#83
Rikin slowly looked at me before shifting his gaze to Persis. What was it? Unlike me, who was confused, Persis’s face didn’t change at all despite receiving Rikin’s piercing gaze.
“Your Highness Persis, I think we need to talk.”
Persis nodded as if he understood and rose from his seat.
“I’ll be away for a moment.”
“Yes. In the meantime, Andelion, please escort Princess Iria out.”
I nodded at the Duke’s words. Though the atmosphere between Rikin and Persis seemed ominous, I felt I shouldn’t interfere between them.
I worried that the Duke might be sending me out of the palace too, but fortunately, he didn’t tell me to go with her. That meant I would have time to talk with the Duke alone after escorting Iria. I planned to ask him things I couldn’t ask with others present.
Why the demon had been inside this sword. Also, why he had granted my request for the sword. What relationship the sword and the demon had. I needed to hear it all.
* * *
“Ah, how pathetic.”
Iria spoke as if lamenting while waiting for the Duke’s carriage.
“Pardon?”
“Just thinking how small I am.”
I glanced at Iria’s head, which was lower than mine. Though shorter than me, Iria wasn’t particularly short for a woman.
Iria sighed with a face full of gloom.
“It’s just that, if our country wasn’t so weak, I wouldn’t have even been able to hear the conversation just now, right?”
I closed my mouth without saying anything. Iria was right. Information about secret passages or demons was something a princess from another country should never hear. Yet, the reason Iria was allowed to be present earlier was partly because we trusted her, but also because she posed no threat even if she knew.
“It’s humiliating.”
My heart sank at Iria’s blunt words. To think that someone like Iria would say such things—it felt as if everything was my fault, making my mouth go dry.
“No! Iria is not humiliating!”
“Ah, yes, that’s right. Iria is not humiliating. But Iria Shuits is.”
Iria was separating “Iria” from “Iria Shuits.”
Born as the princess of a small country, she had come to this country alone, almost as a hostage. She came without a single knight or servant to protect her. Iria believed in herself and thought she didn’t need anyone else’s help. So she didn’t wish for anyone to accompany her.
Iria was someone who shone even when alone. Despite it being the early days of school, most people at the academy knew Iria’s name. Some even placed Persis and Iria on the same level.
Iria was that remarkable. But Iria Shuits wasn’t. She was disrespected in front of Kuatrin and seen as not even a small threat to her fellow students. Not only that, hadn’t she indirectly been asked by the Duke to leave this place?
“I hate it, really.”
Speaking with a bitter smile, Iria suddenly seemed to feel an immense emptiness. Her face looked fragile, as if it might waver with the slightest breeze.
The Iria from the original story wasn’t always confident and strong. A great enemy named the Duke existed before her, and she merely struggled to survive. How could anyone remain unwavering in such a situation?
Sometimes she would shed tears, and sometimes she would face her own weaknesses.
“…Iria Shuits is not humiliating.”
But in the end, Iria stood up. Finding comfort in a single word or action from others around her, believing in herself, Iria accomplished what she set out to do.
In a way, this empire was unrelated to her. Having realized how chaotic the empire was, she could have returned to her country and started a war or launched a political offensive. That might have been the right path as a princess, but it wasn’t the right choice for Iria. Iria was righteous. She had a sense of justice that might seem foolish or stupid to some.
That’s why I liked her. Knowing that it might be absurd and that everything she did might be in vain, Iria’s determination to push forward still seemed to shine.
I didn’t think that Iria was completely separate from Iria Shuits.
“Knowing exactly what you can and cannot do, and not bowing your head even to the most threatening opponent—Iria Shuits is amazing.”
Iria didn’t back down from Kuatrin’s words. The matter of demons was something she didn’t need to concern herself with, but she stayed until the end because she was worried about me. Perhaps it was to gather information, but even if that were the case, it was the right decision.
“You might appear humiliated in certain situations right now. But that doesn’t mean Iria Shuits herself is humiliating.”
Iria, who had been silently listening to me, slowly smiled.
“Sometimes I think Andelion overestimates me.”
“It’s objective.”
“Really?”
Just then, the Duke’s carriage arrived in front of us. Iria took a step forward to board the carriage, then slightly turned to look back at me. With a somewhat relieved expression, she said to me:
“If Andelion says so, then it must be true. Thank you.”
Though it was a lightly delivered message, I could feel that some of the emotions troubling her had disappeared. I was glad that Iria seemed to have put down some of her heavy burden.
After a brief farewell, Iria boarded the carriage. Watching the retreating carriage, I was reminded of the reality I had forgotten.
Unlike others who had entered the palace normally, I had been dragged here by someone else. Now would be the best opportunity to secretly send me out. If it were the usual Duke, he would have had me ride along with Iria. The fact that he didn’t meant…
“Young Master Andelion.”
I heard Kara’s voice calling me from behind. I turned to look at her. I knew why Kara was here. Nodding, I slowly walked to her side, who had come to fetch me. Kara then matched her steps to mine.
Kara navigated the paths within the palace very familiarly. She seemed even more adept than I, who had visited this palace several times a week when I was young.
“You’ve been to the palace often, haven’t you?”
“No, not that often. It’s just that I have a good memory. I remember many things.”
Indeed, Kara always remembered even the smallest details. She would notice the foods I casually mentioned as delicious and even the slightest habits I wasn’t aware of, taking care of them behind my back.
Upon reaching the Duke’s office, Kara didn’t enter but turned to face me while standing in front of the door. She looked at my face carefully, as if recalling something from her memory, then, having made up her mind, stepped aside.
“Please go in.”
“Kara.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll wait out here.”
Kara is the Duke’s employee. Nevertheless, I had felt since I was young that her priority was me. I didn’t know why I felt that way.
If the sword was an object of suspicion for me yet someone I wanted to trust, Kara was the one person in this world I could trust unconditionally. I gathered my hesitant thoughts and slowly entered the room.
Inside, I saw the Duke waiting for me, standing. With his back to the windows that were gradually darkening, the Duke stood there without a word.
“I have many questions.”
Now that I was opening my mouth in front of him, my legs began to tremble.
I had acutely realized the limits of what I could do. No matter how much I struggled on my own, I couldn’t understand anything, and the situation only kept getting worse. I wasn’t unaware of this fact. But I couldn’t just do nothing and stay still.
Even at this moment, he who had resided in the sword might be suffering terribly beneath that temple. I recall his voice saying he was fine and not to worry. Not only was rescuing him impossibly daunting, but Persis had also become involved in this matter. If things go wrong, everything might fall apart.
I can’t create a happy ending with my power alone. But I couldn’t remain ignorant and still. If I think of myself as humiliated and let go of everything, nothing would change.
I am lacking. But I didn’t need to remain ignorant.
“Why did you give me the sword?”
“Because you wished for it.”
“Then let me ask again. Why was there a demon inside this sword?”
“Because he wished for it.”
The questions that seemed to be going nowhere were frustrating. Surely the conversation wouldn’t continue like this.
“Why did he wish for that?”
“…”
The Duke remained silent for a moment. He seemed to be choosing his words or contemplating. As the Duke closed his mouth, I grew impatient. Was he planning to keep silent and move on again? Just as I was about to ask once more, the Duke opened his mouth and answered my question.
“Because he wanted to be by your side.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
