Chapter 5. Spring Day

Waiting calls forth longing. And longing brings tenderness and anxiety, causing the heart to ripple unnecessarily.

The beginning might have been to hear news of her homeland, but strangely, the human heart prioritizes emotions over purpose. Add to that the mild scent of spring blooming as the cold weather subsides, and soon all that remains is the sound of awaited footsteps.

“Jane. What time is it?”

The princess who was dragged to the empire was also human, unable to escape the chain ordained by God. Thus, the captive princess often paced around her room waiting for a knight from the enemy country.

But does the princess know? That everyone is deceiving her who cannot see. That every situation that has befallen her since coming to the empire, the environment surrounding her, is all part of a well-crafted plan.

“It’s almost 2 o’clock, Lady Yerena.”

The maid who had watched everything by the princess’s side answered, deliberately ignoring her accumulating guilt. And soon after came heavy yet quiet footsteps. The princess pretended not to notice and sat naturally on the couch with her head lowered, but her feet, half-hidden by the table, were fidgeting, unable to contain her anticipation.

* * *

“That’s all. I haven’t heard anything more about the Sedas Kingdom.”

The knight brought quite a lot of news about the Sedas Kingdom today as well. Most of it was trivial, useless information, but to Yerena, it was a gift more precious than any valuable item. Therefore, Yerena instructed Jane to bring water to wet her throat and bowed her head to ‘Kian.’

“Thank you again today.”

“You don’t need to thank me every time when I’m merely delivering news.”

“Still…… It must be troublesome.”

Looking at Yerena’s apologetic expression, the man remained silent for a moment, then fixed his red eyes on her darkened eyes and asked.

“Have you been sleeping well lately?”

“Yes. Thanks to you.”

“I’m glad.”

Though he already knew Yerena still had trouble sleeping, the man pretended not to know. Instead, he inwardly considered changing some of the tea sent to the tower to varieties that would help with sleep.

As the man was recalling which teas had worked well for him, a small hand carefully extended a pouch before him.

“This……”

When there was no response from the man, Yerena hesitated and opened the pouch. With a rattling sound, a decorative band made of small beads about the size of a child’s palm appeared.

“In the Sedas Kingdom, there’s a folk belief that if you keep seventy-seven prayer-blessed beads in your dwelling, you’ll receive divine protection.”

“……”

“Jane said it doesn’t look bad, but I’m not sure how it appears to your eyes.”

The white and black beads forming the decorative band were much smaller than the ones Yerena had been stringing before. Naturally, the holes in the beads were so small that even those with sight would find it difficult to thread them. But somehow, Yerena had created a fairly presentable decorative band. Of course, it wasn’t as complex and elaborate as one made by a craftsman, but it showed decent skill.

Yerena had struggled for more than two weeks to make this small decorative band. Unable to distinguish colors, she had asked Jane about each bead’s color and persistently tried to thread the stubborn string through the holes. But despite the time and effort, being unable to see, Yerena couldn’t feel confident about the result.

“Why are you giving this to me?”

Yerena, who had been hesitant even when extending the pouch, immediately pulled her arm back toward herself, still clutching the pouch. She thought such a question arose because the item was inadequate.

“If you don’t like it……”

“I like it very much. I was just curious.”

The man caught the item that was being withdrawn. Yerena flinched at the momentary touch of another’s warmth and released her hand, clenching her empty fist. The rattling sound of beads was still close, but the item had already passed to the man’s hand.

“I feel like I haven’t properly thanked you. Alicia told me that without your quick action that time, I would have lost my life. And I’m also grateful for telling me news about the kingdom……”

“……”

“……It’s not a valuable item, so you can put it anywhere.”

Yerena’s voice grew progressively quieter as she continued speaking. She felt embarrassed. That all she could give to thank someone who saved her life was such an item. If she were her former self, she could have given something better, but now all she could offer was a crude item wrapped in effort.

“I’ll cherish it well.”

The man looked at Yerena’s reddened cheeks and spoke in a respectful voice. Unaware that the corners of his mouth had risen slightly, Yerena nodded once and then hesitated as if remembering something. After a long while, she opened her mouth in a careful voice.

“Sir Kian…… I have one more thing to ask.”

“Please speak.”

“I heard that the medicine you poured into my mouth that day was something that neutralizes poison. Is it very expensive?”

Poison-neutralizing medicine was expensive in any country. Additionally, Alicia had said the poison she consumed was extremely potent. Yerena was concerned that the medicine used on her might have been very valuable, causing significant loss to him as a knight.

‘A knight assigned to guard and escort a prisoner probably isn’t from a very good family. Even Sir Frederick said his family wasn’t much back then……’

Yerena recalled the jewelry she possessed. Before leaving her kingdom, she had given away most of it, so all she had left were her parents’ rings and a few items kept for sentimental value.

‘I should still have a few gold coins left. Could I compensate him with those?’

As Yerena thought about the few gold coins she had secretly sewn and hidden in her luggage brought from the kingdom, the man spoke in a more cheerful voice, seemingly reading her expression.

“It’s a moderate item. So please don’t feel burdened. I have several more.”

This was a statement that would shock anyone familiar with the medicine. The medicine, mixed with all sorts of precious ingredients by the palace physician and infused with divine power, was worth at least the price of a small mansion in the capital. But Yerena, knowing nothing, believed his words and inwardly felt relieved.

“But do you always carry such items? It must be troublesome…… Ah! I suppose imperial knights are always prepared for poison.”

With a much lighter heart, Yerena asked herself why he would carry such a thing, then answered her own question. Then she blamed herself for not providing similar items to the knights and soldiers of her homeland.

During the height of the war, how many had died from the imperial army’s poisoned arrows? If the kingdom had established a more thorough system to prepare for that, they might have saved at least a few more precious lives.

‘They must have had loving families too.’

As Yerena’s expression progressively darkened, the face of the man opposite her also gradually lost emotion. He examined the gloomy Yerena and opened his mouth.

“……If you think all imperial knights carry such items, you’re mistaken.”

Yerena, who had been immersed in thought with a depressed face, only then came to her senses at the man’s voice. As she raised her head, the man asked in a slightly lowered voice.

“Are you curious why I carry this?”

There was a rustling sound of clothing, then the sound of a small glass vial hitting the table in front of Yerena. Yerena recognized that the vial the man had taken out was the medicine she had consumed that day.

“Since I received a precious gift, I’ll give you one of the same items. If…… If dangerous situations arise, be sure to use it.”

The man whispered as he placed the vial in Yerena’s hand. The temperature difference between the cold glass vial and the man’s hot hand was stark. Perhaps that’s why the man’s presence felt more vivid.

“It’s a common story. There’s always competition within a family. My older brother wishes for me to be buried at an early age.”

After giving the vial and withdrawing his hand from Yerena, the man spoke in his usual tone. However, the content was extremely serious. Yerena fixed her sightless eyes on the man who had divulged such a private family story, opening them wide.

“Since you’re making such a face, I have no choice but to explain in more detail.”

The man began to lay out his circumstances in a calm voice. He said that as the legitimate son born into the family, he had an illegitimate half-brother a year older, who was targeting his life after becoming the head of the family.

It was, as the man said, a common story. In both the empire and Yerena’s homeland Sedas, illegitimate children couldn’t inherit the family without special reasons. However, occasionally there were family heads who favored their illegitimate children over legitimate ones, and they would use any means necessary to pass their position to the child they cherished. Moreover, the current emperor of the Vistius Empire was an illegitimate child who became emperor, and the new king of the Sedas Kingdom was also an illegitimate child.

Jane, who was standing a little away from the two, tightened her lips. The man was not lying. The story of the man’s family was true. But what if the princess knew that the story she just heard was about the imperial family? Jane considered the man’s words to be essentially false. A lie that included a terribly deceptive element.

“How could this be…… Even though order has collapsed, still……”

Unable to see Jane’s face, Yerena clenched her fist, completely unaware. She was genuinely angry at the fact that someone without qualification had taken a position from someone with legitimate qualifications.

Throughout the man’s story, she recalled what she had experienced. Her brothers, who had proper qualifications, died on the battlefield due to the wicked actions of a concubine and an illegitimate child. And she, blinded, surrendered her father’s position to an illegitimate child and was dragged away as a prisoner.

Of course, the father who created the concubine and illegitimate child couldn’t be absolved of all blame. But wasn’t her father already dead and lying in the cold ground? Yerena directed her emotions toward those who were alive and enjoying everything.

“……I’ve rambled unnecessarily. As I said earlier, it’s something that happens everywhere, so you don’t need to make such a face.”