The King's Promise (2)
“Emilia! What kind of rudeness is this! Catherine, do something!”
“Ah, yes, yes!”
Catherine hurried to pry the sobbing Emilia from the king’s arms.
But at that moment, Kaiden raised a hand and stopped her.
“Princess Emilia.”
Kaiden lifted the wailing princess into his arms without hesitation. The child buried her face against his neck and wept bitterly.
“Huuueeeeng.”
Her sobs were so heartbreaking that even Kaiden, who could cut down enemies without a second thought, felt a stir of emotion.
“Princess Emilia.”
Kaiden called her name once more.
“We are not parting forever. Please stop your tears.”
“Liar! Emma said the same thing, but she never came back!”
At the mention of Emma’s name, Edwin’s face hardened. Catherine looked equally startled and covered her mouth.
‘Emma?’
Kaiden frowned slightly at the unfamiliar name before smoothing his expression. With one arm supporting the princess, he awkwardly stroked her hair with his free hand.
“It is not a lie. I will make you a promise.”
“A pwomise?”
Emilia pouted and looked up at him.
“Yes.”
Kaiden smiled at the little princess.
“I will definitely come back to see you. And if I cannot, then I shall invite Princess Emilia to Adamant Castle.”
Inviting the imperial princess to the Kingdom of Adamant? Did the young king understand the weight of those words?
Catherine stared at him in surprise.
“You’re inviting Lia to the castle?”
Emilia had already stopped crying. She sniffled and asked again.
“Really?”
“I am a man who keeps his promises.”
Kaiden gently tried to wipe the mucus from beneath Emilia’s nose with his finger, only to remember he was wearing gauntlets. He borrowed a handkerchief from a nearby knight.
“So believe me. I have never once failed to keep my word.”
Emilia’s small face swayed as he carefully wiped it with the handkerchief.
“Oh dear.”
He had been as gentle as possible, yet she still wobbled. A child’s head was far more delicate than he had imagined.
Kaiden tossed the handkerchief back to its owner and lightly supported the back of Emilia’s head.
“Are you all right, Your Highness?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Emilia rubbed her eyes several times with her tiny hands, then looked up at Kaiden with wide eyes.
“So you really promised? To invite Lia?”
“Yes, I promised.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Emilia finished wiping her tears and suddenly rummaged through the pocket of her skirt, pulling something out.
“Here. Lia will give this to the king.”
The object she held was a tiny rabbit doll. A small loop made of thread hung from its head.
“It’s a gift to celebrate becoming friends with Lia.”
Kaiden silently accepted the rabbit doll from Emilia. In her small hands it had seemed palm-sized, but in his it looked no larger than two finger joints.
“A gift, you say?”
“Yeah, so you don’t forget Lia.”
Emilia stared at Kaiden’s face and asked,
“Why? You don’t like it?”
If he were to answer honestly whether he liked it or not, it would lean toward the latter. He had never been fond of playing with dolls, even as a child.
“……”
Kaiden gazed at the rabbit doll in his hand for a long moment. Then, without a word, he tied it to the hilt of the dagger at his waist.
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
Kaiden gave Emilia a bright smile.
“I will carry it with me always.”
“Hehehehe!”
Delighted that Kaiden had accepted her gift so readily, Emilia planted a loud kiss on his cheek.
“E-Emilia!”
Edwin reached out toward them with a shocked expression. It was not the princess’s rudeness that stunned him, but the fact that his only sister had kissed a stranger’s cheek.
“Lia likes the king! Likes him so, so much!”
Emilia wrapped her arms around Kaiden’s neck and beamed.
“So Lia will wait quietly! You have to come back and see me, okay?”
“Me too!”
At that moment, Edwin grabbed the end of Emilia’s sentence and raised his voice.
“May I come along as well?”
“…Pardon?”
“If you’re inviting Emilia, then perhaps I could come too……”
Edwin trailed off, his voice trembling. His large eyes were filled with longing and disappointment.
“…If Prince Edwin wishes to come as well.”
Kaiden looked at the young prince and spoke.
“It seems you are reluctant to see me leave so soon.”
Edwin pressed his lips together. Even though Kaiden was a foreign king, he was one of the few adults who had shown genuine interest in him. The thought of parting already felt strangely bittersweet.
‘If he leaves now, I might never see him again.’
Even if Kaiden visited the empire again someday, the circumstances might have changed completely. Edwin himself might no longer be in the palace.
“…Yes.”
Edwin gave a short reply and stared down at his feet.
Kaiden watched the dejected young prince for a moment before carefully setting Emilia down on the ground. Then he drew the long sword strapped to his saddle.
“Take this.”
“Your Majesty! That is—!”
When Kaiden offered the sword to Edwin, the knights of Adamant gasped in alarm.
“Your Majesty, that is your own treasured blade!”
“How could you give something so precious to a foreign prince……”
But Kaiden ignored his subordinates completely and continued speaking to Edwin.
“This sword was forged by a master blacksmith of the Adamant Kingdom.”
Kaiden drew the blade from its deep-blue leather scabbard. Under the pale dawn light, the sword gleamed with a bluish-white sheen.
Edwin’s eyes widened at the sight.
“The edge is made from the highest-purity adamant. There is no finer weapon for slaying monsters.”
Caught off guard by the sudden sword lecture, Edwin nodded awkwardly.
“I-I see.”
Kaiden sheathed the sword and held it out to Edwin. The prince stared at him in surprise.
“It is a token of thanks. Consider it a gift in return for the hospitality I received at the prince’s palace.”
Edwin accepted the Adamant sword in a daze.
Kaiden smiled gently at the young prince.
“I left in such haste that I had no other gift prepared, so I offer the most valuable thing I carry. I hope it pleases you.”
It was clearly a masterpiece crafted with great care. After all, any sword worthy of a king’s possession would have required extraordinary effort.
“W-Wait a moment!”
Edwin snapped back to his senses and shook his head vigorously.
“This is far too extravagant! I never expected anything like this……”
“Every object has its rightful owner. And this sword seems better suited to Your Highness than to me.”
Kaiden offered a kind smile.
“Besides, it is not so expensive or precious. It is similar in value to the bow I gave you last time, so please do not feel burdened.”
At his words, Oliver, who had been standing nearby, gaped in disbelief.
‘At least wet your lips before lying, Your Majesty. That single sword could buy several castles.’
The blade Kaiden had just gifted Edwin was a legendary sword that could not be purchased even for an astronomical sum. The bow he had sent previously had been valuable, but it paled in comparison to this treasure.
Though he claimed it could buy several castles, the truth was that its worth was beyond measure.
‘High-purity adamant is so difficult to work with that even shaping it into another form is nearly impossible with ordinary techniques.’
Oliver swallowed a sigh as he watched the young prince holding the sword.
‘We gathered the hidden dwarf craftsmen and forged it with great difficulty.’
The moment the young king of Adamant destroyed the Lionel Kingdom and seized the adamant mines, his first priority had been to develop independent steelworking techniques. At the heart of that effort were the dwarf blacksmiths scattered throughout the continental mountain ranges.
‘But the fact that we allied with the dwarves has never been revealed to the outside world.’
‘He said he doesn’t think of him as his nephew at all.’
Oliver glanced sideways at Kaiden, who wore a broad smile, and pressed a hand to his forehead.
‘In the end, even our lord is human. Look at how his arm bends inward.’
Unlike the worried Oliver, Edwin’s face bloomed like a flower as he received the sword.
“Then… thank you. I’ll accept it gratefully.”
Edwin clutched the sword tightly. It still did not feel real that such a magnificent blade now belonged to him.
“Your Highness.”
At that moment, Kaiden spoke slowly.
“You seem to have talent with the sword. If you continue to train, you will become an excellent swordsman.”
It was praise he had not expected.
Edwin blinked at Kaiden’s words. He had landed a single hit during their sparring match, but in the end, he had been the one defeated.
‘And he only used one hand.’
While Edwin had thrown everything he had into the fight, Kaiden had merely stood in place and swung the arm holding the scabbard. Yet it had been Edwin who was overwhelmingly outmatched.
Only after the match ended had he realized that fact, and the shame had been unbearable.
‘Still……’
Edwin gazed at Kaiden.
‘I thought he would be a very difficult person.’
Suddenly, Edwin understood the strange sense of déjà vu he had felt since first meeting Kaiden.
‘They look alike.’
The young prince recalled his mother’s face from the portrait.
The eyes of the Third Consort, Edith, and Kaiden’s eyes shared an astonishingly identical color.