Chapter 68
Allen had heard that the Ardennese adhered to the principle of “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,” so maybe they would use this as an opportunity to settle old scores.
Allen rather hoped so. Fertan was such an incorrigible scumbag.
But Rosie shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
“If he wants revenge, he’ll do it on my father. Technically, my brother had nothing to do with it.”
“Who cares? Killing your brother would break your father’s heart, and that’s all that matters.”
“If he is, wouldn’t that vengeance already be directed at the princess?”
Allen’s mouth shut immediately. He realized that Rosie had a point.
“I’ve heard it said before that Nazar Quat is quite logical and rational, and if that’s true, he’d rather take compensation than take a useless life.”
“Compensation…?”
“He’ll take what we offer. Money or land. He’s quite interested in commerce, too. He’s even gotten into that business himself, trying to feed the tribesmen. So I’m sure he’ll be receptive to our offers.”
Rosie reached out and patted Allen on the back. “And I’m sure such a person wouldn’t do anything bad to the princess. I’m just saying, don’t worry too much, you seem to be having a hard time sleeping lately.”
Allen looked at Rosie, a little surprised. He’d thought he’d done a good job of hiding his anxiety, but maybe she already knew.
“…Thank you.”
Rosie smiled at the awkward thanks. “You’re welcome.”
Rosie stared at the flames for a moment, and then she asked, “By the way, you seem to really like the princess. Do you harbor any other feelings for her?”
At that, Allen jumped. “What a blasphemous thing to say! You can’t say that about the princess. And it’s not even true.”
Allen grumbled, “I just think of her as my sister, which is blasphemous, too, of course.”
“So you and the princess have been together since you were little?”
“Yes. In fact, I started out as her friend.”
“Friend? Aren’t noble ladies usually friends with fellow noble ladies?”
“The princess was very ill when she was young. My grandfather was the doctor who treated her, and I just happened to be in and out of the palace from time to time.”
Allen explained to Rosie what had happened. He told her how he originally wanted to be a doctor because he wanted to keep the princess healthy, but as she grew older and regained her health, he switched to bodyguarding.
Rosie’s gaze fell on the sword at Allen’s waist. “So, the holy sword was given to you when you became the princess’ bodyguard?”
“Yes. Bodyguards of direct royal family are allowed to carry a holy sword.”
“So, can I ask you one thing?”
“Anything.”
“What’s that rock in your holy sword?”
The moment the Duke removed it and tossed it into the air, a dazzling light sparkled. And it led him to the sword’s owner, Allen.
Allen scratched his head. “I don’t know, actually.”
“What?”
“When I got the holy sword, I had my blood drawn in case I lost it. You know, it’s kind of a valuable thing, but this is the first time I’ve ever heard of this method of finding a sword, because I’ve never lost one before.”
“…The Duke knows something you don’t?”
Although the Duke is the princess’s betrothed, he is strictly a foreigner. It doesn’t make sense to Rosie that a foreigner would know more about the goings-on than someone as important as the princess’s bodyguard.
“Well, Sir Iselle is special.”
“Special?”
“He’s already part of the royal family. In fact, the princess was betrothed to Iselle when she was very young, around the age of ten.”
“You mean the princess’ hand in marriage was decided so soon? Why?”
There was no reason to rush a marriage so quickly unless there was a special reason. Besides, wasn’t the princess on good terms with her family? Usually, in such cases, they would wait as long as possible before marrying her off.
“I don’t know the details. I happened to find out about it some time ago. Apparently, there was a private arrangement between the King and Sir Iselle ten years ago.”
“Between individuals? Not between families?”
Allen nodded. “Yes, the Archduke and Archduchess found out later, and I saw with my own eyes how surprised they were when the King formally brought up the subject of marriage.”
Ten years ago, the Duke would have been only fourteen. It still didn’t make sense to Rosie that something as important as marriage would be discussed with a young boy rather than his parents.
“You know, are you sure the Duke is really in love with the Princess?”
Rosie’s question made Allen jump again. “What do you mean! You’ve seen it yourself, not only did Sir Iselle come all the way here to save the princess, but he risked his life to go meet the Katans alone.”
Allen was right, his efforts were enough to bring tears to one’s eyes. The Katans in the North were known for their ferocity, and negotiating with them alone was no small feat.
But Rosie couldn’t stop thinking about the man. He didn’t seem to be the sweet, good man Allen had led her to believe.
But what else could I say when someone who had been around him for so many years said that?
“No, forget what I just said. I must have gotten sleepy and said something stupid.”
Rosie looked up and stared at the stars in the sky. She hoped that somehow things would work out and she would be able to see this star with Princess Rosetta soon.
***
“Benny, humans are sinful creatures. We’re born with sin.”
The words came out of the blue from Rosetta, who was staring out the window. At that, Benny put on a confused expression while cleaning up the room.
“Sin? Did I hear you right?”
Rosetta nodded. “I never really understood those people, you know, the ones who commit sins, go to the temple, do penance, and then repeat the sins and penance again and again, but now I think I understand.”
“Did you commit a sin, Rigaina?”
“Yes.”
“…Did you kill a bug by stepping on it?”
No matter how much she thought about it, that was the only sin Benny could think of.
With a deep sigh, Rosetta said, “I’m not stepping on a bug, I’m stepping on my own conscience.”
Rosetta ran her tongue lightly over her lower lip. Her lips were still red from being sucked by him this morning.
Since that night three days ago, Rosetta had kissed him several more times. In rooms where there were no other people, and sometimes they’d sneak into places where there were no people.
The sweetness she discovered for the first was like an elixir. The more you taste it, the more you crave it.
But that was not something a woman with a fiancé should do. Reason warned her that she shouldn’t be so entangled with him anymore, but as his face drew nearer, her mind went blank and she couldn’t think anything, and before she knew it, she was in his arms, kissing him passionately.
I’ll have to break up with Iselle…
Rosetta’s heart became heavy. Until now, Iselle had done her best as a fiancé. He’d never set eyes on another woman, and he’d done his best to grant Rosetta’s wishes.
Although it was an unwanted marriage, it was clearly an act of deceiving my fiancé. It’s not just anyone else, it’s Iselle, the person I’ve known since childhood. I have to let him go as soon as possible. He deserves to be happy, to find a woman who loves him with all her heart.
But I don’t know if that’s going to happen. I wonder how my parents would react if I told them I didn’t want to marry him…
And I’m not sure what that man is thinking right now. Is he just playing with fire, or is he thinking of keeping this marriage going because he knows me as Rosie, the daughter of the Basque chieftain?
‘Perhaps I should tell him now that I am not Rosie.’
Rosetta’s mind raced. If he was thinking of staying in this marriage because he thought she was Rosie, that would complicate things. Even if she didn’t reveal her true identity, it seemed necessary to let him know that she wasn’t Rosie.
But where do I even begin to explain this…
Rosetta let out a long sigh in frustration, and Benny slammed her fist into her palm as if she’d suddenly realized something.
“Come to think of it, it’s almost time.”
“What?”
“The one you were talking about the other day, Rigaina.”
The idea Rosetta had suggested when they went to the town was immediately put into action.
When they got down to town, Rosetta’s idea was immediately put into action. Dyed yarns and fabrics were made and samples were sent to the castle for Rosetta to examine. But they were all subtly different in color from what had been fashionable in Lysa recently. Some were dull, some were off-color, and it was decided that they needed to be dyed a new color.
Rosetta jumped to her feet. “Then let’s go right now.”
“Yes!”
Benny smiled and led the way.
Rosetta walked toward the castle’s backyard, chatting with Benny as they went. They’d been walking for a while when she heard a small noise, which grew louder as they neared the backyard. It was the sound of cheering and the clashing of blades.
“Oh, I guess it’s soldier training time.”
Benny’s eyes suddenly lit up, and she grabbed Rosetta’s hand and pulled her along.
“We have time, so why don’t we watch for a while and then we’ll go.”
As Rosetta was being dragged along, Benny put her index finger to her lips.
She said, “If you want to sneak a peek, you’ll have to crawl from here, so follow me.”