“If I get married again, I want to do it with someone I love.”
The two men’s joy and sorrow were mixed at her words.
Valquiterre crumpled his face and Kaian couldn’t hide his joy.
The soldiers who were keeping their distance and drawing their spears and swords might have thought that Kaian was glaring at His Majesty the King with such a cold face.
However, Valquiterre and Claudel, who knew Kaian better than anyone else, could clearly see it. As the torches the soldiers held sway in the night breeze, his bright red eyes seemed to contain his emotions and cheer.
“I’ll make you happy.”
The soldiers who had been standing there with their heads held high were shocked at Kaian’s casual remark.
“So that you won’t regret it.”
“Yes.”
Claudel nodded. Then, the Duke of Vermont, who had been reluctant to step forward because he was worried about Valquiterre's reaction and had been staying in the back, shouted.
“What kind of nonsense are you doing now!”
He said furiously.
“Have you forgotten what he did to you already? You idiot!”
Claudel looked at him and replied,
“I haven’t forgotten.”
“And yet you’re sticking with him. You’re bringing shame to the family.”
“It’s not me who’s bringing shame to the family, it’s the Duke who’s doing it.”
“What?”
“Everything that’s happened so far. I just followed the Duke’s orders, but if this is the result, is it my fault?”
The Duke of Vermont was momentarily speechless as Claudel kept arguing.
“You’re really wrong.”
Claudel had never confronted him or questioned him like this before.
She had always been easygoing and obedient, saying ‘yes’ to whatever he told her to do, so when she raised her voice, he was momentarily taken aback and embarrassed.
“His Majesty the King has shown you grace. How dare you act this way?”
“It’s my marriage, so why are you making it up to him like this? I said no.”
The soldiers who had unintentionally overheard their conversation exchanged glances with each other and became noisy.
“Do you know how great the rights at stake in this marriage are?”
“What does that have to do with me?”
“What does it have to do with...?”
“This person. I feel very sorry for him.”
Claudel said as she looked at Kaian.
“I hated him so much that I thought about killing him, and I was in so much pain that I thought about dying myself.”
She turned her eyes to the Duke of Vermont.
“So he's going to apologize until I want to forgive him. I’m going to accept it.”
“What good is an apology like that?”
“Why is it useless?”
Claudel tilted her head slightly.
“The food you sell me for isn’t for me to eat. I want an apology that will make me feel better.”
Kaian, who had been listening to her the whole time, raised the corners of his lips crookedly.
“I’ll try my best to live up to your expectations.”
Kaian climbed up onto the railing and held out his hand to Claudel.
“Let’s go. Claudel.”
When she grabbed Kaian's hand without hesitation, Valquiterre ground her teeth.
He had also politely extended his hand to Claudel several times, but had been rejected every time. When he saw the woman who had been cornered and was holding the hand without hesitation, a wild anger enveloped him.
It was as if the cat he had been cherishing had bitten his hand and scratched it with its claws.
No, in fact, it was more like being bitten by a rat he had been feeding and raising for fun, since he had considered it much more insignificant.
The woman who had been acting as if she had found a way to live, grateful for the small amount of money he could give her, chose Kaian, who was inviting her to the afterlife.
'Why don't you die once?'
There was no harm in it. If Kaian's wrong, the Rowen estate would fall into Valquiterre's hands anyway.
Valquiterre, who had been watching them, clenched his fist.
"This place will be your grave. Do you think you can escape from here...?"
Valquiterre spoke, his words becoming increasingly slurred.
Oh no, she thought.
In the hanging garden...
“Are you really going to jump?”
When Claudel was afraid, Kaian hugged her.
“I won’t hurt you.”
“...I’ll trust you.”
The two men’s joy and sorrow were mixed at her words.
Valquiterre crumpled his face and Kaian couldn’t hide his joy.
The soldiers who were keeping their distance and drawing their spears and swords might have thought that Kaian was glaring at His Majesty the King with such a cold face.
However, Valquiterre and Claudel, who knew Kaian better than anyone else, could clearly see it. As the torches the soldiers held sway in the night breeze, his bright red eyes seemed to contain his emotions and cheer.
“I’ll make you happy.”
The soldiers who had been standing there with their heads held high were shocked at Kaian’s casual remark.
“So that you won’t regret it.”
“Yes.”
Claudel nodded. Then, the Duke of Vermont, who had been reluctant to step forward because he was worried about Valquiterre's reaction and had been staying in the back, shouted.
“What kind of nonsense are you doing now!”
He said furiously.
“Have you forgotten what he did to you already? You idiot!”
Claudel looked at him and replied,
“I haven’t forgotten.”
“And yet you’re sticking with him. You’re bringing shame to the family.”
“It’s not me who’s bringing shame to the family, it’s the Duke who’s doing it.”
“What?”
“Everything that’s happened so far. I just followed the Duke’s orders, but if this is the result, is it my fault?”
The Duke of Vermont was momentarily speechless as Claudel kept arguing.
“You’re really wrong.”
Claudel had never confronted him or questioned him like this before.
She had always been easygoing and obedient, saying ‘yes’ to whatever he told her to do, so when she raised her voice, he was momentarily taken aback and embarrassed.
“His Majesty the King has shown you grace. How dare you act this way?”
“It’s my marriage, so why are you making it up to him like this? I said no.”
The soldiers who had unintentionally overheard their conversation exchanged glances with each other and became noisy.
“Do you know how great the rights at stake in this marriage are?”
“What does that have to do with me?”
“What does it have to do with...?”
“This person. I feel very sorry for him.”
Claudel said as she looked at Kaian.
“I hated him so much that I thought about killing him, and I was in so much pain that I thought about dying myself.”
She turned her eyes to the Duke of Vermont.
“So he's going to apologize until I want to forgive him. I’m going to accept it.”
“What good is an apology like that?”
“Why is it useless?”
Claudel tilted her head slightly.
“The food you sell me for isn’t for me to eat. I want an apology that will make me feel better.”
Kaian, who had been listening to her the whole time, raised the corners of his lips crookedly.
“I’ll try my best to live up to your expectations.”
Kaian climbed up onto the railing and held out his hand to Claudel.
“Let’s go. Claudel.”
When she grabbed Kaian's hand without hesitation, Valquiterre ground her teeth.
He had also politely extended his hand to Claudel several times, but had been rejected every time. When he saw the woman who had been cornered and was holding the hand without hesitation, a wild anger enveloped him.
It was as if the cat he had been cherishing had bitten his hand and scratched it with its claws.
No, in fact, it was more like being bitten by a rat he had been feeding and raising for fun, since he had considered it much more insignificant.
The woman who had been acting as if she had found a way to live, grateful for the small amount of money he could give her, chose Kaian, who was inviting her to the afterlife.
'Why don't you die once?'
There was no harm in it. If Kaian's wrong, the Rowen estate would fall into Valquiterre's hands anyway.
Valquiterre, who had been watching them, clenched his fist.
"This place will be your grave. Do you think you can escape from here...?"
Valquiterre spoke, his words becoming increasingly slurred.
Oh no, she thought.
In the hanging garden...
“Are you really going to jump?”
When Claudel was afraid, Kaian hugged her.
“I won’t hurt you.”
“...I’ll trust you.”
When Claudel tightly closed her eyes and let go of all the strength in her body as if entrusting herself to him, Kaian quickly hugged her and jumped over the railing.
“...!”
Everyone looked at the scene with astonishment.
“T, tsk...”
The next moment, an unfamiliar loud noise was heard.
Kung.
A thump, not even the sound of falling water, from the Hanging Gardens, built on a high cliff and where even the sound of the rushing water of the Shen River could not be heard properly. As Valquiterre hurriedly approached the railing, the Duke of Vermont, Count Makie, and the soldiers all pulled their heads out of the railing.
Then, a small wooden boat was hanging in the blind spot below the terrace, which was hard to see unless you pulled out.
“Damn it.”
Valquiterre slammed his fist on the railing with an angry face.
The Oberon Royal Castle was a fortress optimized for defense, but it also had a fatal flaw.
Because it was on a hill and behind a cliff with a river, there was only one way up to the castle.
So if there was a siege, if the gates were blocked so that they could not be opened naturally, there would be no escape route in case of emergency. There would be no way out.
That’s why there was a secret device hidden in the Hanging Gardens that allowed you to go down to the Shen River.
Only the royal family knew about this fact.
The reason why only the King and Queen had the key to open the Hanging Gardens was to buy time to escape in case of emergency.
He gave it to Claudel as if he was being generous so that she would feel guilty about becoming Queen, but when Kaian caught her, it was like offering a living sacrifice to a tiger.
When Queen Sylvia told him the secret of the Hanging Gardens about the evacuation from the palace, Lady Elise and Kaian also heard it.
Lady Elise was originally a Princess who lived in the palace, so she couldn’t know, and from her perspective, Kaian, who was a royal collateral line, seemed to think that he should know because they were related by blood.
Queen Sylvia also didn’t make Kaian listen and backed down.
As a result, today, Valquiterre was getting a huge blow to the escape method that he had forgotten.
Kaian sat Claudel on the ship and cut the rope of the device that secured the ship with a dagger.
“What the heck is this?”
“Emergency escape.”
Kaian explained briefly.
“Let’s borrow the King’s escape route for a moment.”
Claudel, who understood the situation, kept her mouth shut. She crouched down in her seat as if trying not to disturb him while he was concentrating on his work, and watched what Kaian was doing.
“I think it’s done.”
There was a commotion above, but as soon as they fell with a thud, the ship with its weight moved down the Hanging Gardens, making it difficult to see what was happening above.
Instead, a long spear shot out from outside the railing like a pendulum, as if searching for them, but it only swung in the most random places.
“If we activate the device, this ship will fall all the way down there.”
“ ..”
Kaian tied Claudel’s waist to the fastener with the rope from the ship.
“Claudel.”
He said quickly.
“The baby is alive.”
“Yes?”
“Hannah is taking her to Rowen.”
There was a reason he had deliberately left the child with Hannah, telling her to take her.
In his opinion, Hannah was very lucky.
He didn’t want to see what happened to young girls who had left their parents’ care, but he had learned better than anyone else while traveling through the war zone.
After the misfortune of losing her family, Hannah, who had no relatives, was able to stay safely in the castle of Valmonde, or she had a relationship with a man like Rohan who was lacking in character, personality, and talent.
In addition, her blind affection for Claudel, which was almost a friendship, made her believe that she would protect the baby no matter what happened in this situation. And Kaian even sent Baron Colon with her.
Kaian usually felt better about doing such important things himself, but now he had no choice.
Considering everyone’s circumstances, he was the only one who could go to the palace to get Claudel.
“The baby is alive. So hold on.”
The next moment, Kaian touched the device, and the ropes hanging from the front and back of the ship were instantly caught on the pulley and fell.
“Gyaaaaaaa!”
Claudel screamed, and Kaian quickly lowered his body and caught her so that she wouldn’t be thrown away.
The ship that was falling stopped in midair and swayed like a swing.
“Haa. Haa.”
Claudel had tears in her eyes.
“Are you done?”
“Oh...”
Kaiyan looked embarrassed.
“Was the rope originally short? I should have fallen into the river.”
Kaian hesitated for a moment, looking at the dark river water flowing about three meters below, and then asked her.
“Do you know how to swim?”
When Claudel nodded, he seemed determined.
“Let’s jump. I think it would be better to give up on the boat and just swim.”
“Isn’t that dangerous?”
“We won’t be able to cut all the ropes at the same time anyway, so we’ll fall overboard.”
Claudel nodded as he did.
“Just hold on.”
Kaian looked across the dark river, saw a light flickering in the air, and put his dagger away.
“I’ll take you.”
Kaian grabbed the rope that bound her and jumped into the river with Claudel by his side.
Claudel panicked as she was swept away by the current. Having only swam in calm lakes up until now, it was difficult to keep her head out of the water in the strong current.
Kaian wrapped the rope around his arm and pulled, helping her breathe, as he swam toward the middle of the river.
She could see the royal castle slowly moving away, brightly lit and noisy.
When she turned her head, a boat quickly approached them.
“Rohan!”
Kaian shouted, and a rope ladder came down from the boat.
“Can you climb up?”
Claudel nodded, though she had no strength. But in the end, when she shivered with her body temperature dropping and could not go up, Kaian shouted upward.
“Pull me up!”
Her body that had fallen into hypothermia trembled and her vision gradually darkened.
“Damn it. Just hold on a little longer, Claudel.”
Kaian carried her up onto the deck and hurriedly headed inside the cabin.
The room that had been prepared in advance was sweltering with the two braziers inside.
“You need to take off your clothes.”
Kaian tried to take off the clothes that were stealing her body temperature, but he sighed when he couldn’t get them off because they were so soaking wet.
“Excuse me.”
Whoosh.
Her clothes were torn in two by the incredible force.
“...!”
Everyone looked at the scene with astonishment.
“T, tsk...”
The next moment, an unfamiliar loud noise was heard.
Kung.
A thump, not even the sound of falling water, from the Hanging Gardens, built on a high cliff and where even the sound of the rushing water of the Shen River could not be heard properly. As Valquiterre hurriedly approached the railing, the Duke of Vermont, Count Makie, and the soldiers all pulled their heads out of the railing.
Then, a small wooden boat was hanging in the blind spot below the terrace, which was hard to see unless you pulled out.
“Damn it.”
Valquiterre slammed his fist on the railing with an angry face.
The Oberon Royal Castle was a fortress optimized for defense, but it also had a fatal flaw.
Because it was on a hill and behind a cliff with a river, there was only one way up to the castle.
So if there was a siege, if the gates were blocked so that they could not be opened naturally, there would be no escape route in case of emergency. There would be no way out.
That’s why there was a secret device hidden in the Hanging Gardens that allowed you to go down to the Shen River.
Only the royal family knew about this fact.
The reason why only the King and Queen had the key to open the Hanging Gardens was to buy time to escape in case of emergency.
He gave it to Claudel as if he was being generous so that she would feel guilty about becoming Queen, but when Kaian caught her, it was like offering a living sacrifice to a tiger.
When Queen Sylvia told him the secret of the Hanging Gardens about the evacuation from the palace, Lady Elise and Kaian also heard it.
Lady Elise was originally a Princess who lived in the palace, so she couldn’t know, and from her perspective, Kaian, who was a royal collateral line, seemed to think that he should know because they were related by blood.
Queen Sylvia also didn’t make Kaian listen and backed down.
As a result, today, Valquiterre was getting a huge blow to the escape method that he had forgotten.
Kaian sat Claudel on the ship and cut the rope of the device that secured the ship with a dagger.
“What the heck is this?”
“Emergency escape.”
Kaian explained briefly.
“Let’s borrow the King’s escape route for a moment.”
Claudel, who understood the situation, kept her mouth shut. She crouched down in her seat as if trying not to disturb him while he was concentrating on his work, and watched what Kaian was doing.
“I think it’s done.”
There was a commotion above, but as soon as they fell with a thud, the ship with its weight moved down the Hanging Gardens, making it difficult to see what was happening above.
Instead, a long spear shot out from outside the railing like a pendulum, as if searching for them, but it only swung in the most random places.
“If we activate the device, this ship will fall all the way down there.”
“ ..”
Kaian tied Claudel’s waist to the fastener with the rope from the ship.
“Claudel.”
He said quickly.
“The baby is alive.”
“Yes?”
“Hannah is taking her to Rowen.”
There was a reason he had deliberately left the child with Hannah, telling her to take her.
In his opinion, Hannah was very lucky.
He didn’t want to see what happened to young girls who had left their parents’ care, but he had learned better than anyone else while traveling through the war zone.
After the misfortune of losing her family, Hannah, who had no relatives, was able to stay safely in the castle of Valmonde, or she had a relationship with a man like Rohan who was lacking in character, personality, and talent.
In addition, her blind affection for Claudel, which was almost a friendship, made her believe that she would protect the baby no matter what happened in this situation. And Kaian even sent Baron Colon with her.
Kaian usually felt better about doing such important things himself, but now he had no choice.
Considering everyone’s circumstances, he was the only one who could go to the palace to get Claudel.
“The baby is alive. So hold on.”
The next moment, Kaian touched the device, and the ropes hanging from the front and back of the ship were instantly caught on the pulley and fell.
“Gyaaaaaaa!”
Claudel screamed, and Kaian quickly lowered his body and caught her so that she wouldn’t be thrown away.
The ship that was falling stopped in midair and swayed like a swing.
“Haa. Haa.”
Claudel had tears in her eyes.
“Are you done?”
“Oh...”
Kaiyan looked embarrassed.
“Was the rope originally short? I should have fallen into the river.”
Kaian hesitated for a moment, looking at the dark river water flowing about three meters below, and then asked her.
“Do you know how to swim?”
When Claudel nodded, he seemed determined.
“Let’s jump. I think it would be better to give up on the boat and just swim.”
“Isn’t that dangerous?”
“We won’t be able to cut all the ropes at the same time anyway, so we’ll fall overboard.”
Claudel nodded as he did.
“Just hold on.”
Kaian looked across the dark river, saw a light flickering in the air, and put his dagger away.
“I’ll take you.”
Kaian grabbed the rope that bound her and jumped into the river with Claudel by his side.
Claudel panicked as she was swept away by the current. Having only swam in calm lakes up until now, it was difficult to keep her head out of the water in the strong current.
Kaian wrapped the rope around his arm and pulled, helping her breathe, as he swam toward the middle of the river.
She could see the royal castle slowly moving away, brightly lit and noisy.
When she turned her head, a boat quickly approached them.
“Rohan!”
Kaian shouted, and a rope ladder came down from the boat.
“Can you climb up?”
Claudel nodded, though she had no strength. But in the end, when she shivered with her body temperature dropping and could not go up, Kaian shouted upward.
“Pull me up!”
Her body that had fallen into hypothermia trembled and her vision gradually darkened.
“Damn it. Just hold on a little longer, Claudel.”
Kaian carried her up onto the deck and hurriedly headed inside the cabin.
The room that had been prepared in advance was sweltering with the two braziers inside.
“You need to take off your clothes.”
Kaian tried to take off the clothes that were stealing her body temperature, but he sighed when he couldn’t get them off because they were so soaking wet.
“Excuse me.”
Whoosh.
Her clothes were torn in two by the incredible force.
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