Chapter 16.
“Well, of course.”
“…Actually, Florence and I were engaged even before we were born.”
His voice grew lower, tinged with moisture.
His expression grew distant, as if wandering through a long-ago moment of happiness.
“But after Florence was born prematurely and became frequently ill, my parents told me they would cancel my engagement to her. Solely because she was a sickly body, unlikely to bear children.”
“……”
“But I was already deeply in love with Florence’s bright smile and kind nature. It didn’t matter that she could be a bit sharp-tongued. Despite my parents’ opposition, I married Florence at the young age of fifteen.”
A calm smile spread across his lips.
“At that time, not just my parents but everyone opposed the marriage. Because we were too young. But I had a strong feeling. That if I didn’t hold onto her now… my future self would regret it immensely. And now I think…”
“…What?”
“Why couldn’t I have married Florence even earlier? And… why couldn’t I have made her happier?”
He bit his lip hard. But forcing a smile that smoothed his deep wrinkles, he continued.
“Your Highness, and Miss Rosie. You two are surely much smarter than this old man, but allow me to offer one piece of advice from an old man’s meddling.”
Looking alternately at me and Calix, he spoke with emphasis.
“When love finds you, please do not hesitate. Even if you have to crawl on the ground or wallow in the mud, grab that love tightly and do not let go. The time to love is far too short, and some regrets last longer than life itself.”
“…Sir Ian.”
Calix called his name quietly.
“I may not know much about your wife, but I think I know one thing for sure.”
“What is that?”
“She must have been happy. To have met a husband like you.”
At Calix’s words, Ian’s eyes shimmered greatly.
Clearing his throat twice, he bowed his head.
“Thank you, for saying that…… Then, I shall take my leave now.”
“Take care on your way back.”
I stepped out with him to the palace entrance to see him off.
Walking while clutching the pendant tightly, he suddenly turned his back to look at me.
“Miss Rosie, you may speak freely with me now.”
“About what?”
“There’s something you want from me, isn’t there?”
How did he know?
I was a little taken aback, but out of habit, I concealed my agitation. As I was choosing my words to gauge his intentions, he spoke again.
“When I first made my request, Miss Rosie, you thought for a moment and said you couldn’t fulfill it. But when I questioned your ability, you immediately accepted my request.”
“……”
“I wondered why Miss Rosie hesitated for a moment. Was my request too difficult? A lack of ability? No, why would Miss Rosie, who solved the riddles of the ‘Book of Endless Anguish’ and even subdued it with brute strength, hesitate for such reasons?”
“So, have you reached an answer?”
“In the end, there was only one answer.”
He took a step closer to me. His serene face revealed nothing of his thoughts.
“You didn’t trust me.”
“……”
“You actually wanted something in return, but you judged you couldn’t speak frankly because you didn’t trust me.”
His wrinkled eyes curved. Smiling kindly, he asked me.
“Is this old man’s deduction correct?”
“It is.”
As expected of a Frontier Count, he was shrewd. Even if he looked like an ordinary old man, he was, in truth, a knight who had cut down thousands of monsters.
I admitted it readily. But I added one thing.
“But to be honest, I still cannot fully trust you, Sir Ian. So I will not ask for any payment.”
Although I knew many facts about him, they had nothing to do with Brookston.
He still hadn’t revealed his stance and hadn’t shown any particular words or actions towards Calix.
I couldn’t casually ask such a person for information about Brookston.
If I, a maid of Eclipsia Palace, acted recklessly, even Calix could be endangered.
“Hoho.”
Ian laughed then. It was a strangely satisfied smile.
“Miss Logy. I wasn’t going to say this, but the more I see you, the more I covet your talents. Won’t you come to the North with me?”
“Pardon?”
“Blind loyalty to your master, exceptional ability, and judgment wise beyond your years… It seems you’d be better suited living as a knight than as a palace maid.”
Considering only my abilities, he was right. Fighting monsters suited my disposition better than cleaning, cooking, and laundry.
But I didn’t want to go North. Firstly, I disliked the idea of taking lives with my own hands (even if they were monsters), and secondly, I had my own personal goals.
And… palace life wasn’t as bad as I thought, either.
“I’m sorry. I don’t think I can go to the North.”
“It was a jest. But I truly wish to repay Miss Logy, who gave me back my Florence. Would it help if I swore an oath?”
“An oath?”
He lifted the pendant before my eyes. The pendant, catching the sunlight, shone long and vertically, like the shape of a sword.
He made a solemn vow.
“In the name of the goddess Luminesca, who guides the heavenly light, I, Ian Rochester, swear to speak only truth and justice.”
The moment he finished speaking, a white light symbolizing Luminesca burst from his hand and seeped into his body.
My eyes widened on their own. What he had done was the ‘Oath of Truth,’ a vow of magic a knight places upon themselves.
From the moment the magic is cast, the knight can only speak the truth and must keep secrets until death.
Because the moment the oath is broken, the magic will tear their body to shreds.
“Can you trust me now?”
“Did you just… place the ‘Oath of Truth’ upon yourself? Voluntarily?”
“You seem startled. Because I suddenly took the ‘Oath of Truth.'”
“Yes, I am startled. Isn’t the ‘Oath of Truth’ a magic that threatens even your life, Sir?”
“It is. But my heart wasn’t at ease leaving for the North like this. I cannot, as a knight, offer no repayment to Miss Logy, who retrieved the only keepsake Florence left me.”
Putting the pendant around his neck, he looked at me again.
“So now, please tell me honestly. What it is that Miss Logy wants from me.”
“…Very well.”
I decided to trust him no further. It would be more foolish to distrust someone who had voluntarily placed the ‘Oath of Truth’ upon themselves.
Confirming no one was around, I spoke.
“By any chance… do you know what Lord Brookston has been scheming lately?”
“So it’s information about him you desire. As expected of the Crown Prince’s maid……”
Stroking his chin, he continued.
“That man is like a well-fed hyena. On the surface, he acts innocently, as if completely disinterested in power and wealth, but inwardly, he possesses claws sharper than anyone’s.”
“……”
“Those claws will soon harm Her Majesty the Empress and His Highness the Crown Prince. If that happens, a darkness thicker than any before will fall upon the Castium Empire. I too… am someone who cannot bear to see that.”
His expression and tone conveyed a hostility towards Brookston.
It seemed that although he had remained silent, cautious about voicing his opinion as the Frontier Count guarding the border, he too found Brookston’s recent behavior hard to bear.
“To my knowledge, he has recently been making efforts to treat Her Majesty the Empress’s alcoholism.”
“Treating Her Majesty the Empress, you say…”
To act on the surface as if striving for her treatment, while secretly sending agents to monitor Calix’s movements.
His duplicity was unbearably ludicrous.
But an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, as they say.
If I could just locate his position, I too could become an agent.
An agent whom no one could detect.
“Do you know, by any chance, where he is located?”
“I’m sorry, but I do not know that either.”
“Hmm, I see.”
Unlike Eclipsia, known as the Crown Prince’s residence, Empress Lianne’s whereabouts were unknown.
Superficially, it was said Lienne disliked visitors, but the truth was unknowable.
‘If I knew where the Empress was staying, I could track Brookston’s movements as well.’
I concluded my conversation with him. Learning about Brookston’s recent activities was a decent achievement in itself.
Now that I had the information, it was my turn to act.
“Miss Rosie, thank you. Take care until we meet again.”
“Farewell, Sir Ian.”
After seeing Sir Ian off as he departed by carriage, I returned to Eclipsia Palace.
Thinking he would surely be reading, I entered quietly, but I sensed a presence in the drawing room.
Entering the drawing room thinking it couldn’t be, I found Calix still sitting in his chair.
“Your Highness? You’re still here?”
