Chapter 89
To Allen, who remained still, Rosie said, “I saved your life, and this is the least I can do.”
“…….”
The price of this woman’s help always seems to be dreadful, Allen thought, rubbing his tingling cheek.
The delegation that had pretended to be on their way back to Basque had returned here, one by one, to sneak into Edirne. Of course, that unhelpful man (Fertan) was left behind to wait near Edirne, where he was told to eat, play, and hide reasonably well.
With Allen and Rosie, the last of the group, safely inside the city, it was time to wait and hope that Iselle’s work would go well.
“But will the Duke succeed? Do you think the Katans will move so easily?”
Rosie asked as they walked down the street, and Allen nodded vigorously.
“I’m sure he’ll do well. I have absolute faith in his abilities, and his becoming His Majesty’s son-in-law isn’t just because he’s known him since childhood; Sir Iselle has made his mark on the battlefield at a young age.”
Along with Prince Arman, Iselle had been on the battlefield from an early age. He has won several victories against Toulouse, which threatened Lysa’s eastern border. Unlike Arman, who preferred to fight physically, Iselle relied primarily on tactics, and he was particularly adept at penetrating his opponents’ minds and winning their hearts.
“He’s a master at winning people over. No wonder the terrifying late king took a liking to him at first sight.”
“The late king?”
“Ah, people in other countries don’t know this story. His late Majesty took a liking to Sir Iselle the moment he saw him, and kept him by his side.”
The story of a young boy from Hezen, long separated from his family, and the late king’s willingness to welcome him, was already well known at the court of Lysa. Not only that, but Iselle was popular with others, and rightly so. Though not a member of the royalty of Lysa, the same noble blood still ran in his veins, and his handsome appearance and kind nature made him harder to dislike.
“I’ve heard King Laquileo was a tyrant, but I guess there was someone he liked?”
Allen frowned slightly at Rosie’s comment. Rosie was right, King Laquileo was notorious for his tyranny, but it was still not pleasant to hear about it from a foreigner.
“You’d be arrested for insulting royalty if you said that in Lysa.”
“This isn’t Lysa, so what?”
Rosie snorted and turned away.
Talking and walking, they soon entered the center of the city. Alan took in the sights of the city with a bit of surprise. Edirne was not at all what he had expected. The well-paved streets and large, beautifully constructed buildings gave it the appearance of a proper city. Best of all, the abundance of people and goods flowing through it seemed more plentiful than even Terra, the capital of Lysa.
“You’re surprised, too, aren’t you?”
Allen nodded slightly at Rosie’s question.
“Yeah, I’m a little surprised, to be honest. It looks… better than I thought it would.”
“I’m surprised too. I’ve heard that Nazar Quat is quite meticulous about his estate, but I didn’t expect it to be this good.”
The Basque tribe wasn’t short on supplies, either. In fact, there were plenty of supplies sent by Lysa as an alliance.
But it was only the privileged classes – the chieftain and elders – who had access to such goods; the common people below them were still struggling to get by.
What would happen if Lysa stopped supporting them overnight, or even tomorrow? Rosie could easily imagine what would happen next. The Basques, who dressed in cloth imported from Lysa and fought with weapons supplied by Lysa, would immediately panic. They would be eaten by neighboring countries while they learned to walk again.
Then they would have to somehow become self-reliant and prosperous, like the Quats, but her father still had plans to rely on Lysa. Of course, he was paying well for it. Blood shed in the name of Lysa was the price.
“Is Terra like this, with all these beautiful buildings and people?”
Rosie’s question made Allen’s temper suddenly flare.
“No! Terra is so much nicer than this backwater!”
Rosie’s eyes widened and she started to giggle.
“Ooh, don’t laugh. You’ll see what I mean when you come to Terra and see for yourself.”
Just then, a large group of soldiers approached. Allen pulled Rosie close and hid behind the wall of a building, holding her in his arms, unable to breathe until the entire group of soldiers had passed. When it was quiet around them, he let out a huge sigh of relief. And in that moment, he and Rosie locked eyes, too close.
“…….”
“…….”
Allen pushed Rosie away in a panic.
“S-sorry!”
Rosie was just as flustered. Rosie coughed a few times, then turned to Allen.
“There must be something wrong with all those soldiers. I’ll go find out what’s going on.”
“It’s dangerous. I’ll just go.”
“You don’t speak a word of Ardennese, how are you supposed to find out?”
Allen was at a loss for words. Rosie ran off and joined the group gathered nearby. She was proving to be every bit as helpful as she said she would be when she left for this place. Neither the safe passage into the castle nor the information they have now would have been possible without her.
What’s wrong with my heart, by the way? Allen thought. My heart has been pounding since earlier.
He put his hand on his chest and frowned, but then Rosie returned.
“Allen! Those soldiers were sent by Nazar Quat to kill the Grand Elder!”
At the word, Allen’s face stiffened.
“Isn’t a Grand Elder quite a high position?”
“Of course it is. He’s the head of the elders, and he can even replace a chieftain.”
“Then it’s a serious situation!”
Rosie looked worried. “I’m worried about the princess. If anything goes wrong….”
As long as Princess Rosetta was here as the wife of the chief, she was bound to be affected by what happened within the tribe. If she were to be unfortunate enough to get caught up in a political dispute….
Allen said coldly, “Let’s go. We should join the people as soon as possible.”
***
Whenever she woke up and opened her eyes, he was there.
He would gently stroke her hair or her face, then smile brightly when he saw her eyes open.
“I’ve been waiting for you to wake up.”
And then he kissed her, still in a daze, and stroked her body. Rosetta sighed softly, accepting him naturally, as it had happened so many times before.
How long has it been since then? Is it night or day?
As she thought about it, her body heated up again. The sensations were so stimulating that tears always burst out at the end.
Ever since she entered this room, Rosetta had never stepped outside, staying with Rashid the entire time. She would fall asleep, wake up, make love, and fall back to sleep exhausted. In between, of course, Rashid dutifully fed her and bathed her. It wasn’t until later that she realized he was trying to replenish her strength so he could eat her.
Rashid coveted Rosetta’s body over and over again, to the point where she wondered if his formerly stoic face was a sham. Suddenly, it occurred to her. When does this man ever sleep?
Sometimes when Rosetta woke up, he was still as he was when they fell asleep together, but more often he was clothed, and when he was, his clothes smelled of the wind. So Rosetta realized that while she slept, he had gone out and taken care of business and returned.
And this time, when she woke up, he wasn’t there. She wondered if he’d gone out again, and as she thought about it, she felt something on her toes. She stretched out her head and found Rashid sitting at her feet, fiddling with her toes peeking out from under the covers. He was fully clothed, so she knew he’d been out again.
“Rashid, what are you doing in there?”
Rosetta rubbed her eyes and spoke in a sleepy voice, and Rashid smiled when he realized she was awake.
“I was thinking about the thoughts I had when I was washing your feet before.”
“What were you thinking?”
“I was thinking that pretty girls have pretty toes.”
“You mean you already thought I was pretty then?”
“I realized you were pretty soon after I kidnapped you, and I wondered why someone so beautiful hadn’t been rumored before. I didn’t realize until later that Asion had already written a poem praising your beauty.”
Just as Rosetta’s lips were almost to her ears, Rashid asked, his expression a little mischievous.
“What do you think I was thinking the moment your toes wiggled in my hand?”
“…I, I don’t know.”
“I thought about putting your toes in my mouth and biting them.”
“What?”
Rosetta raised her upper body in surprise. She quickly tried to pull her feet away but couldn’t because he had her ankles in his grasp. He was obviously just washing her feet with an expressionless face at the time. How could he have thought of such a thing with such a face?
“What are you talking about?”
“Why? You made my fingers like this.”
He lifted his long fingers and showed them to Rosetta. His knuckles were covered in redness. It was where Rosetta had bitten him the last time. Rosetta’s face turned bright red all the way to her neck.
“I-I didn’t do that on purpose! It’s because you stuck it in my mouth!”