Chapter 11
Patricia hoped she wouldn’t end up stabbing the emperor in the neck or shoulder with the scissors.
The emperor climbed onto the bed, bent his right arm, and propped himself up at an angle, gazing at her face in the dark. He brought the ends of her wavy hair to his nose and took in the scent.
“Patricia… Sleep well, my princess.”
He lowered the pillow propped against the headboard and lay down neatly beside her.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
‘What is he doing right now? Is he out of his mind, lying down here like it’s nothing?’
Her heart pounded. And the emperor had called her name so naturally. ‘My princess’, he had said. Patricia couldn’t bring herself to get up and say she wasn’t asleep.
If she provoked him and something unexpected happened, it would throw off her entire plan. She subtly turned her head as if in her sleep.
The emperor lay flat on his back, breathing evenly. His breath carried the scent of almonds and the faint smell of burning dry wood, like cigars.
After a while, a soft bergamot scent began to spread.
It reminded her of a forest at dawn.
She touched her ear and replayed the words he’d just said.
Patricia, sleep well, my princess.
His low, baritone voice washed over her chest like a wave. Had he come to her bedside and spoken with such courtesy?
I may not be your princess, but I’ll let go of the rudeness from before, Emperor Karsik.
The darkness piling up in the still room signaled that it was the middle of the night. Patricia tried to estimate the time.
She slipped her hand under the pillow and gripped the scissors tightly, watching the emperor closely.
Listening to the sound of his steady breathing, she moved swiftly in the dark.
She pulled the scissors from under the pillow. While curled on her side, she used them to cut the leather near her ankle.
She took out the trousers she had hidden in the bedsheet and put them on. Then she wrapped the leather cord around her arm using her hands and elbows to measure the distance, and approached the bedpost to cut it accordingly.
Once she was fully prepared, she smoothed the sheet with her hand to erase any wrinkles. She glanced at the emperor sleeping soundly in the darkness, then quickly turned her head.
Even in the dark, his sharp, handsome features stood out and seemed to glow.
‘Let’s not meet again, Harzen. Adiós.’
Patricia tied the leather cord securely to the scissors and went to the window. She stood between the curtain and the frame.
She opened the window slowly and cautiously, letting the wind come through.
She gauged the air in the darkness, then wedged the scissors into the gap between the window’s metal and the stone.
She nimbly climbed up onto the windowsill.
Grabbing the leather cord, she leapt down in an instant.
Jumping down from this height with only a rope to rely on was nothing for her.
Whenever she went to meet Patrick, she used to escape the watchful eyes of the guards at the detached palace by climbing down from the west tower.
According to her nanny Eva, it was the kind of moment that made your heart drop to your stomach.
Landing.
Patricia made her way to the ornamental tree she had scouted during the day and marked with arrows in the drawing she sent via eagle. She leaned against the tree trunk and felt around with her foot.
Thud. Her foot hit a muslin pouch. She opened it.
She applied sulfur, something water snakes hated, on her hair, shoulders, waist, and legs.
Using the main palace as a reference, she faced in the four o’clock direction, at a 120-degree angle. Her eyes focused on the northern watchtower.
Before long, she spotted a white eagle perched on the castle wall.
‘Bri.’
The white eagle took off from the wall, soaring into the sky and circling in wide loops.
Once, twice, three times.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Someone knocked on the castle gate. A soldier from the northern watchtower walked toward the gate.
Patricia swiftly ran down toward the moat and dove into the dark water.
She was confident in her diving and swimming skills. Even though it was early summer, the moat was connected to a valley fed by melting glaciers, making the water so cold it felt like her body was freezing.
Her teeth chattered uncontrollably.
“Who goes there?”
“I’m from the Hun tribe. I heard you were hiring laborers and came.”
“Why come so late at night?”
“I walked here, and before I knew it, night had fallen and I lost my way.”
Splash, splash.
Patricia crossed the moat and entered the thicket.
She eyed the spot beneath the yew tree where the white eagle had been perched. A rope hung down the castle wall.
Patricia tugged the rope. Once she confirmed it was secured, she quickly grabbed hold and climbed up the wall.
At the top, she looped the rope around an iron bar and tied it off, then used her feet against the wall to slide back down. At the end, she let go and jumped down.
For a moment, silence.
It was a windless, quiet night. Perfect.
“My lord. Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Let’s go, Eden.”
Patricia took the reins from Iden and climbed onto the black horse. As soon as the horse began to run, the white eagle that had been flying overhead descended and perched on her shoulder.
“Well done, Bri.”
Patricia turned her head and showered the white eagle’s yellow beak with bird kisses.
Eden, riding close beside her, leaned in and said,
“My lord, what about me? I did well too. Don’t I get anything?”
“You seem to be enjoying yourself, Sir Eden. And I’m not your lord. Your lord is Patrick.”
“Hahaha, congratulations on making it out safely.”
“Hurry.”
Two black warhorses sliced through the night air with fierce speed. Moonlight streamed down, brightly illuminating the path.
.
.
.
The early summer dawn breeze drifted in.
Birdsong, so lively it could be mistaken for a forest barracks at daybreak, filled the ears. Harzen opened his eyes, thinking the chirping was far too loud.
Light filtered in between the curtains, touching his forehead, temples, and eyes.
The ancient castle, steeped in centuries of tradition, had both its inner and outer walls built from rough-hewn stone.
Gaps between the stones were filled with small pebbles, which blocked out light and sound, and even in midsummer, the chill lingered. Every window in the castle had double curtains.
Yet here were light and birdsong passing through without filter.
Harzen sat up in bed.
He felt thirsty. Reaching for the nightstand, he picked up a glass of water and drank. When he turned and extended his arm again, his eyes widened.
“Princess?”
He rose instantly. The blanket was thrown off with a snap.
Empty.
The breeze from the open window made the curtains flutter.
At the base of the bedpost, only the shackle remained, tied to a cut piece of leather. He tugged on the limp rope.
“Your Majesty, good morning…”
The butler, entering to greet him, did not finish his sentence and instead went straight to the window. There, wedged between the iron and stone of the window, was a pair of scissors tied with a leather strap.
“Your Majesty! Could it be… the princess?”
“Bring Kalip.”
Harzen walked to the window and stood there. The morning sunlight lit the clean castle walls.
Two soldiers stationed on separate watchtowers scanned in opposite directions. The drawbridge was raised, and the moat’s water level was optimal. Poisonous water snakes had been released into the moat.
Even a strong knight would struggle to swim through it while avoiding venomous snakes.
She climbed that high wall?
Harzen couldn’t picture the princess scaling the steep castle wall.
Patricia.
He lifted his sharp eyes and clenched his teeth. A servant brought over a black robe and helped the emperor into it.
“Prepare the Khan.”
“Summon Rean and Bern.”
“Bring the two maids who were watching the princess yesterday.”
Grit.
Harzen, grinding his teeth and narrowing his gaze with a grimace, threw off the robe and quickly dressed.
He gave orders to Rean, who had rushed in and knelt.
“Investigate the guards and the area inside and outside the gates.”
“Bern, check the moat, the surrounding brush, and the castle wall. Find the escape route.”
“At once.”
The two maids from the Hun tribe bowed respectfully.
“The princess cut this rope and escaped through the window. Recount every action she took yesterday in detail.”
The two maids lay face down, recalling scattered memories.
“The princess sat at Your Majesty’s desk, reading books and drawing.”
“What did she draw?”
“The view outside. The tall castle wall, the moat, and trees, things like that.”
“And then?”
“She gave some chicken to a terrifyingly large eagle with a yellow beak.”
“…An eagle?”
“Yes. She asked us to call it, but no matter how we tried, we couldn’t make the right sound. Thinking back, it seems the eagle responded to the princess’s second whistle and flew to the window.”
Grit. Harzen’s sharp, narrow jaw twisted as he clenched his teeth.
“Also, well… she asked us to bring her some handiwork to do, so…”
One of the sharp maids recognized the scissors with the leather strap in the emperor’s hand as hers. She froze in shock, speechless, trembling violently with a pale face.
The other maid, who had her head bowed to the ground and hadn’t seen the scissors, spoke up cluelessly.
“She begged me to make pants for her, so I did. Then the princess put them on and danced so prettily.”
She even chuckled at the memory of the princess’s adorable behavior.
So she had an accomplice. A man, no doubt. That bastard who knew the princess’s secret, wasn’t he called the sub-commander? Issuing tactical orders through the eagle.
When he thought of this faceless, nameless sub-commander, a strange jealousy and fury surged, causing a thick vein to bulge in his neck.
Never in his life had he felt such intense anger. His veins swelled taut with rage.
Harzen glared at the scissors wrapped in leather and threw them to the floor with a violent motion.
Ha. She planned her escape route and danced for joy. So that kiss of mine… meant nothing to her. Just a passing breeze!
“This pisses me off.”
Over his black uniform, the emperor put on his battle suit and armor pauldrons.
He descended to the first floor.
Yesterday, when he had climbed these stairs, his chest had felt like it would burst with excitement.
He couldn’t wait to see the princess, to clear up the misunderstanding and bring up the kiss on the academy terrace. His heart had nearly exploded at the thought.
It hadn’t been a surprise kiss. She’d passed out, couldn’t breathe, and he gave her air, and she had clearly kissed him first.
Even then, he’d thought he needed to wash off the sweat from his body.
He had been swept away by indescribable feelings. She was the enemy general who had broken the peace treaty, a prisoner who should have been locked in the underground dungeon.
And yet… why did he feel this way? Strangely, he wanted to keep this prisoner close. He wanted to seize her at will.
At the bottom of the stairs, the butler stood in silence. Though he knew the emperor was in a foul mood, he bowed politely and said,
“Your Majesty, perhaps you should have at least a light meal…”
Without answering, Harzen shot him a cold glare and walked outside.
Kalip, who was saddling the warhorse, saw the emperor approaching with clenched teeth. The dawn light made the emperor’s face look even sharper, cold with fury, so chilling it made Kalip flinch. Even as a man, he couldn’t take his eyes off him.
Kalip knew this wasn’t the time, but still thought that his lord’s ruthless expression when angry was captivating, and suited him well.
As the emperor mounted the warhorse Khan, he said to Kalip.
“To the Red Forest. We’re heading to the Tane encampment.”
“The Red Forest…”
They must have already withdrawn. Kalip couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence.
“Let’s go catch her.”
