The King's Promise (1)
I tilted an eyebrow at Edwin’s words.
“Do you remember the homework I mentioned last time? The one where I told you to come up with a plan to conquer Adamant Castle.”
Edwin’s eyes sparkled with intelligence.
“You said I should look for a weakness. And that a person’s weakness is usually the thing they love most.”
That’s right. I listened to Edwin in silence.
“So I asked His Majesty the King what he cherished most. What was so precious that he would trade his kingdom or even his own life for it. But then…”
Edwin widened his eyes and kept tilting his head in confusion.
“When His Majesty heard that, he just started laughing. Then he said there was a woman in his heart, and if I brought her to him, he would gladly hand over the Adamant Kingdom.”
The Adamant Kingdom, of all things?
To call the country he had built by staging a rebellion and risking his life a mere “thing.”
Did that mean the woman in his heart was that precious to him?
‘Is she the same precious person he lost because of Angel’s Breath?’
If so, it made sense.
Since there was no way to bring back someone who was already dead, he could say such things without hesitation. And if, by some miracle, someone could resurrect the dead, that person would hold Kaiden’s leash. But of course, such a possibility didn’t exist.
“Did he say nothing about what kind of person she is?”
Edwin shook his head with a gloomy expression.
Then, as if something had suddenly occurred to him, he spoke again.
“Oh, but he did say that if he saw her again, he would definitely recognize her. He mentioned there was a mark on her body.”
The fact that he spoke of meeting her again suggested she wasn’t the same person.
‘A mark on her body, though…’
If it was in a place that wasn’t easily visible, it would be hard to check.
‘At this point, even I’m curious.’
Just what kind of woman could make the great King of Adamant say he wouldn’t mind giving up his entire kingdom?
‘And yet he has a woman he cares for, but still brings random women into his bedchamber?’
Of course, it wasn’t for sharing his bed but to have someone stand night watch. Still, the fact that a man with a woman in his heart could casually bring another woman into his bedroom didn’t sit well with me.
“So what do you think?”
At that moment, Edwin, lying on his stomach with his chin propped on his hands, asked.
“Can you guess what kind of woman King Kaiden likes?”
“…I have no idea.”
“Right? It really isn’t easy.”
He let out a small sigh and flopped onto his back.
Then he began flailing his arms and legs wildly, like an overturned insect.
‘Why is he doing that all of a sudden?’
I was used to Edwin occasionally doing things that made no sense. Things like laughing nonstop at jokes that weren’t funny, or repeatedly jumping off places that weren’t even that high.
At first I couldn’t understand it at all, but according to Catherine, all children were like that.
‘I don’t remember acting like that when I was young.’
I never did anything that brought me no benefit. That was the only wisdom I had learned in the back alleys as a child.
‘But now I can roughly understand it.’
After observing him persistently, I had realized that even his seemingly meaningless gestures contained readable information.
‘He seems to be in a good mood.’
Whenever Edwin flailed his limbs like that, unable to control them, it was usually because he was happy.
Sure enough, after flailing for a long while, he stared blankly at the ceiling and spoke.
“Hey, Rachel.”
“Yes.”
“I think King Kaiden is actually a pretty good person.”
“Is that so.”
“Yeah!”
Edwin turned his head toward me.
His eyes, like sapphires set in place, sparkled brightly.
“At first I thought he hated me, but it doesn’t seem like that. You don’t ask someone you hate to spar with you, right?”
Instead of answering, I nodded and pulled the blanket over him.
“It seems the sparring was enjoyable for you.”
“Yeah, it was hard but rewarding! I think I have a vague idea now of what I’m lacking.”
Edwin pulled the blanket up to his chin and looked at me with bright, shining eyes.
“After the founding festival ends, I want to train even harder with the sword.”
To think he had not only recognized his shortcomings but was already thinking about how to make up for them.
‘He’s saying something quite admirable.’
I hid the smile that slipped out and smoothly brushed his bangs back from his forehead.
It had become something of a bedtime ritual ever since I learned how much he liked having his hair touched.
“Don’t get too excited. Go to sleep now. Tomorrow is the last day of the founding festival. You’ll need to wake up early to see off the envoys.”
“You’re right. I should sleep soon.”
Edwin smiled brightly and slowly closed his eyelids.
He had been chattering away just moments ago, but the moment the blanket covered him, he seemed very sleepy.
Well, having sparred with the continent’s strongest knight, it was only natural that he would be completely exhausted.
“Then you sleep well too, Rachel.”
Edwin soon fell asleep, letting out small, shallow breaths.
He hadn’t forgotten to say good night to me.
It was still the dim hour before dawn, when the dark sky had only just begun to brighten faintly.
“Y-Your Majesty the King?”
Catherine’s face filled with astonishment as she watched the Adamant delegation hurriedly preparing to depart since dawn.
It was only natural. It was so early that none of the other delegations had even woken up yet.
“You’re leaving already?”
“Ah, yes. There’s a huge pile of work I left behind that I need to attend to.”
Kaiden smiled as he put on the armor handed to him by one of his subordinates.
“Our country has only just begun to take root, so there are many things the king must handle personally.”
“I-I see.”
Catherine worried that he might be leaving early because the hospitality had been unsatisfactory.
“But if you wish to greet His Imperial Majesty as well, shouldn’t you stay a little longer? It’s still too early for him to be handling official duties…”
“Ah, you don’t need to worry about that.”
Kaiden gave her a relaxed smile.
“I already greeted His Imperial Majesty yesterday and asked for his understanding.”
Thanks to that, the emperor already knew that Kaiden would be leaving early this morning.
Leaving first might seem rude, but the Adamant delegation’s early departure was partly for the emperor’s sake as well.
“If it weren’t for those rampaging monsters every single day, I could have stayed more comfortably.”
Kaiden shrugged as if truly regretful.
“As for me, I like this place so much that I would have wanted to stay even after the founding festival ended.”
It was as if he had read the head chamberlain’s inner thoughts.
Sure enough, Catherine’s face brightened considerably at the king’s compliment that wasn’t quite a compliment.
“R-Really?”
“Mm. The grand bath was wonderful, and the service was excellent. Thanks to you, I’ve had a very good rest.”
“Oh, not at all! We’re the ones who regret not being able to serve you longer.”
After a few more rounds of polite pleasantries, Kaiden tightened the straps on his gauntlets and said,
“By the way, I heard that His Highness the Prince is still asleep at this hour. There’s no need to wake him on purpose, so…”
“Your Majesty King Kaiden!”
At that moment, the door burst open and Edwin came running in, still half-asleep.
One of his buttons was still undone, as if he had dressed in a hurry.
The young prince clutched the door handle, panting for breath.
“Uung, Ria is sleepy…”
Behind Edwin, Emilia toddled out, also still drowsy from sleep.
“Oh dear. It seems I spoke too late.”
Kaiden looked troubled.
He clearly hadn’t expected to wake the young princess as well.
“Uung? It’s the king!”
Emilia rubbed her eyes, then beamed and walked over to Kaiden.
“Your Majesty the King, you’re already awake? You woke up earlier than Ria.”
Kaiden knelt on one knee in front of Emilia and smiled back at her.
“I’m sorry for waking you, Your Highness the Princess.”
“Uung, it’s okay. Ria isn’t sleepy anymore… haaam.”
Emilia yawned repeatedly, then tilted her head when she noticed Kaiden was wearing armor.
“But where are you going, Your Majesty?”
“Yes. It’s time for me to return to my own country—no, to my home.”
“Ehh?”
At that moment, Emilia’s eyes widened into perfect circles.
“You’re going home? Why?”
“That’s…”
“Your Majesty is Ria’s friend. Aren’t we supposed to live together?”
Friends don’t usually live together, do they?
Kaiden gave an awkward smile at the princess’s words.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness. I have family back home that I need to take care of.”
“Isn’t Ria family?”
At the question of whether she was family or not, Kaiden flinched for a moment.
“Ria is Ria’s friend! Friends are family too!”
It seemed she thought the words were similar because they both ended with the same syllable.
Emilia pouted her lips and soon began to sniffle.
“Your Majesty is Ria’s one and only friend! Don’t goooo!”
In the end, the young princess burst into tears.
Kaiden froze in place, unable to even reach out to the little girl who was sobbing bitterly and clinging to his neck.