IPBPBD 21

 Chapter 21

…Or so she thought, but even after two whole years had passed, she hadn’t so much as held a man’s hand, let alone dated anyone.

Every now and then, unable to resist Katie’s nagging, she would show her face at social gatherings. And indeed, there were always men who asked to meet her.

Sometimes proposals or even letters of engagement arrived.

But strangely enough, within a few days they all changed their minds, citing one excuse or another.

Emilina couldn’t understand it at all.

Was this some sort of divine decree—that she was destined to live alone without a partner?

Whenever she asked for the reason, they dodged the question or avoided giving her a proper answer.

Not even knowing the cause left her incredibly frustrated.

What made it worse was that, as this continued, bizarre rumors began to spread.

Any man who courts Lady Klein will no longer be able to perform as a man.

It was utterly ridiculous, and yet the young noblemen took it seriously, as if it were a credible story.

Neither Mactrun nor Katie’s attempts at clarifying helped.

The rumor had already spread too widely to be stopped, and it was more than enough to make men hesitate to marry her.

This happened when Emilina turned twenty.

A few days later, the entire kingdom was thrown into turmoil.

The current King of Lioneph declared war on the Kingdom of Genova.

The reason given was that Genova had violated the peace treaty by sending troops across the border.

In other words, a war dressed up with justification.

But behind it was the King’s ambition to use this opportunity to subjugate Genova.

The common people, unaware of such ambitions, feared the devastation that would follow—the destruction, the countless casualties, and the possibility of losing the war.

The nobles shrank back, wary of the possibility of being conscripted.

The newspapers were filled with nothing but reports of the conflict between the two nations.

And in the middle of all this, the vanguard army chosen to march out was none other than the Duchy of Ditrio—where the duke was only sixteen years old.

At sixteen, he was being made to bear the lives of countless soldiers as the commander of the vanguard.

He had received a royal decree; refusing was impossible. It was no different from being ordered to march to his death.

Many people looked on with pity. But Emilina did not.

Because she knew the future.

All she felt was regret that someone so young had to face such a harsh ordeal.

‘It may be his fate as the male lead, but still…’

Emilina herself had little interest in the war.

But she couldn’t ignore it completely—because when the Duke of Ditrio marched out, the knights of his order would accompany him.

And Rosie was among them.

He had been part of the order for three years already.

Apparently, he had worked with sheer determination to be accepted, driven by his resolve to join. Even the vice-commander had taken notice of him.

She wouldn’t have known if he hadn’t bragged with that annoying grin of his.

But no matter how irritating he could be, he was still her irreplaceable, precious friend.

The only one in town—regardless of noble or commoner—with whom she could truly open her heart.

So when that friend said he was going off to war, her heart felt heavy.

She couldn’t help but think about death.

The possibility that he might not come back was very real. After all, in the original story, he was just an extra.

Together with Rodin, Emilina saw Rosie off, her voice full of worry as she warned him:

“Make sure you come back safely. If you die, I won’t forgive you.”

“Don’t worry so much. I may not be a knight yet, but I can at least protect myself.”

“Protect yourself, my foot! What I’m worried about is your dumb heroic complex making you throw yourself around recklessly!”

“Well, isn’t that what knights do? Sacrificing for others is a noble thing.”

Smack!

“You idiot. Do you hear yourself? And besides, you just said it—you’re not even a real knight yet. If you die, no one’s going to recognize you for it, you know?”

Emilina scolded, smacking him on the back of the head.

“If you save someone but end up dead yourself, what’s the point? Treasure your life. Your life isn’t just your own—it matters to the people you leave behind too!”

She was practically fuming as she spoke.

Rodin added in a stern tone:

“The young lady’s right. Did you become a knight just to be an unfilial son? You’d better learn the value of your life.”

Rosie’s shoulders hunched a little under Rodin’s rebuke.

It wasn’t as though he wasn’t afraid.

But what could he do? This was the path of a knight. He had to put on a brave face and march forward.

That way, at least his friends could feel reassured.

“Yes, sir. I’ll remember that. I’ll make sure to come back alive. Millie, thank you too. I’ll be back.”

“Good. That’s all I ask.”

“Here, take this. I wrote you a letter.”

“Wow, a letter from you? This is a first.”

“It’s nothing special. More importantly, remember this one thing: if you feel like you’re going to die, stick close to the duke.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Just remember it. If you can, always stay by the duke’s side. Got it?”

“Huh?”

“Answer me!”

“O-okay.”

Rosie didn’t really understand, but Emilina’s intense gaze forced him to nod reluctantly.

“Alright, then I’m really going now.”

“Yeah. I’ll write again.”

“Take care of yourself.”

Rosie gave his final farewells and set off for the battlefield.

In his hand, he carried the letter Emilina had written herself.

At the time, Rosie had no idea.

That letter would completely change his life.

Neither Emilina, who gave it, nor Rosie, who received it, knew that at all.

The night before departure, a victory banquet was held in the royal palace.

Kirzen, who had entered the palace early to attend—as required by royal command—showed his face before the king and was on his way out.

“You’re leaving earlier than I expected.”

“There’s no reason to stay longer.”

“Hm. I see. I figured as much, though. Still, I thought they might at least treat you with some courtesy, considering they summoned you with a royal command.”

A man, approaching without a sound, followed after Kirzen with a mocking tone.

Kirzen gave a faint smile as he loosened the top button of his stiff formal attire.

“Courtesy? You already knew what to expect.”

“True, being ignored isn’t exactly new. But still, after giving you responsibility, I thought they might at least pretend.”

“If they had any intention of showing courtesy to me, they wouldn’t have brought me here in the first place.”

“You’re quite cynical.”

“They’re nothing but bats—fickle creatures.”

Disgust twisted his voice, the contempt unhidden.

The man agreed.

“On that, I can’t disagree. To throw you into the jaws of death, then hold a banquet just to flatter one another… it’s laughably transparent.”

“Politicians are never in their right minds.” He shook his head.

Kirzen silently agreed.

And the conversation ended there.

They quickened their pace in silence.

The man’s eyes lingered on Kirzen’s back.

“Has it already been six years?”

The boy the commander had once brought in had grown so much he was nearly unrecognizable.

The man wasn’t short himself, but now their eye level was almost even—it was hard to look down on him anymore.

And his presence, sharp and dangerous, had grown just as much as his physique.

It was hard to believe he was only sixteen.

His monstrous growth made the man click his tongue in awe.

At that moment, Kirzen spoke.

“Are the preparations ready?”

“They’ve been done for a while now.”

“Check again. They might have set something up. We leave at dawn.”

“Would they really go that far? …Actually, it wouldn’t surprise me. Understood.”

The man nodded.

Just as he was about to move, Kirzen asked another question.

“Has he shown up yet?”

“Unfortunately, no.”

“Then he’s vanished completely.”

Kirzen stroked his chin, thoughtful.

“Don’t dwell on it too much. Unless something unusual happens, he won’t make a move—just like the commander said.”

“I’d rather remove any potential danger if possible.”

“Because of her?”

“And what if I said yes?”

“Honestly, I’d question your sanity.”

The man sneered, his tone openly disrespectful.

“If that’s how you feel, you never should have gotten involved in the first place. Last time was already dangerously close. And the timing couldn’t be worse—”

“Jerome.”

Kirzen’s voice cut low.

“Haven’t I said before? I can’t stand having vermin swarming around.”

Jerome was left speechless.

He worried about danger, yet he himself was the one dragging her into it.

The contradiction couldn’t be greater.

But it had always been like this, ever since he had begun serving him. When it came to this matter, Kirzen was especially stubborn.

Jerome let out a long sigh.

“…Fine. Have it your way. Just know this—next time, I won’t be able to do anything to help.”

“If you’d handled things properly, there wouldn’t be a next time.”

“You can’t know that for sure.”

“Are you implying you’re incompetent?”

Jerome stared at him, utterly speechless.

His shamelessness left him without words.

And then, with a sudden sense of foreboding, he asked:

“Don’t tell me—you plan on acting the same way on the battlefield too?”