The last King of Gainers was very happy that his son was born to the Arsak family. As soon as he heard the news, he rushed to the Arsak mansion and said that he had to hold the engagement ceremony right away, making the parents who were holding the newborn tired. The daughter of Arsak was healthy, and the son of Gainers was often sick, so the engagement was postponed without a date. Then, one day, the six families stabbed the King in the back. That was the end of the engagement. That was what he thought.
“Two days later.”
As a result of the busy work of the new councillor Arland, the council was decided. All six families sent their consent forms, and Arland carefully bound them into parchment and made them into an official proclamation, which he hung in the square. The council was held in the Great Hall, located in the center of the square of the gods. The elegant Great Hall, which had once been decorated with nine fountains modeled after the nine waterfalls that were once the symbol of Nauk, had become as old and dirty as the rest of Nauk. The maintenance of the Great Hall should have been the responsibility of the six families, but Kleinfelter had left it to the royal family, citing it as a waste of money. When Liene had just taken over the reigns, she had also unknowingly allocated a budget for the Great Hall, but a few years ago, she had realized that it was no longer necessary and had abandoned it. The result was a holey ceiling and cracked walls.
“I came back from seeing the Great Hall... I thought it might need to be cleaned up.”
Liene ignored those words with an expression that showed not even the slightest interest.
“The council will take care of it. Leave it alone.”
“But... is it possible?”
Arland asked back, rather embarrassed.
“If you don’t do it yourself, you’ll end up breathing dust. I don’t know if the head of the six families can endure that.”
“Well, then... I will convey that.”
“There’s no rush, so take your time. Just let us know before the general meeting.”
“Yes... I will do as you command.”
Arland nodded hesitantly. He was still half-aware of the awkward relationship between the Six Houses and the Arsak Royal Family. Liene, who was about to send Arland away, suddenly had an idea and asked.
“Oh, have you heard anything about the Klinefelter family’s activities?”
“What are you asking?”
“Anything. You must have had a bad experience a few days ago. Have you heard any rumors about that?”
Arland tilted his head.
“It didn’t seem much different when I visited. If I hadn’t become a royal advisor, I wouldn’t have even noticed that the Grand Chancellor wasn’t in the mansion.”
“Aha... I see. I understand. You can go out now.”
“Please call me anytime.”
Arland bowed and stepped back.
“...It’s a bit, strange.”
Liene, left alone in the office, rested her elbows on the desk and fell into thought.
“Tiwakan went and brought Mrs. Henton, and it seemed like nothing had happened. How could that be?”
Losing Mrs. Henton meant that he had lost the power to use Klima as his errand boy. Klima knew all the evil deeds Kleinfelter had committed. He would have wanted to get Klima back somehow or kill him to silence him, but it was too strange that he was silent.
“Is the absence of Linden Klinefelter really that big? Is there no one left to handle things without him?”
That didn't make sense. The Kleinfelters were the biggest family in Nauk. There was a lot of money there, so there were a lot of people working there.
“Linden Klinefelter couldn’t have done all that evil alone... There must have been someone who intervened.”
Feeling suffocated, Liene got up from her seat and headed to the window.
“I never knew how my kingdom was run.”
She had no idea what the Kleinfelter family, the royal family's biggest enemy, was doing behind her back. She was angry and ashamed at the same time.
“I just lived day by day.”
In fact, living each day in Nauk was hard. Liene, who inherited the throne at such a young age, did not know the life of a monarch that was not difficult.
“You can’t do that anymore.”
She needed eyes and ears. She wanted to show and tell him every nook and cranny of this small kingdom. On the one hand, she was glad to find out before it was too late. If she had lived as Lafitte Kleinfelter's lover without any incident and had been sold and married when she could no longer pay her debts, she would not have been worthy of being called a monarch. Everything changed after Black entered her life.
“That man... gave me so much.”
Liene lifted her forehead, which had been leaning against the window.
“...”
“...”
The expression was calm, but the eyes were still the same. They looked innocent, but somehow, they seemed to be broken. That was why they were eyes made people who looked at them feel heartbroken.
“I came to see how you were doing. Was the bed uncomfortable?”
"...It's okay."
Mrs. Henton didn't even say hello to Liene, who had come unexpectedly. Even if it was something to be expected, it couldn't help but make her mouth feel bitter.
“That’s good to hear. I brought some fruit. Would you like to taste it?”
Liene stopped by the kitchen on her way here and handed her a basket of fruit she had brought.
“Why are you doing this to me?”
Instead of accepting the basket, Mrs. Henton looked at Liene and asked.
“Don’t you know who I am? I am a person who will not accept anything you give me, Princess.”
“...I thought you might feel depressed. When I heard you were in this room. The sun doesn’t shine in here very well, and it’s always dark. They say it’s good to eat something sweet at times like that.”
“If your mind is hell, what does the sun matter?”
"...”
Liene was speechless. She couldn't even think of what Mrs. Henton had gone through. One son died, and another was ruined. Her husband killed them. He wanted to save his lord's bloodline, not his family. And he gave up his own life. The woman was taken hostage by her husband's killer, living as a slave, neither alive nor dead. How could she have endured such a life?
“Then is there anything else you want to eat?”
“So I thought it might be comforting to see it.”
“..."
Tak.
“Something like that... Where on earth could something like that exist? Something like that for a mother who has lost her child..."
“There is one thing. Now, you don’t have to listen to Klinefelter anymore.”
“...”
Mrs. Henton looked at Liene. She looked very much like Klima. Klima looked at her with those sad and kind eyes that were a mixture of confusion and hurt. She was angry, but the person looking at her was just feeling sorry for her.
“That kid... did a lot of things. He thought I didn’t know, but I actually knew. So I... thought that one day he would get caught doing what he was doing and die... That’s what I thought...”
“I know that this is not what you wanted. The blame for this is rightly laid upon Klinefelter.”
“How... Why would Arsak’s daughter say such things...”
Mrs. Henton lowered her gaze, heavy with confusion. The remains of crushed fruit and the dirty floor were reflected in her eyes.
“I was four years old at that time.”
Liene bent down again and began to gather up the fruit into the basket, knowing that if she didn't clean it up, Mrs. Henton would end up doing it.
“I keep thinking about it. If I were a little older, would things have been different? If I could have at least stopped my father, wouldn’t Knight Henton have died? That man...”
Could that man not have lost his home? Could I have been with that man without worrying about when I would lose him?
“...The second child was five years old.”
Mrs. Henton, who had been standing there blankly, sat down on the floor and started to move her hands, as if she couldn't stand watching Liene pick up the fruit any longer.
“He was tall and well-built for his age. No one would have believed him if he had been told that he was five years old. No wonder he looked similar in build to the eight-year-old Prince. He must have taken after his father. That child died without even screaming when his father took up the sword.”
“...”
Liene bit her lip hard, unable to say anything. Her crying was a lie. Compared to Mrs. Henton or Black, she had lost nothing. She had no right to cry.
“No matter how much I can’t forgive the name Arsak, I know that a four-year-old child could not do anything. Just like my child. My child at that time...”
Bam!
Princess Liene was no longer his fiancée, who had been decided since birth, but a new monarch of Nauk who had taken the eldest son of another family as his lover. However, his thoughts were like that, and his heart was not like that at all. It seemed that his heart had always been thinking about returning to his fiancée’s side. Otherwise, he would not have felt like he had come home. Liene was his home. It was a place that had always been the same, a place he had never left. It was a place he could return to as if he had never left. If you could let this go again, you'd be just crazy.
“It’s the same now. I will live as the princess’s husband and guardian knight. I have no intention of shedding blood for anything more than that.”
“That’s right... So you just broke the bones nicely. I understand.”
Ever since he came to Nauk, Fermos thought his lord was always so kind and gentle to even the most insignificant people, and that was the reason.
“I will bring Klima.”
"Now."
“Uh, uh, right now...? Did you say right now?”
Black waved his hand as if he didn't want to bother saying it twice.
“As fast as possible.”
“...Yes, my lord.”
Fermos bowed his head and left Black's room.
“It’s the same now. I will live as the princess’s husband and guardian knight. I have no intention of shedding blood for anything more than that.”
“That’s right... So you just broke the bones nicely. I understand.”
Ever since he came to Nauk, Fermos thought his lord was always so kind and gentle to even the most insignificant people, and that was the reason.
“I will bring Klima.”
"Now."
“Uh, uh, right now...? Did you say right now?”
Black waved his hand as if he didn't want to bother saying it twice.
“As fast as possible.”
“...Yes, my lord.”
Fermos bowed his head and left Black's room.
***
“Two days later.”
As a result of the busy work of the new councillor Arland, the council was decided. All six families sent their consent forms, and Arland carefully bound them into parchment and made them into an official proclamation, which he hung in the square. The council was held in the Great Hall, located in the center of the square of the gods. The elegant Great Hall, which had once been decorated with nine fountains modeled after the nine waterfalls that were once the symbol of Nauk, had become as old and dirty as the rest of Nauk. The maintenance of the Great Hall should have been the responsibility of the six families, but Kleinfelter had left it to the royal family, citing it as a waste of money. When Liene had just taken over the reigns, she had also unknowingly allocated a budget for the Great Hall, but a few years ago, she had realized that it was no longer necessary and had abandoned it. The result was a holey ceiling and cracked walls.
“I came back from seeing the Great Hall... I thought it might need to be cleaned up.”
Liene ignored those words with an expression that showed not even the slightest interest.
“The council will take care of it. Leave it alone.”
“But... is it possible?”
Arland asked back, rather embarrassed.
“If you don’t do it yourself, you’ll end up breathing dust. I don’t know if the head of the six families can endure that.”
“Well, then... I will convey that.”
“There’s no rush, so take your time. Just let us know before the general meeting.”
“Yes... I will do as you command.”
Arland nodded hesitantly. He was still half-aware of the awkward relationship between the Six Houses and the Arsak Royal Family. Liene, who was about to send Arland away, suddenly had an idea and asked.
“Oh, have you heard anything about the Klinefelter family’s activities?”
“What are you asking?”
“Anything. You must have had a bad experience a few days ago. Have you heard any rumors about that?”
Arland tilted his head.
“It didn’t seem much different when I visited. If I hadn’t become a royal advisor, I wouldn’t have even noticed that the Grand Chancellor wasn’t in the mansion.”
“Aha... I see. I understand. You can go out now.”
“Please call me anytime.”
Arland bowed and stepped back.
“...It’s a bit, strange.”
Liene, left alone in the office, rested her elbows on the desk and fell into thought.
“Tiwakan went and brought Mrs. Henton, and it seemed like nothing had happened. How could that be?”
Losing Mrs. Henton meant that he had lost the power to use Klima as his errand boy. Klima knew all the evil deeds Kleinfelter had committed. He would have wanted to get Klima back somehow or kill him to silence him, but it was too strange that he was silent.
“Is the absence of Linden Klinefelter really that big? Is there no one left to handle things without him?”
That didn't make sense. The Kleinfelters were the biggest family in Nauk. There was a lot of money there, so there were a lot of people working there.
“Linden Klinefelter couldn’t have done all that evil alone... There must have been someone who intervened.”
Feeling suffocated, Liene got up from her seat and headed to the window.
“I never knew how my kingdom was run.”
She had no idea what the Kleinfelter family, the royal family's biggest enemy, was doing behind her back. She was angry and ashamed at the same time.
“I just lived day by day.”
In fact, living each day in Nauk was hard. Liene, who inherited the throne at such a young age, did not know the life of a monarch that was not difficult.
“You can’t do that anymore.”
She needed eyes and ears. She wanted to show and tell him every nook and cranny of this small kingdom. On the one hand, she was glad to find out before it was too late. If she had lived as Lafitte Kleinfelter's lover without any incident and had been sold and married when she could no longer pay her debts, she would not have been worthy of being called a monarch. Everything changed after Black entered her life.
“That man... gave me so much.”
Liene lifted her forehead, which had been leaning against the window.
So I will give it to you. Everything I can give you.
Liene left the office and headed toward the North Tower, taking one of the few remaining royal jewels.
***
“...”
“...”
The expression was calm, but the eyes were still the same. They looked innocent, but somehow, they seemed to be broken. That was why they were eyes made people who looked at them feel heartbroken.
“I came to see how you were doing. Was the bed uncomfortable?”
"...It's okay."
Mrs. Henton didn't even say hello to Liene, who had come unexpectedly. Even if it was something to be expected, it couldn't help but make her mouth feel bitter.
“That’s good to hear. I brought some fruit. Would you like to taste it?”
Liene stopped by the kitchen on her way here and handed her a basket of fruit she had brought.
“Why are you doing this to me?”
Instead of accepting the basket, Mrs. Henton looked at Liene and asked.
“Don’t you know who I am? I am a person who will not accept anything you give me, Princess.”
“...I thought you might feel depressed. When I heard you were in this room. The sun doesn’t shine in here very well, and it’s always dark. They say it’s good to eat something sweet at times like that.”
“If your mind is hell, what does the sun matter?”
"...”
Liene was speechless. She couldn't even think of what Mrs. Henton had gone through. One son died, and another was ruined. Her husband killed them. He wanted to save his lord's bloodline, not his family. And he gave up his own life. The woman was taken hostage by her husband's killer, living as a slave, neither alive nor dead. How could she have endured such a life?
“Then is there anything else you want to eat?”
“No need.”
“I’ll come and change the bedding before nightfall. Everything in this room is old and unusable.”
“Don’t try too hard.”
“I’m sorry. I can’t think of anything I can give you. So, please tell me what you need. I’ll leave some fruit for you, so you can eat it later when you feel like it.”
Liene placed the basket on the small table next to the bed and turned around.
“I’ll come and change the bedding before nightfall. Everything in this room is old and unusable.”
“Don’t try too hard.”
“I’m sorry. I can’t think of anything I can give you. So, please tell me what you need. I’ll leave some fruit for you, so you can eat it later when you feel like it.”
Liene placed the basket on the small table next to the bed and turned around.
Knock!
The next moment, a sound caught Liene off guard. When she turned her head, she saw Mrs. Henton throwing the fruit basket on the floor and stepping on the fallen fruit with her foot.
“...Be careful. There’s more than just fruit there. If you step on it wrong, you’ll hurt your foot.”
“...?”
Mrs. Henton, who had been crushing the soft fruit with her heels as if it were Linden Kleinfelter's head, raised her head toward Liene. Her expression was one of bewilderment.
“What did you... say?”
“There.”
“...Be careful. There’s more than just fruit there. If you step on it wrong, you’ll hurt your foot.”
“...?”
Mrs. Henton, who had been crushing the soft fruit with her heels as if it were Linden Kleinfelter's head, raised her head toward Liene. Her expression was one of bewilderment.
“What did you... say?”
“There.”
Liene walked over to Mrs. Henton and rummaged through the remains of the crushed fruit.
“I put this in.”
There was something hard between Liene's fingers. Liene wiped the sticky pulp and juice with her sleeve.
“It’s what my mother brought with her when she married into the Arsak family. It’s the most valuable thing I have left.”
The object that had been cleaned and revealed its own light was a rose-shaped pendant made of ruby.
“Why this...?”
“As I said, it’s the most valuable item.”
“...”
Mrs. Henton's neck burned. She was a gentle person, as you can see from her eyes. Even when she got angry, she was only as angry as crushing a fruit. That was all, even her skin color, which changed in an instant.
“Are you saying that you’ll give me the jewels so you can forget about who died and who killed them?”
"No."
“Can you forget about it if it’s a jewel? Is it really that great? Even the death of a person can be all right?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Then what is it!”
Mrs. Henton rushed in and snatched the jeweled pendant from Liene's hand.
“I put this in.”
There was something hard between Liene's fingers. Liene wiped the sticky pulp and juice with her sleeve.
“It’s what my mother brought with her when she married into the Arsak family. It’s the most valuable thing I have left.”
The object that had been cleaned and revealed its own light was a rose-shaped pendant made of ruby.
“Why this...?”
“As I said, it’s the most valuable item.”
“...”
Mrs. Henton's neck burned. She was a gentle person, as you can see from her eyes. Even when she got angry, she was only as angry as crushing a fruit. That was all, even her skin color, which changed in an instant.
“Are you saying that you’ll give me the jewels so you can forget about who died and who killed them?”
"No."
“Can you forget about it if it’s a jewel? Is it really that great? Even the death of a person can be all right?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Then what is it!”
Mrs. Henton rushed in and snatched the jeweled pendant from Liene's hand.
Clap!
The pendant was thrown back onto the crushed fruit.
“I brought this because...”
Liene picked up the pendant again and cleaned it.
“Because it’s pretty.”
“...What?”
“I brought this because...”
Liene picked up the pendant again and cleaned it.
“Because it’s pretty.”
“...What?”
“So I thought it might be comforting to see it.”
“..."
Tak.
Liene placed the polished pendant on the table.
“I heard what happened to Madam. I can’t imagine how hard it must have been for you. I’m just like Kleinfelter to you. You’re probably not happy about being in Castle Nauk, after all, you wanted to get out of the Kleinfelter household. I know that, but I don’t know what to do. There’s no way to bring back the dead.”
The words Liene spoke calmly were long. Long and slow. Like the guilt she had to carry for 21 years.
“It’s painful, it’s painful, and I’m not even afraid of death... That’s probably how you feel right now, Madam. I know that nothing else matters. But I... I want to find something that will give Madam a chance to think about whether things are a little better if you look around.”
“I heard what happened to Madam. I can’t imagine how hard it must have been for you. I’m just like Kleinfelter to you. You’re probably not happy about being in Castle Nauk, after all, you wanted to get out of the Kleinfelter household. I know that, but I don’t know what to do. There’s no way to bring back the dead.”
The words Liene spoke calmly were long. Long and slow. Like the guilt she had to carry for 21 years.
“It’s painful, it’s painful, and I’m not even afraid of death... That’s probably how you feel right now, Madam. I know that nothing else matters. But I... I want to find something that will give Madam a chance to think about whether things are a little better if you look around.”
“Something like that... Where on earth could something like that exist? Something like that for a mother who has lost her child..."
“There is one thing. Now, you don’t have to listen to Klinefelter anymore.”
“...”
Mrs. Henton looked at Liene. She looked very much like Klima. Klima looked at her with those sad and kind eyes that were a mixture of confusion and hurt. She was angry, but the person looking at her was just feeling sorry for her.
“That kid... did a lot of things. He thought I didn’t know, but I actually knew. So I... thought that one day he would get caught doing what he was doing and die... That’s what I thought...”
“I know that this is not what you wanted. The blame for this is rightly laid upon Klinefelter.”
“How... Why would Arsak’s daughter say such things...”
Mrs. Henton lowered her gaze, heavy with confusion. The remains of crushed fruit and the dirty floor were reflected in her eyes.
“I was four years old at that time.”
Liene bent down again and began to gather up the fruit into the basket, knowing that if she didn't clean it up, Mrs. Henton would end up doing it.
“I keep thinking about it. If I were a little older, would things have been different? If I could have at least stopped my father, wouldn’t Knight Henton have died? That man...”
Could that man not have lost his home? Could I have been with that man without worrying about when I would lose him?
Liene has been thinking about that ever since she met Klima. It feels like a nightmare that will never end...
“...The second child was five years old.”
Mrs. Henton, who had been standing there blankly, sat down on the floor and started to move her hands, as if she couldn't stand watching Liene pick up the fruit any longer.
“He was tall and well-built for his age. No one would have believed him if he had been told that he was five years old. No wonder he looked similar in build to the eight-year-old Prince. He must have taken after his father. That child died without even screaming when his father took up the sword.”
“...”
Liene bit her lip hard, unable to say anything. Her crying was a lie. Compared to Mrs. Henton or Black, she had lost nothing. She had no right to cry.
“No matter how much I can’t forgive the name Arsak, I know that a four-year-old child could not do anything. Just like my child. My child at that time...”
Bam!
The fruit she was carrying in the basket fell from Mrs. Henton's hands.
“...Ugh!”
The woman fell to the dirty floor and began to sob. Liene could not tell her to cry more until she was tired, nor could she tell her that she wanted to cry so badly. She just bit her lips and held back her own tears until Mrs. Henton stopped crying.
“...Ugh!”
The woman fell to the dirty floor and began to sob. Liene could not tell her to cry more until she was tired, nor could she tell her that she wanted to cry so badly. She just bit her lips and held back her own tears until Mrs. Henton stopped crying.
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