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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: The Day of Departure
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For a while, the imperial palace was in an uproar. Just like when my mother passed away.
The Emperor had been gravely injured in a fall from his horse, a thief had broken into the empress's palace, and a treasure vault filled with immense wealth had burned down.
It seemed Cavalla's brother, Marquis Denev Blansco, was turning the palace upside down trying to catch the thief. But the culprit remained at large.
Under these circumstances, the wedding was, as expected, naturally canceled.
After all, they couldn't hold a celebration in a palace plagued by misfortune, with the Emperor confined to his sickbed.
*‘Everything is going just as I expected, just as I planned.’*
I was quite satisfied.
No one would ever know that the unexpected victor was laughing all alone.
And so, the day of my departure for Ronheim arrived.
* * *
On the morning of my departure, I paced anxiously around my bedroom.
The time Calius was supposed to come for me was drawing near.
The maids seemed to think I was nervous, but I wasn't worried at all about going to Ronheim with Calius.
However.
*‘Kal…'*
Kal hadn't appeared since the day of the engagement ceremony.
I thought I'd be able to see him one last time before I left.
*‘There's no way he wouldn't come to say goodbye.’*
I was worried something might have happened to him. It was the first time he had gone this long without visiting me.
"Stop that. It's a dirty habit."
The maid packing my things stopped what she was doing, came over, and smacked my hand.
It seemed I had been biting my nails out of anxiety without realizing it.
"Ah, I'm sor—"
I started to apologize instinctively but caught myself.
*‘Don't apologize unnecessarily, Chloe.’*
But I wasn't in the mood to get angry either.
I kept peering out the window.
*‘Could he be nearby, unable to show himself because the maid is here?’*
With that thought, I pushed the packing maid out of the bedroom by her back.
"That's enough packing. I won't be able to wear these kinds of clothes in Ronheim anyway."
"But those were special gifts from Her Majesty the Empress for you, Your Highness!"
The maid chided me, asking if I was ignoring Empress Cavalla's sincerity.
Not long after my marriage to Calius was decided, Cavalla had gifted me a mountain of dresses.
But in reality, none of them were suitable for Ronheim; they were merely meant to show how much Cavalla supposedly cherished me.
If she had truly wanted me to wear her gifts, she wouldn't have given me summer dresses with low necklines and short or no sleeves for a place that is winter all year round.
"I'll save them. I'll wear them when I occasionally return to the palace."
I said, making a vague excuse.
"Would it even be fitting to wear such beautiful dresses in Ronheim?"
After sending the maid out, I went to the window and quietly called for Kal.
"Kal! Are you there?"
But even after calling for a long time, Kal didn't appear.
I was on the verge of tears.
"You said you'd be with me wherever I go…"
His smile as he told me not to worry, that he had a way, was still vivid in my mind.
I should have asked for more details about his plan.
Is he really going to follow me to Ronheim?
Or were those just empty words?
At this point, I wouldn't even care if Kal had lied; I just wanted to be able to say goodbye.
As I was sniffling, missing Kal, the maids called from outside that it was time.
I tried to compose myself and wiped away the traces of my tears.
Just then.
*Thump!*
Something flew in from the window and landed at my feet.
"…!"
It was a note, folded tightly to make it small.
I didn't need to check to know who had thrown it.
I picked up the note and rushed to the window, looking around outside.
But there was no sign of Kal.
Instead, I saw unfamiliar maids and knights gathering in the garden.
They were the people Cavalla had sent.
Perhaps thinking the maids Andrea had assigned me weren't trustworthy enough, she had selected reliable people from her own staff to accompany me.
*‘He must have only been able to toss the note and disappear because of them.’*
I stomped my foot in frustration and opened the note.
On it was a short message, clearly scribbled in a hurry.
[Don't worry. I'll follow you.]
"…"
All my effort to erase the signs of crying was for naught; as soon as I read the note, tears burst forth again.
This time, they were tears of relief.
I was relieved that nothing bad had happened to Kal and that he truly intended to go with me.
*‘Really, Kal? You're really going to follow me?’*
I clutched the note he'd left behind as if it were Kal himself, then hid it in a narrow gap behind a drawer.
It would be trouble if I kept it on me and someone happened to find it.
The moment I hid the note, the maids burst in, angry.
"We told you to come out! Why are you still in here!"
Seeing my tears, their expressions turned even more sour.
They seemed to have mistaken my tears as a sign that I didn't want to go to Ronheim.
"It's no use resisting."
"Hurry up and come out. People are waiting for you, Your Highness!"
Worried I might suddenly change my mind and refuse to go to Ronheim, the maids herded me out of the bedroom like prey.
Since Kal's note had put my mind at ease, I left the bedroom without complaint.
* * *
When I went outside, Calius and his men, along with the people sent by Cavalla, were waiting for me.
"Your Highness."
Calius dismounted his horse and bowed politely.
The maids beside me froze at the sight of him.
Unlike his previous appearance in a simple black formal suit, he was dressed in full armor today.
An already large man, he looked twice as big with a thick fur cloak draped over his shoulders.
Wearing thick, tough-looking black leather gloves and boots, along with his armor, he was an imposing figure.
Not only Calius but his men were dressed similarly.
*‘They look like crows.’*
Given their build, it would be more fitting to compare them to large eagles, but their sharp impressions seemed closer to crows than eagles.
I like crows. They are strong and intelligent birds.
Calius extended his hand to me.
The maids were so frightened of him they couldn't move.
I brushed past the maids and confidently walked over to take Calius's hand.
The maids might not know it, but I had no reason to be afraid of him.
"Shall we go, Marquis?"
The words came out with a sense of relief.
There was no lingering attachment or anxiety in my steps. Only anticipation.
For some reason, a smile that seemed to say he was intrigued appeared on Calius's lips.
He had the rugged appearance of a man who could wrestle a bear with his bare hands, but when I drew closer, he took my hand with surprising delicacy and warmth, leading me to the carriage.
Just before boarding the carriage, I whispered to him.
"I have a favor to ask. Could you have one of your knights fetch the green cushion and teddy bear from my bed? They're very precious to me, so I'd like to bring them separately."
Despite my sudden request, he nodded without a word of complaint.
"Understood."
He called over the red-haired knight—the one whose Platus bracelet I had found—and had him retrieve the items I mentioned.
The maids seemed wary of him entering the building, but they didn't dare block his path.
No sooner had I climbed into the carriage than the red-haired knight brought me the cushion and the teddy bear.
Just how fast were his steps?
"Are these the items you mentioned?"
In his grasp, the cushion and teddy bear looked incredibly small and unjustly light.
I can't even lift them both at once…
"Yes, that's them. Thank you. Please put them here beside me."
He obediently followed my instructions.
As the knight stepped back from the carriage, Calius entered and sat down across from me. It seemed he would be riding with me.
With him inside, the spacious carriage suddenly felt cramped.
As the door closed, he chuckled and asked.
"Are they precious items? So much so that you can't be parted from them even during the journey?"
I placed my hands on the teddy bear and cushion and nodded.
"Yes. Very much so."
These were my precious belongings, things I couldn't entrust to my old maids or the new ones Cavalla had sent, so I had feigned leaving them behind.
I could leave all my other luggage behind, but I had to take these.
*‘Because inside them is a hoard of Cavalla's jewels that I stole.’*
I was a little worried that the red-haired knight had carried the teddy bear and cushion so lightly, as if they were made of feathers, so I lifted them slightly to check.
*‘Don't tell me the contents fell out…’*
…They hadn't. They were still heavy.
*‘If only I were as strong as that knight, I would have brought all the treasures from the vault.’*
I sighed in regret.
As I earnestly fiddled with the teddy bear, Calius kept chuckling.
*‘What's with him…?’*
Why is he like that?
In the meantime, the carriage began to move.
Leaving my regrets behind, I looked out the window with a pounding heart.
Freedom, at last.
