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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Five Memories
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I hadn’t been outside for very long, but my body was already frozen stiff, making it difficult to move.
‘So this is what it’s like to have your mouth freeze over. It’s hard to speak.’
My clothes were already heavy, making it hard to stay upright, and with my feet sinking into the snow, I couldn't walk at all.
I had no choice but to be carried back to the carriage in Calius’s arms.
“I’m sorry. I’ve troubled you by insisting on going out.”
Carrying someone through a snowfield like that couldn't have been easy…
“It was no trouble at all, so please don't worry.”
Despite my concern, Calius showed no signs of exertion. Even his breathing was steady.
In fact, I was the one gasping for breath from exhaustion, despite having been carried comfortably.
“Your lips are blue.”
He draped a blanket over my trembling knees.
Then he took off his own cloak and wrapped it around my shoulders, but I let out a gasp and slumped forward. His large, thick cloak was simply too heavy.
“Oh, my apologies.”
Calius quickly helped me sit up straight.
Embarrassed by the strange sound I’d made, I mumbled.
“Your cloak is very heavy.”
“It's more that Your Highness is…”
He trailed off, closing his mouth.
“I’m what?”
“It’s nothing.”
From his expression, it seemed he wanted to say I was too weak or something of the sort, so I let it go without pressing him.
“Anyway, are you all right?”
I let out a small laugh.
“Do you know how many times you’ve asked me that today?”
Seeing me laugh, Calius’s expression visibly relaxed.
He suddenly raised a hand and cupped my cheek.
He had been outside with me, but unlike my frozen hands, his were surprisingly warm.
The warmth melted the frozen tears on my cheeks and eyelashes, wetting his hand.
I stared at him with wide eyes, and he spoke cautiously.
“You were crying.”
“Ah.”
It seemed he had seen me crying on the cliff.
‘I thought he couldn't see me since he was behind me.’
Now I understood why he looked so relieved.
“Did you think I was crying because I regretted my decision to follow you?”
“Yes, well…”
I smiled gently.
“Someone once told me to pick my five best memories and recall them whenever life gets so hard I want to die. They said it gives you the courage to live.”
“...”
“Today, I gained one of those five memories to recall when things get tough.”
Calius’s eyes wavered slightly.
“I’ve never seen such a beautiful landscape in my life. It was so magnificent it brought me to tears.”
Five memories to keep you going.
In my past life, I never had them. No matter how hard I tried to search my memories, I couldn't come up with five happy or good moments. There was only the memory of when I first met Kal.
That’s why, in the moment I was killed by Andrea’s knight, I couldn’t think of anything but Kal.
But today, I’ve added one more.
The thought excited me.
“My heart still pounds when I think of the scenery I saw earlier.”
But as Calius listened, his expression was strange.
“Do you remember who told you that?”
“Are you curious?”
“It's just that I know a similar saying, which is surprising.”
“...My dearest friend told me.”
The day I first met Kal, he said it as a farewell when it was time for us to part.
I promised Kal.
“Whenever I’m struggling, you’ll be the first of my five memories that I recall.”
And since Kal was always the only memory I recalled, from the first to the fifth, I suppose I kept that promise very well.
Unable to speak about Kal in detail, I gave a vague answer.
“Words of encouragement are much the same everywhere, I suppose. My friend probably heard it from someone else.”
“...”
Calius seemed lost in thought for a moment, as if he hadn't heard me.
After that, Calius said nothing, and a heavy silence settled in the carriage for some time.
* * *
We headed for the town of Avene, not far from the fortress where the teleportation circle was located.
It was getting dark, so they said we couldn't depart for Ronheim right away.
In the snow-covered fields, it was easy to lose your way at night, and if a sudden blizzard were to hit and strand us, our survival would be at risk.
“The weather in the North is fickle. It can be clear like this, but a heavy snowstorm can suddenly blow in at night.”
Calius decided we would spend the night in Avene and depart at dawn the next day.
We found lodging without any trouble.
I had done nothing, yet I was terribly tired. I felt like I could sleep on the carpet, let alone a bed.
‘Besides, I want to get out of these clothes.’
The weight of the dress on my shoulders was so draining that even just sitting was an effort.
But right after we arrived at the inn, while Calius was away on a brief errand, something unexpected happened.
“We cannot allow the princess to stay in such a shabby place.”
The handmaidens sent by Empress Cavalla insisted they couldn't let me enter the inn.
They had been quiet when Calius was around; their sudden protest as soon as he left proved they had been waiting for this opportunity.
“No, I…”
I wanted to get out of the carriage and stop them.
However, the head handmaiden quickly climbed into Calius's seat and blocked me resolutely.
“Your Highness, Marquis Rodrian has a duty to treat you with the courtesy befitting the dignity of the Idellian Imperial Family.”
She wouldn't even let me open the carriage window, so all I could do was listen to the handmaidens arguing with Brentian outside.
“Go and inform the lord of Avene of Her Highness's visit.”
“We only plan to stay here for one night. If we receive an invitation from the lord, we will have to delay our schedule, which would be inconvenient.”
Brentian was right.
If we summoned the lord, he would be obligated to host me, a member of the imperial family, whether he liked it or not. In return, we would be expected to stay at his castle for a few days to socialize as a courtesy.
If we had no set schedule, it might be different, but meeting the lord in our current situation was too much of a hassle.
Even the Emperor doesn't announce his visit to every lord in his path when touring the provinces, precisely to avoid such complications.
So for a princess traveling to her husband's territory after marriage to summon the lord of a town she was merely passing through was a bit much.
But the handmaidens were adamant.
“To ask Her Highness to stay in a filthy inn like this—are you suggesting we mistreat her?”
“Mistreat her? Nobles of Avene often stay here. It is also the only inn in Avene.”
I could hear the growing irritation in Brentian's voice.
He played his trump card.
“Besides, we are not on good terms with the lord of Avene, so we wouldn't even receive a warm welcome.”
Before Ronheim was annexed, Avene was a border territory.
It was obvious how much trouble the lord of Avene must have had during the battles with Ronheim back then.
Even though Ronheim was now part of the Empire, the lord of Avene was unlikely to be friendly toward his old enemy.
As the handmaidens began to lose ground to Brentian, the head handmaiden who was blocking me spoke to me in a commanding tone.
“When Marquis Rodrian returns, you must tell him yourself that you wish to go to the lord's castle.”
I couldn't understand it at all.
“Why should I?”
“Why?”
The handmaiden frowned.
“For Marquis Rodrian to not afford Your Highness the highest courtesy is tantamount to insulting the Idellian Imperial Family.”
It was a ridiculous assertion.
‘They wouldn't be acting like this if I had married any other noble.’
In my past life, how was I treated when I married Viscount Felsus?
‘Forget courtesy, I was abused, which is worse than mistreatment.’
Back then, no one ever said a word about Viscount Felsus owing me proper courtesy.
And above all, it was hard to see how staying at an inn frequented by other nobles could be considered an insult.
The handmaidens simply wanted to make things difficult for Calius's men.
“You, what is your name?”
“It is Vanessa.”
The handmaiden replied coldly.
As a head handmaiden, she couldn't possibly be unaware that failing to introduce herself until asked was a breach of etiquette. Yet her attitude was shameless.
‘By her own logic from a moment ago, isn't she the one insulting the imperial family?’
She was the one failing to show me the highest courtesy.
I reminded her of an important fact she was overlooking.
“Vanessa, you must have heard from the Empress why we are here. Are you defying Her Majesty's orders now?”
“What do you mean?”
“You know I'm supposed to gain Marquis Rodrian's trust and uncover his secrets, yet you're needlessly provoking his men. If this causes the Marquis to withdraw his favor and I fail my mission, I'll have no choice but to report your and your colleagues' misconduct to the Empress.”
My threat left Vanessa looking flustered.
The princess rumored to be insane was apparently more articulate than she had expected.
However, she calmly retorted.
“If you accept such mistreatment just to gain the trust of those barbarians, have you considered how little they will think of you and the entire Idellian Imperial Family?”
If I had been trying to protect my pride, that logic might have worked, but I had no intention of getting into a battle of egos with Calius.
“We shall see about that.”
I deliberately raised my voice loud enough for those outside to hear.
“I'm getting out of the carriage. I don't care where it is, I just want to rest.”
Vanessa could no longer hold me back.
