Chapter 06
Mikael’s words caused Kallias to relax and release Robelleta.
Mikael immediately checked the area where Robelleta had been held by Kallias with concern. Seeing the red handprints clearly imprinted on her slender wrist, Kallias felt he might have gone too far.
“Mikael, that woman might be our enemy. Getting close to her could be dangerous.”
“Do you have any evidence?”
“Evidence is… none.”
There were only rumors—nothing concrete. In fact, Robelleta had even attended a memorial service, so objectively speaking, there was no reasonable basis to doubt her.
“I understand why you can’t fully trust me. The Crown Prince Henry and Prince Edward are practically sworn enemies.”
“Even knowing that, what was her intention in attending the memorial herself?”
“As I said. It was a warning out of concern for Sir Kallias and Sir Mikael.”
Henry, the commander of the Western Front, was known for giving only conservative orders. However, the Henry Kallias had met in person felt different from the commander he had known through written reports.
‘Asking for soldiers for a hunting festival is not normal.’
Rumor had it that the once-impoverished Remington Marquess family had suddenly risen in status thanks to Robelleta. Kallias had heard it before.
‘If the rumors are true, then this woman warned us because she knows something.’
While Kallias was lost in thought, Mikael was playing hand-clapping games with Robelleta, holding her hands and laughing. It was a game commonly played by small children.
‘So she just came of age? She’s no different from a child.’
The two of them looked like friends—like a five-year-old playing with another child. Kallias realized he might have been suspicious of the wrong person.
“By the way, how did you two meet?”
“I’ll explain!” Mikael raised his hand.
He then proceeded to tell everything in detail—how he had been hiding in a hut, how he came out because someone passed by, and how he accidentally ended up eating Robelleta’s cookies.
Then he added that they had continued meeting here every day since. Kallias rubbed his forehead.
“Please don’t scold Mikael too harshly. He’s still a child and only became close because she showed him kindness.”
“My mother told me to treat kindness with kindness.”
“Mikael, that’s true, but you mustn’t meet strangers secretly outside the house.”
“Lady Robelleta isn’t a stranger. We’ve met more than ten times.”
“Ten times?”
“No, that’s an exaggeration. Today is the fourth time.”
Robelleta quickly waved her hands. Because of that, Kallias ended up laughing. Mikael burst out laughing as well, and Robelleta awkwardly followed suit.
“Sir Kallias, I have a proposal.”
“Go ahead.”
Her tone, now much softer, reassured Robelleta. She was not skilled at changing people’s hearts, so even this small progress made her feel relieved.
“Now that the funeral rites are over, the offering ceremony at the temple will soon take place, correct? During that time, there will be an attempt to kidnap Mikael.”
“Your source?”
“I cannot disclose that. It came from a trustworthy information broker. Please prepare accordingly, and when it happens, trust me.”
She couldn’t name an information broker since this had happened in her previous life. Robelleta looked at Kallias pleadingly.
He had seen eyes like that many times on the battlefield—eyes of people he couldn’t bring himself to abandon. Those were the same kinds of people who had gathered to form Kallias’ mercenary corps.
“Alright. I’ll hear you out first, then decide.”
“Thank you!”
Meanwhile, the Empress received troubling news from the Marchioness of Trion.
“So that insolent girl refused to attend and didn’t even come?”
“She said she wasn’t qualified for such a salon. Can you believe the nerve?”
The Marchioness of Trion showed the Empress Robelleta’s letter herself.
“Look at this. She even copied the date exactly.”
The letter Robelleta had sent read: “I am grateful for the invitation, but I do not believe I am worthy of attending, so I must decline.” But to them, only the parts they disliked stood out.
“Well, I knew she was trouble when she started clinging to my son Edward.”
The Empress had no intention of letting just anyone marry her only son. In her eyes, one had to bring an entire nation as dowry to be worthy of Edward.
Yet some newly-wealthy marquess’s daughter dared to aim for a prince.
“And she’s already moved on to another man in the meantime.”
“Another man?”
“The Crown Prince’s illegitimate son—the one specially permitted to enter the capital. I heard she even kissed him at the funeral.”
“What?!”
As expected, her instincts had been correct. The Empress was appalled.
“I knew it. That woman is vulgar!”
“She’s been spreading rumors everywhere. She did it openly in front of many mourners.”
“So she pursued my son even while she had another man?”
“She’s from the Remington family, but she’s essentially disowned. Her mother is a second wife, so she’s looked down upon.”
As a fellow second wife herself, the Empress felt irritation rise sharply.
“No manners, no morals. And what about that illegitimate child—did His Majesty really intend to appoint him as guardian?”
“The Crown Prince personally summoned him, didn’t he? The heir to the Grand Duke is only five years old, so he probably wants to keep a proxy under his control.”
“How ambitious. A Crown Prince should know restraint.”
The Empress’s voice sharpened with resentment.
If Henry were not the Crown Prince, it wouldn’t matter how many pawns he placed as dukes or nobles.
But as long as he held that undeserved title, why was he so greedy?
He should have been eliminated before reaching adulthood.
“Why don’t we arrange a suitable marriage for the illegitimate son and bring him over to our side?”
“Who would give their daughter to someone like that?”
“Isn’t there the Remington family’s discarded daughter?”
The Empress recalled Robelleta Remington. She was not fit to be paired with Prince Edward, but she would make a useful pawn. She was attentive enough, and most importantly, her eyes…
Those eyes filled with admiration as she looked up at the Empress—such people were perfect tools.
“Not a bad idea. I’ll bring it up with His Majesty. Didn’t he say he would support any method that improved relations between his two sons?”
“You are wise, Your Majesty.”
“Let’s go see the Emperor.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
In the Empire, one week after a funeral, offerings were made at the temple.
It was believed that once the dead reached purgatory, their fate—heaven or hell—was judged based on the weight of offerings provided by the bereaved. The more offerings, the better.
However, offerings alone were not enough. Each family had to rent a prayer room and pray earnestly for the deceased to reach heaven. Only then would the offerings properly reach the dead.
Prayer required long, sincere, and secluded devotion, so each person had to use a private room alone.
“This is exactly as Robelleta said—conditions where one must be alone for a long time in a prayer room without raising suspicion for not coming out.”
According to Robelleta, when Mikael entered the prayer room for the offering ritual, an assassin waiting inside would attempt to abduct him.
Kallias’ mercenary corps had left half their forces at the Grand Duchy of Alexandros and followed Kallias to the temple with the other half.
Only a dozen or so men, but their presence was intimidating enough to draw attention. They were famously known for wiping out the bandits that once plagued the Grand Duchy.
As Kallias attempted to bring them into the temple grounds, the priests rushed out in panic.
“You cannot bring weapons into the temple!”
Though the priest merely stated the rules, he was silently praying that the mercenaries would leave. What kind of senseless people bring an army into a sacred temple?
At the front stood Kallias. Even after dismounting, his height still towered over the priest by a full head, making him flinch.
Clang.
The heavy metallic sound made the priest feel, for a moment, that he might be sent to meet the gods himself.
“Nathan, hold my sword. Take the men and stay out of sight in the western forest of the temple.”
“Yes, Captain!”
As the mercenaries dispersed in perfect order, the priest finally let out a breath of relief.
“I have come for the offering prayer.”
