Early in the morning, Crimson visited Baridas’ office. He was holding a luxurious letter decorated with gold and precious stones, and the letter bore the imperial seal.
“What’s going on?”
When Crimson appeared, Baridas took his eyes off his papers and looked up at him. He sighed when he saw the imperial seal on the letter. Just looking at it, he thought it was a hassle. When he opened the letter, a strong rose scent began to fill the room.
‘How much money did he spend?’
Tsk, his expression hardened at the strong scent of roses, he clicked his tongue low, opened the window, and began to read the contents of the letter. After reading the entire letter, Baridas’ expression became more grim than before. Excluding the miscellaneous contents contained in the letter, the main point was that all nobles should come to the capital for the upcoming crowning ceremony of the crown prince.
The problem was that it took more than a week to get from the Chilan family’s territory to the capital.
He was shivering at the thought of sitting in a narrow carriage all day. Although he would have put it off for some reason, he had no choice but to participate in the crown prince investiture ceremony. Just as Baridas was about to put the letter down, a small note hidden behind him fell to the floor. Baridas’ expression stiffened as he held the letter, but then subtly relaxed.
[Be sure to bring your wife too, to my dear junior.]
‘Ha.’
He sighed softly. He could never be left out. Still, a small smile spread across Baridas’ face at the thought of seeing a familiar face after a long time.
“Crimson, prepare to depart for the capital at any time.”
If he was going to have to go anyway, it would be better to go quickly. The only thing he was worried about was that Fiora would have to accompany him on the long journey.
‘I guess I’ll have to go ask.’
Baridas stood up.
‘While I’m on my way, I’d like some coffee too.’
After Jasmine’s birthday party, Fiora made Baridas a latte once a day. Thanks to this, Baridas’s room was slowly filled with the scent of light coffee, rather than the scent of the peppermint tea he enjoyed drinking.
* * *
I, who was reading a book, stood up smiling at his visit.
“Baridas.”
When I called his name, Baridas came up to me, greeted me, and sat in front of me. I tilted my head at his actions. As always, I thought he was visiting to ask me to make him a latte.
‘What’s going on?’
“What happen?”
“I think I will have to go to the capital for the crown prince’s investiture ceremony that will be held in a few days.”
I felt like I was losing focus over something that was less important than I thought. It’s quite a distance from the capital, so I won’t be back for about two weeks.
I nodded.
“Okay, please be careful.”
“…It’s not just me going, we’re going together.”
Baridas’s next words almost made me spit out the tea I was drinking. I knew it too. The fact that it takes over a week to travel from the Chilan family’s territory to the capital. During the Joseon Dynasty, it wasn’t like going all the way to Hanyang to see the civil service, it only took a week. Still, I couldn’t bear to show my displeasure in front of him, so I tried my best to smile and answer.
“Okay, I’ll get ready quickly.”
But as expected, my insight was white wood. He saw right through my fake smile and opened his mouth with a calm expression as if he was okay.
“If it’s too hard, it’s okay not to go.”
* * *
Baridas knew. The fact that it was difficult to get from Chilan Manor to the capital. The Chilan family’s territory, located in the forest, was surrounded by forests and mountains, and as a result, the roads leading to the capital were not well developed. No matter how good a carriage he was riding, he couldn’t completely hide the muddy and stony ground, so he preferred horses to carriages when going to the capital. But there was no way Fiora could ride her horse, so she had to stay in the rickety carriage until she got to the paved road. It was clear that it would be quite a difficult task for the well-bred Fiora.
At a time when he was wondering whether he should refuse his senior, or rather the emperor, Fiora opened her mouth.
* * *
“No, let’s go together. As a member of the Chilan family, I also have an obligation to attend.”
Baridas smiled slightly at my words. His hand came up to my head. He gently stroked my head like I always do with the children.
“Then I’m glad.”
He stood up and turned his body as if to leave the room. The moment I was staring at him blankly, Baridas suddenly turned around.
“Can I ask for a cup of coffee?”
I burst out laughing a little at his words. I would have been sad if I had asked not to make it.
“Of course.”
Preparations to go to the capital proceeded quickly. There was no need to prepare, all the workers had to do was bring dresses and accessories. The clothes she would wear when attending the investiture ceremony and banquet were custom-made, and the dresses she would wear on other days were decided to go up to the capital and be purchased.
I looked at the newly tailored dress on one side of the room. The dress with various jewels dangling from it seemed to say, “I’m expensive.” Even the necklace that Baridas gave her was the height of luxury. Hundreds of small diamonds were wrapped around the neck, and there were five large blue diamonds in the center that looked several times more expensive than that.
‘You must never lose or break it.’
I thought of that necklace and made a promise. No matter how I looked at it, it seemed like it would be more expensive than my ransom. When I suddenly heard a voice, I looked out the window and saw the knights in charge of escort waiting.
It’s already tomorrow.
Tomorrow, I head to the capital with Baridas. The thought of suffering in a carriage for a week was terrifying, but on the other hand, I was looking forward to seeing the capital. In any country, it was up to the capital to develop the most.
At that time, the children came into the room with a knocking sound. Jasmine whimpered and fell into my arms, while Lima and Greenly grabbed the sleeves of my dress.
“If you don’t go, they won’t contact you…?”
After deciding to go to the capital, I tried to convince them for several days, but the children didn’t seem to want me to leave. Probably because of the shock of their parents passing away on the trip. Seeing the children like this made me feel weak, but since I couldn’t be by their side for the rest of my life, this was something I had to experience at some point.
“No.”
Tears fell from Jasmine’s eyes at my firm words. She ran out of the room.
“Sister-in-law meer!”
Ren followed Jasmine out of the room and I sighed.
‘What should I say about this?’
Still, the moment she thought it was fortunate that her twin looked calm compared to Jasmine, tears began to fall from Greenly’s eyes.
“You must come back…”
Lima, who saw him crying, also started crying.
“Hey, why are you crying… Because you cried, I…”
Just like that, the two children began to cry loudly in my arms. Although it was only a month, the shock of losing a precious person seemed to be too great for the children. At that time, Thoma, who was the only one among the remaining children watching politely, opened his mouth.
“You shouldn’t cry like that. My sister-in-law is only going away for a short time, for a month. She will come back.”
As if to confirm what Thoma said, I held Lima and Greenly’s hands with both hands. Then the children looked up at me.
“I’m not going far, and I’m not leaving for a long time. I will continue to write letters and keep in touch. So let’s not cry.”
At my words, Lima sniffled and wiped away her tears.
“…You have to contact me every day.”
Saying that, Lima handed me a small box. She made it sound like he wasn’t going to send it to me, and inside the box was a pair of small crystal balls.
I had read in the original, that this was released for lovers who were far away from the magic tower, and it was an item that allowed people who shared a pair of beads to make video calls with each other. If this were the case, I would be able to contact the children almost every day.
“Ok, thanks.”
I smiled and stroked Lima’s head. At that time, Ren came into Jasmine’s room holding her. Jasmine faced me again and turned her head away as if she didn’t want to meet my eyes.
“Min, aren’t you going to see me?”
“If you say you’re not going…”
Jasmine’s voice as she said this was hoarse, as if she had cried a lot. I sighed at the sight of her. I felt pitiful and sorry. But even so, I didn’t want the children to be trapped in those memories.
I reached out and took Jasmine in my arms.
“I will contact you every day and write letters often. So, huh?”
Tears began to fall from Jasmine’s eyes at my words.
“Alas… It’s a promise…”
It wasn’t a long trip, and it wasn’t that far away either. However, the departure of the most precious people seemed to remain a strong trauma to the children.
“Okay, I promise.”
Jasmine tilted her head as I held out her little finger. It seemed like there was no such culture here. I took her hand, molded it into mine, and hooked my fingers into hers.
“Hang your fingers and make a promise.”
Jasmine burst out laughing at my actions. And the children all held out their fingers to me with sparkling eyes.
“Promise me, too!”
“Sister-in-law, me too!”
The sight of cute children grabbed my heart.
‘You’re so cute, so how can I leave you behind? Even if I die, I’ll come back.’
I promised myself.
* * *
The next day, a carriage loaded with luggage and a carriage for me to ride was prepared in front of the Duke’s house.
“Take care of the children, Crimson.”
Crimson responded to my words by bending down, and I kissed the children’s foreheads one by one and then got into the carriage. At that time, Jasmine came running and held out her finger to me.
“I won’t cry, I won’t cause trouble. I’ll be waiting patiently.”
Jasmine spoke clearly, word by word. Tears formed in her eyes.
“That’s why, please come here. It’s a promise.”
There were tears in both eyes, but Jasmine tried to ignore them and smiled. That sight was amazing, so I stroked her head and then held out my hand.
“Okay, I promise.”
When I put my finger on it, Jasmine smiled brightly. I left the children behind and got into the carriage. The horse hissed, the carriage started, and I looked out the window. The Duke’s mansion was getting further and further away.
In my hand was a crystal ball that Lima had given me. While I was staring blankly at the crystal ball, Baridas opened his mouth.
“Why are you doing that?”
Baridas was looking at me with only his little finger outstretched. His appearance reminded me of children, so I burst out laughing and hooked my finger around his, only pinching my little finger.
“I am doing this to show that I will keep my promise.”
“Okay.”
It would be my mistake to think that his fingers that touched mine seemed to have put a bit of force into them.
—————————————————————
Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
If you like my work please support me with Ko-fi or Patreon. Next post will be released on May, 31.
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