CH 124

Subjugation and Rakain (15)

At that moment, they felt that something was flying over the top of their heads—kee-e-eek! And eventually, a shadow was cast.

It was such a huge shadow that it had covered all of the punitive forces, including Kergel himself.

He looked up at the sky. Another form of monster was flying towards Kergel with its large wings all spread out. It was a monster that seemed to have the fangs of a serpent, the forefeet of a lion and the wings of an eagle all at once.

And the ground began to tremble. It was a vibration that started from the far side of the forest.

“They must be coming here at once, Your Majesty.”

“Well, thank you. For not making me go around looking for you instead. I was worried that I would have to be looking for one by one like I did a while ago.”

After smiling, Kergel looked up at the sky leisurely and opened his mouth towards Gilov.

“You take care of those on the ground.”

“Leave it to me!”

Gilov hit his fist on his chest and shouted confidently.

* * *

People referred home as where they were born and raised. And when they talked about their hometown, they would always attach the idea of longing towards it.

Roelin recalled an essay about ‘Hometown’, which she had read when she was in the Separate Palace back in Rakain.

Was it an essay that had been left by a famous aristocrat?

But at that time, she couldn’t relate to the essay at all. And it wasn’t because Roelin had lacked sensitivity.

It was because she couldn’t understand how much they had missed their own hometown.

A place where one grew up in.

If she had to call it her hometown, her hometown would be called the ‘Separate Palace’ in a narrow definition and ‘Rakain’ for the broad one.

Missing the Separate Palace?

Longing for Rakain?

No matter how much she tried to imagine, she just couldn’t picture the feeling with her poor imagination. It was absolutely impossible for her to miss the place where she had always wanted to escape from.

Wouldn’t it be just as hard as finding someone who truly missed prison?

‘……but I thought that maybe something would feel a little different.’

After getting out of the carriage under the escort of the Duke of Bönt, Roelin looked around and smiled bitterly.

What did she even expect?

What kind of misunderstanding did she have?

Maybe she thought that she would miss it even a little bit. But no, it wasn’t like that at all. After going to Seroif, the Kingdom of Rakain had already been erased from her mind.

Of course, very occasionally did she dream of her life back in Rakain or unintentionally recalled it as a mere memory. Still, it was just a past that she wanted to forget.

‘But I can’t believe that I didn’t feel anything at all.’

What could she say? Should she actually like it?

As if she had visited a strange country, she didn’t really feel anything. She couldn’t even feel the excitement of visiting another country, so she might have to say that it was even less than that.

A place where one grew up in.

Hometown.

‘……I’d rather call Seroif as my hometown.’

Roelin already missed Seroif as she started smiling unconsciously.

Maybe because that had been where he was.

‘By the way… is everything alright with Kergel? I couldn’t tell him, so he might be very surprised after hearing the news. He might even get angry.’

Roelin continued to think about Kergel and soon shook her head. No, she thought that he wouldn’t get mad at her no matter what.

Wouldn’t he just feel anxious and worried while waiting until she finally returned?

‘Come to think of it, Lord Bashel said that once he heard this news, Kergel would definitely insist on following me.’

She didn’t even have a chance to check on how he would truly react. Since she couldn’t go to where Kergel was in the first place.

‘If he’d come with me……’

Roelin thought about it casually and shook her head once again. It was a weak idea. Besides, she didn’t wish to come here with him.

Where all her nightmares were.

Where she had been treated as an abandoned fake Princess.

She didn’t want to show him the presence of herself in such a place.

‘I just need to meet her and leave right away. In the meantime, Kergel will be returning to the Palace right after the subjugation.’

Then, she would return into his arms and do nothing before taking a good rest.

She would hold him tight so that he couldn’t even go to the office and she’d pretend to be a naughty woman instead.

With such a wild thought, Roelin loosened the strength that was accumulated in her body. It was a ridiculous idea, but thanks to that, her stiff body gradually relaxed.

She naturally straightened her back and looked forward proudly. On the other side, she could see what appeared to be the Knights of the Kingdom of Rakain were approaching. And the man who was at the forefront had been a tight-knit man too.

She knew full well that she shouldn’t judge people only by their appearance, but somehow, she felt rejected. Roelin narrowed her brows and clenched her lips in response.

At that moment, the Duke of Bönt approached before he spoke out loudly.

“Stop right there! We can’t allow you to approach any closer until we know who you truly are!”

At the words of the Duke of Bönt, Roelin opened her eyes wide and looked back at him. It was because she heard of something very unexpected.

Within the territory of the Kingdom of Rakain, that was not the statement to be said against those who appeared to be the Knights of the Kingdom.