The man who had been talking to Roselyn while pretending to be 'Khan' just moments ago approached her, holding a towel.
As he rubbed her hair with a towel, the red dye that was coloring her hair disappeared, revealing her original silver hair.
She was wearing short pants with only her chest covered by a cloth, and she was wearing something made of flowing silk.
With all kinds of ornaments dangling from her forearms and wrists like a glamorous dancer, she looked at first glance like a woman beloved by the King.
However, it was highly likely that the inside of those ornaments was entirely made of soul stones.
It is to the extent that one must wear accessories of that magnitude to suppress their abilities.
“I’ve heard it before.”
Roselyn answered.
“To whom?”
"To Sansar, whom I just mentioned."
Upon hearing Roselyn's words, she smiled silently and rubbed her chin.
She was a beautiful woman.
Despite being middle-aged, it seemed as though sexiness was flowing from her whole body.
'Is this what it feels like to be charmed by someone?'
She felt like if she relaxed just a little, she would be so captivated by her that she would want to say anything.
She was the most attractive woman Roselyn had ever seen in her life.
She burst into laughter and tilted her head slightly.
"Did Sansar also tell you why only women can become Khan?"
Roselyn nodded slightly at the question, mixed with a smile.
"I heard that the power passed down to the 'Khan' can only be fully wielded by a woman... so the strongest woman in the group is chosen as the Khan."
And in order to protect such a Khan from the outside, they installed the strongest man as the chieftain and had him act as the external 'Khan'.
And this was a fact that no one knew except for the Kaluta tribe.
In other words, the man who had been posing as 'Khan' until just now is an external bait to protect 'Khan'.
A living shield that can die at any moment if luck goes bad.
The woman, who had been quietly listening to Roselyn's words, burst into hearty laughter.
She straightened her body from a crooked position, grinned, and raised her index finger.
"That's the correct answer. But there's one more reason."
"...Why?"
"The deity we serve was born male but longed to be female. So, it is said that he dressed up and went around looking like a woman."
Roselyn's expression became subtle.
She continued speaking.
"Do you know that the Kaluta tribe unified and merged to form the country called 'Kaluta'?"
"Yes."
"But long before that, we who were called 'barbarians' were all wanderers, 'Rutas'."
Roselyn nodded, maintaining her composure, as she casually brought up an uncomfortable topic.
"And every 'Ruta' has a god they serve. We have a monotheistic god."
"The one and only God?"
"Yes, that is how the name of that god is passed down."
The vivid green eyes, which had not faded at all despite the age, stared directly at Roselyn.
“Sansar.”
Roselyn paused.
Khan's eyes curved, and Roselyn remained silent.
"...Wait a minute. You're saying a god? That's ridiculous..."
"It’s only natural that you don’t believe it. I don’t trust it at all either. But there are some things you told me that are absolutely impossible to know from the outside."
Looking into Roselyn's confused red eyes, Khan spoke up.
"Did he perhaps leave no separate message?"
Roselyn frowned.
"Just... if the day ever comes when you need help, go to Kaluta..."
And...
Roselyn's eyebrows furrowed.
"And..."
The hazy memory became a little clearer the more she ruminated on it.
"If you ever need help, go to Kaluta. It will be helpful to learn this language and my name."
"Thank you."
"Instead, Rose, if a miracle ever happens to you someday, please help my Kaluta."
“...What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
"I want those children to experience the wider world. I hope they don't perish, but instead live on, even if it's just like that."
"Lady Bellion!"
"What on earth have you been talking about since earlier...?"
"In return, I will share my power with you. Someday, when your Abyss blooms, my power will blossom with it."
"What on earth..."
"What you call the Abyss. The power that flows from the abyss."
"...Sansar?"
“Roselyn!!”
Roselyn's eyes snapped open at the sound of someone calling her name.
The moment she opened my eyes, what she saw was a pair of blue eyes that looked like a vast, sprawling sea...
Startled, she blinked her eyes with her lips tightly closed.
".. .Your Highness, the Third Prince?"
Roselyn took a deep breath as the face came right up to her nose and stammered.
“Thank goodness..."
Arma let out a long sigh and hugged Roselyn.
Roselyn flinched.
"...Did I do something?"
"You suddenly froze as if you had fainted and didn't move..."
Roselyn awkwardly raised her hand, patted Arma's back a couple of times, and then let go.
“I’m fine.”
As she twisted her body slightly, Arma's body stiffened belatedly.
She let out a low laugh as she watched him scurry back, then turned her head.
“I was rude.”
"No, it's fine. Aren't you feeling well?"
"No, it's just that the conversation with Sansar suddenly came to mind."
Roselyn narrowed her eyebrows slightly.
"Sansar? It seems he left something behind besides telling me to go to Kaluta."
"I think I mentioned at some point that he wished I could help Kaluta."
Roselyn answered, lightly agreeing with her words.
Roselyn conveyed only what she could from among the many stories.
'..Abyss? And the Abyss blooming?'
Doesn't that sound like Roselyn has an Abyss too?
No, it seems like you're certain.
However, as far as Roselyn knew, she was incompetent. She had lived her life believing she was incompetent.
A weakling with power, born with a frail body that could die at any moment.
“Will you help us?”
The woman let out a light laugh, but her gaze was fierce.
"Why, did Sansar ever say that we would be destroyed?"
Roselyn paused at Khan's words.
Come to think of it, Kaluta was scheduled to perish.
If Roselyn hadn't rescued his son, Batar.
And if they hadn't caught the culprit who tried to kidnap and kill Batar.
It was scheduled to be destroyed due to war.
"Maybe that was the case."
Roselyn spoke calmly.
Then, a sharp look turned toward her.
"Anyway, let's get down to business, Khan."
Roselyn opened her mouth, trying not to show the throbbing headache.
"His Imperial Majesty wishes to form an alliance with Kaluta. He also wants to open trade routes."
Khan's expression became much more indifferent at her words.
Khan, resting her chin on her hand, wiped the cheerful expression from her face, then looked at Roselyn with a clearly condescending gaze.
"Opening the borders brings us no benefit. On the contrary, it amounts to exposing our land, which has remained an unknown territory until now, to our enemies. Since we are self-sufficient, we have lived without lacking anything."
"..."
"So no matter how many times you come and talk, the stories you bring to us are nothing but boring tales of invaders."
As Roselyn listened to Khan's well-founded arrogance, she shifted her gaze to Princess Naryan of Kaluta.
The girl who had been smiling brightly was looking at Roselyn with a sly smile.
'...It looks like she is the next Khan.'
And it was clear that the boy known externally as the chieftain was the next chieftain.
"As history proves, it happens faster than you think for an aggressor to turn into the weak."
Roselyn wore that usual, mocking smile brightly.
Khan's forehead twitched once.
"Shall I be honest?"
"..."
"At this rate, Kaluta will be destroyed within 10 years."
Roselyn tapped the drum and the table with her fingertips.
"And if I were an invader... I think I would aim for the next leader first."
Roselyn's gaze fell on Naryan.
At the same time...
Kwaang-!
The table that Khan smashed with her fist split in half and shattered.
"..."
Roselyn quietly gasped without showing it.
Cold sweat trickled down her lower back.
That day, the negotiations fizzled out.
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