Chapter 77

They say it was the Sun, not the Wind who removed the Traveler’s clothes. But it’s all lies. It’s the Wind. A destructive, unpredictable gust of Wind tore the traveler’s clothes!*

[E/N: Please see the note at the end of the chapter for the explanation of this hilarious paragraph. Skip if you already get it.]

Isserion burst into tears at the wretched disgrace of his master, who had become naked. Is this not complete disarmament?

“I knew you like thorny roads, but… Your Highness… Why… of all things… You don’t actually like thorny roads, do you?”

Isserion wiped his tears with a handkerchief.

‘Sniff… Sniff… Your Highness, can you please be more sensible…? Didn’t you hear it from Calyx?’

An unknown existence made of magic that has lived for many years… Isserion had been baffled. He had also noticed that the knight, Rosaline, had changed since the hunting competition. But, like an old man, his thoughts were at the limit of, ‘Aren’t children at that age where they act and think differently every day?’ Thanks to that, he experienced double the shock. But Ricardis was not agitated. It’s not that he suppressed his emotions; he just wasn’t surprised. He had calmly chatted with Calyx.

Ricardis, Isserion knew, was skilled at summing up situations and information so he could reach numerous results. Isserion didn’t expect this skill would shine on even such an unimaginable thing. Ricardis had led the conversation so that he checked the information he had rather than simply receiving it from Calyx.

Just because you’re expecting it doesn’t mean there will be no shock. However, Ricardis’s attitude toward Rosaline was similar to before. No, it’s more familiar than before. His tone had softened, and the sharpness in his eyes and expression had rounded.

It was a face that reminded Isserion of when Princess Setistia was alive. Isserion’s heart fluttered at the smiling Ricardis, and he watched the scene silently.

Of course, the harmonious yet heartbreaking picture soon came to an end. Rosaline, who had spilled a drop of sandwich sauce on Ricardis’ hand, grabbed his hand and licked it. Isserion immediately grabbed the back of her neck.

“Sir Rosaline, blah blah blah on the body of an Imperial family member!”

The nagging continued endlessly. Even Ricardis could not stop Isserion.

After a while, Isserion remembered the original purpose of his visit to the office. He shuffled the papers he was holding.

“Your Highness, there have been some results.”

“For which one?”

“The White Jade castle. Taking advantage of the mess, we confirmed that they had contact with Balta.”

Ricardis’ expression changed in an instant. White Jade Castle was the residence of the 5th Prince Diech. Balta made direct contact with the White Jade Castle instead of Elpidio’s Quartz Castle?

“What about Elpidio?”

If Diech had acted as a bridge between Balta and Elpidio, he would have sent someone to Elpidio’s Quartz Castle. However…

“It is believed that this is purely His Highness the 5th Prince’s doing.”

To Ricardis, Diech was always a blurry figure behind Elpidio. But from this moment, his thoughts began to change. Diech was not simply a person who protected Elpidio and watched his back. He hid in Elpidio’s shadow, and Diech forged an independent relationship with Balta. If so, why and for what? Is it for mere practicality, or is there another purpose?

Ricardis looked into the distance and frowned. The masses only know that he and the 1st Prince, Elpidio, were the closest candidates for the crown prince’s seat. But in reality, the crown prince was Elpidio. The Emperor just hadn’t declared it.

Even if Ricardis could become a great emperor because he fully embraced the calling of The One Above, or even if Elpidio acted stupidly and devoured the country, Elpidio would still be the crown prince. Others didn’t know, but Ricardis knew it.

Still, on the surface, the battle over the crown prince’s seat was quite intense, and both sides were evenly matched. So the other princes could not intervene in this fight. Fights have to be fair, and the opponents have to be comparable. Foxes or hyenas could not interfere in a battle between lions.

3rd Prince Tillend is the younger brother of the 1st Prince Elpidio. He was the most likely candidate after Ricardis, but Duke Lyonmane was stubborn enough to focus all his assets on Elpidio. He couldn’t afford to split his power, as Ricardis’ own grew every day.

Of course, being Elpidio’s younger brother, Tillend was also a man of great ambition. There was a time when he formed a faction on his own and expanded his power little by little, avoiding the Elpidio’s shadow. However, he got caught by their mother, the Empress, and was scolded thoroughly for trying to hit the back of his brother’s head instead of supporting him. It was a blast. After that, Tillend quietly stepped back from the fight, residing at his brother’s left or right arm.

Like Ricardis, the 4th Prince, Laheansi [T/N: pronounced La-hey-ann-sea], did not have a strong maternal family. Although he lacked both the position and the strength to intervene in the fight, the decisive reason for moving away from the battle of succession was that he wasn’t a person who was interested in power in the first place.

Laheansi, not wanting to be engulfed in the chaos, withdrew from the battle early and entered the temple. Ricardis often saw him whenever he stopped by the Great Shrine. Seeing that he was idling and playing well, this role fit his aptitude. On the other hand, the young 6th and 7th Princes were discouraged and well-behaved under their proud brothers.

Ricardis thought that no one would be involved in this fight except himself and Elpidio. But once again, he slowly made the connections. He realized that without the 1st and 2nd Princes, Diech would be fairly close to the throne.

‘Ah, is it like that?’ In a fight between two giant beasts, the loser will die, and the winner will be seriously injured. Diech is holding his breath, waiting eagerly for the time when the winners and losers are clear so he can push his claws into the wounds of a shaky victor.

“…”

The two men had grave expressions on their faces. Rosaline has recently learned to read the atmosphere between people. In this seemingly heavy-looking situation, one shouldn’t bring up personal stories to suddenly break the tension. No, it’s not a bad thing, but she’s roughly learned that it won’t be of much use.

Therefore, she only played with her thumbs, scratching them against each other, and did not speak. Rosaline was hungry. An emptiness that could not be filled by eating just a few pieces of fruit and bread ran through her stomach.

Just then, a ‘pleasant’ sound rang out. Grumble, grumble. The two men, who had been talking with their foreheads wrinkled, stopped speaking and turned their heads to Rosaline.

Rosaline smiled and looked at them. ‘That’s right. Did you hear that? I’m hungry, you know?!’ She had such a clear expression on her face that they mistakenly thought they had heard it wrong. But even at this moment, her stomach continued to assert itself.

As Ricardis’ facial muscles twitched, he looked at Rosaline’s abdomen while Rosaline nodded broadly. ‘Yes, it’s from my stomach.’ She was even about to raise her hand.

“Umm… Sir Rosaline…”

“Yes! Your Highness!”

“Are you…”

“Yes!”

“…hungry?”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

She answered so vigorously. Ricardis thought that nobody was this lively even at the senior knight ceremonies…

Ricardis’ expression was somewhere between smiling and crying, and he could only cover his face with his hand.

“If someone is unwell… then they should eat when they’re hungry…”

“That’s right!”

“You should go back and rest. It must have been a hard journey from Vista.”

“There are not many escorts. I’ll stay by your side.”

“These days, the number of assassins has gone down drastically. They seem to be hiding in Balta. There’s nothing to worry about.”

With Haqab’s help cut off, Elpidio, who was in a hurry, also sent out assassins whenever he could. However, there was no way that the Knights of the White Night, who had blocked Black Moon assassins, could not deal with these domestic hitmen. Thanks to this, Ricardis had more pleasant days than usual.

“I will watch over you.”

However, Ricardis’ words did not work, but it’s not like he expected them to in the first place. Isserion joined in and comforted her.

“Won’t you take a good rest today, Sir Rosaline? Isn’t there a festival today? The streets are overflowing with food, attractions, and food.”

Ricardis looked at Isserion. Did he just say ‘food’ twice? Somehow it didn’t seem like a mistake.

“… I will stay by His Highness’ side.”

The repeated word, ‘food’, created a look of dismay on Rosaline’s face. However, rather than leaving Ricardis behind as soon as possible, she looked determined to starve for three days.

Ricardis crossed his arms and exhaled lightly through his nose. He could give her orders as a superior, but it was clear that Rosaline would still escort him while hiding, as she was not a good listener even if he was the prince. Ricardis pondered and nodded his head.

“Come to think of it, I have something to do at the festival.”

“Is that so?”

Rosaline’s face lit up, while Isserion’s crumpled. ‘There is no such schedule, Your Highness!’ A retort was on his lips, but Ricardis met Isserion’s eyes tiredly.

“I have business.”

And so, Isserion was blocked before he could even speak. He shuddered in anger. He could only swallow all the words that came up his throat. ‘Cannot be done. Dangerous. What are you thinking? Does it make sense?’ He had to put those words to sleep.

T/N: Ricardis’ only business at the festival is to feed Rosaline.

E/N: The Sun, the Wind, and the Traveler is an Aesop fable. Full story here: https://read.gov/aesop/143.html. Basically, to see who was stronger, the Sun and the Wind competed to remove the clothes of a passing traveler. The Wind blew hard and aggressively, but the Traveler just wrapped his cloak tighter. The Sun shone hot and bright, and the Traveler took off his clothes. So, the Sun was “stronger.” Isserion is lamenting that it was not a gentle and warm sun-like attitude that caused Ricardis to lower his shields. No, it was the storm of chaos that is our Rosaline who tore through them like paper.