Dietrian wiped off the dripping rainwater for a moment, then narrowed his eyes before quickly mounting his horse.
“Looks like the Black Wall. I will check and come back.”
“Your Majesty! It’s dangerous!”
Despite the concerns of his servants, he accelerated. Even in the rain, he managed to balance very well. As his white horse galloped, sprays of water splashed in all directions.
Dietrian’s face brightened at the black castle wall that had come closer.
It’s been a month since he left the Principality.
They finally arrived at the Imperial Capital. Those were really hard days. Every day, they walked and walked in the pouring rain.
No matter how many layers of raincoats he wore, he was like a rat in the rain at night. In such a harsh environment, there was not a single dropout.
A sigh of relief came.
‘I did it.’
It was clear that this ending was not what the Empire wanted.
They would have expected the Principality delegation to be ruined in the worst way during the journey, but everyone was safe, just a little tired.
A smile formed on his lips as he understood Banessa’s feelings when he fell while running around two days ago.
“Hiyah!”
Dietrian quickly turned his horse and ran to his party. He wanted to quickly tell everyone this good news.
“We’re arriving soon! Everyone, please cheer up a little!”
After encouraging his party, Dietrian headed towards the carriage at the back. He knocked on the door.
“Enoch, it’s me. I’ll go in.”
The boy, who had been crouching under the blanket, moved his head slightly.
“Your Majesty…”
“Don’t get up. Keep lying down.”
The boy’s name was Enoch.
He was the youngest member of this delegation.
He followed the arduous journey well even at a young age, but eventually collapsed due to an injury sustained while fighting masu (demon beast).
Enoch whispered in a hoarse voice as he laid down.
“I’m sorry. Because of me.”
“Sorry.”
Dietrian closed the carriage door and carefully took off his raincoat. He kept it aside to keep the water from flowing, and sat down beside Enoch.
“What about Banessa?”
“Hyung, keho! He just left.”
“With that leg?”
Enoch gave a small chuckle at the sound of Dietrian clicking his tongue.
“He said a broken leg needs to be worked hard to get better.”
“I can’t stop him.”
Dietrian carefully touched Enoch’s pale forehead.
“The fever seems to have gone down a bit.”
“The medicine Your Majesty gave me worked.”
“A better drug will be available soon. We’ll be there soon.”
“Truly?”
Enoch’s tired-looking eyes grew a little lively. Dietrian nodded his head.
“Oh, thank you. I’ll brush up and quickly get up. If you could please wait a little bit…keho!”
Dietrian narrowed his brows at the cough that got worse than before.
Enoch, who had been coughing for a long time, fell asleep as if he lost consciousness.
After a while, the carriage door opened with a rattle, and Banessa climbed inside and set aside the crutches.
“The damn rain.”
He roughly took off his raincoat and sat across from Dietrian.
“It’s because of that guy’s cough. I went to find some useful medicine.”
Banessa slid a vial out of his pocket. Dietrian raised an eyebrow.
“Why did you bring the stomach medicine?”
“I didn’t know what was good, so I just brought them all.”
Banessa shrugged.
“If I mix them roughly, one will fit.”
“In that case, it’ll catch Enoch first before the cough.”
“Hehe, Your Majesty came at the right time.”
Dietrian chuckled and looked for cough medicine. He found the right medicine and opened the cap, but Dietrian hesitated.
He saw bloodstains on Enoch’s clothes.
“Actually, he vomited blood earlier.”
Banessa’s complexion darkened. He was uncharacteristically nervous and anxious.
“I was so shocked to see the blood that I couldn’t wait inside. That’s why I went.”
Banessa scratched his head nervously.
“Every time I see this guy, I keep thinking of my nephew. Both are the same age. Damn it.”
“Enoch is not like your nephew. Don’t worry unnecessarily.”
“You don’t know what people can do. I also didn’t know that my nephew would die so pointlessly.”
Dietrian spoke quietly to Banessa, who nervously bit his lips.
“We will arrive in the Capital soon. As soon as we enter, the doctor will be called. If necessary, we can borrow the priest’s power.”
“Ha, there’s no way the priests can help us.”
Dietrian chuckled.
“Did you forget? In two days I will be Josephina’s son-in-law. Don’t worry, I’ll do that for you guys.”
“Ah…”
A look of bewilderment appeared on Banessa’s face.
He had forgotten about it for a while because of Enoch, but the person who would suffer the most right now was Dietrian.
Because he had to take Josephina’s daughter as his wife.
“Your Majesty, I’m sorry. As expected, I will have to sew up the snout of this bastard.”
“Take care of Enoch if you have the strength.”
Dietrian patted Banessa on the shoulder before stepping out of the wagon.
The rain was still pouring heavily. He gazed up at the pitch-black sky for a long time before stepping down into a puddle.
Beyond the slow walking party, a black wall began to appear.
***
“Isn’t this too much? How many hours have we been waiting!”
What was supposed to happen happened. The Empire refused the entry of the Principality’s delegation.
The delegation had to stand in the rain in front of the tightly closed gates for over half a day. Dietrian glared at the castle gates with wide eyes.
“Your Majesty, what about the doctor? Is there a doctor yet? If we can’t get in, they can send a doctor…”
Ugh, Dietrian gnashed his teeth instead of answering.
“Not even a doctor? No, why! What the hell!”
Banessa eventually threw his crutches. He started stomping his splinted foot.
“Hyung! Don’t do that, you’ll get in trouble!”
“People are dying, what could be bigger than this!”
Dietrian, who heard Banessa’s screams, quickly turned around. He left the fuss behind him and walked and walked again.
He was angry and felt like he was about to explode.
He expected to some extent that the Empire would not come out beautifully. Because they’ve always been like this.
But he said he had a patient. Even mentioning that he’s wandering between life and death. But to do it like this. What the hell did we do so wrong!
‘What is the Saintess thinking? Doesn’t she worry about her daughter?’
He couldn’t possibly understand his opponent’s behavior. Two days later, he is to marry her daughter.
If it’s not to ruin the marriage, why the hell are they provoking him so much?
What if he lost his temper and harm Leticia?
“Ha, haha.”
Suddenly, a dejected laugh leaked out. Dietrian stretched his shoulders helplessly in the rain.
“There’s no way I can hurt her, no way.”
Josephina already knew. That Dietrian would never touch a hair on her daughter.
If he did that, the Principality would disappear forever.
Dietrian closed his eyes tightly. Raindrops flowed down his black eyelashes like tears.
So now, he had no choice but to endure.
***
Abandoning the Principality’s delegation in front of the castle gates, the Empire remained silent.
Enoch’s condition quickly deteriorated. The hemoptysis* got worse and the fever rose again.
*expectoration of blood or blood-tinged sputum from the lungs or tracheobronchial tree
After a full day, the rain finally stopped. Just when the blue sky appeared.
Kiik. The thick castle gates opened with a loud noise.
After confirming the wagon coming out of the gate, Dietrian strode forward.
As the carriage stopped, one of the knights knelt down in front of it. Soon, a clownish clown clad in white stepped on the knight’s back and came down.
“Hear ye, Prince Dietrian! I will deliver the words of the Saintess!”
Dietrian got down on one knee in front of the priest. Mud dirtied his pants and hands, but he didn’t mind.
He calmly lowered his head, hiding his seething hatred and anger. The priest nervously squawked.
“The Empire has already finished all preparations to welcome the Principality delegation! But you preparations are so insufficient!”
“I apologize.”
“This marriage is a sacred event that connects the two countries! So, there’s even an argument to make this marriage a thing that didn’t even exist!”
The priest’s voice rose.
“The Saintess generously decided to give you one more chance! The wedding will proceed as planned. So, let the King enter right now!”
Dietrian shook his head.
“Then are you permitting us to enter?”
“Only the King is allowed to enter!”
Dietrian, who was speechless for a moment, asked in a trembling voice.
“Then are you saying that I should leave my men and go in alone?”
“Of course! They cannot enter the Empire! You have a nasty disease.”
The priest said nervously.
“The disease can contaminate the great land, so no one except the King should enter the castle!”
Dietrian shook his head.
“That can’t be. A King cannot abandon his people.”
“I’m not saying to abandon them! After the marriage is over, you can go back to the Principality together!”
“I have a sick child. He won’t be able to bear it until then. If everyone can’t get in, even that kid…”
“Are you disobeying the Saintess?”
The priest cursed and pointed at him.
“Surely they will come to their senses after paying the price!”
At that moment, Dietrian realized what he had to do. He quickly fell down and put his forehead on the ground.
“They are not guilty of anything. Everything is my fault.”
His well-groomed forehead quickly became dirty with mud, and his skin torn by the stones prickled.
As he lowered himself deeper, he could feel the smell of wet earth with every inhalation.
“It’s all because of my negligence, so I’ll take the punishment after the marriage is over. If it’s from the Saintess, any punishment must be sweet, sweet…”
Dietrian closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. His eyes grew a little hot.
Seven years ago, he remembered another person who would have prostrated himself here and prayed.
His father.
Did his father feel the same way?
“I’ll take it sweetly. But I can’t move unless you sent for a doctor. Please have mercy just once…”
“I can’t understand you!”
The priest was annoyed and walked to the carriage. When the knight fell down again, the priest climbed on his back.
Dietrian had been lying face down until then. The priest screeched and jabbered.
“The King refuses to marry! I have to tell the Saintess about this right away! Let’s go to the Temple!”
The massive gates of the castle opened, and the carriage entered the castle again.
With the sound of the door closing, Dietrian slowly stood up. When he wiped the dirt from his forehead with his sleeve, the wound was bloody.
Dietrian, who had been staring at the bloodstain with an expressionless face, stood up completely. The wind blew. His dark hair swayed slightly.
“Your Majesty!”
Turning around, Banessa came running like an angry cow. He grabbed Dietrian by the hem of his trousers and howled.
“Your Majesty! Please, allow me to kill them. Please!”
“Shut up, Banessa. Are you going to kill the others as well?”
Grabbing Banessa by the collar, Dietrian whispered ferociously. He had blood running down his eyebrows.
“We have to save Enoch first.”
“Ah, ugh. Hyug!”
Banessa burst into tears like a child. Leaving behind the crying Banessa, Dietrian quickly headed towards the delegation.
“Yulken!”
“Your Majesty, please treat the wound first…!”
“I don’t have time for that. Pick the three people who are the fastest on their feet right now. Go to the surrounding town and get a doctor. We must move in secret so as not to be noticed by the Empire.”
Yulken lowered his head sadly.
“Understood.”
“And Enoch?”
“Still…unconscious.”
Dietrian tightly clenched his fists. The sky was so blue that it hurt the eyes. Even seven years ago, that day was good like this.
“I will definitely save Enoch.”
So today he had to do what he could.
And on the day of the wedding.
Leticia, who knew all about the future, opened her eyes.
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