“What did you just say?”
Judith, who was standing in front of the mirror taking off her hairpin, turned her head slightly at Franz's question. A few strands of dark blue hair flowed softly and silently down the nape of her thin neck.
“It is said that the palace doctor who was examining the Queen Mother’s condition was told about a medicine that could cure the Queen Mother’s condition.”
Franz raised one eyebrow and turned his head away, covering his mouth. But Judith did not explain further and took off all the remaining jewelry and placed it on the dressing table. There was a small clanking sound. Judith turned to Franz.
"Your Highness."
“Why did you do that?”
Judith's eyes blinked a couple of times. She slowly turned around and sat down on the edge of the bed. Then she looked straight up at Franz, who was standing still, and tapped the empty seat next to her with her fingertips.
He seemed to hesitate for a moment, but Franz eventually couldn't resist and sat down next to Judith as she had wanted. His shoulders, which had just come out of the bath, gave off a cool and refreshing scent. When Judith leaned her forehead on his shoulder, Franz looked embarrassed for a moment, but soon gently brushed Judith's hair back.
“Why can’t you explain it to me?”
Judith raised her head.
“What is there that I cannot tell you?”
“Then tell me. Why did you do that?”
“Do you wish for the Queen to go mad like this?”
Franz's eyes blinked rapidly at Judith's question. A look of embarrassment at not being able to answer right away crossed his face, then disappeared immediately.
“My wish is meaningless. There is no guarantee that it will definitely occur.”
“Your Highness, don’t you know that that is nothing more than a play on words?”
Franz lowered his eyes for a moment and said nothing. Judith, who gently held his hand on her lap, sighed softly.
“If left alone, the Queen Mother’s nervous breakdown will develop into an irreversible madness.”
“What I’m curious about is why you want to stop it. Why do you know a prescription that even the palace doctor doesn’t know? I won’t ask. But why did you tell the palace doctor about it? Don’t you resent the Queen? Have you ever hated her so much that you couldn’t stand it?”
Franz's fingertips began to tighten. His voice trembled. A sneer mixed with bitter contempt formed at the corners of his twisted lips.
“You asked if I wanted her to go crazy? Why wouldn’t I want that? If the Queen could become ignorant and forget nothing, then she wouldn’t be able to target you or me anymore. And Father wouldn’t have to suffer anymore. If she finally lets go of everything, exhausted by hallucinations and auditory hallucinations that didn’t exist!”
“That’s why I told you.”
Franz turned his head sharply and his lips trembled. Judith, who saw him, did not even raise an eyebrow and maintained her calm expression. Her eyes, which always shined with a sharpness and did not waver, were also the same. This made Franz even more confused.
“What on earth does that mean?”
“If Her Majesty forgets everything, if she goes crazy and can’t remember anything, who will benefit? She won’t be able to target me and Your Highness? Even if it’s not her, countless people want to target Your Highness. If You disappear, someone else will fill the void.”
“Judith.”
“Until Your Highness ascends to the highest position, and all men bow down at your feet, there will be no avoiding a fight.”
Judith's face was still calm. She seemed not only unmoved but even indifferent. But at the same time, her voice was trembling like Franz's a moment ago. From that faint vibration, he could sense an unbearable, uncontrollable emotion.
“Queen Gilsis has committed a sin against you that cannot be washed away. What she has done to me is nothing compared to that. If she forgets all the sins she has committed with her own hands, will you forgive her? Can you condemn a person who has gone mad? Even if you do, what comfort will that be?”
“What do you mean? Comfort, I...”
“You mean you don’t want to get involved anymore? I know. But I couldn’t let that happen. I couldn’t let Queen Gilsis use illness as an excuse to run away. When His Majesty is going to question that wicked woman, she needs to know every single thing she’s done. She’ll chew on it, regret it, and eventually eat her own flesh. I will do that.”
Franz’s expression became strangely distorted. Judith’s lips, which had been trembling violently as she continued to speak, closed tightly. Judith, who had been biting her lower lip as if enduring her suffering, let out a long sigh again. It was like a widespread sigh, like someone who had been submerged in a swamp for a long time and finally emerged.
Suddenly, Franz looked down and saw Judith's hand, which was holding the hem of her thin chemise as if it was going to tear it off. The bones on the back of her hand were white and protruding under the thin skin. From the trembling, from the hand she was clenching as if gritting her teeth, the emotions she felt spread like ripples and seemed to flow into him.
Judith and Franz's eyes met silently. Franz closed his eyes and frowned as if he was enduring a headache, then carefully placed his hand over the back of Judith's shrunken hand.
“Judith.”
“Your Highness, I...”
“You don’t have to say anything more. I fully understand why you did that.”
Franz grabbed Judith's hand and pulled her towards him. The two of them, who had risen completely onto the bed, were draped over each other like matching sculptures. Franz suddenly felt his eyes welling up with tears, and for a while, he remained silent and closed his eyes. The end of his breathing occasionally trembled irregularly.
“Even if I don’t want this, you won’t stop.”
Judith's breathing, which had been moving slowly, suddenly stopped. Franz looked down at her face, which was bathed in soft light.
The face, with its bright crimson parts and shadows beneath, was innocently beautiful but also possessed an untouchable aura. It was as if it had died down like ash, hiding its heat, but it seemed as if it was a dangerous flame that was ready to burst out at any moment if someone carelessly reached out.
Judith's lips moved cautiously.
“Do you want me to stop like this?”
Franz stared into space as if trying to recall something he couldn't remember. His broad chest heaved for a moment. Worry, fear, concern. Such emotions dripped from his breath. But on the other hand, there was also a deep-rooted anger that he had not yet been able to overcome.
“If you really want it, I have no intention of stopping you.”
A faint smile appeared on Judith's face. Franz continued, lightly stroking her round, protruding cheek with the tip of his thumb.
“But promise me you won’t put yourself in harm’s way.”
“I promise.”
It was a cautious, whispered answer. Before the warmth of those words could fade, Franz’s lips came closer with a small sigh.
***
The room, decorated with tapestries, wall hangings, and curtains, was ornate but dark as a cave.
Because of the draped curtain, the Duke of Laetian could not see the face of the person sitting opposite him clearly. A few candles were lit here and there, but because of the short wicks, only the faintest and most unappealing light occasionally flickered like a flickering flame.
“How did the work you ordered go?”
Perhaps because of the dim darkness that had descended, the voice of the Duke of Laetian sounded even more gloomy and damp than usual. However, the person sitting across from him stretched out his legs under the table without even raising an eyebrow at the chill that seemed to be brushing the back of his neck.
“No problem.”
“Really? It hasn’t been that long. The palace’s hunting grounds are vast and complex. No one knows where the Crown Prince will move.”
“Isn’t it your job to recruit the herders?”
“Of course, but I’m saying this because there is a one-in-a-million chance that this will fail. If this goes down the drain, I won’t be the only one who will be in trouble.”
The Duke's thin lips twitched a couple of times and then a sinister smile appeared. The other person, as if he didn't care, made a short sound and then opened his right palm and placed it on the table. There was a thud. His hand was covered in calluses and scars.
Duke Laetian, who had been carefully examining his hand, took out a small package from his jacket pocket. Pulling the string that sealed the entrance and pouring it upside down on the table, several diamonds the size of fingernails rolled out.
The man's face, which had not moved at all, finally began to change. Laetian watched the man's expression with interest as if he were watching a clown.
“What is this?”
The man asked. Laetian, who had been tapping his cheek with his long, fish-like fingers, shrugged and said.
“As you can see, it is a deposit.”
“You wouldn’t be so naive as to not know how much a mercenary’s ransom is.”
“If you do your job properly, I can pay you dozens of times your salary. Surely I wouldn’t have called in someone like you without that much.”
“Someone like me?”
The man's lips twisted strangely. An ominous atmosphere flowed from his body as if he were about to draw his sword and aim it. However, the Duke narrowed his eyes with an even more sinister smile.
“Modrum was eventually destroyed by the cunning tactics of the Imperial Army, but the King of Modrum never gave up hope that he could turn the tide of the war until the very end. Why did he do that? Was it because he was foolish? Because Modrum’s soldiers were so great?”
Suddenly, the man's fist hit the table hard. The diamond, which had been shining brightly even under the dim candlelight, rolled around like a small stone and fell down helplessly. However, neither the Duke of Laetian nor the man paid any attention to it. The Duke continued.
“That was not the case. The only hope that the King of Modrum held onto until the end was you, wasn’t it? The military officer who, when going to war, was said to have a thousand eyes and would never be caught by anyone. I mean, Tudban.”
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