Side Story 1.2

The Emperor received the letter and immediately came to the Travian territory. Information about individuals presumed to be Edelis was also gathered from other regions, but they were either in locations Edelis couldn’t have reached without using the Warp Gate or the information was inaccurate. As soon as he arrived in the Travian territory, Count Travian rushed out barefoot to greet the Emperor.

“So, where is Edelis?”

“W-Well…”

Sweat beaded on the Count’s forehead. He had only reported the information he had obtained and sent his knight order to bring the young lady back. But not long after, the Emperor himself had come here. He realized the situation was far more serious than he had thought.

“Edelis.”

“The person who brought the information said she was attacked by bandits…”

At the word ‘attacked,’ a deep frown appeared between the Emperor’s eyebrows. With the Emperor here, he couldn’t afford for this to be a false rumor. What if they accused him of deceiving the Emperor to get rid of a bandit group?

“Where is the bandits’ hideout?”

“I’ve already sent the knight order! If you just wait a little longer,”

“The location.”

Lehan was fuming. How dare mere bandits… If they had so much as left a scratch on her, he would make them regret ever being born. The hideout the Count mentioned was a rugged mountain near the border of Serniere. Since a large number of people would only get in the way, he selected a few elite knights and headed for the mountain.

***

“Name.”

“…”

“It seems you’re not getting a good grasp of the situation, are you?”

The man who called himself the bandit leader had Edelis brought into his tent. Dragged along with her wrists tied, Edelis tried to figure out how to escape. She had gotten away from the Emperor; she wasn’t about to be caught by a mere bandit.

“What do you plan to do?”

She knew that if she revealed her name, he would send a letter to her father and try to get a ransom. Or he would sell her to another country. Thinking that, she couldn’t bring herself to speak kindly. But since he had captured her without harming her, she figured he wouldn’t treat her badly.

“What I do with you is entirely in my hands. It would be difficult for you to act this way, wouldn’t it?”

“Are you going to kill me?”

“Why would I?”

“Then, are you going to sell me?”

“It would be a waste to give you to someone else.”

Was he crazy? Being with a bandit like this felt like a waste of herself.

“I was running away because I didn’t want to get married, so I’m not going to be given to anyone else. Why don’t you just let me go?”

“Doesn’t it feel like you ran away to me?”

“…”

He was definitely crazy. Edelis slowly nodded. She didn’t feel that way at all.

“If you don’t want to be here, you can leave.”

As soon as the leader’s words ended, she jumped to her feet. Her hands were tied, but her legs were free.

“But if it’s not in my tent, you’ll have to sleep outside with the other guys.”

“What?”

“I wonder if those guys will be well-behaved at night…”

The leader smirked. She peeked outside, and it was already getting dark. The bandits she could see through the tent flap were in chaos.

‘Maybe I should have gone to Canvier instead of Serniere.’

It was too late for regrets. Edelis went to the corner of the tent and crouched down. She couldn’t go outside the tent, but she didn’t want to be near this guy either.

“Stubborn.”

The leader strode over and squatted in front of her. He was so big that even when squatting, he was a head taller than Edelis.

“Name.”

“…”

When she didn’t answer, he lifted Edelis and pushed her out of the tent.

“A-Agh!”

Edelis’s head was already outside the tent, and at her scream, everyone’s attention was drawn to her. Then she remembered what the leader had said a moment ago.

– But if it’s not in my tent, you’ll have to sleep outside with the other guys.

And as a last resort, the man urged her.

“Name.”

“E-Edelis!”

She had no choice but to say her name, but she regretted it immediately. The man’s lips curled into a smile, and he pulled her back inside the tent.

“Edelis.”

“Don’t call me like we’re close.”

“You must have a last name, right?”

“…”

She had been defensive because so few people had called her by her first name. She had forgotten that commoners usually didn’t have last names and only had a first name. She had just revealed that she was a noble.

“It doesn’t matter. You won’t have to use it in the future.”

She agreed with that. She had planned to live as just Edelis, not as a member of any family, even after going to Serniere. Still, hearing it from the bandit leader made her feel rebellious. But there was nothing she could do in her current situation. She pulled her legs up in the corner of the tent and buried her face.

‘What do I do? Is this better than marrying the Emperor? At least I prevented the Brill family from being annihilated.’

‘No, no matter what, why does it have to be a bandit? Is it so hard to live a normal life? I just wanted to live a long life as a farmer in the countryside!’

The more she thought about it, the more wronged she felt, and tears welled up in her eyes. She should have brought a guard with her when she left. If she had, she wouldn’t have been caught so helplessly by bandits. She could have gone with a guard instead of the caravan, or she could have escaped from the bandits under the guard’s cover.

‘I wish Lehan was here!’

He came to her mind because she had already been scammed by a mercenary she hired before traveling with the caravan.

‘You said you would save me no matter what the situation!’

The leader looked at Edelis, who was whimpering in the corner, with displeasure. But he decided to leave her alone, thinking she would stop in a few days. She would be by his side anyway, and they had plenty of time.

“Boss.”

A subordinate with a low voice called the man from outside and squeezed into the tent. The big man was startled to see Edelis crouching and crying on the floor but made an effort to ignore it. No one who had shown interest in the woman the boss had his eye on had ever seen a good ending.

“The Count’s knight order has arrived.”

“Why?”

“It seems the one who escaped our attack today reported it.”

“They’ve never sent a knight order for just that.”

“I don’t know. The commander himself is leading the knights, so he said it’s best to hide for a while.”

Haa. The man sighed. He had plundered a significant amount of money after a long time. It seemed like a good time to rest. Besides, since he had a beautiful woman with him, he decided to rest rather than face the knight order.

“Let’s go to the hideout.”

“Yes.”

“Have the informant come in here. I need to pay for the information.”

“Understood.”

Edelis lamented that this was why the bandits in this country would never disappear. A knight who was an informant for bandits. She wanted to see how brazen he was. But as soon as the guy entered, Edelis was startled. Because… his face was so familiar.

‘The second son of Viscount Weiss… that bastard!’

Wasn’t he the one who had asked her to dance on her debutante day? If that guy hadn’t left her behind, she wouldn’t have danced with the Emperor! Just thinking about dancing with the Emperor back then still made her furious. Of course, she was okay after she had a fun dance with Lehan, but she still got angry whenever she thought of the former Emperor and that bastard from the Viscount Weiss family. She wanted to get revenge, but right now, she was the one in trouble if she was found out. That guy would surely run to the Emperor and happily sell her out.

‘I’ll get my revenge, I’ll get my revenge!’

She thought that if she could get out of here in one piece, she would immediately sue him. She would gather evidence without being noticed and go to the Count’s castle to report him.

‘First, I have to… get out.’

However, the thought of her current situation, being held captive here, made her depressed. After the second son of Viscount Weiss left with his payment and a big smile, the leader made Edelis stand up.

“Get up. We’re moving.”

“Can’t you just leave me here?”

The leader calmly ignored her and put her on his horse. Edelis’s face soured as she was suddenly holding him, riding a horse. Edelis planned to push the leader off and ride away herself. Her hands were tied, which made it a little risky, but it was worth a try.

“Hmph!”

Edelis threw her weight into him.

“…What are you doing?”

He didn’t budge, making her concern about him falling off the horse meaningless. After a moment of silence, Edelis spoke.

“I was shaking.”

“The horse hasn’t moved a single step.”

“…I felt like I was shaking.”

“Whatever.”

The bandits quickly cleaned up the traces of their stay to avoid being discovered. Then they rode toward their hideout. They rode deeper and deeper into the mountains. How long did they ride? Suddenly, the horses slowed down. The leader raised one hand and clenched his fist, signaling them to be on alert.

“Shh.”

“…”

He narrowed his eyes and looked outside the forest where they were hiding. White warhorses! They were the Imperial Knights’ horses! The thought of being saved lasted only a moment, as the bandits turned their horses and tried to escape. The Imperial Knights noticed their disarray, but it was too late.

‘What do I do? What can I do?’

Could the Imperial Knights catch them again? Could she hold out until then? The bandits, who knew the lay of the land, scattered and passed through the forest. In the process, the distance between them and the Imperial Knights widened.

‘This won’t do!’

Edelis used her tied hands to cover her head and bent her body, throwing herself between the leader’s arm and torso.

“You’re crazy! Edelis!”

She heard the leader’s voice yelling from a distance. Fortunately, there were a lot of leaves on the ground, but it still hurt so much. She realized that people didn’t die from falling off horses for no reason. It really, truly hurt so much. She had run away because she didn’t want to die by the Emperor’s sword, and she had run away because she didn’t want to marry a bandit leader. And now the end was death from falling off a horse.

‘What is this…’

It hurt so much that she was about to lose consciousness, but two people faced each other over her, who was groaning in pain.

“Capture them all alive. If they resist at all, you may kill them.”

As soon as the man’s words fell, the knights who had surrounded the forest revealed themselves. The bandits, surrounded by countless knights, were flustered and didn’t know what to do. When someone shouted and resisted to escape, a sword immediately went into his thigh.

“…Why are you doing this?”

The man realized that if he acted wrongly now, everyone would be massacred. When he threw his weapon on the ground, his other subordinates followed suit. The surrounding knights then encircled him and kicked his weapon away.

“The leader of the Reinen bandits, Reinen. Is that right?”

“…”

“I heard you attacked a caravan.”

Lehan knelt down and pulled back the hood of the person who was lying in front of him. Edelis was groaning, covered in a cold sweat. He had hoped he had misheard the name that had come out of that guy’s mouth, but it was indeed Edelis. Lehan gritted his teeth and showed her to the doctor who was behind him. After the doctor gave her a few potions, Edelis’s expression became much more relaxed.

“Kill them all.”

“Wait a minute!”

At Lehan’s firm response, the leader urgently called out to him. It was an excessive punishment for just attacking one caravan.

“Let us stand trial! How can you do this?”

“For an outlaw to demand a trial.”

“…Please, let us stand trial.”

If they were to stand trial, they would at most have to return the stolen goods and pay a fine. That kind of damage was a problem they could solve by plundering again. He was unlucky, but it wasn’t to the point of being summarily executed by the Imperial Knights. That’s what the bandit leader thought. Lehan scoffed at his words, but the bandit leader threw away all his pride because he thought it was the wisest decision.

“You’ll regret not being summarily executed.”

What could he possibly regret more than not dying right away? The leader, unaware of the gravity of the situation, simply thought that. He knew that just attempting to kidnap a member of the imperial family could lead to the annihilation of his entire family. But there was no way he would know that the woman he had kidnapped was a member of the imperial family.

***

Edelis came to as soon as the painkiller wore off.

“Ugh!”

Her whole body ached.

“Bring the doctor!”

“Yes!”

A low, familiar voice shouted from somewhere. Edelis turned her head toward the voice. It seemed to be morning, as sunlight was shining from behind him.

‘…Who is it?’

Her head was still dizzy from the medication, and she couldn’t see him well because of the backlight, but he seemed to be the one who had saved her. That’s why he was calling a doctor. Despite the pain, Edelis took a breath and greeted him.

“Thank you for your help.”

“…”

“I was suddenly kidnapped by bandits and thought it was all over…”

She wanted to get up and bow her head to him, but her body wouldn’t obey. She had nothing to give him in return, so she couldn’t properly reward him. At that moment, the doctor came in, gave her some medicine, and left, urging her not to move. After that, an uncomfortable silence fell. The man strangely sat quietly beside her.

“Ah.”

“Did you remember something?”

“There’s a person named Luther from Viscount Weiss’s family, and he was an informant for the bandits.”

“…I will take care of it.”

As silence fell again, it was even uncomfortable to breathe.

“Excuse me.”

“Yes.”

“As soon as my body heals, I’ll be leaving.”

“Leaving?”

The man’s voice became even lower than before.

“You don’t have to worry about me so much.”

So you can just go about your business.

“Do you really not remember anything?”

“…That’s everything.”

At Edelis’s words, the man let out a long sigh. After a long, deep breath, the man opened his mouth.

“Edelis Brill.”

“H-How…?”

She hadn’t brought anything to indicate her identity!

“Did you think you would be able to leave this place?”

The man slowly exhaled to calm his mind and continued.

“Did you think you could get away from me?”

“W-What?”

The man stood up and took a small box from a drawer. He opened the box, revealing a ring, and put it on Edelis’s left ring finger.

“Didn’t I ask you to be my Empress?”

“…”

“Edelis Cronad. That is your name now.”

Edelis’s pupils shook uncontrollably as she realized the man in front of her was the Emperor. The Emperor looked at her calmly, then placed a hand on the bed beside her head. He looked down at her and leaned in, whispering in her ear.

“You don’t know what I’m capable of doing to be by your side.”

“…”

“So don’t even think about going anywhere, and stay with me.”