#49.
The helmet that Princess Edwina had dropped hit the ground with a rather loud thud and rolled away.
But would it have mattered if lightning had struck there or if the sound of thunder had echoed? Would Prince Reiner have turned his gaze elsewhere?
After countless years that repeated several times, with longing building upon longing, the face of Princess Edwina, whom he had yearned for, was right before his eyes.
“Why…”
Our princess couldn’t utter a word. Prince Reiner, too, seemed to lack the energy to speak, letting out only a small sigh. His lips twisted slightly as if trying to smile.
“Josephine, water, bring some water…”
I hurried to bring warm water as soon as the words left his mouth. But Prince Reiner, even that, could not drink.
“You fool, why on earth would you do such a thing?”
“I… I told you I would come for you.”
“Madman.”
“I told you I would become your Arthur Gillen.”
A hoarse and cracked voice escaped him. The princess, holding onto him, begged him to stop. Perhaps because of the commotion, the guards on watch began to walk over in this direction.
“Edwina, would you pick up the helmet?”
Only after those words did Princess Edwina and I realize. The hair, not the wheat-blonde of the people of Winterton, but the faint moonlight hue. The tall stature, the pale blue eyes.
Anyone who saw Prince Reiner would immediately recognize, wouldn’t they? They would shout, “A royal from Reutlingen is here.”
It was the princess who picked up the helmet from the ground and placed it back on his beautiful face.
Seeing her, a bit of strength seemed to return to Prince Reiner, and a slight, graceful smile formed on his lips.
“You fool, what’s so funny that you’re smiling?”
“Edwina, let me try just once.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Just wait and see.”
And then, struggling to sit upright, Prince Reiner, truly like a knight, spoke.
“Princess, I am Knight Arthur Gillen. Life without you has no meaning for me. Please grant me the honor of waiting at your feet for 100 days.”
No one but us noticed that the end of his sentence trailed off slightly. The soldiers and court members who had rushed over because of the noise were gathering and watching us. Princess Edwina softened her eyes, once filled with anger, and quietly said,
“You’re seriously insane. You came here to do that?”
“It was worth it. Thanks to it, I got to see you for 90 days by your side, didn’t I?”
“You foolish man.”
“Still, it’s better than I thought. I’m just relieved you didn’t tell me to get lost.”
“You idiotic fool. Why did you come, why, how?”
“Stop scolding me, Edwina. Won’t you stroke me now?”
Watching this, tears welled up in my eyes. Before the princess or the tearful prince, I began to sob aloud, and Prince Reiner, looking quite startled, said,
“Look, Edwina, she’s crying already. Come here, Josephine. Hurry and give us a hug.”
Clicking her tongue, Princess Edwina crossed her arms. She stepped back in apparent anger, sighed deeply, and in the end, gave a small smile as she asked,
“Are you feeling alright?”
“Tears are already falling. You’re worrying about me now.”
“I’m asking if you’re okay. Just answer my question.”
“They say a child who kills their father lives long.”
“That’s an enticing saying.”
At those words, the two of them locked eyes and chuckled softly. People whispered. The next day, the Arly court was abuzz. The knight who waited 90 days and the princess had smiled together, they said, and it seemed that love had blossomed between them during that time.
All of Winterton was in an uproar. The legend of Knight Arthur Gillen and Queen Guinevere had long been forgotten by society. But, minstrels began to take out old songs, plucking their lyres and humming. The only thing that had changed were the names of the characters.
‘Knight Arthur Gillen went to the princess in the northern tower and said,
Princess, marry me. Life without you has no meaning.’
Adele, cunning as a snake, came up with a terrifying plan.
‘Wait for 100 days in front of the princess, and then she will be yours…’
The song, which had Adele taking the place of King Lancelot, quickly spread throughout all of Winterton in just ten short days. Now, everyone was curious about the true identity of Knight Arthur Gillen, hoping this story would end with a happy conclusion.
In the meantime, we spent a dreamlike ten days ourselves. When morning came, Knight Arthur Gillen… no, Prince Reiner, would call out to Princess Edwina.
“Edwina, the day is clear.”
“What do you mean clear? Have your eyes gone bad from sitting too long?”
“Your sharp tongue hasn’t changed. Well then, since I’m just about to go blind, could you come over and check my forehead?”
With a deep sigh, Princess Edwina would walk over to Prince Reiner.
In the midday sun, under the watchful eyes of many, the princess would lean over the balcony to look down at the prince. Even from such a distance, the two of them would banter endlessly. On the 94th day, rain began to fall, drop by drop. The princess, in a voice far too loud to be called a whisper, called out to the prince.
“Hey, hey. Come inside.”
“I won’t come in.”
“Why not?”
“To win a queen, I must wait here for 100 days without moving.”
“Can’t you stop playing the role of that foolish knight?”
“Edwina.”
“What?”
“You want to see my handsome face, don’t you? Well then, why don’t you come down?”
With an exasperated sigh, Princess Edwina took a canopy to shield him from the rain. She called the attendants and ordered them to set up a shelter around Knight Arthur Gillen, and then she hurriedly dried Prince Reiner’s face, hands, and armor, lest he catch a cold.
“There are less than ten days left, so I’m not chasing you away. You fool, why put yourself through this and drag me along with you?”
“Indeed. You’re suffering because of me, and I like that.”
“What are you going to do, Reiner?”
“Well, maybe I’ll wait 100 days and claim you from King Lancelot?”
“Like that’ll happen. The moment you take off your helmet, people will start plotting how to cook you up. What are you really planning? Turn back time again?”
“Who knows? I’ll think about it in a few days.”
Seeing Prince Reiner’s carefree smile, Princess Edwina let out a disbelieving laugh. I, too, couldn’t help but chuckle while watching the two of them.
Yes, those days were another golden era for us.
Watching the two of them made it feel as though all the painful memories were being washed away by the rain.
As if we had only ever known days filled with joy.
Meanwhile, the minstrels sang songs of Knight Arthur Gillen and Princess Edwina almost every day. And just like in the last part of the song, on the 99th day, Knight Arthur Gillen stood up. He slowly walked with his long legs and entered the castle. Despite the rain and the many times he was asked to come inside, he had never taken a step closer, but now, for the first time, he reached out with his long arms, grabbed our princess, and pulled her into a tight embrace.
“Edwina, let me hold you once.”
Princess Edwina, caught off guard, stood speechless and stunned, while Prince Reiner said,
“Edwina, like Knight Arthur Gillen, I will leave. Where is the bracelet I gave you?”
“Leave? Are you going to turn back time again with that?”
“As if. You told me not to, didn’t you?”
“You never listened, though.”
Prince Reiner smiled bitterly.
“That’s true. But now I will. I still have my bracelet, so use yours. If you want to leave like Queen Guinevere, take out the bracelet I gave you. Hold the bracelet and think of a place where you want to live.”
“A place with lots of books, a place with lots of bread, where it rains often, washing everything away easily, where the garden is beautiful, where the roses bloom big, where my father isn’t, where a woman doesn’t have to be sold off in marriage, where I’m not a princess…”
As our princess slowly spoke, as though making a wish, Prince Reiner smiled with his strikingly handsome face.
“Fool, not now. You’re supposed to hold the bracelet when you say that.”
“I… threw it away.”
“…Where?”
“…The monastery…?”
“Did you leave the book chest there too?”
“Well, yes.”
Prince Reiner burst into laughter.
“What’s so funny?”
“I’m laughing because it makes me realize you never really loved me.”
“That’s… funny?”
“Well, I can’t cry, can I? This might be the last time.”
The boy who cried at what he thought was their final farewell just a year ago had grown so much since then, speaking with eyes that had deepened.
“Edwina, if the journey gets tough, go back to the monastery. Take a look at the book chest. I’ll even leave you a letter there.”
“You can’t even write letters.”
“That’s true. Quite the problem, isn’t it?”
Those were his last words.
Prince Reiner took off his helmet, handed it to me, and walked out of the castle with long strides. Even as we watched him head toward the forest behind the northern tower, we thought, “He’s not really leaving like this, is he? He’ll come back.”
But as his large figure shrank to the size of my palm and then to a mere dot, swallowed by the thick trees, we could no longer see him.
That’s how Prince Reiner left for the forest.
Just like Knight Arthur Gillen, on the 99th day, with only one night remaining.
It wasn’t until a week later that Princess Edwina left to search for Knight Arthur Gillen.
By then, the rumor of the princess and the knight falling in love had spread throughout Winterton, and when people heard that the princess had gone to find Knight Arthur Gillen, they were thrilled.
“If she finds him, wouldn’t that be the most romantic love story?” they said, blissfully ignorant.
Even King Alfred, the former king, wasn’t too upset. After all, Princess Edwina had run away a few times before. “She can’t have gone far,” he thought. “We’ll leave her be for a while and then fetch her from the monastery.”
But when a month and then two months passed with no sign of the princess, a search party was finally organized. Yet, all the commotion was for naught, for even if the princess had disappeared, no real issue arose.
After all, Princess Edwina was no longer the heir to Winterton. In fact, things proceeded more smoothly. Using the grief of losing a child as an excuse, King Alfred stepped down with his dignity intact, and Charles Wellesley and Adele took the throne.
With the princess gone from Arly, I, too, had nothing left to do, so I returned to Yelling, unable to witness my friend Adele ascend the throne. There, I began the belated lessons my father had prepared for me as a bride-to-be.
It was only much later, after receiving a letter from Beder and rushing to the monastery at Lete, that I found and read Princess Edwina’s letter in the book chest.
And so, the story of Knight Arthur Gillen and Princess Edwina, which you were all so eager to hear, comes full circle and reaches its conclusion. In the end, there’s only one thing we must remember.
Knight Arthur Gillen kept his promise and came for the princess.
Princess Edwina followed him and disappeared into the forest, becoming a legend.
And in the end, they met again and fell in love.
Archie Albert William, son of my oldest friend Adele,
Cordelia Flora Grey, daughter of my dearest friend Anne Edwina,
Are you now satisfied with knowing everything?
On a night in Fruit month, when my wrist aches,
-With as much love for you as I had for your parents, Josephine Yelling
———= Author’s Note =———
Dear Readers,
And so, Lady Josephine’s long letter comes to an end.
Did you have a joyful Chuseok?
Did you see the yellow moon, the lowest in 19 years?
While I couldn’t be here, I spent my time with Knight Arthur Gillen and Princess Edwina, journeying through Grape month, Sky Month, Frost Month, and Knot Month. So please forgive my delay after seven uninterrupted updates…
And now, at last, Archie and Coco are running toward their final steps.
My new goal is to finish it this week, so this time, I won’t make you wait too long.
P.S. I love all the support—subscriptions, recommendations, comments, and reviews that you send.
Under the moonlight of Grape month,
-The biggest attention-seeker in this field.
<– Archie and Coco –>
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