Chapter 63

“Huh?!”

“On my behalf. You will be punishing him for his disrespect toward me, so you must hit him very, very hard.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you.”

The princess giggled and kicked the sword the knight had dropped toward Berman. As Berman picked up the sword, the princess said cheerfully, “It’s better than having your neck chopped off for high treason or blasphemy, so beat him accordingly.”

“Yes.”

Every time Berman tried to stop after a few blows, the princess gestured for him to continue, and the knight was hit with the sheathed sword until he was gasping for air.

“Stop.”

“Hah… hah…”

“It would be wise for you to be more careful next time.”

“…”

She had spoken to the knight, but he offered no response.

“Alright, Berman, take me back to the palace.”

“Understood!”

“Why are you grinning like that? Just lead the way.”

Berman walked with a light step to the princess’s room. On the way, the princess said that when she had asked him if he was having a hard time, she would have just watched and not helped at all if he had asked for help.

“Because I really, really liked you. I hate people who cling to me.”

That was the day Berman began to follow the princess faithfully. She didn’t care that he was an illegitimate child.

“Anyway, a noble is just a noble under a royal.”

Though her words were the height of arrogance, Berman liked it because it felt like she was saying that a duke or an illegitimate child like him were all the same. The princess, in turn, began to open her heart to Berman, who sincerely followed her in the midst of her boring palace life. She even envied Berman, who had severed ties with his family and lived freely as a knight. One year passed, then two, and the two of them became an obvious presence in each other’s lives.

“Your Highness, how many times do I have to tell you not to spend the day lying down?”

Despite Berman’s nagging, the princess just casually patted the space next to her with her palm, beckoning him.

“I was hoping you would come.”

“…Your Highness.”

“Look at you, all red-faced. What were you expecting? You’ve grown up so lecherous.”

The princess had been lying in bed without even changing out of her chemise after waking up, so it was only natural that Berman had nothing to say. Seeing him like this, the princess would giggle, saying that it was too much fun to tease him, and they would continue on as if nothing had happened. But that day was different.

“Berman.”

“Yes.”

“Come here.”

“Your Highness, if you’re going to tease me…”

“Hurry.”

Berman hesitated, but he went to her side where she was sitting, leaning against the headboard of the bed. When the princess patted the bed again, he sat down next to her. His heart felt like it was going to burst because of the princess he admired so much, the princess who overwhelmed him just by looking at her. As if she knew his feelings, the princess’s warm hand touched his fingertips.

“Berman.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Even during that short answer, his trembling voice betrayed his feelings. The princess chuckled and covered his hand.

“Call me by my name.”

“How could I dare to do that?”

“Say it after me. Ariella.”

“…”

Berman felt so happy just from her holding his hand that he thought he was going to die. But to call her by her name? He became even more anxious with the constant wave of happiness. Besides, he felt that if he called her by her name, the feelings he had kept suppressed would spill out.

“You’re not going to call me that?”

“No.”

“Even if I do this?”

“…”

“What about this?”

The princess used her other hand to cup Berman’s cheek. He knew he should push her away, but he didn’t know how.

“It’s okay if you don’t call me by my name, Berman.”

Her face moved closer, and he felt a soft touch on his lips. It was only a brief moment, but it felt as long as an eternity to Berman.

“Because I’ll call you by your name.”

In his heart, Berman called her name hundreds of times. But it never came out of his mouth, not until the day her marriage was decided.

“Berman, what would you think if I wasn’t a princess?”

Her not being a princess… the most he could imagine was a high-ranking noble lady who was spoiled by her father. But if he said that out loud, the princess might hit him.

“I’m not sure.”

“Why am I so powerless?”

“There’s no one more headstrong than you, Your Highness.”

“…”

The princess pouted and glared at him, but he didn’t flinch. In fact, he found it endearing, which meant his infatuation was severe.

“Right now…”

What on earth was she trying to say that she was hesitating so much? But he waited patiently. He could wait for a night, or even two or three nights if he had to.

“I hear the Grand Duke’s son is raising an army?”

“I believe so.”

That story had nothing to do with him. Although he was a member of the Imperial Knights, he had been exclusively serving the princess for a long time, and no one had bothered him since the day she had turned things upside down. Whether the Grand Duke’s son raised an army or not, his time with the princess was all that mattered. He dreamed of a fantastical situation where she might become a commoner, no longer a royal.

“My father, Marquis Pasis, and the others all took so much for themselves that I hear the Imperial Knights are surrendering before they even fight them.”

“…The Imperial Knights have children of nobles, so their treatment is good, but the Imperial Army is not so fortunate.”

“So the day before yesterday, I was told I’m to be married off to the Kingdom of Iorn.”

“…What?”

“Since the Emperor’s faction can’t win even with the knights they send, they’re telling me to marry into the Kingdom of Iorn and bring back their army.”

Berman couldn’t say a word at the sudden news of her marriage.

“So, Berman.”

“…”

“Will you run away with me?”

Tears welled up in the princess’s eyes as she asked him to run away with her.

“If I stay here, I’ll be married off to the Kingdom of Iorn. But I don’t want to.”

“…”

“Let’s run away to a quiet place and live together, without the Emperor knowing. Anyway, the current Imperial Family is about to fall. Anyone can see it.”

Just as rats are the first to flee a collapsing house, recently, maids and servants had been caught running away with gold.

“Even if a new emperor ascends the throne, they wouldn’t punish me for living a normal life in the countryside, married to a commoner.”

“…Married?”

“You don’t like that?”

“How could I say I don’t like your marriage, Your Highness?”

His mouth was bitter. He had kept his feelings to himself. He had never once shown them. Although, he only thought he had never shown them; the princess had long since caught on to his feelings.

“What are you talking about? It’s not my marriage to someone else, it’s my marriage to you.”

“What?”

The princess grabbed the collar of Berman’s uniform and kissed him.

“I thought you felt the same way, but was I wrong?” 

“…”

“Then even as I run away, I’ll have you executed for treason against the Imperial Family.”

“Huh, what?!”

“Are you going to pretend it didn’t happen after you took a princess’s lips twice?”

To be precise, it wasn’t him who had taken her lips; it was the princess who had kissed him. But since the princess said so, he couldn’t dare to argue.

“Berman. I think you should give me an answer soon.”

“…”

There was only one answer he could give. But he lacked confidence in himself. Could a mere illegitimate son of a marquis really have a good life married to a princess? Was it okay for him, who had nothing? More importantly, could they successfully escape from the Emperor and the Grand Duke’s son? Would they both end up dying for nothing? He would be fine, but wouldn’t it be much better for the princess to marry the prince of a foreign kingdom than to marry him?

“…Please give me time to think.”

“Time to think… Alright.”

He could feel the princess’s eyes grow cold. But Berman couldn’t give her an answer right then. He needed to secure a different identity and find a house in a quiet village. Even with such preparations, it felt woefully insufficient for her. While he was making those preparations, Keirhan Raksid was amassing power at an alarming rate. On his way back after finally finding and contracting a house for him and the princess to live in, he heard the news that the Imperial Palace had been attacked. He heard that all the royals had met their end. He ran to the Imperial Palace, denying the news. Fortunately, he was still part of the Knights, so he could enter without any trouble.

“Why?!”

But no one was there to greet him. He went to the room she had been staying in, but the empty room had lost its warmth long ago.

“…Ah, Ariella.”

He called her name belatedly, but there was no reply.

“Ariella, please.”

He cried and cried, losing his mind as he called her name over and over again, but there was no answer. He should have run away with her even if he wasn’t fully prepared. No amount of regret would bring her back to life. So he stayed at the Imperial Palace and made a plan to get revenge on Keirhan Raksid, who had killed Ariella. Did that man, who seemed to have no blood or tears, even have a weakness? He felt like he would lose even if he fought him with a sword. But he spent his days waiting for the right time for his revenge. When Marquis Pasis staged a rebellion, his heart sank, thinking all his plans would come to nothing. But because he was an illegitimate son who hated the marquis, and because he had actively participated in suppressing Marquis Pasis’s faction, he was able to remain in the Imperial Knights. Then Edelis and Keirhan got married. Seeing the Emperor with her, he immediately realized she was his weakness. He vowed to kill the Empress when the Emperor was at his happiest.

‘When would be a good time? What about when the Empress is carrying his child?’

He felt his guts twist every time he saw the happy Emperor in front of him, but he endured by fantasizing about the day of his revenge. Since the Empress didn’t seem to have feelings for the Emperor, he thought it might even be fun to wedge himself between them.

‘What if the child the Empress gives birth to has silver hair like mine, instead of the Emperor’s red hair?’

That would be fun in its own way. Should he kill the Empress or not? What about ravishing her? How could he cause Keirhan Raksid the greatest despair? As Berman was pondering such things, someone approached him.

“Don’t you want to see the princess again?”

***

“Who was that?”

“I can’t tell you that.”

“…”

A face came to Edelis’s mind. But she couldn’t bring herself to say it out loud.

“I didn’t know you were such a scumbag.”

“I’m less of one than the Emperor you’re so crazy about.”

“…”

“How many times did I try to kidnap you after that? It was a real pain. Attacking Raiden, and faking my own attack…”

“…It was you all along.”

Berman just smiled without giving a direct answer to Edelis’s words. And to her, that was the most definite answer he could have given.