Chapter 04
Daniela had arrived here after riding day and night for ten days, separated from the main force where Benjamin was, to reclaim Crovih Castle, which had fallen to the monsters.
There was no way she could have forgotten their objective or the decisive battle scheduled for that goal.
“But I did forget… Why on earth…?”
Why had she? A thought surfaced in Daniela’s mind with the answer: because she had tried not to remember.
Because if she remembered the battle to reclaim Crovih, Princess Esmeralda would have ended up a cold corpse. Because she hadn’t been able to save the princess who had been right in front of her.
It was an event that would only leave regret if recalled.
“What does that even mean…?”
Startled at her own thoughts, Daniela blankly looked back.
Princess Esmeralda was alive. Fully intact. Moving busily about.
And the battle of that day hadn’t happened yet.
Of course, it was impossible to forget or remember something that had never occurred.
But the memory felt so vivid that Daniela was thrown into confusion.
Seeing her flustered expression, Zed asked in a puzzled voice:
“Lady Daniela? You’re acting really strange today. Are you alright?”
At that moment, a strong gust of wind blew Daniela’s cloak.
Beneath it, her injured arm was exposed. Zed looked alarmed.
“Lady Daniela… what is that wound on your arm…?”
“Hmm?”
Shaken from her thoughts by his words, Daniela looked at her arm.
She had known she was injured but had thought it was nothing serious.
Now, looking closely at the wound, she realized it was worse than she had thought. Most importantly, the bleeding hadn’t stopped—blood was still flowing.
Frowning, Daniela stared at it.
“I didn’t realize it was still bleeding. My arm’s been hurting, so I just assumed it was the usual pain…”
Even that thought was nonsensical. In her memory, her arm had never been hurting continuously.
Daniela truly had no idea what was going on.
Her head spun—not just because her mind was cluttered.
Perhaps because she had lost so much blood, Daniela collapsed, dizzy.
Upon hearing that Daniela had fallen, Princess Esmeralda sought out Zed.
She had received a brief report but needed more details.
Daniela was essential for the battle on the decisive day. And personally, she was important to the princess.
Before long, Esmeralda found Zed.
“Where is Lady Daniela?”
After exchanging brief greetings, she asked directly, and Zed answered:
“The injury isn’t severe. However, the treatment was delayed, so she lost a lot of blood, which seems to have caused her to collapse.”
“…What do you think—will she be able to fight in the next battle?”
Esmeralda hated having to ask such a question.
It would have been nice to just tell her to rest tomorrow because she was injured, but the situation didn’t allow for that.
Even if others could be spared, Daniela’s absence would significantly affect morale and combat strength.
The soldiers of Crovih, under Esmeralda’s command, might not notice as much—but the soldiers of the Frost Kingdom, under Daniela’s command, would surely suffer a serious drop in morale.
They could not risk fighting on such an important day without Daniela.
“But we also can’t wait until Lady Daniela recovers.”
They were laying siege to a fortress occupied by monsters.
In a normal siege, they could wait for the isolated enemies inside to exhaust themselves.
Before Crovih Castle was overrun, the last soldiers remaining had evacuated all the people—and every single animal—from the castle.
They had also disposed of all preserved meat supplies.
Thanks to their efforts, even at the cost of their own retreat, the castle’s food supplies were likely depleted by now.
Reports had already come in that the monsters, having no food left, were eating weaker individuals.
The monsters would tire quickly.
Still, they couldn’t wait that long. Another report brought even worse news:
Another monster unit was approaching to join those inside the castle.
They had to reclaim the castle before the new enemy unit arrived.
Fortunately, Zed gave a positive answer to Esmeralda’s question.
“Yes. She wasn’t injured to the extent that would prevent her from fighting. But just in case, she will have more guards than usual.”
Esmeralda exhaled in relief.
“That’s a relief.”
Zed also felt relieved, but something still nagged at him.
“Actually, what worries me isn’t the injury itself, but that Lady Daniela seemed a little off before she collapsed.”
“That’s true.”
“Normally, she wouldn’t get injured at all. That she was attacked at a moment when the battle was nearly over, due to a lapse in attention…”
“Yes. She’s not the type for that. They said she must have been tired… but…”
Esmeralda thought she herself would have doubted it had she not seen it directly.
Daniela Narkrani, spacing out in the battlefield, oblivious to the enemy approaching—all due to fatigue.
Silence fell between the two, both worrying about Daniela.
To break the tension, Esmeralda joked:
“If she was going to lose focus on the battlefield, I wish it had been during our war with the Frost Kingdom. Then we might have captured the inattentive Lady Daniela.”
It might not have been the kind of joke a Frost Kingdom native would like—but for those in Daniela’s army, it was fine.
“If we had swayed the captured Lady Daniela to our side, we could have wiped the Frost Kingdom off the map.”
Daniela’s army had suffered repeated neglect from their homeland during years of war, often sent to the brink without proper support.
Naturally, Zed, who had lost all loyalty to the state, continued the joke:
“Indeed. It wouldn’t have been difficult to sway her. Once she saw Prince Benjamin’s face, she’d have been halfway won over already.”
It had started as a joke, but as he spoke, Zed couldn’t help but picture it vividly, shaking his head.
It had actually happened.
He remembered clearly how Daniela had reacted the first time she saw Benjamin up close.
The first day they met had been the day Crovih and the Frost Kingdom signed a peace treaty.
As representatives of the negotiating parties, the commanders of each nation attended.
For the Frost Kingdom, it was Daniela; for Crovih, Benjamin Alexander Rodinia.
One was a king, so the protocol was mismatched—but the Frost Kingdom’s king was too scared to even consider leaving his castle, so there was no choice.
That day, the terms Crovih had prepared were overwhelmingly disadvantageous to the Frost Kingdom.
The Crovih king, presenting the unfair treaty with a smile, had eyes that spoke coldly of something else.
Zed felt a chill run down his neck. If Daniela refused to agree, it wouldn’t be surprising if they used force immediately.
After all, the Frost Kingdom had initially broken convention and invaded without justification, so Crovih had no obligation to observe any courtesy.
The peace treaty venue was suffused with tension.
Except for Daniela, calmly picking at the refreshments as if she had no thoughts.
Seeing that, Zed exhaled, relaxing slightly.
There was no reason to worry—Daniela had suffered far more than anyone else.
Despite countless achievements, her contributions were never properly recognized when she met the king.
At best, she avoided humiliation for her background.
Daniela, having lost as much loyalty to the king as Zed had, had no reason not to sign.
She simply wanted the war to end.
The unfavorable content was expected.
For the Frost Kingdom, broken and defeated by Crovih’s army, simply being able to sign a peace treaty was something to be thankful for. Complaining was not an option.
Even so, when Daniela actually reviewed the treaty, she seemed a little flustered.
Considering their losing position, it was excessively unfair.
The Crovih king, meeting Daniela’s eyes, smiled as if to ask what the problem was.
His smile, strangely, was more frightening than a scowl.
Though it made the already cold atmosphere even more tense, Daniela seemed to be noticing something else entirely.
That day, Zed had clearly seen it:
Daniela blushing at that smile.
After the treaty, when Zed remained by her side, she had even said, “The king of Crovih seems kind,” which made Zed doubt his hearing.
Recalling this past, Zed said with conviction once more:
“Truly, the moment she saw him, she was already halfway won over.”
