“Princess!”
“Oh my, princess!”
When they returned to the castle, the ladies greeted them very fiercely.
“How have you both been? It hasn’t been that long, but it feels like you’ve been away from the castle for a long time.”
“Not that long! I feel like it’s already been several years!”
Madam Flambard held Liene’s hand tightly and wouldn’t let go.
“It’s only been about two weeks. I’m back much earlier than scheduled.”
“It’s been two weeks! I’ll definitely follow you next time.”
Just as Black, who had escorted her to the castle, had left without even thinking about setting foot on it, leaving only a regretful kiss, Liene also had a lot to do.
“Then let’s go.”
As soon as she entered the knights’ quarters, Klima fell asleep. Mrs. Henton decided to stay by his side and take care of him for a day or so.
Werose was still in the dungeon, but fortunately, he had stopped fasting.
“You look better than before.”
Werose greeted her, saying it had been a long time since he had seen her.
“I heard you went to Sharka. Did you...have a good trip?”
“Yes.”
Liene briefly told him what had happened in Sharka.
Werose couldn’t believe it at first, about the invasion of the Sharka royal castle and the subsequent capture of Princess Bliny as a hostage on the northern border.
“The Sharka kingdom’s guards consist of a hundred and eighty knights. Even at the lowest level, the guards would be more than twice that number. But how could there be twenty-five...?”
“It was really scary. There were so many royal guards. But they all seemed very used to it.”
She also told him that she had received a ring from Princess Bliny. She also said that she had accidentally found a secret hidden in the ring.
“The water will return to Nauk.”
“Princess...”
Werose’s eyes welled up with tears.
“There’s still a bit more to find out, but they’re coming back one by one. Gainers’ bloodline, the ring. They created Nauk and should be with Nauk.”
“I ..”
“I believe you know too. If Gainers doesn’t return, the water won’t return either.”
“...”
Werose covered his face with his thin hands.
“I... I understand. I understand now... I, I was wrong... I was wrong. I was wrong...”
“You’re right. The King was wrong.”
That was fortunate. It wasn’t her who was wrong, it was Werose. Werose knew that he was wrong.
“Then, you should come back now. Back where you were. Nauk needs you too.”
Liene left after saying that.
Werore would need time to think.
“Princess? Aren’t you asleep yet?”
Liene stayed in the royal office until late.
Around dinnertime, Klima woke up and came to see Liene, groaning and clutching his side. No matter how much she told him to go and rest, it was no use.
He said that even in the palace where nothing was going to happen, he had to stay by her side.
In the end, Liene placed a cushion in the corner of the office. Klima fell asleep again on the cushion, and Liene was reading the records next to him.
Madam Flambard, who had just realized that Liene was not in the bedroom, came to visit.
“Yes. I have something to do. But please keep your voice down. Lord Renfell is sleeping.”
“Huh? Oh, what is he doing here? Should I wake him up and send him back?”
“It won’t work. He thinks he must be by my side when Lord Tiwakan is not around.”
“Tsk, tsk...”
Madw. Flambard clicked her tongue.
“What kind of stubbornness is that? He's so hurt.”
“That’s right. I’m already sorry.”
“If he's going to stay here any longer, I’ll bring him a blanket. It’s even more pitiful when he's so big and squatting.”
“Oh, I didn’t think of that. I think a blanket would be nice.”
“Then I’ll be right back.”
Madam Flambard hurriedly went somewhere to get a blanket. After covering Klima with the blanket, she sat down next to Liene instead of returning to the room.
“Do you have anything to say, Madam?”
“No... Not necessarily, but I thought it would be nice to stay with the Princess for a while.”
The lady said that the two weeks or so that Liene had been away from the castle had been too long. The emptiness still kept her from sleeping.
“Didn’t you say that you had a reason to go to the Kingdom of Sharka? Has that been resolved?”
“Um... The purpose has been achieved. But not everything has been resolved.”
“Oh... What should I do? Then do you have to go again?”
“No. I don’t think so. You must have been very surprised, Madam. Everyone suddenly left for the border.”
“What do you mean? At first, I thought something really big must have happened, and I was out of my mind. If something like that happened when the Princess was gone, wouldn’t it be really big?”
However, after a few days of silence, she said that her worries had subsided.
“Is everything really okay now? Is there nothing going on with the Kingdom of Sharka?”
“I can’t say that it’s not there, but I can say that it’ll be okay soon. Don’t worry.”
“That... shouldn’t I know what’s going on? After you went to the temple with Lord Werose, didn’t you suddenly say you were going to Sharka? And Lord Werose stopped fasting and everything, so something must have happened at the temple. I must have been so worried that I didn’t even go to the temple.”
“Ah...”
“...Yes?”
Liene asked back.
This was already the third time.
“What?”
When Liene raised her voice, Klima, who had been sleeping as if dead, woke up in surprise.
“Princess...”
He rubbed his eyes and approached Liene, but Liene didn’t know. She was out of her mind right now.
“Is that... really? Is that, really?”
“Somehow it feels just like that. Otherwise, there’s no way something like that could exist.”
Madame Flambard said she thought she knew what was inside the ring that Liene had shown her.
“Come on, let’s go together. I’ll show you.”
“Yes.... Yes, that’s right. Hurry... hurry.”
Liene sat up frantically. Forgetting that the record book was on her lap, she stood up and almost tripped on the large, heavy spine of the book. Klima grabbed the book at the right moment.
“Go, go. Go, hurry. Hurry.”
Liene pulled Madame Flambard’s hand.
Her hand was very cold. Madame Flambard, seeing her cold, trembling hand, covered the back of Liene’s hand with her own.
“Don’t tremble too much, Princess. What if you fall? And don’t rush too much.”
“Yes, yes... Hurry up.”
Everyone held their breath and took out the mallet key and matched it with the piece inside the ring.
“Here, it looks like it’s meant to be fitted!”
The mallet key had a hollow tip. When they inserted the piece of metal into it, the two parts clicked together as if they were one.
“Oh my, princess!”
When they returned to the castle, the ladies greeted them very fiercely.
“How have you both been? It hasn’t been that long, but it feels like you’ve been away from the castle for a long time.”
“Not that long! I feel like it’s already been several years!”
Madam Flambard held Liene’s hand tightly and wouldn’t let go.
“It’s only been about two weeks. I’m back much earlier than scheduled.”
“It’s been two weeks! I’ll definitely follow you next time.”
She had to deliver some bad news to Mrs. Henton.
Liene consoled Madam Flambard, who was weeping, and held Mrs. Henton’s hand.
“Lord Renfell is injured, ma’am. Fortunately, his wounds are healing well, but he must be very tired.”
“Oh… How did that happen?”
“It’s a long story, but he ended up like that while trying to protect me. I have nothing to say but I’m sorry and grateful.”
“...”
Mrs. Henton closed her mouth and took a deep breath.
“It seems the blood is not going anywhere. I’m sure he did it because he liked it, so you don’t have to worry about it, Princess.”
“Thanks to Lord Renfell, I saved my life twice. How could I forget that?”
“But that child is better than his father because he has someone who recognizes his merits.”
Those words still hurt.
Liene couldn’t say anything more and just held Mrs. Henton’s hand tightly.
“He’s okay now. Since you said he was hurt, I’ll go see him. Where is the child?”
Mrs. Henton pulled away first. She thought she’d be holding her hand all night.
“He’ll be at the knights’ quarters. I’ll go with you.”
Madam Flambard blinked.
“No, where are you going? You’ve been far away and you haven’t even changed your clothes.”
“After I came back. And I’ve been wondering where Sir Werose is.”
"Oh, that knight is... Come on, let me go too."
Liene consoled Madam Flambard, who was weeping, and held Mrs. Henton’s hand.
“Lord Renfell is injured, ma’am. Fortunately, his wounds are healing well, but he must be very tired.”
“Oh… How did that happen?”
“It’s a long story, but he ended up like that while trying to protect me. I have nothing to say but I’m sorry and grateful.”
“...”
Mrs. Henton closed her mouth and took a deep breath.
“It seems the blood is not going anywhere. I’m sure he did it because he liked it, so you don’t have to worry about it, Princess.”
“Thanks to Lord Renfell, I saved my life twice. How could I forget that?”
“But that child is better than his father because he has someone who recognizes his merits.”
Those words still hurt.
Liene couldn’t say anything more and just held Mrs. Henton’s hand tightly.
“He’s okay now. Since you said he was hurt, I’ll go see him. Where is the child?”
Mrs. Henton pulled away first. She thought she’d be holding her hand all night.
“He’ll be at the knights’ quarters. I’ll go with you.”
Madam Flambard blinked.
“No, where are you going? You’ve been far away and you haven’t even changed your clothes.”
“After I came back. And I’ve been wondering where Sir Werose is.”
"Oh, that knight is... Come on, let me go too."
Just as Black, who had escorted her to the castle, had left without even thinking about setting foot on it, leaving only a regretful kiss, Liene also had a lot to do.
“Then let’s go.”
As soon as she entered the knights’ quarters, Klima fell asleep. Mrs. Henton decided to stay by his side and take care of him for a day or so.
Werose was still in the dungeon, but fortunately, he had stopped fasting.
***
“You look better than before.”
Werose greeted her, saying it had been a long time since he had seen her.
“I heard you went to Sharka. Did you...have a good trip?”
“Yes.”
Liene briefly told him what had happened in Sharka.
Werose couldn’t believe it at first, about the invasion of the Sharka royal castle and the subsequent capture of Princess Bliny as a hostage on the northern border.
“The Sharka kingdom’s guards consist of a hundred and eighty knights. Even at the lowest level, the guards would be more than twice that number. But how could there be twenty-five...?”
“It was really scary. There were so many royal guards. But they all seemed very used to it.”
She also told him that she had received a ring from Princess Bliny. She also said that she had accidentally found a secret hidden in the ring.
“The water will return to Nauk.”
“Princess...”
Werose’s eyes welled up with tears.
“There’s still a bit more to find out, but they’re coming back one by one. Gainers’ bloodline, the ring. They created Nauk and should be with Nauk.”
“I ..”
“I believe you know too. If Gainers doesn’t return, the water won’t return either.”
“...”
Werose covered his face with his thin hands.
“I... I understand. I understand now... I, I was wrong... I was wrong. I was wrong...”
“You’re right. The King was wrong.”
That was fortunate. It wasn’t her who was wrong, it was Werose. Werose knew that he was wrong.
“Then, you should come back now. Back where you were. Nauk needs you too.”
Liene left after saying that.
Werore would need time to think.
***
“Princess? Aren’t you asleep yet?”
Liene stayed in the royal office until late.
Around dinnertime, Klima woke up and came to see Liene, groaning and clutching his side. No matter how much she told him to go and rest, it was no use.
He said that even in the palace where nothing was going to happen, he had to stay by her side.
In the end, Liene placed a cushion in the corner of the office. Klima fell asleep again on the cushion, and Liene was reading the records next to him.
Madam Flambard, who had just realized that Liene was not in the bedroom, came to visit.
“Yes. I have something to do. But please keep your voice down. Lord Renfell is sleeping.”
“Huh? Oh, what is he doing here? Should I wake him up and send him back?”
“It won’t work. He thinks he must be by my side when Lord Tiwakan is not around.”
“Tsk, tsk...”
Madw. Flambard clicked her tongue.
“What kind of stubbornness is that? He's so hurt.”
“That’s right. I’m already sorry.”
“If he's going to stay here any longer, I’ll bring him a blanket. It’s even more pitiful when he's so big and squatting.”
“Oh, I didn’t think of that. I think a blanket would be nice.”
“Then I’ll be right back.”
Madam Flambard hurriedly went somewhere to get a blanket. After covering Klima with the blanket, she sat down next to Liene instead of returning to the room.
“Do you have anything to say, Madam?”
“No... Not necessarily, but I thought it would be nice to stay with the Princess for a while.”
The lady said that the two weeks or so that Liene had been away from the castle had been too long. The emptiness still kept her from sleeping.
“Didn’t you say that you had a reason to go to the Kingdom of Sharka? Has that been resolved?”
“Um... The purpose has been achieved. But not everything has been resolved.”
“Oh... What should I do? Then do you have to go again?”
“No. I don’t think so. You must have been very surprised, Madam. Everyone suddenly left for the border.”
“What do you mean? At first, I thought something really big must have happened, and I was out of my mind. If something like that happened when the Princess was gone, wouldn’t it be really big?”
However, after a few days of silence, she said that her worries had subsided.
“Is everything really okay now? Is there nothing going on with the Kingdom of Sharka?”
“I can’t say that it’s not there, but I can say that it’ll be okay soon. Don’t worry.”
“That... shouldn’t I know what’s going on? After you went to the temple with Lord Werose, didn’t you suddenly say you were going to Sharka? And Lord Werose stopped fasting and everything, so something must have happened at the temple. I must have been so worried that I didn’t even go to the temple.”
“Ah...”
She was the type of person who would not speak out when she thought of Madam Flambard.
Liene realized that she had been too reserved with her. Maybe the lady was still worried about the genetic disease that was passed down to Gainers’ bloodline.
“I haven’t thought about you enough. I think it’s time to talk to you about something I haven’t been able to talk to you about.”
Liene realized that she had been too reserved with her. Maybe the lady was still worried about the genetic disease that was passed down to Gainers’ bloodline.
“I haven’t thought about you enough. I think it’s time to talk to you about something I haven’t been able to talk to you about.”
Liene took Lady Flambard’s hand and began the long story that had been going on.
“I went to Sharka to find this ring.”
The story began with the ring called the key.
“This ring? If you say you found it, does that mean it was originally in Nauk?”
“Yes. This ring...”
The ring that had disappeared 21 years ago had returned to Nauk. Along with Gainers’ name.
As the story continued, Madame Flambard couldn’t close her gaping mouth.
“I went to Sharka to find this ring.”
The story began with the ring called the key.
“This ring? If you say you found it, does that mean it was originally in Nauk?”
“Yes. This ring...”
The ring that had disappeared 21 years ago had returned to Nauk. Along with Gainers’ name.
As the story continued, Madame Flambard couldn’t close her gaping mouth.
***
“...Yes?”
Liene asked back.
This was already the third time.
“What?”
When Liene raised her voice, Klima, who had been sleeping as if dead, woke up in surprise.
“Princess...”
He rubbed his eyes and approached Liene, but Liene didn’t know. She was out of her mind right now.
“Is that... really? Is that, really?”
“Somehow it feels just like that. Otherwise, there’s no way something like that could exist.”
Madame Flambard said she thought she knew what was inside the ring that Liene had shown her.
“Come on, let’s go together. I’ll show you.”
“Yes.... Yes, that’s right. Hurry... hurry.”
Liene sat up frantically. Forgetting that the record book was on her lap, she stood up and almost tripped on the large, heavy spine of the book. Klima grabbed the book at the right moment.
“Go, go. Go, hurry. Hurry.”
Liene pulled Madame Flambard’s hand.
Her hand was very cold. Madame Flambard, seeing her cold, trembling hand, covered the back of Liene’s hand with her own.
“Don’t tremble too much, Princess. What if you fall? And don’t rush too much.”
“Yes, yes... Hurry up.”
She tried not to rush, but her pace kept getting faster. Eventually, she was almost running.
“Haa, haa...”
Madame Flambard took Liene to the jewelry room.
Until recently, it had been so empty that it was almost a jewel room, but now there was talk of getting new boxes to hold the jewels.
There was no need to lock the empty boxes, so the keys to each box were tied together and hung on the wall.
Now, all the boxes were safely locked with jewels.
The key set was also stored deep in the key box.
Madam Flambard picked up the key set.
“Here, do you see?”
There were so many keys.
Unless you knew the jewel room well, you wouldn’t know which key to use to open what.
“Do you remember, Princess? When you were little, you used to come here and play. You used to open the boxes with the keys. This is the key you were looking for.”
Among the many keys, there was one that was a little strange.
It was so short that it seemed like the end was cut off, and it didn’t fit any lock.
Liene, who had been obsessed with one thing since she was young, tried to fit the key into all the keyholes.
And concluded that it was useless.
“Don’t the other keys have this much more at the end? This key is missing this much, exactly one finger joint.”
“Ah...!”
Liene suddenly let out a single word, causing Madame Flambard to almost drop the key.
“If I put this here, wouldn’t it become a key?”
“It would... It would. Oh my. You were a genius!”
Liene hugged Madame Flambard tightly with trembling hands.
“That’s a little scary, Princess. What if you get sick one day?”
“Sir Fermos will tell you whether I get sick or not. Anyway, you thought of something so incredible.”
“How come that doesn’t come to mind? You’re talking about a key, right? It seems like the Princess completely forgot since it happened when you were little. Come on, let’s hurry and try it out.”
“Yes, hurry...”
Klima, who had been watching from the side, nodded his head vigorously.
“Haa, haa...”
Madame Flambard took Liene to the jewelry room.
Until recently, it had been so empty that it was almost a jewel room, but now there was talk of getting new boxes to hold the jewels.
There was no need to lock the empty boxes, so the keys to each box were tied together and hung on the wall.
Now, all the boxes were safely locked with jewels.
The key set was also stored deep in the key box.
Madam Flambard picked up the key set.
“Here, do you see?”
There were so many keys.
Unless you knew the jewel room well, you wouldn’t know which key to use to open what.
“Do you remember, Princess? When you were little, you used to come here and play. You used to open the boxes with the keys. This is the key you were looking for.”
Among the many keys, there was one that was a little strange.
It was so short that it seemed like the end was cut off, and it didn’t fit any lock.
Liene, who had been obsessed with one thing since she was young, tried to fit the key into all the keyholes.
And concluded that it was useless.
“Don’t the other keys have this much more at the end? This key is missing this much, exactly one finger joint.”
“Ah...!”
Liene suddenly let out a single word, causing Madame Flambard to almost drop the key.
“If I put this here, wouldn’t it become a key?”
“It would... It would. Oh my. You were a genius!”
Liene hugged Madame Flambard tightly with trembling hands.
“That’s a little scary, Princess. What if you get sick one day?”
“Sir Fermos will tell you whether I get sick or not. Anyway, you thought of something so incredible.”
“How come that doesn’t come to mind? You’re talking about a key, right? It seems like the Princess completely forgot since it happened when you were little. Come on, let’s hurry and try it out.”
“Yes, hurry...”
Klima, who had been watching from the side, nodded his head vigorously.
Everyone held their breath and took out the mallet key and matched it with the piece inside the ring.
“Here, it looks like it’s meant to be fitted!”
The mallet key had a hollow tip. When they inserted the piece of metal into it, the two parts clicked together as if they were one.
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