Chapter 25: The Day of Departure for Dranberk

Afrosa looked around the bedroom, bathed in the dim light of dawn.

Her husband’s spot was empty. Afrosa instinctively searched for the warmth he had left behind, and then slowly rose from the bed.

In the chill of the early morning, as cold as winter, her body trembled. If her husband had been there, he would have draped a shawl over her first. She walked toward the back of the cabin, where she heard sounds of movement.

“I think it would be better to bring Marquis Oppressé into this. He has long been hoping for the restoration of the prince’s rule. He was also the only shield for the late empress.”

She heard voices. Afrosa instinctively inhaled and paused her steps.

At the back of the cabin, on the uncovered dirt floor, an object that appeared to be a human body was left abandoned. Was it dead? The lack of movement at the feet seemed strange.

A cold sensation ran down her spine. It wasn’t a vague fear.

She was confused by how indifferent Alec seemed. It was as if he was unaffected by seeing a dead body.

Afrosa shivered and lowered her gaze to the body. Upon closer inspection, it had no head. As the light of day began to reveal more details, the sight became even more shocking.

There was still fresh blood and a head lying behind it… But what was even more surprising was their conversation.

“You want me to marry his daughter and use him as a base, don’t you?”

Alec muttered dryly. Afrosa replayed the words she had just overheard. Honestly, she didn’t fully understand what they meant.

Even if she tried to analyze it, she couldn’t comprehend what they were discussing. But what was clear was that Orcen wanted Alec to marry another woman.

Her heart felt like it was being torn in two. Afrosa remembered something Orcen had said not long ago. He told her that if she didn’t leave, her life would be in danger. Alec was the emperor’s son, and Orcen had come here to serve him. Afrosa stared at Orcen, not Alec. His stiff face, as if marked by a corner, looked hard, but his eyes remained firmly fixed on Alec.

“Marriage is a traditional way of forming alliances. It’s also something the prince needs the most.”

Alliance. Needs… Afrosa pressed her hand to her chest, feeling the sweat form at the tips of her fingers. Her breath felt sharp, and her legs wobbled unsteadily beneath her.

Afrosa swallowed a dry breath and dropped her gaze. She felt like a child being scolded, her shoulders slumping.

“I’m not saying you should abandon her. According to imperial law, royals are allowed to marry more than once.”

Afrosa turned around. She couldn’t bear it anymore. She bit her lips tightly and quickly left the room. Her heart pounded so fiercely that she feared Alec and Orcen might hear it.

She almost ran to her foster father’s bedroom, but stopped just before entering. There was nothing to do with him while he was asleep. It wouldn’t be right to cry and complain, claiming she had a nightmare like when she was a child.

Afrosa stopped in front of the room where her foster father was staying, staring at it for a moment before turning away like a lost child.

---

Time passed. On the day of departure for Dranberk, the carriage Alec called for was far too luxurious to be considered a common fare carriage.

It was far too spacious and the seats were incredibly soft for a peasant’s carriage. The coachman wasn’t dressed in a shabby blue jacket but in a neatly styled coat and cravat.

Even someone who had never left the city could tell that this man wasn’t just a mere driver. The coachman had a well-groomed mustache and even wore a hat.

The horses pulling the carriage were well-groomed, their manes even and their coats shining. Afrosa stared absentmindedly as the luggage was loaded and looked back at her father. When Alec told them yesterday morning that they would be leaving the village to move to Dranberk, her father hadn’t seemed all that surprised.

He nodded gently and wished her and her husband well. When Afrosa asked if he wasn’t surprised, he said that Alec had hinted at it a few days ago. While sudden, he thought it wasn’t a bad decision.

Besides, it wasn’t as if they were parting forever. Dranberk was not far from Laurent, and he promised to visit them often.

Afrosa listened to him absentmindedly. He said he would visit Dranberk soon. Alec nodded, and Afrosa glanced at her husband.

He was dressed more neatly than usual, wearing a well-tailored coat, jacket, cravat, and gloves — a young nobleman who seemed out of place in this village.

Afrosa had been glancing at him the entire time, so she hadn’t even properly said goodbye to her father.

“It will all be fine, my dear.”

Inspector Dallas gently stroked Afrosa’s pale cheek. Afrosa looked at her foster father. Despite his reassuring words, there was worry on his face. Afrosa, her face blank, opened her mouth but couldn’t find the words.

Even as she adjusted her bonnet and neatly spread out her travel dress, everything still felt rushed and sudden. Had her father not noticed it? That Alec was hurrying everything along? Afrosa was being dragged along with no choice in the matter.

But it couldn’t be helped. The carriage door closed. Afrosa looked at the empty house, thinking about the two days spent preparing for the move.

Since seeing the headless body at dawn, Afrosa had been avoiding Alec and only packed her belongings. It wasn’t much, so she thought it would be quick to prepare, but it ended up taking longer than expected.

Alec had said that if there were things she needed, Dranberk’s house was already well-equipped. She didn’t need to bring much. New dresses, shoes, jewelry, and cosmetics were already there.

Aprosa was puzzled about how such things could be ready at their new house, but then she remembered that Alec was a prince and understood. He was the son of the late emperor. Of course, there would be fine things at Dranberk’s house, things nobles would use.

However, Afrosa didn’t feel like any of those things truly belonged to her. Even if Alec said everything was hers, she couldn’t really feel like they were her things.

So, she packed simple clothes, shoes, and other necessities. Though there wasn’t much, she carefully packed sunflower oil for her hair, some powder, and a comb, along with clothes for each season.

“You don’t need to pack so much, Rose.”

Alec stopped her whenever she added something to the bag, but Afrosa shook her head firmly.

“If we need anything later, we can buy it. There’s no need to pack all this.”

“No! Don’t touch my things!”

When she even packed a shawl for the evening, Alec came up to her, trying to stop her, but Afrosa impatiently slapped his hand away. With a sharp sound, his hand fell back. For a moment, she wondered if it was too harsh, but the words still didn’t come out gently.

“Go pack your own things. Don’t worry about me.”

Her words were cold enough to make even her feel that she was growing distant from him. Alec looked down at her in silence. Afrosa, with a stiff face, tried to suppress the tension and hurriedly finished packing. And now, as dawn arrived…

“Your wife’s belongings make up half of the moving items.”

“Women always have more to pack.”

The coachman spoke, and Inspector Dallas replied. The coachman smiled. Afrosa had nothing to say, so she kept her mouth shut. Unlike Inspector Dallas, who was smiling awkwardly and conversing with the coachman, Afrosa didn’t smile at all.

After showing a cold reaction to Alec, Afrosa’s mood had been off. She was still upset from what had happened at dawn and had been avoiding him since.

After saying goodbye to the villagers and leaving the house, she didn’t return until evening, but Alec didn’t say anything.

“It’s time to go.”

After all the luggage had been loaded, only the farewell remained. Inspector Dallas, chatting and laughing with the coachman, walked over to Afrosa. With a somber expression, he opened his arms toward his adopted daughter. Afrosa, a little nervous, looked at her foster father before embracing him.

This was the first time she was parting from her father. After losing both her parents and becoming his daughter, they had always been together. Even after marriage, they lived in the same village and were close enough to visit each other anytime. But Dranberk…

“It will all be fine. Everything will be fine.”

“Yes.”

“I’ll visit you soon. Alec gave me the address, so I should be able to find it easily.”

“Yes. I’ll be waiting. Dad, you have to come quickly.”

She wasn’t a little child anymore, yet she found herself clinging to him. Afrosa, feeling a bit pathetic, smiled before her face crumpled into a sad expression. She didn’t want to part from her father.

She didn’t want to part from Alec either, but parting from her father felt like the wrong thing to do. Yes, this… this act of leaving her father and following Alec seemed wrong.

“It’s time to go.”

Inspector Dallas smiled faintly. He wiped away the tears from her eyes and waved his hand. Afrosa, with a heavy heart, climbed into the carriage.

Perhaps because it was her first time parting from her father, she felt a stomach ache from the nervousness. Her insides twisted, and an unpleasant sensation made her feel queasy. It really felt like everything was going wrong.

“Rose.”

After the carriage had moved, Alec, who had been silent for a while, finally spoke. Afrosa, who had been staring out of the window with a tired expression, shifted her gaze to him. His handsome, indifferent face made it hard to tell what he was thinking. Afrosa didn’t reply verbally and simply looked at him for a long moment.

“What are you thinking?”

What was she thinking? Afrosa had no thoughts to share. It was Alec who was difficult to understand, moving about with unclear intentions. Afrosa just shook her head. She didn’t feel like speaking.

Since leaving the cabin, she had felt both slightly tired and nervous, which made her stomach ache. She didn’t want to show it, though, and it drained her energy. She didn’t want to seem like a child clinging to Alec, complaining.

“Have you ever been to Dranberk?”

She finally found something to ask. Dranberk was an industrial city located southwest of Travis, north of Laurent. It was a city with a short winter and slightly colder winds, a place where textile factories and craftsmen had just begun to emerge. It was a city of wealthy merchants, land-owning nobility, and idealists.

Dranberk was a unique city in the empire of Empostium. Although it produced enormous amounts of goods flowing into Travis and seemed to have an edge over other territories, it couldn’t exert political influence within Travis because of the nobles’ modest backgrounds.

Naturally, Afrosa had never set foot in Dranberk before. She was about to trust Alec and follow him there…

“I went there once when I was young.”

“Is that when you met the person you know?”

“That person is someone I knew from Travis.”

“I see.”

Afrosa nodded. The conversation she tried to start didn’t last long. The carriage rattled over an unpaved road, causing Afrosa to be jostled.

Alec, sitting across from her, moved closer and gently embraced her. Afrosa buried her face in him, blinking her eyes.

It felt uncomfortable, like being held by a stranger. She couldn’t remember how she had gotten along with him in the past. Had there ever been a time when being in his arms felt comfortable? His embrace felt unfamiliar. Afrosa pressed her lips tightly together.

“Do you want to go back to Laurent? Do you miss the inspector?”