*** 

When she returned to the tent where the soldiers were gathered, the man was gone. Or rather, both men. The young man she had been looking after was nowhere to be seen. Confirming the empty space where he had been, Swan looked around in confusion. 

Could it be that her treatment had failed? Had he been carried away a lifeless corpse? Her heart pounding, she grabbed a medic and asked urgently. 

As he examined the patients, he seemed drained of energy and muttered indifferently, “Looks like they died last night”. She then dismissed him from the tent. Swan paused and looked back at him with a mixture of disappointment, but eventually left. It had been so hard to get into Atlion’s tent, and yet in the end it all felt meaningless. She felt her face blush with embarrassment.

She trudged back to Atlion’s tent and carefully took Mirabella from the maid’s arms. Then she stood there, dazed, staring blankly outside. Soldiers, knights, even the servants and maids were all busy packing their belongings.

‘Solam.’

No matter how much she tried to forget, it wouldn’t go away. Even if she didn’t want to face it, in the end, she still had to. At one point, Swan glanced around the tent. Even though they were only staying briefly, all the furnishings and items were of the highest quality. Even if she knew less than she didn’t know, she understood that much.

‘How vast must the imperial palace be?’

And what role does Atlion play in that place? After rubbing her weary eyes, she held Mirabella tightly in her arms. Perhaps she should simply be grateful that she hadn’t abandoned the child she was holding by the side of the road.

But that’s how it was—how easily he said he would “dispose” of it…. And then she was made to watch the ceremony where the man she had considered her husband wore formal attire. Because, to him, only the child born from that woman’s body would be considered his true child. He even added that he didn’t want Swan to have any more children.

Slowly, Swan lowered the hand that had been supporting the child’s back and placed it on her stomach. Her lips trembled slightly. In truth, Swan herself no longer wanted to have another child.

Deep down, Mirabella was enough for her to feel overwhelming fear. Enough for her to feel the weight and the bleakness of her future. Especially since she could expect nothing from the father of this child. Ever since she had been pregnant with Mirabella…. She had forced herself to see any trace of pity in those eyes as love…. In that way….

She didn’t want to go through that again, especially if the child wasn’t welcomed.

Although the child was precious to her, wasn’t Mirabella herself not welcomed? And yet this man – this man…. It was as if it meant nothing to him to plant a seed in her womb…. She bit her lip hard.

Suddenly there was a commotion outside the tent. From the long shadows gathering around them, it seemed to be Atlion. Swan narrowed her eyes slightly as she watched him enter. He was the one who had quietly let her go earlier when he’d said he’d return after taking care of the soldiers before boarding the carriage.

Yet, he remained silent, even as he saw her sitting there, watching his return. Did he know the tent was empty? Or had he deliberately ordered it to be cleared? Or perhaps, it had something to do with the patients she had cared for….

Swan lowered her gaze slightly. The black shoes steadily approached her. She had been staring into the violet eyes of the child, eyes that resembled neither mother nor father. As his shadow loomed over her, almost swallowing her whole, she slowly lifted her head.

“Swan.”

He held her cheek. Swan looked at him for a moment before moving her eyes to the hand that rested gently on her shoulder. They stood there in silence, staring at each other for a long time. It was Atlion who finally broke the silence.

“Let’s go outside. The carriage should be ready.”

“The carriage to Solam?”

Swan was startled as she felt his arm gently encircle hers. Her frail body was being held tenderly by Atlion. She followed him out of the tent where carriages, horses and carts loaded with luggage were waiting. Knights and soldiers, bearing the imperial banner, stood ready.

The procession, quickly assembled, had an air of grandeur and purpose. Atlion held Swan in one arm and her child in the other as they walked towards the carriage. Swan kept her head down, as if bearing the weight of guilt, aware of the many eyes upon them.

When they reached the carriage, Atlion planted a soft kiss on his wife’s pale cheek before stopping. At that moment, Renee approached, walking towards the carriage. Seeing her, Swan shrank slightly and bowed her head further. Renee was accompanied by the guard who was supposedly being punished.

Swan stared directly at Renee with a pale expression before turning her gaze to the Emperor on horseback in the distance. The man, with a white cloth covering more than half of his face, began to move, taking hold of the reins. As the procession slowly moved forward, Renee cast a dark glance at Swan.

Something more than contempt flickered briefly across her youthful face, but quickly faded, leaving only a pale expression. As the carriage door opened, Swan struggled to free herself from the man holding her.

“I’ll be right behind you.”

As Renee stepped into the carriage with the help of the escort, she gave Swan a cold look that made her shrink even more. She then shifted her gaze to the woman standing next to her cousin. Memories of last night came flooding back and it felt as if the nerves under her skin were fraying one by one.

She had never seen her cousin so ruthless. Though he had always been like this – keeping others at a distance, never revealing his true feelings. But still, wasn’t his relationship with his only sibling something special? Especially after their uncle, the late Emperor, had died so suddenly.

If their bond was special, there was no denying it. He had never been so ruthless. Renee looked away from the woman. Her bitten lip began to bleed slightly. Her shoulders trembled as the image of Atlion grabbing Calyps by the throat and slamming him to the ground replayed vividly in her mind.

Even using the dagger at his waist to cut his own lip showed his complete lack of hesitation. Although he was the Crown Prince, Calyps was still the Emperor. Even under a regent, he held the title of Emperor. The knight assigned to guard him immediately drew his sword.

Whenever Renee remembered that terrible moment, her vision darkened with fear and unease. She had never imagined that their conflict would escalate to such extremes. It was terrifying, as if it wouldn’t be surprising if someone ended up dead. She couldn’t believe how important this woman was to him, and the fact that she was the cause of all this chaos made it even worse.

A mere commoner. A woman of such low status. The very thought of sharing a room with her was as repulsive as being thrown into a stable. Her eyelids trembled slightly and the veins on the back of her hand, clenched tightly around the hem of her dress, bulged visibly.

“I just… I just want to walk.

“Swan.”

“I want to check on the injured soldiers at the back of the procession.”

Swan glanced briefly at the soldiers in the carriage at the back of the line. She wasn’t sure if there were still too few hands to help them. Still, she didn’t want to get in the carriage.

As she fumbled for an excuse, the man’s expression darkened. But Swan wasn’t about to give in. Once she was in the carriage, it was over. Whether it was the palace of Solam or somewhere else, it would mean a life of punishment.

“I want to finish… finish my work. The patients I cared for still need…”

“That is not your responsibility.”

“But still…”

“Swan.”

“L-Lady Renee feels uncomfortable, so the carriage… I don’t want to be the reason for someone’s discomfort, for something like that…”

Her words trailed off. She hated the way Renee looked at the child, as if Mirabella were something to be discarded, an unwanted object in the world. It was unbearable to think of Mirabella being looked at with such thorn-filled eyes. Whether Renee disliked her or not was another matter entirely.

“P-please. When we get to Solam, I’ll do whatever is asked of me, so please, just allow this.”

She didn’t want to make a scene. The thought of attracting more attention here was horrifying. Atlion looked at her for a long moment.

“Can you ride a horse?”

Her lips parted as if to speak, but she shook her head instead. Was he going to put her on a horse? Swan didn’t know how to ride. But there were carriages at the end of the procession – donkeys carrying supplies, injured soldiers and medics tending to them. She thought she might be able to squeeze in between them.

Swan looked at him with desperate eyes. Atlion, sensing the darkness in her green eyes, leaned forward and spoke softly.

“We’ll reach Count Phelan’s castle in half a day. I’ll send word to prepare an extra carriage.”

Swan nodded. Atlion pulled her close, wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her. Then, with a light tap on her hip, he let her go. Her cheeks flushed a deep red as she lowered her eyes and turned away. Atlion called to his lieutenant, Ladan, who was standing at a distance, and told him to follow her.

Walking with the lieutenant to the very end of the procession, Swan found herself staring at the back of the man on horseback in front of her. Soon after, the procession began to move.

“Half a day.”

She whispered to herself and looked at the man who had followed her. He was preparing a seat for her in one of the carriages. She watched as he moved the injured soldiers to the side and laid down a blanket with a professional air. Swan considered stopping him, but decided against it.

He didn’t seem the type to stop just because she told him to. Sitting on the edge of the carriage, Swan looked up at the man staring down at her. It was clear from his expression that he wasn’t pleased to be ordered to look after her. Most people in Solam would probably have the same look in their eyes.

That’s why…

She had to stop here.

***

Theo walked along the forest path, each step heavy and slow. The unpaved road was surrounded by a dark landscape, exuding an eerie chill and fear. His only goal in this trek was to find the cluster of lights at the end of the forest.

He recalled the events of that morning. The procession, which included the Crown Prince, the Regent Emperor, and the young lady from the Amien Marquis family, had set off for Solam. Their destination was one of Solam’s neighboring cities—a territory close enough for reinforcements from the capital’s defense forces to be dispatched quickly in the event of an attack by bandits.

Theo’s superior and battalion commander, a knight, decided to disband part of their forces before reaching Solam, including the battalion Theo belonged to.

This decision was due to a previous incident where prisoners escaped, forcing the soldiers to engage in direct combat. Many were injured as a result, and it was anticipated that their remaining forces would be insufficient compared to the capital’s defense troops, even if only a minor skirmish occurred. Theo, having sustained an injury during the incident, was among those selected for disbandment.

He left the army as the Crown Prince’s procession began to move. Together with his comrades, he walked to the edge of the forest before they parted ways, each heading to their respective hometowns.