“Kaian. Did you set fire to the village of Plogne?”
Kaian raised his eyebrows as if he had been caught off guard by the sudden question.
'...I want to believe it isn't.'
To do that, I hoped that he could say something that I could understand.
Instead of talking back like before or pretending not to understand and blurting out the point, say something that would make me say 'I see.'
“Who did you hear that from?”
However, the words I heard from Kaian's mouth were unexpected.
“I heard you were with Bianque all afternoon.”
“...Kaian.”
“I said the Queen ordered it to be kept secret, but were you investigating?”
I felt my whole body shaking.
“You really said that?”
I could clearly feel the man hiding the source of the information instead of answering. Kaian was very direct and honest, but his attitude was different from usual, so I was even more confident.
'I guess this man won't give me a proper answer again.'
I won't get the words I want back when I ask.
Still, I hoped he would say no. To say that Bianque's words were not true and that the Queen had told him that something else had happened or that he could at least make an excuse.
“Why can’t you answer? Is it really okay to think that you did that?”
“What are you going to do about the past now?”
It felt as if a cold wind was blowing from Kaian, something I would only feel in Valmonde in early winter.
“Does it matter? Does knowing anything make a difference?”
“How can you say that?”
I could barely speak, feeling like a tight snare was wrapped around my neck.
“It’s my job. My mom died because of that fire.”
No, I said it wrong. It wasn't just my mother who died.
“My dad passed away too. After saving me and Hannah, he couldn’t bear it himself.”
The shock brought on by a few words tore me to pieces.
“Hannah’s parents and younger brother too. Everyone in the village.”
That being said, it wasn't just a human problem.
“Why did you do that? It was just a quiet village, right?”
My life was completely destroyed. Not only me, but Hannah and everyone else in the village lost to the fire.
“You are a murderer.”
An unbearably painful heart sharply criticized Kaian.
“Do you know that now?”
The man who received my words, which came out in a twisted manner, was normal, so he seemed fine.
"What... What?”
“The amount of money I cut down on the battlefield is immeasurable.”
The words that were spoken as if they were going to stab Kaian came back and hit me.
“Have you forgotten who your husband is? I wouldn’t be here if undefeated Temnes hadn’t maintained its reputation.”
He had a hard and stern face as if he were wearing invisible iron armor.
“It is natural for a subject to respond to the country’s call and follow the King’s orders.”
“...”
“Make sure you don’t bring this up again.”
When I didn't answer, he sighed and walked out of the bedroom. My legs gave out and I collapsed on the spot.
"Ah..."
Her lower abdomen was in knots and was painful. I stopped rubbing my stomach with my hands as if comforting a baby, as had become a habit these days.
"Unbelievable. Kaian was the enemy who killed my parents.”
The fact that something more cruel than that penetrated me.
"I... I'm having my enemy’s baby.”
At that moment, something warm ran down my cheek. I touched my face as I felt an unfamiliar sensation for the first time in nearly ten years.
“I’m crying.”
No matter what happened, I never shed tears. Because I was so distraught, there were times when my memories were unclear, but it was clear that I had been unable to cry since someday after my father passed away.
I thought it was because too much sadness had passed.
I thought it was because there was a hole so big in my heart that any sadness could not leave a trace.
The sadness that is smaller than that is invisible, like a small rock thrown into an empty cave, so it doesn't cause tears.
"Ah...”
Tears soaked the palm that covered my face, squeezed through the cracks between my fingers, and ran down the back of my hand.
“Huh. Ugh....”
I wanted to scream out loud and cry. But even that couldn't be done.
While I was trembling and exerting strength the whole time, I felt the baby's movements in my stomach, which had become hard as a cold stone, as if the baby was complaining of discomfort.
"Ah."
I held my stomach and sobbed.
The night of frustration deepened.
***
The butler passed through a long hallway shrouded in darkness, holding an oil lamp in his hand. He stopped and handed his back to the attendant who followed him. After taking a moment to look at his clothes, he lifted his hand into a fist.
Knock knock.
When he knocked on the guest room door, he felt a presence inside the room.
"Come in."
He opened the door when he heard a deep voice speaking informally. Then, a middle-aged man with white hair who was sitting on the sofa in a fairly spacious guest room, drinking a glass of wine, looked at the butler and smiled.
"Baron Colon.”
“Court Chamberlain Makie. Long time no see."
“I was too busy taking care of the ship earlier, so I couldn’t say hello properly. Thank you for coming here.”
When Makie was young, he had brown hair and brown eyes. But at one point his hair started to turn gray rapidly and now all of his hair is gray.
He had a strong physique and looked younger than his age, and his pure white hair was very noticeable. In contrast, his brown eyes were still full of vitality, so he was likely to leave a deep impression at first sight.
"You're welcome. Your Majesty's beloved ship cannot be treated sloppily. I just did what I had to do.”
“Why don’t you sit this way?”
Baron Colon went to sit across from him, as recommended by Court Chamberlain Makie.
The man who had taken another drink from him poured the drink he was drinking and set it down in front of him without asking the butler. The faint scent of brandy rose from the shaking golden liquid.
“I was quite surprised to see Rowen Port this time.”
Makie grinned.
“In the past, it wasn’t a proper port. Oh, of course, compared to the capital.”
“Isn’t the top moving the ship quite actively? The Lord paid special attention to trade on the Sol Continent, so the size was adjusted accordingly.”
Baron Colon raised his glass and took a sip of the sherry that the courtier Maki had freely poured.
“What brings you to Rowen?”
“What’s going on?”
“Aren’t you the kind of person who doesn’t want to come to Rowen?”
Makie laughed at his words.
“Where are the likes and dislikes? I serve His Majesty the King and do whatever the Lord wants.”
“I understand that Her Majesty Sylvia has never visited Rowen while she was alive.”
Courtier Makie narrowed his eyes at the inquiring tone.
"She did. At that time, Her Majesty had something else to do in the royal castle, so he didn’t bother to come down to Rowen with us.”
“Then what did you tell me this time that made you come this far?”
Baron Colon added.
“Drag that big of a boat.”
Originally, the ‘water banquet’ was literally a taste enjoyed on the water. The bigger the boat, the further away from the water it is, making it less suitable for the purpose of the event.
It was common for four, five, or ten people to have fun on a small boat, but the boat that Makie came on from the capital was a fairly large boat with three floors.
“It would be difficult to enjoy the water banquet on that boat.”
Moreover, boats were quite expensive items. The Shen River was wide enough for boats to travel up to the capital, but the waterway from the capital to Valmonde was narrow and steep, so boats could not enter.
However, ironically, Vermont, which monopolized the northern sea route on the continent, had a near monopoly on ship manufacturing technology, so it cost a huge amount of money to rent engineers every time it built a ship.
Logistics using ships was quite useful even inland, but the ships brought by the Makie courtiers were so different from cheap merchant ships that they could rather be called luxury items.
“The King said that it has been a while since he has been away, so he would like to stay in Rowen as long as possible. It’s just a way to get back to the capital quickly.”
Courtier Makie answered leisurely.
“Furthermore, since Her Highness Bianque is coming with us, we have changed it to a ship with separate cabins. It would be impossible for His Majesty the King to share a cabin with his sister while he is on his way.”
"Yes. Don’t worry, I’m just asking because this incident was so sudden.”
Baron Colon was fascinated by the large ship with its many cabins.
It was so large that even if something was stolen, it would not be known. Is it because of Makie that people look at this with colored glasses with suspicious eyes? Because he is a very mysterious person with a formidable personality?
“It is symbolic for the King to attend the Water Banquet. But is he, not one who cannot be humbled with the people? No one will be dissatisfied with that ship.”
“I understand.”
“By the way, Baron Colon doesn’t do any sword training these days?”
Makie asked, looking at his slim physique with reduced muscles, unlike when Colon was the sword of the previous Duke of Temnes when he was young.
“A sword that is not sharpened will rust quickly.”
“Even if the owner changed, it would have been better to put in more effort.”
“As soon as the Lord succeeded, didn’t he go to war? Instead, the vassal has to manage the territory.”
Baron Colon stood up.
“If you need anything, please feel free to ask.”
“I will.”
As the butler disappeared out the door, the courtier Makie pulled up the corner of his lip as if sarcastically.
“Anyway, he’s a quick-witted player.”
When returning to the castle, Valquiterre would not be alone.
“Those who cannot protect it have nothing to say even if it is taken from them.”
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