Rosena blinked. She couldn’t figure out why she was asking for her time.
Rosena nodded when she recalled her appearance at the tea party a while ago.
“We can’t stand and talk… so would you like to come to my palace?”
There were many ears around in the Imperial Palace.
If they talked anywhere, rumors would spread quickly.
Rosena and Ibella headed to the Third Prince Palace.
Meanwhile, Rosena was enveloped in a strange feeling. It was because she had never invited anyone to the Third Prince Palace before.
And to think, the first person would be the marchioness whom she had just met today.
The two entered the Third Prince Palace through the main gate.
Ibella, following Rosena, looked around.
Starting from the main gate, it seemed like she had fallen into a world other than the Imperial Palace.
If the Second Prince Palace’s garden was perfectly organized and felt artificial, the Third Prince Palace’s garden was natural.
It was in perfect harmony, from the unknown wild flowers to the early summer scenery.
“…It’s so beautiful.”
Ibella’s sheer admiration was not mixed with any pretense.
Rosena, who was quietly leading the way, replied,
“Thank you. I’m working on the garden myself.”
“Your Highness did?”
Ibella looked surprised. The garden of the Third Prince Palace retained its natural beauty, perhaps because it resembled Rosena.
The two slowly made their way to the palace, going through the garden. It was the smallest and most simple palace among the many buildings of the Imperial Palace fortress, but the meticulous touch gave it a unique charm.
Entering the Prince Palace, Ibella realized that the palace was too quiet.
Only a minimal number of employees were quietly passing by.
“We have a minimum number of people in order to cut the budget.”
Ibella nodded at Rosena’s explanation.
She had already heard rumors that the palace of the third prince was abandoned even though it’s part of the Imperial Palace.
However, when she visited in person, it seemed that the budget was tight enough that there was no attendant to meet them.
Passing through the quiet hallway, Rosena opened the door to the living room.
Unlike the living rooms of the nobles, which were full of extravagant objects, the living room of the Third Prince Palace was practical and neat.
“Please have a seat.”
As Ibella sat across from her, Rosena asked the servant to bring her tea.
Ibella, who was paying close attention to Rosena’s attitude toward her servants, had a strange expression on her face.
Shortly after, the servant returned with teacups and tea.
Ibella looked down at the teacup in front of her.
“?”
The teacup placed in front of her was a collection by a craftsman who was said to be difficult to find even if she paid a lot of money.
Selling just one of them would be enough to keep ten servants for a year.
Ibella looked around for a moment.
She had been thinking about it for a while. The living room looked neat and simple, but in reality, each piece in it was made of the highest quality.
What the hell is this place?
Ibella looked down at the teacup with a very strange look on her face, and a servant approached and poured her tea.
Ibella, who quietly sipped a cup of tea, looked up. It was definitely black tea, but it tasted unique.
Ibella knew this taste. It was almost like a tea given before by a man who said he was from Astania.
“Is this Astanian black tea?”
Rosena put the teacup down in surprise at her words.
Ibella was the only one who ever recognized this tea.
“How did you know?”
“I had a relationship with a man from Astania.”
Rosena recalled Astania for a moment.
A golden island with a deep blue sea. Rosena liked the relaxation and serenity there.
As the sun goes down, the sea is soaked in a red hue, and emotions that couldn’t be expressed in words welled up in her.
Even after returning to the empire, she often drank Astanian tea when she missed that time.
Ibella, who was watching quietly, asked carefully.
“Is Your Highness also acquainted with the Astanians?”
“That’s right.”
Not enough to be just acquainted with, she lived there herself for years.
But Rosena did not mention it. It wasn’t good for others to know that she had been in Astania for a long time.
Rosena evoked the subject of the conversation.
“So why did Madam find me?”
“Maybe it’s a little sudden, but…”
Ibella looked at Rosena with straight eyes and opened her mouth as if determined.
“I want to be your person.”
“…You want to be my person?”
Ibella nodded when Rosena asked back with a face as if she had misheard.
Rosena was speechless for a moment. Ibella was the only one who had asked her this.
Considering the way Asilia treated Ibella earlier, Rosena was sure she came from a decent family.
Rosena, who was agonizing over what to do, opened her mouth with difficulty.
“I’m sorry. I can’t be of any strength.”
Rosena and Asilia were the same princesses, but they were treated so differently.
That was because Rosena had no power to speak of.
“Or if you want to have a relationship with the royal family…”
“That’s not what I want.”
Ibella shook her head. Despite Rosena’s refusal, she still looked at her directly.
“Will you listen to my story?”
“…All right.”
When Rosena agreed, Ibella fiddled with the teacup and slowly retorted.
“I’m ashamed to say it with my own mouth… but my family was famous for wealth in the Western Territory.”
“……”
“I’m the only daughter, so I grew up with nothing lacking, and everyone worked hard to look good to me.”
It could be felt that Ibella was simply reciting the truth, not flaunting.
“Living in a world full of pretense, I felt skeptical. And without realizing it, I built a wall between myself and others.”
Ibella, who continued to speak calmly, lowered her head as if embarrassed.
“So far, I’ve thought that unlike others, I’m looking at people without prejudice.”
When Ibella paused, Rosena waited silently.
She spoke in a small, trembling voice.
“But I felt ashamed of myself today. I realized that I was looking at Your Highness in the same way as anyone else, relying on rumors.”
Today, Ibella came to the tea party for the first time because of her father’s request to meet the third princess.
She didn’t know why Asilia was obsessively sending her an invitation, so she was going to show her face at least once.
When Rosena first appeared at the tea party, Ibella was a little surprised. Because, contrary to the rumors, she was calm and elegant.
Rosena was quiet throughout the tea party. She could feel that everyone was ignoring Rosena on purpose, it was utter disgrace. She just ate a little food as if she was merely going to fill her seat.
Ibella thought that Rosena was interesting, but she had no pride.
She seemed accustomed to being looked down on by the second princess.
But before long, Ibella’s thoughts were shattered.
Countess Levita couldn’t read the mood and praised Rosena’s dress.
In a glance, Asilia and her dolls turned away from the countess. Ibella thought it was childish, but she didn’t bother to intervene. Because she didn’t want to exert herself and tire out to help someone she wasn’t even close to.
But Rosena was different. She had been calm about being ignored.
Yet when Countess Levita was in trouble, she came forward without hesitation and criticized Asilia.
Rosena’s attitude was confident even though Asilia might retaliate later, and Ibella, who was sitting on the sidelines, was belatedly ashamed.
As soon as Rosena took Countess Levita out, Ibella thought.
This is the person I want to be with forever.
“I want to be your strength.”
Rosena was silent when she spoke frankly. It had been a long time since she bumped into someone as sincere as this.
Looking into Ibella’s eyes that contained no traces of deceit made her feel at ease.
Everyone fretted because they couldn’t pull Rosena down, but not as much as Ibella.
“All right.”
Rosena nodded and smiled lightly.
“Then let’s be friends.”
Ibella opened her eyes wide at the words. Rosena burst into a small laugh as she looked at her surprised face.
Maybe she could get along really well with Ibella. Rosena whispered with a smile.
“You’re just in time, I often wish I had someone to talk to.”
Ibella smiled slowly at Rosena’s words.
***
Several horses were led by the black horse through the forest.
The sound of horses galloping echoed and the cool wind whirled through the dense trees.
It was a region bordering the central and northern regions, and the climate was colder than the central region.
By the time the setting sun began to cover the white winter trees, the black horse running in the lead stopped.
Yerhan, who was holding the reins and soothing the horse, stopped completely and told the knights who followed him.
“We’re going to sleep here tonight.”
The faces of the knights were filled with joy. They felt grateful to be able to rest before nightfall.
Everyone scattered into the forest, gathered firewood and set up tents.
Today was the 15th day since they left the Imperial Palace. The knights of Tiriad and Yerhan were on their way north to get to Haylor in the shortest possible time.
He was forcing himself to make a path that originally didn’t exist, so many things happened in the process.
Before he knew it, he heard the crackling sound of burning fire. The knights took dried meat and hardened bread out of the bag.
As Yelvin began to boil the soup, Yerhan took a piece of letter paper and pen out of his bag.
The knights glanced at Yerhan. They had seen that for days now, but they were still not used to it.
Yerhan looked much more serious than when dealing with monsters.
Holding a pen, Yerhan stared at the letter paper for a long time.
For 15 days he wrote a letter every day, but in the end, he did not send a single letter to Rosena.
The letter paper that had filled his bags was now about to run out.
“The meal is ready!”
The knights gathered with Crayle’s loud voice. As the knights sat around the pile of firewood, Elsid, the deputy commander, approached Yerhan.
“Finish it after you eat.”
But Yerhan did not budge. Elsid was determined to use the last resort.
“I’m sure that person will like it when she sees you doing this.”
At those words, Yerhan’s shoulders flinched.
Yerhan, who slowly put down his pen, rose from his seat, sweeping his hair up. As he headed toward the campfire where the knights were gathered, Elsid sneaked a look at the letter paper.
The letter paper was clean and unspoiled. Yerhan had been thinking for a long time without writing a single word. It was the first time Yerhan had trouble writing a letter.
Everyone put down a dark cloak and started to eat.
It was the same menu for 15 days, but they were grateful that they could just eat without complaining.
This was also possible because Yerhan became very flexible.
Yelvin and Crayle quarreled over the remaining soup, and a small sound came from inside the woods.
At the same time, everyone put their hands on the swords.
It was a small voice that could be considered as just the sound of the wind, but no one let it away.
The sound got closer, and the knights pulled out the sword. Soon someone ran out of the dark forest.
“Sa, save…”
The tearful man reached out urgently. The man who came out of the forest tripped and rolled on the floor.
Yerhan and the knights pointed their swords at him, at the same time the man slowly raised his head.
A harsh sound of breathing came from the dark forest.
With rumbling sounds from the ground, the trees snapped as if they were thin branches. It was a beast-type monster that seemed to be a mix between a wild boar and a bear that came out of the trees, its arms snapping them.
His nose was flat, almost empty, and the fire on his forehead looked bizarre.
The man who fell on the floor trembled and looked up at the monster. The man’s face was already filled with despair.
And it was the moment he gave up everything.
Yerhan, standing behind the man, held the sword and jumped forward. In an instant, Yerhan’s back grew distant, and the man stared blankly at it.
Yerhan looked too small to deal with a large monster that seemed to require dozens of men to be put together. But Yerhan dug inexorably through the trees.
As he disappeared in the white trees and darkness, the monster began to look around.
Soon, the monster swung its huge arm as if it was going to break everything around it. When the tree broke and fell sideways, the sword popped out of the tree reflecting the moonlight.
The blue sword quickly cut down the legs of the monster. A thick green liquid bursted, and the monster shrieked and sank.
Yerhan stepped on the tree quickly without stopping and climbed up.
Yerhan, who soared high in the sky, covered the bright moon. As if a lunar eclipse had taken place, the shadow fell, and the sword dug deep into the top of the monster.
The giant body of the monster collapsed and no more screams were heard.
“……”
The man stared blankly at Yerhan. It was as if he was dreaming.
He thought he’d be wiped out, but on the contrary, he killed the monster.
It was also a perfect kill.
“Check it out.”
Yerhan said, wiping the sword with a handkerchief.
The knights approached the spot, and Yerhan, who was watching it, frowned when he felt something from below.
As he lowered his head slowly, he noticed a man was holding on to his pants.
“What is it?”
Yerhan asked with a cold face.
Then the man asked cautiously in a trembling voice.
“A-Are you Your Highness, the Crown Prince?”
Rosena blinked. She couldn’t figure out why she was asking for her time.
Rosena nodded when she recalled her appearance at the tea party a while ago.
“We can’t stand and talk… so would you like to come to my palace?”
There were many ears around in the Imperial Palace.
If they talked anywhere, rumors would spread quickly.
Rosena and Ibella headed to the Third Prince Palace.
Meanwhile, Rosena was enveloped in a strange feeling. It was because she had never invited anyone to the Third Prince Palace before.
And to think, the first person would be the marchioness whom she had just met today.
The two entered the Third Prince Palace through the main gate.
Ibella, following Rosena, looked around.
Starting from the main gate, it seemed like she had fallen into a world other than the Imperial Palace.
If the Second Prince Palace’s garden was perfectly organized and felt artificial, the Third Prince Palace’s garden was natural.
It was in perfect harmony, from the unknown wild flowers to the early summer scenery.
“…It’s so beautiful.”
Ibella’s sheer admiration was not mixed with any pretense.
Rosena, who was quietly leading the way, replied,
“Thank you. I’m working on the garden myself.”
“Your Highness did?”
Ibella looked surprised. The garden of the Third Prince Palace retained its natural beauty, perhaps because it resembled Rosena.
The two slowly made their way to the palace, going through the garden. It was the smallest and most simple palace among the many buildings of the Imperial Palace fortress, but the meticulous touch gave it a unique charm.
Entering the Prince Palace, Ibella realized that the palace was too quiet.
Only a minimal number of employees were quietly passing by.
“We have a minimum number of people in order to cut the budget.”
Ibella nodded at Rosena’s explanation.
She had already heard rumors that the palace of the third prince was abandoned even though it’s part of the Imperial Palace.
However, when she visited in person, it seemed that the budget was tight enough that there was no attendant to meet them.
Passing through the quiet hallway, Rosena opened the door to the living room.
Unlike the living rooms of the nobles, which were full of extravagant objects, the living room of the Third Prince Palace was practical and neat.
“Please have a seat.”
As Ibella sat across from her, Rosena asked the servant to bring her tea.
Ibella, who was paying close attention to Rosena’s attitude toward her servants, had a strange expression on her face.
Shortly after, the servant returned with teacups and tea.
Ibella looked down at the teacup in front of her.
“?”
The teacup placed in front of her was a collection by a craftsman who was said to be difficult to find even if she paid a lot of money.
Selling just one of them would be enough to keep ten servants for a year.
Ibella looked around for a moment.
She had been thinking about it for a while. The living room looked neat and simple, but in reality, each piece in it was made of the highest quality.
What the hell is this place?
Ibella looked down at the teacup with a very strange look on her face, and a servant approached and poured her tea.
Ibella, who quietly sipped a cup of tea, looked up. It was definitely black tea, but it tasted unique.
Ibella knew this taste. It was almost like a tea given before by a man who said he was from Astania.
“Is this Astanian black tea?”
Rosena put the teacup down in surprise at her words.
Ibella was the only one who ever recognized this tea.
“How did you know?”
“I had a relationship with a man from Astania.”
Rosena recalled Astania for a moment.
A golden island with a deep blue sea. Rosena liked the relaxation and serenity there.
As the sun goes down, the sea is soaked in a red hue, and emotions that couldn’t be expressed in words welled up in her.
Even after returning to the empire, she often drank Astanian tea when she missed that time.
Ibella, who was watching quietly, asked carefully.
“Is Your Highness also acquainted with the Astanians?”
“That’s right.”
Not enough to be just acquainted with, she lived there herself for years.
But Rosena did not mention it. It wasn’t good for others to know that she had been in Astania for a long time.
Rosena evoked the subject of the conversation.
“So why did Madam find me?”
“Maybe it’s a little sudden, but…”
Ibella looked at Rosena with straight eyes and opened her mouth as if determined.
“I want to be your person.”
“…You want to be my person?”
Ibella nodded when Rosena asked back with a face as if she had misheard.
Rosena was speechless for a moment. Ibella was the only one who had asked her this.
Considering the way Asilia treated Ibella earlier, Rosena was sure she came from a decent family.
Rosena, who was agonizing over what to do, opened her mouth with difficulty.
“I’m sorry. I can’t be of any strength.”
Rosena and Asilia were the same princesses, but they were treated so differently.
That was because Rosena had no power to speak of.
“Or if you want to have a relationship with the royal family…”
“That’s not what I want.”
Ibella shook her head. Despite Rosena’s refusal, she still looked at her directly.
“Will you listen to my story?”
“…All right.”
When Rosena agreed, Ibella fiddled with the teacup and slowly retorted.
“I’m ashamed to say it with my own mouth… but my family was famous for wealth in the Western Territory.”
“……”
“I’m the only daughter, so I grew up with nothing lacking, and everyone worked hard to look good to me.”
It could be felt that Ibella was simply reciting the truth, not flaunting.
“Living in a world full of pretense, I felt skeptical. And without realizing it, I built a wall between myself and others.”
Ibella, who continued to speak calmly, lowered her head as if embarrassed.
“So far, I’ve thought that unlike others, I’m looking at people without prejudice.”
When Ibella paused, Rosena waited silently.
She spoke in a small, trembling voice.
“But I felt ashamed of myself today. I realized that I was looking at Your Highness in the same way as anyone else, relying on rumors.”
Today, Ibella came to the tea party for the first time because of her father’s request to meet the third princess.
She didn’t know why Asilia was obsessively sending her an invitation, so she was going to show her face at least once.
When Rosena first appeared at the tea party, Ibella was a little surprised. Because, contrary to the rumors, she was calm and elegant.
Rosena was quiet throughout the tea party. She could feel that everyone was ignoring Rosena on purpose, it was utter disgrace. She just ate a little food as if she was merely going to fill her seat.
Ibella thought that Rosena was interesting, but she had no pride.
She seemed accustomed to being looked down on by the second princess.
But before long, Ibella’s thoughts were shattered.
Countess Levita couldn’t read the mood and praised Rosena’s dress.
In a glance, Asilia and her dolls turned away from the countess. Ibella thought it was childish, but she didn’t bother to intervene. Because she didn’t want to exert herself and tire out to help someone she wasn’t even close to.
But Rosena was different. She had been calm about being ignored.
Yet when Countess Levita was in trouble, she came forward without hesitation and criticized Asilia.
Rosena’s attitude was confident even though Asilia might retaliate later, and Ibella, who was sitting on the sidelines, was belatedly ashamed.
As soon as Rosena took Countess Levita out, Ibella thought.
This is the person I want to be with forever.
“I want to be your strength.”
Rosena was silent when she spoke frankly. It had been a long time since she bumped into someone as sincere as this.
Looking into Ibella’s eyes that contained no traces of deceit made her feel at ease.
Everyone fretted because they couldn’t pull Rosena down, but not as much as Ibella.
“All right.”
Rosena nodded and smiled lightly.
“Then let’s be friends.”
Ibella opened her eyes wide at the words. Rosena burst into a small laugh as she looked at her surprised face.
Maybe she could get along really well with Ibella. Rosena whispered with a smile.
“You’re just in time, I often wish I had someone to talk to.”
Ibella smiled slowly at Rosena’s words.
***
Several horses were led by the black horse through the forest.
The sound of horses galloping echoed and the cool wind whirled through the dense trees.
It was a region bordering the central and northern regions, and the climate was colder than the central region.
By the time the setting sun began to cover the white winter trees, the black horse running in the lead stopped.
Yerhan, who was holding the reins and soothing the horse, stopped completely and told the knights who followed him.
“We’re going to sleep here tonight.”
The faces of the knights were filled with joy. They felt grateful to be able to rest before nightfall.
Everyone scattered into the forest, gathered firewood and set up tents.
Today was the 15th day since they left the Imperial Palace. The knights of Tiriad and Yerhan were on their way north to get to Haylor in the shortest possible time.
He was forcing himself to make a path that originally didn’t exist, so many things happened in the process.
Before he knew it, he heard the crackling sound of burning fire. The knights took dried meat and hardened bread out of the bag.
As Yelvin began to boil the soup, Yerhan took a piece of letter paper and pen out of his bag.
The knights glanced at Yerhan. They had seen that for days now, but they were still not used to it.
Yerhan looked much more serious than when dealing with monsters.
Holding a pen, Yerhan stared at the letter paper for a long time.
For 15 days he wrote a letter every day, but in the end, he did not send a single letter to Rosena.
The letter paper that had filled his bags was now about to run out.
“The meal is ready!”
The knights gathered with Crayle’s loud voice. As the knights sat around the pile of firewood, Elsid, the deputy commander, approached Yerhan.
“Finish it after you eat.”
But Yerhan did not budge. Elsid was determined to use the last resort.
“I’m sure that person will like it when she sees you doing this.”
At those words, Yerhan’s shoulders flinched.
Yerhan, who slowly put down his pen, rose from his seat, sweeping his hair up. As he headed toward the campfire where the knights were gathered, Elsid sneaked a look at the letter paper.
The letter paper was clean and unspoiled. Yerhan had been thinking for a long time without writing a single word. It was the first time Yerhan had trouble writing a letter.
Everyone put down a dark cloak and started to eat.
It was the same menu for 15 days, but they were grateful that they could just eat without complaining.
This was also possible because Yerhan became very flexible.
Yelvin and Crayle quarreled over the remaining soup, and a small sound came from inside the woods.
At the same time, everyone put their hands on the swords.
It was a small voice that could be considered as just the sound of the wind, but no one let it away.
The sound got closer, and the knights pulled out the sword. Soon someone ran out of the dark forest.
“Sa, save…”
The tearful man reached out urgently. The man who came out of the forest tripped and rolled on the floor.
Yerhan and the knights pointed their swords at him, at the same time the man slowly raised his head.
A harsh sound of breathing came from the dark forest.
With rumbling sounds from the ground, the trees snapped as if they were thin branches. It was a beast-type monster that seemed to be a mix between a wild boar and a bear that came out of the trees, its arms snapping them.
His nose was flat, almost empty, and the fire on his forehead looked bizarre.
The man who fell on the floor trembled and looked up at the monster. The man’s face was already filled with despair.
And it was the moment he gave up everything.
Yerhan, standing behind the man, held the sword and jumped forward. In an instant, Yerhan’s back grew distant, and the man stared blankly at it.
Yerhan looked too small to deal with a large monster that seemed to require dozens of men to be put together. But Yerhan dug inexorably through the trees.
As he disappeared in the white trees and darkness, the monster began to look around.
Soon, the monster swung its huge arm as if it was going to break everything around it. When the tree broke and fell sideways, the sword popped out of the tree reflecting the moonlight.
The blue sword quickly cut down the legs of the monster. A thick green liquid bursted, and the monster shrieked and sank.
Yerhan stepped on the tree quickly without stopping and climbed up.
Yerhan, who soared high in the sky, covered the bright moon. As if a lunar eclipse had taken place, the shadow fell, and the sword dug deep into the top of the monster.
The giant body of the monster collapsed and no more screams were heard.
“……”
The man stared blankly at Yerhan. It was as if he was dreaming.
He thought he’d be wiped out, but on the contrary, he killed the monster.
It was also a perfect kill.
“Check it out.”
Yerhan said, wiping the sword with a handkerchief.
The knights approached the spot, and Yerhan, who was watching it, frowned when he felt something from below.
As he lowered his head slowly, he noticed a man was holding on to his pants.
“What is it?”
Yerhan asked with a cold face.
Then the man asked cautiously in a trembling voice.
“A-Are you Your Highness, the Crown Prince?”
