It was the day of our departure for Ios. True to his word, Ian had gathered the people he had planted in the Riven Palace.
With the watchful eyes gone, I should have no trouble getting out of Asha.
A few days ago, I received a letter from Stella. She said she would be sending Rachel Bledel’s story to the Locale newspaper soon.
Rachel Bledel’s story would be the final article sent to the Locale.
The letter also briefly mentioned how things were going in the palace lately.
[For some reason, it seems like there has been a significant change between the Emperor and Rosetin recently.]
After I left for Riven Palace, Ian visited Kaelin Palace every day. Stella mentioned witnessing the affectionate moments between the two more than once.
Now, everyone in the palace seemed to gossip about whether Rosetin or Count Bedos were using some tactic to seduce the Emperor.
The Emperor, who had diligently hidden his emotions and remained aloof to everyone, had become a completely different person, deeply in love with his mistress. Observers found this change quite perplexing.
Stella, too, seemed puzzled by the Emperor’s noticeably changed demeanor.
I wondered if it was because of Rosetin that Ian had suddenly come to terms with his feelings for me and agreed to the deal.
I still wondered what had happened between them in that short period of time to cause him to turn his back on me like that, but now it was pointless. I was leaving today.
“These people will accompany you to Ios.”
Theo introduced me to the men who would be my escorts. They were not the black mages I’ve seen at the auction.
Theo explained that, due to the sacred stone I possessed, black mages with limited life force couldn’t come too close to me.
Even though this sacred stone was so powerful, Theo was able to stay by my side since I was in the Empress’s Palace. I couldn’t help but be amazed by his formidable life force.
“They are the most trustworthy people I know, so you can rest assured.”
They may look like ordinary attendants on the surface, but if they are Theo’s people, I can trust them with my safety.
In truth, the person I trust the most is Theo, but as much as I wanted him to accompany me to Ios, I couldn’t bring myself to ask.
Theo had urged me many times to leave for Ios first, saying he had something he had to do.
I didn’t know what it was exactly, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that it might be something dangerous. I asked him one last time.
“If we can’t go together, is there anything I can do to help you?”
“No. This is something I must do alone.”
Theo said it firmly, cutting off my words.
I couldn’t argue with his stubborn attitude, but I couldn’t help but feel worried about my journey to Ios.
Carrying complex thoughts, I quietly boarded the carriage. I had an ominous feeling that this might be the last time I would ever see him.
A heavy tension enveloped us in silence. The happy days we had until a short while ago disappeared like a mirage.
Knowing how things would end with him, I might have clung even more to those sweet moments, pretending as if nothing was wrong.
My wandering gaze met his eyes head-on. Even though it’s not the end yet, my throat keep tightening, and I couldn’t meet his gaze.
Looking out of the carriage window, dark clouds were gathering in the sky, as if unexpected heavy rain was approaching.
We arrived at the dock not long after. Several passenger ships were anchored, with many people coming and going.
Theo told me that we would take this route to reach the port of Mirian, northeast of Ethesta, and transfer to the ship we had built. Now it was time to bid farewell.
He smiled gently and took out something from a pocket inside his chest. Then, in a strangely bright tone, he spoke, seemingly trying to comfort me.
“This is an herb good for seasickness. It’ll help if you chew on it when you feel nauseous or dizzy.”
“Thank you.”
“This is your first time traveling on a ship for a long time, right? The journey is going to be harder than you think.”
“I know.”
“There’s something urgent I need to take care of, so I’ll go first. They will escort you to a safe place.”
Theo hesitated. After a long pause, he finally spoke.
“Not even once…”
He paused and pursed his lips. It seemed like he wanted to say something, but the words lingered in his mouth.
I waited for him to finish preparing his thoughts and open his mouth again.
“Not even once have I honestly expressed my feelings.”
“…….”
“If we ever meet again, there’s something I want to tell you.”
Upon hearing those words, my heart started racing uncontrollably.
Taking a deep breath, I looked straight at him. Only then could I realize the deep, tender emotions welling up beneath his silent green eyes.
Perhaps he had the same feelings as me. At that moment, I feared my heart would melt away completely.
Feeling the unstoppable beats of my heart, I embraced him with all my might.
Theo wrapped his arms around me and stroked my hair with one hand. His touch was so tender that my tears threatened to fall. I fought back the tears and looked at him again.
“I’ll be waiting.”
I held Theo’s emerald eyes in mine one last time. He mounted his horse. Before he left, he glanced back once and gave me a light smile.
I stared after him until his backside was as small as a dot and he was gone.
━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━
Having a forged ID made it easy to pass through the inspection. I absentmindedly touched the bracelet of the goddess Lumitaras that I wore, similar to Theo’s.
Hoping for a safe journey to Ios, praying that nothing would happen to him. I silently wished over and over.
The moment of waiting for the ship to depart had arrived. For a moment, my vision went black, and I felt dizzy.
‘Did my condition worsen again as soon as Theo disappeared…’
I sensed my body becoming unstable once more. Despite having the sacred stone Theo gave me, the worry of losing my consciousness again and possibly causing trouble crept in.
Surrounded by anxiety, I waited for the ship to set sail, but after waiting for a while, the ship showed no sign of moving.
One of Theo’s associates went to check on the situation, leaving me waiting anxiously. When he returned after a while, he informed me of the situation with a troubled expression.
“There seems to be a delay caused by someone not on the reservation list occupying a seat, resulting in a disturbance.”
I let out a short sigh and nodded. I had a bad feeling about this. As the delay prolonged, my tension grew, and my head began to throb as if it would explode.
After a while, the boat moved. We were finally on our way. That fact eased my inexplicable anxiety. I wondered if I could actually leave Asha now.
━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━
A few dozen minutes passed when I heard a commotion in the distance. Gradually, an unfamiliar group began surrounding us.
As soon as they were in formation, they quickly drew metal weapons. One of Theo’s men spoke up.
“Who are you?”
Then the biggest of the bunch spoke with a sly grin.
“We’re here to find the thieves who stole the nectar.”
“…….”
“It looks to me like you’re the ones who smuggled the nectar to Etherstar.”
For a moment, I doubted my ears. Surely I’d heard that voice before.
‘This voice is… Capel!’
It was the exact same voice as the one emceeing the auction.
Could it be that these are people from the Capel organization? I heard that Capel delivers death to traitors in the cruelest way possible.
It seemed like they harbored resentment and sought revenge for stealing the nectar.
The individuals guarding me were Theo’s subordinates, so there was a possibility they were involved with the Blue Mask organization that stole the child. In the process, they might have attracted Capel’s attention.
Judging by the menacing weapons in their hands, it appeared that they had no intention of sparing us.
The ship was already in the middle of the sea, and there was nowhere to escape. They probably waited until the ship took off.
As we cautiously observed both sides, a swing of a sword came from the Capel side, initiating the fight.
Clang!
The clash of metal echoed sharply. Amidst the chaos, someone from the opposite side met my gaze. He was approaching me steadily.
‘If I get caught here, I might really die.’
With the thought of escaping anywhere, I turned around to run. The stranger followed me at a fast pace.
As I tried to gain some speed, my foot got tangled, causing me to stumble and fall. The man cruelly grabbed my hair and slammed me to the ground.
As I fell, the sacred stone fell out of my pocket. All of my emotions surged like they were about to explode: pain, fear, and despair. In that moment, my mind blurred, and all strength left my body. My consciousness faded into darkness once again.
