“What could you possibly do even if you go?”
Her mother was no longer an empress now, but merely a criminal charged with treason.
Moving rashly at this time would only turn the blade that was aimed at the empress toward the princess instead. At a time when they should be keeping their heads down, this was no time for such childish behavior.
“There is nothing Your Highness can do.”
“…”
“If you don’t return to the imperial palace, innocent people will be punished again.”
Declan recalled those who were punished for taking responsibility for the incident at the Grand Duke’s residence. The young servants his age, the stable keepers, and the coachmen – those who were wrongly accused and branded as criminals by the Emperor.
Looking into the princess’s tearful eyes, Declan muttered:
“I would be no exception.”
No one held any power against the Emperor’s grasp. He was a man who killed his old friend and even killed the woman he wanted to possess so desperately.
Would such a man be lenient toward his own daughter?
Nothing could be guaranteed.
****
Declan sighed. The sun was gradually setting. The military would have noticed his absence by now. He couldn’t delay any longer.
“Your Highness, I will escort you back to the imperial palace.”
Sienna shook her head, her face buried in her knees.
“You must return before it gets too late.”
“I will return with Mother.”
The princess spoke in an exhausted voice. He could understand – she was surely the one who had experienced the most hellish day.
However, Declan’s urgent priority now was to return her to the imperial palace.
“The Empress would not have wanted to see Your Highness like this.”
At those words, the princess weakly raised her head. Her face was a complete mess. Her eyes were so swollen from crying that she could barely open them.
“Would she really want me to return to the palace alone, perfectly fine?”
Declan’s face hardened at those words.
“Mother can never return again…”
The princess’s face contorted once more. Declan’s lips pressed into a hard line.
“Then what more do you intend to do? Are you saying you’ll live as a wanderer outside the imperial palace?”
Though he raised his voice unknowingly, the princess only continued sobbing.
“His Majesty will not harm Your Highness.”
Declan matched eye level with the princess. Her eyes were the same color as the man who had killed her family.
However, unlike with the Emperor, making eye contact with the child wasn’t uncomfortable at all.
“No matter what anyone says, Your Highness is this country’s only princess and His Majesty’s only legitimate daughter. You’re in a position where even running away from the palace on your own can be easily forgiven.”
“…You’re telling me to beg for mercy from the father who killed my mother to save my own life.”
At those lifeless words, Declan was somehow caught off guard and found himself speechless.
He, who had been responding smoothly until now, couldn’t say anything for a moment. If anything, he looked rather flustered.
Begging for mercy from someone who killed their own parent, turning a blind eye to everything to save their own life – looking back, this was also the path that Declan himself had chosen.
“…Because he is Your Highness’s father.”
That was the answer he barely managed to give after the silence.
He killed his old friend and their family over worthless suspicions. Even though he killed the woman he loved so much with his own hands, Declan wanted to believe that he would at least show a hint of mercy to his own flesh and blood. He wanted to believe that.
The princess didn’t respond. It seemed his words weren’t much comfort.
“Though I don’t know His Majesty well…”
He slowly opened his mouth while looking at the depressed princess. “I have heard that a beautiful separate palace was built for Your Highness. I heard they planted many exotic flowers in the imperial palace’s beautiful garden, extending all the way to your separate palace. Many people admired it.”
As his gentle voice continued, the princess’s sobbing gradually subsided. Declan made eye contact with the princess and asked:
“Do you really think His Majesty would harm you?”
The princess shook her head with a gloomy face.
“As you say…..Father isn’t someone who would abandon me.”
Though her tone lacked conviction, her stubbornness had broken nonetheless. She stood up weakly with unsteady movements.
“I’ll return to the imperial palace.”
****
By the time the sun was setting, the streets had become relatively quiet. However, the aftermath of the execution still lingered.
Conversations about the Empress could still be heard everywhere, and the execution platform in the middle of the square hadn’t even been dismantled yet.
Given the situation, Declan chose to take a route around the square to reach the imperial palace.
After walking a bit more along the main road past winding narrow alleys, a magnificent iron gate came into view. Declan explained the situation to the guard.
Even though he truthfully explained that he had brought the princess under the commander’s orders, the guard seemed somewhat suspicious.
It was true that the separate palace had been turned upside down since the princess’s disappearance in the morning.
The servants had frantically searched the palace, worried about upsetting the already displeased Emperor, but couldn’t find her. In this situation, it seemed suspicious that some delicate-looking soldier had brought her back.
“You didn’t happen to be the one who took Her Highness outside the palace, did you?”
“That’s absurd!”
Declan said with an incredulous face. Worried he might be falsely accused of some strange crime, he mentioned his unit’s name. Only after adding that it was the commander’s direct order did the guard finally nod reluctantly.
“We’ll send someone to the separate palace, so wait here for a moment.”
Once the suspicion disappeared from the guard’s face, Declan finally let out a long sigh.
He looked down at the princess who was still clutching his clothes tightly like a rope. She had held onto his clothes the entire way, and even now at the palace gates, she showed no signs of letting go.
“Your Highness, someone from the separate palace will come for you soon.”
“Then where are you going now?”
Anxiety began seeping back into her face, where tear stains were still clearly visible.
Declan quietly looked at the princess. Her blue eyes, which had briefly sparkled earlier in the day, were now submerged in grief.
It must have been a difficult day. Though it wasn’t his intention, she might have naturally come to rely on him.
And he too, had felt a moment of meager sympathy as he saw himself reflected in the princess.
But these weren’t things that would continue after today. Their meeting and his sympathy – all of it.
“We’ll meet again someday.”
Declan said as he averted his gaze.
Though there would likely be no future meetings between him, who would continue wandering the borders, and her, the princess swallowed her tears at his words.
Just then, the guard brought a maid. The maid’s face aged ten years when she saw the princess’s face and rushed over.
When the maid’s gaze briefly turned toward him, Declan bowed his head deeply. It would be troublesome if she were to recognize his face.
Fortunately, the maid didn’t pay much attention to him. She urgently took the princess’s hand and led her away.
“Your Highness, where have you been? Do you know how long we’ve been searching for you?”
The princess, being practically dragged away by the maid, looked back several times. Declan, who had been standing watching this scene for a moment, then turned to leave.
It was time for each of them to return to their proper places.
****
As soon as Jeremiah set the small box on the table, Sienna quickly grabbed it.
After opening the box to check the ring, she took it out and wiped it on the hem of her dress. There was something subtly unstable about her movements. Jeremiah, who had been quietly watching her, suddenly asked:
“Did things wrap up well with the Grand Duke?”
Sienna, who had been compulsively cleaning the jewel, flinched in surprise and looked at him. When Jeremiah gave her a questioning look, she finally composed her face and replied.
“Yes… more or less.”
Jeremiah’s gaze narrowed as he looked at her with a puzzled expression.
Something seemed suspicious. From the Grand Duke’s reaction that day to the princess’s unnatural behavior now. His dubious gaze shifted from Sienna to the ring she held in her hand.
She was wiping it so roughly that it made observers anxious, wondering if the ring and jewel might separate. Unable to watch any longer, Jeremiah said:
“Wouldn’t it be better to make it into a necklace? That ring. If you wear it around your neck, you won’t lose it like before.”
Sienna looked down at the ring with an uninterested expression. While it was clearly valuable with its large gemstone, it didn’t match her aesthetic taste.
Jeremiah added one more comment:
“Since it’s your parents’ wedding ring, it must be precious to you, Your Highness.”
Sienna laughed cynically.
“It’s not that sentimental of an item.”
After her mother’s death, both rings had disappeared completely, so she had always thought her father had deliberately thrown them away.
But now. To find out the truth like this.
“As you know, I wasn’t particularly close with Father. After Mother passed away, I was practically an abandoned child.”
Though it seemed he had retained a thread of humanity, evidenced by keeping this ring and trying to ensure her safety through Jeremiah… she wasn’t particularly moved.
No matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t conjure any positive feelings about her father. Sienna, who had been absently fingering the emerald, wrinkled her brow irritably and put it back in the box.
“Still, His Majesty seemed to cherish it quite a bit.”
“I’m not entirely sure, but I heard they made them with gemstones matching the color of each other’s eyes.”
Jeremiah’s face showed sudden interest at this rather romantic reason. Sienna smirked.
