On the day of Yerhan’s departure, the Third Prince Palace was unusually busy, and Rosena, who woke up early in the morning, made a lunch box for Yerhan to eat.
It was just enough to eat it all in a day, but she felt proud after making it.
When the lunchbox was ready, the sun broke completely and the morning came.
Rosena woke Illian up to wash and change into neat clothes.
A handful of employees followed Rosena outside the palace. Though the scale was simple, it was still preparation to see him off.
From the entrance to the garden, Yerhan went on horseback.
Their first reunion in seven years came to her mind as he rode against the morning sun.
Even then, Yerhan came up to her, riding a horse against the sun.
At that time, there was nothing but despair.
Rosena realized that quite a lot had happened between Yerhan and herself in a short time.
Finally, Yerhan’s horse stopped in front of Rosena.
Behind him stood a row of men in black. As Yerhan slid off his horse, the cloak fluttered.
Rosena, who was staring blankly, came to her senses and held out the lunch box in her hand.
“It’s not much, but I’ve tried to prepare for it.”
Yerhan’s expression when he received the lunch box was strange.
He didn’t think she’d prepare his lunchbox. He will cherish the lunch box with much gratitude.
Rosena called Illian who was standing next to her.
“Illian, say goodbye.”
“Yeah. Go back, safely.”
Illian said, rubbing his eyes. But Yerhan noticed that Illian’s eyes were stuck on the lunchbox.
Yerhan laughed as if he had become a winner.
“Be a good boy.”
Yerhan patted Illian on the head.
Illian nodded and didn’t forget to stare lightly at Yerhan.
When the greeting was over, Rosena glanced at the men in black.
At Rosena’s curious glance, Yerhan opened his mouth.
“They are… the fellow hunters.”
“Oh, I see.”
When Rosena believed it, Yerhan introduced them very naturally.
“They are the raiders, and the others here are the watchmen. They will help me for the next month and a half.”
For a moment, the men flinched, but Rosena didn’t notice.
After the introduction of his colleagues, Rosena realized that the time to say goodbye has really come.
Rosena held out a handkerchief in her hand.
It was a Herbetian greeting to pray for a safe return.
“Have a safe trip.”
Yerhan, who was handed the handkerchief, folded it carefully into his arms as if he were handling a tiny baby.
“When I come back, it will be around summer, so we’ll go on a trip then.”
“…A trip?”
“The sea would be nice.”
Rosena blinked. Not long ago, she thought of wanting to travel to the sea, and now, he made this suggestion as if he had read her mind.
Rosena hesitated and nodded.
Rosena took a step back to watch Yerhan leave, and she could feel the eyes of others.
Rosena belatedly realized that they were waiting for her.
There was a custom in Herbet, and that is for a wife to kiss her husband who would be away for a long time.
Rosena hesitated, then raised herself, going on her tiptoes, because she could not omit the custom in front of everyone.
She tried to place her lips lightly, but Yerhan wrapped his hands around her waist.
Their bodies became closer, and a deep kiss continued.
The people watching swallowed their saliva.
His lips slowly fell off when he felt suffocated. Feeling the remaining warmth, he whispered.
“I’ll have the rest after I get back.”
His words made Rosena’s cheeks red like a tomato planted in the backyard.
Yerhan climbed onto the horse again.
The men in black followed him and turned their backs.
Along the garden, Yerhan moved away little by little.
The red cloak blew in the wind, and the sparkling blonde gradually blurred the view.
Rosena watched his footsteps for a long time, until he was completely gone.
***
Three days had passed since Yerhan left the Imperial Palace.
Rosena, as usual, got up early in the morning and started the day eating with Illian.
Unlike other Imperial Palaces, the Third Prince Palace was still quiet today.
The employees split up to do their jobs, and Illian went to class.
Having time to herself, Rosena wrote in her diary while drinking fragrant flower tea.
The sound of a pen scratching paper quietly filled the space.
When the flower floating on the teacup sank, Rosena put down her pen.
“Have they received the letter by now?”
Rosena briefly recalled sending a letter to Astania.
Rosena’s letter may have arrived at the marquisate by now.
Rosena stared blankly at the window.
Now that she was here, what happened in Astania felt like a dream.
No worries, no one to hate, just happiness.
That was why Rosena was trying to get back there.
Rosena, staring from the window, looked around the empty bedroom.
She didn’t think it was that big before, but today it looked spacious and lonely.
Rosena felt a vacancy of Yerhan as the day went by.
Rosena, who finished writing her diary, muttered to herself.
“Let’s go on a picnic today.”
Rosena immediately got up and headed to the restaurant.
Rosena, who prepared a simple lunch box, headed to Illian who was in the study room.
Maybe the class finished as Illian’s teacher was walking down the hall.
“Hello.”
Grior smiled at Rosena’s greeting. He lifted up his glasses and greeted her politely.
“Is the child following the class well?”
There was silence at the moment. Grior trembled lightly and smiled.
“Of course. Language class is also going smoothly.”
“That’s a relief.”
As Rosena smiled, Grior’s face turned a little red.
Grior smiled upon the thought of having to say something.
Then, from Grior’s back came Illian’s voice.
“Mom!”
Illian jumped in and held Rosena’s skirt.
Rosena hugged Illian in her arms.
“Illian, don’t run in the hallway.”
Illian said ‘yes’ in a quiet voice.
Illian, whose face was buried in her skirt, turned his head and looked at Grior.
Unlike his cute voice, Illian’s eyes were sharp and seemed to ask what he was doing.
“I, I’ll be going now.”
In a flash, Grior, who followed Illian’s cue, said goodbye to Rosena.
Grior walked out of the palace, and Rosena said, looking at Illian clung to her skirt.
“Shall we go on a picnic today?”
“Picnic?”
Illian looked up reflexively as soon as he heard the word ‘picnic’.
Rosena burst into a smile at the sight.
“Let’s go!”
“Let’s go now.”
Rosena held the mat and the lunchbox in one hand, and held Illian’s hand in the other.
Rosena, who escaped the Prince Palace, headed to the back of the Imperial Palace fortress.
Outside the Imperial Palace fortress, there was a forest, and there was a lake at the boundary point.
As the Imperial Palace was so big, there was even a lake in it.
Rosena, who discovered the lake when Yerhan showed a map of the Imperial Palace fortress before, vowed to go there once.
Rosena traced her memory of the map and headed to the lake.
Although it was her first time, she found it easier than she thought. As if she had ever been here.
“Ah….”
Rosena looked at the lake. Roses were blooming around the round lake.
The view created by red roses and blue lake was magnificent.
The sunlight penetrated through the leaves, tearing the surface of the lake.
Looking at the calm lake that glistened like jewels, she felt sad.
As if she had found something that she had forgotten for a long time, a sense of longing settled.
“Mom?”
Illian called for Rosena. Rosena, who had been standing idly for a long time, came to her senses belatedly.
Rosena was unable to take her eyes off the lake as she unfolded the mat.
It’s definitely her first time here, but why is it so familiar? What’s the familiar feeling that was as if she had been here a few times?
While Illian enjoyed his lunch, Rosena just looked at the lake.
The longer she gazed at it, the more she felt like she was going to smile, but she also felt like she was going to cry soon.
Rosena shook her head, thinking it was weird.
The wind blew and the sound of the leaves fluttering spread.
“?”
Rosena heard a mixture of laughter and looked around to see if anyone was there, but there was no one but Illian and her.
In a strange mood, Rosena stared for a long time at the far side of the lake, a rose-filled lake.
***
Rosena, who returned to the palace after a quiet picnic, finished all her work for today.
Rosena returned to her bedroom late at night after putting Illian to sleep.
She wanted to sleep with Illian, but she was going to follow the nanny’s advice that it would be good to develop a habit of sleeping separately from now on.
Lying on a large bed, Rosena aimlessly stared at the ceiling.
She felt left alone in a dark space.
It was just a short time, but she seemed to have adapted to being with Yerhan.
Rosena swept the empty side with her hand once. Then she fell asleep slowly.
***
Rosena was standing on the side of the road.
There were buildings in front of her that she had never seen before.
Along the main road, a wheelbarrow loaded with pebbles passed by, and each person in strange clothes was on his own way.
Rosena blinked slowly.
She fell asleep just now, and it felt like she was in a dream, but it was like reality.
Rosena walked slowly, thinking it was amazing.
Then, the door of the building opposite Rosena opened.
– Get the hell out of here, you monster.
A big guy, swearing, threw someone out. And the man shut the door coldly.
Rosena, who watched the scene, slowly approached the fallen person.
It was a boy who grew his hair shaggy.
Rosena tried to ask if he was all right. But her voice didn’t come out like a faucet with a tight throat.
She was forced to reach out to the boy, and Rosena’s finger passed through the boy’s shoulder.
Rosena took a step back in surprise.
Rosena moved her fingers, trying to pick up a rock that was rolling on the floor just in case.
But the stone remained untouched.
Only then did Rosena realize there was nothing she could do here.
The boy lying on the floor rose from his seat.
A dirty stray dog approached the boy who was crouching and wiping the dust off from himself.
The boy stroked the dog’s back.
However, the people passing by looked at the boy with disdain. It was as if they were looking at someone with a plague.
Rosena approached the boy with a pitiful face when she thought of Illian.
The boy covered in a pile of mud was very dirty. Even she couldn’t tell what the original color of his hair was.
As she approached quietly, Rosena patted the boy on the shoulder.
Although untouchable, she wanted to comfort him like this.
A long time later, the boy got up from his seat and started wandering around the village. But there was nowhere who would accept the boy.
The boy grew weary from the constant refusal.
When the dark night came, the boy spent the night in a narrow alley, and wandered around the village again the next day.
Time flew so fast in the dream. As Rosena watched the boy, several nights came and a new sun rose.
The boy, who hadn’t received warmth from anyone, reached a lake in the forest with his tired body.
Fluffy roses and the clear lake spread out like a picture.
“!”
Rosena, who blindly followed the boy, was in surprise.
It was the lake that she went to with Illian during the day.
The boy buried his head in his knees with a weary face.
As the boy cried, the animals that lived in the forest approached, one by one.
Flying birds, squirrels sleeping in trees, and even small things like bugs hovered around the boy.
The boy slid his head up and muttered something to the animals.
Then the animals stayed with the boy as if they understood his words.
The boy could talk to animals like Rosena.
Who the hell is that boy?
It was a dream, but it felt like it really existed, Rosena could not take her eye off the boy.
The boy, who had been crying for a long time, slowly raised his head.
His pupils were revealed through his shaggy hair.
Rosena swallowed her breath upon seeing the boy’s dark navy eyes.
Rosena was well aware of those eyes. It was the eyes Yerhan had when he lost his rationality.
Rustle. Someone’s footsteps were heard, and the boy shrank in surprise.
A small hand popped out between the rich piles of blossoming roses.
– Huh?
A girl appeared through the roses.
The boy tried to back off with great vigilance, but the girl smiled broadly.
– Hi!
That one word broke the boy’s tension at once.
The hesitating boy smiled cautiously as if to imitate the girl.
A voice from somewhere came to Rosena’s ears.
‘This is the past that the Rosenas should inherit and remember.’
On the day of Yerhan’s departure, the Third Prince Palace was unusually busy, and Rosena, who woke up early in the morning, made a lunch box for Yerhan to eat.
It was just enough to eat it all in a day, but she felt proud after making it.
When the lunchbox was ready, the sun broke completely and the morning came.
Rosena woke Illian up to wash and change into neat clothes.
A handful of employees followed Rosena outside the palace. Though the scale was simple, it was still preparation to see him off.
From the entrance to the garden, Yerhan went on horseback.
Their first reunion in seven years came to her mind as he rode against the morning sun.
Even then, Yerhan came up to her, riding a horse against the sun.
At that time, there was nothing but despair.
Rosena realized that quite a lot had happened between Yerhan and herself in a short time.
Finally, Yerhan’s horse stopped in front of Rosena.
Behind him stood a row of men in black. As Yerhan slid off his horse, the cloak fluttered.
Rosena, who was staring blankly, came to her senses and held out the lunch box in her hand.
“It’s not much, but I’ve tried to prepare for it.”
Yerhan’s expression when he received the lunch box was strange.
He didn’t think she’d prepare his lunchbox. He will cherish the lunch box with much gratitude.
Rosena called Illian who was standing next to her.
“Illian, say goodbye.”
“Yeah. Go back, safely.”
Illian said, rubbing his eyes. But Yerhan noticed that Illian’s eyes were stuck on the lunchbox.
Yerhan laughed as if he had become a winner.
“Be a good boy.”
Yerhan patted Illian on the head.
Illian nodded and didn’t forget to stare lightly at Yerhan.
When the greeting was over, Rosena glanced at the men in black.
At Rosena’s curious glance, Yerhan opened his mouth.
“They are… the fellow hunters.”
“Oh, I see.”
When Rosena believed it, Yerhan introduced them very naturally.
“They are the raiders, and the others here are the watchmen. They will help me for the next month and a half.”
For a moment, the men flinched, but Rosena didn’t notice.
After the introduction of his colleagues, Rosena realized that the time to say goodbye has really come.
Rosena held out a handkerchief in her hand.
It was a Herbetian greeting to pray for a safe return.
“Have a safe trip.”
Yerhan, who was handed the handkerchief, folded it carefully into his arms as if he were handling a tiny baby.
“When I come back, it will be around summer, so we’ll go on a trip then.”
“…A trip?”
“The sea would be nice.”
Rosena blinked. Not long ago, she thought of wanting to travel to the sea, and now, he made this suggestion as if he had read her mind.
Rosena hesitated and nodded.
Rosena took a step back to watch Yerhan leave, and she could feel the eyes of others.
Rosena belatedly realized that they were waiting for her.
There was a custom in Herbet, and that is for a wife to kiss her husband who would be away for a long time.
Rosena hesitated, then raised herself, going on her tiptoes, because she could not omit the custom in front of everyone.
She tried to place her lips lightly, but Yerhan wrapped his hands around her waist.
Their bodies became closer, and a deep kiss continued.
The people watching swallowed their saliva.
His lips slowly fell off when he felt suffocated. Feeling the remaining warmth, he whispered.
“I’ll have the rest after I get back.”
His words made Rosena’s cheeks red like a tomato planted in the backyard.
Yerhan climbed onto the horse again.
The men in black followed him and turned their backs.
Along the garden, Yerhan moved away little by little.
The red cloak blew in the wind, and the sparkling blonde gradually blurred the view.
Rosena watched his footsteps for a long time, until he was completely gone.
***
Three days had passed since Yerhan left the Imperial Palace.
Rosena, as usual, got up early in the morning and started the day eating with Illian.
Unlike other Imperial Palaces, the Third Prince Palace was still quiet today.
The employees split up to do their jobs, and Illian went to class.
Having time to herself, Rosena wrote in her diary while drinking fragrant flower tea.
The sound of a pen scratching paper quietly filled the space.
When the flower floating on the teacup sank, Rosena put down her pen.
“Have they received the letter by now?”
Rosena briefly recalled sending a letter to Astania.
Rosena’s letter may have arrived at the marquisate by now.
Rosena stared blankly at the window.
Now that she was here, what happened in Astania felt like a dream.
No worries, no one to hate, just happiness.
That was why Rosena was trying to get back there.
Rosena, staring from the window, looked around the empty bedroom.
She didn’t think it was that big before, but today it looked spacious and lonely.
Rosena felt a vacancy of Yerhan as the day went by.
Rosena, who finished writing her diary, muttered to herself.
“Let’s go on a picnic today.”
Rosena immediately got up and headed to the restaurant.
Rosena, who prepared a simple lunch box, headed to Illian who was in the study room.
Maybe the class finished as Illian’s teacher was walking down the hall.
“Hello.”
Grior smiled at Rosena’s greeting. He lifted up his glasses and greeted her politely.
“Is the child following the class well?”
There was silence at the moment. Grior trembled lightly and smiled.
“Of course. Language class is also going smoothly.”
“That’s a relief.”
As Rosena smiled, Grior’s face turned a little red.
Grior smiled upon the thought of having to say something.
Then, from Grior’s back came Illian’s voice.
“Mom!”
Illian jumped in and held Rosena’s skirt.
Rosena hugged Illian in her arms.
“Illian, don’t run in the hallway.”
Illian said ‘yes’ in a quiet voice.
Illian, whose face was buried in her skirt, turned his head and looked at Grior.
Unlike his cute voice, Illian’s eyes were sharp and seemed to ask what he was doing.
“I, I’ll be going now.”
In a flash, Grior, who followed Illian’s cue, said goodbye to Rosena.
Grior walked out of the palace, and Rosena said, looking at Illian clung to her skirt.
“Shall we go on a picnic today?”
“Picnic?”
Illian looked up reflexively as soon as he heard the word ‘picnic’.
Rosena burst into a smile at the sight.
“Let’s go!”
“Let’s go now.”
Rosena held the mat and the lunchbox in one hand, and held Illian’s hand in the other.
Rosena, who escaped the Prince Palace, headed to the back of the Imperial Palace fortress.
Outside the Imperial Palace fortress, there was a forest, and there was a lake at the boundary point.
As the Imperial Palace was so big, there was even a lake in it.
Rosena, who discovered the lake when Yerhan showed a map of the Imperial Palace fortress before, vowed to go there once.
Rosena traced her memory of the map and headed to the lake.
Although it was her first time, she found it easier than she thought. As if she had ever been here.
“Ah….”
Rosena looked at the lake. Roses were blooming around the round lake.
The view created by red roses and blue lake was magnificent.
The sunlight penetrated through the leaves, tearing the surface of the lake.
Looking at the calm lake that glistened like jewels, she felt sad.
As if she had found something that she had forgotten for a long time, a sense of longing settled.
“Mom?”
Illian called for Rosena. Rosena, who had been standing idly for a long time, came to her senses belatedly.
Rosena was unable to take her eyes off the lake as she unfolded the mat.
It’s definitely her first time here, but why is it so familiar? What’s the familiar feeling that was as if she had been here a few times?
While Illian enjoyed his lunch, Rosena just looked at the lake.
The longer she gazed at it, the more she felt like she was going to smile, but she also felt like she was going to cry soon.
Rosena shook her head, thinking it was weird.
The wind blew and the sound of the leaves fluttering spread.
“?”
Rosena heard a mixture of laughter and looked around to see if anyone was there, but there was no one but Illian and her.
In a strange mood, Rosena stared for a long time at the far side of the lake, a rose-filled lake.
***
Rosena, who returned to the palace after a quiet picnic, finished all her work for today.
Rosena returned to her bedroom late at night after putting Illian to sleep.
She wanted to sleep with Illian, but she was going to follow the nanny’s advice that it would be good to develop a habit of sleeping separately from now on.
Lying on a large bed, Rosena aimlessly stared at the ceiling.
She felt left alone in a dark space.
It was just a short time, but she seemed to have adapted to being with Yerhan.
Rosena swept the empty side with her hand once. Then she fell asleep slowly.
***
Rosena was standing on the side of the road.
There were buildings in front of her that she had never seen before.
Along the main road, a wheelbarrow loaded with pebbles passed by, and each person in strange clothes was on his own way.
Rosena blinked slowly.
She fell asleep just now, and it felt like she was in a dream, but it was like reality.
Rosena walked slowly, thinking it was amazing.
Then, the door of the building opposite Rosena opened.
– Get the hell out of here, you monster.
A big guy, swearing, threw someone out. And the man shut the door coldly.
Rosena, who watched the scene, slowly approached the fallen person.
It was a boy who grew his hair shaggy.
Rosena tried to ask if he was all right. But her voice didn’t come out like a faucet with a tight throat.
She was forced to reach out to the boy, and Rosena’s finger passed through the boy’s shoulder.
Rosena took a step back in surprise.
Rosena moved her fingers, trying to pick up a rock that was rolling on the floor just in case.
But the stone remained untouched.
Only then did Rosena realize there was nothing she could do here.
The boy lying on the floor rose from his seat.
A dirty stray dog approached the boy who was crouching and wiping the dust off from himself.
The boy stroked the dog’s back.
However, the people passing by looked at the boy with disdain. It was as if they were looking at someone with a plague.
Rosena approached the boy with a pitiful face when she thought of Illian.
The boy covered in a pile of mud was very dirty. Even she couldn’t tell what the original color of his hair was.
As she approached quietly, Rosena patted the boy on the shoulder.
Although untouchable, she wanted to comfort him like this.
A long time later, the boy got up from his seat and started wandering around the village. But there was nowhere who would accept the boy.
The boy grew weary from the constant refusal.
When the dark night came, the boy spent the night in a narrow alley, and wandered around the village again the next day.
Time flew so fast in the dream. As Rosena watched the boy, several nights came and a new sun rose.
The boy, who hadn’t received warmth from anyone, reached a lake in the forest with his tired body.
Fluffy roses and the clear lake spread out like a picture.
“!”
Rosena, who blindly followed the boy, was in surprise.
It was the lake that she went to with Illian during the day.
The boy buried his head in his knees with a weary face.
As the boy cried, the animals that lived in the forest approached, one by one.
Flying birds, squirrels sleeping in trees, and even small things like bugs hovered around the boy.
The boy slid his head up and muttered something to the animals.
Then the animals stayed with the boy as if they understood his words.
The boy could talk to animals like Rosena.
Who the hell is that boy?
It was a dream, but it felt like it really existed, Rosena could not take her eye off the boy.
The boy, who had been crying for a long time, slowly raised his head.
His pupils were revealed through his shaggy hair.
Rosena swallowed her breath upon seeing the boy’s dark navy eyes.
Rosena was well aware of those eyes. It was the eyes Yerhan had when he lost his rationality.
Rustle. Someone’s footsteps were heard, and the boy shrank in surprise.
A small hand popped out between the rich piles of blossoming roses.
– Huh?
A girl appeared through the roses.
The boy tried to back off with great vigilance, but the girl smiled broadly.
– Hi!
That one word broke the boy’s tension at once.
The hesitating boy smiled cautiously as if to imitate the girl.
A voice from somewhere came to Rosena’s ears.
‘This is the past that the Rosenas should inherit and remember.’
