Chapter 2

The flames, which had soared as if to touch the sky, gradually began to die down. Finally, only black ashes remained where Sione had lain.

Daphne stood there for a long time. It was just as she was about to take Thisbene’s hand and leave.

『Daphne.』

Joffrey called out to her.

The ancestors of the Bellares people are traditionally known to have silver hair and purple eyes. Thanks to their beauty, resembling the Goddess Enna, the Bellares people have long been worshipped as descendants of the goddess. Especially the Thessalia royal family, who ruled them, were famous for their inhuman beauty and, to this day, still possessed pure silver hair and purple eyes.

And Joffrey was the most beautiful of the Thessalias.

『…Brother Joffrey.』

While the outside world was in ruins due to the long war, he, who saw, heard, ate, and wore only the best in the safest place, seemed to grow more beautiful with each passing day. His jewel-like purple eyes scanned Daphne.

『Your face looks a little pale. Come to think of it, you were particularly close to Sione.』

『Thank you for your concern, Brother.』

『Yes. But….』

『…….』

『Have you started your menses yet?』

Daphne unconsciously tightened her grip on Thisbene’s hand.

『I’m sorry.』

Joffrey sighed deeply.

『Why are you so late?』

『…….』

『You’ll be twenty this coming winter, won’t you? What in the world is the problem…?』

The Westel Continent, a land of abundance called “Eternal Spring”. And within it, Daphne Thessalia, the ninth princess of the Bellares Kingdom, the most powerful and advanced civilization. She was called half-formed.

Because she hadn’t started her menses yet.

According to the will of Enna, whom they worshipped, only women who had started their menses were recognized as true women in Bellares. In other words, Daphne, who hadn’t started her menses, couldn’t have her coming-of-age ceremony, and couldn’t get married.

With still no news of Daphne’s menses, Joffrey seemed to be getting anxious. Equilla would soon demand another princess.

Daphne soothed Joffrey in a calm voice.

『I think it will start soon. Don’t worry too much.』

Despite this, the slight furrow in Joffrey’s brow didn’t disappear. He soon patted Daphne’s shoulder a few times as if there was nothing he could do and passed by.

The corners of her lips, which had been curved upwards in a docile smile, fell, replaced by a chill.

Her marriage was continuously being postponed.

💎

『Daphne?』

Thisbene, suddenly awakened from sleep, clung to Daphne as she was about to leave her side.

『This.』

Thisbene, only thirteen years old, was naturally delicate and sickly, and recently, due to Sione’s death, she seemed even more anxious, unable to be alone for even a moment and constantly seeking Daphne. This was the reason Daphne hadn’t left Thisbene’s bedroom for the past few days.

『Are you going outside the castle? Take me with you.』

『Goodness, This. Lower your voice.』

Daphne quickly looked around. Fortunately, she didn’t sense anyone else’s presence.

Daphne whispered with a deliberately stern face.

『We said this was our secret.』

No one should know this secret.

『But outside the castle, there are barbarians.』

The Inacos Federation that invaded Bellares came from the Novas continent across the sea. The people of the Westel continent regarded them as barbarians and despised them.

『What if we run into them? I heard they don’t even speak the same language….』

Especially the Bellares people, who considered themselves descendants of the goddess, treated them like animals. Ten years ago, King Bation’s mocking and massacre of the envoy sent from Inacos was the beginning of this long war.

『…I’ve always come back safely.』

『But Daphne. If something happens to you too, I….』

Daphne said firmly.

『That won’t happen.』

『Can’t you just wait a little longer, or just today?』

Daphne held Thisbene’s shoulders and looked into her eyes.

Her purple eyes, the same color as her own, were shaking anxiously. Daphne’s heart ached.

『This. Why do I go outside the castle?』

『Because we need to get the herbs so we can stay together….』

『Yes. We need those herbs to delay my menses, and that’s how we can postpone the marriage… and avoid Equilla.』

Thisbene’s face crumpled. It seemed she was thinking of the deceased Sione. Daphne forced a smile and stroked Thisbene’s hair. However, unlike usual, Thisbene didn’t give up easily.

『B-But I really have a bad feeling today, Daphne. I’m not being childish, really….』

『I can’t postpone it any longer. You know that.』

Daphne hadn’t been able to obtain the herbs all winter. Spring, which they had been waiting for, had finally arrived. She had run out of the herbs long ago and was worried that her menses might suddenly start.

『It’s a little early, but you should start taking them too.』

She had to hurry to get enough for Thisbene as well. Daphne suddenly looked out the window. Thisbene’s gaze followed Daphne’s. It was still dark outside, but the sun would rise soon. There was no more time to waste.

Daphne tucked Thisbene’s hair behind her ear and whispered affectionately.

『Go back to sleep. I’ll be back before you wake up.』

Daphne, with her hood pulled low, walked through the darkness.

Despite the long time, her steps through the dark corridors were unhesitating. Walking through the palace unnoticed at night, when everyone was asleep, and hiding in the abandoned “Queen’s Bedroom” had become something she could do with her eyes closed.

Daphne was the daughter of King Bation’s third queen, making her and Joffrey, the son of the second queen, half-siblings. Daphne’s mother died of puerperal fever after giving birth to Thisbene. Since the fourth queen had also lost her life after two stillbirths, the young fifth queen, Callista, didn’t use the Queen’s Bedroom because it was considered unlucky.

The abandoned room, under the pretext of being at war, had been neglected for some time and looked like ruins.

And there was something that had been forgotten for even longer: the fact that an old secret passage was hidden behind the large fireplace. The passage led to the deep forest behind the castle, said to be owned by the Goddess Enna. Because it was a sacred place where even hunting was forbidden, enemy scouts rarely entered.

Even so, outside the castle was enemy territory. It was extremely dangerous for a Bellares princess to go outside the castle herself. But Daphne couldn’t stop going into the forest. Whether she was captured by the enemy or married off to Equilla, it felt no different to her.

『Daphne. Survive as long as you can. Longer than this city, if possible.』

Daphne, walking through the forest, suddenly stopped. Sione’s words had come to mind.

The secret passage, and the herbs that delayed menstruation. Sione had discovered all of this. Unfortunately, Sione had already started her menses.

『Sione….』

Her mood sank lower and lower. Sione was the strongest person Daphne knew. With her death, Daphne had lost her will.

Equilla would soon demand another princess. She thought that her father and Joffrey, driven into a corner, might ignore the temple’s rules and push for an exceptional marriage.

Even to Daphne, the war situation showed no signs of improvement. She didn’t know how much longer she could hold out with the excuse of not having started her menses. Although she tried not to show it in front of Thisbene, she was actually very anxious.

Having successfully snuck out of the castle and back, she had considered running away.

However, Daphne believed the forest was her limit. With a body intentionally raised to be frail, it would be difficult to escape this land. Beyond the forest were steep mountains, and if she wanted to avoid the mountains, there was the enemy-occupied territory. There was the option of using the sea route, but the waters off Bellares had been filled with enemy warships for ten years.

If she were alone, she might have attempted to escape recklessly without thinking twice. However, with Thisbene, even getting out of the forest would be difficult.

‘Even if we were lucky enough to escape this land, our conspicuous appearance would definitely be a problem…’

She couldn’t think positively at all. She lacked the will.

Daphne thought the only thing she could do was risk leaving the castle and chew on the herbs that ruined her body.