106 - The Crown I Will Take From You
106
\ \ \
'Just how far is that guy planning to roam around Baldina?'
Medeia frowned at Cesare.
Not even considering that he might have come all the way here looking for her, Medeia thought that they had just run into each other by chance again.
She was about to ask him how he got here when suddenly the mercenary approached her with a distorted expression.
The relaxed curve of his lips, which always boasted leisure, was twisted, and his sharp jaw was set as if he were gritting his teeth.
The distance between them narrowed in an instant.
"Medeia."
And a solid frame filled her vision with darkness.
Medeia was so surprised that she forgot that he had abandoned formality and impudently called her name.
In the brief moment she was stunned, the mercenary's vivid anger poured down on her.
"Why are you being so foolish? Why are you moving alone? Don't you know it's barbaric not to use the tools you have?"
Medeia couldn't understand the mercenary who was yelling at her as if he was scolding her.
She looked up at him, puzzled.
"Achares, are you crazy?"
"You didn't have to go this far. Where did you leave your precious Maid, the Chancellor, and the Queen Dowager, and why are you alone, without sacrificing yourself every time!"
Cesare's reason told him to stop, but his instincts couldn't be stopped.
Damn it, who am I seeing in this woman?
Do I want to help the Princess, or do I want to save myself as a child who was left alone?
He wanted to make her understand that she wasn't alone.
He wanted to say that someone understood her, that someone could take the hand she extended.
At the same time, Cesare knew.
Just as he had, the Princess would neither believe nor understand those words.
"Why should I?"
As he expected, the Princess asked with clear eyes. Her calm expression was as still as an undisturbed surface of water.
"If you don't think of me as a woman, you'd better let go of this arm quickly. Or else this Poison needle you gave me might pierce your neck."
Only then did Cesare discover the small iron needle placed under his chin.
With a snort of laughter, the arms that had wrapped around Medeia as if to imprison her loosened.
"……."
A short intake of breath. It was enough time for Cesare's reason to return.
"……I've shown an unsightly display."
"Knowing is enough."
"……Ha."
The clear answer that didn't deny it left a scratch on his noble pride.
Silence flowed.
"How is the situation in the Royal Palace?"
Medeia asked absentmindedly. Cesare retorted as if he was dumbfounded.
"Princess, are you treating me like a messenger now?"
She glanced at Cesare without answering.
Moonlight shone into the cave, and Achares's appearance came into view properly.
Sweat-soaked hair, dirt and leaves smeared on his arms and legs, a pale face.
Even the hand that was turning crimson under the cuff of his sleeve.
Medeia couldn't understand all the words he had poured out, but she knew that at least this mercenary had come looking for her.
He had jumped off a cliff and found the traces she had hidden to find her, but ridiculously, she didn't feel wary.
Perhaps it was because she had read the worry for her that had flashed in his vivid Golden eyes.
Cesare seemed to come to his senses and belatedly stepped away from Medeia.
"Sit down. I was just about to have dinner."
Medeia averted her gaze and gave him a seat.
"I'll do it."
Cesare took the Dagger from her hand, staring silently at the small scratch on her white and beautiful hand.
Medeia watched his actions as if observing him, silently. An interesting look flashed in her green eyes.
Soon, a delicious smell filled the cave.
"I thought you were only good at swordsmanship, but you're quite the cook too."
Medeia praised with an indifferent face.
Perhaps it was because he had traveled to many places as a mercenary, he had a talent for creating plausible dishes even with few ingredients.
"Just eat."
Unlike his cold reply, he broke off the end of the branch skewering the rabbit meat so that her hand wouldn't get pricked and handed it to Medeia.
"……."
Cesare felt inexplicably annoyed when he saw the small face of the Princess, who seemed to be fully enjoying the camping life away from the Royal Palace.
"The emphasis is always important."
"You've come very well prepared, haven't you?"
Cesare said in vain as he watched Medeia take out salt and sprinkle it.
"Do you want some too?"
"No."
A cold refusal returned.
Medeia shrugged and bit into the meat.
It wasn't a bad taste.
\ \ \
Baldina Royal Castle.
"Have you heard the news? At the hunting grounds, the Princess-"
"Ha! Of course! Even the culprit knows. Sub-Duke Claudio killed Her Highness!"
The unfortunate accident that occurred at the hunting grounds was soon conveyed to the Royal Castle.
"You bad guy! Bring our Princess back to life!"
"What have you done for our Baldina!"
The rumors spread quickly, and even the people on the streets knew about Medeia's disappearance.
The 4th Princess tapped her fingernails.
Things had grown out of hand before she could do anything.
'What should I do? I didn't expect the Queen Dowager to regain her senses so quickly.'
The Queen Dowager even seemed to be suspecting her as well. The eyes watching the Kazen delegation were very sharp.
'If they find out that I released the wolves into the hunting grounds, I'm done for.'
An envoy from the delegation tried to assassinate a direct royal family member of the visiting country? No matter how small Baldina was, they wouldn't stand still.
'I shouldn't have trusted that idiot Samon. He can't even handle one thing properly!'
The 4th Princess's nerves, wavering somewhere between anger and worry, were wearing thin.
'Father won't leave me alone. What if they find out what I did? But there's no evidence. How would they know-'
"Princess."
At that moment, the 4th Princess was startled by the voice calling her. Kensington was staring at her intently.
"……Surely not, right?"
"Wh, what?"
"About this incident. You certainly have nothing to do with it-"
"Wh, what! That's nonsense!"
The 4th Princess, who was already feeling guilty, flared up.
"Count Kensington, don't accuse innocent people, what does the Princess's disappearance have to do with me?"
She stormed off, huffing and puffing.
"Danju, the 4th Princess's reaction is strange. I'll look into it."
"It's okay. Leave it alone."
At Umberto's words, Kensington sighed and waved his hand.
"Even if it was the 4th Princess's doing, what can we do? Even if I try to fix it, all I can do is bear the Princess's sins in this situation, right?"
She lamented.
"I've put everything aside and done my best when it comes to Kazen. But that doesn't mean you can use me as you please."
The 4th Princess, the Grand Duke, and even her lord, the Emperor.
A deep sense of skepticism was reflected on her face.
"Danju……?"
"If you have the energy to do that, find out more about the Princess's situation."
Kensington stared intently at the map of the forest where she had disappeared.
Her gaze lingered for a long time on the densely green-painted area.
"The Princess wouldn't be easily defeated like this. She must have another plan this time."
"You mean……."
"The problem is, I don't know who she's targeting."
Regent Duke Claudio? The 4th Princess? Grand Duke Castulo?
Or all three of them?
She could only hope that it wouldn't be a result of sweeping everyone away with one flap of her wings.
Kensington, who was looking at the Royal Palace far away through the car window, sighed.
\ \ *
Deep at night, the temperature in the forest was cool.
Crackling. The warmth of the bonfire warmed the air.
"When are you planning to go back?"
"I don't know."
A simple answer. Cesare, who had been looking at Medeia, paused.
It was because he had discovered the darkness that had settled in the green eyes that were blankly staring at the crimson flames of the crackling firewood.
"So, what are your plans for the future?"
Medeia stared at Cesare with an expression that said, why would I tell you that?
"You know you can't stay too long anyway, right?"
The mercenary was right.
As time passed, memories and emotions would fade.
Medeia's appearance had to be when the suspicion towards the Regent Duke was at its highest.
Cesare, who had read her intentions, suggested.
"Let's say the Magic Tower found you. It'll be easier to return."
The Magic Tower was difficult to prove. It was a closed group that rarely stepped forward or participated in state affairs.
However, the reputation and influence it had on the continent was certain.
'It's already been several days since I disappeared. When I go back, I won't be able to avoid the various rumors.'
In particular, the Duke Claudio would try to belittle her, saying that Medeia deliberately hid herself in order to trap Samon in a trap in order to survive.
'But if the Magic Tower intervenes in the middle,'
The Regent Duke would lose the room to be stubborn.
Medeia nodded. There was no reason to refuse when he had presented her with a better card.
But a question arose.
"Achares, why do you keep helping me?"
There was no such thing as a favor without a price. The mercenary in front of her didn't seem so easy to abuse such things.
Cesare, who had been staring at Medeia's face with sunken eyes for a while, opened his mouth.