Two weeks had passed since the day I talked to Prince Edgar in the library, and I still hadn’t seen Louis. It felt like ages since the last time we had met. It wasn’t as if this was the first time we’d gone this long without seeing each other, but for some reason, I felt very down and depressed over it. I tried putting my energy into my training, hoping it would make me feel better.
I was all alone, the only sound that of my sword swinging through the air. Once I was finished, I got ready in my room and headed toward class.
“Huh?” On the way there, I saw Louis. He must’ve spotted me as he was gradually making his way toward me.
“Hello, Louis. How have you been?” Since there were other students in the corridor, I had to speak as politely as I could.
“Merellis. Could I talk to you?” We had just a little time before class, but the anxious look in his eyes and deadly serious expression on his face was one I couldn’t refuse.
“Y-yes, of course.”
He took me by the hand and led me to the school gates.
“W-wait, where are we going?” I asked as he urged me into a waiting carriage.
“We found out who was behind it all.”
“The attack on the Rimmel dukes? Or the attack on Tasmeria?”
“Both.”
“Well, that’s good. Who was it?”
“I’ll tell you more details when we arrive at the Armelia manor. We can’t let anyone else hear this.”
“O-okay…” A heavy mood filled the carriage as it continued on. The moment we got to the Armelia manor, he showed me to one of the studies. Curiously, Romello was not there.
“Take a seat. This is going to be a long story.”
I did as he said and sat down in one of the chairs. “So? Who plotted to kill the dukes of Rimmel? And who cooperated with them?”
“The eldest son of Duke Sligar, Cordis Sligar. He plotted the whole thing.”
“Cordis Sligar? The one who didn’t attend the party, correct?”
“I’ll tell you everything, starting from the beginning. Just listen.” Louis began to explain everything he and Romello had discovered to me. Romello had gone to see all of the dukes and to negotiate with them after learning of Count Talbot’s betrayal.
“Ah, so that’s why Lord Romello went to Rimmel?”
“Yes.”
Louis continued and said that while Romello was there attending to the business with the dukes, Louis had taken over back home and was looking further into the matter with House Anderson. He also discovered the location of the ores Uncle Wels had diverted.
“So it was my uncle who diverted the ore… Don’t tell me he was using them to make weapons?”
“He was.”
I suddenly felt weak at Louis’s admission. My uncle was amassing a great deal of weapons in secret—and that could only mean he was planning one thing.
“And that has to do…with the story you’re telling me right now?” I had to laugh nervously in the middle of my sentence.
Louis frowned for a moment at my reaction. “Yes. Cordis Sligar was orchestrating everything.”
“Everything?”
“Everything. He was the one who sent the merchant that encouraged Duke Baskar to get involved in human trafficking. He was also the one who planned to murder the dukes of Rimmel while they were in Tasmeria. Wels conspired with him, but Cordis was behind everything.”
“I see… So a portion of the ore went to Rimmel. Does that mean the remaining ore is still in the possession of House Anderson?”
“Yes, that’s right. I know where it’s hidden too.”
“In other words, my uncle is trying to overthrow the head of House Anderson—no, not just that—he’s trying to usurp the Tasmerian throne in cooperation with Rimmel… Is that right?” I asked, and Louis nodded without hesitation. “Does my father know about this?”
“Yes, my father told General Gazell previously.”
“I see… Knowing my father, I’m sure he’s going to try to deal with his relative’s shameful actions himself.”
I had a feeling he would try to act on his own, without utilizing the army—even if that meant he would be outnumbered. In fact, he probably decided to mobilize the guard the moment he found out he would be at a disadvantage.
“I’m sorry, Louis.” I stood up and embraced him. He wrapped his arms around me and hugged me back.
“For what, Merry?”
Even if my father was outnumbered, I knew he wouldn’t seek outside help. And I could not abandon him either. House Anderson’s name and reputation were on the line here, even if Father was able to drive back my uncle and his faction. Since I was going to be Louis’s wife, and the future duchess of House Armelia, what I was about to do was not proper of me.
“I’m going back to the march. Father needs all the help he can get.”
“No.” Louis refused, startling me. “General Gazell has already made his move.”
I froze. “When did Lord Romello tell my father about this, Louis?”
“Two weeks ago,” he responded after a pause.
“That long ago?! Why didn’t you come and tell me then?”
“General Gazell told us not to. He said he didn’t want to involve you since you were going to be married into House Armelia.”
“He just wants me to watch from afar when House Anderson is in trouble? While people who are important to me go off to battle, without me? Why would he do this…?” I asked, hanging my head.
Deep down, I knew why Father had done it. He didn’t want me to have to pay for the sins of the Anderson family. He knew it would pain me, though. Of course it would.
I shed tears of frustration. I was too late. People who were precious to me were fighting at that very moment, and I had just been carrying on with my life as normal, not knowing a thing. It was a very kind thought from my father and brother to leave me out of it, but I cursed myself for my own powerlessness while everyone else was working hard. But most of all, I was worried about them.
Louis reached over and gently touched my cheek. I let him wipe away my tears, and then I looked up at him. “Why did you tell me this now?” I asked. He looked down. “Did…something happen?”
I stared at him. At first, he wouldn’t make eye contact with me, but he eventually let out a little sigh and met my gaze.
“Nort has made his move.”
“In cooperation with my uncle?”
“No, if he’d done that, he would’ve sprang into action a while ago. And even if he were, it would be too late for us to do anything. But General Gazell is already attacking Wels. It would be too late to save him. According to the information I received from Abel, I think that Nort has gone rogue.”
“Gone rogue…”
“Yes. It seems as if Cordis grew suspicious of our actions to cut off communications between Nort and Wels, and he tried to cut Nort out of the plan. As a result, Nort made his own move. He’s using Sligar’s personal guard and marching troops toward Tasmeria, pretending it’s under Curtis’s orders. They’re working with his mercenaries that he assembled in secret. Together, his forces are enough to form a proper army.”
“And Father is spending all of his energy in the march attacking my uncle… Where’s my brother?”
“After I let him know about the ore, he helped me formulate a plan to control the flow information. Right now, he’s leading the overall command from the back while General Gazell fights on the front lines.”
Suddenly, I understood why Louis was telling me all this now. The fewer people from outside House Anderson to get involved with this fight, the better. But most of all, we could not let the army march toward Rimmel. The moment we did would be the start of a war.
And that was why Father and Louis had made the decisions they had. They wouldn’t send the army to Rimmel. They would send me.
“Don’t be afraid,” I said, even though I was actually afraid myself. I was sure we’d win…we had to. The fate of House Anderson depended on it. But even if I survived, even if we won—who could say if I would be able to return to Louis? House Anderson’s reputation might fall with Wels.
And if that happened, I couldn’t return to Louis. I would be nothing but an obstacle to him. No matter how much I wished, no matter how much I loved him…that would be a wall we could not overcome. And that frightened me more than I could say.
“I promise I’ll survive and come home to my future husband. You’re the only place I could come home to.” I was terrified, but that’s why I had to say it out loud. Saying it to Louis was the same thing as telling it to myself. I would not let anyone else have him. He was mine. This was my home.
“Of course you will. I’ll never let you go.” He must’ve sensed how I was feeling as he said that to me.
“Louis…”
“I can’t go with you physically, but my heart will be with you. I’ll share the burden which you cannot bear alone. I’ll protect you for any obstacles in your path. So go, and let me take care of the rest.”
“You will?”
“Yes.”
“You’re lying…”
“Why would I?” he replied. “If there’s a burden you need to shoulder, then we’ll do it together. If there is an obstacle blocking your path, I’ll use my power to remove it. If walls stand in the way of us being together, I’ll destroy them. But in exchange, you will be mine and belong only to me.”
I embraced him again. My heart felt so full that tears flowed down my cheeks. I felt so grateful that I loved him, and that he loved me in return.
“Don’t give up,” he told me. “Don’t give up on coming home to me…or walking this path together with me.”
I tightened my grip around him, to feel his presence. So that I wouldn’t forget this feeling in my heart.
“I’ll be back,” I said with a smile, and then I bade him farewell.