episode_0069

It was a peaceful morning following the expulsion of Service.

“Eos, we have something to discuss privately, so could you please give us some space?”

It seemed like the tea time with Elaine had just ended. I had thought about taking a walk together or sharing some unfinished conversations, but Gunter Hujak Yeong-ae came looking for me.

“Oh, yes… Well then, I’ll take my leave.”

Princess Gunter.

Strangely, I had no memory of her.

In the novel, I had read about Princess Gunter before, but I had never come across anything about her.

Yet, as if my body remembered something, polite words flowed out, and I found myself getting up on my own.

“Alright. Have a good time, Elaine.”

“Yes, Eos, see you later.”

It felt like there was some connection between us.

I don’t know. I have no recollection at all.

I also couldn’t quite understand why she wanted to talk to Elaine.

Since there wouldn’t be any answers anyway, I returned to the bedroom for now.

Just the fact that the conversation with Elaine had resumed was satisfying enough.

Actually, it wasn’t like I had nothing to worry about.

Yesterday afternoon, many people witnessed Elaine’s display of divine power.

Among them were even high-ranking priests of the Goddess Church.

It seemed they sought the saint after witnessing the ‘White Night’ and informed the temple.

Given that so many people had seen it, sooner or later the truth would come out.

“Hmm…”

The temple was not to be underestimated.

If they decided to take Elaine away, it could lead to a very difficult situation.

According to the novel, the Pope would definitely try to get his hands on Elaine.

But considering the disasters that might befall the Empire in the future, handing Elaine over was out of the question.

It was time to come up with a plan to protect her.

However, it wasn’t an urgent matter right now.

From the temple’s side, they would probably send investigators first.

“….”

So, at the moment, dealing with a more pressing issue was paramount.

“Service.”

Dealing with him was the more urgent matter.

I knew what he was thinking.

If it was the Service I knew, he was not one to give up easily.

Undoubtedly, he would be planning to gather his scattered forces along the border.

Then, it was obvious he would push into the palace and attempt to seize the throne.

The moment he led his army into the palace, both the Emperor and I would end up dead.

But I had no intention of just letting it happen.

I had already instructed Ardor to track his whereabouts firmly.

I raised a fist-sized crystal placed on the communication table.

It was a communication magic device.

As I infused mana into it, a transparent orb began emitting a bright light.

“Your Majesty, have you found him?”

Ardor’s face appeared inside the crystal. His cheeks looked quite red, perhaps from another meeting with Duke Felios today.

Nevertheless, the reprimands seemed to have some effect. Ardor had become significantly more loyal. The fact that he didn’t mind being addressed informally was evidence enough.

“Service’s location?”

“He is slowly moving south. It seems he will arrive in Tenafel in five days.”

“Send Aquila to me immediately.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

I planned to board Aquila and head to Tenafel ahead of Service.

It was solely my resolve to confront his forces there.

“Oh, um, Your Majesty.”

“What is it?”

“Please, stop Duke Felios. He keeps bothering me every day, making my old age miserable. I really can’t stand it anymore.”

“Well, who said life was meant to be easy? If you can’t avoid it, enjoy it.”

“Oh, no, Your Majesty! I-”

I cut off the connection and flew up into the sky with Wind’s help.

“Eos!”

Shortly after, Aquila swooped in at an incredible speed, picking me up in a flash as we headed towards Tenafel.

Whoosh!

The refreshing morning breeze cut through the sky.

***

The wind was coming in through the open window.

It was a warm breeze tinged with the heat of summer.

“Do you love Eos, Elaine?”

However, facing Pruna Günter at this moment, even that breeze seemed to chill sharply.

The question in the cold voice felt like a heavy weight pressing on her chest.

“……”

Unable to guess the intention, she couldn’t easily choose an answer.

With a heart burdened, it wasn’t something she could blurt out recklessly.

“Oh, look at me. It hasn’t been long since you found out, and you’re diving right in? Sorry.”

Pruna chuckled belatedly and took a sip of her tea.

But Elaine still kept her head bowed, searching for an answer to the question.

‘Love….’

She loves him.

He loves her too.

But is that love?

What exactly is love?

Such thoughts lingered in her mind, intertwining endlessly.

“I, I like him! Eos!”

Eventually, by the time Pruna had completely emptied her cup, Elaine found her answer.

To such a question that might be considered rude, there was no need to think about whether she should answer.

She likes him.

That much was certain.

Elaine clearly loved Eos at this moment.

He had saved her life.

The desire to be with him every moment relentlessly surged deep within her, uncontrollable.

So no one could deny it.

Elaine loves Eos.

“Really? That’s great.”

The sudden response made her curious once again about the intent of the question.

“Huh?”

“I didn’t love him.”

“Huh?”

What am I supposed to do with this? Why is she saying this?

For a moment, Elaine felt her thoughts spinning.

“It’s a relief, really. That Eos met a kind person like you.”

But the next moment, Elaine could clearly see.

Ah, Pruna also loved Eos.

Etched on Pruna’s face was a sad smile mixed with sorrow, longing, and regret.

“No other intentions. I just wanted to ask someone who made a choice I couldn’t make.”

Once again, Elaine could clearly understand.

Although she couldn’t know the full story, Pruna’s emotions were unmistakably conveyed.

The trembling voice carried clear feelings of regret.

Wishing they hadn’t broken up. Something like profound regret.

“When Eos committed a crime, Father and Mother said we had to divorce.”

Elaine simply listened quietly.

She knew from experience that no one’s past should ever be ignored.

“At first, I opposed it too. It was clearly a false accusation. There was a misunderstanding. But when Eos went as far as to hit me, I truly couldn’t help it. It was terrifying. In the end, I let go of his hand. The powerless hand that only held mine…”

Elaine understood Pruna’s words.

An unavoidable situation.

There were things in this world that human strength alone couldn’t handle.

Knowing you’ll become a fool but still doing foolish things for someone.

Knowing you’re a sinner but committing sins to protect someone.

Like Pruna. Despite loving deeply, sometimes there were situations where parting ways was the only option.

Elaine’s heart ached. So she hugged her tightly.

“Thank you, Pruna. For being kind.”

Without turning her sincere feelings into pity, Elaine spoke sincerely.

“I’m really lucky. To have you by Eos’s side.”

After a while, Elaine returned to her seat.

The two of them spent a pleasant time exchanging various conversations.

“I will return to the estate this evening.”

“Really? Can’t you stay a little longer?”

“It’s been empty for too long already. It’s a bit inconvenient without me there, you know.”

The two had become close friends without even realizing it.

“I’ll invite you to the estate sometime. Come with Eos.”

“Yes!”

***

They arrived at the Tenafel estate quickly.

The only worry was Astia, as usual.

She was currently training in the martial arts field.

But once she returned to the royal palace, there would be chaos again.

Last night, she had thrown herself into battle over some trivial matter, causing such a fuss that no one could sleep.

No matter how much she warned him that his actions were an insult to the royal family and could land him in the underground prison, it was futile.

He had lectured her for nearly three hours, saying that she was wrong to always have guards around her.

After enduring all that, he began to wonder if they were really just siblings.

“Have you arrived, Your Highness!”

As Ardor teleported me to the balcony of the Lord’s Castle, the Viscount of Tenafel came out laughing broadly and greeted me warmly.

“Where is the army of Servis stationed right now?”

“They are on the plains. I will personally escort you there.”

I rode Aquila with the Viscount towards the encampment.

“Eos, what’s going on again? Hey, won’t you come down immediately?”

“What? Hey? Hey! How old are you!”

Throughout the flight, the large eagle grumbled heavily about why it had to carry him and gave him a stern look.

The Viscount didn’t stop arguing with the eagle.

“What did you eat to be so heavy? A pig? Oh, then you must be an old pig?”

“Did you see this insolent birdbrain?”

“What! Birdbrain? Hey, come down! Get down right now!”

As their heated argument continued, my head was pounding by the time we finally reached the center of the encampment.

As soon as Aquila landed, the commander rushed over with his officers.

“We greet His Highness the Prince!”

The commander’s name was Remarod.

He was a bastard son of Duke Shulane.

Today, I intended to make him mine, to be the true master of the five thousand troops he led.