3 - Valentina's Paradise
Valentina retorted sharply.
“Six years ago, my late mother sent a letter to Nebulosa stating the reason for the annulment.”
“I have never heard of such a thing!”
Edeled managed to utter, his face as white as a sheet. The shock he received seemed immense. But Valentina was even more surprised.
“How could Gongzi not know about the annulment for six years? Even if you were isolated and confined for a long time?”
“Even confined, my ears weren’t blocked! The news of the annulment didn’t reach me, but four years ago, when His Majesty the Emperor proposed marriage to you, I clearly heard that you refused, saying you had ‘a marriage prospect with a nobleman from Nebulosa’!”
Damn it all. Valentina clicked her tongue inwardly.
Four years ago, the ailing Emperor, nearing his sixtieth birthday, demanded marriage from Valentina. It was a shameless proposal, but her mother, who was firmly in the Emperor’s bad graces, couldn’t refuse. However, Valentina used extreme measures to overturn the marriage proposal. The excuse her mother hastily wrote was ‘a marriage prospect with a nobleman from Nebulosa.’
In fact, that excuse wasn’t entirely a lie. But she couldn’t explain the backstory now, so she had no choice but to ruthlessly sell out her deceased mother.
“Gongzi, I don’t know exactly what words my mother used to reject the Emperor’s marriage proposal. I don’t want to know, and I can’t ask her since she’s passed away.”
“……”
“But what’s certain is that the engagement with you was broken six years ago. Surely, you didn’t come all this way wanting to act as my fiancé?”
His face twisted miserably. He closed his eyes tightly, bit his lip, and took a few deep breaths. After a moment, he opened his eyes and calmly replied in a subdued voice.
“No. …I was merely asking to confirm the facts. As stated in the letter, I came to ask Grand Duke for apprentice knight training.”
Seeing him trembling even in his shoulders, Valentina sighed.
“Gongzi, why didn’t you present the letter sooner? Isn’t a guardian’s letter the most reliable proof of identity when you don’t have an escort?”
If he had, he wouldn’t have been grabbed by the hair and beaten like a dog by the knights, wouldn’t have had his identity questioned, and wouldn’t have been insulted by her.
But no answer came. When she looked up, she met Edeled’s dark eyes head-on. His gaze, which had been searching her suspiciously, soon slid down to the letter in her hand. A chill ran down her spine.
Valentina lowered her gaze back to the letter.
…But the more she reread it, the more she noticed a subtly unsettling part.
…He is imploring to be trained as an apprentice knight under the Grand Duke of Regio Florida. He wishes to properly hone his knightly qualities and virtues by serving the esteemed Grand Duke closely for a long time. Initially, he expressed a desire to become a scribe in a cloistered monastery, but upon the strong advice of his vassals, who reminded him that he is the heir to the Count of Petronia, he retracted his request and sought your help. Dominella Valentina, noble Owner of Regio Florida. If you grant me your aid, Terra Petronia will soon welcome an excellent knight and powerful ruler as its lord, and will forever remember the grace you have shown.
I earnestly request that, through your wise and thoughtful choice, my nephew Edeled may be guided to the most appropriate and necessary path….
First of all, that scrawny young man seemed far from being an excellent knight or a powerful ruler. Above all, ‘excellent knight’ and ‘powerful ruler’ were accolades that followed Edgar himself. Recognizing that, Valentina’s hand tightened.
‘Wise and thoughtful choice? The most appropriate and necessary path…?’
Suddenly, the back of her neck prickled with goosebumps.
Wasn’t this a request to eliminate Edeled!
“Duke Edeled, were you aware of the contents of this letter?”
“Yes. Before it was sealed, I happened to overhear a servant reading the letter aloud.”
“I see.”
Sweat beaded on Valentina’s palm.
She understood why Edeled had presented the letter only now.
He seemed to have a good sense, and he seemed to have felt a strange discomfort from this letter, just like her. So, instead of presenting it right away, he had been observing the situation and trying to grasp the hidden meaning of the letter.
But he hadn’t yet realized his uncle’s cruel assassination order.
Valentina bit her lip and pondered.
This was not right. She didn’t know why Edgar was taking such a reckless measure, but this method was definitely not right. She had to write a letter right away and dissuade him.
Just then, Edeled’s low voice broke in.
“By the way, Grand Duke, you seem to be quite close to my uncle. Enough to recognize his handwriting.”
Valentina snapped back to her senses. A searching voice, a sharp gaze, that man was trying to find out through Valentina what was strange about the letter. Valentina tensed up.
“Well, he stayed in this castle for quite a while. He was a skilled jouster and had a striking appearance and a hearty personality, so he was popular with the ladies of Florida. His nickname was ‘Knight of the Sun’.”
“Indeed, I hear that he still has affairs with ladies wherever he goes.”
Before she knew it, her expression hardened. Saying he was popular was fine, but she couldn’t tolerate the word ‘affairs.’ She corrected him.
“Rather than ‘affairs’… it probably means that many ladies are fond of the Duke. I believe Duke Edgar is in love with only one lady.”
“Oh, really? My uncle… has a lady… he’s in love with?”
“Oh dear, didn’t you know, even though you live in the same castle as your uncle? I understand that the marriage was completely finalized in the first month of this year.”
Even after saying it, she wasn’t sure if it was better to have said it. But she couldn’t let dirty rumors like affairs with women circulate. Edeled murmured with a surprised face.
“That’s… news to me. At that time, I thought my uncle was in the Imperial Palace to swear allegiance to His Majesty….”
“Ah, I see.”
Valentina nodded. Edeled asked with a still confused face.
“Do you happen to know which lady he is marrying? Princess Anna Angela of Terra Lema…? Or Dominella Erika of Terra Technica?”
“Duke Edeled, I’m sorry, but I can’t arbitrarily reveal what the person involved hasn’t disclosed. But I heard that they will be holding a grand wedding banquet soon, so you’ll find out soon enough, won’t you?”
Valentina finished her words appropriately and gave a faint smile.
“……”
What did he sense from her smile? His body began to sway again. Cold sweat was running down his forehead.
“You look very tired. I’ll have you guided to your quarters, so have a meal and rest. We can talk in detail later.”
“Thank you, Dominella.”
Edeled, struggling to steady himself, took her outstretched hand and bowed his head. His attire was no different from that of a wandering beggar, but his elegant movements conveyed the dignity of a nobleman.
But the moment he kissed the back of her hand, his movements stopped abruptly.
“……?”
After a moment, Edeled raised his head. His face was pale, devoid of blood, and his sharply shining black eyes were filled with uncontrollable fear. She could feel his hand, holding Valentina’s hand, trembling.
Ah!
Valentina belatedly and hastily pulled back the hand he was holding. Among the rings on her finger was a small gold ring with the letters ‘VFEN’ engraved on it.
Could it be! Did he recognize something by seeing this ring?
No, that couldn’t be. This ring was different in shape and letters from Edgar’s ring. It was just a jumble of randomly mixed letters. No matter how good his senses were, he couldn’t recognize anything with just this.
At that moment, Edeled, looking up at her, moved his lips blankly.
“What the hell….”
“…What?”
Valentina was too surprised to even feel anger. He staggered backward. The vassals, who hadn’t heard Edeled’s curse, were only wearing bewildered expressions, not knowing what was going on.
“Edeled, what is…!”
Before she could finish speaking, Edeled’s body limply fell backward. Valentina, horrified, tried to grab his arm, but her hand flailed in the air, and his body fell straight to the ground.
“Good heavens, Roberto! Pepe!”
While the vassals were in great commotion, the dog ran over, grabbed its owner’s sleeve, and began to wail loudly. Lord Roberto ran over and supported him to get up. But Edeled was motionless like a corpse. Valentina shouted in a sharp voice.
“Pepe! Check his breathing!”
The jester, who was well-versed in folk remedies, skipped over and lifted his ragged outer garment, pressing his ear close to his chest.
“Oh! I can hear the sound of drums in the noble’s chest, and the whistling of Zephyros between his lips.”
The jester clapped his hands as if to shake off bad luck, then smiled and added.
“But if you leave him like this, with his belly skin stuck to his back skin, the angel of death will reap this soul with a scythe in less than half a day, so I report that hot chicken broth, wine, and soft bread are perfect as a shield to prevent the evil scythe.”
Valentina breathed a sigh of relief. She was completely disoriented by the sudden onslaught of several shocks.
“Take him to a guest room in the annex and send a doctor and a meal.”
“Yes, Grand Duke.”
As the soldiers carried him out, an old leather pouch could be seen peeking out from his waist.
“…Wait. Pepe, untie that pouch and bring it here.”
But contrary to expectations, the old pouch was disappointingly empty. Except for a single piece of old, decaying parchment.
“What is this…?”
Valentina carefully unfolded the crumpled parchment and tilted her head.
It was a painting. It seemed to be a painting. The shape was almost unrecognizable, and only a few vaguely faded colors remained of the unidentified painting. A blurry purple background was laid underneath, and a bluish color was placed on top. And something yellowish and whitish, smudged, was elongated in the middle.
“Could it be, a person…?”
The jester Pepe carefully approached and peeked in, then echoed her words.
“It looks like a person, Your Highness.”
“Really a person? This?”
“Wearing a white dress…? Probably with bright blonde hair….”
Pepe whispered in a small voice so that the other vassals couldn’t hear.
“Then the purple is….”
Valentina, who was continuing her words, suddenly shut her mouth tightly. A chill ran down her spine.
…It’s my portrait!
Ten years ago, Grand Duchess Giulietta had sent portraits to several great lords to promote her daughter’s marriage prospects. Twelve-year-old Valentina was wearing a white dress, her platinum blonde hair was elaborately decorated and draped down, and she was sitting in the Grand Ducal Estate’s garden ― in the Mandrako herb field overflowing with purple flowers. It was terribly hot. She knew she had to smile, but she couldn’t. According to the trend, even ticklish sentences that seemed to turn her hands and feet inside out had to be written under the portrait. Thanks to that portrait with the cold expression, Valentina gained the nickname Ice Princess.
And the portrait in front of her had been handled so much that it was now unrecognizable.
“Pepe! Take this and burn it right away!”
“Yes?”
“And no one follow me. I want to be alone for a while.”
Returning to her room, Valentina took out Duke Edgar’s letter again. At the top corner of the letter, the small letters ‘DCT’ were clearly engraved. It was an abbreviation for ‘Dominus Cordis Tui’ (Master of my heart).
She took out parchment from her desk drawer. She had to write a reply to Duke Edgar right away. Not an official reply, but a private secret letter, and it had to be written in code.
An incident that had struck her peaceful daily life like a bolt of lightning. She could feel her hand holding the quill trembling slightly.
“Dominus cordis mei….”
Valentina was certain that Edgar would grant her earnest request.
