His lips touched the tips of her fingernails. Her body trembled at the goosebumps on the back of her neck. Haqab stood up with a relieved look on his face.
“This is the end of the business for now. You can’t even imagine how hard it was to say this.”
Dimla. Ricardis. How hard had they kept her hidden? What a bunch of cheap people. Haqab tried to explain more about his hard work with a gesture but decided to replace it with a grin.
The gaze that always looked at other things indifferently changed. One could see that Rosaline’s composure had collapsed. As he looked at her eagerly with his eyes wide open, Haqab felt a heavy feeling in one side of his chest.
‘This… feels better than I thought.’
He undid the necklace he was wearing. It was a pendant with the pattern of the Balta Royal family engraved on it.
“Now, shall I give this as a token of my oath?”
Haqab’s hand unbuttoned her uniform. Rosaline took a step back in surprise but was blocked by a fountain. The man narrowed the distance again as much as she had distanced herself. Then he undid two or three buttons on her uniform. When her neck was exposed, Haqab put the necklace on her. Rosaline acquiesced to his actions with her mouth closed. Haqab grinned, showing his teeth.
“And I’ll keep this for myself.”
“Ah…”
The cheap necklace hanging inside Rosaline’s shirt went into his hand. It was a pendant she bought during the festival because it was similar to the color of Ricardis’s eyes. While hesitating, Haqab tucked the necklace into his sleeve.
She couldn’t ask for it back. As Rosaline awkwardly touched the cold metal hanging down her collarbone, the dark man under the moon scanned her neck with a sharp gaze.
“It suits you well, beautiful Rosaline.”
Behind Haqab, who was about to add another word, appeared another man with brown skin.
“Your Highness.”
Haqab nodded. Rosaline also noticed. Ordinary people who came for a walk in the garden seemed to have stepped into the entrance. Haqab, disappointed, pulled out a flower from the wall of the bushes and put it on her ear.
“I will wait for a good answer.”
The man turned away without hesitation.
Rosaline could feel the Haqab escorts surrounding her spread out and leave the garden. She looked in the direction where Haqab had disappeared and moved. Her head was blank. She opened her shirt and uniform buttons again. She remembered the feel of his cold fingertips as he put on the necklace. The hand that flowed over her skin as slowly as a snake. Rosaline shuddered.
At the garden entrance, she saw a replica of the scene she had seen earlier when she returned from the Cimmaron Mansion. The shadow of the boy squatting under the tree and hugging his lap was small. Rosaline breathed in through her nose and then exhaled. Hessa got up quickly and approached her.
“… I’m sorry.”
“Are you affiliated with the Black Moon, Hessa?”
“What? Absolutely not!”
The subtle reactions of the pupils, the beating of the heart, and the muscles of the face indicated that Hessa’s words were close to the truth. Rosaline looked at him quietly and asked again.
“What did His Highness say?”
“… Sir will devote yourself to protecting the 2nd Prince and the Imperial family, but will the Imperial family do the same? Do you believe that the nature of the country that led the mage hunting a few generations ago will change over time…”
[You know well how harshly the Illavenian treated mages. I am an enemy of Illavenia and the 2nd Prince, but not hers. I know very well that it is difficult to trust, but think carefully. The 2nd Prince’s position seems solid, but it’s also a fantasy. The Emperor is a man who has put his son through hardships many times. The important thing is that Rosaline, who is behind Ricardis, is walking on such a dangerous road. If anything, she’s prepared to die in his stead. Do you understand me? If she stays by his side, no matter how strong she is, she will surely die.]
Rosaline has grown up with only one-sided and fragmentary information to the extent of being somewhat deformed. Protect the Imperial family. Protect Ricardis. How could my heart not ache when the Imperial family simply used that sparkling mission as a holder for arrows? I don’t intend to force her. I just want to let her know that there’s another way. Ricardis has hidden Rosaline, so there is no way to meet her, so what should I do? If you really like and follow Roseline, then shouldn’t you choose a path for her even against her will? The honest-looking man spoke in a long and mournful manner.
The reason why he couldn’t ignore it until the end, even though he thought it was a mouthful, was because Hessa was also paying attention to what Haqab pointed out. The current Rosaline was accepted as a national hero, but it was also a precarious thing that could be reversed in a moment. Illavenia’s mage. Hessa knew the status painfully well. So he came to sympathize with the trick…
Seeing Rosaline staring at him with an expression hardened in horror, he felt like turning back time and undoing what he had done.
“W-What did… His Highness say…?”
Rosaline squeezed his shoulders.
“Hessa. It’s good that you’re worried about me, but everyone in the Knights of the White Night exists for His Highness Ricardis. This is against your duty, so…”
The end of her words slurred.
The Knights of the White Night protect Ricardis, the 2nd Prince of the Holy Empire of Illavenia.
Then, beyond ruling out Haqab’s danger altogether, the opportunity to put his power on Ricardis shouldn’t be missed. Rosaline the Knights of the White Night. Rosaline Radwiell. Protecting Ricardis…
She wondered why she couldn’t answer that suggestion. Why did she only think of Ricardis’ face?
Hessa’s expression crumpled. Rosaline, who was holding his shoulders tightly, looked like she was about to cry. Rosaline only stared at the floor, unlike her usual self who always looked forward, strong, and cool. She was shaking now.
Hessa eventually shed tears. He thought it was something he had to do for Rosaline, whom he respected and liked. He thought he would have no regrets.
“I’m sorry… Sir Rosaline.”
I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I won’t do it again. Rosaline couldn’t comfort the boy even though she heard his watery voice.
***
It was an exceptionally bright and clear night. The sky was clear, and the moonlight poured in. Ricardis rummaged through the papers given by Chloe. It was written that the main aristocracy had begun to move. They couldn’t just leave their hands at the good opportunity now that Haqab was in Illavenia. Seeing that money had flowed into some back alley, it seemed like an assassination attempt.
Ricardis lost his temper and tossed the papers away. He was sure they would end up poking the beehive without killing him, but those stupid… Should he add more guards to the castle where Haqab was staying? Ricardis cursed. He felt like suffering twice as much because of stupid people.
‘No, Prince Ricardis. For me…?’
Just the thought of hearing Haqab thank him made his blood pressure rise.
Ricardis angrily tilted his wine glass. He repeated the action a few more times before the bottle was empty. It was only then that he got drunk, and then fatigue set in. He took a deep breath and got up.
His steps toward the bed stopped abruptly on the terrace. Ricardis opened the window and went out to examine the trees. Rosaline was nowhere to be seen. He heard that by evening she had returned to the castle. Was she busy with something?
Ricardis looked outside for a while longer and only turned away when his eyes were about to close in a daze. His body was heavy on the soft bed. Ricardis gradually sank below the surface.
It was after he was deeply asleep that Rosaline stepped into Ricardis’ room. The sound of quiet breathing echoed through the room. Rosaline approached him without a sound. Her eyes, darkened by the shadows, slowly scanned the man. Closed eyes. Long eyelashes that glisten beautifully even in the moonlight. White skin. A comfortable outfit that was different from the usual. The disheveled hem of the shirt, and in between…
Rosaline paused for a moment. Her hand reached for Ricardis. Inside the loosely untied shirt, something was shining. Rosaline carefully opened the hem of his shirt. What had been hidden was revealed. A bluish-green color resembling a leaf. It was a pendant resembling someone’s eyes.
As soon as she saw it, Rosaline thought that her heart had stopped suddenly. Her hands shook.
[It suits you well, beautiful Rosaline.]
Those had been the words of the bronze-toned man as he touched the nape of her neck. Rosaline followed as if erasing the part the man had touched. She touched a cold metal. It was the necklace Haqab gave her when he proposed to her. Turning her head to the side, she saw a mirror hanging on the wall. A gorgeous gold ornament hung over her pale skin.
[From the moment you accept my proposal, Balta will become an ally of Ricardis, the 2nd Prince of Illavenia. The deadline is as long as you want. If you wish it for life, I will devote my whole life to protecting him from Elpidio and also from the Emperor.]
Rosaline was aware of her own strength to some extent. The fact that she was much stronger than the people who claimed to be strong, and even stronger than the sum of those people. However, she could predict there would be a time when she couldn’t protect Ricardis with her own power alone after going through the mission. No matter how strong an individual force she was, there was a limit, and the threats surrounding Ricardis were not only of the kind that could be resolved by simple force.
At this time, when she was doing the best she could, there was one more thing she could do. To forge an alliance with a large group. A word. A single yes would suffice.
