Episode 58

Episode 58: Are You Hurt Anywhere?

Finally, I boarded the carriage back to the Empire.

The rattling carriage carried us through peaceful scenery outside the window.

Blue trees and unnamed flowers blended with clear sunlight.

Unlike the relaxed outside world, a strange tension flowed inside the carriage.

“This is strange.”

Karssen, who had insisted on riding together, finally spoke.

It was under the pretense of escorting me up to the border.

He turned to me and asked,

“Your attitude towards me seems different from yesterday… Is it just my imagination?”

“I don’t know…”

But it was definitely not his imagination.

I had found out what drunken things I’d done the day before.

How could I act the same as before?

‘Especially that huge proposal to him…’

I dared not even speak it aloud.

I dropped my gaze.

Meanwhile, Karssen kept talking without pause.

“That’s sad. I thought we had grown closer.”

That’s really strange.

I thought we had grown further apart.

“Didn’t you like me enough to propose becoming my consort?”

“No. That was said in a drunken stupor.”

I stiffened my expression and spoke plainly.

But Karssen remained unfazed.

“They say a person’s true feelings come out when drunk.”

“Lots of nonsense comes out, too.”

“Anyway, I hope we have more chances to drink together. I’m sure I’ll get to see some entertaining sides of you.”

“If there’s a chance.”

But that will never happen.

I’m quitting drinking from now on.

We exchanged a tense conversation without either backing down.

More than that, something else bothered me since earlier.

‘Could you please sit a bit further away…?’

The problem was, Karssen was sitting right beside me.

The carriage wasn’t that small, so why did it feel like we were sitting too close?

No. Shouldn’t Karssen be sitting opposite me? He’s the king, after all.

Suddenly, I recalled the situation when we boarded the carriage.

I had gotten on first.

Then Karssen came in.

Without hesitation, he took the seat beside me.

Uncomfortable with his proximity, I tried moving to the opposite seat—but it was useless.

Karssen stubbornly kept the seat next to me.

Then Leonard and Cedric’s faces stiffened when they boarded late.

Moritz, Karssen’s secretary, looked uneasy too.

That was how the seating was finalized.

And it didn’t end there.

I couldn’t move sideways to get away from Karssen.

“Are you uncomfortable, Your Majesty?”

Right. The remaining seat was already taken.

By Sir Leonard.

No, why does everyone insist on sitting next to me?

I sighed deeply in my heart.

Ah, whatever. I’ll just look at the scenery until we arrive.

I turned my gaze outside.

Then a peculiar flower caught my eye.

A flower with completely transparent petals.

Like it was crafted by a glass artisan. A beautiful flower.

“What flower is that…?”

I murmured, and Karssen answered.

“That’s a Diphelia flower.”

Diphelia flower?

“It’s a special flower only found in the Dobel region.”

Ah, I remembered.

When we arrived at the Kingdom of Calus, Cedric mentioned a special flower only found in Dobel.

That must have been that flower.

“You’re lucky. There was a light frost at dawn yesterday, so you got to see it.”

“Is it really that rare?”

“To see it become so transparent requires very special climate conditions. Usually, it’s easily mistaken for a common wildflower by the roadside.”

“I see.”

So it really was a rare flower.

Still, I was glad I could see it with Cedric before returning.

I turned my head to look at Cedric sitting opposite.

His sparkling eyes and faint smile at the corners of his mouth caught my gaze.

Seeing that, my mood brightened as well.

He really loves flowers.

No wonder he’s a flower enthusiast.

After some time traveling in the carriage,

Karssen’s secretary Moritz spoke.

“We’re almost there.”

At his words, Karssen’s eyes narrowed as he glanced out the window.

“Looks like a guest has arrived.”

A guest?

Turning my head, I followed Karssen’s gaze.

My eyes widened at the guest’s identity.

‘Why is that person here?’

Under the dazzling sunlight, he flaunted brilliant platinum hair.

Behind his shoulders stood countless royal guards.

I recognized some of them.

Isn’t that Sir Gabian, who commands the knight order?

And the Marquis Niklad was there beside him.

‘Could it be they came to pick me up?’

Why?

No, how did they even know I was here?

Karssen, watching the entire scene, twisted the corner of his lips.

“Unfortunately, my role seems to end here.”

Inside the Calus Kingdom carriage, Karssen and Moritz, who had dropped off Helena midway, were now heading back to the palace.

Karssen leaned his elbow against the window and rested his chin on his hand.

Then he noticed Moritz’s intense gaze and turned his head.

Moritz was wearing a look full of things he wanted to say.

“Why are you staring like that? If you have something to say, say it.”

“Why are you being so meek all of a sudden, Your Majesty?”

Moritz asked eagerly.

“What do you mean?”

“Are you really going to let her go just like that?”

When they dropped Helena off earlier,

Moritz was worried Karssen might pick a fight with her.

But surprisingly, Karssen did nothing special.

After exchanging a brief greeting, he turned and walked toward the carriage.

“What? You think I’d try to stop her? Of course I have to let her go now.”

“But she crossed our border. You’re not just going to let that slide, are you?”

“Then, should we go to war?”

Karssen asked as if saying, “Is that what you want?”

Moritz clenched his mouth tightly.

War!

How could someone talk about such serious matters as if they were going on a casual visit to a neighbor?

“That’s not going to happen, right?”

“Well, no.”

Of course, it was Moritz who usually asked Karssen about war.

But it was just a hypothetical question.

To prepare for the worst.

War meant mobilizing many resources and countless citizens.

Such a decision must be made carefully.

Especially since the opponent was the Pentrian Empire.

Even more caution was necessary.

They were not a foe to be taken lightly.

For the country’s peace, it might be best to let this one pass.

Moritz nodded, thinking Karssen had indeed thought it through.

Yes. This situation was not worth going to war over.

Karssen was a king who knew how to think.

“Besides, she’s their person right now.”

Ah, right. She is their person for now.

Karssen said nothing but exactly the words he wanted to hear.

Moritz’s nose tingled with gratitude.

Whether Karssen noticed or not, he chuckled and added a final comment.

“At least for now.”

Karssen left, and I met burning red eyes.

The red eyes flickered like flames.

They were filled with dissatisfaction.

He silently glared at the people around him.

I thought he’d say something immediately.

But instead, he just quietly watched me.

Only the sound of flowing water nearby could be heard.

Eventually, I spoke first.

“What’s happening here?”

“…What do you mean?”

He looked at me as if saying, “Are you dumb?”

“I thought you said you were going to the Duchy for a rest.”

He snapped sharply.

“Since when has the Duchy of Schwaben been in another kingdom?”

His tone was clearly sarcastic.

I wanted to ask how he knew I was here.

But that wasn’t important right now.

“Alright. I’ll be honest.”

Since it came to this, I decided to be shameless.

“As you can see, I didn’t go to the Duchy.”

“Quite a confident attitude for someone who lied.”

“I had a reason that I absolutely had to go.”

“A reason?”

Jerome said incredulously.

“What reason could cause the Empress of the Empire to sneak into another country?”

“It was for the Empire.”

“…What?”

At those words, Jerome looked slightly surprised.

“You know, Your Majesty, the Empire’s people were suffering from a severe drought.”

I explained calmly.

“I went to the Kingdom of Calus to solve that drought problem.”

I pointed to the nearby canal.

“Look.”

Clear water flowed through the canal that had been dry until recently.

“We won’t need to worry about water for a while. It’s impossible to completely fix the drought, but at least fewer Empire citizens will die of thirst.”

After my explanation, I sat upright proudly.

Now, what would his reaction be?

I didn’t expect praise.

It wasn’t something I did for him in the first place.

It was for the people I cared about and the Empire’s citizens.

Would he say something about my lying?

I didn’t care.

I was prepared for anything.

Even if he criticized me, I planned to brush it off.

But what Jerome said next surprised me.

“This was reckless.”

“…?”

What was reckless?

Could it be… he was genuinely worried about me?

No, no. He didn’t care about me in the least.

I thought about what Jerome valued most.

One was Fay…

Ah! Maybe that was it.

I thought I had the answer.

A faint lonely smile appeared on my lips.

I blurted out in a cold voice without realizing.

“Could it be because of the Imperial prestige?”

“…What?”

Jerome furrowed his brows.

“Do you think I did something that would tarnish the prestige of the Imperial family?”

That was exactly what he was worried about.

“So you brought the royal guards with you just for that? For such a trivial reason?”

“…”

Jerome said nothing.

Probably because I hit the mark.

Thinking that made me sneer.

Yeah. What did I expect from you?

Worry? Ha.

I said with as cold an expression as I could muster.

“Nothing happened that would have tarnished your image, so please don’t worry.”

Is that enough?

I gave the answer he wanted and was about to leave.

With that last word, I brushed past him to board the carriage.

“…Are you hurt anywhere?”

No. I was about to leave.

If only I hadn’t heard that faint voice behind me.

Startled, I stopped and turned.

I looked at his broad back for a moment, but no more sound came.

What?

I frowned.

He suddenly said something strange and made my mind uneasy, then just stood outside doing… nothing.

I parted my lips to say something but gave up.

Talking with him would only make things take longer.

Just as I tried to resume walking—

“If not, then it doesn’t matter.”

The low voice echoed once more.