Chapter 243: A Subsurface War (20)

Romantica stood still in front of Desir, her face screwed up in concentration for a long time. Eventually, she opened her mouth, gripping her trembling hands together tightly.

“… I’ve been summoned to help Prillecha.”

One of the Shadow Worlds that appeared in Prillecha was a Level One Shadow World. A Shadow World strong enough to swallow up an entire kingdom. In fact, the last Level One Shadow World did exactly that. It swallowed up the kingdom known as the strongest of that era. No matter how advanced a country’s technology was, this Shadow World had a difficulty that demanded special care.

“Yes. I heard the news.”

Although the Avalon Army had been mobilized, Prillecha still suffered from insufficient man-power. They had no choice but to call on everyone they could. Prillecha was still a small country after all, and the power they could mobilize was limited.

“Really, I don’t know why so many incidents seem to happen in our country. Once again, my country is in danger of being wiped off the map.”

Romantica sighed.

“It makes people really tired. I’d like to emigrate if I could.”

“Are you going to leave for Prillecha?”

As Romantica pouted in annoyance, obviously attempting to lighten the mood, Desir pitched a straight ball. Romantica turned around to look Desir in the eye.

“You already knew what I was going to do.”

“Your face gives everything away.”

“How can you always read me so easily!? I look the same as I normally do.”

“You’re worried. I can tell because you have a habit of biting your lips whenever you’re worried about something.”

Desir really knew a lot about her. This was a habit even she had not recognized.

“Adjest and Pram will stay, won’t they?”

“Maybe they will. They’re from here after all.”

“I really envy them. I wish I could stay too.”

“When will we see each other again if I leave now?”

Romantica stopped talking and looked at Desir. The silence they held seemed to last forever.

Her lips were chapped.

She couldn’t find the words to say anything else.

“I understand, Romantica. You care about your hometown.”

Desir spoke up, thinking she was simply lost for words and drowning in her own sorrow.

The dazed Romantic stood still as a statue for another moment, before nodding and regaining some semblance of rationality.

“Well, that’s obvious. It’s where my family’s business is. Wouldn’t I have to protect it if I want to inherit it?”

Romantica smiled wistfully. She realized that Desir was simply respecting what he assumed she held dear to her.

After all, it was she who had to make the decision.

However, there was a feeling of squeezing out all other thoughts and sprouting in the mind.

Romantica laughed in an attempt to hide it.

For onlookers, things looked normal. They were laughing and chattering. For Romantica, this was anything but normal.

“I hope things work out well. Come back safely.”

“Thank you, Desir.”

This was the natural point in the conversation where they would part ways.

When she looked out the window, she saw the sun beginning its trajectory down through the sky. It had peaked and now all that remained was the inevitable nighttime.

It was noon.

Romantica leaped and embraced Desir in a bear hug.

“Romantica?”

Desir looked embarrassed but soon smiled slightly. As always, he was one that could be depended on. The rock of the Starling Party. He stroked her hair, eventually managing to calm his frightened party member down.

Romantica permitted him touching her hair. It didn’t matter if the hairstyle she worked so hard to maintain was ruined.

“Just because you’re leaving, don’t quit training.”

“Don’t beat around the bush, Desir.”

He had spoiled the moment. Romantica backed away in a huff.

“I’ll be back stronger than ever.”

‘I promised you I’d always be there to support you.’

Even if you don’t see me as a woman now, I hope you will look back on me fondly someday.

* * *

Shortly after Romantica left, Desir contacted the Side Guard.

[-That’s a very helpful piece of information, Mr. Desir.]

These were the first words Alfred uttered after hearing Desir out. He was the head of the Side Guard, a group formed to support the Royal Guard, and an important figure close to the Emperor.

Through Alfred, Desir told the Emperor that the outbreak of Shadow Worlds was linked to Skull Mask and what he felt the best move would be to resolve the situation.

“This is the greatest threat to the Empire. We should focus on finding more detailed information by deepening our understanding of the tower. We’d better prepare the relevant measures.”

“We also need to find out about Divide’s troop formation and strength. We could even up in an all-out war with them. Especially, I want you to find out what you can about the current leader of the Janissaries.”

“I will convey Mr. Desir’s opinion. Oh, by the way, would you please hold for a moment?”

Alfred stopped Desir before he had a chance to cut off communication.

“Desir Arman. I’m sorry to say this now, but I have orders from the Emperor.”

“What’s that?”

“… I have a few things to tell you before that. The Imperial Family had a request for one of the Starling Party members. If necessary, unlimited aid will be given to the rest of the party members remaining, including those who have left.”

This was unusual. The large compensation meant that the request was also difficult.

“… I have a lot of work to do. I hope the request doesn’t take long.”

“Well, it won’t… take long.”

He tapped his desk nervously.

“Mr. Desir, one of your party members, Adjest Kingscrown, is the legitimate heir to the House of Rogfelas.”

He had already heard this from the Adjest and knew it was a fact.

“And when the decision was made to temporarily close the Hebrion Academy, the Alpha Class that the Princess was required to take was in effect, canceled.”

“I mean, again, the Imperial Family will make up for the loss of man-power, and she’s just going back where she belongs. So please don’t be offended… ”

“What’s the point of doing this?”

Alfred sighed before opening his mouth again.

“The princess will be summoned to the Palace. However, the Emperor seems to have decided that if she has any lingering attachment to the Starling Party, it will only serve as a distraction. Mr. Desir, will you persuade her directly to return to the Palace so that she will no longer have any regrets about the party?”

* * *

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The carriage, without stopping, clattered along the uneven cobblestones on the street.

It was not difficult to guess the destination. On the doors and ceiling of the carriage was a picture of the golden lion symbolizing the Imperial Family.

Through the half-open curtains, she could see the Imperial Palace gradually getting closer. The fact that it would happen like this was something she had expected from the start. As for the reason, however, Adjest had no idea how this came to pass.

Was it because she revealed her identity to Desir? Maybe it was because her father thought the situation had become dangerous? These Shadow Worlds were unexpected after all.

Adjest looked up at the ceiling blankly. Either way, the ending she was going to face was simple.

Parting.

It was a very unfamiliar word. Adjest didn’t want to experience such a thing.

So, when she first arrived at the Hebrion Academy, ending up in the Alpha Class for nobles, she did not open up her heart to anyone.

She was surrounded by people, but utterly alone.

She had lived a life without color, utterly dedicated to being strong. She thought such a life would be the best for her.

However, Desir was the turning point for her. Many things changed right after she met him.

‘Many things?’

No, it was everything.

Even Swan managed to pick up on how much she had changed.

Adjest lowered her gaze. Desir was looking out the window with his chin resting in his hand. The desolate appearance of the capital with no one present on what used to be bustling streets passed unceasingly by her glazed over eyes.

Coincidentally, Desir was the one to lead her to the Palace.

It was her father’s decision.

Cruel but reasonable.

Perhaps her father wanted her to express her intention to leave the party in his audience. He might want to see her properly break off all connection to her academy life.

‘When was the last time I talked to Desir? It feels like ages ago, but it has been less than a day.’

A visit to the hospital to see Swan was the beginning of the end.

Adjest was put on the spot. She never had the intention of making up a story. This was something she wanted Desir to know.

Ever since Adjest informed him that she was a Princess, they had not talked since. Their relationship was now awkward. They couldn’t find a single thing to talk about.

She could understand that. The title of Princess was by no means light. She deliberately didn’t say anything about it earlier knowing this.

“Desir.”

The first to open their mouth was Adjest. She had spent the entire carriage ride gathering her courage.

Desir, who had been staring outside the entire time, turned his head and stared at Adjest.

Their eyes met for the first time.

But that was all. He simply looked at her.

The strange silence made Adjest feel a tingling sensation in her heart.

“… Are you angry?”

Adjest opened her mouth with difficulty. Desir did not reply.

‘Doesn’t he understand? The end of the Alpha Class meant that she was no longer a student, but a successor, heir to the throne of the Hebrion Empire.’

It was not something she could abandon for the sake of clearing Shadow Worlds. This was the last time they would sit together as party leader and party member.

Even though she could meet Desir, a member of the Royal Guard, whenever she wanted, when that time came, it would not be as Adjest Kingscrown, but Adjest Zedgar F Rogfelas.

“… I don’t want this.”

She did not want things to happen this way. She didn’t want to go back to the desolate past where she had no ties and had never met Desir. She couldn’t imagine spending the rest of her days like this to the end.

“Please say something… ”

“There is no particular reason for me to be angry with you, Royal Princess.”

Royal Princess.

As soon as she heard it, Adjest felt something that had kept her sane this long suddenly snap.

She felt her heart ache.

“Desir.”

It shouldn’t end like this. It was a relationship that couldn’t end like this.

“Your Majesty has made a great decision. It’s just a wise move to ensure that the successor is no longer in danger.”

[-There’s audio surveillance magic in the carriage.]

On the ceiling.

Blue mana seemed to gather and form letters, soon disappearing without a trace.

Desir nodded so that only Adjest could feel it.

For a moment, the sad feeling had lifted slightly. Her mind cleared up.

Her tone slightly uneven, she replied.

“You think so… ?”

She tried to imitate the method Desir had used.

She tried to gather and concentrate her mana, calculating how to move it to form the letters she so desperately desired to share.

It wasn’t easy, but her will to talk was much stronger.

[-How come?]

Barely after forming, her letters fell apart.

In quick fashion, blue mana converged into letters once again.

[-I’ve been ordered to make sure you don’t have any lingering attachment for the Starling Party. They want to know if this request is going well.]

Adjest’s prediction was right. But that wasn’t what mattered.

[-Desir, I never meant to deceive you. I just… ]

“Well, it’s over anyway.”

Desir spoke, but his words were false. Letters appeared on the ceiling.

[-I know.]

“The only thing that matters is the fact that you’re a Princess.”

Desir continued to peddle mistruths while the letters of his true thoughts continued to appear on the ceiling.

[-It doesn’t matter that you’re a Princess. You’re just you. Rogfelas or not, you’ve always been Adjest. That doesn’t change. That’s the conclusion I’ve reached.]

[-Why? How?]

On the contrary, it had now become a situation where Adjest could not help but question him.

[-Because I’m just like you.]

Their eyes crossed.

[-I think everyone has something they want to hide. I have something I must hide from you too. I haven’t revealed it yet, but you shared your secret. You trust me, so I also trust you.]

This would be the secret of Desir’s identity.

Desir had never shared a single bit of his past with her, or anyone else for that matter.

[-But you… showed no reaction.]

[-I didn’t care.]

This was not just an excuse.

[-I’ve always been like this. I recognized you as a colleague, as a powerful comrade, and I was focused entirely on our future.]

He was always thinking about the future.

Like a carriage moving forward, looking only at its destination.

Without rest, without end.

Moving with a singular purpose.

It probably had something to do with his past. Adjest could only make such a dim guess.

[-I rather respect you.]

‘He didn’t feel bad.’

It was by no means easy to bring up a secret that had been hidden for so long. She was afraid that the truth would change the relationship.

This was the thing that Adjest feared the most.

‘I was such a fool.’

There was no way Desir would act like that.

She felt happy.

Her eyes shook and turned red.

[-When we meet again, I’ll tell you my story then, Adjest.]

The years she spent with him passed before her eyes. Mana concentrated on the ceiling several more times, dispersing and reforming.

The carriage came to a stop.

Before she knew it, she had arrived at the Palace.

“… … … ”

Mana rained down inside the carriage like snow.

Adjest put her hand to her hair.

The sharp ice that formed cut off a lock of the silvery hair.

[-I’ll be back as Adjest Kingscrown.]

As a token of her declaration, Adjest handed it to Des1r.

—-