~Chapter 38~
After running for a long time, they finally began to see light. Zeno sped up as the cave grew brighter.
When they reached the end, they were met with an unexpected figure.
A bright light flashed, causing Zeno and Cedric to squint as a figure approached them.
“…The princess?”
“Grrr.” (That crazy woman.)
It was none other than Isabel they encountered as they exited the cave.
“Stop this at once,”
“I’m sorry, but that’s impossible. I have no way to stop this,” Isabel replied.
“…What do you mean?”
“I’ve lost control of my power. No matter what you do, you won’t be able to stop it.”
Hearing this, Zeno became extremely uneasy. Cedric’s eyes were filled with a cold determination that made it seem like he was ready to do anything.
“So, we didn’t need to stay here after all.”
Cedric smiled widely as he looked at Zeno. He pulled hard on the leash around Zeno’s neck and glanced at the snow.
“Let’s go home. My wife is waiting.”
“Your Grace, if you leave now, you’ll die. In a week, everything will settle down. Can’t you wait?”
A week?
Cedric smiled.
‘So her power can only last for about a week.’
“Worl.” (We have to stay like this for a whole week?)
Zeno, having read Cedric’s thoughts, was horrified. Cedric gave a short laugh, noticing how disheartened Zeno looked.
“No, I can’t wait.”
Cedric stared icily at Isabel. He had even considered killing her with a knife to stop this, but fortunately, it wouldn’t come to that.
“But since it wouldn’t be fair for me to leave alone, the princess will be coming with us.”
“…What do you mean?”
“If someone is desperate enough, they’ll do anything to survive, right?”
Before Zeno could react, Cedric grabbed Isabel’s wrist.
Then, he tied the leash from Zeno’s collar to her hand and lifted her onto Zeno’s back.
“Wh-what are you doing?!”
“It would be best if you stayed still.”
Cedric whispered in Zeno’s ear.
“Run.”
‘…This guy is crazy.’
As soon as Zeno saw Cedric’s cold blue eyes, he had no choice but to dash forward across the snow without a second thought.
After running for days, Isabel finally let out a high-pitched scream.
“Please, stop…! Stop!”
At her desperate cry, Zeno halted. He stood still, staring up at the sky.
Cedric followed his gaze, and a smile spread across his face as he saw a bird flying overhead.
“Woorl!” (A falcon… a falcon in the sky? Master!)
“Follow the bird.”
“Grrr.” (I was already going to do that.)
Isabel squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for another dash.
“Stop! Stop…!”
She was too exhausted to hold on any longer. Riding on the wolf’s back through the snow had been a nightmare.
“Ugh.”
Just being on Zeno’s back made her feel nauseous.
“Tell me how! How can I stop the marriage?”
At that moment, a falcon landed softly on Cedric’s shoulder.
He glanced at the bird and noticed the note tied to its leg. He quickly read it.
“In the North, they sometimes use falcons to deliver messages, it seems.”
“Yes, that’s quite common.”
“…Ha!”
“Well, this seems to solve the problem. What do you think?”
Isabel hurriedly scanned the letter Cedric handed her.
[Isabel, stop now. Father has promised not to marry you off to Narakas. I know you probably won’t believe it, but if you come to the duke’s residence, I’ll show you the contract.]
“…Father signed a contract?”
Her father was someone who never trusted others enough to leave any evidence behind. If he had signed a contract, it meant he must have given up something important.
“So, do you believe it now? Claire doesn’t lie.”
“My sister could be lying to trick me. She might have done this just to find the duke.”
“If my wife is lying, I’ll take responsibility.”
Hearing Cedric’s words, Isabel’s expression softened a little.
“But, in return, I need you to promise me something.”
“Huh?”
“You may think this one is a divine beast, but as you can see, I’m quite fond of him. I want you to promise not to take him to the capital.”
“Now that you say that, it makes me want to take him even more.”
“Your Highness, even if it’s a sacred beast, who would benefit from taking it? Only the Emperor.”
Before all of this, Isabel would have gotten angry at such a suggestion. But after seeing how her father had used her as a bargaining chip, she couldn’t argue.
She understood what Cedric was implying.
“…It seems you’ve won, Your Grace. Or perhaps, my sister has won?”
Isabel now understood just how much Cedric cared for Claire. She couldn’t quite grasp why, but she felt that being loved and loving someone was a bright and beautiful thing.
“Let’s go back. My sister wouldn’t lie.”
As soon as she said those words, the heavy snowfall gradually came to a stop.
The snow-covered forest glistened brilliantly in the sunlight.
“That’s the end of it. Fortunately, we found the message you sent, and the princess agreed to return. It’s all thanks to you, my lady.”
“We didn’t have to share body heat,” Claire murmured quietly.
Cedric tilted his head, puzzled by her comment.
“Wife?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
Claire smiled brightly and tightly held Cedric’s hand.
If they hadn’t sent the note about breaking off the engagement, Isabel wouldn’t have stopped.
Claire sighed with relief and patted her chest.
“I’m so glad you made it back safely.”
After a week, their tightly held hands felt especially warm.
“Rest for today. We can talk about the rest tomorrow. You, Zeno, and Isabel are all exhausted.”
Cedric slowly nodded and rested his face on her shoulder.
Back at the palace in Rendsha, the emperor immediately summoned his aide.
“Any letters for me?”
“Yes, there is a letter from Lady Claire.”
“Hah!”
The emperor took the letter from his aide and quickly opened it. The ship designs he had been longing for were now in his hands.
“Verify if this is the same as the Narkas ship.”
“But how… Wasn’t the king of Narkas guarding this closely?”
“That child turned out to be useful after all. I don’t know how she got it, but thanks to her, things will go smoothly… Still, it seems we haven’t found Isabel yet.”
Every time the emperor’s golden eyes swept over the knight, the knight’s hair stood on end.
Once Isabel was found, he planned to block her from using her powers for a while.
‘Maybe I’ll have to teach her again not to waste her energy.’
His worries deepened.
“Bring that woman here. It seems I kept her around for a moment like this.”
Isabel’s mother had died from illness, and though Claire’s mother had survived, she was not free.
“If by ‘that woman,’ you mean…”
“The woman will finally prove her worth.”
The aide swallowed nervously. Clarila Borsett, the emperor’s concubine and Claire’s mother, was believed to have died after giving birth.
In reality, the emperor had faked her death and imprisoned her for future use.
Only the emperor and the aide knew the truth. And because the aide knew the emperor’s secret, he was never free.
The emperor’s all-seeing golden eyes made sure of that. The aide had learned how to stop himself from thinking too much while serving the emperor.
If he let his mind wander, his head would soon be separated from his body. Thus, he had become nothing more than a puppet, moving only on the emperor’s orders.
“If Solia hadn’t died, I would have kept her around much longer.”
Solia Peony, the empress, was the only woman the emperor had cared for until her death. She had borne him a daughter with abilities, and he had rewarded her accordingly.
Had she not died, she could have been used to manipulate Isabel, a useful tool to keep her in check whenever she disobeyed. But now, it was too late.
“I’ll bring her immediately.”
“Be quick. We need her while she’s still sane.”
“I agree.”
There was a backup plan in place just in case. If Isabel refused to listen, they would simply make her obey.
He hoped his beloved daughter would understand her father’s intentions and cooperate.
He didn’t want to make things more complicated. If the nobles found out, they would revolt. Rumors of the divine beast disappearing were already spreading, creating enough trouble.
Not long after, there was a knock on the door, and the knights dragged a woman into the audience chamber.
The emperor nodded toward the knights. The woman, wearing a shimmering dress woven with gold thread, was thrown to the floor by the knights.
Her eyes were empty, her face hollow. Yet her beauty still drew attention.
“You’re still beautiful. That’s why it was such a waste.”
“…Please kill me.”
Her purple hair shimmered strangely with every movement she made. The emperor laughed happily, resting his chin on his hand.
“Yes, that look in your eyes. I like it. Don’t you want to see your daughter?”
“…Is Claire alive?”
“Would I kill a daughter who inherited my golden eyes? Or would you have preferred if she were dead?”
“…Do you still think she has any power? She doesn’t have anything.”
“I know that. But she’s still quite useful.”
At the emperor’s smiling face, Clarila trembled.
“You still hate me, don’t you? But you know it’s useless, right?”
“You’ll dig through my mind anyway, no matter what I think.”
She let out a bitter laugh, staring directly into the emperor’s golden eyes.
“You won’t die. As long as Claire is alive, you’ll stay alive too. You still have a role to play for me.”
“You disgust me.”
Clarila bit her lip hard. That smile of his never failed to make her feel sick.
Blood trickled from her lips. The emperor stood up, forcing her mouth open and shoving a handkerchief inside.
“You won’t even get to die on your own terms, so give it up.”
Tears streamed down her face. This place, where she couldn’t do anything freely, was unbearable. It would have been better to die than to become her daughter’s weakness, but even that wasn’t allowed.
Clarila screamed and cursed the emperor, for it was the only thing she could do.
