I’ll protect your hometown too
It was a day like any other.
A day when the autumn sunlight streaming in through the window is warm and the fragrance of the flowers in the vase by the windowsill is fragrant.
“Lady Blinite, would you please raise your arm a little bit?”
The tailor who had been invited to make the wedding dress was wrapping a measuring tape around Riella’s waist.
“What kind of dress would suit you, Lady Blinite?”
“A dress with a full skirt would be very beautiful. However, a fitted design would also be very elegant!”
“No matter what design you wear, you will be the most beautiful in the world!”
The maids were busy today, and some of them even looked a little excited.
But that had become routine ever since the wedding preparations had begun in earnest.
In other words, this was a peace no different from yesterday.
But that made Riella feel even more dizzy.
“Lady Riella.”
At that moment, Lou entered the dressing room.
After returning from the Lake Palace under Riella’s orders, Lu shook her head with a pitiful expression on her face.
‘That means that as of this morning, there has been no news from the kingdom.’
Riella shut her eyes tightly.
‘It’s already been a week since yesterday.’
The end of a week that the Empire gave to the Kingdom.
More precisely, the last chance is given to Greta.
Yet, even though the promised date had arrived, the princess had neither surrendered nor shown herself.
‘Greta… You really….’
Riella felt dizzy and staggered.
Unfortunately, it happened at the worst possible moment.
Just as she raised her hand to press her forehead, the tip of a pin the tailor had just taken out grazed her wrist, leaving a long scratch.
“Ouch!”
“Oh! Oh, no…! Are, are you okay, Lady Blinite?”
The tailor, at a loss, took a step back and trembled with the hand holding the pin.
The maids next to her all opened their eyes wide and ran towards Riella.
“Oh my! Lady Blinite! Are you alright? Your wrist is bleeding!”
But it was just a shallow scratch, with only tiny beads of blood forming.
“You’re bleeding?”
Herhan, who appeared as if he knew about it, made everyone in the dressing room freeze.
“Y-Your Majesty…”
The maids paled as if they were criminals facing judgment.
The one who turned the whitest, of course, was the tailor.
Riela quickly explained before Herhan, who was striding toward her, could say anything.
“It was my fault. I got hurt because I moved.”
“Show me where you hurt, Riella.”
Herhan immediately grabbed Riella’s wrist and held it affectionately.
His eyes, upon seeing the tiny droplets of blood, softened with sorrow.
He lowered his head and, as if kissing the wound, licked the blood away before spitting it out.
Then he turned sharply toward the tailor.
“You dared to shed blood on my empress’s body.”
“I-I have committed an unforgivable sin, Your Majesty!”
“Don’t expect to be able to leave the palace safely on your own two feet today.”
If a look could kill, the tailor would have died on the spot.
Riella quietly hugged Herhan’s waist from behind, who was threatening to kill the tailor, and rested her forehead on his back.
“Your Majesty.”
“…..!”
“I have a headache. I want to rest quietly.”
At those gentle words, Herhan, who had been running wild like a beast, hesitated and immediately calmed down.
Of course, it wasn’t like he had completely let go of his anger towards the tailor.
Herhan dismissed everyone and sent the tailor to wait outside with the guard soldiers.
“What if she was sent here under someone’s orders to attack?”
“Would someone really attack with a pin?”
“There might have been poison in it.”
So that’s why Herrhan had sucked the blood from her wound.
While Riella chuckled softly at the thought, Herhan sighed, admitting to himself that his worries had been excessive.
“It’ll be okay. I checked on her before letting her near you.”
“You’ve been using your abilities all this time, haven’t you?”
“Of course. I have to protect you.”
“Then I should use my purification powers to protect Your Majesty as well.”
Riella turned around and rested her forehead on Herhan’s chest.
Even though it was meant to protect himself, to Herhan, Riella’s figure leaning against him today seemed especially fragile and exhausted.
“Do you have a fever? I think it might be a little bit.”
Herhan’s affectionate hands gently caressed Riella’s cheek.
“Did you overwork yourself this morning? I’ll tell Count Delcour to adjust your afternoon schedule.”
Riela, resting her forehead against him, shook her head.
But she didn’t try to act tough. Instead, she allowed herself to show her exhaustion as she slowly opened her mouth.
“I’m just too angry.”
Only then did Herhan realize why Riella’s complexion was dark.
His eyes landed on a newspaper placed on a table in the corner of the dressing room.
It was from the Kingdom of Riota, something they had deliberately obtained through the embassy.
“There is a riot in the kingdom. The nobles are running away for fear of being involved. The king is absent-minded. Everyone is only thinking about saving their own lives.”
“…..”
“The country was falling apart, and Princess Greta never showed up. She didn’t take any responsibility. How could she be so cowardly?”
Riella freed herself from Herhan’s embrace and continued to vent her anger.
“How can someone like the princess be so irresponsible? It’s so shameful that I once thought my life was ruined because of someone like that!”
More heated words followed.
She ranted about how much she despised Greta, how displeased she was with the kingdom’s leadership, and how innocent citizens were turning into rioters, yet no one seemed to care about their struggles. If she were in Riota, she’d be storming the palace in protest.
“……”
Only after releasing all the frustration that had built up inside her did Riella realize that Herhan was just quietly listening to her without saying anything.
“Did I get too angry….?”
she asked, suddenly feeling self-conscious.
Herhan simply smiled gently in response.
Instead of answering immediately, he took Riella’s hand and softly caressed her skin.
After a long pause, he finally spoke.
“You will make a great empress, Riella.”
She had just been cursing Greta moments ago, and now he was giving her such a compliment?
“You don’t get angry at the wounds on your body, but you do when others are suffering.”
Riella opened her eyes wide and then lowered her head weakly.
“But what’s the point of getting angry? There’s nothing I can do to fix it.”
“Someone will fix it. Don’t worry.”
* * *
That afternoon, there was a tea party with the young ladies Riella had met at the last banquet.
Although it was said to be part of a social gathering, in reality, the gathering’s purpose was to help Riella prepare for her wedding.
“You don’t all have to go this far for me.”
“Oh my. Lady Blinite! How can you say that? This is a royal wedding! It has to be perfect from start to finish. Now, sit down quickly. We have so much to do!”
Riella felt dizzy looking at the dozens of catalogs spread before her.
She had barely survived choosing item thanks to Asion’s advice to stick with Option 1, but the young ladies were much more persistent than the maids had been.
She had no choice but to pick out a few designs and jewels from the many different ones and thought, ‘Finally, it’s over!’
“Huh? We’ve only chosen one tiara so far. There are still about thirty more pieces of jewelry left to pick!”
“Ah, haha. Excuse me for a moment….”
Riella smiled weakly and stepped away for a moment.
She washed her hands, let the cool breeze from the window refresh her, and was about to return to the living room when she overheard the young ladies talking.
“It seems that Lady Blinite is more depressed than usual.”
“Of course. The Kingdom of Riota is in a terrible state right now. Who would be happy when their homeland is in that state?”
“This was a real problem. The king seems to think that disowning the princess is enough to solve this problem, but will it really solve the problem? The royal family would have to step down, and there isn’t even an heir, right?”
“Apparently, even distant relatives have all cut ties and run away.”
“Well, who would want to take charge of a country that is in such a mess?”
The young ladies then agreed they needed to cheer Riella up even more.
‘It was touching, really….’
But that didn’t stop Riella’s heart from feeling heavy.
“Ambassador. Don’t mind what the young ladies said.”
At that moment, Riella flinched at the voice that came out of nowhere.
It came from around the bend in the hallway.
She couldn’t see the face, but she knew exactly who it was.
After all, only one person still called her ‘Ambassador.’
“Sir El….”
“Don’t come any closer. Just listen from there.”
Riella stopped walking down the hallway.
“The Kingdom of Riota will never fall. His Majesty will not allow it to happen.”
“What did you say?”
“The Feodorna royal family will be expelled, but Your Majesty will instead choose a trustworthy person and support and watch over the kingdom until it is stabilized. Your Majesty has already prepared a relief measure for the people of Riota.”
“Your Majesty…”
Riela pressed her chest, overcome with emotion.
“Did you come all the way here just to tell me that? Because you thought I’d be worried?”
“….Anyway, it is a matter of the Kingdom of Riota, and you are still my ambassador.”
My Ambassador.
That must have just been a formal remark since he was still technically her aide.
“Thank you, Sir El.”
There was no answer.
Riella cautiously walked to the end of the hallway and turned the corner, but the area ahead was empty as if El had already gone back.
Feeling much lighter, Riela smiled and returned to the young ladies.
“Everyone, I’m sorry, but can we end the meeting here for today?”
“Huh? Oh, no, why….”
One of the young ladies noticed that Riella had heard their conversation earlier and lowered her head.
“Lady Blinite, we spoke carelessly and were terribly rude. Please forgive us.”
“No, I know you were all just worried about me. I truly appreciate the effort you put in to cheer me up.”
“Then why….”
“I want to see His Majesty.”
Riela finally smiled brightly and added—
“When I’m apart from him for too long, I get a terrible ache, as if thorns are growing inside my mouth.”
* * *
“Your Majesty!”
Riela clutched the hem of her dress and ran to the military training grounds where Herhan was.
According to the official schedule, training was planned, but upon arriving, she realized it wasn’t training—it was preparations for departure.
“Your Majesty?”
“Ah, Riella.”
Herhan flinched as if he had been caught hiding a great secret, then quickly confessed.
“I was going to tell you later. Really. I wasn’t planning to leave immediately. I was going to go slowly after getting your permission.”
Yet the man who claimed he would leave only with permission had already loaded all his baggage onto the carriage.
Riella took a step closer to Herhan and glared at him.
Though it was the emperor she was approaching, the ones who grew more nervous were Asion, the coachman, and the knights preparing the luggage.
“Where are you going?”
Herhan took Riella’s hand.
Even without hearing his answer, she already knew.
“To the Kingdom of Riota.”
“So in the end, it’s Your Majesty who has to pick up the pieces of what even the king himself abandoned.”
“There’s no choice. It’s your country.”
“…….”
“I don’t want you to lose anything more.”
Herhan’s blue eyes looking down at Riella were filled with warm trust and affection.
Riella bit her lips while holding Herhan’s hand tightly.
“Even the wretched homeland that abandoned you—I’ll protect it until the end.”
A flood of indescribable emotions surged within her.
She hated Greta for abandoning her people and hated the king for abandoning his daughter. However, more than her hatred for them, the thing that weighed most heavily on her heart was this:
The fear that she might lose her country, her homeland.
Even though it was a land that sent her away so cruelly, it was still a place filled with memories of where she was born and raised.
And now, Herhan was saying he would protect it.
A man who already has so many things to protect that he might collapse again at any moment if she doesn’t hold his hand.
“Let’s go together, Your Majesty.”
“No. Riella. It’s dangerous because we haven’t caught the princess yet. I’ll just sort out the urgent situation and come back right away—”
“I want to go with you.”
“…..”
Through the eyes of the two people, affectionate complaints and sorrowful resignation were exchanged silently.
Everyone in the training grounds, busy with preparations, halted their movements and watched in unwavering loyalty as the steadfast couple stood together like an unshakable old tree.
“Asion.”
Herhan, who had made up his mind, opened his mouth.
“Change my carriage to a bigger one.”
Asion smiled and nodded.
“Yes. I will do as you command, Your Majesty.”
* * *
