-I believed in love.
Robert’s voice lingered in my ears.
With a dull expression, it only seemed natural for him to explain my past nonchalantly.
It felt like it meant nothing to him now.
As he mentioned feeling betrayed when he realized it was unrequited love, Robert smiled softly.
-But, it’s nothing that concerns me now.
Swish—
There was a sword slicing sharply through the air.
It was sharper and rougher than usual, exuding a fierce energy without a hint of restraint.
The sword drew a line in the air as it moved across the ground.
Adele’s sword always symbolized flow.
Born in the rough northern lands, it always evoked a sense of softness.
But today, I could feel it was rough and aggressive.
A sword is born from emotion, and the small fury that remained in me after hearing Robert’s story stirred within.
Wham— from dawn to morning. During that time, I swung the sword to shake off my residual thoughts.
Yet, why does my mind feel more tangled?
“…Hah.”
As I gazed at the sword standing still in the air, I slowly closed my eyes and tilted my head.
To sum up Robert’s story simply, it was a tale of a man who was betrayed.
The story of a man who fell for a woman who approached him, yearning for love.
But the love that whispered to me was actually a lie; I was deceived into thinking she was after my family’s fortune.
Perhaps it was a story I had heard quite often. The breakup happened for such underlying reasons.
It was something I hadn’t really cared about before.
I hadn’t thought of it as special, just someone else’s business, after all.
The only reason I asked about the name Teresia was to know if there was some connection with Robert, not because I was curious about that woman at all.
I rubbed my temples and brushed my face. There was no reason to think seriously.
It was merely a past of a man who was now my lieutenant, nothing more.
There was no reason for me to ask, and even if I did, I had no need to think of it so seriously.
But.
…But still.
Adele, who furrowed her brow slightly, let out a heavy sigh.
Anger was an intense emotion.
Once unleashed, it blazed like a flame, continuing to erupt until it faded away.
However, what I held now was different.
Perhaps it could be described as being cold enough to freeze upon contact.
I was calm enough to surprise myself, allowing me to see more clearly what I felt.
It was indeed true that I was angry.
The way that woman Teresia had acted was one of the things I hated the most, and I felt furious alongside Robert for what he had endured.
Of course, it wasn’t just anger that was dwelling in him right now.
This emotion was stickier than that. He was preoccupied with words he had spoken earlier, not the situation Robert had faced.
Considering how ugly it was to think about, Adele bitterly smiled and put down her sword.
The rough sound of iron clashing echoed, and once again the space was engulfed in calm.
No sound could be heard. Only the sound of his own breath remained.
-…Once, there was a woman I loved.
He was shaken by those words.
He had already known they were engaged, but he secretly thought of it as a political marriage.
Without any feelings for each other, they simply thought it was a marriage between families.
Thinking back, it was a laughable thought. What reason could there possibly be to think that?
Jealousy.
Adele chuckled softly at the word that pierced through her blurred thoughts.
Though it was the first emotion she had ever felt, Adele was not unaware of her heart.
If she wanted it, she took it. If she wanted to do it, she did it, and if something caught her fancy, she made it hers by any means necessary.
Even if it wasn’t an object but a person, Adele always got what she desired in the end.
However, there was one uncertainty.
Always looking at her with empty eyes, he spoke words filled with unreadable emotions.
Yet, Robert’s voice when he brought up the woman named Teresa was quite complicated.
If there was something she opened her eyes to upon meeting the man named Robert Taylor, it was probably about her own feelings.
“How ugly.”
She became interested, wanting to make him hers.
So she wanted to keep him close. That’s how she always did things when she desired something, so she thought it would be the same this time.
Nonetheless, she was the first woman to realize there were things that couldn’t happen.
Bitterly smiling, she picked up her sword.
Perhaps this anxiety stemmed from such feelings.
She had to shake it off. But could she really shake it off?
Adele’s life had always been filled with certainty, but for the first time, she couldn’t find that certainty.
Whenever she looked at the man named Robert, Adele was always anxious.
#
When the day came for Miragen to return to the Imperial Palace, the people of this hometown began to move quite busily.
It was probably to welcome those coming from the palace.
With both Adele and Miragen tied up with various matters, I finally found some leisure being left alone.
Even though I was alone in the room, the surroundings were still noisy.
I would only likely meet Miragen right before her departure, so doesn’t that mean I would have quite a bit of solitary time before then?
During that empty time, there was only one thing to think about.
The name Teresa that had suddenly popped up here in the North. I frowned while looking at the emblem Adele had given me.
I furrow my brow as I gaze at the pattern handed to me.
“Was this really meant for me to see?”
It’s true that Teresa is foolish, but she’s not entirely lacking in intelligence.
To spill my name or the pattern while revealing the Crown Princess’s location to the enemy must have been a deliberate act.
She knows I’m in the North. And she also knows I’m heading to the Crown Princess.
But how?
This very question I’m facing is the problem. How did Teresa learn of my existence?
Of course, she could have figured out that I intend to go to the North, but the fact that I’ve become Adele’s lieutenant and even embarked on an expedition against the Immigrant Tribe was still quite a while before news like that reached the center.
It took me ten days to get to the North and launch the expedition. To have gathered information during those days and secretly slipped away to inform the Crown Princess of her whereabouts?
It would be impossible, even for someone as capable as Miragen.
Someone must have helped her.
Perhaps that someone knew that the Crown Princess was in the Northwest.
If the goal from the beginning was to kill the Crown Princess, and Miragen, having discovered that I’m in the North, used that to get me involved…
That might just explain everything.
Only lieutenants above her or the major officials of the Imperial Family knew that the Crown Princess was in the Northwest.
However, the lieutenants here were not those kind of people.
Since their power originated from Adele’s Mercenary Group, it means no one would bear a grudge against the Crown Princess.
So, the one who revealed this about the Crown Princess must be affiliated with the Imperial Family.
As I ponder this, my gaze abruptly halts in mid-air.
“…Kaitel.”
The only person who could keep an eye on the Crown Princess, the one who would consider killing her. The Imperial Family’s only hazard.
The officials had no reason to watch the Crown Princess.
Their loyalty lies with whoever is to become Emperor, and there’s no reason for them to cling to Miragen, who has already drifted far from that possibility.
From the start, all the powers were aligned with the Crown Prince.
Of course, Kaitel was also in such a situation, but Kaitel’s ideology was more extreme.
If there seemed to be a threat to his power, he’d likely deal with it.
Miragen’s arrival in the Northwest is not the first time, is it? Hence, he must have intended to kill her.
The Crown Princess, who had shown no movements until now, moved to find her own position.
If that irritated him, he would indirectly attempt to kill her.
My head was a jumble.
If Kaitel’s name is involved, it means that the whole mess started from the moment the Crown Princess said she would go to the Northwest.
In that situation, Teresa intervened, informed the Immigrant Tribe of the Crown Princess’s location, and that brought us to this point.
“Teresa, Violet.”
I look at the pattern I received from Adele and squeeze it into my fist.
For a while, I believed it would be quiet, that they’d never rise again.
But I realized that was a grave miscalculation.
I realized it was a mistake.
This woman accepted it with hate and stood up again, perhaps crossing the line.
If I had stayed within, I could have lived without ever facing her again, but Teresa reached out toward me once more.
And then she touched Miragen.
Now that it has been revealed, the thought of Miragen’s life being in danger is a regret I have held for almost a hundred years.
If there is something like a reverse scale for a person, perhaps this incident could be mine.
I pondered a little longer about staying in the North.
I thought it wouldn’t be a problem to move a bit more leisurely. Yet, it seems now is the time to move again.
Did I tell them to come to the South?
Whatever they were preparing to wait for me, I wasn’t afraid of it.
I just wanted to cut off the connection with that woman named Teresa.
I had no intention of leaving it as it was.
If she is a being that does not exist in the future I will draw, maybe it’s better to erase her.
Knock, knock—
At the sudden sound, I turned my head, and a familiar voice came through the door.
Looking at the clock, I realized quite a bit of time had passed.
It was probably time for Miragen to leave; they called me to say their farewells.
“It’s Lothos, but shouldn’t you be coming out soon? Her Highness the Princess will be departing shortly.”
“I will go out.”
Hearing Lothos’s voice, I stepped out to find him neatly dressed as always, adjusting his glasses.
His goat-like beard seemed neatly trimmed, and he chuckled softly at my appearance.
“Still, you’ve dressed quite well. Her Highness the Princess won’t be disappointed.”
“Where is the Grand Duke?”
When I asked, Lothos, who had been staring off into the distance, shrugged his shoulders.
“He should be coming out soon. But if you’re looking for him, you must have something to say.”
“I see.”
I wasn’t particularly fond of the strange smile on his face, but I nodded at the notion that he would come out soon.
What I had to say to Adele was simple: I thought it might be necessary to leave the North earlier than planned.
And the words I wanted to convey to her.
I would likely return to the Center for a moment, but I intended to head straight to Adrian rather than the Ducal Residence.
Since I was heading South, it would be good to maintain ties with the Order. After all, while I was in the South, I wouldn’t be moving alone with Adrian.
I didn’t think there was a need for us to feel awkward; it would be better to avoid that feeling since we would see each other often.
Suddenly lifting my head, the wind blew.
I momentarily caught sight of the flag of the Imperial Palace fluttering beside the carriage and numerous people, along with Lothos exclaiming in awe.
Then, I noticed the woman standing beside that carriage.
I thought it was Miragen, but that cold white hair belonged solely to one woman.
Adele Igrit.
As that name crossed my mind, she smiled gently.
As if she had been waiting for me to arrive, it was quite a pleasant smile.
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