She’d bought three days.
Pristin concluded that she had to find all the answers in those three days.
After the letter was sent, she would really have to make a decision.
“I’d like to go for a walk before dinner.”
Later that day, before the sun went down, Pristin asked Ashulla.
“I don’t know if you heard, but I’ve gotten permission from Lord Bachell.”
“Yes, I heard.”
Ashulla nodded and advised Pristin,
“It’s cold outside, so make sure to wear a shawl.”
“Yes, I will. Thank you for your concern.”
Cold outside meant this was the northern part of the empire. Pristin took in every little detail and filed it away in her mind.
“I’ll accompany you.”
“Of course. I don’t know anything about this.”
After answering naturally, Pristin finally stood in the doorway.
It was the first time she’d walked out the door since coming here and being imprisoned.
Pristin stepped out the open door with a nervous expression.
‘…As expected.’
As expected, there were several soldiers standing guard outside the door. As soon as she saw them, she realized that escape would be difficult. Even if there was no one guarding the door, she would be caught as soon as she stepped outside.
Pristin followed Ashulla’s footsteps, trying to ignore the soldiers’ eyes that looked at her with vigilance.
‘Still, I should memorize the way out, just in case.’
You never know when it might come in handy in a situation like this. However, it was very difficult to memorize the route because the interior was very monotonous. She thought it would be difficult to memorize it just by seeing it for three days.
“Okay, here’s the way out.”
“…Is the door this narrow?”
“It’s the side door that leads outside. I thought it would be too much for the countess to use the main gate, and the lord realized that it was too much with other people’s eyes.”
“Ah… well, whatever.”
The sun was not shining enough because there was not much time left before sunset. Ashulla commented that it was a shame.
“It’s almost evening, so the light isn’t that strong. You should see some sunlight.”
“This alone is a good thing,”
Pristin said as if she were generous.
“Let’s come in the middle of the day tomorrow. We can do that.”
“Yeah, okay.”
“Is there no garden or anything like that here?”
“Flowers don’t bloom well here. It’s too cold.”
It certainly seemed to fit the northern part of the empire.
After nodding her head, Pristin slowly began to walk around. She had a bored expression on the outside, as if she weren’t interested in her surroundings, but it was different in reality. She was pretending not to have any clues to find out more about her location, but she was carefully examining her surroundings.
‘…There’s so little clues.’
But after walking and walking, there was nothing but a wasteland without a single blade of grass. It was hard to believe that anyone could live in a place like this.
As they continued walking, Pristin felt a sense of futility and asked,
“Isn’t there anything to see? This is a wasteland of sin.”
“Hmm…”
Ashulla thought for a moment, then spoke up.
“Well, there’s a lake about a twenty minutes’ walk from here.”
“A lake?”
“Yes, it’s still worth seeing. There are so many interesting plants and animals.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah. But…… I don’t think you’ll be able to go that far, I think your permission is conditional on not leaving the castle…”
“Ah… I suppose so.”
Pristin murmured quickly with a sullen face,
“That’s a shame. This place looks kind of desolate, and a lake would be a sight to behold.”
“Shall I ask Lord Bachell again, just in case?”
“No, it’s all right.”
Pristin shook her head with a smile.
“I don’t even expect anything that great. I’m content to just walk around the castle like this and get a little wind in my face, just walking around.”
“Thank you for your understanding.”
“It’s a bit chilly. Shall we head back for now? It’s almost time for dinner.”
“Yes, you’re not a single person. It would be a problem if you caught a cold. Is there anything you want to eat?”
“Well… I ate so well at lunch that I can’t think of anything right now.”
“Let me know if there’s anything else you’d like to eat. I’ll try to get as much as I can.”
“Thanks for being nice to me, Ashulla. Thanks to you, I feel like I have the strength to endure being here.”
“You haven’t committed any crime, my lady. I don’t know when you will leave, but while you’re here, I’ll take good care of you.”
“Thank you very much.”
Pristin held Ashulla’s hand first with a thin smile.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
After returning to the castle and having dinner, Pristin was troubled.
‘The northern part of the country with a lake nearby…’
This was not enough.
There were at least four places she knew of off the top of her head, and there would be many more if she included the unknowns. Of course, that clue alone would be big enough for Jerald, but searching everywhere would be too much for him right now.
They were in hiding, so there was a good chance this was where the former emperor was based. It would be reckless to split their forces into more than three locations. Besides, she had to keep in mind that things could go wrong.
‘I need to find more clues…’
The problem was that the surroundings were like a wasteland, making it difficult to find any clues beyond that. Pristin scratched her temple with an expression of frustration.
It would help if she knew the constellations.
The problem was, all she knew were herbs, at best.
Then a brilliant idea flashed through Pristin’s mind.
‘Yes, herbs!’
At least she knew about herbs, and if she could find out which ones grew here, it might help her figure out where she was.
Her expression brightened as she realized she had a solution.
‘All right, I’ll sleep early tonight and head out again tomorrow at sunrise.’
Somehow, she had a feeling this was going to work out.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
On the next day, Pristin immediately begged Ashulla after breakfast,
“How’s the weather today, Ashulla? Have you been outside?”
“Well, Countess.”
But something about Ashulla’s expression didn’t sit well.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think you should go outside today.”
“Huh? Why…? Is there something wrong?”
“It’s raining outside now.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes. It doesn’t usually rain here… but it’s suddenly raining.”
“Then why don’t we wait until it stops?”
“The ground will be wet and slippery, and it’ll be hard to walk.”
Ashulla shook her head and dissuaded her.
“I think you’d better just stay here today.”
“…I see.”
“Did you write a letter to His Majesty?”
“Huh? Oh, no. Not yet.”
“You should write that as well. Weren’t you supposed to give it to him by tomorrow?”
“Ah, yes. Right…”
Pristin answered, awkwardly raising the corners of her mouth,
“But I haven’t decided what to say yet.”
“Just pretend it’s too cold and scary here.”
Ashulla advised her as if there was a way to do everything.
“That way, the emperor will be worried about you and make a decision sooner rather than later.”
“…Will he?”
“Of course. I hear His Majesty cares a lot about the countess. You have a child, I’m sure he’s out of his mind.”
“I guess so…”
If you think about this situation reversely, she understood how he felt. She would be like that, too. How upset and worried he must be.
At the sudden thought of Jerald, Pristin felt the sadness she’d been pushing down with her escape thoughts resurface.
Seeing her like that made her feel sick, so Ashulla quickly changed the subject.
“Uh, anyway, when the letter arrives, His Majesty will make a decision quickly, and then you will be able to see him soon.”
“…Yes, I hope so.”
Pristin nodded and murmured to herself,
“I’d better write that letter now.”
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
The letter would be censored anyway. The information about this place must be conveyed to Jerald in some other way, so Pristin continued to think about how to write this letter to reassure him, then picked up the pen.
‘Dear Jerald.’
The beginning was a very ordinary line.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
After writing the letter, Pristin begged to see the rain and eventually went outside.
In fact, even before going out, Pristin thought Ashulla had lied to interrupt her walk. But when she went outside, it was really raining.
Pristin didn’t feel like going outside with an umbrella so she sat on a bench next to the side door, staring blankly into the air.
‘I, will I be able to go home safely?’
Is it because it rained? Suddenly, her depression soared. Worries she’d been trying to keep bottled up surged.
Even if Jerald was informed of the location, it would be useless if he did not read her intended direction properly. She never thought of him as stupid, but she also had to consider what could go wrong.
The situation was too big to rely solely on positive predictions.
‘What if he lays down his crown for me?’
As much as she wanted to make it home safely, she was afraid that she would see Jerald laying down the crown at the end of it, that she would be the one holding him back. That this would make him give up on his dream.
That even if he told her it didn’t matter now, one day… he would blame her.
It was when Pristin was looking at the falling raindrops with a somber expression on her face. A familiar voice soon came in, along with the quiet footsteps next to her.
“What are you going to do if you catch a cold?”
It was the voice of the only person she almost knew. Pristin raised her head up.
Akkad with an umbrella was standing there.
