Her heart swelled with joy at the thought of being with the man she loved.
A moment later, she managed to stop her tears and opened her eyes. When she looked at Dietrian again, her vision blurred once more. Leticia quickly changed the subject.
“The stew seems to be getting cold.”
“Yes?”
“They all worked so hard to make it.”
Leticia hurriedly dipped a piece of bread into the stew and put it in her mouth. She tried to focus on the taste of the food and eagerly ate the bread. Dietrian watched her and then softly spoke.
“Letic…”
However, he decided to hold back what he was about to say and swallowed the rest of his words. He gently smiled, releasing her hand.
“Is the stew to your liking, Leticia? Or is it too spicy?”
“Not at all. It’s really, really delicious. Truly.”
Tears welled up a bit, but she managed to hold them back. Leticia smiled warmly.
“I always receive so much from you.”
“It’s not like that.”
“I’ll do better in the future.”
Dietrian chuckled at her words.
“You’re already doing wonderfully.”
“That’s true. In the past, I was really… a mess.”
“Was it?”
“It doesn’t matter now.”
Leticia laughed and tilted her head.
When she laughed, the tears that had been clinging to the corners of her eyes flowed down once again.
Dietrian hesitated for a moment before reaching out to wipe away her tears. Leticia paused briefly but then smiled and accepted his touch gracefully.
“Thank you.”
The fact that she didn’t seem uncomfortable at all with his gesture caused Dietrian’s eyes to widen slightly.
“You should try it too, Your Highness. It’s delicious.”
Leticia smiled sweetly and offered him a piece of bread. Her gesture was so charming, and Dietrian felt that she was gradually opening her heart to him.
“It’s really delicious, truly.”
A wave of overwhelming excitement spread through his chest.
* * *
The sweet break was short-lived.
Now it was time to move.
The world shimmered in the desert’s heat. The sun was so intense that it felt like it was scorching their heads.
The group heading to the Principality began walking through the desert again.
Dietrian had to leave Leticia’s side once more. It was time for reconnaissance.
The nests of the Marrows were scattered throughout the desert, even underground or underwater in some cases. There was no time to rest if they wanted to confirm all these nests.
“I’ll be back as soon as possible.”
“Don’t worry and come back safely.”
“Yulken will watch over you. If anything happens, consult with him.”
“I will.”
“You have to promise. Whatever happens, you must not endure it alone. Don’t easily overlook injuries like earlier, and don’t suffer in silence.”
Leticia finally burst into laughter.
“I promise.”
Parting with Dietrian was bittersweet, but at the same time, she couldn’t help but feel relieved.
In the past, Dietrian rarely went on proper reconnaissance missions. Leticia’s injuries had been so severe that she even suffered from a serious fever.
At that time, she was in no condition to walk through the desert. Eventually, Dietrian decided to carry her. The diplomatic envoy was in an uproar. When she was excited and sitting on the back of the horse, a loud, angry shout came from beyond the tent.
“Her Highness is the one who injured you! And yet, you’re carrying her?”
“We should just kill her. Let’s abandon her!”
No one could break Dietrian’s determination, no matter what they said. He carefully supported her limp body and spoke.
“I know it must be difficult for you, but please bear with it a little.”
She couldn’t even muster the strength to respond. She had no strength to push him away. Like a wet piece of paper, she moved as he led her.
“If you’re uncomfortable, please let me know.”
It felt strange. Strangely, his voice sounded quite urgent.
“I will move.”
In her daze, she had that thought.
This is the first time I’ve ever been carried by someone. Surprisingly, it’s quite comfortable.
As I become more comfortable, you must be in pain.
You must endure a painful life too…
* * *
Leticia faintly smiled.
‘Compared to back then, this life is like heaven.’
Even though it was only for a day, she was walking through the desert without any problems with her legs. Dietrian also seemed to be less uncomfortable than she had worried.
The diplomatic envoy was the same. There was no one openly cursing or glaring at her as before.
For some reason, when their eyes met, they would startle and turn their heads, but…
‘Maybe as that person said, they won’t despise me as much as before.’
A colleague they thought was dead had come back to life, so maybe they had gained some peace of mind.
‘I should work harder from now on. Then things will definitely get better.’
Pressing on the heart area where the curse was engraved, Leticia smiled faintly.
‘What can I do right now?’
Instead of waiting until they reached the Principality, she wanted to help the diplomatic envoy now. Leticia carefully reviewed her memories.
‘In reality, I don’t have many useful memories.’
In the past, after Dietrian declared that he would carry her, the diplomatic envoy treated her as if she didn’t exist. Since they had never exchanged words, she couldn’t even know what they needed. She didn’t have many opportunities to observe them.
After barely crossing the gravel desert, she slept in the carriage, under the influence of medicine.
‘But still, thanks to that, I heard many stories from him.’
Throughout the journey to the Principality, Dietrian had been the one taking care of her.
Their journey together was surprisingly comfortable.
She had nothing to do. She could just sleep in the quiet carriage.
However, from time to time, he would talk to her.
“From a young age, my brother was my idol. He was the most perfect person in the world.”
It was a night when the moonlight was particularly bright. Leticia was waiting to fall asleep with her eyes closed. Normally, she would have thrown a fit about not wanting to hear his voice, but that day, she didn’t.
It was a story about Julios.
Although her heart had been broken a long time ago, it had once been one of her most precious memories.
“A month ago, I even felt a bit resentful. But now, I’m actually grateful. Because in the Empire…”
She couldn’t remember the rest of what he said. Gently, she fell asleep.
Since that day, Dietrian had often shared stories with her. Most of them were about his childhood memories or stories of his subordinates.
“I originally dreamed of becoming a knight. I wanted to become a knight who would protect my brother’s country. I also wanted to revive the protection of the dragons.”
“Yulken has a six-year-old daughter. When I look at Yulken, sometimes I wonder what it’s like to be a father.”
At first, she wondered why he was telling her these stories. She would think, what was the point of speaking when she couldn’t hear. What was the point of uttering words that she couldn’t respond to. The words telling him to stop were on the tip of her tongue, but in the end, she didn’t say anything.
It was because the sound of a human voice strangely put her at ease. It felt as if something very gentle was caressing her head, and she slowly drifted off to sleep.
“Because of Banessa, it must have been very tough for you. Please don’t be too disheartened. He may seem rough on the outside, but he’s a very deep person inside. Lately, he’s been struggling a lot more because of his leg.”
Leticia slightly narrowed her eyes as she recalled his words from back then.
‘Is Banessa’s leg okay this time?’
In the past, after the engagement with Banessa was canceled, he lost one of his legs. It was due to an injury he received before arriving in the Empire. It wasn’t a severe injury, but the situation became urgent after Enoch’s death, and they missed the timing for treatment.
Neither Dietrian nor anyone in the Principality’s diplomatic envoy paid attention to his injury.
Although it could have been treated with sacred power, by the time Dietrian found out, they were already too far from the Empire.
That day, Leticia saw Dietrian getting angry for the first time.
“All because of your pride, you let your leg end up like this? Are you out of your mind?”
“My life is already a mess! I can’t even take revenge on Enoch’s enemies or my nephew’s enemies! So, I’ll at least protect my pride!”
“Banessa!”
“I’d rather die than get treated by those bastards who killed them! I’d rather die than see you groveling before those bastards! It’s better to give up that damn leg!”
Thinking back to that heated argument, Leticia bit her lip.
‘I wonder if Banessa received proper treatment in this lifetime?’
She suddenly felt anxious. If the same thing were happening again, this was her only chance to get Banessa’s leg treated.
‘Now is the time to return to the Empire. Noel is there. If he needs sacred power to heal his injury, I can ask Noel for help.’
‘Where’s Banessa?’
Leticia urgently searched for Banessa, lowering her scarf. Not far away, Banessa was walking side by side with Enoch.
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