Chapter 23
23
‘Maria is going to leave me?’
Gunther’s brow furrowed. Was it because of Henry? Did she still have lingering feelings for him? Or was it to reclaim her position as Empress? Various doubts stirred within Gunther, complicating his thoughts. But then Stone said something unexpected.
“Maria wanna revenge.”
“Revenge?”
“Yeah, wanna revenge on the person who killed Mommy and Daddy.”
“!?”
That was different from what he’d said last time. Stone had previously told him,
“Didn’t Maria miss her ex-husband?”
Love was complex and subtle, so the desire for the other person coexisted separately from hatred.
“Me? I didn’t say that.”
“What?”
“Gunther, are you stupid? Who misses the person who killed Mommy and Daddy? They hate them.”
Stone picked his nose as he spoke.
“You goddamn little devil!”
Gunther realized he’d been played by Stone and exploded with anger. Just as he raised his fist towards Stone, Maria, who had been briefly unconscious, woke up.
“Maria! Gunther is gonna hit me.”
At Stone’s words, Maria looked at Gunther, who made an awkward expression and lowered his hand. Maria then hugged Stone tightly.
‘Did the Great King hit you before?’
At Maria’s question, Stone’s face filled with mischief. Stone looked at Gunther with a triumphant expression and said,
“Maria asked. Did Gunther hit me before?”
“I never did.”
Gunther answered Maria firmly. What did she take him for? Did she think he was the kind of pathetic person who would lay a hand on a child? He felt inexplicably annoyed.
“Ahem! Sleepy.”
Stone quickly got off the bed and left the barracks. Now only the two of them were left. Gunther stared at Maria.
‘She’s determined to get revenge? That’s why she’s trying to leave me.’
So that was it. At least it was a much better choice than trying to die. But she shouldn’t harbor the thought of leaving his side so easily. That would be the same as death.
“Maria.”
Gunther rarely called her by her name. Maria looked at him with a surprised expression.
“Do you want revenge?”
“!?”
Maria was startled to have her inner thoughts exposed. She hadn’t even told Stone, so how did he know?
“If you want revenge, you have to become stronger. Like today.”
She had to be able to do things she couldn’t bear to do, and sometimes she had to become ruthless, as if she weren’t herself.
“Revenge is about turning yourself into a weapon and punishing the other person.”
What kind of weapon she became would depend on her own efforts. But Maria was overlooking a very important fact. Her desire for revenge was not something she could decide on her own.
“Maria, don’t do anything without me. I won’t allow it.”
Gunther gently cupped Maria’s cheeks, then slowly lowered his hands and gripped her slender neck. He smiled kindly at her in that state and said,
“You are mine. You can’t escape me, even in death.”
The hand gripping Maria’s neck tightened slightly. Maria’s breath caught in her throat as she met his darkened eyes.
‘My body is mortgaged to you, but my heart is mine.’
“Don’t forget the name Gunther Paisley.”
What did he mean? There was no way she could forget his name. Whoever gave it to him, it suited him well. Also, it was the same as the name of a famous knight on the continent, so she couldn’t forget it even if she wanted to.
“If you try to escape me, I don’t know what I’ll do.”
He was speaking in a low voice, but Gunther’s greatly agitated heart was conveyed to Maria. She touched his face with both hands and smiled gently.
‘I’m not that reckless. I absolutely need your power to get revenge on Henry.’
Being unable to speak was advantageous in hiding her emotions. Maria soothed the constantly agitated Gunther, and he gradually calmed his rising anger. Maria pondered Gunther’s words.
‘Gunther is right. To get revenge, I need to make myself into a useful weapon first.’
She had to forget the old Maria Stewart. The Maria who didn’t go down paths that weren’t right, who valued honor, face, and pride as much as her life, was dead.
Maria lay down on the bed first and tapped the space next to her for Gunther. A smile formed on Gunther’s lips.
‘I can smile even if I don’t love you.’
If she could just see her parents again and rebuild her ruined family, she didn’t care what happened to her. As Gunther said, if she could turn her body into a weapon and borrow his power, there was nothing she couldn’t do.
‘You don’t own me, I’m using you.’
Maria pillowed her head on Gunther’s arm and slowly closed her eyes. For now, it was important to give him a sense of security. But, contrary to her intentions, sleepiness washed over her. Traveling in a carriage for a long time was very tiring. Moreover, there was the unintended scuffle with the boy. It had truly been an eventful day.
Gunther felt at ease as he looked at Maria, who had fallen asleep with her head pillowed on his arm. He kissed her forehead and closed his eyes.
* * *
Ero was pacing in front of Solskjaer’s barracks. He couldn’t quite bring himself to meet him. While he hesitated, over an hour had passed. Just then, someone hit Ero hard on the back.
“Ouch!”
Ero cried out and turned around to see Nora looking at him with a pathetic expression.
“Just say it. Just ask to talk for a minute.”
Nora was frustrated with Ero’s hesitation. He had gone all the way to Solskjaer’s barracks after completing the scarf, but there was no news. She had come to check, and as expected, he was just kicking random pebbles outside the door. It seemed she had to step in.
“Lieutenant! Come out here for a moment.”
Nora shouted loudly, and Ero jumped in surprise. Soon, there was a stir inside. Finally, Solskjaer came out of the barracks. He tilted his head as he looked at Ero and Nora.
“He has something to say to you, Lieutenant.”
Nora said, then quickly left the scene. Ero was at a loss for what to say first.
“What is it?”
Solskjaer sounded tired, as if he had been about to go to bed. He even yawned occasionally.
“Um, I wanted to thank you for last time……”
He had lived because Solskjaer had rescued him from the pile of rocks and breathed air into his blocked airways.
“Well, haven’t you thanked me several times before?”
“I…… have.”
There was no need to come all the way here to thank him again. Solskjaer was puzzled by Ero’s actions.
“This.”
Ero turned his head to the side and handed Solskjaer only the knitted scarf.
“A scarf.”
“Yes, I heard the Royal Palace gets cold in the winter. Winter is coming soon, and……”
“Did you knit it?”
“Yes……? Yes.”
Solskjaer accepted the brown scarf and stared blankly at it. It had been a long time since he had seen something like this, so it was kind of fascinating.
“What did you say your name was?”
“Erotique.”
“Ero…… Tique?”
“My name is a bit much, isn’t it?”
“No, it suits you.”
“Huh?”
He had never heard that before. Suddenly, Ero’s heart pounded and his face flushed. In fact, his name was Eron Tique. His parents had meant for him to live properly as a man, not a woman, after the war, but he had disliked the name Eron since he was young. He already believed he was a woman.
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-two.”
“I see. Anyway, thank you. I’ll use it well.”
Ero was overjoyed that Solskjaer had accepted his gift without rejecting it. He had been worried that he would also shun him as a male prostitute, a pervert. He was grateful that he treated him without any prejudice, contrary to his expectations.
* * *
They arrived at the Royal Palace a week after leaving the mine. As they headed to the palace, things he hadn’t noticed before caught his eye. The Helland Royal Palace was as luxurious as any other country, but the streets of the Royal City were not. The roads were not properly maintained, the sewage construction was inadequate, and the houses were crude.
Of course, they were in the middle of building the city, so there was a lot of busy construction going on in various places. But there seemed to be no system to the work.
‘They need to set the order of the work.’
It would be more efficient to divide the work by field. It seemed they were proceeding with the work in the order of building one house completely and then maintaining the nearby roads.
‘I’m even worrying about this.’
When he first came to the Helland Royal Palace, he was no better than a breathing corpse. But now he was looking at the same scenery and discussing the system of work, so it was hard to describe his feelings. Certainly, the few months in the mine had been a major turning point in his life.
When they arrived at the palace, the maids who had previously attended to Maria rushed out to greet her.
“Let’s go to the hot springs.”
The maids seemed to think that washing was urgent after seeing Maria, Ero, and Nora’s appearance. That was understandable, as they had traveled on dusty roads and sometimes passed roads where mud splashed, so everyone’s appearance was indescribably dirty. Before going to the hot springs, Maria looked for Gunther. Then Ero gave her a little hint.
“The Great King went to the office with the Lieutenant. He said he has urgent business to take care of.”
“Oh my god, I’m even going to the hot springs. I’ve made it because of Maria.”
Nora couldn’t hide her excitement throughout the trip to the hot springs. When they arrived at the hot springs, Ero rushed to the water and dipped his hands in it, shouting.
“Oh my! The water is slippery. Amazing, you guys.”
Maria smiled as she watched Ero, who was amazed, but Nora opened her mouth in a rather serious tone.
“Ero, even though we’re very close, it’s a bit much to bathe in the same tub as you.”
Nora looked Ero up and down as she spoke.
“I know.”
Mentally, she understood everything, but it wasn’t easy to actually accept it completely.
“You two go first. I’ll go later.”
“I’d appreciate that.”
While Maria and Nora were bathing, Ero left the hot springs for a while. Soon, Maria and Nora took off their clothes with the help of the maids and entered the tub.