Chapter 12
“Bellares’.”
“…The Princess of Bellares?”
Johannes kindly added an explanation, but Günter was even more confused. He couldn’t fathom why his lord was suddenly looking for the Princess of Bellares. As Günter tilted his head to the side without realizing it, Johannes abruptly asked,
“Yes. Is she perhaps a halfwit because she’s lacking something?”
“…….”
Günter narrowed his eyes and examined Johannes’s face closely. Judging by his serious and grave expression, it didn’t seem like a joke. Though bewildered, Günter faithfully searched his memory to answer his lord’s question.
“If you mean a halfwit… is it Daphne of Thessalia?”
A rumor had quietly spread across the Westel continent that Daphne, the ninth princess of Bellares, was a halfwit. There were so many different rumors surrounding the Thessalia royal family that it was uncertain, though.
“I don’t know for sure. But there’s a rumor she hasn’t had her coming-of-age ceremony yet.”
“She hasn’t had her coming-of-age ceremony?”
“Simply put, they say she’s a halfwit because she’s unmarriageable.”
Johannes muttered, looking momentarily perplexed.
“Didn’t Equilla go into battle to win her hand?”
“Even a halfwit is still a Thessalia.”
Günter replied in a rather clear tone.
The people of the Westel continent tended to blindly worship Bellares and the Thessalia royal family. Thinking of their appearance, it was understandable. In fact, fights over Bellares captives were common within the Inacos Allied Forces.
Those who crossed the ocean abhorred silver hair and purple eyes, yet, like the first time they reached out to Bellares, they still admired them deep down.
They had that kind of appearance.
Günter, who had recently seen the Thessalians from afar atop the watchtower, came to his senses after a few moments.
“…That’s not the point. So, why the Princess of Bellares all of a sudden?”
And Johannes frowned involuntarily. Lately, he’d been having quite a few perplexing days. This was due to the face that had smiled at him so excitedly from the watchtower, a face that kept popping into his head at the most inopportune moments.
The ninth Princess of Bellares.
The daughter of ‘Bation’.
The halfwit who hadn’t yet had her coming-of-age ceremony.
The crazy woman who fearlessly ventured outside the castle walls.
The possibly deficient princess who couldn’t distinguish between enemy and ally.
The enemy princess who smiled at him as if he were one of her own, the moment their eyes met, was a shock. The woman was undeniably beautiful and thus, all the more unpleasant. The fact that her smiling face kept coming to mind must have been the reason for his annoyance.
Johannes was convinced that was all there was to it.
‘…With my return imminent, what bad luck.’
Should he perhaps offer a lamb at Kona’s altar?
Even at that moment, his gaze inadvertently drifted toward Enna’s forest, which stretched behind the castle.
💎
A 13-day truce was declared to commemorate Equilla.
Daphne, wearing a black veil, stood before the altar where Equilla’s body lay, as his deceased fiancée. She held an olive branch and a single white flower in her hand. The moment she bent down to place the branch and flower, Daphne couldn’t help but let out a burst of laughter.
『Ha.』
No one would have thought that sound, resembling a sob, was laughter.
It’s a good thing she was wearing a veil. Daphne firmly pulled down the corners of her mouth, which kept turning upwards. The Razan warriors guarding the chieftain’s body watched her and whispered amongst themselves. But Daphne didn’t care.
After the duel, Razan insisted that since Equilla had gone forth as the warrior of the oracle, Bellares should hand over the princess as promised. Joffrey, enraged by Equilla’s defeat, roared that he could not give up the princess.
The Razan warriors were indignant but chose to retreat for now. Electing a new chieftain as quickly as possible was their utmost priority. However, they left Bation and Joffrey with words that sounded like a warning.
『When a new Equilla is chosen, we will return to take the bride. If you go back on your word again then, there will be no more help from us.』
All Joffrey could do at those words was fly into a rage. Bellares’ authority had plummeted over the past ten years. They were no longer in a position to reign over Razan.
Whether Joffrey raged or not, as soon as they returned to Razan lands, a great bloodbath would begin to select the new Equilla, and within two months at the earliest, the new Equilla would visit Bellares to take his bride.
‘…In any case, I’ve been given about two months.’
It was definitely an opportunity she thought she’d never have again. She wouldn’t foolishly miss this chance like last time. Daphne, having made this resolution in her heart, straightened up and suddenly looked around.
『…….』
The area around the altar was packed with people who had flocked to either mourn the warrior of the oracle or to see a Thessalia. The gazes directed at the Thessalia were definitely different from before. Eyes filled with distrust and resentment. Public sentiment was unfavorable due to the defeat.
Enna had abandoned Bellares, abandoned the Thessalia.
Joffrey tried to avoid responsibility by claiming that the foolish Razan, by coveting a princess before her time of menstruation, had disobeyed Enna’s will and received punishment. But such words couldn’t dispel the widespread fear and anxiety.
Bellares’ situation seemed to be the worst it had been since the war began.
While everyone else was so serious, Daphne felt strangely elated. It wasn’t just because she had bought some time. She thought of Johannes all day. To be precise, she replayed the moment he stabbed the enemy who had killed her sisters and cut off his head in one swift motion. Whenever she did, the joy and excitement she had felt on the watchtower subtly revived, making it difficult for her to stay still.
Daphne, who had gone to bed earlier than usual, finally sat up and recalled Johannes wielding his sword. The power of the sword, which seemed a little shorter than her arm, was tremendous. Johannes wielded it with such ease….
‘…Maybe I could wield it too.’
Daphne even got out of bed and looked for her dagger. But strangely, the dagger was nowhere to be seen.
『Ah. Back then, in the forest….』
Only then did she realize that Johannes had snatched the dagger away in the forest and thrown it far away, and that she hadn’t retrieved it in her haste to return to the castle.
『How could I completely forget….』
The old dagger was the only thing Sione had left her. She suddenly felt anxious at the thought of losing it.
However, less than a month had passed since she had encountered the enemy commander, Johannes Tennan, in the forest. It had been an incredible stroke of luck that she was able to return safely, and the wisest course of action would be to stay out of the forest. At least for the time being.
Daphne knew this better than anyone. Nevertheless, her gaze kept drifting, without her realizing it, beyond the window, toward the dark forest hidden behind the fortress.
And a few days later, Daphne finally left the castle for the first time in a while. Somewhat impulsively, harboring a certain anticipation.
The forest was as it always was. Silent as if not a single small creature existed.
Daphne began searching near the lakeshore where she had struggled with Johannes. Since she had been out of her mind at the time, her memory wasn’t clear. She lowered her body and slowly felt her way through the grass, while occasionally raising her head and looking around, just in case.
『…….』
She still couldn’t sense any presence. It felt like she was truly alone in the forest. And Daphne found herself feeling disappointed by this fact.
Sione’s dagger was undoubtedly precious. However, it was certainly foolish of her to leave the castle to retrieve it. Daphne knew this, yet she went into the forest.
It was simply because she wanted to see Johannes Tennan again. The reason was difficult to articulate clearly, but it was as strong a desire as finding the dagger. That much was certain. Having easily convinced herself, Daphne diligently moved her hands to find the dagger again.
She hadn’t forgotten that he was an enemy commander. While her eyes searched for him, she instinctively cowered like a small animal wary of a predator. She hadn’t thought deeply about what would happen after she encountered him. Leaving the castle so abruptly today was that impulsive.
Just then, something hard and cold, something metallic, caught on her fingertip. Daphne paused and looked down.
justnoze
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