Chapter 9: To the Prison

Her life, already steeped in guilt, was far past the point of ending.

So now, all that was left for her to do was to accept whatever he threw at her—be it hatred or resentment, whether he used her up and cast her aside, or killed her, it didn’t matter.

‘If that’s what you choose to do, Calliod…’

Elana set herself a new goal: to be someone both useful and, when the time came, unnecessary to him.

Her mind felt utterly clear.

***

It had been only four days since blades clashed and lives were lost, but the Kingdom of Cliphes seemed eerily ordinary.

The king’s head still hung atop the city walls, and the kingdom’s most prominent nobles were lying low, barely daring to breathe.

But ordinary people went on with their daily lives, as if nothing had happened.

Most of the people of Cliphes were unfazed even when they saw the king’s head mounted on the city wall.

This was proof that Alan had never been a good king to them.

Since he seized the throne, there were barely a handful of times he’d properly governed.

Thanks to that, the nobles rampaged without restraint, committing every abuse imaginable.

Naturally, with each passing month, the people’s lives only grew more destitute.

Some who saw the king atop the wall even looked faintly satisfied, though they never voiced it aloud.

But, of course, things inside the palace couldn’t be so normal.

“Ay, it’s chaos with those giant knights tearing through every corner of the palace.”

“I heard some families have already decided to side with Gladius.”

“It looks like things are getting settled here much faster than we thought.”

Robellina, after stripping Elana of everything, had even taken away those who were close to her.

Because of her, Elana’s nursemaid, Geranine, and Geranine’s daughter, Camela, had been barred from the palace for the last eight years despite being of a count’s family, simply because of their ties to Elana.

Only after all this had happened were they finally allowed back in.

Until now, the only way Elana could see them was to sneak out through the palace’s side gate, so meeting them here now felt strange and nostalgic.

But the two didn’t dwell on sentimentality for long—they focused on what needed to be done.

Just as they had for eight years, they scurried around the palace, collecting and reporting everything they heard for Elana, who couldn’t move freely.

“There’s still no word on when you’re leaving?”

“It seems like it’ll be soon, but Robellina… that woman is apparently losing her mind. Anyone who gets near her, she rolls her eyes and nearly faints.”

“They say she keeps raving about seeing ghosts. She still doesn’t even know her son is dead.”

“Even Gladius’s knights are fed up with her.”

Camela mimicked the knights’ exasperated faces.

At her silly performance, Elana let out a small laugh.

Seeing her laugh, Geranine and Camela exchanged glances and breathed a sigh of relief.

So much had happened, and they’d been terribly worried—her laughter was a small miracle.

“A ghost, huh…”

‘There’s only one person that woman could possibly call a ghost.’

Even though Elana had found a new purpose, there wasn’t much she could actually do for now.

But after hearing about Robellina, it felt like something had come up.

“With all the sins she’s committed, now she’s suddenly whining about ghosts? It’s almost funny.”

“I guess now she’s finally scared of the people she’s killed.”

“Turns out the beast in human skin is at least capable of a little human fear. Or maybe she’s just good at faking it.”

“Really. Ah, Nursemaid—I need to step out for a bit.”

With a small smile, Elana grabbed her coat herself and stood up.

For four days she hadn’t moved from her room, but now her steps were light as a feather.

“Where are you going?”

“Just… out for a bit.”

Elana brushed off the question and crossed the room.

She knew that if she said where she was really going, they would definitely try to stop her, so she couldn’t be honest.

“I’ll go with you.”

Camela said, hurrying after her.

Elana shook her head at Camela’s offer, her refusal so firm that Camela hesitated and glanced at her mother.

“It’ll just be a moment. I left something in the garden. I don’t want you to see that place. It’s even more shabby and rundown than you two imagine… I don’t want to upset you.”

She came up with a plausible excuse and offered a sheepish smile.

“All right, then. Go ahead. We’ll wait for you.”

Geranine said, pulling Camela back to her side so as not to make Elana uncomfortable.

Thanks to that, Elana was able to quietly leave the room by herself.

***

Cough.

No sooner had Elana left the room, passing through the hall and descending the next staircase, than she pressed a handkerchief to her lips and coughed softly.

Cough, cough.

She’d felt chills since yesterday, and it seemed she was coming down with a cold.

Even though she’d taken some medicine just in case, her throat itched, and the cough was hard to stifle.

It was getting difficult to hide the sudden cough from Geranine and Camela.

Elana was usually healthy by nature—even with her harsh life, she rarely got sick.

But when she did fall ill, it would drag on for a month or two, sometimes longer.

She knew her body better than anyone, and she worried that this illness would be another drawn-out ordeal.

‘At least I don’t have to take Geranine and Camela to Gladius. Maybe I’ll be able to hide it a little longer.’

Not wanting to make her nursemaid and Camela worry, Elana tried to hold back her cough as she slipped out of the palace.

She had picked up plenty of stares from the knights, and overheard plenty along the way, but she pretended not to notice as she crossed the bustling palace in silence.

The Gladius knights kept glancing at her, but apparently, there hadn’t been any order to confine her, so no one tried to stop her.

Snow that had fallen through the night was piled up around the palace.

In the old days, it would have been cleaned away promptly, but now, only the main paths people used were kept clear.

Small changes like this made the upheaval in the kingdom feel real.

“What business do you have here?”

Elana’s footsteps had taken her to the prison where Robellina was being held.

A Gladius knight standing guard blocked her way.

“I’m here to see Robellina.”

“……”

The knight finally tore his gaze away from Elana, making it clear through silence that he was refusing her entry.

Elana slipped off the thin coat she’d worn and held it out to the knight.

“You can check if you want. I’m not carrying anything dangerous. As you can see, nothing that could help with an escape, either.”

Dressed in outerwear far too thin for winter, she handed over her coat and spread her arms wide.

The knight couldn’t hide his surprise at the princess’s unexpected action.

“I’m not on good terms with that woman. She made my mother grieve, and caused trouble for my father.

Even so, isn’t it right to witness the end of someone like that?”

Her eyes didn’t waver—there was an iron steadiness in her gaze, making it difficult for the knight to stay firm.

He’d already heard rumors that she was not someone to be taken lightly.

And for all that she was the princess of a ruined country, she was still someone destined for a very high place.

Unable to quite mask his unease, the knight glanced at his companion.

The other, who had quietly watched this scene unfold, finally stepped forward.

He took the coat from his fellow’s hands and inspected it inside and out.

“Sir Opel.”

The knight who understood what decision was about to be made shook his head.

“This is my decision. You don’t know anything about it.”

Evan Hutas Opel.

He was the eldest son of a fallen baron’s family, and he could somewhat understand what Elana must be feeling, standing here before the foreign knights who had devoured her country.

That was why he chose not to turn her away.