Despite being soaked with sweat, Queen Tia smiled slowly. “Enjoy, you ask? At the very least, I’ve never fought a battle so fierce before.”
“Of course. Coward that you are, you’ve always run away. You only play your little games when your victory is assured. And I must admit—you’ve always been faster to flee than anyone.”
Reynaldo wore a cold expression, deliberately using a disdainful tone to provoke Tia.
“Indeed…” Tia allowed. “If I hadn’t planned these crude little tricks and sought to capture the handmaid, I might still have won.”
Though the queen looked in my direction, I had no idea what she and Reynaldo were talking about.
“Queen Tia,” I said. “With all due respect, this isn’t a game.” Throughout this conversation, the use of the word game felt wrong to me. “Games should be left to the drawing room.”
Tia laughed haughtily. “Am I even being scolded by lowly handmaids now?”
Even as she mocked me, I held her gaze, knowing nothing would reach her. So at the very least, I would leave her with these few words.
“What you’ve done to others will someday befall you as well,” I said in the same tone that Rosemary had.
Tia’s smile stiffened. “…What?”
Yes, she remembers, I thought with a slight smile myself.
Tia’s lips trembled.
“Have your actions not come back to haunt you?” I pressed.
Tia looked at me one more time with panic in her eyes. “Lady Rosemary…?”
When she addressed me with the same title as she had in the past, I smiled slightly again. Somehow or another, Tia’s innocent smile even fooled Rosemary until the very end.
“Mary!”
The door flung open with a loud bang, and Albert raced to me, sweeping me up in his arms. When I nearly collapsed from the force of the embrace, I leaned my full weight into him. Albert held onto me, unconcerned about anything else.
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” Albert said directly into my ear, his tone one of heartfelt relief.
I hugged him back gently, my heart pounding in my chest. “Sorry for worrying you.”
“I thought I might die from a heart attack. Are you hurt?”
“No, I’m perfectly fine. Reynaldo is the one you should be worried about.”
Reynaldo had wounds all over his body and needed to be treated as soon as possible. Albert and I looked at him. He stood in front of Rosemary’s coffin, which I hadn’t noticed was discarded in a corner of the room until now. Though slightly dirtied during the commotion, the coffin hadn’t suffered any major damage.
Albert and I walked over to the casket—or rather, Rosemary’s resting place. Before leaving on this journey, I wondered what I might feel when looking at the coffin of my past self. Now that I stood before it, nothing within me changed. Nevertheless, I placed my hand on Rosemary’s name and likeness, both of which had been carved into the casket. Her favorite flowers had been engraved on the surface. Clearly, the creator of this coffin cared a great deal for her.
“Rosemary…” Reynaldo murmured his sister’s name. He knelt before the coffin and offered an apology. “I’m so glad you’re safe. My selfish actions nearly put you in harm’s way. Please forgive me.”
Even after all these years, his love for Rosemary hadn’t diminished.
If Rosemary could have spoken to him, she probably would have forgiven him with some gentle chiding.
“Don’t put yourself in danger for my sake,” she would have said.
Even so, I loved Reynaldo for his devotion to Rosemary. She would forever reside in his heart, regardless of whether her life had ended or her coffin was burned.
“I must apologize to you as well,” Reynaldo told me. “Sincerely, I’m sorry for putting your life in jeopardy. However, I’m also grateful. Not only did your actions protect Rosemary, but you also saved my life. Thank you so much.”
After favoring me with a gentle smile, Reynaldo bowed his head. At least, I thought he was bowing his head. Suddenly, his body lurched forward, and he collapsed.
“Reynaldo!” I cried.
He fell so suddenly that neither Albert nor I could support him. I collapsed to the floor beneath him, my hands grabbing his back. Not only was his body feverish, but he’d started to bleed. The commotion must have aggravated his wounds.
“Albert, he’s bleeding!” I called out.
“I’ll have him looked at right away,” Albert replied.
Other knights who’d been on standby lifted Reynaldo carefully and carried him to where their comrades had gathered. The knights had already suppressed the fortress’s soldiers, who were being taken back to the capital with Tia.
After receiving treatment from a still-present group of knights, Reynaldo was also placed on a carriage heading back to the capital. He slept facedown, as the vehicle’s rattling risked aggravating his wounds. Though cuts laced his entire body, the arrow wound to his shoulder was particularly bad. Apart from having salves smeared on him, Reynaldo had also taken medicine to prevent festering. Even so, he was still feverish, sweat pouring from his face.
I rode in the same carriage to act as his nurse, wiping sweat from his body. Despite his somewhat labored breathing, his expression was peaceful.
Suddenly, the carriage moved onto unsteady ground. The vehicle rattled, and Reynaldo’s eyes cracked open. From the looks of it, he’d regained consciousness.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
He looked up slightly, noticing me. “…Where am I?”
“Inside a carriage belonging to the chivalric order. We’re bound for the capital. You came down with a fever due to your wounds and lost consciousness.”
“I see. How disgraceful…”
“Don’t say that.”
Seeing Reynaldo smile slightly at his blunder put me at ease.
“Where’s Rosemary’s casket?” he asked.
“Sir Albert ordered the carriages to return to the capital as soon as possible. Once the preparations are finished, he’ll take the coffin to McClain. Right now, knights are guarding it at the fortress.”
After remaining silent for a time, Reynaldo lifted himself somewhat from his facedown position, extending his hand towards where I sat. Sensing his intention, I gripped his hand.
“Mary,” he called out to me. “I remembered something you said.”
“Something I said?”
“Indeed. ‘I should have left you with a different future. One where you weren’t forced to seek vengeance.’ You spoke those words in Rosemary’s stead. ‘I don’t want revenge.’ You spoke those words yourself.” At this, Reynaldo gripped my hand tighter. “I used the northern people as a means to an end. My thirst for vengeance had so consumed me that I didn’t care about their resentment. As a result, the queen ended up using the small tribes as her pawns.”
When I remained silent, Reynaldo continued speaking.
“I alone perpetuated this cycle of vengeance. Surely, Rosemary wanted to stop me from creating any more sorrow.”
Reynaldo’s eyes warped painfully with melancholy. I squeezed his hand without answering.
“I finally understand what you said as I tried to exact my vengeance in the audience chamber…”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.”
“Well then…” I said, caressing Reynaldo’s sweat-dampened forehead. “I doubt you’ll make any more mistakes. Also, I hope you find happiness.”
Rosemary always wished for her younger brother’s happiness. When I stated this clearly, Reynaldo burst out laughing. That aggravated his wounds, causing him to groan.
“Are you okay?” I asked. “Also, why are you laughing?”
“Ugh… I mean, you sound so much like Rosemary. Or rather, you sound so much like yourself.”
Reynaldo laughed again, unable to suppress his mirth despite the pain. Pouting, I scolded him, but even then, he wouldn’t stop laughing.
This is the first time I’ve seen him laugh so hard, I realized.
I hadn’t seen Reynaldo smile in a long, long time. Nonetheless, his expression was the same as the young boy’s from Rosemary’s memories.