Chapter 35
“Should we come back later?”
Kasia asked, but none of us could give an answer.
While staying with the trading company, Luzhenbik was able to secure a bit more personal time for himself.
Above all, it was thanks to the magic circles Erkan had set up throughout the place.
He said he couldn’t pour all his power into creating the most powerful circles since he had to use mana elsewhere, but even so, just the fact that he’d made them at all was a huge relief.
After all, he had once been none other than the Tower Master of the East.
During the time he had, Luzhenbik honed his swordsmanship and, together with Kasia, made the rounds through the slums to search for people from Pelmon.
Sometimes I went along with them, too.
At first, the sight of their unbelievably miserable lives brought me to tears, but seeing that they could still smile with hope in their eyes made me realize how arrogant my own thoughts had been.
Some even wanted to comfort me when they learned I had been dethroned.
It didn’t take long for us to understand each other.
Watching the way Kasia treated them left a deep impression on me.
It seemed he never thought of himself as being above them.
Children would run up to him without hesitation, hugging his legs or waist, and Kasia would pat their heads affectionately.
He never hesitated to hold a child just because they were dirty, and it seemed his sincerity was reaching them.
The parents, seeing their children so warmly received by him, seemed to open their hearts even more.
To them, Kasia was like a monarch—perhaps even like a god—and they were eager to tell him everything they knew.
“We’ve seen a few people who seem to be from Pelmon, and we’ve found out where they live, Young Master. But they’re extremely cautious, so we only know to a certain point—we couldn’t get close enough to learn details like the exact building. Still, they pass by a certain place every day, so if you wait there, you should be able to meet them.”
Then they told us the location they had discovered.
Luzhenbik, who had been on the verge of giving up, now looked as if he had found hope.
“Thank you. This is a big help.”
Kasia tried to give them money, but the person who’d provided the information refused firmly.
“Young Master, we’ve been on the receiving end of your generosity all this time without giving anything back. Now that we finally have a chance to repay you, how could you take that joy away from us?”
And they truly smiled with delight.
“If that’s how you feel, I won’t insist. Then… could you take us to that place?”
“Of course, Young Master. Let’s go right away.”
At first Luzhenbik’s face was bright, but as time passed, his expression began to change.
It seemed he was worried about what to do once he met them.
These were people who had lost their country and ended up as captives in an enemy land.
He might have been worried about how they would see him—perhaps even suspecting they might blame him for the defeat and resent him.
Defeat.
No—strictly speaking, that wasn’t quite accurate.
From what Kasia and Erkan had told me, it seemed they had never even been given a proper chance to fight.
Pelmon had been ravaged by Sedpol’s army of magicians almost immediately, their king and queen brutally executed by Rotron, and the prince and princess taken prisoner.
What Luzhenbik had endured was far more tragic than I had imagined.
I couldn’t bring myself to approach him, and instead kept my distance, quietly watching his emotions.
He seemed to be taking deep breaths repeatedly, trying to calm himself.
Noticing this, Kasia adjusted his pace.
The people guiding us looked positively cheerful.
It amazed me that they could be so happy simply because they had the chance to help Kasia.
How much must they respect him for that? And I couldn’t help but feel envious of someone who could inspire such deep respect.
“We’re almost there, Young Master.”
As they talked about what they knew of the Pelmon people, they raised their hands to point ahead.
“There. That’s where they disappear. They always check their surroundings very carefully before vanishing, so I couldn’t get closer without being noticed. Whenever I ran over afterward, they were already gone.”
“I see… You’ve really done well. I didn’t expect such thorough work. They’re careful and deliberate people, and you’ve shown excellent judgment to track them this far.”
Kasia’s detailed praise left our guide smiling as if he had been amply rewarded.
“Thank you, Young Master.”
With that, he left us, and from there, we moved on alone.
Luzhenbik said that people from Pelmon might recognize him and approach, so he removed his hood.
He didn’t hide the fact that he was a prince of Pelmon, and walked forward.
Even so, there was no guarantee they would recognize him—not everyone knew the prince by sight.
Still, holding on to hope, we pressed deeper, unsure where the path would lead.
Then Luzhenbik suddenly stopped and looked at Kasia.
“Wait. Young Master—I think I know where this is.”
“Yes?”
“In Pelmon, there’s a way of building houses like this. I think I know where it leads.”
He asked Kasia and me to wait there.
He didn’t want to agitate them if they realized we had come.
That was reason enough for us to comply.
“Be careful, Luzhenbik.”
I spoke urgently.
It was strange—I felt that if something happened to him, I couldn’t bear it.
Was that how deeply I felt for him?
He smiled at me.
Even in this place, where his emotions could hardly be pleasant, and even with the storm of conflicting thoughts that must be running through his mind at the prospect of meeting his people, he still smiled at me.
I felt grateful. I felt sorry.
And more than ever, I wanted to support him.
He walked on, while Kasia and I waited behind.
Luzhenbik kept going toward a place that didn’t even seem to have a path.
“Where do you think he’s going?” Kasia asked.
“I’m not sure.”
“Do you think he really knows?”
“That, I also don’t know.”
Still, I couldn’t take my eyes off him.
Suddenly, there was a rustling sound from where Luzhenbik was walking, and a nearby tree shook violently.
I panicked, wondering if someone was about to attack him with magic.
But Luzhenbik only quickened his pace, walking forward with confidence.
“Sir Kasia, you think it’s alright?”
“Yes, Deputy Master. I believe he’ll be fine.”
I didn’t know what he based that on, but I found myself agreeing with him.
A little farther ahead, people emerged before Luzhenbik.
I had no idea where they had been hiding until then.
“…”
For a while, no one spoke.
They simply stared at each other.
“Your Highness…”
Then the man in front began to sob and dropped to his knees. One after another, others followed suit.
“Your Highness…!”
They wept aloud, and Luzhenbik went to them, pulling them into his arms.
I thought he meant to lift them up, but instead, he embraced them and wept with them for a long while.
“Your Highness, please forgive us for doing nothing even after hearing of your plight.”
Holding them as they cried, Luzhenbik told them not to say such things.
“It was I who failed to protect you. You have no reason to say that. Why would you? I’m just grateful you are alive and safe. Truly, I’m relieved. You must have suffered greatly all this time.”
“Your Highness!”
They could not stop crying easily.
Meanwhile, more people emerged from places we couldn’t see.
They didn’t look much different from the first group.
“It doesn’t seem to be a magic circle… Strange. It’s like they’re coming up from underground,” Kasia whispered, and I thought he might be right.
In total, nearly twenty people gathered. They looked worn from long hardship, but meeting Luzhenbik seemed to fill them with hope.
As Luzhenbik spoke with them, he seemed to remember us.
They, too, kept glancing in our direction, curious about who we were, so it seemed he could no longer delay the introductions.
“These are the ones who have been helping me,” he said.
Then he looked at me.
“Hestia.”
Pointing toward me, he introduced me as the former queen of Sedpol.
At once, the faces of those gathered turned grim.
“Your Highness! How could you possibly be traveling with such a woman? The former queen—she’s the daughter of that damned duke who deserves to be torn apart!”
Once one voice rose, others followed in an uproar.
Their anger was understandable, but Luzhenbik quickly silenced them.
Until then, he had seemed quiet, almost as if blaming himself for their fate—but now, his demeanor was utterly different.
