Chapter 39
The messenger who came to deliver the letter never made it and was found dead in the hills. The gate guard who received the messenger’s letter hanged himself. The bracelet the princess was supposed to have was found in the Archduke’s private vault.
All of these facts pointed to one thing. Now the Archduke was desperately trying to hide something involving Princess Rosetta.
“I must go to the Basque.”
Astin looked at him in surprise. “Are you going there yourself, Duke?”
“Yes.”
“Why don’t you ask the Archduke himself about it?”
“Because he won’t tell me even if I ask.”
For some reason, if his father was really trying to keep this a secret, it was clear what he would do next. As soon as he realized his son was aware of the incident, the Archduke would be even more secretive.
“I’ll go hunting near the Basque border and tell them I’m visiting to socialize. It’ll be a bit abrupt, but they won’t be able to kick me out.”
“Of course not.”
His status as the heir to the Archduke was enough for the Basques to welcome his visit with open arms. The relationship with Hazen was also important to them, as they relied heavily on the Kingdom of Lysa for support. What’s more, the Duke was Princess Lysa’s betrothed. They would probably be surprised to learn of his visit.
“No one must know about my destination. Including my father.”
“Yes.”
“Put the bracelet back in the vault. So my father doesn’t get suspicious. I’ll need you to take care of things in my absence.”
Astin the butler bowed deeply to his new master. “Do not concern yourself in the least with the affairs of the castle. I will take care of them.”
After the butler left the room, Iselle rose from his chair. Taking a few steps, he soon found himself in front of a portrait covered with a black cloth.
The cloth was pulled back, revealing the woman’s face. She was looking at him, still smiling. His expression gradually softened as he took in her sparkling hair and green eyes.
“Rosetta, when you grow up, will you marry me and come with me to Hazen?”
One day, on a sunny day like now, on a meadow in the royal palace, he said that to a young girl. It was a rather impulsive proposal for him. When he finished, Iselle was surprised that he had said it, but he soon realized that he actually liked what he had just said.
A puzzled look appeared in her innocent green eyes.
“Hazen?”
“Yes, my country. You can go there and not be sick anymore.”
The child’s limbs were gaunt. Her golden hair had lost its shine and turned gray. She wasn’t thin because she hadn’t eaten well; she’d been through too much for her little body to handle.
“But if I go to Hazen, I won’t be able to see my father, mother, sister, and brother anymore.”
Even at such a young age, the bright child saw the problem in his words at once.
Iselle smiled and said in a nonchalant tone, “Lysa and Hazen are very close. You can come over whenever you want.”
“Um…”
The child, who had been thinking hard, said grimly, “But I can’t because of Masha.”
Masha. The name made something hot rise inside him for a moment. Iselle bit his lip to calm himself.
“Well, I’ll take care of it, somehow.”
“Take care of it?”
“Yeah, so don’t worry about it.”
“Okay. Well, I’ll think about it.”
The child looked up at him and smiled brightly. Iselle pressed for an answer after that, but the child only said she would think about it and didn’t give him the answer he wanted easily. Rosetta was surprisingly stubborn.
And it was the same when he asked her to marry him again, even more years later. Of course, she had no memory of his previous proposal.
Still, the second proposal led to an actual engagement. Iselle felt a deep sense of satisfaction as he placed the bracelet on her wrist, the first time she had adorned herself with something he had given her.
Once they were married and on their way to Hazen, everything she touched would be adorned with what he had given her.
I really like that, he thought.
Iselle pulled back the black cloth as he sighed softly. For now, he could only hope that everything would be alright.
3. Rigaina
Rosetta stared blankly at the horse before her.
It was a beautiful horse, even more beautiful than she had imagined. Its light brown mane glistened with luster. The horse’s large eyes were a deep chestnut color, so clear and clean that you could tell it was a gentle creature just by looking into them. It was a far cry from Akal, who would attack anyone who approached him.
The brown mare stared at Rosetta with curiosity, not wariness. She was much smaller than the other horses, but still much larger than Rosetta, and Rosetta had to tilt her head up to look at her mesmerized.
“Rigaina, do you like the horse?”
The booming voice belonged to Mark, the stable keeper, who, unlike the other servants, could speak Latisse fairly fluently. But his pronunciation was terrible, especially his fricatives, which he pronounced as plosives, and his accent fluctuated wildly. So Rosetta had to feel like she was listening to a foreign language while still hearing her native tongue.
“Yes, she’s very pretty.” Rosetta’s eyes twinkled.
Mark smiled happily. “Usually, when horses get aggressive, it’s because they’re scared. Oh, except for Akal, of course. He’s just naturally aggressive… Anyway, this one is quiet and laid back by nature. I’d say she’s pretty safe.”
Just as Rosetta was about to reply to that, Sika, who was beside her, looked at the horse’s front hooves and said, “I think her hooves are a little small.”
He pointed again, this time at the ankle. “Her ankles are also too long. There’s a risk she’ll injure– Ouch!”
At that moment, there was a loud thud. Mark’s fist slammed into Sika’s head.
Mark rolled up his sleeves and scowled at him. “What the hell do you think you know about horses, you savage little bastard?”
Sika rubbed his head and snarled, baring his teeth in defiance. “What the hell is this bald-headed old man talking about?”
For some reason, it felt like they were going to grab each other by the hair at any moment. Of course, Sika wouldn’t have anything to hold on to. As Rosetta stared at them in surprise, Benny quickly pulled her.
“Rigaina, don’t mind them. It’s a fight of fools.”
Benny summed up the fight between the two fierce men quite simply.
“Are you sure it’s okay to leave them like that?”
“That’s how they are.”
Judging by Benny’s reaction, this wasn’t the first time Sika and Mark had done this, but Rashid wasn’t paying them any mind either.
He turned to Rosetta, not paying any attention to what they were doing. He said, “If you like this horse, take it. Or pick another one.”
Rosetta blinked in surprise at his words. “Does that mean you’re going to give me this horse? Not lend it to me?”
When her burns had healed somewhat, Rashid took her to the stable to show her the horse she needed to learn to ride. Benny accompanied her, and they met Sika on the way. Sika followed, saying he had nothing better to do, and before long, the stable was full of people like this.
At first, Rosetta thought he was simply showing her a horse to borrow, after all, she wasn’t going to be here long. But his words just now sounded like he was offering to give her this horse.
“Riding a horse isn’t just about borrowing a horse. It’s about bonding and becoming friends, and to do that, you need to have your own horse to take responsibility for and care for.”
“But I…”
I’ll be leaving here soon.
Understanding her unspoken words, he said, “You’ll need a horse to get somewhere else anyway.”
True to his word, she will need a horse to leave this place. In a way, this horse is his parting gift.
When I leave this place…
Thinking about it made me feel a little weird. It’s a strange thing. At first, I had thought that I wanted to go back to Lysa right away, even if it was tomorrow.
“So you choose, do you want to go with this horse or do you want to see more?”
Rosetta looked back at the horse in front of her. She didn’t think she needed to see another horse. She really liked this brown mare.
“I’ll take this one.”
Rosetta held out her hand. The horse nuzzled her head into her hand and closed her eyes. Rosetta smiled at the thought that the horse liked her.
“By the way, what’s this horse’s name?”
“That will have to be named by you, Rigaina.”
It was Mark who answered the question. Mark stopped fighting and walked over to her.
“Doesn’t she have a name yet?”
Mark shook his head. “No, she does, but it’s just a name I gave her for convenience when she was born. Sometimes horses keep their names when they’re young, but usually they’re given new ones when they’ve found their owners.”
“What’s her name now?”
Looking very unsure, Mark replied,