Chapter 48. While She Slept
The main road leading to the Kingdom of Kalus.
Leonard, Cedric, and I hurriedly pushed onward with our horses and carriage.
Our long journey to resolve the drought had finally begun.
When I turned my head, the Imperial Palace, once visible in the distance, was now nowhere in sight.
“Are you feeling alright?”
Leonard, riding beside me, asked.
“I’m okay for now.”
“It’s a long journey. There’s no need to push yourself. Please let me know anytime you feel tired.”
“Understood. I don’t plan to overdo it.”
“But still…”
Leonard glanced at my hand with a faint, pleased smile on his lips.
“You granted my request.”
The ornate ring on my left ring finger.
It was the ring Leonard had gifted me some time ago.
“Why was wearing the ring part of the condition?”
Right. The reason I wore such a flashy ring despite the long journey was because of this man.
When I first told him about this plan, Leonard had firmly refused.
It was because the journey required crossing a long distance and even the national border without proper escort.
— Absolutely not. It’s far too reckless. Even if the entire Order of Knights were to accompany you, I couldn’t guarantee your safety.
He was right.
Anyone would agree it was a reckless plan.
I too would’ve preferred to travel with a proper escort unit, if only I could.
But there was no way the Emperor would believe me. Reckless wasn’t even the half of it—it sounded downright absurd.
— I know it’s a reckless plan. But this is the only way. So please help me, Sir Leonard.
Moved by my desperate plea, Leonard eventually nodded.
— Understood. If that’s your resolve, I’ll assist you.
— Thank you.
— However… I have one condition as well.
His one condition in exchange for accepting my request.
Was to wear the ring he had given me before.
It wasn’t a difficult task, but it did make me wonder.
“Why make such a strange request?”
“No particular reason. I just wanted to see you wearing the ring I gave you.”
He stroked his chin with straight fingers and continued.
“Just as I thought—seeing it in person makes me happy. It suits Your Majesty the Empress very well.”
At that moment, something caught my eye.
The bracelet on his wrist.
“…That bracelet.”
“Yes?”
“That bracelet of yours.”
I looked back and forth between the bracelet on his wrist and the ring on my finger.
‘Don’t tell me… they’re a set?’
Just like my ring, it had a deep blue gem set in platinum.
It was clearly a matching pair.
Then. It seemed someone else had the same thought as me.
“They’re a set, aren’t they?”
Cedric’s sullen voice reached me.
I shot a glance at Leonard.
“So that’s why you insisted I wear the ring… Is this what it was about?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
Leonard shook his head.
“Ah, if you’re referring to the bracelet resembling yours, that’s a misunderstanding. It’s a common design you see everywhere.”
He said it so casually, but for some reason, it felt strange.
Even Cedric had said the ring didn’t suit a long journey…
‘Right. I’ll just take it off.’
I had shown him I wore it. That should be enough.
I carefully reached to remove the ring.
“Promise.”
A voice like a blade stopped my hand.
I flinched.
When I turned my head, Leonard was staring at me with a stern expression.
He continued in a firm tone.
“Promise. You must keep it.”
***
It would take about a week to reach our destination.
We had to cross several mountains, making it quite a long journey.
Of course, we had planned to stop by inns along the way.
Shhhhhh—
If only we hadn’t encountered the heavy rain.
As we left the capital and reached the base of the mountain near the border, it suddenly started pouring.
Climbing the steep mountain path in such blinding downpour was practically impossible.
“Your Majesty the Empress! There’s a cave up ahead where we can take shelter.”
Leonard, climbing the slope with practiced ease, spotted a cave.
We quickly took refuge in the cave he led us to.
The cave Leonard found was fairly spacious. Big enough to comfortably shield all three of us from the rain.
I looked up at the sky.
“There’s no sign of it letting up…”
The rain poured relentlessly.
Fortunately, I wasn’t wet.
I had moved into the carriage as soon as it started raining.
However, Leonard, who had led the horse, and Cedric, who had driven the carriage, were both soaked.
Steam visibly rose from their shoulders.
“It looks like we’ll have to camp here for the night.”
Cedric said.
His expression didn’t look good.
With his downcast eyes and drooped face, he looked like a dejected puppy.
“You don’t look so happy. Is there something you’re concerned about?”
“To think we’d have to let Your Majesty sleep in a place like this… It’s my fault.”
“This isn’t Cedric’s fault. Who could’ve predicted sudden rain like this?”
Before we departed, the weather had been clear, not a cloud in the sky.
Who could’ve imagined this kind of downpour just two hours later?
“No, it is my fault. For a Royal Magician to fail in forecasting the weather—there’s no excuse.”
So that was why Cedric was so down.
Apparently, he had been excited about this long journey since it had been a while.
Because of that, he had neglected to do what most magicians would consider basic: checking the weather.
“Ah.”
So that was it.
Still, unlike his regretful mood, I didn’t think this situation was all that bad.
‘Actually, it’s kind of nice and atmospheric.’
Maybe the real Helena von Schwaben would’ve hated it.
But I wasn’t her—and I wasn’t a noble lady from some prestigious family.
Instead, this reminded me of the camping trips I used to take with my family.
‘It rained like this back then, too…’
So much that the tents we put up were completely useless.
We ended up canceling the trip halfway through, but it was still a wonderful memory.
“It’s fine. This reminds me of a camping trip I went on as a child… well, a picnic.”
“But still…”
“Really. I’m fine.”
I smiled softly to reassure him.
Then suddenly, I shivered from a chill in the air.
‘It’s quite cold.’
At this high altitude, combined with the rain, I was trembling.
“We should light a fire.”
As Leonard said that, he went to gather branches suitable for firewood.
Once he stacked the wood neatly, Cedric stepped forward.
Cedric pulled a short wand from his sleeve and chanted a few spells.
As he spoke the incantations in a low voice, moisture drained from the soaked wood.
Then, golden flames sprang to life.
Crackle, crackle.
As the campfire blazed, the chilly cave quickly warmed up.
‘Ahh, now this is better.’
Thanks to the warmth, both my body and my heart felt like they were thawing.
At last, I had the presence of mind to look around the cave.
“This cave… seems like it once had an owner.”
Leonard pointed toward some scattered straw deeper inside the cave.
“An owner?”
“It appears this cave was used by a large beast.”
At the mention of a beast, I flinched involuntarily.
“What if the beast comes back?”
What if we ended up in a predator’s den just to avoid the rain?
Should we leave immediately…?
“It seems to have been abandoned long ago, so there’s no need to worry.”
Leonard said, trying to reassure me.
Strangely enough,
His smile made my anxiety vanish like magic.
In the meantime, Cedric had brought blankets from the carriage.
Wrapped in a blanket, I gazed out at the rain falling in steady sheets.
“Do you think this rain might solve the drought?”
Cedric, who had been watching the downpour closely, replied.
“It seems to be just a passing shower. This won’t be enough to resolve a long drought.”
I added more dry twigs to the campfire and said,
“That’s troubling. The drought will last another two years.”
At my words, Leonard’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Two years, you say… From the way Your Majesty said that, it’s as if you already know it’ll be resolved after two years.”
Of course I know. I read the original story.
In two years, Fay’s fervent prayers will bring rain.
Heavy rain that lasts for ten days straight.
But I couldn’t say that.
“It’s just a feeling I have.”
Leonard looked at me with a strange expression.
I deliberately avoided his gaze.
No.
Even if you look at me like that, I can’t tell you.
“More importantly, the delay in our schedule is going to be a problem.”
Cedric said.
If all had gone according to plan, we should’ve arrived at an inn beyond the mountain by tonight.
But while we were avoiding the rain, night had fallen before we knew it.
We had no choice but to camp in this cave for the night.
“Well, that’s perfect. Let’s stay up and talk all night long.”
I clapped my hands cheerfully and suggested.
“Stay up all night?”
“Are you sure about that?”
Leonard and Cedric both voiced concern at the idea of pulling an all-nighter.
“Of course. I used to do this all the time with close friends!”
Though that was before I became Helena von Schwaben… in that other world.
I spoke with full confidence.
“If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s staying up all night.”
***
Inside the dark cave.
The firewood crackled as it burned.
Soft, steady breathing could be heard between the flames.
And the one who had so confidently declared we’d chat all night?
Before dawn even came, Helena lost her battle with sleep.
She was dozing off, nodding again and again.
“She must have been very tired.”
Leonard quietly moved closer to Helena’s side.
And gently guided her head to rest against his shoulder.
Across from them, Cedric glared and said,
“What do you think you’re doing?”
Without looking away from Helena, Leonard calmly replied.
“She seemed uncomfortable. I’m simply helping her rest.”
At that moment, Helena’s head slipped off his shoulder.
“Her Majesty truly requires constant care.”
Leonard gently moved her head back to rest against his shoulder.
But then—
A pale hand reached out and took her head away.
It was Cedric.
Now seated at Helena’s right side, Cedric carefully placed her sleeping head on his own shoulder.
Seeing this, Leonard’s expression twisted with discomfort.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“Can’t you tell?”
Cedric’s hand slid from her hair to her cheek, then her jaw, lingering with a hint of longing before pulling away.
“As Her Majesty’s Royal Magician, I’m ensuring she sleeps peacefully.”
At the soft expression in Cedric’s eyes and his gentle hand, Leonard’s face hardened.
“If you’re a magician, act like one. It would be better to keep a respectful distance as you serve Her Majesty.”
Leonard moved Helena’s head back to his shoulder.
And this time, cupped her jaw with his hand as if to prevent her being taken again.
“Staying close to Her Majesty is my job.”
“Then perhaps, Knight Commander, you should act the part and go scout the area.”
Cedric didn’t back down.
“Who knows when the cave’s original owner might return?”
Just then, a gust of wind stoked the fire.
Leonard pushed the flames back with a strong wave of his hand.
In that moment, Cedric reclaimed Helena.
Not just her head—he tried to pull her upper body toward himself, like a mother bird cradling a chick.
Unfortunately for him, at the last second, Leonard snatched her back in a perfect counter.
“Should someone called the Sage of the Forest really harbor such impure motives?”
“I heard Sir Leonard had no interest in women. Seems the rumors were wrong.”
Thus began a fierce silent battle between Leonard and Cedric for the place beside Helena.
And the woman at the center of it all?
Fast asleep, unaware of either man’s burning heart.
“Mmm, that’s why I said… I’m so good at staying up. The one who falls asleep first… loses…”
—
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