‘What deceiving…… I’m just not telling her. And even if it is deceiving, so what? She’s just a prisoner. There’s no need to worry about it.’

Frederick was inexplicably irritated and was silently muttering to himself while glaring at the princess’s back when Yerena stumbled after stepping on a small pebble.

“Ah!”

It was obvious that the women supporting the princess would exert more strength to hold her up. However, Frederick moved his legs quickly without time to think. And without realizing it, he firmly grasped Yerena’s shoulder.

“Ah, that hurts.”

Yerena cried out somewhat sharply, as her shoulder hurt much more than her slightly twisted ankle. Startled, Frederick quickly removed his hand and stepped back. He looked at his hand briefly before bowing his head and apologizing.

“I apologize. When I saw you falling, my body moved on its own.”

Instead of responding to Frederick’s apology, Yerena slightly nodded and looked forward again. Then she signaled to the woman beside her to move again. Frederick nodded to the woman looking back at him, silently conveying to follow the princess’s wishes.

The woman nodded but then flinched in surprise and lowered her head. Yerena, sensing the woman’s unusual reaction, turned her head sideways with a puzzled look.

“Is something wrong?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. There’s another pebble ahead, so I was clearing it with my foot…… Let’s continue walking.”

Don’t let the princess know he was following. Roshan’s order had already been conveyed to the women supporting Yerena through Frederick. Therefore, the woman quickly made up an excuse and moved forward.

Yerena, as she took another step, seemed to sense something and slightly turned her head backward. As her sightless gaze turned toward the back, Frederick naturally turned his head following her.

And seeing his lord, Frederick was momentarily dumbfounded. Roshan, who had been twenty paces behind, was now silently right up close. And his flawless ruby-like red eyes were gazing at the princess’s face, glistening moistly.

A glimpse of gloomy madness could be seen on his face. Frederick couldn’t hide his surprise at his lord behaving this way when he had never shown interest in women before.

Perhaps because such emotions were evident in Frederick’s expression, Roshan’s eyes slowly turned toward him. When the madness disappeared and was replaced by his usual indifference and coldness, Frederick lowered his eyes. Seeing his subordinate’s reaction, Roshan looked once more at the princess who had moved a bit further away and commanded Frederick in a voice so low it wouldn’t be heard even on the wind.

“Frederick. Do not touch the princess’s body.”

* * *

“There are stairs right ahead. Be careful.”

The woman holding her arm on the right spoke with a worried voice. But even before she informed her, Yerena knew there were stairs ahead.

The air coming up from below was different. The royal underground cemetery was cold year-round, so it was chilly from the entrance.

As the cold touched her skin, her legs trembled. Though she couldn’t see, she could clearly anticipate that her family’s bodies would be lying there.

‘Father……’

Her dead father often brought young Yerena here. And he showed her the tombs of their ancestors one by one, telling her of their achievements. Thanks to that, Yerena knew which ancestor had installed waterworks throughout the capital, which had prevented a plague, and who had completely driven the barbarians to the north.

‘Yerena. My precious daughter. My one and only treasure.’

With each step down the stairs, her father’s voice echoed in her ears. Eventually, Yerena stopped halfway down the stairs and began to shed tears.

“Move along. Didn’t you request to come here, princess?”

When Yerena showed no signs of stopping her tears, Frederick spoke coldly. But unlike his words, his voice wasn’t as harsh as when he had been spewing venom. Rather, there was even a somewhat consoling feel to it.

At Frederick’s urging, Yerena moved without replying. Her weakened, trembling appearance looked so pitiful as if she might fall at any moment. But although it took some time, with the help of those supporting her, she finally managed to stand.

The stone floor was a bit uneven but easier to walk on compared to the stairs. Thanks to this, Yerena was able to quickly reach the entrance of the cemetery where her family was laid.

Clank.

As the heavy door opened with a ponderous sound, a cold chill much colder than on the stairs enveloped Yerena’s body. At the same time, the faint smell of death wafted through.

Yerena, leaning against the wall beyond the open door, walked forward, groping her way. The smell of death grew stronger as she advanced.

When they reached where the king and queen’s bodies were laid, the women beside Yerena stopped walking. But Yerena, who had been moving her body somewhat urgently, bumped her leg against the stone altar where her parents’ bodies were placed.

“Are you alright?”

Thud. A sound that must have been quite painful was heard, and the women asked worriedly. However, Yerena, who had anticipated what she had bumped into, didn’t answer. Instead, she shook off the women holding her arms and stretched her arms forward. Soon, the glass lid of the marble coffin on the altar touched Yerena’s hand. And beneath it lay the king of Sedas and queen side by side with their eyes closed.

“Ah, are my father and mother inside?”

“……Yes. They are both there.”

When Yerena asked, trembling, Frederick answered. At the same time, the man standing behind him took a few more steps forward, completely silencing his footsteps. And he gazed intently at the princess who was barely standing with her hands on her parents’ coffin.

Unaware that another pair of eyes was upon her, Yerena slid down and sat close to the altar. She looked like someone who had lost her mind as she pressed her body against the altar and groped the coffin on top with her hands.

“Ah…… Augh.”

A bizarre groan, hardly human-sounding, flowed from Yerena’s throat. Countless tears poured from her unseeing eyes, crossing her face and falling to the floor.

At some point, Yerena knelt and rubbed her cheek against the coffin. The coffin, made of smooth marble, had become ice-cold due to the low temperature underground. But despite exhaling white breath, Yerena continued to warm the coffin with her hot tears. As though she believed that the cold ones inside the coffin would come back to life with warm bodies.

But that was impossible. Eventually, Yerena collapsed, exhausted by the coffin that wouldn’t warm up at all. She leaned her head against the altar and went completely limp. Only her tears, which hadn’t stopped yet, continued to flow, indicating she hadn’t fainted.

Frederick, unable to bear the sight of Yerena, was about to approach her but remembered his lord’s command from earlier and stopped abruptly. After a moment’s hesitation, he signaled to the women whose eyes reddened at the sight of Yerena.

Just as the women, understanding Frederick’s signal, were approaching to support and lift Yerena, she, who had been quietly shedding tears, raised her weak head and spoke.

“Sir. Please let me be alone for a while. I…… I want to mourn quietly by myself. Alone.”

Frederick looked troubled. He wanted to grant the request of someone in front of her dead parents’ coffin if at all possible. But the princess’s condition was too serious to leave her alone. What if she couldn’t overcome her despair and banged her head against her parents’ coffin?

He was about to say no when he remembered his lord behind him and turned his head back. Roshan nodded to Frederick. It meant to grant her permission. Frederick hesitated for a moment, feeling unnecessarily concerned, but soon gave Yerena permission.

“It’s cold here and harmful to your body. So just for a moment. Stay for only a very brief time.”

“……”

“I’ll come back in a little while. And I’ll leave the door slightly open in case of an accident.”

The princess, leaning against her parents’ coffin, had no strength to be stubborn. So she nodded silently at Frederick’s proposal.

Soon, the sound of women’s skirts rustling and the heavy footsteps characteristic of knights were heard, followed by the sound of the door moving. When the presence faded away, Yerena raised her head and moved her body carefully.

‘Huh?’

While she was trying to stand up by putting strength into her weakened legs, she suddenly hesitated. There was no sound, but she felt something. Like someone was watching her. Yerena sharply exclaimed.

“Sir. Are you trying to deceive me because I can’t see?”

There was no answer. Yerena, though thinking she might have imagined it, couldn’t shake off her suspicion and turned her body, quickly extending her arm forward. But feeling only air, she nearly fell over, staggering.

After barely regaining her balance, Yerena had a blank expression for a moment before turning around again. And she placed her hand where she presumed the coffin was.

“It’s cold.”

The glass lid was still freezing. No, it seemed to have become much colder. Yerena briefly imagined her parents’ faces below before raising her hand to remove her veil.

“Mother, Father. I think I’ll be going on a long journey soon.”

With a soft, sorrowful tone, the long black lace veil dragged slightly on the floor. Yerena measured its length, then spread it as wide as possible. She laid it over the coffin, bending forward to press it against the surface. The rough texture of the lace veil brushed directly against her.

“You must stay warm even if I’m gone. You must.”

The tips of her fingers, which she pressed hard, gradually turned blue, but Yerena didn’t even feel her hands getting cold. If she were to go to the Empire like this, she wouldn’t even have time like this. Tears that had momentarily stopped began to flow down her cheeks again.

“I, I miss you.”

Yerena’s voice was absorbed by her shaking shoulders and eventually disappeared, leaving only the sound of crying. Roshan, who was right behind her, concealing his presence, looked at her bony back exposed over the black dress before lowering his eyes to gaze at the king of Sedas whom he had killed by beheading.

The severed neck of the king of Sedas was neatly attached thanks to the efforts of a skilled mortician. But the stitching marks and thread visible between the collar, and the red line circling the neck, were unavoidable.

For some reason, Roshan found all of it disturbing. He wanted to immediately order the king’s head to be reattached to his body cleanly, without a single stitch mark showing. And he wanted to tell the crying princess that the bodies of the king and queen were not damaged at all.

But right now, he was an existing non-existence. He was no different from a mentally disturbed person secretly watching the blind princess while deceiving her.

Roshan clenched his fist, feeling the helplessness he hadn’t felt in a very long time. His movement made a slight sound. But Yerena, who had suspected his presence even when there was no sound, didn’t turn around this time.

“I miss you so much…… hic.”

And so the princess cried alone profusely. Throwing herself over the coffin where her parents lay, saying goodbye and making her last childish demands, she looked truly lonely and pitiful.