Chapter 3: Reunion in the Forest (2)

Having brought down a basket full of beautiful fruit, Larie navigated the bustling marketplace with practiced ease. Her distinctive hair was carefully hidden. Though dyeing it would’ve been ideal, she had decided to keep it as is, just in case she needed to sell it in desperate times—this was the best compromise.

This time, a large merchant group seemed to be passing through. Small taverns had sprung up all around, and people were already drinking noisily in broad daylight.

With her head slightly lowered, she hurried toward Hans, the miller.

“Rahel! Good to see you!”

Calling her by the alias she used, Hans greeted her with a bright smile. He had been the first to spot her sitting quietly in a market corner with fruit and had offered to trade for grains—something she had never forgotten.

As she handed over the heavy basket, Hans soon returned with a sack of grain, far heavier than the fruit she’d brought.

Ever since learning that she was raising a child alone in the mountains, he had insisted on giving her more than a fair trade.

“This is too much, sir. I’ll just take this portion.”

“Will that be enough? Sorry about that…”

Larie offered him a faint smile as she trimmed down the amount and expressed her gratitude.

This place was full of good people—Emma the elder, Hans… If not for them, Larie would still be forced to sell fruit at the market, constantly wary of merchants’ eyes.

“It’s more than enough. Thank you, really.”

“Don’t mention it! I still profit when I sell this. Oh, here—try some of this. It’s bread with the fruit you brought. My son’s shop says it’s been a hit.”

With a hearty laugh, Hans brought out a few pieces of bread and wrapped them up for her.

Larie accepted them gratefully, adjusted her headscarf again, and stepped back outside. Next, she planned to stop by Anna’s house to pick up some embroidery work.

“Phew…”

Though the sack of grain was heavy, Larie moved with a spirited stride. What once felt unfamiliar had gradually become part of her routine.

Her embroidery had become quite popular lately. She’d adapted patterns commonly found on noble attire, and it seemed to be a hit. It was a skill she’d picked up from altering her mother’s dresses—who would have thought it would come in handy like this?

She had spent her whole life thinking she was useless. But over the last two years, Larie had slowly realized she was capable of far more than she believed.

That realization gave her strength. It helped her straighten her back and move forward—not just for herself, but for her precious little Rui.

She crossed the market again. This time, she planned to trade a bit of her grain for some fabric to make Rui a new outfit.

“It’s all thanks to His Majesty, the Emperor!”

“Right, right! You’re absolutely right!”

A burst of rowdy chatter erupted from a temporary stall nearby.

At the word “Emperor,” Larie hugged the sack of grain tightly against her chest.

The rumors of a new emperor had surprised her enough. But when she heard the name of her husband—no, her former husband, Terian—it had shaken her to her core.

Having fled without a word, she was no longer the Grand Duchess of Avnir—nor anything else. Though it hadn’t been her original intent, abandoning her duties was no different than a public renunciation. Even by imperial law, she would now be expected to relinquish her title.

Terian’s advisors had surely seized upon this as a perfect excuse to demand a divorce. The proof was clear: after that one brief encounter in the forest, his soldiers had never come looking for her again.

By now, Terian must have been utterly fed up with her. There was no reason he would still be searching.

“For His Majesty!”

“To His Majesty!”

Terian’s popularity was undeniable—so different from the late emperor. Since ascending the throne, it was as if the gods themselves were smoothing his path.

The lives of the empire’s citizens had improved. The brutal winters, once a fight for survival just to obtain blue coal, had become bearable. The imperial palace had fixed the coal price and provided stoves that could burn wood or coal at an affordable cost.

Unbelievably, the parasitic Tromperie trade guilds were collapsing one after another. Each time Larie came to market, she noticed fewer and fewer items bearing the family’s crest. It made the decline of her house feel very real.

Terian, with his undeniable brilliance, had changed things she once thought immovable—just by taking the throne.

He’s doing fine without someone like me.

Just then, a piece of cloth in a shade that matched Rui’s blue eyes caught her attention. Carefully weighing the sack of grain in her arms, Larie stepped toward the fabric vendor.

“Hey, did you hear?”

The chatter nearby was loud enough for her to catch clearly.

“Hear what?”

“They say a new empress is on her way. Word is, the Rassium Empire proposed a royal marriage. That new railway? They say it was opened just for her.”

Apparently, it was a well-known rumor. The man shared it without hesitation, and the others eagerly gossiped about the noble princess from the Rassium Empire. They spoke excitedly of the jobs and wealth the new railway between the empires would bring.

“Wait, didn’t His Majesty already have a Grand Duchess before his coronation?”

The question, posed as if the speaker had just remembered, made Larie flinch. It had been a long time since she’d heard that title. She quickly tugged her headscarf lower, trying to shield more of her face.

“Oh, right. That woman from the Tromperie family? Bah, cursed bloodline. She probably ended up in prison or something. Didn’t they say she was missing even before His Majesty’s coronation?”

“No, no, that’s not it. I heard Tromperie hid her away. That pig of a baron—didn’t he dote on his daughter like no other? He tried to push another heir to the throne and got caught in the backlash, so he probably stashed her somewhere.”

“Whatever it is, who cares? His Majesty deserves a better match anyway. Let Tromperie rot and be done with it!”

Larie’s face darkened as she listened to the open scorn thrown at her former family. She felt no lingering affection for them—none whatsoever. But worry twisted in her chest at the thought of their disgrace casting shadows over Rui.

One of the men, flushed from drink, slammed back a mug of watery beer and raised his voice even louder.

“Exactly! And you know what? I don’t care for this Rassium match either. His Majesty deserves someone like the daughter of the two heroes, don’t you think?”

“You’re still on about that old tale?”

As their voices grew more animated, Larie subtly edged away, turning her attention to the display of cloth. Just as she’d hoped, the blue fabric looked even softer up close—perfect for Rui.

“Hey now, I told you—didn’t the previous emperor send soldiers to the estate of the Ventus viscounts—no, counts, now? My cousin’s cousin’s son said—”

“Oh, give it a rest. If the heroes’ daughter really existed, why haven’t we heard a word about her?”

“That’s because… well! The late emperor, you know… probably chose not to look for her on purpose!”

“This guy—! Watch your mouth, you’ll land yourself in trouble. Innkeeper! Don’t serve this man another drop.”

“Ahem. I just meant… there were soldiers dispatched west to that territory…”

“I said be quiet!”

Even if the former emperor had been useless, publicly slandering the royal family was an entirely different matter.

Larie kept half an ear on their chatter while she examined a few more bolts of cloth. She didn’t know anything about these so-called heroes, but the mention of a western territory lingered in her thoughts.

The Tromperie Barony had also been located in the western region. The very mention of her family soured her heart.

“…….”

Everything those people had said wasn’t wrong. She had never truly belonged at the side of someone like Terian, who now felt as distant as the heavens.

“Miss, you gonna buy that?”

The vendor sounded impatient as she realized Larie had been fiddling with the same cloth for quite some time. The price tag made her hesitate, but she gave a small nod.

“Yes. Just… cut me this much, please.”

After confirming the quality of the grain Larie offered in trade, the vendor gestured with his chin to a container atop the stall. Once she measured out the appropriate amount, the small piece of cloth was finally hers.

With her goal complete, Larie quickly left the marketplace, her head bowed low. The way the vendor kept stealing curious glances at her face had begun to make her uncomfortable.

Because of that, she missed the new wave of gossip rippling through the tavern crowd.

“Strange thing, what you were saying earlier…”

“Wh-what do you mean?”

A burly man seated in the corner of the tavern leaned toward the group that had been praising the emperor with such fervor. The sudden comment made the drinkers tense, wary it might be criticism of His Majesty.

But the large man merely chuckled, waving a hand as if to say it was harmless small talk.

“Haven’t you lot heard the rumor? That His Majesty is still searching for the missing Grand Duchess?”

“Huh? What are you talking about now?”

“Well… I know a soldier in the Imperial Guard, and he said—”

Perhaps it was the whim of the forest itself. Until now, no soldier had ever wandered into this village in such a way. And only now did the rumors finally begin to flow in properly.