Rosaline turned her head, realizing that his breathing had subtly changed. Their eyes met.
“Your Highness!” Rosaline smiled softly and called to him.
Ricardis looked at her and slowly raised his body from the table. He sat up straight and blinked silently without any reaction. His eyelashes fluttered languidly.
‘Is he awake?’
Rosaline lifted the bouquet from the table to wake him, who was still half-conscious in the dream world.
“Your Highness, I’m here! This is a gift!”
Contrary to her majestic voice, the hand that gave the bouquet was shy. Ricardis held the bouquet blankly. In addition to being uneven, the bouquet included some stems without buds. And judging from the fact that a few flowers only had one or two petals, it looked like the bouquet had been made with flowers plucked straight from the ground.
Ricardis laughed, and soon he buried his face in the bouquet and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. Fragrance overflowed from the colored petals. The scent of the greens and the full bloom of flowers painted a vivid picture behind his eyelids. Soft leaves tickled his lips and skin. It felt like spring was blooming in his chest.
“Rosaline.”
It was a quiet voice. Suddenly the wind blew. When Ricardis opened his eyes, Rosaline was smiling proudly. It was the face of a person who gifted jewels and other precious things instead of a clumsy bouquet.
Ricardis gave more strength to the hand holding the bouquet. She must have collected only the prettiest she had seen. He could imagine the figure of her squatting down and choosing the flowers one by one, making his heart pound.
Ricardis swallowed his words several times, all the things he had always wanted to say to her, and barely managed to spit it out.
“I missed you.”
Rosaline, who had her eyes wide open, smiled brightly. Seeing that, Ricardis’ eyes strangely filled with tears. ‘Ah, you have come, the one I’ve been waiting for so long.’
***
[Is everything alright?]
Milia Wingranate asked, blinking innocently. Fertan nodded and replied.
[It is all going smoothly.]
[I’m glad to hear that.]
It was an answer that seemed to hope nothing else would happen. Fertan was perplexed, but his firm and indifferent expression did not change. Milia was still looking into Fertan’s eyes. He felt as if she had read the hidden embarrassment. Fertan bowed lightly and backed away. It was a clear day, the road was empty, and the wind was not blowing hard. There was no sign of the ‘everything alright’ she hoped for [E/N: She’s really hoping something would impede their journey, which was the message behind her words]. As time passed, the Imperial Palace appeared before them.
Around that time, the window opened again. Ricardis, who would soon become a member of the Imperial family, clung to the window and looked up at the lofty Imperial Palace. Just from his sparkling eyes, verbal praises were no longer necessary. Fertan also looked at the crowded castle, dazzling with pure white color. It was beautiful without a single stain.
When Fertan turned his gaze away from the castle and looked at the carriage, all the occupants had disappeared. Fertan froze at the sudden situation and began moving his head to look around. Just then, he heard a whispered conversation from inside the carriage. Upon closer inspection, the occupants were seated in a circle on the floor of the carriage.
[It’s freezing here.]
Fertan realized that the ‘here’ Milia talked about meant the beautiful white castle.
[The snow that never melts is piled up, and a sharp wind blows with a bite. It is a place where darkness descends in the blink of an eye, making the cold even more severe.]
A harsh fate will come. So cruel and cold that one can’t even predict what will happen to a ten-year-old child.
Milia warned them again and again: it’s an eternal winter here. He has to endure it. Even if it gets colder and more severe and it hurts more and more, he has to withstand it. People are weak, but for the sake of something precious, they can become strong.
Fertan felt as if Milia’s words were a vow to herself. ‘You have to endure it, even if it gets colder and it hurts, endure it. I am weak, but I will be strong for you.’ Something like that.
[For how long?]
Fertan was perplexed even though he was not the one who received the question. He didn’t know if it was because he knew that the suffering had no time limit or if he had never really thought about it. Until when? For how long?
Milia couldn’t answer Ricardis’ question, and she kept her mouth shut for a moment. Fertan was looking at the back of Milia’s head, so he couldn’t see her expression. But he thought her face would be stained with the same embarrassment he had.
After a brief pause, Milia grabbed the young boy’s shoulder.
[Until spring comes.]
Spring in eternal winter. It was an unimaginable future. She shouldn’t be unaware of the contradiction either.
[You must wait until then, Ricardis.]
It was a voice full of confidence. Ricardis looked up at Milia and smiled broadly, flicking his eyes around to the people in the carriage.
[Yes, Mother. I’ll wait.]
***
Ricardis’ bright smile gradually began to be covered with doubt. The change was due to Rosaline, who faced him, stiffening with her eyes blown open. When he looked closely, she seemed to have stopped breathing. Ricardis’ expression turned grim at the sudden situation. ‘What? What’s going on?’
“Sir… Rosaline? Rosaline?”
Rosaline stiffened like a stone statue for a while, moved slightly, and then she covered her mouth with her hand.
“…”
“Ah.”
Both her reaction and exclamation were ambiguous.
“You are so beautiful.”
“…”
It was something Ricardis had heard once from her before. Ricardis, watching her in worry, smiled in disappointment. Rosaline trembled once more.
“Oh my gosh, how could it be this… this… beautiful!”
She was constantly shocked by Ricardis’ radiant beauty. It wasn’t that she had never seen Ricardis smile, and it wasn’t only for a day or two that he was beautiful. The reason why Rosaline was so startled was that Ricardis was different from usual today. The air around him was as light as a feather and as soft as a sheet dried in the spring sun. Rosaline’s heart pounded as soon as she looked at Ricardis’ squinted eyes that held her image as if he was happy.
“What a perfect… face!”
“…”
No matter how you look at it, this was not a conversation appropriate to be held between a prince and a knight reunited after a long time. Typically, isn’t it a priority to say that you’ve been well and that the journey wasn’t difficult? Ricardis’ expression changed minutely.
“I haven’t seen you in a long time, and you…”
Ricardis trailed off for a long time, unable to find a suitable greeting. Rosaline was still pretty and cute in front of his eyes, but it wasn’t fitting to say in her current appearance. Unidentifiable soot covered her forehead and cheeks, and leaves were all over her hair. To say that she is pretty and cute will sound like a tease.
“…r eyes… look… sharper. Very cool.”
‘The 2nd Prince of Illavenia the Holy Empire, Ricardis Darius Illavenia! You can’t even do this? A narcissist, an eloquent speaker. I, who could easily debate with a scholar at the age of 15, could only say that her eyes are getting sharper? Is it nice because it looks more pointed? Am I crazy?!’
As Ricardis collapsed in humiliation, Rosaline was amid a cloud of pure euphoria. ‘That’s right. My eyes are a bit pointy and pretty.’
At that moment, Ricardis’ lips opened. He lifted his hand and took the leaf off Rosaline’s head.
“Where does it hurt?”
“Ah, my buttocks are a little tight from riding for a long time.”
“Right! Right, of course. Holding on to a tired person, I wasn’t too caring,” Ricardis hastily spoke.
‘As expected, the moment you let your guard down, everything just pops out of her mouth unfiltered.’
Ricardis shook his head again and smiled.
“Sir Rosaline!” Isserion, who had stepped out, found Rosaline and screamed in delight.
The last time he saw her, she was unconscious with a pale face at Drythorne Castle, but now she can’t look any healthier than this! Such a healthy face that seems capable of eating a whole sandwich in a single bite! Rosaline licked her lips and lowered her head slightly.
“I was told you’ve recovered. You look healthy! Oh dear, I’m elated.”
“Thank you. I’m fine now.”
“By the way, Sir Rosaline. Have you reported back to Sir Starz?”
As soon as Rosaline said she was okay, Isserion changed his face and waited for her answer. Rosaline’s gaze slowly escaped Isserion’s frown, almost cringing. ‘Seriously, this guy!’
“No wonder Sir Starz didn’t leave office even though it was time to get off work! He was still anxiously rummaging through documents!”
“Because he wasn’t there when I went… So I just… came here.”
“What do you mean you just came here?!”
Ricardis forced a smile down.
“When I entered, the escorts outside the door weren’t talking about Sir Rosaline… Ah! You came through the window again!”
Ricardis heard Rosaline click her tongue. ‘He’s pretty quick’: obviously, that’s what it meant. Isserion also understood he was nagging her. He seemed to have forgotten everything he had heard about the non-human entities from Calyx earlier.
“Isserion, let’s move on. Aren’t you tired?”
Isserion, who has been very tired because of the Rosaline matter, looked at his master resentfully.
Rosaline had the worst and smuggest smile she create, thinking she had gained a powerful backer. Isserion didn’t cry at her clumsy attempt at being mean because he was more concerned about the expression and eyes of Ricardis, who looked at Rosaline with a smile.
Isserion felt like a big blow struck his head.
‘U-Uh, no… Don’t tell me. No way, no way, no way, no way…?! Impossible, no! It can’t be!’
He was in denial, but the reality did not change. The light in Ricardis’ eyes as he stared at the existence that was slightly out of human nature was like a man floating on cloud nine.
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