TROWFT 06

Chapter 06

Five years.

Five years was a very long time.

*Clang.*

Long enough for Rosalyn’s swordsmanship to improve to the point where she could match me.

The sound of metal tearing through the midnight Cold Palace. The two blades gleamed in the moonlight.

“[Hey! Look over there!]”

The now mature-looking Rosalyn pointed out the window in surprise.

“I won’t fall for that, Your Highness.”

I deflected Rosalyn’s trick with the flat of my blade.

“[Then this is my final attack! I’m definitely going to win this time!]”

With that, Rosalyn charged at me furiously.

*Whoosh.*

“[Huh?]”

But her decisive attack was thwarted by my light movement.

As I dodged her attack, I cut Rosalyn’s hair tie with the tip of my sword.

“Your Highness.”

The hair tie snapped in two. Her full, long golden hair rippled through the air.

At the same time, as she lost her balance and was about to fall, I caught her.

“You’ve lost an earring.”

It was a dramatic pose that wouldn’t be out of place in a movie.

I brushed her now bare earlobe and slowly leaned in toward Rosalyn.

“Shall we look for it together, Your Highness?”

With a deep gaze, I tilted my head slightly and whispered in her ear.

Then, as if I couldn’t stand it anymore, I clutched her clothes tightly…!

“[Wow.]”

Rosalyn made an ambiguous expression.

“[I’ve raised a seductress.]”

Well. I’ve been training intensively for five years.

My strict teacher, still held at the waist, nodded her head.

“[Pass!]”

“[Pass?]”

“[Yeah.]”

I happily stood Rosalyn upright.

Rosalyn also seemed impressed with herself.

“[To think I turned that uncoordinated unnie into this!]”

U-uncoordinated?

“[Ha. Now there’s really nothing to worry about.]”

Rosalyn grabbed a pencil from the desk.

She used the pencil like a hairpin to twist her hair up, then sat cross-legged on the sofa.

“[Rosalyn.]”

“[Yeah.]”

“[This place is totally like your own living room, isn’t it?]”

Rosalyn tilted her head from the middle of the sofa placed in the Cold Palace.

“[Honestly, this place is more comfortable than my own room.]”

The Cold Palace, where Shaviyan was supposed to stay.

This place had long since become mine and Rosalyn’s, especially Rosalyn’s, hideout.

“[We’ll have to clear it out soon since Shaviyan is coming, though.]”

She looked around wistfully.

The old bookshelves, the desk, the windowsills, every possible shelf filled with her own collections.

“[Where should I put my collection?]”

I approached the shelf, thinking I’d like to see it too.

“[But still!]”

While examining the displayed bright red powders, I was startled by the loud voice and dropped a jar.

“[I get to see my favorite, Shaviyan. I’m so happy!]”

Catching the falling glass jar, I asked.

“[Shaviyan is your favorite? You said that, right?]”

“[Ah. That changed. My favorite is someone else now.]”

Who?

I put the jar back in its place and asked with my eyes.

“[Hmm. There is. A really cool person.]”

Rosalyn, who had been staring at me, just hummed a tune and lay down on the sofa.

“[Anyway!]”

Ah, you startled me.

I pushed the book I had pulled from the bookshelf back in. Let’s just sit, sit.

“[A war is going to break out soon.]”

“[The ‘that’ war from the original where Shaviyan comes?]”

“[Yeah.]”

War… I heard it was originally a scheme orchestrated by Kellian.

“[You don’t need to make such a serious face. It’s just a passing war.]”

The name ‘war’ is never light in any case.

“[As the person in charge of the military, how can I not be concerned?]”

“[It’s a completely small war that neither Kellian nor Shaviyan even appears in!]”

Listening to Rosalyn patting the sofa, I turned my gaze to the window.

‘But why does it feel ominous?’

It was well past midnight, and the night sky was quiet.

Like the night before a storm.

—

At the Imperial Palace of the Bahat Empire.

“The one who was the Crown Prince of Hailen has already ascended the throne since his father died young.”

Bahat’s Crown Prince. Kellian.

Lying on the outdoor terrace, he brushed back his black hair.

“I have to go through the trouble of ascending to the emperor’s throne myself.”

Kellian raised his body and flicked his hand.

At that, the Chancellor, who had stopped speaking, opened his mouth again.

“How about a war with Hailen as a way to keep the Grand Duke and the Second Prince in check?”

It had been a long time since Kellian had already taken full imperial authority.

“Pitting enemies against each other to reap the benefits in between. That’s a good idea.”

Now, only the Grand Duke who supports the Second Prince remained.

If the Grand Duke’s faction was purged, this empire would be Kellian’s.

‘The Grand Duke is someone respected by the knights, so it’s probably best not to deal with him rashly.’

He could personally strike the blow, but if he attacked the Grand Duke, who had a strong position in the military, there was a high chance of unnecessary gossip.

“Yes. We start a war with Hailen, and then bring down the Grand Duke with dark magic.”

“Then the idiot Second Prince will lead the army instead.”

The result would be a crushing defeat.

The Second Prince doesn’t even know the first thing about tactics, so the Grand Duke’s forces will be mercilessly torn apart by Hailen’s swords.

‘And the Berwen Ducal House is at the border as well…’

Kellian leaned deeply against the terrace railing.

“Make the preparations.”

At Kellian’s permission, the Chancellor, bowing his head and about to leave, stopped at the sight before him.

“His Highness the Eighth Prince.”

At that moment, the Eighth Prince, Shaviyan, entered the garden with his attendants.

At his beautiful appearance, an inelegant admiration escaped the Chancellor’s lips.

“Lord Shaviyan becomes more beautiful with each passing day.”

“Is that child still alive?”

Kellian cast a bored glance at Shaviyan.

‘How did that fragile child with no backing survive?’

Kellian, mulling over his thoughts, let out a snort.

“Chancellor. Do you know something?”

“Pardon?”

“The Bahat imperial family does not keep useless people as royalty. I finally understand why that child is alive. There must be a use for him.”

The Chancellor quickly grasped Kellian’s intent.

Kellian was planning to sell Shaviyan off somewhere for a high price.

“…Where do you plan to send him?”

“Well. What about the Tohor tribe?”

The Chancellor jumped in shock.

“To those barbarians!”

The Tohor tribe were barbarians growing their power along Bahat’s borders.

They were threatening enough, and if they joined hands with the Grand Duke later, they would be a headache. However.

‘If we hand over that frail prince to those barbarians, he’ll die within a fortnight.’

Above all, this was directly related to the honor of the imperial family. Barbarians!

“Absolutely not! No matter what, he is still a prince. At the very least, you should send him to a place where he can live like a human being.”

The Chancellor, swallowing his words, opened his mouth again.

“How about the Hailen Empire? Since this is a war we have to lose anyway. At that time, we can also send the Eighth Prince as a hostage.”

He also added a story that might tempt Kellian.

“An old rumor says that the Hailen Princess and the Duke of Berwen are particularly close.”

“With the Princess?”

Kellian’s thick eyebrows rose in displeasure.

“That’s a big problem. A marriage alliance between the Hailen imperial family and the Berwen Ducal House. That won’t do.”

“Yes. So please send him to the Hailen Empire.”

Kellian wiped his lips and fell into thought.

“Fine. Send him to Hailen. If that doesn’t work out, we can just hand him over to the Tohor tribe.”

Kellian’s black eyes turned toward the flower bed.

‘He’ll be useful.’

A beauty that shakes the continent.

That wasn’t that the general consensus about Shaviyan?

If that child set his mind to seduce someone, would there truly be anyone who wouldn’t fall for him?

“Then to whom shall we send the Eighth Prince?”

“The Emperor is fine, the Duke of Berwen is fine too. Perhaps both might also be fine.”

The goal is to drive a wedge between the Hailen imperial household and the Berwen Ducal House.

With Shaviyan’s looks, it would be entirely possible.

‘He must not have been raised frivolously in the palace.’

Shaviyan was an existence raised from the start to be used in this way.

“Still.”

Kellian curled his lips, reddened from fidgeting.

“If possible, I hope it’s the Duke of Berwen.”

“……”

“Who knows, maybe the Duke might be bewitched by that child and cross over to Bahat?”

The Duke of Berwen.

Kellian considered him the only knight on the continent he acknowledged.

“I would like to see his face at least once.”

“Who are you referring to… Are you perhaps talking about the Duke of Berwen?”

“Yes.”

A flicker of interest appeared in Kellian’s weary eyes.

“Surely you’re not planning to personally take the field, are you?”

The perceptive Chancellor quickly blocked him.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince must not go. I told you, this is a war the Second Prince has to lose! If you go unnecessarily, the sparks will fly at you too.”

“Then I’ll just go secretly.”

At Kellian’s playful words, the Chancellor shook his head vehemently.

Kellian, neither confirming nor denying, turned his head away from the Chancellor.

“Your Highness. His Highness the Crown Prince has turned his head this way.”

And that was a hardship for Shaviyan.

His long, trembling eyelashes lifted, revealing clear blue eyes.

Shaviyan, blinking his eyes anxiously, tried to calm his attendants.

“Roha. Don’t turn your head. As long as we don’t provoke His Highness’s temper, we’ll be fine.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

His attendants felt like crying.

‘His temper changes every minute and second!’

But what could they do? They were the ones who had brought Shaviyan here.

The attendants busily moved their hands, trying to ease their tension.

Soon, a completed flower crown was placed upon Shaviyan’s silver hair.

“Oh my! As expected, it suits you perfectly!”

“His Highness Shaviyan must be the continent’s greatest beauty!”

Shaviyan bowed his head as if shy.

Fiddling with the flowers, he murmured quietly.

“I heard that the Duke of Berwen of the Hailen Empire is also incredibly beautiful… And that person is even brave, isn’t he?”

His hands were soft without a single callus. A living doll.

Shaviyan was embarrassed by himself, being like an ornamental flower.

“But His Highness Shaviyan is more…”

“Roha. You couldn’t sleep for days after seeing that person’s portrait last time!”

“I-I never did!”

The attendant stuttered, as if struck home.

It was Shaviyan who rescued the embarrassed attendant.

“…There’s a portrait of that person?”

“Yes!”

As if gaining energy from Shaviyan’s response, the attendant nodded vigorously.

“I’ve seen one that was secretly circulating among the maids, though it’s quite rare since he’s an enemy nation’s knight.”

“Unfortunately, the head maid confiscated it.”

The attendant, who added gloomily, became even more depressed.

“What kind of person is he? The Duke of Berwen, I mean.”

Shaviyan, who secretly admired the Duke, subtly asked the maids about him.

“His stories are famous here in Bahat too!”

“They say the Duke saved the Princess when she fell in the forest and lost consciousness, and that the Princess fell in love at first sight and even her illness was cured!”

“That’s not all. They say they whisper love to each other, creating their own secret language. How romantic!”

Contrary to his expectations, only love stories poured out.

‘I prefer heroic tales.’

His attendants wouldn’t know, but Shaviyan’s taste leaned more toward heroic tales than love stories.

But he didn’t voice it, afraid of being mocked.

‘What kind of hero would someone like me be?’

A seductress who clouds the eyes of that hero. That would be his role and his fate.

‘The Duke of Berwen must be incredibly strong, right?’

Shaviyan only habitually nodded at the maids’ words.

A butterfly landed on the swaying flower crown.

‘I want to meet him just once.’

Shaviyan blinked and wished innocently.

Without knowing how that would twist his own fate.