TWQA 06

Chapter 6

Karion walked with a fierce expression, his fists tightly clenched.

But by the time he reached his office, the turmoil in his stomach had almost settled down.

He looked back on himself and wondered why he had let his emotions get the better of him and walked out of that place.

Until now, he had lived in the middle of a battlefield filled with political struggles.

An emperor who tested his five sons, half-brothers who were always looking for a chance to bring each other down, and wolves swarming around him to seize power…

There were countless people who pretended to respect him as His Highness the Prince while provoking him, and those around him constantly tested him, looking for even the smallest weakness.

Sometimes, there were people who made arrogant provocations.

When someone crossed the line, he did not get angry. Instead, he mocked them and crushed them.

But today, he had gotten angry.

Why?

When he realized the reason, he gave a bitter smile and dropped into his chair.

Because it was the first time someone had criticized him by saying, “Don’t live your life like that.”

No one had ever said such a thing to him.

His mother had left the Imperial Palace when he was young, and he had never met her afterward. His father never gave his children advice.

The people who had stayed by Karion’s side since childhood were only servants and guards. After he became the Commander-in-Chief, the soldiers who strictly followed the military hierarchy obeyed his orders without question.

Lea’s words, “Those who share their fate with you,” kept lingering in his mind.

He had no interest in power, and he did not care even if he fell out of the emperor’s favor.

But if that situation caused everyone who followed him to become miserable as well…

It would feel worse than falling into a sewage pit.

“Cedric.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Cedric, who had been quietly waiting with a tense expression, carefully watched Karion.

“How are preparations for the next inspection tour?”

“We are fully prepared and waiting.”

Karion sighed before speaking.

“There will be no next inspection tour. We are going to the capital. Since I have received His Majesty’s imperial decree, I should go this time. I will have the Zephyros delegation travel with us.”

Cedric answered without showing his surprise.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Only traveling together. Make that very clear to the princess.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

After leaving the office, Cedric stood there for a moment and organized the situation in his mind.

His Highness changed a decision he had already made.

As his loyal chief aide, Cedric knew even the smallest flaw in his master.

Once Karion became stubborn about a decision, he never changed it.

Cedric had thought that Karion’s continued refusal to obey the emperor’s orders was a kind of stubbornness.

Yet the prince had given up that stubbornness because of a princess from a kingdom he had known for only a few days.

Princess Lea of Zephyros…

Cedric felt that he needed to gather more information and find out what kind of person she was.

After Cedric left, Karion suddenly became curious.

“Three worst things.” What was the third?

I should have stayed and listened to that part.

If he went to meet her just to ask about it, she might misunderstand and think he had deliberately created an excuse to see her.

He found himself ridiculous for thinking such things and let out a small laugh.

I don’t want to make achievements… This is an unexpected variable.

Even if you led a horse all the way to the water, you could not force it to drink.

Lea had a headache.

If he had simply said, “I don’t want to marry you,” she would have thought of another way.

Why don’t you have any ambition? What am I supposed to do if a capable prince has no ambition!

Nella had been quite harsh when judging her own son.

Normally, wouldn’t a mother idealize her own child, especially when remembering a child who had already died?

But Nella had only talked about Karion’s weaknesses.

That boy has a terrible stubborn streak. Once he became stubborn, there was no way to make him listen. He died because of that stubbornness.

Lea had misunderstood a little.

Perhaps he was a son who never met his mother’s expectations.

Perhaps he had taken after his father too much.

And so on.

That was why she had been surprised when she first saw Karion and found him much more impressive than she had expected.

Lea nodded.

As expected of a mother. She really knows her son well.

To be honest, Lea had been a little excited before meeting him.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Northeast, a man whose reputation would be divided among people ten years later, was someone she had wanted to meet at least once.

What interested her was that the people who spoke badly of him were those with wealth and power, while those who looked up to him were powerless commoners.

However, he was still a member of the imperial family who represented the Empire’s military, while Lea was the leader of the wanderers who opposed the Empire.

Realistically, it had been impossible for the two of them to meet.

So when she heard that he had died, she had felt strangely empty.

Afterward, when she met the King of Nortia, she thought several times about what might have happened if he had not died.

She regretted that she had not tried to meet him at least once while he was alive.

Even though he had been on the Empire’s side, judging from his actions, she thought she might have been able to communicate with him.

But after meeting him in person, she found that he was an incredibly stubborn man.

I admit he’s handsome. I know he’s capable, too. But what’s the point?! He’s going to die because of that stubbornness, just as His Majesty said!

There was a knock on the door, and Penny entered.

“Princess. Lord Milo wants to see you. He’s His Highness the Prince’s aide, the one who came out to meet us…”

“Yes, I know. Tell him to come in.”

Soon, Cedric entered.

Cedric informed her of Karion’s decision to travel with them to the capital.

“Why did he suddenly change his mind?”

“His Majesty the Emperor issued an imperial order for him to come to the capital. He had been considering whether to obey the order.”

“So he decided to do both at the same time. But if His Highness is traveling with us, I will take that to mean he will also attend the meeting where our delegation meets His Majesty the Emperor. His Majesty will not believe an excuse like, ‘I traveled with them, but I have nothing to do with it.’”

“There is no way His Highness would not know that.”

Even after hearing Cedric’s words, Lea could not understand Karion’s intentions.

Why did he change his mind? Was it because of something I said?

If that was the case, she would have to see him differently.

It meant that the Commander-in-Chief of the Northeast, a prince of the Empire, had listened to the criticism of a kingdom’s princess when she told him that his kingdom should become a vassal state.

Perhaps he’s not as stubborn as I thought.

After Cedric left, Lea felt much better.

She had not received a definite answer about marriage, but traveling together was already something.

At least she had taken one step forward.

She could move forward little by little.

As the leader of the wanderers, she had lived for ten years without being able to see even one step ahead.

Lea decided that she would willingly bring water to the horse herself.

At sunset, Lea went out to the inner courtyard for a walk and found Karion already there.

Perhaps he had seen her at almost the same time, because he stopped and looked at her.

When Lea approached him without hesitation, Karion asked,

“Are you not afraid of me?”

“It seems everyone is afraid of Your Highness.”

“In the Northeast, I am the person who represents His Majesty the Emperor.”

“I am not afraid.”

I know someone who looks exactly like you.

He was strong and beautiful.

He was also my benefactor, someone whose kindness I could never repay even with my life.

Karion saw the intense emotion rising in her eyes as she looked at him.

It was the first time he had seen such a powerful emotion in her eyes, which had always seemed calm and plain.

For some reason, his throat felt dry, so he turned his head away.

“We are only traveling together.”

“I heard. When are we leaving?”

“As early as two days from now. At the latest, we will leave the following day.”

“Ah.”

Hearing the suspicious little response, Karion turned his head.

Lea was already walking beside him.

“You are the type who takes a long time to make a decision, but once you decide, you move quickly.”

“I also make decisions quickly.”

Lea glanced at him and then turned her head away again.

“Yes.”

Karion felt that her obedient answer meant, I don’t agree, but I don’t want to waste time arguing with you.

“To make an inspection tour of the entire Northeast, you have to make decisions and act quickly. I don’t spend several days dealing with one problem like this. If I hadn’t been held back by the Zephyros delegation issue, I would have already moved on to the next destination… Hah. Let’s stop.”

He suddenly became irritated with himself for making a long-winded excuse all by himself, feeling pathetic, and closed his mouth.

“We haven’t even started yet. Why are you stopping? Say everything you wanted to say.”

“I don’t give people a reason to use against me.”

“A reason? Do you mean you would rather say nothing because the longer you talk, the more likely you are to make a mistake?”

“……”

Lea felt as though she could finally see a little of the wall of defense that the man named Karion had built around himself.