“Yesterday, you said you overexerted yourself. Is something wrong with your condition?”
“Let’s see how it goes. Your condition might suddenly worsen.”
“I doubt that. I’m feeling better than ever now.”
Haint, who had clashed with Herald several times, energetically put strength into his stance and rushed forward. Yesterday, he had consumed five neck swords alone, and it seemed that his arm was not in good condition.
Deliberately focusing on the weaker side, Haint, seeing Herald showing signs of fatigue, approached closely. It was time to finish slowly. Putting weight on the sword, Haint pushed Herald back.
However, even as his feet, firmly planted on the ground, slipped on the sandy soil, Herald did not lose his composure. Instead, he seemed to continuously glance towards the VIP seat, as if there were something bothering him, making it hard for him to concentrate on the fight.
Noticing Norden tilting towards Retina, he exerted strength in his legs, halting his retreat. Too close. It was not Haint, who was pressing him hard, that made him uneasy, but Norden in the VIP seat.
“I need to end the match quickly.”
Veins bulged on Herald’s forearm. His gaze, which had seemed confident as if he believed he could send Haint away in one strike, changed.
“I like your sister.”
Herald said at the end of the white circle. Due to their faces being close while clashing swords, even his small voice was audible.
“What?”
Seizing the moment when Haint relaxed, Herald countered, redirecting his strength. Though he narrowly avoided being forced out of the circle, Haint, who had his side pierced, stepped back, clutching his waist.
“Do you reveal weaknesses in a duel?”
The Herald nonchalantly adjusted his grip on the sword. Following the traces of being pushed back, he returned to the starting point.
“You’re lying, aren’t you? How disgraceful! How can you make such a joke just to win?”
“It’s not a joke. I mean it.”
“There’s no way!”
Still, with his mind caught by Herald’s words, Haint shouted with a disbelieving expression, aiming the tip of his sword at him, denying his words.
“You asked why I was so obsessed with winning. I’m planning to request Empress’s approval for marriage with Retina.”
The reason Herald had staked his life on this swordsmanship competition was all because of Retina. To marry in Rudenheim, the Emperor’s approval was needed. Even if they loved each other, they could only become an official couple if the Emperor served as a witness.
“Is it, is it true?”
Haint’s sword dropped with a thud. For him, Herald liking Retina seemed more important than the fact that they were in the middle of a match. Although he quickly regained his composure, grabbing the dropped sword and recovering his energy, his mind was not focused on the match, as it was captivated by other thoughts.
“Why is everyone trying to surpass our Retina everywhere?!”
Haint swung his large sword wildly. He continued to attack at an incredible speed, but he made no attempt at defense.
Because of this, gaps appeared in his once sturdy movements like a fortress. Seizing the opportunity, Herald pressed on against Haint. The initially dominant Haint began to gradually lose ground.
“It seems like Retina is so charming that once someone falls for her, they can’t escape.”
“Aargh! Die!”
In the end, Herald emerged victorious.
* * *
Returning from the Pavilion, Retina went straight to her bedroom. Without waiting to answer Lena’s question about what happened, she rummaged through the jewelry box and found the pendant.
“Lena, I’ll be back in a moment.”
“You just got here. Take a breath before you go.”
“No, it’s urgent.”
“Then shall I accompany you?”
“No, I’ll go alone. If my brothers ask, tell them I went to take care of something!”
“Miss!”
Hugging the pendant tightly to ensure she didn’t forget it, Retina hurriedly descended the stairs, leaping down two steps at a time. She wanted to meet Norden, who had said he would wait at the cafe, as quickly as possible.
The reason Retina was in such a hurry was because of the conversation she had with Norden.
‘You’re wearing the bracelet. Do you like it?’
‘Since it’s a silver chain, it goes well with any dress, and it’s not just a piece of jewelry I bought because it’s pretty. It’s a result I achieved. It has meaning, so I find myself searching for it more. Oh, by the way… is there another sentence engraved on this bracelet that looks similar to the one on this bracelet?’
Retina, who had been eagerly awaiting the day to meet Norden, seized the opportunity when someone else diverted attention during the match and asked:
“Why are you asking about that?”
“I think there’s a similar pattern among the items I have. I couldn’t find anything in imperial records, so I thought I’d ask just in case.”
“Is that so? A similar sentence. There aren’t many patterns similar to the royal family’s. Only the families derived from the royal family can use them. To have such a thing in Rudenheim is surprising. I thought all remnants of Raglaras were burned in the empire.”
Lost in thought, Norden stroked his chin. After contemplating for a while, he seemed to make a decision and removed his hand from his chin.
Since ancient times, in Raglaras, where blue diamonds were symbolic, it was customary to engrave the family’s sentence like a pattern when making blue diamond jewelry. The higher the status, the more significant the jewelry adorned with the family’s sentence. Not only bracelets but also pendants and tiaras had the family’s sentence engraved on them.
Furthermore, among such jewelry, Norden had taken the largest and most extravagant as his family’s symbol. The size of the gem embedded in the jewelry also signified the family’s prestige. Consequently, countless crystal-made imitations were sold throughout the continent.
“Can I see it myself?”
Norden asked Retina to show him the piece of jewelry. In his quest to find one of the jewelry pieces created in this way, he didn’t want to miss any small clues. While Retina’s jewelry could be a simple imitation, he wanted to verify it.
“Since my friend is waiting, please hurry as much as possible.”
Retina quickly added, mentioning the café name Norden had provided to the coachman. With a powerful voice from the coachman and the swift movement of two horses, the carriage dashed forward.
Inside the well-prepared carriage, Retina ran her fingers over the pattern on the pendant. Could she finally satisfy her long-held curiosity? Could this reveal that the silver-hair curse wasn’t in Rudenheim?
With a nervous heart, Retina steadied herself and ascended to the top floor of the building. The atmosphere on this floor felt distinctly different, as if it were entirely empty compared to the other floors. As soon as she reached the top, she saw Norden already seated.
“You came sooner than expected.”
“Yes. I brought only the jewelry from the mansion, fearing you might be waiting.”
“No need to rush.”
As Retina sat on the sofa, placed awkwardly in the center, a tea set was arranged in front of her. Waiting until the chaos settled, Retina, before showing the jewelry to Norden, held the velvet pouch enclosing the pendant in her hand.
“Before showing it to you, could you ensure that everyone here has left?”
“Shouldn’t there be guards?”
“No. Please make sure everyone leaves.”
Retina requested to have everyone except Norden leave. Despite Vincent’s attempt to insist on keeping hidden guards besides the visible ones, Retina’s determination was unwavering.
“It’s okay. Everyone can step out for a while.”
Sensing something in Retina’s unyielding determination, Norden accepted her request. He ushered out everyone on this floor, including the servants, after thoroughly ensuring that no sounds from inside leaked outside. Only then did he return to his seat.
“Now, there’s no one else. What would you like to discuss?”
Retina lowered her voice and extended the velvet pouch to Norden. He, with a serious expression, reached into the pocket and took out the pendant. Thud, it fell onto his palm along with the substantial pendant and the necklace string.
Retina observed every move as Norden inspected the pendant. His eyes widened as he examined the pattern of the pendant surrounding the blue diamond at its center.
“This is…”
Norden’s voice trembled as he examined the pattern. His speculation was correct. He cast an incredulous glance at Retina for confirmation.
“How did you get this…?”
“Is this a symbol that His Highness knows?”
I see. Norden turned his gaze back to the pendant. Even though he hadn’t seen it directly, he couldn’t forget it, having seen it endlessly since childhood.
The object in front of him was the symbol of the missing Ignis family during the war, and the tears of the goddess that disappeared along with their downfall.
“I cannot be unaware. This sword and shield, similar to the royal family’s symbol, are symbols used only by the Ignis Ducal family, who have been with the royal family for a long time.”
He thought it was lost forever, becoming a legend despite thorough searches across the northern region. However, King Ragnarus had schemed for the day when his descendants would find the Tears of the Goddess and had the pendant illustration included in the history books. Norden couldn’t take his eyes off the real piece of jewelry that he had only seen in books.
