Stuck deeply in the cover was the sword that had tried to take my life. A thick binding made of copper plate had stopped it from piercing clean through, and now the weapon was stuck. My design had finally demonstrated its purpose.
I muttered involuntarily as I thought. Perhaps I was in a state of mild shock. “Jean,” I said. He turned back and looked at me. “I finally understand. This is like catching a blade in your bare hands, from The Travels of Marco Polo!”
“Not exactly,” he said immediately, and I felt relieved. He was still the exasperated Jean I knew. He groaned as if he were in pain and asked why he must make that retort every time.
After meeting with His Highness the night before yesterday, Jean had come looking for me despite his injuries. Even now, despite his injuries, he had rushed over to save me. I decided that I should at least check on his wounds.
I shook off the guards holding me back so I could see if there were any other suspicious people around, but His Highness fell to his knees to get on my level and pulled me into his arms.
“Eli, please don’t,” he said, his voice trembling. “To come this far and lose you... I just can’t.”
It was as if I’d caught a glimpse of His Highness’s true weakness. He sounded desperate, far removed from his usual confident and dignified demeanor. I put my hand on his back to tell him that I was safe, and when I rubbed it soothingly, he took a deep breath to calm his racing heart. After he helped me up and confirmed that I was safe, his expression relaxed. With a sigh, he gently hugged me again.
Guards surrounded us. As they did, I saw that Jean was holding the book with the sword stuck in it, and I caught a glimpse of Lady Pharmia. Then another sharp sound startled me. The head priestess was coming toward the wall of guards, so His Highness led them and faced her.
Her face was impassive as she said, “I will take care of Lady Pharmia Odin.”
Prince Christopher looked a little hesitant, but he nodded. Lady Pharmia would probably be interrogated about her father’s crimes, but until then, she would be kept confined to the temple.
The surrounding priests moved in accordance with His Highness and the head priestess’s decision. I watched as they urged Lady Pharmia to her feet. As she left, I got the feeling I wouldn’t be able to speak with her ever again. We couldn’t go back to the past, but maybe someday...
I watched her almost as if I were praying, and she turned around and quietly called, “Lady Elianna Bernstein.”
My heart skipped a beat. I couldn’t hide anything from her gaze, which seemed to strip me bare in the empty temple. Her eyelashes fluttered ever so slightly.
“I hope we meet again someday,” she said.
I tried to calm my racing heart. His Highness and I quietly watched as she turned her back to us and disappeared into the depths of the temple.
~.~.~.~
When I came out to apologize to the sick and the doctors for the turmoil in the temple, I was enveloped by even more cheers. It seemed that everyone was aware of what had happened inside, and when His Highness and I had shown up with General Bakula, the cheers had become even louder. In response, we promised to welcome the people camped out in front of the temple inside in the near future, then withdrew to the royal palace.
General Bakula hadn’t finished with his business yet, so he went somewhere else with several Black Wing Knights. Irvin and the second prince of Maldura had also come to the temple to prove that they were safe, but they were moved to a separate room for their safety.
As soon as I returned to the royal palace, the maids rushed over with tears on their faces, probably because they had already received word of my return. However, they were still maids of the royal palace. They restrained their emotions and tore me away from His Highness, after which I began meticulously cleansing myself. After all, I didn’t know from where the disease had originated. I knew that the security was stricter at the royal palace than anywhere else, but to be honest, I was just as mentally fatigued as when I was on horseback.
In order to hide my identity, I had been dressing like a boy for a long time, but now I finally returned to my appearance as a noble lady. The maids were so enthusiastic that even I hesitated a little. From there, Prince Christopher, who had refreshed himself, came to pick me up. He said his usual sweet words regarding my appearance and smiled at me—I was now blushing—then we immediately headed to the person I needed to greet the most.
Deep inside the royal palace, in a spot where only a limited number of people were allowed to enter, the first Imperial Guard, Glen’s older brother, Sieg, and others were guarding a certain room. The servants lowered their voices, but as I entered, someone arose to their feet with a clatter. Queen Henrietta, the queen of Sauslind, stood there with a stern expression. She always appeared imposing to her opponents, but now she looked somewhat emaciated and stunned.
Recalling what happened earlier, I bowed politely to greet her. Then, all of a sudden, she rushed over to me and swept me in her arms. I was surprised by both her warm embrace and her teary voice.
“I’m so...so glad you’re safe...Elianna!”
A wave of emotion rushed over me as I felt the warmth of her joy. So many things had happened, and Queen Henrietta must have been restless for a long time, but here she was, weeping over my safety.
Once that hit me, I burst into tears—from the relief of finally being safe and from the feelings of knowing someone was elated that I was okay. I felt as if I had crossed a very dangerous bridge and arrived at the other side intact. Scary thoughts, terrifying thoughts, painful thoughts, and so on overflowed all at once, and I cried in her embrace.
“Mother...” I said.
After waiting for us to calm down, Prince Christopher explained the situation, sitting at the seat that was prepared for him. First on the agenda was the condition of His Majesty the King, who was lying in a sickbed in the next room.
“At the time the cure was created,” he began, “Alex sent information in secret from the Ralshen Region. The royal pharmacists treated him and administered the cure, and his condition has improved, but we still can’t see him or talk to him yet. Dr. Harvey says the prospects for his recovery have increased.”
My heart ached as I thought of everything Prince Christopher and Queen Henrietta, who were worried about His Majesty, had gone through. It was the same thing I had felt when I was young, and now it had spread not only in Sauslind, but to other countries as well.
Dr. Harvey, the chief court physician, had sacrificed his sleep and kept himself confined to His Majesty’s hospital room. If he was with His Majesty, all would be well. I sighed in relief as my biggest worries melted away.
Prince Christopher then explained the events that had taken place in the temple to Queen Henrietta. He told her about the many crimes Duke Odin, Queen Henrietta’s older brother, had committed. She listened carefully to everything as if she had already prepared for this, and as resolutely as always, she was strict in her judgment, even though it was something that affected her.
“Do justice according to the laws of Sauslind.”
Sitting next to her, I involuntarily put my hand on hers. Queen Henrietta’s eyes softened a little. She looked at me, then returned her gaze to her son without hesitation.
“Those who are too full of themselves will eventually crush themselves. My brother dreamed too much. Perhaps he wanted to become another king who would rule over a puppet king from the shadows.”
There was only one king who governed Sauslind Kingdom. No one should be allowed to manipulate them from behind the scenes. I felt the weight of it all, along with a sense of wonder.
Queen Henrietta’s tone suddenly changed, and she was no longer speaking as the ruler of a nation. “If I had conceded even a little to my brother, I wonder if the results would have been different...”
Before I could utter a word of denial and stop her sad smile, His Highness cut in.
“That’s not true, mother,” he objected. His blue eyes were strong, but his words were somewhat childlike. “Uncle’s desires must have been innate. Even if you had conceded, he wouldn’t have changed. In fact, it’s possible it would’ve made him worse. He never saw me as anything besides a willful child. He wouldn’t have recognized anything but his own selfish desires.”
Everyone was selfish at times, but the important thing was whether you could put that selfishness aside and recognize someone else who was better than you. Relationships, something that I couldn’t understand just by reading books, were difficult and complicated.
The Queen replied with a small smile. “You just couldn’t forgive him for targeting Elianna, could you?”
“Of course not. I would’ve followed him to the ends of the earth and made him regret it.”
That’s a little scary, Your Highness.
“I wonder who you got that stubbornness from,” the queen said with an exasperated smile.
His Highness quietly stood up. “I still have things to do, so I must go. Eli, you rest here, please.” The gentle smile on his face turned stern as he headed for the door. It was the same smile as the one I’d seen earlier in the temple...
I immediately stood and rushed over to His Highness.
“Eli,” he said with surprise.
I grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “I will come with you.”
For a moment, he looked as if he were about to tease me as usual, but then he realized I was not going to back down. He hesitated, seemingly searching for the words to stop me. “This isn’t funny,” he murmured, and with a small breath, he squeezed my hand in return.
I said my goodbyes to the queen, who was watching over me with a smile, and finally, the two of us headed to settle things with one last person.