WDWAE 04

 Chapter 04

Arsak turned her horse around and returned to the ranks of the tribespeople. Looking at the people who held their bows ready to ride at any moment, Arsak forced open her heavy lips that would not part.

“Lower your bows and fall back.”

“What? Lower our bows—what do you mean?”

“Fall back! If we fight like this, the tribe will be annihilated. Do you want everyone to die?”

“I’d rather die!”

Tiriya shouted sharply. But Arsak looked at her with sternly reproachful eyes.

“What they want is just me. Even if we fight like this, they will never kill me. I cannot sacrifice everyone for my sake alone, Tiriya.”

“Arsak! That’s nonsense! They betrayed us! Because of them, everything……!”

“I know. Only one person can become empress anyway. And there is probably already someone among the nobles who has been prearranged. Once the official empress is crowned, I will escape and return to the Torqal. Until then, Tiriya, I need you to take responsibility for the people. You understand what I’m saying?”

Arsak said in a gentle voice. Tiriya, looking almost as if she would burst into sobs atop her horse, gazed up at Arsak.

“Don’t worry. No matter how much of an emperor he is, he won’t be able to handle me as he pleases.”

“Chieftain, this is absurd…….”

“Alin, help Tiriya and relocate the camp today, right away. Head east. Stay as far from the border as possible, and don’t come near this area for the time being. It’ll take a year or two before there’s usable grassland here again anyway.”

Arsak turned her horse around again, leaving behind the confused murmuring of the tribespeople. Tiriya called out to Arsak as if shrieking and sobbing, but she did not look back even once, nor did she hesitate.

“I will comply with the Emperor’s demands. However, guarantee the safety of my tribespeople. If you break your promise, I will find a way to drop your head here no matter what it takes.”

“…I swear on the honor of the Empire. If the chieftain complies, no harm will come to the tribespeople.”

Theodor said. Arsak breathed in and out so deeply that her whole body trembled, and first of all unfastened her bow and quiver and threw them to the ground. She heard Tiriya wailing and calling her name, but Arsak did not look back.

At length, she unfastened the two swords at her waist and threw them down as well, and even stripped off her leather armor—clad in nothing but a thin cloth, she raised her head.

“Pull the soldiers back. I will come to your side now.”

Theodor raised his hand. At that, with a clanking of steel, the numerous soldiers retreated to the rear, and Arsak slowly urged her horse forward.

The sunlight, which had scarcely moved from its place, shone upon Arsak. Theodor stood with his brow faintly furrowed, gazing quietly at her as she slowly drew near.

‘She’s coming while bathed in light. Like an old prophecy.’

Arsak rode almost close enough for Theodor’s hand to reach her. She murmured in a quiet voice.

“Let me say this clearly—I have no intention of becoming the Empire’s empress or anything of the sort.”

“The power of decision belongs to the divine. Let us go.”

Theodor answered. Arsak furrowed her brow for a moment, then asked back in a somewhat bewildered voice.

“You’re not going to restrain me?”

“You are not a prisoner of war. I have come to escort the one who will become an empress candidate.”

“Bringing all the border soldiers and saying you’ve come to ‘escort’ me. The Empire’s lot are all thick-skinned, I see.”

“I will not respond to meaningless insults. If you have questions, I will answer to the extent that I am able.”

A dry voice. Arsak let out an openly mocking sound and gripped the reins more tightly.

—

As the gate blocking the border slowly drew near, Theodor spoke in a careful voice.

“Before you go to the capital, I will arrange for you to stop briefly at the Torqal.”

“No need.”

At Arsak’s reply, Theodor furrowed his brow with a puzzled expression. Without even glancing at him, Arsak continued in a monotone.

“If I return to the tribe, you will never get me back.”

“His Majesty will not bend his will.”

“Good. A man who doesn’t know how to bend—there’s satisfaction in breaking him.”

Thank goodness Erich wasn’t here. Theodor thought this unconsciously as he watched Arsak’s retreating figure with somewhat uneasy eyes.

Even if it was to prevent Marquis Volfin’s and Baron Holdvig’s daughters from becoming the only empress candidates, he could not shake the thought that no matter how he looked at it, the choice of person seemed wrong.

When he had first met Arsak and returned, Theodor had finally understood Erich’s absurd order to threaten her if necessary.

If he had not brought all the border soldiers he had, and if he had not launched a surprise attack with the momentum to truly annihilate the Torqal, she would certainly never have obediently followed the Emperor’s command.

‘She’s not a woman who will go along with His Majesty’s wishes. What on earth is he thinking?’

Theodor thought.

The border gate opened. Arsak passed through the solidly built gate with the upright bearing of a triumphant general. Soldiers murmured and stared at her from here and there. Theodor rode up beside Arsak.

“You must change your clothes first.”

“How long will we stay here?”

“Not long. Once a simple grooming is finished, we will move straight to the capital.”

“When?”

“Today, right away.”

Theodor guided Arsak to a small, clean tent and then immediately disappeared somewhere. Leaping down from her horse, Arsak gazed at the tent’s drapery embroidered with the Empire’s emblem and let out a deep sigh.

Inside the tent prepared for Arsak was a servant Theodor had brought ahead of time. She looked two or three years older than Tiriya—still close to a girl in age—but her serving was quick and precise.

Having curtsied and introduced herself as Rosanna, she did not even properly look at Arsak’s face and immediately began stripping off her clothes.

“W-wait. Can’t I undress myself?”

“No. It is my duty to attend to Arsak. You must bathe first. Then your hair will be done, you will be dressed, and you will board the carriage.”

“Carriage? I don’t ride in carriages…….”

“Come this way.”

Rosanna, who in an instant had wrapped Arsak—now left in nothing but her undergarments—in a long cloth to cover her, all but pushed her into the bathtub and began scrubbing her shoulders vigorously with a soft sponge.

Arsak, who had lived out on the grasslands covered in dust and thought nothing of it, found being scrubbed down in front of a complete stranger somewhat embarrassing.

“Can’t I do it myself?”

“As I said before, no. Once you enter the court, you must have servants do everything. One who is to become an empress candidate must possess a noble and solemn dignity. You must not do menial tasks.”

“I didn’t know washing one’s own body counted as a menial task.”

“Speaking too much is also not good. Nor is raising your voice.”

Rosanna said. While Arsak was left speechless, she undid Arsak’s long hair, wet it separately in fresh water, and carefully washed it from the ends.

It was an ordeal to dissolve powder from a sachet in water and then leave her hair soaking in it for a long while. Arsak, sitting in the tub with her head tilted back, grumbled.

“Hey, how long do I have to stay like this?”

“The scent must seep deep into your hair, so please endure a little longer.”

“What’s the point of going this far when the scent will all be gone by morning anyway?”

“If you do it every day, the scent will naturally cling to you.”

If I had to do this every day, I’d rather pull my neck out and be done with it. Arsak imagined yanking her own neck out like a wooden doll’s and swishing it in the water to wash it, and giggled.

Rosanna, seemingly displeased by Arsak’s frivolous laughter, slightly wrinkled the bridge of her nose, but soon returned to the same expressionless face as before.

“We had something like this in our tribe too. The girls who liked to dress up would dry fragrant oils or flowers and wash their hair with them.”

Arsak said. Rosanna, who had been running her fingers through the hair to rinse out the soapy water, paused briefly.

“I never tried it even once, but after going through this ordeal, I think those girls were even more impressive.”

“Why do you wish to become the Empire’s empress?”

Rosanna asked. Arsak turned her head, tugging slightly at her wet hair.

“I have no intention of becoming an empress or anything of the sort.”

“Then why…….”

“To protect my tribe. He dragged an army here just to bring me and humiliate me, so I thought I might as well get a look at that honorable emperor’s face.”

“…You must never use such expressions in the court.”

“You seem unhappy about me becoming empress—are you giving me advice because you’re worried my neck will fly off?”

Rosanna’s face turned bright red. Having bitten the inside of her lip as if insulted, Rosanna nonetheless gazed quietly into Arsak’s eyes before turning her head back to its original position and speaking.

“I am the one who attends to Arsak. There is no reason I would not wish for Arsak to become empress.”

“I prefer people who speak honestly. If you’re going to keep attending to me, I’d like you to keep that in mind.”

Arsak said. With her eyes closed, she could not see Rosanna’s expression, but she could feel the fingertips combing through her hair tense as if nervous.