CHAPTER 4: EACH TRUTH AND EACH HAPPINESS (I)
Part 067
They moved to the main palace and laid Ailene in one of the many rooms on the second floor. The royal doctor, who had been summoned by the princess out of consideration, carefully examined Ailene. After finishing examining Ailene, the royal doctor clicked her tongue with a very dark look on her face. She said she would give her medicine, and when she regained her senses even a little, she told her to give her medicine first and left her room. She was told that she would absolutely be at peace no matter what happened for the time being, so she had no choice but to quietly sit on the edge of the bed and look at Ailene with her eyes closed. How long has it been like that? A very cautious knock was heard, the door opened, and Duke Nodovan came in. Perhaps because he had already heard the story before coming in, he approached cautiously without making a sound and looked at Ailene who was lying down. The look on his face was so miserable that I quietly left the room, leaving the father and daughter for fear that the Duke of Donovan would even see her in tears. She was trying to calm her troubled mind in front of the door, and after a while, the Duke quietly closed the door and came out.
“I heard that you took that child and brought it to me. It was said that it was thanks to that child that the lives of the princess and the crown prince were saved. Thanks to you, I decided to leave my relationship with the second prince undisclosed. Thank you.”
“No, Duke. The princess and I both escaped harm thanks to Ailene. I should have done something before something bad happened to Ilene. I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault. It’s mine.”
The Duke’s last words were extremely trembling. Duke Nodovan bowed his head to me politely before turning around and saying that he would check on her condition today and move Ailene to the duke’s residence tomorrow. Thankfully, the princess herself sent two maids to Ailene. There was nothing she could do, so she just watched from afar as they skillfully looked after Ailene. While she was looking at Ailene’s pale face, the sun was already setting. When she came in, Adrian came to her without a sound and squeezed my hand. Then he spoke in a warm voice.
“I’ll take you there.”
Ailene continued to sleep in the same way, and it was obvious that staying any longer would only disturb her, so she held Adrian’s hand and left the room. Unlike the quiet room, the entire main palace was very chaotic. How could it be just a palace? Midoc, no, the entire Laurentine was shaking. When she got into the carriage and was left alone with Adrian, with all sides blocked off, he started to act foolish even though he tried his best not to. Ailene’s face, lying as if dead, did not disappear before her eyes.
“I’ve been having a hard time ever since last fall, and they didn’t even listen to what I had to say. I thought something was suspicious because Dochern approached me so suddenly, but I couldn’t even tell him. It must have been difficult for me to get pregnant and get married alone and in a place where no one knows. I hated how sensitive he was, so I ended up fighting him. I saw him get thinner and more difficult several times, and I was so angry that he was holding on until danger came.”
Adrian just patted her shoulder without saying anything. After pouring out everything in her warm embrace, she felt a little easier to breathe. As she was leaning on Adrian’s shoulder to gather her thoughts, she noticed that the end of the sleeve that was used to pat her shoulder was stained with blood. She gritted her teeth as the tears she had been holding back well suddenly burst out.
‘Damian, this is all you can do. Am I the only one who had a difficult and hectic day today?’
The princess, who lost her family overnight and had her life threatened, was so resolute, and Adrian, who must have been running around frantically trying to clean up after her, was also this strong. Ailene is the one lying down in pain. If she went crazy and whined to this person about what she did, would Ailene wake up? Was Dozern a thunderbolt?
She got out of Adrian’s arms and sat up straight, keeping her back straight. Then he swung both his hands violently and hit me loudly on both cheeks.
“Damian?”
Adrian cupped her cheek with a surprised face. It’s okay, Adrian. It hurts a little, no, it hurted a lot, but thanks to you, she had come to her senses.
“It’s enough now. Jingjing ends here. Thank you for comforting me.”
“Damian. You act really, really unpredictable sometimes.”
Adrian kept rubbing her cheek with a surprised face. He asked, reaching down to grab his warm hand cupping her cheek.
“Now tell me. Was all this Sadal the work of Dozern?”
“Yes, it was my fault for not predicting that the 1st and 2nd Guards would take the lead in the rebellion.”
“Most of the 2nd Guards were killed or captured, but the 1st Guards and most of the Guards deserted and are expected to join Romanov’s National Guard.”
The Royal Guard, who were supposed to protect the royal family, killed the king who had no defense and ran away. Moreover, the one who instigated it was his son, the king’s son. As long as a person like this could become king, everything else was fine, right?
“The National Guard is on Dozern’s side. What about Taln?”
“It looks like Taln and the National Guard will divide the front and advance to Midok. We are currently assessing the scale and timing.”
“Eventually, there will be war.”
She held Adrian’s hand as he nodded. War was breaking out. She tried her best to stop it, but it ended up like this. The shadow that sits on Adrian’s face must be the shadow of what he had to endure. She never thought something like this would make her realize that this person was the commander of the Capital Army.
“Don’t worry, Damian. I will stop it. I won’t even let you access Midock.”
“It’s Adrian I’m worried about.”
“It’s what I should do.”
Adrian smiled sweetly at the unsuitable situation. Although I smiled back at his smile to reassure her, her heart ached for him. Why was he so strong? Was there such a thing as a person who was strong for no reason? In fact, it was difficult, perhaps scary, and sometimes you would have wanted to run away, but how severely were you subjected to it in order to overcome it all and stand in front of me? For the first time, she thought, she wanted to be a place for Adrian to return to.
* * *
When she arrived at the mansion and got off the carriage, Rutban came out to meet her and hugged her. After holding her for a while, he released his arms, checked if she was okay, and then squeezed one of Adrian’s shoulders and said thank you. Adrian, who couldn’t stay for long, shared a look with Ruth Van and left, and Jenny, who saw me slipping out of Ora Bunny’s arms and heading toward the mansion, screamed. Then it went back. She was startled because she fell backwards just as she was standing, but Franz, who was standing behind her, jumped out like the wind and wrapped Jenny around her waist just before she hit the ground, lifting her up.
Jenny, who had barely gotten up from the danger of concussion, looked at her and started crying. It was only then that she remembered that her clothes were a mess, with blood all over them. Rutban sighed and handed her over to her maids, and Jenny cried really hard as she received the bath water.
“Jenny, are you sure I’m safe? This isn’t my blood, and I’m not hurt anywhere. It’s true.”
“Uuuuuuuu.”
‘I can’t understand a thing, Jenny.’
Jenny, who cried throughout her bath, only finally stopped crying when her bath was over. Her eyes were very swollen like the eyes of a goldfish and she wouldn’t leave my side to brush her hair.
“…That’s how it happened. We’ll have to see what happens in the future, but we’ll have to have a funeral, and maybe a war will break out.”
“So, all of this is about the 2nd prince… Ugh. Are you saying it’s because of him?”
“They say it’s the scariest thing when a crazy person has faith, and now it’s just like that. We, too, will have to prepare something.”
“Don’t think about anything today and go to sleep quickly, miss. You came back safely, so that’s it for today.”
Instead of drying her hair, Jenny hugged her. He hugged me for a while, gave her a cup of warm tea, and left the room. She was so tired, but she didn’t think she would fall asleep. Her eyes were closed, but her mind was not in dreamland. If war breaks out, what should she do? Oh, did she have to go pick up rocks with Mr. Stone? What a war. Riding a horse, holding a sword, shooting an archery? She thought she had done enough to get used to it, but what the hell was this? It would be refreshing to raise at least the middle finger to the sky, but if Ailene, who was said to have been chosen by fate, was the god who created that world, she wouldn’t even listen to her even if she raised a loudspeaker and cursed. God, fate, they’re all bullshit. After tossing and turning for a while thinking about various things, she finally fell asleep in the late morning.
* * *
It was late, past midnight, and the Capital Army Headquarters, which had not only a nightstand but also torches lit up here and there, was busier than any other day. The entire capital army and reserve forces were summoned in an emergency, and commanders each examined the situation and held an all-night meeting. When the constant messengers started to slow down, Adrian, Ethan, and Cale were gathered in front of the Laurentian missionary, putting their heads together. With the capital, Midok, in the center, the Duchy of Cologne is located to the northwest of the border, and the Duchy of Taln is located to the west. Of the two countries that have had a long-standing territorial dispute, the Duchy of Cologne was the one that maintained diplomatic friendly relations with the Laurentians, and the Duchy of Taln was the one that established itself based on its strong military power.
If the warlike army of the Duchy of Taln comes across the border and takes control of Midok, it will be impossible to predict what will happen next, regardless of the conditions that Dozern and Marquis Luther have set. Adrian knew the ambitions of the Duchy of Taln from his own experience. They were not a people who would give up on the prey in front of them because of promises or agreements. There are a total of five families whose territory includes the northwest border, where battles large and small have always been fought. Among them, four families have already confirmed that they are on the side of the rebels. What remained was the Marquis of Huger, which faces the longest border line with the Duchy of Taln. This would be the front line of defense. On the other hand, if we assume that the defense forces gathered in Romanov advance straight to Midok, there is no force capable of stopping them in the middle. Adrian pointed to the plains just west of Midok.
“If we don’t block it here, we will have to place the Midok outer castle right behind it and attack the enemy.”
“It will take them less than 20 days at most to reach the Jezero plains you mentioned. If we are to organize the entire capital army and arrive here within 20 days, we will have to plan our strategy on horseback.”
Cale responded with a reluctant expression, but agreed that the Zezero Plain that Adrian had mentioned should be the decisive battlefield. If you even disperse your troops across the Jezero Plain and right in front of Midok, a fierce battle will literally break out, and the capital army, which has something to protect, will be at an absolute disadvantage.
“After 20 days, it will be too late. We must build a camp in advance. We will go out as quickly as possible.”
“In the Jezero plains, how to use horseback riding would be the key. There are 5,000 cavalry trained over two seasons. Wouldn’t it be worth a try?”
This time, Ethan expressed his opinion. Adrian thought for a moment, then shook his head and answered.
“There is no telling which direction Taln will advance across the western border. It may join the National Guard, but it may also ride west. In that case, the cavalry must go west.”
Ethan groaned and nodded, but Cale interjected curiously.
“Boromir will pave the way to the northwest, so why would Taln take the western route? He will most likely join the defense force.”
“Cale, you’re saying that because you haven’t experienced the crazy guys from Taln. They are the ones who break down even open doors.”
“If we take the western route as you said, there are four territories to overcome until Midok. No matter how hard they are, would they choose such a difficult path?”
Adrian, who had been watching Cale and Ethan discussing their opinions, opened his mouth with a stern expression.
“Boromir knows Taln well. They are tough to deal with, so he may not want them to reach Middock. If he was thinking of splitting up the capital’s forces, he would have been smarting on his head.”
“Isn’t it okay if we don’t disperse? It’s unfortunate for the western territory, but if Midok is finished, the whole of Laurentyne will end up in the same situation.”
“You idiot. Look carefully. When Taln runs west towards Iromidok, you have to take Irut!”
Ethan used his finger to draw a straight line from the left end of the large map to Midoc, stopping at one point. Cale’s eyes widened as he followed Ethan’s finger along the Taln border, past the Marquis of Huger and into the Great County. A moan boiled up inside him and came out of his throat. Among the two territories between the Great County and Midoc, the place where Ethan’s finger stopped was the County of Ethart. As Adrian was looking down at the Etihart territory on the map with hard eyes, urgent footsteps were heard outside and a messenger came running in.
“Jeon Seo-gu has arrived from Marquis Huge! He and Marquis Huge came in person.”
“Take it.”
As soon as Adrian received the note from the messenger, Marquis Huger, who had aged drastically in just a few days, entered the office. When Adrian raised his head, crumpling the note he had finished reading, he met the devastated eyes of the marquis.
“Jeon Seo-gu also came to the Marquis’ residence. I’m sure it’s the same as what the Duke saw.”
Marquis Huger spoke first. The color drained from the faces of Ethan and Cale as they read the note given to them by Adrian.
[1 p.m., invasion of Taln, resistance]
The war had already begun.
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
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