Merton said to the back of the maid walking ahead,
“Did the Empress call me because of the sword?”
But the maid did not answer.
He did not know whether she had been ordered to refrain from speaking by Roelica or whether it was her own judgment, but Merton thought that her taciturn attitude would actually be helpful for Roelica.
The Empress’s Palace in Hirschsten Golden Castle was located in a place where one had to walk endlessly through complicated corridors.
If someone were to look down at the Golden Castle from above, they would feel that the Empress’s Palace was desperately trying to hide from people’s approach.
The interior was very splendid with colorful jewels and gold-carved pillars, but the air around the Empress’s Palace was always quiet.
A place separated from the footsteps of people passing by.
The Empresses of the empire were proud of this isolation, considering it as a symbol of nobility, but Roelica was not.
She thought of this place as a cage.
A very splendid and sturdy cage from which no bird could escape.
And Roelica was a beautiful bird that fit so well in that splendid cage.
A woman who seemed to be clad in shining five colors, a fragile woman who seemed unable to live unless surrounded by fragrance and soft feathers.
Tenek had coveted Roelica’s shadow, which seemed about to fade away, and had stolen her, and now, tired of her fragility, he had pushed her out of his sight.
“Greetings to the Empress.”
When Merton knelt down on one knee and greeted her, Roelica nodded.
It was not a response to his greeting, but an order to the maid.
Upon seeing Roelica, the maid sent all the maids inside out and closed each and every shutter carefully.
When Merton, who had been listening for the sound of the doors closing, raised his eyes, Roelica was standing up, protecting her swollen belly.
‘At that time, Captain Thelma and I ended up like this... It’s hard to do this alone with a child.’
Roelica stared at Merton with a look of disappointment before tapping the table with her fingertips.
“If I help Captain Merton with what you want to do... Will Captain Merton help me too?”
Merton suddenly looked at Roelica.
“If the Empress needs me, anything...”
“No, I didn’t ask to hear such a lame answer. It’s really for my sake, no.”
Roelica’s slender hand moved to her stomach.
“I’m asking if you’d risk your life for the child in my stomach.”
Merton looked at Roelica, unable to hide his surprise for a moment.
As if she knew what his gaze meant, Eoelica smiled bitterly.
“You seem to want to ask me if I treasure this child.”
“Your Majesty, I...”
“Of course, this child is His Majesty’s child. It is the child of the terrible man who killed my lover, cut off my limbs, and imprisoned me in this place. But why am I accompanying Captain Merton on your dangerous mission to protect this child... You must be wondering.”
There was a moment of silence.
Since Roelica’s words were exactly what Merton wanted to ask, he waited in silence for an answer.
Roelica said,
“The child is innocent. I am not talking about such trivial things as maternal love or anything like that. It is just that this child has nothing to do with what is happening in the outside world. It has nothing to do with my hatred, His Majesty, or my father’s dirty greed.”
“Did the Empress call me because of the sword?”
But the maid did not answer.
He did not know whether she had been ordered to refrain from speaking by Roelica or whether it was her own judgment, but Merton thought that her taciturn attitude would actually be helpful for Roelica.
The Empress’s Palace in Hirschsten Golden Castle was located in a place where one had to walk endlessly through complicated corridors.
If someone were to look down at the Golden Castle from above, they would feel that the Empress’s Palace was desperately trying to hide from people’s approach.
The interior was very splendid with colorful jewels and gold-carved pillars, but the air around the Empress’s Palace was always quiet.
A place separated from the footsteps of people passing by.
The Empresses of the empire were proud of this isolation, considering it as a symbol of nobility, but Roelica was not.
She thought of this place as a cage.
A very splendid and sturdy cage from which no bird could escape.
And Roelica was a beautiful bird that fit so well in that splendid cage.
A woman who seemed to be clad in shining five colors, a fragile woman who seemed unable to live unless surrounded by fragrance and soft feathers.
Tenek had coveted Roelica’s shadow, which seemed about to fade away, and had stolen her, and now, tired of her fragility, he had pushed her out of his sight.
“Greetings to the Empress.”
When Merton knelt down on one knee and greeted her, Roelica nodded.
It was not a response to his greeting, but an order to the maid.
Upon seeing Roelica, the maid sent all the maids inside out and closed each and every shutter carefully.
When Merton, who had been listening for the sound of the doors closing, raised his eyes, Roelica was standing up, protecting her swollen belly.
“Get up, Merton,”
Roelica said. Although she was no longer the headmaster, Merton obediently followed her orders. Her shoulders seemed even thinner since she had the baby. Her pale face did not look healthy at all, but she did not look very tired.
“Come this way.”
The maid said. Merton sat down where she was leading him, and Roelica sat across from him. Roelica, whom he had seen up close for the first time in a long time, looked thin.
“I would like to offer you tea, but I am sorry I cannot. It is not a very pleasant conversation, and I feel nauseous even when I drink water.”
“I am fine, Your Majesty.”
Roelica let out a small sigh. It seemed that her thinness was not Merton’s fault. It must have been because of the morning sickness that she was not eating properly. Roelica, who had been staring blankly at nothing for a while, looked straight at Merton.
“I have thought about what you said last time.”
Merton unconsciously felt the inside of his knees tickle and tensed his whole body.
“Your Majesty.”
Roelica raised her hand to stop him.
“Not yet. Listen to my story until the end. Then it’s not too late to tell the captain what you think.”
Merton nodded once and remained silent. Roelica nervously held the captain’s hand, which was so pale and delicate that it was pitiful, then blinked once as if she had made up her mind.
“The captain said then. Could I help Princess Erdene... no, Queen Erdene?”
“Yes, I told you so.”
“Is it true that you have evidence related to His Majesty the Emperor’s death?”
Merton briefly moved his lips and answered in a dull voice.
“It is true, and it is not.”
Roelica’s brow furrowed faintly.
“What do you mean?”
“There must be another reason for His Majesty the Emperor’s death besides illness. However, someone came forward and destroyed the reason. We have traced the circumstances of the destruction and the whereabouts of the person who destroyed it, but we have not yet found the person in question. The palace doctor in the letter of resignation said that he resigned and returned to his hometown after His Majesty the Emperor passed away, but that was not true.”
“If everything the chief said is true, then that palace doctor should not be alive by now."
Merton’s expression darkened. When they heard the news that the palace doctor in question had not returned to his hometown, Thelma and Aiman had said the same thing. That was why their pursuit had hit a wall, but they could not give up, so they were about to investigate the other records in the letter of resignation and the palace doctor further.
‘At that time, Captain Thelma and I ended up like this... It’s hard to do this alone with a child.’
Roelica stared at Merton with a look of disappointment before tapping the table with her fingertips.
“If I help Captain Merton with what you want to do... Will Captain Merton help me too?”
Merton suddenly looked at Roelica.
“If the Empress needs me, anything...”
“No, I didn’t ask to hear such a lame answer. It’s really for my sake, no.”
Roelica’s slender hand moved to her stomach.
“I’m asking if you’d risk your life for the child in my stomach.”
Merton looked at Roelica, unable to hide his surprise for a moment.
As if she knew what his gaze meant, Eoelica smiled bitterly.
“You seem to want to ask me if I treasure this child.”
“Your Majesty, I...”
“Of course, this child is His Majesty’s child. It is the child of the terrible man who killed my lover, cut off my limbs, and imprisoned me in this place. But why am I accompanying Captain Merton on your dangerous mission to protect this child... You must be wondering.”
There was a moment of silence.
Since Roelica’s words were exactly what Merton wanted to ask, he waited in silence for an answer.
Roelica said,
“The child is innocent. I am not talking about such trivial things as maternal love or anything like that. It is just that this child has nothing to do with what is happening in the outside world. It has nothing to do with my hatred, His Majesty, or my father’s dirty greed.”
It was a thought that Merton could not agree with.
After all, wasn’t that dirty greed what had kept her here?
However, it didn’t seem like Roelica was lying.
Roelica, whose lips had been trembling for a moment, continued.
“All I care about is the well-being of this child. If I help the chieftain and become the sword of Princess Erdene, can you guarantee that this child will be safe in the future?”
Only then did Merton realize why Roelica had only now decided to reconsider his dangerous request?
Someone, whether Tenek or someone else, must have threatened the child in her womb. Just as a beast with a young child instinctively becomes sensitive, Roelica must have sensed the blade aimed at her child.
And she must have gone out to find a shield to block the blade.
Should he feel sorry? Merton thought.
Roelica was the Empress, second only to the Emperor in Hirschsten, but she had nowhere else to turn to for a reliable shield other than Merton or Thelma, who had also been left with their lives broken and abandoned.
Merton, who vaguely remembered the quiet but once lively Roelica as a child, a woman who would have lived freely and happily if it weren’t for Tenek, felt a deep pain in one corner of his heart.
Perhaps it was because she seemed to overlap with Erdene, who was the same age as her.
Merton said,
“...To be completely honest, Empress Majesty, I can’t give you a complete guarantee. If the Princess were still in the Empire, and if Thelma, Aiman, and I had the same power as before, I would have been confident that no one, not even His Majesty the Emperor, would dare to touch the Empress's Majesty and her baby. However, I can’t make that promise right now.”
Roelica frowned faintly and slowly closed her eyes.
She already knew. She also knew that Merton and Thelma’s positions were not the same as before.
She knew that, but it was hard to stop herself from feeling disappointed and lamenting.
“However.”
Roelica’s eyes opened again at Merton’s continued words.
Merton said,
“I promise you this. If Your Majesty the Princess helps us, no matter how small it may be, we will never forget or turn down that favor. Not only me, but Thelma and Aiman as well.”
Roelica stared at him, wrinkled her nose, and smiled faintly.
Merton suddenly realized that it was the first time he had seen her smile. She was beautiful.
And there was something about her that made her look like Erdene.
“That’s why military officers are helpless. They swear unwavering loyalty without being able to make any guarantees, preventing people from being crushed. Just like Princess Erdene, you too are like that.”
“I am ashamed.”
Roelica, who had been silent, slowly took a breath.
“Yes, I will help you. If I make a mistake and the child in my womb is left alone, please do not abandon me.”
Merton firmly nodded, clenching his fists on his knees.
“I will definitely do so. I swear it.”
After all, wasn’t that dirty greed what had kept her here?
However, it didn’t seem like Roelica was lying.
Roelica, whose lips had been trembling for a moment, continued.
“All I care about is the well-being of this child. If I help the chieftain and become the sword of Princess Erdene, can you guarantee that this child will be safe in the future?”
Only then did Merton realize why Roelica had only now decided to reconsider his dangerous request?
Someone, whether Tenek or someone else, must have threatened the child in her womb. Just as a beast with a young child instinctively becomes sensitive, Roelica must have sensed the blade aimed at her child.
And she must have gone out to find a shield to block the blade.
Should he feel sorry? Merton thought.
Roelica was the Empress, second only to the Emperor in Hirschsten, but she had nowhere else to turn to for a reliable shield other than Merton or Thelma, who had also been left with their lives broken and abandoned.
Merton, who vaguely remembered the quiet but once lively Roelica as a child, a woman who would have lived freely and happily if it weren’t for Tenek, felt a deep pain in one corner of his heart.
Perhaps it was because she seemed to overlap with Erdene, who was the same age as her.
Merton said,
“...To be completely honest, Empress Majesty, I can’t give you a complete guarantee. If the Princess were still in the Empire, and if Thelma, Aiman, and I had the same power as before, I would have been confident that no one, not even His Majesty the Emperor, would dare to touch the Empress's Majesty and her baby. However, I can’t make that promise right now.”
Roelica frowned faintly and slowly closed her eyes.
She already knew. She also knew that Merton and Thelma’s positions were not the same as before.
She knew that, but it was hard to stop herself from feeling disappointed and lamenting.
“However.”
Roelica’s eyes opened again at Merton’s continued words.
Merton said,
“I promise you this. If Your Majesty the Princess helps us, no matter how small it may be, we will never forget or turn down that favor. Not only me, but Thelma and Aiman as well.”
Roelica stared at him, wrinkled her nose, and smiled faintly.
Merton suddenly realized that it was the first time he had seen her smile. She was beautiful.
And there was something about her that made her look like Erdene.
“That’s why military officers are helpless. They swear unwavering loyalty without being able to make any guarantees, preventing people from being crushed. Just like Princess Erdene, you too are like that.”
“I am ashamed.”
Roelica, who had been silent, slowly took a breath.
“Yes, I will help you. If I make a mistake and the child in my womb is left alone, please do not abandon me.”
Merton firmly nodded, clenching his fists on his knees.
“I will definitely do so. I swear it.”
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