23 - Valentina's Paradise
The surrounding retainers' eyes widen. The murmuring grows louder. Unbelievable. Dozens of armed knights and guards annihilated by a band of thieves.
The Black Forest, a vast expanse covering more than half of the Northern Continent and one-third of the Southern Continent, harbored dozens of hidden bandit dens, renowned for their size and elusive nature. Only the Black Rock Knights had ever managed to subdue them and forge a truce, barely securing a temporary peace.
And now, these audacious thieves had supposedly annihilated dozens of elite knights and guards? If so, Edeled's safe arrival here could only be attributed to sheer luck.
"The Duke must be greatly distressed. I understand your haste in rushing here. Rest assured, Gongzi is safe and sound. You must be hungry, so let's have a meal first."
Valentina raised her glass first, saying,
"To your good fortune, to the health and peace of Duke Edgar, the new master of Nebulosa."
However, Wallace interrupted her curtly instead of raising his glass with her.
"Forgive me, Your Highness, but may we see Gongzi Edeled first?"
"Why, this insolence…"
The attendants and retainers glare at Wallace with narrowed eyes. They already disliked him for ignoring the Grand Duchess's words and for his rude behavior, and now he was adding insult to injury. Some knights snickered, thinking, 'What else would you expect from ignorant Petronians?' Ironically, the prejudice that they were 'uneducated and uncouth Terra Petronians' seemed to serve as a shield in such situations.
Valentina silently scanned their surroundings. There was something more unsettling than the rude interruption. Something subtly out of place…
Found it…!
The flag they carried was the Petronia-Nebulosa alliance flag, with the black lion flag above and the red rose flag below, which had been used since the marriage of Duke Edwin II and Countess Margaret.
But Edgar would never have allowed the Nebulosa rose emblem to be overshadowed by the Petronian black lion emblem.
Of course, more importantly, the Nebulosa-Petronia alliance had collapsed, and that flag could no longer be used. Edgar himself was acutely aware of this, even if others were not.
So, these knights were impersonating Edgar's orders to meet Edeled?
Her hand clenched tightly. It was only a suspicion, not a certainty. She couldn't directly confront them, nor could she reveal her suspicion. She nodded and smiled gently.
"I understand. I fully comprehend your concern and impatience."
“…Thank you, Your Highness.”
"In fact, Gongzi Edeled was just having a meal and conversation with me until a moment ago. I came out first, thinking Duke Edgar had arrived, but had I known, I would have asked him to join us."
"Thank you for your understanding."
"Please, make yourselves comfortable and eat. I will go and convey your request for an audience."
As Valentina rose from her seat, they all stood up and bowed their heads.
"Well, I'll leave you to it, then. I hope you have a good time catching up. I'll have plenty of good wine, beer, meat, and fruit brought up, so eat, drink, and relax from your journey."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Just don't let Edeled drink too much. I wouldn't want to be blamed for summoning the Grim Reaper after he escaped the thieves."
Her joke elicited hearty laughter from the knights. They didn't seem to notice the thorns hidden in her words.
***
"Ricardo. Seal the doors of the Grand Ballroom from the outside, immediately."
At Valentina's resolute command, the jaws of the retainers gathered in the office dropped. Ricardo belatedly stepped forward in alarm, blocking her path.
"Dominella! What are you saying?"
"Those men are not Duke Edgar's party. They are impersonating his orders to deceive us and meet Edeled. So, I'm saying to lock them in by blocking the doors from the outside. They might break down the doors, so reinforce them with iron bolts and bars, and deploy armed soldiers!"
Valentina sternly urged the retainers, who were frozen in place.
"Don't you sense anything suspicious? From trying to hide their names and positions, to saying that Duke Edgar's party would arrive soon, then changing their story to say they would arrive in a few days after entering the Grand Ducal Castle."
She was impatient, and explaining everything was exhausting her.
"Above all, the alliance flag they brought was hastily made to get in here. The Nebulosa-Petronia alliance no longer exists. If they were Duke Edgar's party, they would have only brought the Nebulosa rose emblem flag."
Ah, only then did people belatedly nod their heads. Ricardo answered with a nonchalant attitude.
"If that's the case, why bother sealing them in? We can go in and take care of them."
Valentina's temper flared whenever she saw her cousin trying to disobey her orders at every turn.
"A frontal confrontation, you say? Good idea, Lord Ricardo. Since one Black Rock Knight can handle twenty men, we can immediately mobilize a hundred knights to capture and imprison them."
"If we scrape together everyone inside and outside the castle, we can gather thirty or forty…"
"Ricardo, they are nominally under the orders of Duke Edgar. If there are casualties on their side, our position will become difficult, and if there are casualties on our side, it will be a tearful affair. It's best to avoid bloodshed as much as possible. So, follow my orders quickly. …I'll go to the detached palace for now."
Valentina sighed and cut him off. I need to add more guards to Edeled. She thought to herself, racking her brain, and quickly moved her feet, leading the retainers.
"Edeled…! Edeled!"
But Edeled had brilliantly struck her in the back of the head. The room where he had been staying was empty.
***
The air, imbued with yellow sunlight, is warm, and the sweet scent of flowers fills the world. The universe is a dazzlingly splendid flower garden. Paradisus Valentinae, the paradise named after her, is far more dazzling and enchanting than she had imagined.
"Ah… good."
Edeled raised both arms above his head. A cool breeze brushes through his fingers. The long sleeves, stained with crushed purple flowers and transformed into a flamboyant mess, fluttered pleasantly in the breeze.
Truly beautiful.
The dazzling sunlight seems within reach. The intense floral fragrance seems within reach. The wind seems within reach. Edeled raised his right hand, holding a dagger, high. In the bright sunlight, the crimson blood dripping from the bloodied blade and hilt crawls down his arm, tickling him.
"Valentina. There are so many beautiful things in the world. …And I love beautiful things too much. Pathetically."
Indeed. Even his brave and combative mother loved pretty things. That must be why she married his father. The beautiful Nebulosa Ducal Castle, covered in red roses. And the owner of that castle, more beautiful than those roses, delicate and high-strung.
“…But why are you so devastatingly beautiful? Isn't that cheating? It's too much.”
He closed his eyes and began to laugh. Recalling the beautiful things he had almost grasped, he laughed until he was breathless.
The longing for Valentina was soon love, and at some point, it had become the only reason to survive.
Of course, he knew that these clinging feelings would have to be torn away someday. And that it would be incredibly painful.
I hate being in pain so much. I'm sick of it. So, I left it alone, and it's come to this.
He murmured in a faint voice.
"But, Valentina. How long do I have to wait… no, how long can I wait…."
His vision gradually fills with white light. A sweet drowsiness washes over him. A gentle breeze brushes his face, and he seems to hear a faint voice in the wind.
Edeled, Edel….
Her sweet voice, mixed with the scent of flowers, wavers. I don't know if I'm dreaming, hallucinating, or if you're really coming.
Woong, woong. Woowoouuu….
A noisy ringing mixes in from somewhere. It sounds like dogs barking, or people talking. Edeled smiled faintly with his eyes closed.
"If there's no choice, it's fate? What a joke."
The arm he had raised high dropped limply.
