Before Judith could even finish running through the corridor at the entrance to Astel Palace, another loud noise was heard. Along with the sharp sound of glass breaking, it sounded like something heavy being thrown to the floor and smashing.
Memories of her past life of hearing these sounds several times a day and suffering from fear naturally slowed down Judith's steps.
Judith reached the end of the corridor and saw the Duke of Vergy standing at the entrance of the palace, holding his forehead with a pained expression.
“What’s going on?”
The Duke looked up in confusion at the sudden sound of a young girl's voice, and when he saw Judith's face, he suddenly bowed.
“Are you a the Princess?”
“What is this fuss about? What happened to Prince Franz?”
"That is...”
The Duke, who glanced inside the palace, confessed the situation as if he was embarrassed.
A meeting was held every few days at the royal palace in Rotair, attended by the earls and higher among the capital's nobles. Originally, the meeting would be centered around the King and the nobles who are the heads of each faction, but since the King is currently ill, Queen Gilsis has been attending on behalf of the king for several years.
“By the way, the Queen Mother invited His Highness Franz to attend the meeting today.”
“What?”
Judith, startled by the unexpected words, opened her eyes wide. The Duke of Vergy nodded silently with a sad face.
“The Queen was just trying to humiliate him at a gathering of major nobles. She pointed out that there was still a little over a year left until the coming-of-age ceremony, and criticized him for not being able to gain the support of the nobles because he did not have the qualities of a Crown Prince even though he was almost an adult.”
“What is that... Is not because he didn't have the qualifications to become Crown Prince. It's because the Queen Mother did not give permission, so how... ”
“Anyway, most of the nobles gathered at the meeting are under the Queen’s power, so they cannot keep silent no matter what she says. There is a petty person who, when the Queen mentions the qualities of His Highness Franz, only replies yes, even though everyone knows it is not.”
There was cool anger in the Duke's eyes. Judith frowned and covered her face in despair.
“How must it feel to be publicly criticized and ridiculed in front of so many nobles? I completely understand, but I’m just afraid that this commotion will leak out and become a blemish on you again.”
“I’m going in.”
As Judith spoke, the Duke, who was rubbing his forehead, stared at her with a surprised expression. Before he could answer, Judith went inside with a surprisingly calm expression on her face.
The Duke of Vergy, who was looking at the back of Judith, who looked so weak that she would collapse if touched, let out a short sigh that was either an exclamation or a sighing. He heard she was seventeen, but she seemed strangely mature, and the Crown Princess's attitude, which showed a corner of the presbytery, made him have expectations that he had never thought of before.
Astel Palace, where Franz stays, was originally a palace mainly used by Princes but was not the Crown Prince's palace. Hellan Palace, which was implicitly given to the Crown Prince, now belonged to Krald.
Although he felt sorry for Franz, who could not proudly use the Crown Prince's palace even though he was the King's legitimate eldest son, Judith liked Astel Palace in her own way. She always thought that it was much more elegant and neat than the Hellan Palace, which was noisily remodeled to suit Krald's taste.
The place is now heavily silent, engulfed in an uneasy and ominous air. Standing in front of a door that was closed so tightly that it seemed like it would never be opened, Judith put her fingertips together and took a deep breath. And then slowly turned the doorknob and opened it.
“Didn’t anyone tell you not to come in?!"
Perhaps thinking it was a servant, Franz shouted without even looking back. The room was truly a mess. The small sofa with red cushions was overturned in front of the bookcase, and all the items on the shelves were broken or scattered on the floor.
Several of the glass windows that had been placed neatly in a square shape facing the basement were already broken, with shards scattered inside and out. Franz, standing in front of the broken window with his head down, looked vain and in danger, as if he had been shattered somewhere.
"Your Highness."
Franz raised his head at the soft yet firm tone. He slowly turned, but did not look directly at Judith. When she thought that the slanted distance was the same as the distance between her and Franz now, a feeling of anxious regret enveloped Judith's small body.
“Get out.”
Franz's eyes were red as he wiped his forehead. Judith approached him slowly as if she hadn't heard him.
“Sir, please calm down your anger. Anger that cannot achieve its purpose hurts one’s body and mind in vain.”
"What?"
Franz burst into laughter and glared at Judith with fierce eyes. Her expression looked like she was about to be slapped, but Judith didn't even lift an eyebrow. That boldness caused Franz to experience incredible despair.
“Get out. I already said it twice. I won’t tell you three times.”
“If I were to stay here forever, what would you do then? Are you going to throw me out the window like that table?”
“Are you trying to play with me now? Anyway, I am like a phantom with no qualifications, abilities, or anything else. There is no point in throwing away my wife who was beaten without even knowing her face.”
“Then you do it.”
At Judith's answer, Franz, who had been wheezing, stopped breathing.
“Tell me again.”
“I said, if you can, do it. If you can relieve your anger by throwing me away, you should do so.”
“Are you fearless? Is there no such thing as pride?”
“I also have pride. And of course fear. But I’m not afraid of you throwing me out the window.”
“Then what are you afraid of? Even when a group of thieves appeared, you remained calm and did not shed a single tear even in the face of Queen Mother's anger. It’s a courage that is difficult for anyone, not just me, to imitate, so what are you afraid of?”
Franz's voice seemed to be burning with anger and sadness. Unable to forgive himself for his helplessness, the anger boiling over him led him to beat himself more harshly than anyone else.
She finally found out about it. Judith slowly stretched out her arm and gently took Franz's hand. Perhaps because it was so unexpected, Franz couldn't even shake off that weak touch.
The straight and neat fingertips were scratched. Judith carefully wrapped his bleeding hand, lowered her head, and whispered softly.
“The only thing I fear is that you let yourself go.”
Franz's eyes widened slightly at the sound of Judith murmuring. As the golden eyes that had been twitching with anger were replaced with surprise and suspicion, the tremors calmed down and the sound of breathing also became quiet.
“Contain your anger, Sir. Isn’t there a law in the world where there is no eternal sunshine or eternal darkness? Many things that you cannot control will continue to torment you, but you must not just allow that suffering to strangle you.”
“...”
“Sir, the better the sword, the more slowly the sword is forged, and the better the hunter, the more tightly the traps are laid.”
Franz chuckled.
“Do you know what you are talking about?”
“Yes, I definitely know. I also believe that you have the ability and qualifications to do so.”
“I am neither a great swordsman nor a great hunter. I'm just an idiot who can’t be anything.”
It was a cold mockery, but Judith pretended not to hear it. When she gently pulled on his hand, Franz seemed to resist for a moment, but then obediently followed.
After making Franz sit on one side of the crooked sofa that had been pushed around, Judith sat down next to him. As they sat diagonally facing each other, their knees slightly touched.
Judith took out a small medicine bag and a clean cloth from the pocket she always carried with her, wiped the blood from his fingertips, and carefully applied the medicine.
“I know how you feel.”
As the medicine seeped into the torn wound, he felt a stinging pain. Franz, who unconsciously furrowed his brow, looked down at Judith.
“You know?”
“When I was in Tien, my mother died young and my father had no interest in me. My brother always criticized me and called me a useless girl. Even after growing up, he enjoyed insulting me whenever he got the chance, and when I cried or got scared, he was happy and didn't know what to do.”
Judith smiled bitterly as she went through the buried memories one by one. When she glanced at Franz, his eyes seemed empty at first glance, but there was a personality that could not be hidden. She could tell that he pitied Judith's situation and felt sorry for her.
A friendly person.
Judith suppressed the impulse to caress Franz's cheek and continued, slowly wrapping a long piece of torn cloth around his fingertips.
“Every time that happened, I thought of myself as an incredibly foolish and useless person.”
“...So that’s not the case now?”
“Yes, of course. People who are desperate to harm others with their words do so because they cannot bear to feel empty themselves. I decided not to give myself over to those mean wolves who can only quench their thirst with innocent tears.”
The thin bangs that fell slightly over her forehead swayed gently as she moved.
Franz's gaze, which had been staring at her doll-like black, delicate eyelashes occasionally quivering, slowly examined Judith's features.
Her thin cheeks with a faint, sickly blush and bloodless lips looked beautiful even though they clearly had nothing attractive about them. Maybe it was her eyes, he thought. These eyes are like the sky of the first spring after enduring a cruel winter.
“It’s done, Sir.”
Judith, who had carefully knotted the end of the narrowly folded cloth, removed her hand and said. Franz, who had folded and unfolded his hands several times, which were tied so tightly that he could not move them, lowered his gaze slightly and said,
“..Thank you.”
The corners of Judith's eyes narrowed as if she were truly happy about his words. Franz closed his eyes more slowly, pressing against his messy room. He was extremely tired as if he were a complete wreck, but his terrible anger had suddenly disappeared without a trace.
Comments
Post a Comment