Chapter 14 - Marquis Rodney of Bly Heads to Coenna
[Marquis Rodney of Bly's POV]
After sending Hugo out to search for her, I secretly met with Oswald, the prime minister.
We met in a small reception room in my estate.
After dismissing the servants, I waited for the door to close before turning my gaze to the man sitting across from me.
The dark circles beneath the prime minister's eyes were more pronounced than before.
"How are things?"
"Not well."
His answer was brief.
"Just coordinating between the military and the cabinet takes up the entire day. And yet, by the next morning, another problem arrives. There are even matters where I don't know whom to ask for advice."
"She was the one who took care of all that."
"...Yes."
Oswald lowered his gaze to the untouched tea before him.
People easily overlook work that someone else has already taken care of.
Once they grow accustomed to everything being taken care of, they even forget that someone had to do the work in the first place.
That was exactly what we had done.
"Rodney. Once you find her, I want you to establish friendly relations with her first."
"With Princess Eliana?"
"Yes. We need to rebuild a relationship in which she is willing to hear us out."
Return for the sake of the kingdom.
Lend us your strength for the sake of the royal family.
Coming from us now, how hollow would those words sound?
"I'll find out what she wants. That comes first."
"I understand."
"Even if she refuses, I won't give you a report that conveniently paints things in our favor."
"I understand that as well."
I studied the prime minister's face for a while.
Eventually, I nodded slowly.
"Then I'll go and meet her myself."
"I'm counting on you. Don't let His Majesty hear about this just yet."
"Make sure no one else interferes."
"I'll do everything I can."
Nothing was put in writing.
To restore friendly relations with Princess Eliana.
I would take action to make that happen.
That was the secret pact the prime minister and I made between us.
◇◆◇
But the report we were waiting for—the most important one of all—never came.
Not the next day, nor the day after that.
Hugo was a cautious man.
He would never return with nothing but rumors without first making sure he had found the right person.
I knew that.
I knew it, and yet every time I looked at the reports arriving from the royal capital on my desk, I grew more restless.
What had stalled this time?
Whose orders were conflicting with whose?
And by when was a decision required?
"Don't assume I know the answer to everything just because you ask me..."
I muttered to myself and raised my cup to my lips.
The liquor dwindled.
The report never came.
It was only when darkness had fallen outside and wax had begun to drip down the candleholders that I finally heard footsteps in the corridor.
"My Lord, Sir Hugo has returned."
"Send him in."
The few seconds it took for the door to open seemed strangely long.
Dust from the road clung to Hugo's cloak as he entered.
"I have returned, My Lord."
"Is she safe?"
The words came out before I could even offer a proper greeting.
Hugo answered without hesitation.
"Yes. Lady Eliana is safe and well."
I set down my cup.
It landed with a louder clink than I had intended.
"Where is she?"
"In the port town of Coenna."
"...Coenna?"
I found myself asking again in disbelief.
It was only a few days away on foot, even without a horse.
She had been so close all this time?
"She is living at an inn called Seabreeze Inn."
"Living at an inn? Does she have enough money to support herself?"
"She is working and receiving wages."
"Working?"
Hugo paused for a moment.
"She carries meals, helps out around the establishment, and apparently serves as a bodyguard as well."
I looked at the documents on my desk.
The meticulous corrections she had once made to a military deployment proposal.
The confident handwriting that had pointed out inconsistencies in the budget figures.
And now, she was carrying plates in a tavern.
"Isn't she struggling to get by?"
"When I saw her, she was teaching children how to use swords. They all seemed very fond of Lady Eliana."
Hugo continued in a quiet voice.
"She was smiling and laughing quite often."
I fell silent.
How had she smiled back at the royal palace?
I tried to remember, but no image immediately came to mind.
"...I see."
It took me a while to find the words.
"What about the meeting?"
"She said she would hear us out, provided we agree to her conditions."
I straightened in my chair.
The conditions Hugo relayed were clear.
Our meeting must not be taken as her agreeing to return to the royal palace.
Her former status must not be revealed to the townspeople.
I must not bring an ostentatious entourage or have anyone investigate the area.
The meeting must take place in Coenna.
"She also requested that the meeting take place after the lunch service ends."
"Service?"
"She has work to do."
I pressed a hand to my forehead.
At the royal palace, we had taken up her time as though we were entitled to it.
Now, we were the ones who had to accommodate her schedule if we wished to meet.
"Understood. I accept all of her conditions."
"Very well. I'll inform her accordingly."
"Yes. You have my word."
Hugo bowed his head.
"Additionally, Lord Severan is also staying at Seabreeze Inn."
"The Hero?"
"Yes. He was with Lady Eliana."
I leaned back against my chair.
Coenna.
Severan.
I connected the place name and the person's name in my mind once more.
"...I see. That was his territory."
◇◆◇
"Prepare a bath for me."
After hearing the report to the end, I rose to my feet.
This was no time to keep drinking.
I soaked in the bath and washed my face.
I left my wet hand resting against my forehead for a while.
She was safe.
She was eating, working, and teaching children how to wield swords.
A knight named Luca was also by her side.
And even Count Severan, the Hero, was there.
Once I found her, I had thought I would need to protect her first and foremost.
I realized that, somewhere along the way, I had come to think that way.
Water trickled between my fingers as I scooped it up.
But she had already carved out a place for herself in the world.
The next morning, with a clear head after the alcohol had worn off, I had the storeroom opened.
A small goldwork jewelry box.
A pearl necklace.
A gemstone-encrusted bracelet.
Fine silk, along with gold and silver coins.
I began selecting suitable gifts from among my possessions.
"...I wonder what sort of things she likes."
When I asked Hugo, who was standing beside me, he looked a little troubled.
"I'm afraid I didn't learn that much."
"I thought not."
We had both spent years moving in and out of the same royal palace.
I had thought I knew her abilities and how she worked.
And yet, I couldn't think of a single gift that might make her happy.
In the end, I had several items individually wrapped in cloth and placed in a small box.
Whether she would accept them was something I would have to find out when we met.
"Prepare the carriage."
As I gave the order, I looked out the window.
Perhaps I should simply ride there alone.
I wanted to see her as soon as possible, look her in the face, and speak with her.
However, the gift boxes were lined up at my feet.
A Marquis riding on horseback while clutching all these boxes would surely attract some curious looks along the way.
"...A carriage it is, then."
"I believe that would be best, my lord."
There was a slight note of relief in Hugo's reply.
◇◆◇
Hugo and I rode in the carriage, accompanied by only a minimal retinue.
The wheels left the cobblestones behind and rolled onto the dirt road.
Through the window, the buildings of the royal capital gradually receded into the distance.
It would take several days to reach Coenna.
The gift boxes were stacked beside the seat opposite mine.
"The Hero, whose power rivals that of ten thousand soldiers, and his territory..."
At my muttered words, Hugo looked up.
A man who had broken through ten thousand demons guarding the Demon King and slain the Demon King himself.
And now, Princess Eliana was living alongside that very man.
Even if I sent my own private troops, they would be beaten back.
The king's own soldiers would fare no better.
The idea that I could line up soldiers, thrust an order before her, and force her to comply...
...would never work in that town.
Threats would be useless.
All I could do was speak to her with complete sincerity.
I clasped my hands together on my lap.
Perhaps we should have simply confined the king to his chambers.
We could rewrite the royal succession laws and allow women to inherit the throne.
We could welcome the woman who had supported the kingdom as Prince Elias onto the throne as Queen Eliana.
At the very least, she would make a better ruler than the current King—
I stopped there and turned my gaze out the window.
This was not part of the agreement I had made with the prime minister.
It was my own personal resolve.
If she asked it of me, I was prepared to go that far.
There was no point in obsessing over preserving my title and keeping the king in a good mood if we ended up losing the kingdom itself.
There was just one thing.
"She requested that the meeting take place after the lunch service ends."
The words Hugo had relayed came back to me.
I still had no idea what she wanted now.
If I offered her a throne, she would be pleased.
If I showered her with treasures, she would be swayed.
If I approached her with such assumptions, I would only make another mistake.
"My Lord?"
"It’s nothing."
I shook my head.
"I must meet her and ask her myself."
"Yes, My Lord."
Hugo said nothing more.
The carriage rolled onward.
But no matter how impatient I became, the road would not grow any shorter.
Before long, the shadows across the fields grew longer, and the edge of the sky began to turn red.
The sun set all the same, indifferent to my impatience.
"Shall we spend the night at the next post town, my lord?"
"Yes. We shall."
The horses and the coachman needed their rest, too.
By the time we entered the post town, lights were glowing in the windows of the houses.
As I stepped down from the carriage, the smell of supper cooking filled the air.
Hugo went to arrange our lodging.
I rubbed my stiff knees and gazed into the distance, toward the road that stretched onward.
Was Princess Eliana carrying meals to customers at this very moment, too?
I still couldn't quite picture her that way.
We would continue by carriage tomorrow.
Tonight, we would rest here in the post town.
The innkeeper showed me to my room, where I would spend this one night of my journey.
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