“I’ll show you the spring of Rowen.”
I opened my eyes wide.
The spring of Rowen.
I immediately understood why Kaian was saying that.
When I first came to Rowen Castle as a bride, it was midsummer on the continent’s clock. Then, after the fall festival, there was no way to send it up even after the harvest, so I spent the winter resting along with it. Since I disappeared from the water banquet held before the start of spring farming, I had not yet experienced the spring of Rowen.
The season when I carried Julien on a boat called from the palace as if time had been cut off was spring.
“I’ll wait.”
I was grateful that he promised later first. I had felt that he would not easily say something as simple as “Let’s come back here later” at Margaret’s Flower Garden.
My anxious heart quickly calmed down when he made the promise first.
I held Kaian’s hand.
“I want to hug you.”
The man who had let go of me without any strength left his shoulders tense.
“Do you not like it?”
Kaian was always weak to my pressure.
But not today.
“No.”
“Why?”
The day he took her out of the palace, she had been shivering from hypothermia and desperately clung to him for warmth. He couldn’t resist the joy of having her back and slept with her as if he was being dragged into her, but later he learned that her health had deteriorated to the point that he had heard rumors that she might die.
To Kaian, hearing that she was going to die felt like a déjà vu.
She always acted as if she was going to disappear from the world when she was next to him. He had vowed that he would not let her go like that and that he would definitely save her, but he felt guilty about holding a sick woman. Even though it was a reasonable thing to do to fill Claudel’s empty and lonely moments, the woman who had been skinny had now regained her softness.
After gaining strength and being able to hold and care for Julien on her own, she became as lively as she was motivated. Claudel became healthier day by day. However, parents were rarely allowed to spend the night alone.
“Why are you asking because you don’t know?”
He frowned.
“Yes. I don’t know.”
We’re a married couple, so why can’t we? Claudel proudly admitted that she didn’t know.
Then Kaian sighed heavily as if he had no choice and pressed his forehead against hers.
“I can’t let you have another baby alone.”
“...”
Isn’t that a bit much?
Claudel was going to have a hard time having a baby because of the aftereffects of Herzol.
How Julien was born so quickly was something of a miracle, and he could only guess that it was possible because he had stayed up almost every night at the time.
“It’s not that easy to have a baby.”
Claudel muttered in disbelief, and Kaian responded in amazement.
“And Julien? He was already there when I didn’t even want him to be.”
...There was nothing to say.
What’s more, just a moment ago, you said you would show me ‘Rowen’s Spring’, but what you were saying now was a mistake.
Usually, it takes ten months to carry a child.
‘How long are you not going to come back?’
I just wanted to cling to him, but the coldness that had been growing distant for a while crawled up my body without even finding my original intention.
“Then let me kiss you.”
Then, Kaian closed his eyes and leaned his face out as if to let me do whatever I wanted.
I kissed him with regret. I carefully kissed his straight forehead, his high and pretty nose, his cool eyes, his cheeks, his chin, and his throat where his pleasant voice resonated.
‘I can finally see you like this.’
We looked at each other with regret all night.
‘I can finally be honest with you.’
In the end, neither of us could express our regret and quietly hid it.
Early the next morning.
Kaian, who had reorganized his ranks before the sun had even risen, left Rowen Castle with his soldiers.
Valquiterre wasn’t in a good mood.
When he left the capital and reached the border of the kingdom, he joined the soldiers who had retreated from the battle at Pagos.
However, the soldiers were in poor condition after suffering for several months, perhaps due to the relentless torment of the serfs.
They were either injured or very tired.
The adjutants who reported to him on the situation were all incompetent.
No, it wasn’t that they were incompetent, but that Count Makie’s were competent, and it was more accurate to say that it would be quite tiring to personally coordinate everything after living comfortably.
“Your Majesty. The commander of the 3rd Legion would like to see you.”
“Again?”
The 3rd Legion had joined the army that had fought in Pagos.
“He said he had something urgent to say.”
“Come in."
The spring of Rowen.
I immediately understood why Kaian was saying that.
When I first came to Rowen Castle as a bride, it was midsummer on the continent’s clock. Then, after the fall festival, there was no way to send it up even after the harvest, so I spent the winter resting along with it. Since I disappeared from the water banquet held before the start of spring farming, I had not yet experienced the spring of Rowen.
The season when I carried Julien on a boat called from the palace as if time had been cut off was spring.
“I’ll wait.”
I was grateful that he promised later first. I had felt that he would not easily say something as simple as “Let’s come back here later” at Margaret’s Flower Garden.
My anxious heart quickly calmed down when he made the promise first.
I held Kaian’s hand.
“I want to hug you.”
The man who had let go of me without any strength left his shoulders tense.
“Do you not like it?”
Kaian was always weak to my pressure.
But not today.
“No.”
“Why?”
The day he took her out of the palace, she had been shivering from hypothermia and desperately clung to him for warmth. He couldn’t resist the joy of having her back and slept with her as if he was being dragged into her, but later he learned that her health had deteriorated to the point that he had heard rumors that she might die.
To Kaian, hearing that she was going to die felt like a déjà vu.
She always acted as if she was going to disappear from the world when she was next to him. He had vowed that he would not let her go like that and that he would definitely save her, but he felt guilty about holding a sick woman. Even though it was a reasonable thing to do to fill Claudel’s empty and lonely moments, the woman who had been skinny had now regained her softness.
After gaining strength and being able to hold and care for Julien on her own, she became as lively as she was motivated. Claudel became healthier day by day. However, parents were rarely allowed to spend the night alone.
“Why are you asking because you don’t know?”
He frowned.
“Yes. I don’t know.”
We’re a married couple, so why can’t we? Claudel proudly admitted that she didn’t know.
Then Kaian sighed heavily as if he had no choice and pressed his forehead against hers.
“I can’t let you have another baby alone.”
“...”
Isn’t that a bit much?
Claudel was going to have a hard time having a baby because of the aftereffects of Herzol.
How Julien was born so quickly was something of a miracle, and he could only guess that it was possible because he had stayed up almost every night at the time.
“It’s not that easy to have a baby.”
Claudel muttered in disbelief, and Kaian responded in amazement.
“And Julien? He was already there when I didn’t even want him to be.”
...There was nothing to say.
What’s more, just a moment ago, you said you would show me ‘Rowen’s Spring’, but what you were saying now was a mistake.
Usually, it takes ten months to carry a child.
‘How long are you not going to come back?’
I just wanted to cling to him, but the coldness that had been growing distant for a while crawled up my body without even finding my original intention.
“Then let me kiss you.”
Then, Kaian closed his eyes and leaned his face out as if to let me do whatever I wanted.
I kissed him with regret. I carefully kissed his straight forehead, his high and pretty nose, his cool eyes, his cheeks, his chin, and his throat where his pleasant voice resonated.
‘I can finally see you like this.’
We looked at each other with regret all night.
‘I can finally be honest with you.’
In the end, neither of us could express our regret and quietly hid it.
Early the next morning.
Kaian, who had reorganized his ranks before the sun had even risen, left Rowen Castle with his soldiers.
***
Valquiterre wasn’t in a good mood.
When he left the capital and reached the border of the kingdom, he joined the soldiers who had retreated from the battle at Pagos.
However, the soldiers were in poor condition after suffering for several months, perhaps due to the relentless torment of the serfs.
They were either injured or very tired.
The adjutants who reported to him on the situation were all incompetent.
No, it wasn’t that they were incompetent, but that Count Makie’s were competent, and it was more accurate to say that it would be quite tiring to personally coordinate everything after living comfortably.
“Your Majesty. The commander of the 3rd Legion would like to see you.”
“Again?”
The 3rd Legion had joined the army that had fought in Pagos.
“He said he had something urgent to say.”
“Come in."
Declining that would only create another task, so Valquiterre put down the telegrams from the capital.
“Your Majesty the King.”
Valquiterre’s eyes squinted as the man who had lived his entire life as a knight in a military family prostrated himself.
His measured movements somehow reminded him of Kaian.
Valquiterre suppressed his discomfort and annoyance and opened his mouth.
“What’s going on?”
“It seems that there’s an epidemic going on among the soldiers.”
“What?”
Valquiterre, who had been about to give a brief listen and send him away, stood up without realizing it.
“Where? How much?”
“I apologize, Your Majesty.”
The man, who was the head of a noble family and the commander of five battalions of troops, including the Knights, had a worn-out face.
“We have been fighting in Pagos for almost three months without eating or drinking properly.”
The problem started in Pagos.
Pagos was the kingdom’s golden granary, and its annual yield was no less than that of Rowen. The single harvest from its wheat fields was the greatest in the kingdom.
It was stored in granaries managed by the consuls and distributed to all parts of the country by water and land.
The serfs, who had been waiting for the day when they would be reborn as commoners as free men, were so enraged that they set fire to the wheat fields before the fall harvest.
Then they attacked the food warehouses and plundered the things they had collected and offered.
The expedition was going to a place where there was no shortage of food, so rather than carrying food from the capital and using the warehouse in Pagos as a base, the royal army, which had planned to start lightly and fight, began to falter from the start.
“Your Majesty the King.”
Valquiterre’s eyes squinted as the man who had lived his entire life as a knight in a military family prostrated himself.
His measured movements somehow reminded him of Kaian.
Valquiterre suppressed his discomfort and annoyance and opened his mouth.
“What’s going on?”
“It seems that there’s an epidemic going on among the soldiers.”
“What?”
Valquiterre, who had been about to give a brief listen and send him away, stood up without realizing it.
“Where? How much?”
“I apologize, Your Majesty.”
The man, who was the head of a noble family and the commander of five battalions of troops, including the Knights, had a worn-out face.
“We have been fighting in Pagos for almost three months without eating or drinking properly.”
The problem started in Pagos.
Pagos was the kingdom’s golden granary, and its annual yield was no less than that of Rowen. The single harvest from its wheat fields was the greatest in the kingdom.
It was stored in granaries managed by the consuls and distributed to all parts of the country by water and land.
The serfs, who had been waiting for the day when they would be reborn as commoners as free men, were so enraged that they set fire to the wheat fields before the fall harvest.
Then they attacked the food warehouses and plundered the things they had collected and offered.
The expedition was going to a place where there was no shortage of food, so rather than carrying food from the capital and using the warehouse in Pagos as a base, the royal army, which had planned to start lightly and fight, began to falter from the start.
How could soldiers who were so hungry have the strength to fight?
Valquiterre, who realized this fact, gave priority to the distribution of food to the 3rd Legion and made sure they received enough medicine and treatment.
“Contagious disease?”
However, it was shocking that such consideration was in vain for the disease to spread.
“There are people in two battalions who are vomiting and having diarrhea. In two days, the number of people with symptoms increased from five to thirty-three.”
Valquiterre asked.
“So what are you going to do?”
“We will stop the march.”
When he furrowed his eyebrows, another subordinate who had been watching stepped forward.
“Isn’t there a separate camp for each legion? If we continue to march together and spread to other legions, it could spread without us having time to do anything.”
The adjutant’s words were reasonable, so Valquiterre nodded.
“Can we get more doctors nearby?”
Doctors were high-level personnel.
Since soldiers would inevitably get hurt on the battlefield, the salaries of military doctors were truly enormous.
However, if an infectious disease seemed to be spreading, more doctors were needed to properly treat the soldiers and prepare medicine.
“How about ordering Vermont to do it?”
The adjutant said quickly.
“Aren’t they the Sol Continent’s mercenaries? All Sol Continent’s are fighters and all are doctors.”
There was no way that there would be a separate institution to train doctors on the Sol Continent, which did not have a proper national system.
Those who were frequently injured in battle were good at folk remedies using herbs, and many were warriors and had the same qualities as doctors who could heal themselves.
“The Sol Continent’s mercenaries.”
Valquiterre thought quietly.
“But I don’t want to say sorry to Vermont.”
Those who changed within the allies were more of a headache than enemies far away.
“I don’t think there’s any other way.”
That was the moment.
“Your Majesty. We’ve run into trouble.”
The 3rd Corps commander’s subordinate came running into the barracks in a panic.
“Some of the soldiers I reported to you just now are vomiting blood.”
As the situation worsened, Valquiterre made a decision.
“The 3rd Corps will be excluded from the march. You can set up a temporary camp here and do your best to prevent the disease from spreading and to cure it.”
“I greatly appreciate your kindness.”
Valquiterre, who realized this fact, gave priority to the distribution of food to the 3rd Legion and made sure they received enough medicine and treatment.
“Contagious disease?”
However, it was shocking that such consideration was in vain for the disease to spread.
“There are people in two battalions who are vomiting and having diarrhea. In two days, the number of people with symptoms increased from five to thirty-three.”
Valquiterre asked.
“So what are you going to do?”
“We will stop the march.”
When he furrowed his eyebrows, another subordinate who had been watching stepped forward.
“Isn’t there a separate camp for each legion? If we continue to march together and spread to other legions, it could spread without us having time to do anything.”
The adjutant’s words were reasonable, so Valquiterre nodded.
“Can we get more doctors nearby?”
Doctors were high-level personnel.
Since soldiers would inevitably get hurt on the battlefield, the salaries of military doctors were truly enormous.
However, if an infectious disease seemed to be spreading, more doctors were needed to properly treat the soldiers and prepare medicine.
“How about ordering Vermont to do it?”
The adjutant said quickly.
“Aren’t they the Sol Continent’s mercenaries? All Sol Continent’s are fighters and all are doctors.”
There was no way that there would be a separate institution to train doctors on the Sol Continent, which did not have a proper national system.
Those who were frequently injured in battle were good at folk remedies using herbs, and many were warriors and had the same qualities as doctors who could heal themselves.
“The Sol Continent’s mercenaries.”
Valquiterre thought quietly.
“But I don’t want to say sorry to Vermont.”
Those who changed within the allies were more of a headache than enemies far away.
“I don’t think there’s any other way.”
That was the moment.
“Your Majesty. We’ve run into trouble.”
The 3rd Corps commander’s subordinate came running into the barracks in a panic.
“Some of the soldiers I reported to you just now are vomiting blood.”
As the situation worsened, Valquiterre made a decision.
“The 3rd Corps will be excluded from the march. You can set up a temporary camp here and do your best to prevent the disease from spreading and to cure it.”
“I greatly appreciate your kindness.”
He was on the same boat as Vermont anyway.
Valquiterre sent a personal letter to the Duke of Vermont despite his pride.
Then, a cooperative reply arrived from the Sol Continent Mercenaries saying that they would select a unit of those with talent in medicine and send them to the 3rd Corps, putting a sigh of relief in his mind.
But after that, the 1st and 2nd armies headed south, and Valquiterre was annoyed at how the troops seemed so small.
'If only Kaian hadn't done something so foolish.'
If only he hadn't promised to release the serfs, this chaos could have been avoided.
In addition, rumors of a contagious disease had spread, and some of the soldiers currently marching were madmen who imagined themselves to be infected with the disease, which was even more troubling.
War was a battle of wits, but the problem was that Valquiterre's army was already feeling weak. Just as they were about to enter the Rowen territory, it was secretly spread that the young soldiers who had only been advancing for two weeks were feigning illness. When they started to pass the buck to each other, it was impossible to command the army smoothly.
When the troops who had set foot on Rowen and were advancing south with great momentum arrived at Promhunt.
"Falcon, it's an ambush!"
"It's a surprise attack!"
Promhunt was a famous fox hunting ground.
It was a wide, waist-deep grassy plain, with a forest with shallow hills.
However, soldiers who had quickly escaped from the forest dug in from the side of the army that was advancing south along the paved road in the center.
“Ambush?”
Valquiterre asked from the rear as if incredulous.
“How could they know the date of our advance and set up an ambush?”
Valquiterre sent a personal letter to the Duke of Vermont despite his pride.
Then, a cooperative reply arrived from the Sol Continent Mercenaries saying that they would select a unit of those with talent in medicine and send them to the 3rd Corps, putting a sigh of relief in his mind.
But after that, the 1st and 2nd armies headed south, and Valquiterre was annoyed at how the troops seemed so small.
'If only Kaian hadn't done something so foolish.'
If only he hadn't promised to release the serfs, this chaos could have been avoided.
In addition, rumors of a contagious disease had spread, and some of the soldiers currently marching were madmen who imagined themselves to be infected with the disease, which was even more troubling.
War was a battle of wits, but the problem was that Valquiterre's army was already feeling weak. Just as they were about to enter the Rowen territory, it was secretly spread that the young soldiers who had only been advancing for two weeks were feigning illness. When they started to pass the buck to each other, it was impossible to command the army smoothly.
When the troops who had set foot on Rowen and were advancing south with great momentum arrived at Promhunt.
"Falcon, it's an ambush!"
"It's a surprise attack!"
Promhunt was a famous fox hunting ground.
It was a wide, waist-deep grassy plain, with a forest with shallow hills.
However, soldiers who had quickly escaped from the forest dug in from the side of the army that was advancing south along the paved road in the center.
“Ambush?”
Valquiterre asked from the rear as if incredulous.
“How could they know the date of our advance and set up an ambush?”
It was very difficult to calculate how long the ambush would be hidden in advance since they would consume food while sneaking around and not being noticed.
At the very least, the ambush would have been set up after the advance party of the royal army that Valquiterre was leading down had gone to check.
‘How could those guys who had not even received a telegram know so clearly how fast the royal army was coming down?’
Valquiterre had an ominous feeling.
As soon as his intuition was right, a breaking news report came.
“Your Majesty! The elite unit has been annihilated.”
At the very least, the ambush would have been set up after the advance party of the royal army that Valquiterre was leading down had gone to check.
‘How could those guys who had not even received a telegram know so clearly how fast the royal army was coming down?’
Valquiterre had an ominous feeling.
As soon as his intuition was right, a breaking news report came.
“Your Majesty! The elite unit has been annihilated.”
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