Chapter 66

Vivian caught Rosie, who was heading to the hut with Ian.

“What happened back then?”

“I have no idea.”

Vivian felt her strength leave her hands at her friend’s shameless response.

“Because of that red weasel!”

Rosie clenched her fist, trembling with anger. Ian, who was holding Rosie’s other hand, asked if there was a red weasel.

“No, it’s just that there’s someone who looks like that.”

“Oh, I see.”

Vivian couldn’t help but think of Arnold from the Bynes Marquisate, who was Louis’s friend, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask if it was really him, so she kept her mouth shut.

“I was held up by someone named Arnold or Almond or whatever, so I couldn’t return to the terrace… Do you really not remember anything?”

“Well, not exactly…”

As Vivian and Rosie’s conversation dragged on, Ian seemed bored and let go of Rosie’s hand, slowly approaching Louis and Zero.

Watching him, Vivian, who had trailed off, vowed that if she ever touched alcohol again, she would become a non-human like Zero.

From Louis’s nuance, it was clear that something had happened on the terrace, but Vivian didn’t have the courage to ask directly.

While Vivian was nervously watching Louis, Aitor appeared, carrying clothes along with a gentle breeze.

“Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

As Aitor greeted Rayden and the Crown Prince, Zero, who had been in a standoff with Louis, hid behind Aitor and glared at Louis.

Louis snorted incredulously at Zero’s behavior and approached Aitor.

“I didn’t know there was a place like this. It’s said to be royal property, but I don’t understand why it wasn’t known.”

“It’s on the outskirts of the capital, and with the presence of the mines, attention was probably focused on them, leaving this place unnoticed.”

Louis nodded at Aitor’s explanation.

Removing his dirty gloves from dealing with Zero, Louis scanned the surroundings. He spotted Vivian glancing at him from a distance and gestured to Rayden.

“It seems Lady Vivian and Lady Rosie need a place to rest.”

At Louis’s words, Rosie, Vivian, and Ian looked around for a place to sit and rest.

“There are some things I’ve prepared in that hut. You can use them.”

Rayden, giving Aitor a thumbs-up, strode towards the hut. Watching Rayden, a large figure, enter the hut after handing over the clothes Aitor had given him to Rosie, Aitor bowed his head to Louis.

“Thank you for taking the time today.”

“No, I wanted to meet too.”

At Louis’s words, Aitor nodded with a bittersweet smile.

“There’s a place I’d like you to go with me for a moment.”

“Now?”

“Yes.”

At Aitor’s firm words, Louis informed Rayden, who was setting up a resting place, and mounted his horse with Aitor.

“Is it far from here? I’m a bit uneasy about leaving them and going far.”

“No, it’s not far.”

Aitor rode slightly ahead, and Louis followed, watching Aitor’s golden shimmering back.

A person he could trust.

To Louis, Aitor was such a person. When Louis saw Aitor’s gaze on Vivian, he felt loneliness rather than betrayal.

The impulsive question he had asked. Aitor’s promise to answer it kept Louis awake last night.

As they passed the hot spring lake, which the villagers frequently used, and went a little further, there was a large tree.

Aitor stopped his horse a short distance from the tree and looked back.

“That tree is the Quiet Tree.”

Louis, lost in thought while watching Aitor’s back, looked at the ancient tree at his words.

“It’s a dead tree.”

“It’s said to have been here for a very long time. So, everyone who has lived in this village for a long time knows this tree.”

Listening to Aitor’s explanation, Louis dismounted and approached the Quiet Tree. The closer he got, the larger the tree seemed.

“To think there’s such a large tree here…”

It was surprising enough that there was a tree of a size expected only in the Emperor’s forest in a place where only low trees and bushes existed, but the more astonishing thing was that it felt more like a rock than a tree.

“I don’t know why something like this is here, but I can faintly sense magic. It seems a magic stone created it.”

Since there were still many unsolved mysteries about magic stones, Louis nodded and looked up at the large tree.

“What makes you think this is the Quiet Tree?”

“I happened to meet a local resident here, and while talking about the hot spring, I heard about the Quiet Tree. They said that in a place where there’s nowhere to block the wind, only this place is spared from the wind.”

Aitor continued, placing his palm on the trunk of the Quiet Tree.

“I remembered something my father once told me.”

Aitor moved his lips as he touched the cold, hard tree trunk that felt more like a stone.

“A place where even the wind avoids is a good place to avoid people’s attention. Since words won’t be carried away by the wind, there’s no better place to reveal secrets. That’s what he said.”

Aitor removed his hand from the Quiet Tree and looked at Louis. Seeing Aitor’s blue eyes sparkling more than usual, Louis swallowed dryly without realizing it.

“The question you asked on the terrace at the ball, I’d like to answer it now.”

Aitor paused and looked at Louis. In Aitor’s unwavering gaze, Louis felt as if he had already heard the answer.

“I like her.”

At the expected answer, Louis clenched his fist. Not wanting to show it, he put his hand in his pocket and took a step closer to Aitor.

“Isn’t it meaningless?”

“Humans don’t always pursue only what’s meaningful.”

At Aitor’s words, Louis’s Adam’s apple moved significantly.

“I’ll never let Vivian know my feelings.”

Aitor didn’t avoid Louis’s gaze. He faced it head-on and spoke firmly.

“I have never once forgotten whose fiancée Vivian is. And I know where Vivian’s gaze is directed.”

Louis turned his gaze away for a moment and bit his lip.

“It was so easy for me to find out, so what guarantee is there that Vivian won’t?”

“…Once this matter is over, I’ll return to the Mage Tower immediately, and during that time, Your Highness, you and Vivi will get married.”

Aitor, who had been staring intently at a small, medium-sized stone on the ground, lifted his head.

“Just seeing the two people I like the most happy is enough for me.”

Aitor, turning his back to Louis, looked up at the Quiet Tree. Despite being long dead, the tree seemed like it would sprout green leaves when the weather warmed.

“Coming here alone made me want to uncover my father’s death quickly. Before that, I wanted to confide my feelings to at least one person.”

“It was nine years ago that your adoptive father passed away. Before that, while looking into the relationship between the Mage Tower and the royal family, I found out something.”

The Quiet Tree lived up to its name; it was truly quiet. There was no sound of the fierce wind, no birds chirping, nor the sound of branches clashing as the surrounding trees swayed in the wind.

“Shortly after the current Emperor ascended the throne, there seemed to be a mage who assisted the royal family.”

Louis, who had met with Hugo by chance, had subtly inquired if there was a mage from the Mage Tower who had helped the royal family.

“I don’t know exactly what the relationship was, but it seems they maintained a cooperative relationship for quite a while.”

“That mage might have been my adoptive father.”

A moment of silence passed between the two. Lost in their thoughts, it was Louis who spoke first.

“I don’t know how the two got involved, how they fell out, or if it’s related to your adoptive father’s death, but I think we should definitely look into it from this side.”

At Louis’s words, a fierce wave crashed in Aitor’s eyes, which had been as calm as a tranquil sea.

“If…”

Aitor, greatly agitated, opened his trembling lips and spoke with difficulty.

“Don’t speculate or assume.”

Louis interrupted Aitor and patted his shoulder.

* * *

“Where did the two of them go?”

Vivian, who had helped Rosie change her clothes, stepped out of the hut and asked Rayden.

“They said they had somewhere to go and went out to look around.”

Vivian, worried about the two who had been gone for quite a while, craned her neck to look at the direction they had ridden off.

“There’s no use standing on tiptoe like that.”

Rosie said, pressing down on Vivian’s shoulders. Having thrown off her heavy dress, Rosie looked much lighter.

“They’ll be back soon. There seems to be a reason they came for a picnic here.”

“Yeah…”

Seeing Vivian looking anxious, Rosie took a seat in the spot Rayden had prepared and patted the spot next to her.

Whether it was because they were south of the capital or because the hot spring water was flowing nearby, it wasn’t cold.

Vivian, sitting next to Rosie, sighed as she watched Rayden explain something enthusiastically to Zero and Ian.

“Do you have something on your mind?”

“It’s not really a worry, but…”

Vivian trailed off and sighed again, looking at Rosie before slightly parting her small lips.

“I might be getting married soon.”

“Huh? What do you mean ‘might’? Aren’t you getting married?”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

Rosie listened quietly to her friend’s peridot-colored eyes filled with worry.

“I’m worried if I’ll be able to do well as the Crown Princess…”

“Don’t worry about that. I assure you, there’s no one more fitting for that position than you.”

Vivian smiled gently at Rosie’s confident words.

“That’s not the only thing you’re worried about, is it?”

Rosie, quick to catch on, fell silent again, waiting for her friend to share her concerns.

“…I don’t know how Louis feels.”

“Hmm…”

Rosie sighed inwardly at Vivian’s concern, which seemed all too familiar.

During the time Vivian’s mother passed away suddenly and while staying in Raspol, Rosie had watched Louis from the capital and thought her sweet and kind friend was too good for him.

It was undeniable that the Crown Prince was the best groom in the empire and that Vivian Dinever was suitable for the position of Crown Princess.

However, Rosie thought a gentle man would suit the kind-hearted Vivian better. Someone with warm eyes and a loving nature, rather than someone meticulous, cold, and with a frosty demeanor.

Yet, her friend, sitting beside her with a gloomy expression, resting her chin on her knees, was consistently looking at Louis.

“Vivian Dinever.”

Rosie softly called her friend’s name.

“Yes?”

“Let’s try it.”

“Try what?”

“Let’s break the ice and make flowers bloom there.”

“What do you mean?”

At Rosie’s unexpected words, Vivian laughed like a bright spring flower, and Rosie held her cheeks.

“Is there anything to it? He’s a person and a man—how could he not like you?”

Rosie’s lavender eyes were burning with determination.