Chapter 4

“I’m not so desperate for a wife that I need to take a woman from a fallen, defeated nation into my household.”

“Hmph! He doesn’t even want the position, and what merit does Stein have to claim the princess when they sent only a single commander and never showed their faces in the suppression at all?”

“Stein entrusted every authority to Duke Rübenhart. And since he is neither a member of any royal house nor a man driven by ambition or greed, entrusting him with the princess would create no political entanglements.”

Fearing that the advantages of Velasque might slip entirely from their grasp, the kings and presiding officials fell into a heated, anxious dispute.

It was a unilateral decision, made without the thought of asking Adeline herself what she wished. As she stood in silence, her gaze drifted briefly toward the man at the center of it all. Their eyes met, his expression one of being bored to death, as though this entire spectacle were a tedious inconvenience.

The moment stretched, taut and wordless, until Adeline was the first to look away.

At last, seeing that the endless debate showed no sign of resolving itself, the Chief Justice firmly intervened.

“Duke Rübenhart is the most fitting candidate for regent. He subdued Velasque’s rebels and invading forces in a single campaign, and he understands the situation in Velasque better than any other. As Rübenhart territory borders Velasque, oversight and administration would present no difficulty. And as he isn’t of any royal line, there would be no disputes over vested interests. Therefore, we urge the Duke of Rübenhart to reconsider.”

“Ha…”

The man, who had been listening to the chair’s speech with visible boredom, let out a sigh. Leon lowered his gaze, his expression one of clear displeasure, as though the entire matter were a nuisance forced upon him.

“Do as you please.”

That was all he said.

It was the tone of a man accepting something only because he had no alternative. As his hand passed idly through his hair, his sleek black strands shifted.

“A noble princess warming the bed of a man like me? Now I might even find that intriguing.”

Leon, who had watched the woman flinch despite her seemingly detached composure, stood up nonchalantly.

And with that, the trial that had dragged on in stagnation for the past year finally drew to its close.

︵‿୨ ₊‧꒰ა ཐི༏ཋྀ ໒꒱ ˚₊ ୧‿︵

No sooner had Adeline stepped into her chambers than her maids, who had been huddled together in visible distress, rushed toward her in hushed, urgent voices.

“Your Highness, you must run!”

“…What?”

Adeline’s face hardened at the sudden plea.

“How can the princess, the last royal heir of Velasque, be expected to endure the humiliation of marrying some mere commander who isn’t even of noble blood?”

“But if I run away now, what happens after?”

The final verdict had been delivered only moments ago. Marriage, an outcome that could almost be called lenient, considering what might have awaited her. But if she were to flee at this moment, all of it would crumble, and the decision could easily be overturned into a sentence of death.

Just then, the maid Camilla seized both of her hands.

“He’s the Supreme Commander who destroyed Velasque and burned the royal palace to ashes! Your Highness is of royal blood. How can you endure the degradation of endure the disgrace of serving as the bed-partner of a heartless beast of a man, one without pity or a single drop of compassion?”

At the maid’s blunt, almost crude phrasing, Adeline’s brows tightened.

The memory of the man who had stared at her so intently moments earlier and the final words he had spoken in the courtroom surfaced unbidden, sending a ripple of unease through her chest.

“We’ve already bribed the gatekeeper at the rear entrance. Everything is arranged. No one will discover it. And because of their precious pride, those lofty men won’t dare threaten Velasque just because one princess slipped from their grasp.”

As Adeline’s hesitation stretched on, the maids, holding out a simple dress of the sort only commoners would wear, pressed it into her arms and gently pushed at her back, urging her toward escape.

“There’s no time, so please go quickly. Don’t think about anything else.”

“But…”

“Hurry. We’ll make up excuses. You needn’t worry.”

Pressed on all sides by her maids, who insisted she must leave immediately, Adeline clutched the worn dress in her hands.

“…Very well.”

︵‿୨ ₊‧꒰ა ཐི༏ཋྀ ໒꒱ ˚₊ ୧‿︵

“Haa… haah…”

Her breath pushed painfully against her throat. Her heartbeat pounded so fiercely it seemed to echo inside her ears.

Though she had ultimately fled, urged on by her maids, she knew she had no confidence she could endure the humiliation of being handed into the arms of the man who had brought her nation to ruin.

Running through harsh mountain paths wasn’t difficult for Adeline.

Gripping the jagged crevices between the rocks as she climbed, Adeline suddenly emerged into a wash of faint light. Far behind her, scattered like red stars against the darkness, torches flickered in restless motion.

Woof! Woof!

The sharp barking of hunting hounds tore through the night and struck her ears like a blow.

They had found me.

Realizing they had already released the dogs, Adeline hastily stripped off her outer cloak and stuffed it deep into a thicket hidden by shadow.

It would buy her at least a little time.

She was just about to reorient herself by the stars overhead when a rustling sound shivered through the brush behind her. In the next instant, a dark shape burst forth, hurtling toward her with terrifying speed.

“Ngh…!”

She tried to twist away from the charging hound, but her foot caught on the uneven ground and she fell hard. Her body skidded across the damp carpet of fallen leaves, and before she could gather herself, the hunting dog lunged on top of her.

Just before the hound’s sharp teeth could clamp onto Adeline’s throat—

Crack!

A burst of light, and a gunshot so loud it seemed to tear the night wide open.

The charging hound collapsed with a heavy thud, its body going limp as crimson spread slowly across the dark earth. At that moment, the clouds overhead drifted apart, allowing a thin wash of moonlight to fall upon the forest path. In that pale glow, the silhouette of the man holding the smoking gun gradually emerged.

She drew in a sharp breath.

It was Duke Leon von Rübenhart.

Under the cold wash of moonlight, his gaze alternated between the fallen hunting dog and Adeline, who lay gasping on the ground.

The man’s well-defined lips curved into a loose, scornful smirk.

“Well, now. It seems the woman I agreed to take as my wife isn’t a princess at all, but a petty thief?”