‘This woman will die.’
‘Someday, she will give her life and die for me.’
That fact was hard to bear. Ricardis saw he stood on top of numerous corpses. Whether or not he wanted it, sacrifice was inevitable for his exalted position of being the 2nd Prince of the empire.
As time passed, the guilt only grew. Because it wasn’t a feeling one could get rid of just because one wanted to get rid of it. Still, Ricardis wanted to close his eyes from time to time. Rosaline’s presence… her eyes endlessly reminded him of that guilt.
Protect the 2nd Prince Ricardis. That was all Rosaline wanted. She didn’t want any glory or honor as a knight. Her emotions were drenched in silence.
Ricardis looked at Rosaline again. She was just like in the past, but also different at the same time. What she does right now was done under her oath. However, unlike before, it was hard to find the secret determination within her eyes. ‘Should I say it’s more businesslike? Her expression seems to say, “I’ll work as much as I get paid.”’ Of course, the act of standing in front of his door until dawn reminded him of the old Rosaline. In any case, Ricardis was able to treat her a little more comfortably.
The 5th Prince Diech, who seemed to fit the role of a spy. The pressure from the cheering. The pressure from the dead. And in addition, his feelings of having to enter the land where countless deaths lurked. Those were the reasons his expression was always grim. It was not a situation where a pleasant expression would appear at all.
Even so, seeing his escort knight sitting on a horse with her eyes squinted, basking in the warm sunlight made his tired body relaxed. Next to him, Isserion diligently talked to him to relieve his mood.
“Isn’t it a nice day, Your Highness? It has been raining heavily until the day before yesterday. But Idelavhim seems to look down on your path ahead!” Isserion had only said it to himself, but at that moment, Ricardis’ tight lips opened. And a languorous voice rang out.
“It is a nice day.”
Excited, Isserion talked even more but only got the sharp response, “You’re noisy,” in return. He looked up at the sky, and it really was a nice day with not a single cloud in the sky.
It was a smooth journey. There were always one or two villages where they could spend the night, and whenever they passed a large estate, they stayed at the lord’s castle to relieve their fatigue. Ricardis knew Elpidio’s personality so well that he got tired after continually running into him for a long time. Elpidio’s stupidity and ignorance would always choose to push forward without knowing when to retreat. Ricardis had thought that the road would be rough. Perhaps they would encounter some traps and assassins Elpidio had set up along the way, but so far, everything was as still as the sky before the storm.
Waiting until the very end and biting the neck when it has the highest chance of success: this was the basics of hunting. Until this point, Elpidio was the type that missed his prey every time because he did not have even the basics, but this time he showed a slightly different method. Elpidio seemed to overestimate the value of this opportunity. In other words, it was likely to be more dangerous than expected.
Now that Elpidio had realized the beauty of waiting, the real fight would probably begin on their way back to Illavenia from Balta. The Balta Kingdom was the same. There was a high possibility that even Haqab would not want a war right now. So even more so, the death of the 2nd Prince had to have nothing to do with them.
After leaving Balta, Ricardis accidentally met a thief and died. Or he got involved in an accident. Whatever the cause of death, the word ‘accidentally’ will be attached to it.
‘In any case, this is the only way to go.’ Ricardis grinned inwardly. They had now left the territory of Illavenia and had set foot on the edge of Balta. Due to the rough and complicated road, they had to camp in the mountains for the next day or two, even though they had hired a few guides to move at a faster pace.
Ricardis showed little reaction even though he heard the words ‘camping’ and ‘homelessness’ directly. On the contrary, the senior knights frowned. They were knights, but before that, they were nobles. They were not without the experience of camping, but it was not something to welcome with both hands. But even their master, Ricardis, did not say much, so there was no way for them to come forward and express their displeasure.
The lesser knights diligently set up their barracks. Ricardis liked their movements. The weather got a little hotter and wetter, making the climate of Balta harsh for the people of Illavenia. Ricardis saw the knights were getting tired, so he ordered the march to stop before sunset. It was the second day of camping, but their signs of displeasure had softened a little because the knights only thought about resting as quickly as possible.
“Drink some water, Your Highness.”
This was the seventh time. Ricardis’ loyal servant, Isserion, constantly recommended water because he was concerned about the hot temperature. Ricardis ignored him.
“Is there enough water for the knights to drink?”
“Sir Rosaline discovered a small fountain. When the barracks are built, everyone will fill their canteens. Your Highness, have some water.”
Isserion’s words were ignored once again.
“Is the water quality okay? It will be difficult if they get sick.”
“Sir Rosaline tried it and said it was fine. She calls it clean water filtered on dirt and gravel.”
“…How does Sir Rosaline know that? Wasn’t she a woman from a noble family?”
‘How would I know?’ Isserion, a man of tenacity who never gave up, shrugged his shoulders and put the water bottle to Ricardis’ lips. Ricardis took a sip even though he was annoyed. Afterward, he immediately pushed the bottle away, while Isserion had a satisfied expression on his face.
“It’s been quite some time since she’s been a knight. Perhaps she learned it in the passing while training?”
A knight who learned in passing while training found a source of water faster than a hunter-trained guide? Is it because of her competence or the incompetence of the guide? Anyway, it was absurd.
After a while, Rosaline approached Ricardis and held three rabbits in her hand. He looked up at her with a look similar to before.
“What is… that? Sir Rosaline?”
Rosaline’s head tilted slightly.
“They’re rabbits.”
Ricardis felt even more absurd. He knew those were rabbits. As for how she interpreted his expression:
“These are… three rabbits,” she added, making Ricardis snort.
The question of how she caught the rabbits was solved by a guide who followed Rosaline. He was praising her for her formidable hunting skills. ‘She was like lightning, a god of hunting, and perhaps she might be able to catch a tiger instead of a mere rabbit.’ Certainly, rabbits are considered representative of herbivores, but rabbits living in the mountains are swift like the wind. Without a bow and trap, even hunters would have a hard time catching it. However, the knight who had little experience in hunting could capture three just by throwing some stones.
Rosaline alternated looking between the bloody rabbits and Ricardis, then gave him the rabbit carcasses. Ricardis’ clothes were immediately soaked with blood. Isserion let out a short scream in shock.
Afterward, she was called and scolded by Isserion, fellow escort knight Kairo, Knight Commander Starz, Deputy Commander Nathan, and even Raymond. She handed it over to Ricardis with her young mind that reasoned freshly caught meat would be more delicious than dried ones, so she felt wronged. Noticing her glum face, Ricardis ordered Isserion to respect her effort.
“Isn’t everyone having a hard time chewing jerky? I’ve been sitting since noon. It would be better to hold a simple hunting competition.”
“I will list the names.”
“And these rabbits, I’ll make it for my dinner, so take care of it.”
At Ricardis’ words, Rosaline turned her head towards him. The glum face suddenly brightened. Ricardis smiled at that quick change of expression.
As soon as Isserion issued the order, the knights formed a group of three to five. A few groups remained to prepare for any danger, while others went hunting. After they returned, they took turns hunting. Many of the senior knights also left for the forest, but Rosaline stayed by Ricardis’ side far away.
As Isserion handed Ricardis the new clothes, he took off his coat soaked in rabbit blood. His upper body was exposed under the strong sunlight. ‘Whoa, whoa!’ The low-ranking knights who were escorting around the barracks took a quick breath.
Rosaline also glanced at the jade white transparent skin exposed in front of her. His hair, like a gift carefully by Idelavhim, reflected the light and flowed gently down his body. Her gaze slowly descended: the white nape of his neck not covered by his hair, the protruding wing bones, the muscles of the chest and back that were sharply attached by drawing an uneven curve, and the waistline dented along the spine.
“…”
Ricardis noticed Rosaline’s stare. Although she should’ve often seen men naked due to the nature of her job… At the moment, she wasn’t moved in the slightest bit, looking completely indifferent. Ricardis was well aware of how other women looked at him. Even people of the same gender sometimes blushed. So in his view, Rosaline was a rare creature. Well, as an escort knight, it was a respectful attitude that could earn her a 100 out of 100.
However, if there was one problem, it’s this. Rosaline was constantly scanning his body up and down, her eyes glowing. The obsessive gaze reminded Ricardis of the word ‘shame’. As he was about to say something, unable to shake the feeling of being strangely harassed, Rosaline opened her mouth. She said with a broad smile, erasing her indifferent expression that she usually had all the time, and gently squinted her eyes.
“You are beautiful.”
