Translator: Nox
(18) The Golden Lion's Treasure and Contaminated Water (2)
Floyd stepped forward from the bench and spread his arms wide, and Dennis and Jewel ran to him and hugged him. Floyd lifted both children into his arms at once, one on each arm.
"Monarch, what brings you to Lily Palace?"
"Just visiting. Thought I'd see you two as well."
"Dad still doesn't know we play here. Thank you for keeping it a secret, Monarch."
Hexter already knew the children came to play here, but Floyd pretended not to know and nodded.
"I always keep my promises to you."
Roxana looked up at Floyd and the children in his arms with a slightly surprised expression. Even though Hexter was Floyd's knight, she had never seen the children act so casually with the Monarch of a country.
There were several knights in the Kanta Kingdom who had their families in the palace, but their children dared not even raise their heads in front of the King. This was the case not only in the Kanta Kingdom but in every other country as well.
Floyd listened to the children chatter for a while before putting them back down and saying,
"I have something to talk about with the Princess here, so go on. Be careful not to touch the pond water. If possible, just play on the grass and pick flowers."
The children glanced at Roxana and went back to where they had been playing. Roxana turned her gaze away from Floyd, and Floyd sat down next to her.
"It seems the children come here to play often. Do they bother you, Princess?"
"Not at all."
"That's a relief. I was worried they might be annoying with their mischief."
The children played just enough, were just noisy enough, bickered just enough, and laughed a lot. Roxana's heart warmed every time the children laughed loudly, but she was also pained by a piercing longing.
Perhaps the reason she came out to the garden every time the children came was for a self-flagellating reason, Roxana thought. A punishment, pain, suffering, and torment for being the only one left alive when her family was all dead.
Roxana opened her mouth as she watched Dennis trying to climb a tree.
"You are truly cruel, Your Highness."
"Am I? In what way?"
"You ordered this place to be decorated entirely with Adelia Flowers."
She had been wondering why Lily Palace had been so busy lately, but later she realized that everything was being replaced with items that had Adelia Flowers engraved on them. From statues to framed pictures on the walls, carpets, sofas and cushions, duvet covers and curtains, there was no place where Adelia Flowers were not engraved.
So that Roxana could not escape the scent of Adelia Flowers no matter where she collapsed, Lily Palace was filled to the brim with Adelia Flowers, so much so that it could be called Adelia Palace.
"If you call that cruel, then you are the truly cruel one, Princess. To make me watch an innocent person die and not even be able to rest in peace. Do I look like such a cruel person to you?"
"It's what I want."
"I can't grant everyone's wishes just because they want them. Especially if it's something that abuses themselves."
Roxana pressed her lips shut.
She couldn't reason with Floyd.
He was such a stubborn person. Even if she was hurting herself, it was still her body, so what was it to him?
"But you seem to be keeping your promise to me. You've gained some weight, and you come out to the garden often."
"……."
"The Star Festival is held in Torkan in December. It's a very colorful and cheerful festival, so you should go out to the city during the festival period, Princess. It will be fun."
Fun?
My family is all dead, I was thrown into a well, how can I have fun? Would you be able to have fun? Would you be able to laugh even after seeing your parents' corpses with your own eyes?
Roxana suppressed the urge to scream and nodded obediently. Her life depended on Floyd. She was prepared to do anything Floyd wanted for that, so going to see the festival was not a big deal.
She must have been clutching her skirt without realizing it to suppress her anger. Floyd tapped the back of Roxana's hand, which was clenched tightly, lightly with his index finger.
"Relax a little, Princess. I'm not going to eat you."
"I'd rather you eat me. Chew me up from the tips of my fingers to the tips of my toes without leaving anything behind."
Floyd frowned slightly at the resentful words, then smiled.
"We'll see. I'm not hungry enough to eat you right now."
"……."
"But I think I'll be feeling thirsty soon. You should drink plenty of water, Princess."
At those words, Roxana turned her head and looked at Floyd. The voices that only Roxana could hear had been saying similar things to Floyd more often recently.
-Lotty, store up a lot of water.
-It's getting dangerous. It's hard for us to hold on.
-We'll be leaving soon. Call us when you go to the water. If you can't hear our voices, don't touch the water.
She didn't know what was happening to the water or what kind of danger was coming, but she ignored it because it wasn't a good thing. But how could this man be saying the same things as them?
Floyd, sensing Roxana's gaze, also turned his gaze towards her. He smiled gently as he met Roxana's eyes.
"Don't worry. I'm just saying it in case. I'll solve it somehow before that."
"How did you... know?"
"Huh?"
"That the water is dangerous……."
Could this man also hear those voices?
Could it be that this man also has the same power as me?
"Of course, I know. It's happening in my country. Do I look like such a ruffian who has no interest in my country and only likes to drink?"
For some reason, it felt like they were talking about different things even while having a conversation. Roxana, not realizing that she was showing interest in something that didn't matter, asked again.
"What's happening in this country?"
Floyd stared at Roxana with a strange look in his eyes before explaining what had been happening. Water contaminated by monsters, people dying, monsters that were too fast to catch, and people who had settled in the forest.
"The people who live in this area are people who have settled here only trusting in me."
It wasn't a boastful statement. As far as Roxana knew, the people of Torkan had settled here trusting only in Floyd.
The Huinasel region, where Torkan is currently located, had good weather and fertile land, making it a good place to live, but it had been almost completely occupied by monsters due to the creation of several Rifts. At one time, the Huinasel region was called the 'Land of Death', the 'Land Abandoned by God', and the 'Cursed Land'.
Even the people who had been enduring because it was difficult to leave the place where they had lived since their ancestors began to leave one by one, and when the Gania Kingdom, which had been the owner of this region, declared that it could no longer manage this place and would abandon it.
He appeared.
Floyd Ratean. Once called Floyd Pelure, the illegitimate child of King Joseph V of the Gania Kingdom. An ominous man who was cast out for being cursed by fire.
His fire burned the monsters, and he, who was once called cursed, gained the title of Crimson Tiger who exterminated monsters.
People who had scorned, ignored, and feared him began to envy him, and the kings of each country tried to bring him to their country by any means.
However, Floyd did not succumb to the countless temptations and declared the Huinasel region as his own land, changing his name from Floyd Pelure to Floyd Ratean.
The countries that needed Floyd's power to deal with the monsters that could erupt at any time accepted Floyd's occupation of the Huinasel region and the naming of it 'Torkan', and the Emperor of the Empire bestowed the title of Grand Duke on Floyd.
The King's illegitimate child, who had always had to wander around because there was no place to accept him, became the Monarch of a country.
It was a famous story that always appeared as the subject of songs sung by bards. Roxana had once listened to the story of the 'Crimson Tiger who exterminated monsters' with sweaty hands. From her second older brother, Ian.
'Yes, this man is the protagonist of that story.'
Roxana looked at his profile with a fresh feeling.
Reddish-brown hair that was grown haphazardly and covered his eyes, deep eyes under thick eyebrows, a high nose, and stubborn-looking lips.
In the story, he seemed like a stern, heavy, and taciturn man who wielded his sword without blood or tears, but the real him was different. Floyd laughed often, was quick to anger, and seemed to like children.
Right now, he was showing concern on his face. He was a person who couldn't hide his feelings well.
"I didn't intend to build a country here."
"Then why……?"
"I just needed a place to live quietly by myself, or rather, with the guys who helped me. This area was perfect for living quietly. Because there are many Rifts, no one wants it."
But people trusted Floyd and his knights, who mercilessly killed monsters. People began to gather one by one in the abandoned land and to Floyd.
"At first, it was annoying and bothersome, but what could I do? I couldn't leave the people who had gathered to live to die. As a result, there were more people, and somewhere they gave me the title of Grand Duke and recognized this area as a country. It became an inescapable situation."
Floyd shrugged his shoulders.
"I haven't learned monarchical studies, and although I was born in the royal family, I haven't learned proper etiquette. It's driving me crazy to think that such a guy is sitting in the Monarch's seat and trying to act like a King. Every time a problem like this arises, I don't know if I'm making the right decision, and it's driving me crazy."
Roxana blinked at his honest words. It was the first time she had seen someone reveal such a weak inner self so openly.
She didn't think it was a bad thing. He must have had that much confidence to be able to show his weak side. Even if he showed his weak side, no one would think of him as weak.
