.”
I’d thought that myself too.
I wiped my face and stood up. I saw that the prince was coming over to us. His Highness looked irritated even though everything was settled, and Grandpa Teddy didn’t even try to hide his annoyed expression. They glared at each other, but the prince was the first to speak.
“As I thought before, you’re so old you can’t see clearly anymore, so perhaps it’s best if you retire. It is disgraceful to misunderstand the training of the next generation by clinging to the glory of the past,” he asserted adamantly, which only encouraged Grandpa Teddy even more. I involuntarily retreated away from him.
“You’ve got some nerve, whippersnapper. You only used my guards because you were afraid if I moved them, the other party would notice. You can’t even get any other pawns. You should be ashamed.”
“Don’t get upset just because you were used as a pawn. Why don’t you spend the rest of your life somewhere in peace and quiet?”
“How dare you speak to me like that! Why don’t you see if you can beat me?” Grandpa Teddy challenged, grabbing the hilt of his sword.
This childlike exchange completely dried up my tears. I noticed the guards were confused too, so I went to join them.
Chapter 13: Light and Shadow
Pharmia remained seated, seemingly oblivious to the voices around her. Her father, Duke Odin, was taken away by the imperial guards as if he were a servant, leaving only his daughter behind. She did not look at her father.
Once the guards left, I dropped to my knees, still holding my book. “Lady Pharmia.” She responded slightly when I called her name, and I saw a faint tremor in her cheeks as she lowered her gaze.
I had to settle things with her. I had a feeling this would be my last chance, so I opened my mouth to speak, but she beat me to it.
“It wasn’t for you,” she said.
Now that she had finally spoken, everything she had been suppressing all surged out in one big rush.
“I didn’t do it for you. I’ve always hated you, Lady Elianna. Do you understand how it feels when someone suddenly appears and takes away everything you ever wanted? Why did you have to be here? If not for you, I... Why are you trying to protect me? I didn’t want you to protect me. Anyone but you!”
I held my breath as her raw emotions hit me. My actions must have hurt and cornered Lady Pharmia even more than I had imagined. And just as I had feelings that I wouldn’t back down from, she’d done everything for the sake of someone else.
“You wanted to protect His Highness’s honor,” I said.
The story of His Highness and the Saint had spread throughout the country. It was undoubtedly a strategy of Duke Odin’s faction to spread rumors and make them come true. However, now that the duke’s evil deeds had been exposed and his falsehoods revealed, the only thing left to dispel were the rumors about His Highness and Lady Pharmia. I had a feeling they would remain among the people forever. In other words, it would lead to the disgrace of His Highness. That was why she’d said that she hadn’t done it for me.
I took her clenched hand and smacked it against my cheek before she could pull it away. There was only a dull sound, but she finally looked up.
“Please strike me as much as you like, Lady Pharmia. As much as you want, to make up for me hurting you, even though I didn’t realize that I had. After that, let me strike you too. I can’t forgive what you have done. Despite the fact that you gave the citizens hope as their saint and distributed the dried pomelo fruit, you also worked to spread the virus, and I absolutely cannot forgive that.”
“What...?” A faint light appeared in her eyes. “You... You always think you’re so perfect, don’t you? Always on your high horse. What do you know? You act like you know it all, yet you’re always in a safe place where you’re protected. You don’t know a thing about someone like me. I hate people like you. Don’t talk like you understand.”
She didn’t hit me, but she did dig her nails in. A sharp, hot pain ran through me. Even so, I didn’t back down and continued to face her.
“But I like you,” I said, forcibly thrusting my emotions onto her, stepping into her position. “When I came to the royal capital, I was not used to society, but you always took care of me. Others only paid attention to me because I was the prince’s fiancée, but you always cared about me, and I didn’t take it for granted. I thought you understood people’s pain.”
I’d thought she was a caring person, even when I had been persistently bullied, when my clothes had been soiled, and when others had laughed at me. She had always been there to take care of me.
“Stop it. I told you I hate you,” Lady Pharmia replied.
“But I like you.”
“I said stop.”
At some point, I felt a surge of affection toward Lady Pharmia, whose voice was trembling. I put myself in Lady Pharmia’s shoes for the first time and thought about what she had been through. She wanted to make a name for herself as a saint and become Prince Christopher’s wife. I was sure she had experienced things that I couldn’t even imagine. I had nothing to give back to her either. On the contrary, that would surely hurt her even more. That was why...
“I was always envious of Lady Therese,” I stated. She was the flower of high society, adored by everyone. She was seen as the representative of the next generation who would lead everyone. I had felt this way for almost five years, since I first met Lady Therese. “I also wanted to call you Mia, Lady Pharmia.”
Her hazel eyes went wide. It was as if a dam had broken and her feelings were rushing straight toward me. Drowning in the waves, I couldn’t even breathe.
“Are you a fool?” she muttered, then collapsed into sobs.
Suddenly, her gaze flew to behind me, and I heard Jean yell, “M’lady!”
It wasn’t clear what happened and in what order. The surrounding people had kept a distance from us, and everyone who had committed a crime had already been taken away, so I had relaxed my guard. In my peripheral vision, I saw Lady Pharmia raise her hand, her expression one of terror. Instinctively, I held up the book I always had in my hand.
“Ah!”
Something sharp pierced through the hard book, and the shock waves from it coursed through my whole body. A grubby man in front of me yelled something, and because I didn’t let go of what I was holding, his force threw me around. I was consumed by confusion. Both my arms felt severely numb.
Jean, who was unusually emotional, intervened. “Watteau!” Without even giving the man a chance to counter, Jean stopped him with his dagger in one blow. For a moment, their eyes met, but then the man collapsed and stopped moving. Jean stood up, hiding me with his lanky back. He was panting.
The room became noisy. The guards rushed in and began to move the crowd away. Among them, Jean muttered, “I could have ended up just like Watteau, if not for one thing.”
Both Jean and the man were once part of the royal family’s Shadows. What was this “one thing” he spoke of? I thought about what he’d said. Maybe the person by my side wasn’t Jean as he had been, but Jean as he was now.
I was still holding my large record book. It was an original design I’d created myself so that Jean couldn’t burn it anymore. It was the only one like it in the world.
Stuck deeply in the cover was the sword that had tried to take my life. A thick binding made of copper plate had stopped it from piercing clean through, and now the weapon was stuck. My design had finally demonstrated its purpose.
I muttered involuntarily as I thought. Perhaps I was in a state of mild shock. “Jean,” I said. He turned back and looked at me. “I finally understand. This is like catching a blade in your bare hands, from The Travels of Marco Polo!”
“Not exactly,” he said immediately, and I felt relieved. He was still the exasperated Jean I knew. He groaned as if he were in pain and asked why he must make that retort every time.
After meeting with His Highness the night before yesterday, Jean had come looking for me despite his injuries. Even now, despite his injuries, he had rushed over to save me. I decided that I should at least check on his wounds.
I shook off the guards holding me back so I could see if there were any other suspicious people around, but His Highness fell to his knees to get on my level and pulled me into his arms.
“Eli, please don’t,” he said, his voice trembling. “To come this far and lose you... I just can’t.”
It was as if I’d caught a glimpse of His Highness’s true weakness. He sounded desperate, far removed from his usual confident and dignified demeanor. I put my hand on his back to tell him that I was safe, and when I rubbed it soothingly, he took a deep breath to calm his racing heart. After he helped me up and confirmed that I was safe, his expression relaxed. With a sigh, he gently hugged me again.
Guards surrounded us. As they did, I saw that Jean was holding the book with the sword stuck in it, and I caught a glimpse of Lady Pharmia. Then another sharp sound startled me. The head priestess was coming toward the wall of guards, so His Highness led them and faced her.
Her face was impassive as she said, “I will take care of Lady Pharmia Odin.”
Prince Christopher looked a little hesitant, but he nodded. Lady Pharmia would probably be interrogated about her father’s crimes, but until then, she would be kept confined to the temple.
The surrounding priests moved in accordance with His Highness and the head priestess’s decision. I watched as they urged Lady Pharmia to her feet. As she left, I got the feeling I wouldn’t be able to speak with her ever again. We couldn’t go back to the past, but maybe someday...
I watched her almost as if I were praying, and she turned around and quietly called, “Lady Elianna Bernstein.”
My heart skipped a beat. I couldn’t hide anything from her gaze, which seemed to strip me bare in the empty temple. Her eyelashes fluttered ever so slightly.
“I hope we meet again someday,” she said.
I tried to calm my racing heart. His Highness and I quietly watched as she turned her back to us and disappeared into the depths of the temple.
~.~.~.~
When I came out to apologize to the sick and the doctors for the turmoil in the temple, I was enveloped by even more cheers. It seemed that everyone was aware of what had happened inside, and when His Highness and I had shown up with General Bakula, the cheers had become even louder. In response, we promised to welcome the people camped out in front of the temple inside in the near future, then withdrew to the royal palace.
General Bakula hadn’t finished with his business yet, so he went somewhere else with several Black Wing Knights. Irvin and the second prince of Maldura had also come to the temple to prove that they were safe, but they were moved to a separate room for their safety.
As soon as I returned to the royal palace, the maids rushed over with tears on their faces, probably because they had already received word of my return. However, they were still maids of the royal palace. They restrained their emotions and tore me away from His Highness, after which I began meticulously cleansing myself. After all, I didn’t know from where the disease had originated. I knew that the security was stricter at the royal palace than anywhere else, but to be honest, I was just as mentally fatigued as when I was on horseback.
In order to hide my identity, I had been dressing like a boy for a long time, but now I finally returned to my appearance as a noble lady. The maids were so enthusiastic that even I hesitated a little. From there, Prince Christopher, who had refreshed himself, came to pick me up. He said his usual sweet words regarding my appearance and smiled at me—I was now blushing—then we immediately headed to the person I needed to greet the most.
Deep inside the royal palace, in a spot where only a limited number of people were allowed to enter, the first Imperial Guard, Glen’s older brother, Sieg, and others were guarding a certain room. The servants lowered their voices, but as I entered, someone arose to their feet with a clatter. Queen Henrietta, the queen of Sauslind, stood there with a stern expression. She always appeared imposing to her opponents, but now she looked somewhat emaciated and stunned.
Recalling what happened earlier, I bowed politely to greet her. Then, all of a sudden, she rushed over to me and swept me in her arms. I was surprised by both her warm embrace and her teary voice.
“I’m so...so glad you’re safe...Elianna!”
A wave of emotion rushed over me as I felt the warmth of her joy. So many things had happened, and Queen Henrietta must have been restless for a long time, but here she was, weeping over my safety.
Once that hit me, I burst into tears—from the relief of finally being safe and from the feelings of knowing someone was elated that I was okay. I felt as if I had crossed a very dangerous bridge and arrived at the other side intact. Scary thoughts, terrifying thoughts, painful thoughts, and so on overflowed all at once, and I cried in her embrace.
“Mother...” I said.
After waiting for us to calm down, Prince Christopher explained the situation, sitting at the seat that was prepared for him. First on the agenda was the condition of His Majesty the King, who was lying in a sickbed in the next room.
“At the time the cure was created,” he began, “Alex sent information in secret from the Ralshen Region. The royal pharmacists treated him and administered the cure, and his condition has improved, but we still can’t see him or talk to him yet. Dr. Harvey says the prospects for his recovery have increased.”
My heart ached as I thought of everything Prince Christopher and Queen Henrietta, who were worried about His Majesty, had gone through. It was the same thing I had felt when I was young, and now it had spread not only in Sauslind, but to other countries as well.
Dr. Harvey, the chief court physician, had sacrificed his sleep and kept himself confined to His Majesty’s hospital room. If he was with His Majesty, all would be well. I sighed in relief as my biggest worries melted away.
Prince Christopher then explained the events that had taken place in the temple to Queen Henrietta. He told her about the many crimes Duke Odin, Queen Henrietta’s older brother, had committed. She listened carefully to everything as if she had already prepared for this, and as resolutely as always, she was strict in her judgment, even though it was something that affected her.
“Do justice according to the laws of Sauslind.”
Sitting next to her, I involuntarily put my hand on hers. Queen Henrietta’s eyes softened a little. She looked at me, then returned her gaze to her son without hesitation.
“Those who are too full of themselves will eventually crush themselves. My brother dreamed too much. Perhaps he wanted to become another king who would rule over a puppet king from the shadows.”
There was only one king who governed Sauslind Kingdom. No one should be allowed to manipulate them from behind the scenes. I felt the weight of it all, along with a sense of wonder.
Queen Henrietta’s tone suddenly changed, and she was no longer speaking as the ruler of a nation. “If I had conceded even a little to my brother, I wonder if the results would have been different...”
Before I could utter a word of denial and stop her sad smile, His Highness cut in.
“That’s not true, mother,” he objected. His blue eyes were strong, but his words were somewhat childlike. “Uncle’s desires must have been innate. Even if you had conceded, he wouldn’t have changed. In fact, it’s possible it would’ve made him worse. He never saw me as anything besides a willful child. He wouldn’t have recognized anything but his own selfish desires.”
Everyone was selfish at times, but the important thing was whether you could put that selfishness aside and recognize someone else who was better than you. Relationships, something that I couldn’t understand just by reading books, were difficult and complicated.
The Queen replied with a small smile. “You just couldn’t forgive him for targeting Elianna, could you?”
“Of course not. I would’ve followed him to the ends of the earth and made him regret it.”
That’s a little scary, Your Highness.
“I wonder who you got that stubbornness from,” the queen said with an exasperated smile.
His Highness quietly stood up. “I still have things to do, so I must go. Eli, you rest here, please.” The gentle smile on his face turned stern as he headed for the door. It was the same smile as the one I’d seen earlier in the temple...
I immediately stood and rushed over to His Highness.
“Eli,” he said with surprise.
I grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “I will come with you.”
For a moment, he looked as if he were about to tease me as usual, but then he realized I was not going to back down. He hesitated, seemingly searching for the words to stop me. “This isn’t funny,” he murmured, and with a small breath, he squeezed my hand in return.
I said my goodbyes to the queen, who was watching over me with a smile, and finally, the two of us headed to settle things with one last person.
Chapter 14: One Last Shadow
On the way there, we ran into Jean, who had changed his clothes and was waiting for us. I told him he could rest and again tried to check on his injuries, but he stopped me and returned the book made of copper plate. The sword had been removed, leaving only the damage it had wrought.
Sounding grumpy, Jean asked, “All right if I come along?” He seemed to know where we were headed.
His Highness agreed with a quiet sigh.
Since the inside of the royal palace was still a bit chaotic, we were surrounded by Glen and his guards. When we arrived at the room, my chest tightened. It can’t be. I looked up at His Highness, who had a stern expression on his face, and he wasn’t hesitating at all. That told me he was prepared to face this head-on, and so I strengthened my resolve.
