Chapter 35
Edrick jumped into the carriage without a moment’s thought and scooped the woman into his arms. Her body was frighteningly light, dampened through with tepid sweat.
He hurriedly brushed the golden hair clinging to her face behind her ears and lightly tapped her bloodless cheeks.
In that instant, the golden eyelashes that had been casting long shadows across her skin snapped upward, revealing deep, dense blue eyes.
He stopped breathing without realizing it. Her gaze, as blue as a swamp, seemed to be drinking away his very soul.
He was staring down at those eyes in a daze when, suddenly, a burning sensation spread across his right cheek.
He clutched his face with one hand, blinking in a stupor. The woman, having slipped out of his embrace in an instant, glared at him as if he were a shameless scoundrel.
“How dare you lay your filthy hands on me?”
Edrick, who had been standing there with his mouth agape, raised his voice in indignation.
“I thought Your Highness had lost consciousness…!”
“So, assuming I’d lost consciousness, you thought you could get away with some nonsense?”
“How can you say such a thing…!”
Edrick, who had jerked himself up with a flushed face, slammed his crown against the ceiling of the carriage and crouched back down.
Between the rage at the Imperial Princess’s insulting words and the sharp, throbbing pain in his head, a tear even welled up in his eye.
He clutched his skull and groaned for a long while. The Imperial Princess, watching him as if he were pathetic, rubbed her temples and gestured with her chin.
“That’s enough. Stop being a nuisance and get out.”
“Don’t be like that; just come outside for a moment and get some air. We have to travel for at least another half-day; how long do you intend to stay holed up in this furnace?”
Edrick, still rubbing his head, muttered with a sullen face. It was a piece of blunt advice tossed out with the full expectation of being struck again.
The Imperial Princess glared at him with an expression of disbelief. She seemed bewildered that he never grew tired of nagging.
Edrick suppressed the urge to snap at her, to ask if she really thought he was interfering because he enjoyed it.
It hadn’t been his choice, but regardless, this unruly Imperial Princess was under his responsibility. If she were to collapse during the journey, the aftermath would be his to deal with as well.
He stared straight into her vicious face, fully intending to drag her out by force if necessary.
The woman, as if fed up with his attitude, furrowed her brows and finally stood up.
He brightened and stepped out of the carriage first. He held out a hand to escort her, but the Imperial Princess slammed the door shut right in his face.
Looking at the firmly closed door with a blank expression, Edrick finally gave up and turned around.
‘…I truly have no idea what she finds so displeasing.’
He let out a heavy sigh and trudged toward the lakeshore.
Even while he washed his sweat-soaked face with ice-cold water and sat in the shade of a tree to rest, the stubborn Imperial Princess didn’t show her face once.
Is she guarding herself because she’s afraid someone might harm her?
He thought that her excessively prickly demeanor looked just like a beast caught in a trap.
He looked at the carriage with a perplexed gaze before shaking his head to clear away the useless thoughts.
Why bother trying to understand such a woman?
If he could just endure until this trip ended, he would be free from this tiresome duty.
The Second Imperial Princess changed her Imperial Guard often enough; surely he, too, would be replaced before long. He just had to hold on until then.
Encouraging himself, Edrick sat in the shade with the other knights. He took a brief rest, eating some wine and bread, before climbing back into his saddle.
By the time the afternoon passed, the air began to turn cool.
Refreshed, the pilgrims continued their vigorous march along the Gaisa Mountains, which separated the western and northeastern regions. Thanks to their diligent movement, by the time the sun began to set, they had reached the Sinai Plains, the territory of the former Balto Kingdom.
“We shall camp here for the night.”
Varkas, who had been surveying the formation, gave the order in a low voice.
Edrick watched him with eyes that were half-exhausted. Despite having been on horseback all day, Varkas looked no different than when they had first departed.
His superior, who had dismounted without a single hair out of place, scanned the surroundings with keen eyes and said,
“Set up a barricade around the campsite and post guards.”
The knights obeyed the command immediately.
Edrick also began the work of setting up a fence around the camp. A thought briefly crossed his mind that it might be a bit excessive, but a large number of monsters inhabited the Sinai Plains.
It was said that such a large army was rarely attacked, but it never hurt to be careful.
He took a board studded with iron thorns from the supply wagon, secured it to the ground, and wrapped a string with small bells around it.
After a few hours of diligent work, he managed to complete a makeshift defensive barrier surrounding the encampment.
He brushed the dust from his hands and moved to where the campfire had been lit. While they had been setting the barricade, the Imperial Princess’s attendants had already finished preparing dinner.
He gripped his hungry stomach and approached the fire where meat was being roasted. He picked up a piece of bacon, cut into small portions, and tossed a question to one of the maids.
“Has dinner been prepared for Her Highness the Imperial Princess?”
The young-looking maid, who had been stirring a large pot with a ladle, looked at him with a flustered expression.
“That is… she said she had no appetite…”
Edrick, who had been wiping oil from his hands with a towel, frowned.
She skipped lunch, and now she intends to skip dinner, too?
Irritation surged up at the Imperial Princess, who acted like a child at every turn.
He tossed the wet towel onto the ground and grabbed an empty basket.
“Fill this with something suitable to eat.”
The maid immediately packed a large slice of pie, a stew with bacon, wine, and preserved fruits.
With the basket, now full of food, tucked under his arm, he walked toward the Imperial Princess’s small fortress.
He knew there was no need to force-feed someone who insisted they didn’t want to eat. But once the image of her body—which had felt unpleasantly light—came back to him, he couldn’t just stand by.
Cursing his meddlesome personality, he knocked on the carriage door.
“Your Highness, I have brought dinner.”
“I told you I wouldn’t eat.”
“You have practically starved all day. How do you expect to endure this arduous journey without eating properly? Even if you don’t have an appetite, please eat something.”
“Forget it and get lost!”
Edrick’s face twisted. Not even a hedgehog would keep its quills raised this high. Gathering his patience, he said as calmly as he could.
“Then, I will leave it here in front of the door in case you change your mind…”
As Edrick bent down to set the basket on the ground, he flinched and pulled back. Without warning, the door swung open, and a ferociously hardened, snow-white face filled his vision.
He swallowed hard, meeting those blue eyes that shone vividly even in the glow of the sunset.