Chapter 3: CH 3

The emperor had selected the four warriors himself.

Duke Debron Astorf, a swordmaster; Young Marquis Leonif Kaitz, second-best in command; Lucen Clayal, the second child of an outstanding renowned archer; and Feriel Tevious, a guide as well as a powerful wizard. All of them had outstanding abilities, noble blood, and an outstandingly beautiful appearance.

The emperor laughed as he looked down at the jewels he had chosen. Those jewels who would seal Aktail will remain as his greatest achievement, and he would become the most renowned emperor in history. 

And with the most dazzlingly blue jewel of all, he would hide all his flaws.

[tl/n: The blue jewel is Aktail]

However, an ugly stone broke in between his jewels. 

This stone was not part of the emperor’s plan.

*     *     *

Guided by an unkind knight, I rode a carriage and arrived at Marquis Kaitz’s splendid drawing-room. I silently looked at the tea that had cooled while waiting for the mansion’s owner to arrive.

“May I pour you a fresh cup?”

I shook my head at the maid’s cautious question. After all, it was clear that the new cup would cool again before Leonif showed.

“Young Marquis will be a little late because of work. Please wait a little longer.”

Saying so, the maid sneaked a glance at me. I smiled at her, saying it was okay, but my complexion wasn’t good enough to match my words. It must be urgent, that’s why the papers I signed were dragged even before the ink was dry, and I had been left alone in the drawing-room for nearly two hours.

‘I don’t know what’s going on, but I want to leave soon.’ I wanted to go back, finish all my preparations, and leave the capital. The only thing that filled my mind was what I had to do next. I should have been getting ready to go to Yorkben Village. A lot of thoughts swirled in my mind.

Eventually, the mansion’s owner showed up only after I had become tired of waiting and asked the maid for a refill.

Leonif Kaitz. His curly, creamy hair and dark gray eyes reminded me of a sheep. He stepped lively into the drawing-room, just like he did when he came to the capital two years ago after putting Aktail to sleep.

“Cornelia!”

“…Leonif.”

“Sorry, you’ve been waiting a long time, haven’t you? My father suddenly held me back.”

As usual, he smiled innocently and sat down across from me. Just in time, the maid who brought tea from the kitchen delicately poured a cup for him as well. Dressed in a white warrior’s uniform, Leonif smiled and offered me tea.

“Try it! Oh, you’ve already tried it. What do you think? These are the finest tea leaves from Leah. I like the subtle scent. It soothes your mind and body. It’s my mother’s favorite tea these days.”

He then closed his eyes as if savoring the scent. His relaxed appearance caused wrinkles in my eyes. I was brought here without even knowing why. Without touching the teacup, I looked at him and opened my mouth. 

“What’s going on? I wish to return soon. I have a lot of work to do, you know.”

“Cornelia! My friend. Don’t be too hasty. There are still more people to come.”

More people? Who did you call? Before I could ask, the drawing-room door suddenly slammed open and people entered. It was the warriors.

“See! I told you. They’re already here! We’re late. Long time no see Cornelia!”

The woman who entered first ran to me and hugged me. A pleasant scent brushed the tip of my nose. She was one of the heroes, the guide Feriel, and behind her came Lucen. The three of them were wearing the same uniform Debron had. My gaze naturally fell to my old colleagues. 

‘Now that I think about it, isn’t this the first time I have seen their faces since coming to the capital?’ No, there was one time before. ‘The day I went to town to buy food for Grandma, didn’t I run into them?’

As I searched through my memories, I unknowingly glanced toward the still open door, looking for Debron. 

‘Maybe he hasn’t arrived yet. Will he come a little later?’ It seemed that Leonif had called all the heroes, so maybe he would come, too. However, contrary to my expectations, the maid closed the door as soon as Lucen sat on the sofa. As I looked at the closed door, I let out a small sigh of regret. 

Debron didn’t come…

Stop it! 

I turned my head in surprise. I frowned at myself, disliking myself for unconsciously looking for him. After two years, the habit of chasing after him remained still.

As if she thought I had turned my head because of her, Feriel grabbed my hand with tears in her eyes. The pale pink eyes that stared at me were filled with tears.

“Sorry, I’m sorry. Cornelia, I’m so sorry.”

Feriel kept muttering sorry, and I simply blinked as I looked at her. 

‘What are you sorry for?’ I had no idea what she was sorry about. 

“…I’m so sorry I didn’t make it to Grandma Hibi’s deathbed, Cornelia. I received your letter, but I couldn’t make it. I had something important to do.”

‘Ah, that. That was the reason.’

“It’s all right.”

I looked at Feriel and the others and giggled. My black veil shifted, obstructing my view. 

“You all have been very busy, right?”

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They were called to the Aktail Festival to give their speeches and to stand in glory. At my question, the three of them immediately hardened their faces and fell into silence. The weak-hearted Feriel bit her lip, Leonif put his teacup down on the table, and Lucen, who was sitting next to him, glared at me and retorted harshly.

“Instead of being sarcastic, why don’t you just say it properly? Just admit that you’re disappointed that we couldn’t make it!”

“Lucen!”

“…That’s too harsh, Lucen.”

Everyone in the room directed their attention toward him, but Lucen still snorted and stared at me.

‘What the hell bothers him?’ I couldn’t figure it out.

“I don’t mean to be sarcastic.”

I blinked slowly. 

I wish I could. I want to be sarcastic. 

Do I still feel that way? No matter how much I thought about it, sarcasm couldn’t be the response, because I didn’t even have the heart to do that anymore. I looked at everyone’s faces and spoke in a calm, composed voice.

“I’m not disappointed that you didn’t come.”

After coming to the capital, the few expectations that remained in my heart eroded every minute, every hour, and every second. Grandma said many times that she wanted to see you, but each time the only response was that you were all too busy. Feriel and Leonif sent me some presents saying they were sorry, but those gifts, which were more like pity, hit me even harder. After a while, even though I sent a letter, there was no reply. And sometimes, even the letters I wrote were returned. It was to the extent that even the maid that brought the returned letter tried to soothe me as if walking on eggshells. And one day, when I ran into them by chance on the street.

“It’s someone we don’t know.”

They pretended not to know me as I was holding food for my grandmother. I laughed bitterly, thinking about that time. The image of them turning their heads, fearing that our gaze might meet, was still clearly etched into my mind. Being rejected and denied, the words for help naturally remained in my mouth. Even if I held out my hand, no one would reach out for me.

It had been two years since then. I didn’t know it before, but two years was enough time for people to dry up from tiredness. 

So, truly, I didn’t really think that the warriors would come when my grandmother was on her deathbed. The letter announcing her near-death was sent to my comrades without any expectations. 

…Except for Debron. 

“That’s all you want to say? Then it’s over. I have to go. I have so much work to do–”

“Cornelia.”

As I got up and walked towards the door, Leonif reached out and grabbed me.

“Wait a minute. The conversation isn’t over yet. You’re not just going to listen to Lucen’s quarrels, are you?”

I looked down at him, smiling as he grabbed my wrist. As he thought I would shake off his hand and go, he said quickly.

“Grandmother Hibi helped us with all her heart. So it took a little while, but we’re all done talking. In the name of the warriors, Grandma Hibi will be enshrined in the central temple.”

The central temple, I opened my eyes wide at those words. Only nobles could be buried there. Not even all nobles could be laid to rest in it. You could only dare to knock on the door of the temple if your honor was high. Even then you would have to make a large donation to be enshrined in the central temple.

‘To put my grandmother in a place that ordinary people can’t even dream of.’

“We can do this for you, Cornelia.”

“Yeah, we’ll pay for the donation! No matter what the priests and other nobles say, we can stop them. The warriors have their results. Who can stop them?”

Leonif folded his eyes gently. From behind, Feriel nodded in agreement with a bright face, and Lucen squinted his eyes in disapproval. 

Ha– Looking at the three of them, I chuckled. Feriel and Leonif’s faces brightened, probably because they thought my reaction was positive. However, it was just a moment.

“No, it’s okay. I’m a commoner.”

It was really okay. The only people who could meet those enshrined in the central temple were nobles. If I enshrined my grandmother there, I would never be able to see her.

“It can’t be, because you’re a commoner.”

“You can’t do it because you’re a commoner.”

Wasn’t too much consideration for me, who lived hearing such words? Besides, it was them, not others, who carefully put that tag on me.

“My grandmother wanted to be buried in her hometown, so I’ll have to decline. This is all for real now, right?”

As I said that, I slapped Leonif’s hand still holding onto my wrist. I don’t know if it was because I turned down their offer or because I shook off his hand, but Leonif’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Oh, also–”

Before leaving the drawing-room, I turned around and looked at everyone. Today was the last day of the Aktail Festival. Perhaps because they came right after their final speech, they were all dressed in white uniforms. A uniform that wasn’t stained with a single speck of dust, custom-made only for the warriors. In contrast to the black mourning clothes I was wearing, their white uniforms shone even more dazzlingly.

“You all look good in uniforms.”

After meeting them today, I smiled for the first time since wearing the veil. After hearing my words, the eyes of the three trembled slightly, as if they were comparing their clothes to mine.

“I mean it.”

With those final words, a woman dressed in black walked out of the drawing-room full of people wearing white.

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