“I don’t care if you’re her father. Raising your hand to a woman is the most despicable act a man can ever engage in. Shame on you, Duke Odin!”
“Wha—?”
“Lady Pharmia is the Saint of Sauslind. Even if she made some mistakes, she continued to give hope and courage to the people after the Ashen Nightmare ravaged our land. I can’t deny it. Anyone who raises their hand to Lady Pharmia, whether it’s me, or even you, her father, is declaring Sauslind’s people their enemies!”
A few moments of silence passed as my words soaked into the audience. Then I heard people calling, “Lady Pharmia!” Even though it was faint, it was clear.
The duke was now visibly shaking with anger, and the sight of it made me tremble. Prince Christopher moved to stand in the way, partially hiding me. I could see that the duke’s anger had reached its peak.
“Fine,” he said, clad in a sort of gloomy glee. “You two will be known as the worst king and queen in the history of the kingdom. You deceived the enemy country that has sought friendship—the country that has been afflicted by disease and has asked for help—and attacked them. I will make sure your names go down as the worst rulers in the entire world!”
The duke was still trying to set something up. Sensing that, I raised my eyes to His Highness, and the duke’s low voice leaked out.
“This was exactly what I had planned—to sever diplomatic ties with his country. But I’ll stage it for you.”
The duke said it so that only we could hear, but then spoke loud and clear for all to hear.
“Everyone, do not be deceived! The start of the war has not been avoided. It’s only been hidden! The prince of Maldura, who is in the royal palace, has already died by the military’s assault force on the orders of His Highness. With that corpse, Sauslind plans to declare war on Maldura. A war with them cannot be avoided anymore, not under the reign of Prince Christopher and the Bibliophile Princess!”
A shock ran through me as I swallowed a scream. A door nearby opened loudly, and a stream of people came in. Everyone turned to look, and I was stunned by who I saw standing there.
“I apologize to the head priestess of the temple and to the people who have fallen ill for causing a ruckus outside. I am one of the Black Wing Knights, ordered by His Majesty to guard the eastern border.”
The short, gray hair and the sharp, strong gaze belonged to General Theoden Bakula, the hero of Sauslind. The reason everyone was shocked was that they had previously heard that he’d passed away. The story went that while escorting the crown prince’s fiancée, he had been killed by an unidentified assailant.
General Bakula’s powerful, gut-wrenching voice resounded before the roaring crowd. “There are those who deceive the people and spread lies, but the truth is one, and it proves to be clear to all eyes. The prince of Maldura is unharmed and under our protection! We have arrested the members of the pro-war faction who disobeyed the crown prince’s orders and tried to kill royals of another country. Unfortunately, we have also arrested a group of Black Wing Knights who were involved in the uprising as well. Our kingdom will never kill a member of another country’s royal family, or start a war with them!”
Behind General Bakula, I saw a well-dressed man—a blind prince with his eyes closed. Next to him were two familiar men, Prince Irvin Orlanza and his attendant Rei. I was relieved to see that Prince Irvin was safe.
I then heard cheers coming from those outside the temple. They were so loud that we could even hear it from inside.
The people’s confusion must have been extreme because of how much the situation kept changing. Nevertheless, as General Bakula had said, the facts were clear to everyone.
General Bakula, who was said to be dead, was alive, as was the crown prince’s fiancée. The royal family of Maldura that His Highness was said to have harmed were alive and well, and no war had been declared.
Among the cheers were voices calling out the names of His Highness, the Bibliophile Princess, and General Bakula. And in the midst of that, a voice repeatedly gasped, “Idiot!”
It was now clear that the duke was the one who had lied to everyone. Even amid the cacophony, Prince Christopher’s quiet voice was heard. “Duke Odin. I have received reports that General Bakula has seized evidence that you have engaged in smuggling illicit money that you obtained through secret communications with Maldura. It was His Majesty who sent him to gather the proof.”
The duke’s eyes went wide. His Majesty was now ill, which meant that he had ordered it before that.
“Even though His Majesty— Even though my father knew that it would put my mother in a difficult position, he decided to expose your crimes. Duke Odin...Uncle. I thought nobles like you were indispensable to the kingdom, but it wasn’t just about promoting friendship and reform with Maldura. It’s because we have aristocrats who act as such that we have an aristocratic society in this kingdom, but...”
I could feel His Highness’s fist tightening around mine.
“You’ve gone too far. You used information about the spread of the illness to your advantage. You tried to destroy even the possibility of the cure. The act of trampling on the lives of the people—that’s something that can never be forgiven.”
The duke lifted his head with pride. All of his crimes had been exposed, and he had been publicly shamed, yet his attitude was still dignified. I couldn’t help but acknowledge that he was a great noble.
His Highness ordered the guards, including Glen, who’d entered with General Bakula, to arrest the duke, and they rushed over. Meanwhile, I began to run.
“Grandpa Teddy!” As soon as I hugged him, I could tell he was in pain. I quickly raised my face and frowned. “But your injury...”
The last time I’d seen him, he’d been standing on a cliff, trying to protect my carriage...and then he’d been shot by an arrow. The crimson color of his blood mixing with the snow was still burned into my eyes.
As I cried over the fear I’d experienced then and the pain Grandpa Teddy had endured, he gave me a strong, kind, and familiar smile. “What you did means so much to me.” His warm, strong hand wiped my cheek. “Not being able to protect you completely will forever be a stain on my career as a warrior. I’m so glad you’re safe, Eli.”
“You’re alive... I can’t believe you’re alive!” As I shook my head and cried, Grandpa Teddy gently patted me with one hand to soothe me. He then gave me a brief explanation.
Although he had been injured, he’d immediately tried to join the search, but Lord Alexei, the right-hand man of the crown prince, had stopped him and said, “This is an order from His Highness. He wants you to pretend to die for now.”
Grandpa Teddy said that at that moment, he understood why Lord Alexei was called the Ice Scion, because his eyes were like a frozen glacier.
The events had happened a little out of order, but the letter I’d received from the crown prince had said that, from the beginning, the Black Wings Knights and I were to act separately. But the letter he gave Grandpa Teddy had said...
“There are some fools among our Black Wing Knights, some who want to go along with the pro-war faction and start a war,” Grandpa Teddy paraphrased. “But if people thought I was dead, they would show themselves and make a move, so I was ordered to hide myself, return to the royal capital, and take care of the misconduct within the knights with my own hands.”
Perhaps it was because he had not realized there were traitors inside his own group, or because the prince had arranged everything, but Grandpa Teddy let out a slightly exasperated breath as he stroked my head, seemingly soothing himself.
“Some soldiers believe that there is no place for them to make a difference unless there is a war. Even though we hone our skills every day in order to protect our country, we overlooked them. Because of this, I put you in danger. This is my fault. On behalf of the Black Wings Knights, I apologize to you, Elianna.”
As I shook my head, his soft, soothing voice fell upon me.
“You have met the conditions I gave you with even better results, and so I will acknowledge you as the crown prince’s fiancée and Sauslind’s future queen.”
I looked up and met his strong and kind eyes, then once again buried my face against his broad chest to check his heartbeat. Oh, Grandpa Teddy...
“However,” he said in a firm voice, “perhaps you should reconsider your choice of spouse. Once he thinks he’s got a good plan, he won’t reveal it to anyone. He wants to take care of everything himself.”
I’d thought that myself too.
I wiped my face and stood up. I saw that the prince was coming over to us. His Highness looked irritated even though everything was settled, and Grandpa Teddy didn’t even try to hide his annoyed expression. They glared at each other, but the prince was the first to speak.
“As I thought before, you’re so old you can’t see clearly anymore, so perhaps it’s best if you retire. It is disgraceful to misunderstand the training of the next generation by clinging to the glory of the past,” he asserted adamantly, which only encouraged Grandpa Teddy even more. I involuntarily retreated away from him.
“You’ve got some nerve, whippersnapper. You only used my guards because you were afraid if I moved them, the other party would notice. You can’t even get any other pawns. You should be ashamed.”
“Don’t get upset just because you were used as a pawn. Why don’t you spend the rest of your life somewhere in peace and quiet?”
“How dare you speak to me like that! Why don’t you see if you can beat me?” Grandpa Teddy challenged, grabbing the hilt of his sword.
This childlike exchange completely dried up my tears. I noticed the guards were confused too, so I went to join them.