The White-Haired Ghost
The evening of that same day, Yoanna came to see her.
“Tatiana!”
“I heard the news. You’re leaving for Britzck tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
“Smart decision. Since Sir Orsini is coming, it’s better to step aside for a while.”
Yet Yoanna’s cheeks were flushed, her expression brimming with unmistakable anticipation.
“You look rather pleased about it.”
“What? No way, that’s ridiculous.”
“……”
“Sorry. Honestly, I am a little excited. Sir Orsini is incredibly handsome. Men like that are rare.”
Honestly, her weakness for a pretty face never changed.
It was such a familiar sight that Canna wasn’t even surprised.
“It’s not just me. All the other young ladies are buzzing with excitement too. Most of them have never seen him before.”
“Please tell them to be careful. If they get too close after seeing his face, they might get bitten.”
“I doubt it’ll be that bad.”
Yoanna’s eyes narrowed slyly.
“From what I hear, his personality has changed quite a bit. He’s not as violently reckless as he used to be.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yes. They say he’s quiet and reserved now.”
That guy?
Canna found the description impossible to believe.
Quiet and reserved Orsini? It didn’t suit him at all.
“It seems he changed a lot after becoming the family heir in place of Lord Kallen.”
Yoanna’s face darkened noticeably. Canna closed her mouth as well.
Kallen Addis.
They said he had thrown himself from the spire, unable to overcome the shock of her death.
That idiot.
Just thinking about him made it impossible for Canna to smile anymore. The shock she had felt when she first heard the news came rushing back.
This wasn’t what I wanted.
She had never intended to reconcile with Kallen.
She had no desire to get along with him, nor any intention of forgiving him.
Even so, she had never wished for such an ending.
She had never wanted him to die like that.
Not long after Yoanna left, Alexei came to find her.
To be precise, he snuck in through the window to avoid prying eyes.
“Your Highness, you really should maintain some dignity.”
A crown prince climbing through windows like a common thief.
Yet he stepped inside as if it were perfectly natural and pulled her into a fierce embrace.
“Why come through the window? You’re not a burglar.”
She grumbled, but in truth, Canna was happy.
She liked Alexei.
She liked this life as Tatiana.
Yes. This is what living feels like.
Giving and receiving feelings purely, without suspicion or wariness, simply sharing affection.
I will never give up this life.
But she still didn’t know what to do about Crown Prince Alexei.
Alexei was the man who would become King of Yalden. Between them stood a mountain far too vast to ever cross.
If she accepted a noble title and became his queen?
Living as Queen of Yalden would inevitably mean encountering the head of the Addis family one day.
And not just the Addis. She would also have to face the imperial family of Isaberg.
So it’s impossible.
It wasn’t a problem she could overcome simply because she wished it.
Therefore, this romance was nothing more than a sweet dream that would one day end, like a midsummer night’s fantasy.
So what?
To like someone, to hit a wall, and eventually to part ways.
Then cry a little, stand up again, and move on. That was life.
Just because the end is visible doesn’t mean the feelings of this moment are fake.
Canna decided to simply enjoy the present.
“It’s dizzying.”
Burying his face in the crook of her neck, Alexei let out a hot breath.
“When I’m with you, I feel dizzy. Like my head is spinning out of control.”
“Shall I prepare some medicine for you?”
“I’m afraid.”
“Of what?”
Alexei held her so tightly it felt as though she might break.
“Tatiana, I’m terrified that one day you’ll leave my side.”
“……”
“Why don’t you ever ask anything of me? Why won’t you talk about our future?”
“……”
“Promise me. No matter what happens, you’ll stay by my side forever.”
Canna smiled with gentle pity and stroked his hair. She whispered sweetly.
“I promise.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Then Alexei twisted his lips.
“That’s a lie, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
Alexei let out a small chuckle. He caressed her cheek and murmured softly.
“You really are a wicked woman.”
Early the next morning, Canna prepared to depart.
“You will join the mercenary at the Kantashi Inn.”
She was told to look for a mercenary with pure white hair and green eyes there.
“Will I really be able to find him with just that information? White hair is uncommon, but he’s still a complete stranger…”
The queen’s attendant gave her a strange smile.
“He will stand out.”
“Pardon?”
“He has a striking appearance that catches the eye no matter where he is. You’ll recognize him at first glance.”
With that, the attendant handed Canna a hair ribbon shaped like a blue rose.
“If you wear this, he will find you first, Madam Physician.”
“……”
You want me to wear this tacky ribbon?
“Be careful. He has a very aggressive and insolent personality. He’s the kind of mercenary who lives as if there’s no tomorrow, so he may do things that cannot be undone.”
“I understand. I’ll be cautious.”
Since she had to avoid drawing any attention, Canna set out alone.
The Kantashi Inn was located on the outskirts of the capital, a bustling place frequented by countless travelers.
It had been, at least.
Now it’s almost entirely filled with mercenaries…
Canna avoided the rowdy men drinking loudly and took a seat in a quiet corner of the dining area.
The majority of the inn’s patrons were indeed mercenaries.
Over the past three years, the mercenary market had exploded in size.
All because of the Black Fog.
The Black Fog had grown increasingly ferocious, infecting many people. As the number of the infected surged and monsters began pouring out from the fog, knights alone could no longer handle the threat. Naturally, demand for mercenaries skyrocketed.
The world has changed so much.
Priests from the Great Temple now resided permanently in every city, the mercenary market was thriving, and moreover—
Ah, there’s someone from the Eastern Continent.
With the full opening of cultural exchange between the Eastern and Western Continents, an era had begun in which people could travel freely between them.
Thanks to that, Canna could practice medicine with peace of mind.
The medical arts of the Eastern Continent were similar to her own, so she was no longer treated as some mysterious oddity like before.
Still, the current era’s medicine is significantly inferior to what I learned…
That was why she lived while deliberately concealing the full extent of her skill. It would be troublesome if she drew too much attention by being called a genius.
Instead, rumors had begun circulating in the Aslan Empire about a genius physician who had appeared.
She had heard it was a young woman from the Eastern Continent.
That physician had supposedly cured the Empress’s skin disease. Every time she recalled that fact, an uncomfortable feeling stirred in the corner of her heart.
It should have been impossible.
The Empress’s skin disease had been created through alchemy.
Yet a physician had appeared who cured it?
I don’t know. I shouldn’t pay it any more attention.
Her own life was already overwhelming enough; she had no desire to concern herself with anything else.
“Hey, miss. You here alone?”
At that moment, the mercenaries who had been circling and stealing glances at her approached. When she lifted her head, their eyes met.
“Oh.”
“A beauty.”
“She’s incredible.”
They snickered among themselves, then shamelessly sat down at her table.
“If you’re alone, why don’t you have a beer with us? We’ll buy.”
It was then that the noisy inn suddenly fell silent, as if cold water had been poured over it.
“…What’s going on?”
“Why did it get so quiet all of a sudden?”
The mercenaries also seemed puzzled and turned their heads. Then they froze instantly.
A man with white hair was walking into the inn.
Thud. Thud. Only the precise, measured sound of his footsteps echoed across the frozen silence.
The man’s eyes were fixed directly on Canna.
More precisely, they were locked onto the blue rose hair ribbon tying back her light brown hair.
“H-he’s coming this way?”
“Hey, get up, quick.”
The mercenaries scrambled to their feet in a panic and fled to another table.
Thump!
Finally, the man reached her and took the seat across from her.
Then he stared at her and asked,
“Tatiana Evgenia?”
His voice was low, calm, and composed.
But Canna couldn’t hear his words.
“Is that you?”
“……”
Her lips parted on their own.
Was she dreaming?
Or had her eyes gone wrong?
When Canna remained speechless, the white-haired man narrowed his brows. He glared at her with sharp eyes and asked again.
“I asked if you are Tatiana Evgenia.”
A familiar voice.
A familiar face.
How…?
How was this possible?
It couldn’t be.
Because he was dead.
Yet the person before her eyes was unmistakably someone she knew. It couldn’t be a mistake. There was no way she would confuse him with anyone else.
She could have picked him out from a crowd of hundreds!
Kallen.
The white-haired mercenary.
It was Kallen Addis.