Zatia’s Melancholy (2)

Having received Adelaide’s permission, Zatia packed her belongings to take to the Caucasian Autonomous Region.

Though time was tight, she didn’t want to spoil Margaret’s mood ahead of her wedding, so the preparations were kept secret.

The luggage consisted of just two bags containing a few articles of clothing, so it didn’t take long.

Zatia tucked the purse that Adelaide had given her deep into one of the bags and hid the bags in the closet.

With all the preparations complete, all that was left was to quietly disappear.

“…..”

Zatia slowly took in the scenery of the room. Though she still had over ten days before leaving, her eyes were already welling up.

She rubbed her warm eyes and quietly approached the baby crib.

“Please grow up healthy, Your Highness.”

Just as she kissed Frederick’s sleeping cheek:

“Zatia!”

Margaret entered with an excited expression. Zatia pointed to the bed and brought her finger to her lips.

“Shh, the baby is sleeping.”

“You, you…!”

Gasping, Margaret pulled Zatia out of the room. Once outside, she immediately asked:

“Zatia, what do you mean you’re leaving?”

‘…I had planned to keep it a secret until after the wedding. Did Lirkan tell her?’

Zatia pondered the source and nodded nonchalantly.

“Don’t worry. I’ll see your wedding.”

“That’s not what I’m asking! Why are you suddenly saying you’re leaving?”

“I’m just feeling homesick being here.”

Zatia continued calmly.

“I think I just don’t fit in palace life.”

“But you’ve been doing well until now.”

Margaret said with a quivering voice.

“What will I do if you go?”

“You have Viscount Redford. The Empress will take good care of you too.”

“Still…”

With tears brimming in her eyes, Zatia smiled silently.

Though it was Adelaide who had saved her, it was Margaret who had cared for her.

If Margaret hadn’t treated her, an outsider, so warmly, she wouldn’t have been able to endure until now.

“You have to live happily even without me, Margaret.”

Zatia embraced Margaret tightly with all her heart.

—

The news that Zatia was leaving the palace spread quickly throughout the entire palace.

She felt the gazes of those she encountered change, but she didn’t show it.

‘Just one more week to endure.’

She thought that a week of helping with Margaret’s wedding preparations would pass in the blink of an eye, and so Zatia focused silently on her tasks.

“Excuse me.”

‘…I was trying to focus. If it weren’t for that large man blocking the door…’

Zatia looked up in surprise at Ahio. His face was flushed, as if he had just come from somewhere.

“Can we talk for a moment?”

“What?”

“It will only take a minute.”

Seeing his unusual anxiousness, Zatia nodded reluctantly.

Ahio, having received permission, silently led the way. After walking for a while, they arrived at a secluded corner of the palace.

Stopping, Ahio struggled to find his words. As he met her trembling gaze, he finally asked with a quivering voice:

“Is it true that you’re going to the Caucasian Autonomous Region?”

“Yes.”

At her calm answer, he swallowed hard. Biting his pale lips several times, Ahio finally managed to ask:

“Do you… perhaps like Lirkan?”

“What?”

Taken aback by the sudden question, Zatia blinked in confusion. Ahio rubbed his face roughly.

“Are you following him just to be with that guy…?”

“No, that’s not it.”

Zatia shook her head firmly. A look of unexplainable relief appeared on Ahio’s face. However, that relief soon turned into concern. The rapid emotional shift left Zatia feeling somewhat bewildered.

“Then why are you going?”

“…….”

“Please don’t go. If you do, you might die.”

“Why would anyone k*ll me just for going home?”

“Do you know how dangerous it is for a runaway sorceress to set foot in the sanctuary again?”

Zatia looked up suddenly.

The fact that she was a runaway sorceress was known only to Adelaide. Yet…

“How did you know?”

“I found out while investigating how you ended up at the sl*ve auction.”

“Then why have you kept quiet until now…?”

“I didn’t think it was worth mentioning, as it didn’t seem important.”

Seeing Ahio’s blunt response and his pale complexion, Zatia bit her lip.

She regretted not being able to phrase it more delicately, but there was still something important she had to say.

“Lirkan won’t be able to protect you.”

“I’m not relying on Lirkan…”

“You may have to sacrifice yourself to unite the Caucasian people.”

“……”

Zatia’s gaze fell to the floor. Though she hadn’t thought about it, it was a valid point.

For the Caucasian people, who had suffered from external invasions, it was obvious how they would view an apprentice sorceress who had escaped the sanctuary. There was a possibility that they might even blame her for the disappearance of sorcery.

Moreover, it wouldn’t be easy to make the Caucasian people accept Lirkan, who was half an outsider, as their leader. So expecting Lirkan to stand against the Caucasian people to protect her was foolish.

Perhaps, as Ahio said, it would be easier to give herself up and gain the recognition of the Caucasian people.

‘Lirkan would never do that…’

If things were to unfold that way, would she be able to survive?

While she was pondering the possibilities, Zatia finally spoke up:

“But I…”

‘I have nowhere to go.’

Reading the unspoken words on her face, Ahio replied:

“If you have nowhere to turn, how about staying with me?”

“We are both lonely people, so we can fill each other’s shortcomings.”

Though she had forgotten because of their different skin colors, he was also half Caucasian. Like her, he was an outsider who belonged nowhere.

But she couldn’t understand why he was making such an offer to her, given that he had Callion’s trust.

“Why are you doing this, Ahio?”

“…If I had liked you for a long time, would you be angry?”

‘What…?’

It was shocking for someone she had barely spoken to even once to suddenly confess.

Zatia was left speechless, blinking in surprise. As she stood frozen, Ahio cautiously asked:

“Do you dislike me?”

“No, it’s not that…”

His face brightened immediately at her answer. Ahio gathered his courage once more.

“Then please don’t leave; stay here. I will take responsibility.”

“…Please give me some time to think.”

—

Even lying down, sleep eluded her. Every time she closed her eyes, Ahio came to mind, and Zatia spent the night wide awake.

‘He was like a rock. He was also like a shadow.’

Always standing quietly a step back, he wasn’t noticeable, yet he was the first to appear in the most dangerous situations.

‘If I had liked you for a long time, would you be angry?’

Though she was taken aback because she had never noticed, it was unlikely that someone as cautious as him would say something lightly.

‘We are both lonely people, so we can fill each other’s shortcomings.’

The look in his eyes as he said that was infinitely serious, and though she had no certainty, she wanted to believe it.

Zatia glanced at the closet where she had hidden her bags and closed her eyes.

Sleep still wouldn’t come.

—

Margaret’s wedding was held in the garden of Viscount Redford’s mansion. Though the number of guests was small, the presence of the Empress and the Crown Prince made it a more dazzling ceremony than any noble wedding.

Amidst the blooming spring flowers, Margaret, dressed in her wedding gown and looking happy, was more beautiful than ever. Zatia, attending as the bride’s maid, sincerely wished for Margaret’s happiness.

“Congratulations, Margaret.”

“Zatia.”

As Margaret was about to board the carriage prepared for her honeymoon, she hugged Zatia tightly, her eyes brimming with tears.

“Don’t cry. You’ll ruin your makeup.”

“Are you really leaving? Will I not see you again?”

“I’m not sure…”

When Zatia trailed off ambiguously, Margaret clutched her hand tightly.

“Even if you’re leaving, you need to say goodbye. Just wait until I come back, okay?”

“Don’t worry about me; just go and enjoy yourself.”

As Margaret struggled to step away, Zatia watched her wave repeatedly as she got into the carriage, then turned away.

The mansion, now devoid of guests after the wedding, was quiet, with only a few people left for cleanup.

Zatia spotted a man standing awkwardly among the remaining guests. He wasn’t in the usual knight’s attire but was dressed in formal wear, looking somewhat out of place yet handsome.

As Zatia approached, Ahio gazed at her with a tense expression.

She asked:

“Can you make me happy?”

“I’ll do my best.”

“Then please take me with you, Ahio.”

A smile filled with indescribable joy spread across his once-stiff face.

“I’ll inform His Majesty.”

As Ahio dashed toward the stables, Zatia smiled dreamily at his retreating figure.

It was a beautiful spring day, with flower petals fluttering in the wind.