Chapter 58. Are You Hurt Anywhere?
Finally, I boarded the carriage that would take me back to the Empire.
Inside the rattling carriage, a peaceful scenery passed by outside the window.
Bright sunlight filtered through green trees and nameless flowers.
Unlike the calm outside, a strange tension lingered inside the carriage.
“This is strange.”
Karsen, who had insisted on joining me in the carriage, finally opened his mouth.
He used the excuse of accompanying me to the border.
He turned toward me and asked,
“Your demeanor toward me seems different than it was yesterday… Is it just my imagination?”
“Well…”
No, I don’t think it’s your imagination.
I found out what I did while drunk yesterday.
How could I act the same way as before?
‘To think I even made that ridiculous proposal…’
I didn’t dare speak it out loud.
I lowered my gaze.
Meanwhile, Karsen continued talking without pause.
“This is disappointing. I thought we had grown quite close.”
How strange.
I feel like we’ve grown further apart.
“Didn’t you like me enough to propose becoming my lover?”
“No. That was something I said under the influence.”
I hardened my expression and drew a firm line.
But Karsen remained composed.
“People say alcohol reveals your true feelings.”
“It also brings out plenty of nonsense.”
“Well, I do hope we’ll have more opportunities to drink together. You’re quite entertaining when drunk.”
“If such an opportunity arises.”
But there will never be one.
From now on, I’m abstaining from alcohol.
We exchanged a conversation with not an inch of concession.
But there was something else that had been bothering me for a while.
‘Could you please scoot over a bit…?’
It was the fact that Karsen was sitting next to me.
The carriage wasn’t even that small—so why did it feel like he was sitting so close?
No—shouldn’t Karsen, being a king, be sitting across from me anyway?
Suddenly, I recalled the situation when we boarded the carriage.
I had gotten on first.
Then Karsen entered.
Without hesitation, he took the seat next to me.
I had tried to move to the opposite seat, feeling awkward, but it was pointless.
Karsen firmly held his position beside me.
When Leonard and Cedric boarded afterward, I think their expressions had also stiffened.
Even Moritz, Karsen’s secretary, looked uneasy.
And thus the seating was set.
But that wasn’t the end of the problem.
I couldn’t even shift to create distance from Karsen.
“Is something making you uncomfortable, Your Majesty the Empress?”
Right. The other seat beside me was already taken.
It was Leonard Hilbert.
Seriously—why is everyone so determined to sit next to me?!
I sighed deeply to myself.
Forget it. At this point, I’ll just look out the window until we arrive.
I turned my gaze to the scenery outside.
Then a peculiar flower caught my eye.
Its petals were completely transparent.
Like a flower crafted by a master glassblower—it was beautiful.
“That flower is…?”
At my murmur, Karsen answered.
“That’s the Diphellia flower.”
Diphellia?
“It’s a rare flower that only grows in the Dobel Region.”
Ah, now I remembered.
When we first arrived in the Kingdom of Kalus, Cedric mentioned a special flower that could only be found in the Dobel Region.
That must be the one.
“You’re quite lucky. A light frost came early this morning, and thanks to that, it’s visible now.”
“It’s that rare?”
“To see it that transparent requires very specific climate conditions. Normally, it blends in with common roadside wildflowers.”
“I see.”
So it really was a rare sight.
Still, I was glad I got to see it with Cedric before leaving.
I turned and looked across at Cedric, seated opposite me.
His eyes sparkled, and a faint smile curved his lips.
Just watching him made my own mood lift.
He really does love flowers.
No wonder people call him a flower lover.
We traveled a while longer like that.
Then Moritz, Karsen’s secretary, spoke.
“It seems we’ve nearly arrived.”
At his words, Karsen, who looked out the window, narrowed his eyes.
“Looks like we have a guest waiting.”
A guest?
I turned my head and followed Karsen’s gaze.
And when I confirmed who it was—my eyes flew wide open.
‘Why is he here?’
Bathed in dazzling sunlight, he stood with radiant platinum hair.
Behind him stood rows of elite royal guards.
I recognized a few faces.
Wasn’t that Sir Gabian, commander of the knights?
Even Marquis Niklad was standing beside him.
‘Don’t tell me—they came to pick me up?’
Why?
Wait—how did they even know I was here?
Karsen, observing it all, curled the corner of his lips.
“Unfortunately, it seems my role ends here.”
＊ ＊ ＊
Inside the Kalus Kingdom carriage.
After dropping Helena von Schwaben off midway, Karsen and Moritz turned the carriage around and began the journey back to the palace.
Karsen leaned his elbow on the window frame and rested his chin on the back of his hand.
Then, sensing a sharp gaze, he turned his head.
Moritz, who had looked like he had something to say for a while, was staring hard at him.
“What are you staring at? Just say it if you have something to say.”
“What’s this? Since when does Your Majesty retreat so obediently?”
Moritz asked, as if he had been waiting to ask that very question.
“What do you mean?”
“Are you really going to just let her go like this?”
Just a while ago, when Helena von Schwaben was dropped off.
Moritz had been anxiously watching, worried that Karsen might pick a fight with the man.
But surprisingly, Karsen didn’t do anything unusual.
After exchanging brief pleasantries, he turned and walked back toward the carriage.
“What? You thought I might stop her? Of course I have to let her go—for now.”
“But… she did technically cross our border without permission. You’re not usually one to let that slide, Your Majesty.”
“So what? Should I start a war?”
Karsen asked, as if wondering if that’s what Moritz wanted.
Moritz shut his mouth tightly.
War?!
How could he say something so grave with the same face as if he were just talking about taking a stroll to the next town?
“That’s not what you want, right?”
“Well… no, that’s true.”
Of course, it was usually Moritz who asked Karsen about war.
But it was always just in case.
Just to be prepared.
War meant vast resources and countless citizens would be mobilized.
It was a decision that required extreme caution.
And the opponent was the Empire—
Even more caution was necessary.
They were not a force to be taken lightly.
Perhaps this one time, letting it go would be the right choice for the peace of the nation.
Thinking that Karsen had made a calculated decision, Moritz nodded.
Yes. War over this would be wrong.
He really was a king who knew how to think.
“And besides, for now… she belongs to them, right?”
Ah, right. For now, she’s still their person.
One sensible statement after another today.
Today, Karsen was saying everything that pleased Moritz.
His nose tingled with emotion.
Whether he realized it or not—
Karsen let out a soft chuckle and added under his breath:
“At least for now, that is.”
＊ ＊ ＊
After Karsen left, I found myself facing crimson eyes.
Eyes that shimmered like flames.
They were filled with displeasure.
With a blank expression, he dismissed the people around us.
I thought he’d lash out right away.
But unexpectedly, he simply stared at me in silence.
Only the sound of flowing water nearby broke the stillness.
In the end, I was the one to speak first.
“What brings you all the way out here?”
“…What brings me?”
His face said, ‘You’re really asking me that?’
“I’m pretty sure you told me you were going to the ducal territory for rest.”
His voice turned sharp as he pointed out,
“Since when was the Schwaben Duchy located in another kingdom?”
His tone was dripping with sarcasm.
I wanted to ask how he even knew I was here.
But that wasn’t the important issue right now.
“Fine. I’ll be honest.”
Since it had come to this, I decided to be shameless.
“As you can see, I didn’t go to the duchy.”
“For someone who lied, you sure act bold.”
“I had a good reason.”
“A reason?”
Jerome said with disbelief.
“What kind of reason could make the Empress of the Empire illegally enter another kingdom?”
“It was for the sake of the Empire.”
“…What?”
Hearing that, Jerome looked slightly taken aback.
“Your Majesty must know. The people of the Empire have been suffering from a severe drought.”
I spoke calmly.
“I came to the Kingdom of Kalus to solve that drought.”
I pointed to the nearby canal.
“Look.”
From a channel that had been dry not long ago, clear water now flowed.
“For the time being, we won’t have to worry about water. It might not completely solve the drought, but at least fewer Imperial citizens will die from thirst.”
After finishing my explanation, I straightened my posture confidently.
So, how would he respond now?
I didn’t even expect praise.
I hadn’t done it for him anyway.
I had done it for the people I cared about—and for the citizens of the Empire.
Would he scold me for lying?
I didn’t care.
I had accepted all the risks from the beginning.
Even if he rebuked me for this, I planned to let it slide.
But Jerome’s response was unexpected.
“What you did was reckless.”
“…What?”
What did he mean, reckless?
Could it be… he was actually worried about me?
No, no way. There’s no way he’d worry about me.
I tried recalling what Jerome actually cared about.
First was Fay, and then…
Ah! Maybe it was that.
I thought I knew the answer.
A faint, lonely smile tugged at my lips.
Before I realized it, a cold voice escaped my mouth.
“Is it because of the authority of the Imperial Family?”
“…What?”
Jerome frowned.
“You thought I might have done something to diminish the Imperial Family’s dignity, didn’t you?”
That’s what you’re worried about, right?
“So that’s why you brought the Royal Guards with you? Over something like that?”
“……”
Jerome said nothing.
He was silent—probably because I had hit the mark.
Thinking that made me scoff.
Yeah. What did I expect from you anyway?
Worry? What a joke.
I put on the coldest expression I could muster.
“There was nothing disgraceful. You don’t need to worry, Your Majesty.”
There. That’s the answer you wanted, right?
Now can I leave?
With that last statement, I brushed past him to head for the carriage.
“…Are you hurt anywhere?”
No—I was about to leave.
If only I hadn’t heard that faint voice from behind me.
Startled, I came to a sudden halt and turned my head.
I looked at his broad back for a moment, but no further words came.
What the…
My brows furrowed instinctively.
You throw out some strange line that stirs up emotions and then just stand there like that?
Should I say something?
My lips parted slightly but in the end—I gave up.
It would only drag out the conversation.
Just as I was about to resume my steps—
“If you’re not, then it’s fine.”
A quiet voice rang out once more.
—
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