It was not until a little while later when she came to her senses. Her schedule was tighter than she thought. Valia got very anxious. When she had to leave as a lady-in-waiting of the Imperial Family in the past, she was given two weeks to sort out everything. But this time she had to leave tonight.
Valia’s head was about to explode. She cleaned the house first; she took out the trash, locked the window, and wrote down a letter for Carl to read when he came back, putting it on the table. Then, she packed her luggage. Perhaps because she did not have anything to pack, she finished with a small bundle that she could hold with one hand.
Then she waited calmly.
Perhaps it was because she was nervous, but she was not hungry, she did not even have time to cook anything. She thought it was good that she had eaten the sandwich and lemonade earlier. If it were not for that, she would not have had the energy to go on.
[Let’s go.]
It was a common carriage that came to pick up Valia. As she got on the carriage, she began to have doubts. There was only one reason for that; the process was quieter than she thought.
In the past, the rumor about the lady who volunteered to be the temple princess began to spread even before she became the Marchioness. Volunteering for this questionable temple princess recruitment would have been interesting enough in itself, but compared to her situation now, it was a lot different. No matter how good a rumor is, it has to be known for it to spread around. Leaving so quietly in the middle of a night like this made her wonder how the rumor had spread so widely back then.
‘What’s the difference between the past Marchioness and me?’
However, the conditions of the temple princess written in the letter were the same as in the past and present. The conditions were so concise that Valia remembered it all. After thinking thoroughly about it, she suddenly had a terrifying thought.
‘…I’m the only candidate, aren’t I?’
What if it turned out that a lot of ladies volunteered as temple princess, but they could not be selected because they did not meet some critical conditions? And they were offered as living sacrifices to keep their mouths shut. All sorts of stories that would make Carl make fun of her had he heard it fill Valia’s head.
When she was at the height of her anxiety, the carriage arrived at the royal palace. Valia was led by the ladies-in-waiting who were waiting for her.
Then, her flashback ended.
“When you sleep with His Majesty, you must not injure His Majesty’s body or face. And you cannot push His Majesty’s body…”
One thing Valia realized while bathing was that these ladies-in-waiting thought she was a woman who would sleep with the King. That was the reason why they scrubbed her body so softly. Even though Valia did not know for sure, she felt that this was part of the disguise so she just quietly nodded. Walking on eggshells while working at the Imperial Palace in the past became useful at this time.
“Now, raise your arm.”
It was the royal law to only have the most minimal conversation with those who would sleep with the King, so the ladies-in-waiting did not say anything more than necessary to Valia. It was a good thing for Valia. It was her first time wearing such a seductive outfit so her eyes were spinning around. She kept her mouth shut until the ladies-in-waiting finished adjusting her dress. Then, she opened her mouth carefully.
“Hmm, is this the dress? Nothing else to wear?”
“Yes, because you’re going to sleep with His Majesty. By the way, when you wake up in the morning, you can change into the clothes that are hanging at the feet of the bed.”
“Oh, yes…”
Valia hid her reluctance and nodded. Rather than a dress, it was more like a nightgown, no, a little well-dressed underwear. The lace on the hem was bright and the thin ribbons were pretty, but the problem was that the fabric was thin and translucent, showing her skin. But what could she do? Just because Valia said she did not like the dress, it did not mean they would dress her in other clothes.
When she kept her mouth shut, the ladies-in-waiting adorned Valia with skillful touches. She was put on light makeup and her hair was braided in half. Valia could roughly guess the preference of the King whom she had never even seen before.
“You can just wait here. You remember the precautions, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Then, we will take our leave.”
The ladies-in-waiting took Valia to a spacious bedroom before closing its door. Valia, who was left alone, breathed out loudly only then. It did not occur to her that the real King would come.
Then, how long do I have to stay here?
Valia wandered around the bedroom to calm her tension. Perhaps because it was the royal palace, it was decorated with many beautiful porcelain and paintings, but they did not jump to her eyes.
Then, she felt people approaching and turned around. Opening her eyes wide, before Valia were knights wearing white armor and blue capes who splendidly came in. They were the knights of the kingdom. Knights living in the palace would have a high status, so Valia contemplated for a moment whether to lower her head or not. If the attendant who came in with them had not opened his mouth, Valia would have bowed.
“Milady, we don’t have much time. These are the knights who will escort you.”
“Me?”
“Yes. you may have a lot of questions, but I also only know a limited number of things… For the time being, they will keep you safe, so don’t worry.”
Valia nodded. It was as the attendant said. Even if she asked him, he would not know anything. This was organized by the Imperial family of the Empire, so an attendant of the Kingdom couldn’t know about it.
Valia obediently took off a step. A knight’s blue cloak was draped like a shawl over her shoulder as she exited through the back door of the Royal Palace.
“Get in, milady.”
The knights were polite but taciturn. She wanted to ask where she was going, but it seemed obvious that they would not give an answer. Valia was escorted by a knight and got into the carriage. She thought they would ride in the carriage together, but the knights got on their horses. Valia was the only one in the wide carriage. She leaned her back against the carriage seat and pondered.
‘I’m probably heading to the capital of the Gel Empire.’
Whether it was meeting the Marquess, going to the temple, or going to the Imperial Palace, in the end, the destination was the Gel Empire.
‘Who will show up?’
Her heart was pounding with anxiety and a few expectations. Valia was absorbed in her thoughts and slowly closed her eyes. Soon, she fell asleep.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
Valia woke up at daybreak. Time had passed more than she thought. The carriage was still running nonstop. She wondered where they were at. Valia opened the window. A cool breeze blew in and blew her long hair. There were still knights riding next to the window. Valia, who looked at them thoughtlessly, frowned.
‘Something is different.’
The blue cape and white armor remained the same. Although they were similar in physique, something was different. After contorting her eyebrows, Valia looked at what had changed. Her eyes reached their swords. A light flashed in her eyes. Just in time, she made eye contact with the knight next to her. The knight followed near the carriage and asked.
“What’s the matter, milady?”
“You’re not the knight of the Kingdom.”
“Pardon?”
Valia was raised by Carl, a mercenary, and afterward, although it was informal, she had an experience of holding a sword and had quite a bit of common sense about swords. She could tell the difference between the handle of a basket-hilted sword and a Walloon sword. The knights of the Kingdom were wearing Walloon swords, but now these knights were wearing basket-hilted swords. Each weapon was never replaced as the other’s secondary weapon. In other words, these knights were not the knights who came to pick her up.
“I have been with you since the Kingdom, milady. Maybe you did not see me because I was in the back.”
The knight explained calmly without being nervous. He had memorized the affairs of this lady’s kingdom, not only about the present Kingdom, he even memorized the birthday of the first King. No matter what she asked, he was confident he could answer it without hesitation and would clear her doubts. But she brought up something completely different.
“I must have been mistaken. But do you remember the purple flower I asked you to pick up when we took a break? All the knights were there.”
The knight was wondering after listening to Valia.
‘That’s weird. I didn’t hear any report saying they took a break. They only said that the lady might be tired because of the long journey.’
Probably because it was a short break, the knights of the Kingdom omitted it at their own discretion. The knight judged so and gave his answer without making it obvious.
“Of course. I also saw it. You liked the flower. Did the flower already wither?”
Valia burst into laughter.
“What are you talking about? I never asked anyone to pick a flower for me.”
“Pardon?”
The knight’s confusedness could be felt even beyond his armor. Valia smiled and reassured him.
“Even if the knights have changed, I won’t run away, so rest assured.”
The knight took a sigh of relief that he had held in. It was because he was nervous about the chance of the lady bursting into tears. Not just a lady, anyone who knew that the knights that were escorting them had changed would be scared and nervous.
Contrary to the knight’s worries, Valia had no complaints. She would occasionally stick her head out of the window, look outside and then go back into the carriage.
“Milady, are you not tired?”
It was a break after a long time during the long carriage trip. They had an order to arrive as soon as possible, so the break was kept to a minimum. Valia moved her stiff body around and looked back. Unlike the knights earlier, he was a man who looked older. He seemed to be the leader of these knights. Valia shook her head.
“I’m fine.”
“We’re almost there, so cheer up.”
“Yes, you too.”
Valia was resolute. Needless to say, she originally had good stamina. When she was young, she was scolded for breaking the wall while swinging and playing with Carl’s mace. The knight’s eyes opened slightly. He had a thought that Valia was not like a young noble lady.
“But, the liege for the previous knight was the King. Who is the liege of this knight?”
As soon as the knight had that thought, the lady caught him off guard. Shaun, the knight commander, already heard about what happened earlier and cleared his throat.
“Don’t worry too much. We’re not taking you to a dangerous place.”
“Is that so?”
Fortunately, the lady did not ask him more. Shaun breathed a sigh of relief and changed the topic.
“You have to eat. Where would you like to eat? Do you want me to bring it to the carriage?”
“The knights over there have already set up a bonfire. Can’t I eat there? Would that be rude?”
“It’s not like that. I’m asking about your opinion because I thought it would be awkward for a lady to eat with the knights.”
Valia treated Carl, who was a mercenary, like family. What’s the big deal about eating with knights? But above all, Valia wanted to minimize the time to enter the square carriage.
She smiled.
“I’m fine. Let’s eat together.
It was not until a little while later when she came to her senses. Her schedule was tighter than she thought. Valia got very anxious. When she had to leave as a lady-in-waiting of the Imperial Family in the past, she was given two weeks to sort out everything. But this time she had to leave tonight.
Valia’s head was about to explode. She cleaned the house first; she took out the trash, locked the window, and wrote down a letter for Carl to read when he came back, putting it on the table. Then, she packed her luggage. Perhaps because she did not have anything to pack, she finished with a small bundle that she could hold with one hand.
Then she waited calmly.
Perhaps it was because she was nervous, but she was not hungry, she did not even have time to cook anything. She thought it was good that she had eaten the sandwich and lemonade earlier. If it were not for that, she would not have had the energy to go on.
[Let’s go.]
It was a common carriage that came to pick up Valia. As she got on the carriage, she began to have doubts. There was only one reason for that; the process was quieter than she thought.
In the past, the rumor about the lady who volunteered to be the temple princess began to spread even before she became the Marchioness. Volunteering for this questionable temple princess recruitment would have been interesting enough in itself, but compared to her situation now, it was a lot different. No matter how good a rumor is, it has to be known for it to spread around. Leaving so quietly in the middle of a night like this made her wonder how the rumor had spread so widely back then.
‘What’s the difference between the past Marchioness and me?’
However, the conditions of the temple princess written in the letter were the same as in the past and present. The conditions were so concise that Valia remembered it all. After thinking thoroughly about it, she suddenly had a terrifying thought.
‘…I’m the only candidate, aren’t I?’
What if it turned out that a lot of ladies volunteered as temple princess, but they could not be selected because they did not meet some critical conditions? And they were offered as living sacrifices to keep their mouths shut. All sorts of stories that would make Carl make fun of her had he heard it fill Valia’s head.
When she was at the height of her anxiety, the carriage arrived at the royal palace. Valia was led by the ladies-in-waiting who were waiting for her.
Then, her flashback ended.
“When you sleep with His Majesty, you must not injure His Majesty’s body or face. And you cannot push His Majesty’s body…”
One thing Valia realized while bathing was that these ladies-in-waiting thought she was a woman who would sleep with the King. That was the reason why they scrubbed her body so softly. Even though Valia did not know for sure, she felt that this was part of the disguise so she just quietly nodded. Walking on eggshells while working at the Imperial Palace in the past became useful at this time.
“Now, raise your arm.”
It was the royal law to only have the most minimal conversation with those who would sleep with the King, so the ladies-in-waiting did not say anything more than necessary to Valia. It was a good thing for Valia. It was her first time wearing such a seductive outfit so her eyes were spinning around. She kept her mouth shut until the ladies-in-waiting finished adjusting her dress. Then, she opened her mouth carefully.
“Hmm, is this the dress? Nothing else to wear?”
“Yes, because you’re going to sleep with His Majesty. By the way, when you wake up in the morning, you can change into the clothes that are hanging at the feet of the bed.”
“Oh, yes…”
Valia hid her reluctance and nodded. Rather than a dress, it was more like a nightgown, no, a little well-dressed underwear. The lace on the hem was bright and the thin ribbons were pretty, but the problem was that the fabric was thin and translucent, showing her skin. But what could she do? Just because Valia said she did not like the dress, it did not mean they would dress her in other clothes.
When she kept her mouth shut, the ladies-in-waiting adorned Valia with skillful touches. She was put on light makeup and her hair was braided in half. Valia could roughly guess the preference of the King whom she had never even seen before.
“You can just wait here. You remember the precautions, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Then, we will take our leave.”
The ladies-in-waiting took Valia to a spacious bedroom before closing its door. Valia, who was left alone, breathed out loudly only then. It did not occur to her that the real King would come.
Then, how long do I have to stay here?
Valia wandered around the bedroom to calm her tension. Perhaps because it was the royal palace, it was decorated with many beautiful porcelain and paintings, but they did not jump to her eyes.
Then, she felt people approaching and turned around. Opening her eyes wide, before Valia were knights wearing white armor and blue capes who splendidly came in. They were the knights of the kingdom. Knights living in the palace would have a high status, so Valia contemplated for a moment whether to lower her head or not. If the attendant who came in with them had not opened his mouth, Valia would have bowed.
“Milady, we don’t have much time. These are the knights who will escort you.”
“Me?”
“Yes. you may have a lot of questions, but I also only know a limited number of things… For the time being, they will keep you safe, so don’t worry.”
Valia nodded. It was as the attendant said. Even if she asked him, he would not know anything. This was organized by the Imperial family of the Empire, so an attendant of the Kingdom couldn’t know about it.
Valia obediently took off a step. A knight’s blue cloak was draped like a shawl over her shoulder as she exited through the back door of the Royal Palace.
“Get in, milady.”
The knights were polite but taciturn. She wanted to ask where she was going, but it seemed obvious that they would not give an answer. Valia was escorted by a knight and got into the carriage. She thought they would ride in the carriage together, but the knights got on their horses. Valia was the only one in the wide carriage. She leaned her back against the carriage seat and pondered.
‘I’m probably heading to the capital of the Gel Empire.’
Whether it was meeting the Marquess, going to the temple, or going to the Imperial Palace, in the end, the destination was the Gel Empire.
‘Who will show up?’
Her heart was pounding with anxiety and a few expectations. Valia was absorbed in her thoughts and slowly closed her eyes. Soon, she fell asleep.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
Valia woke up at daybreak. Time had passed more than she thought. The carriage was still running nonstop. She wondered where they were at. Valia opened the window. A cool breeze blew in and blew her long hair. There were still knights riding next to the window. Valia, who looked at them thoughtlessly, frowned.
‘Something is different.’
The blue cape and white armor remained the same. Although they were similar in physique, something was different. After contorting her eyebrows, Valia looked at what had changed. Her eyes reached their swords. A light flashed in her eyes. Just in time, she made eye contact with the knight next to her. The knight followed near the carriage and asked.
“What’s the matter, milady?”
“You’re not the knight of the Kingdom.”
“Pardon?”
Valia was raised by Carl, a mercenary, and afterward, although it was informal, she had an experience of holding a sword and had quite a bit of common sense about swords. She could tell the difference between the handle of a basket-hilted sword and a Walloon sword. The knights of the Kingdom were wearing Walloon swords, but now these knights were wearing basket-hilted swords. Each weapon was never replaced as the other’s secondary weapon. In other words, these knights were not the knights who came to pick her up.
“I have been with you since the Kingdom, milady. Maybe you did not see me because I was in the back.”
The knight explained calmly without being nervous. He had memorized the affairs of this lady’s kingdom, not only about the present Kingdom, he even memorized the birthday of the first King. No matter what she asked, he was confident he could answer it without hesitation and would clear her doubts. But she brought up something completely different.
“I must have been mistaken. But do you remember the purple flower I asked you to pick up when we took a break? All the knights were there.”
The knight was wondering after listening to Valia.
‘That’s weird. I didn’t hear any report saying they took a break. They only said that the lady might be tired because of the long journey.’
Probably because it was a short break, the knights of the Kingdom omitted it at their own discretion. The knight judged so and gave his answer without making it obvious.
“Of course. I also saw it. You liked the flower. Did the flower already wither?”
Valia burst into laughter.
“What are you talking about? I never asked anyone to pick a flower for me.”
“Pardon?”
The knight’s confusedness could be felt even beyond his armor. Valia smiled and reassured him.
“Even if the knights have changed, I won’t run away, so rest assured.”
The knight took a sigh of relief that he had held in. It was because he was nervous about the chance of the lady bursting into tears. Not just a lady, anyone who knew that the knights that were escorting them had changed would be scared and nervous.
Contrary to the knight’s worries, Valia had no complaints. She would occasionally stick her head out of the window, look outside and then go back into the carriage.
“Milady, are you not tired?”
It was a break after a long time during the long carriage trip. They had an order to arrive as soon as possible, so the break was kept to a minimum. Valia moved her stiff body around and looked back. Unlike the knights earlier, he was a man who looked older. He seemed to be the leader of these knights. Valia shook her head.
“I’m fine.”
“We’re almost there, so cheer up.”
“Yes, you too.”
Valia was resolute. Needless to say, she originally had good stamina. When she was young, she was scolded for breaking the wall while swinging and playing with Carl’s mace. The knight’s eyes opened slightly. He had a thought that Valia was not like a young noble lady.
“But, the liege for the previous knight was the King. Who is the liege of this knight?”
As soon as the knight had that thought, the lady caught him off guard. Shaun, the knight commander, already heard about what happened earlier and cleared his throat.
“Don’t worry too much. We’re not taking you to a dangerous place.”
“Is that so?”
Fortunately, the lady did not ask him more. Shaun breathed a sigh of relief and changed the topic.
“You have to eat. Where would you like to eat? Do you want me to bring it to the carriage?”
“The knights over there have already set up a bonfire. Can’t I eat there? Would that be rude?”
“It’s not like that. I’m asking about your opinion because I thought it would be awkward for a lady to eat with the knights.”
Valia treated Carl, who was a mercenary, like family. What’s the big deal about eating with knights? But above all, Valia wanted to minimize the time to enter the square carriage.
She smiled.
“I’m fine. Let’s eat together.
