🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 3
When ordered to prepare for immediate departure, Isabel returned to her room without a word.
The nuns followed her, anxious and confused.
“What on earth is going on?”
Isabel smiled as brightly as she could and replied,
“Be glad, everyone. For now, the Chardonnay Convent won’t have to pay taxes to the Empire.”
The nuns gasped in shock. It was an unbelievable achievement.
“That’s not all—His Highness also promised us protection and support… our lives will become much easier. And since it’s a promise made by no one less than the Imperial Prince himself, I believe it will be kept.”
“Wait, that’s not the issue here! Isabel, where are you going right now?”
“To His Highness. In exchange, I agreed to give him a sermon.”
Though she spoke nothing but the truth, Sister Helen burst into tears and grabbed Isabel’s arm. Helen was the closest to Isabel in the convent.
“Don’t lie to me! I saw you earlier—he made you take that sword… he put it to your neck! What did that lunatic prince order you to do?!”
“…”
Isabel gave her a bitter smile.
“Helen, don’t worry. The prince told me something. He said he lost to me twice.”
“What?”
“I’ll go and make sure he loses again, alright?”
Knowing how extraordinary Isabel was, Helen could only nod blankly.
After calming the nuns, Isabel began to pack. The only things she needed were her scriptures and her nun’s habit.
‘How long will I be able to endure this…’
She said she’d win again, but Isabel had no confidence at all.
The difference in status was immense, and Lionel clearly didn’t harbor any good intentions. She could feel his desire to keep her close just to trample on her.
All Isabel wanted was to protect the convent, and she no longer had the strength to resist.
When she stepped out with her meager belongings, the knights and Lionel were already ready to leave.
“Get on,” Lionel said, gesturing toward a horse. It was the one left behind after Martin’s death.
Once Isabel climbed up onto the horse, Lionel immediately commanded,
“Return to the encampment.”
The knights moved at once, not even glancing back to see if Isabel was following. It was as if they knew she wouldn’t try to run.
Isabel let out a hollow laugh. She never imagined she’d know what it felt like to be livestock walking to the slaughterhouse on its own.
After about two hours of travel, they reached a grand military encampment. Soldiers came running to greet the prince’s party.
Dismounting, Lionel gave quick orders to the approaching soldiers.
“I’ll hold a meeting. Summon all the officers—we’ll discuss what we’ve seen around this area.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“And prepare a small tent for the nun over there so she can rest. The meeting should take about three hours.”
The last line seemed directed at Isabel, though Lionel never once looked at her.
After finishing his commands, he left with his soldiers.
A soldier approached Isabel.
“Sister, this way, please.”
She nodded and followed him.
The tent she was led to was fairly large.
“You can rest here. Would you like me to bring you a meal?”
“No, that won’t be necessary.”
“Then I’ll at least bring you a few more blankets—it’s cold tonight. Don’t worry, they’re freshly washed. Hahaha!”
His kind smile drew one from Isabel in return.
“Thank you…”
The soldier hesitated for a moment, then nodded and left the tent.
Left alone, Isabel pulled her robe tightly around her shoulders.
‘I never thought I’d get to see the Allevan Empire’s military forces like this…’
She drew her hands out from her robe.
If her hands hadn’t been crippled, perhaps she might’ve joined the war herself to earn military merit. If so, she and Lionel might have met on the battlefield rather than in the convent courtyard.
But reality was merciless.
“I’ve become neither knight nor nun, but a toy…”
Lionel had asked for a sermon, but it was obvious that after that would come his venting of anger.
She stretched her fingers and murmured as she stared at them,
“Will I lose more of these here, I wonder.”
She wasn’t afraid of death. What terrified her was not knowing how much pain and humiliation she might suffer before it came.
A prince who once ordered a nun to kill herself could hardly be expected to show mercy.
She wanted to endure if she could—but if things became too cruel, Isabel knew she wouldn’t be able to hold on.
“I need to sleep…”
If she stayed awake, her imagination would only torture her further.
Curling up on her side, Isabel closed her eyes. Having stayed up all night, she quickly succumbed to sleep.
The fact that she was in the middle of an enemy military camp didn’t matter much.
Even if there was someone foolish enough to touch the nun the prince had brought along, that person’s soul would simply join two or three others on their way to the afterlife.
Thinking that wasn’t such a bad fate, Isabel finally let go of her last thread of consciousness.
When Isabel woke, she felt a strange warmth. She stirred and saw two blankets laid over her body.
Then she remembered the soldier who’d said he’d bring her more blankets and felt a wave of embarrassment.
“Even if I was out of it…”
“What are you talking about?”
“?!”
Startled, she lifted her head—and saw Lionel resting his chin on his hand, watching her from across the tent.
Flustered, Isabel scrambled to gather the blankets around herself.
“Y-Your Highness… what brings you here?”
“Three hours have passed.”
“…Pardon?”
“I told you I’d give you about three hours of rest. Didn’t you understand? I thought you were capable of at least that much comprehension.”
Half-awake and unable to explain herself, Isabel bowed her head.
“I apologize for showing you such a disheveled state.”
“No need. It was rather amusing.”
When she lifted her head in confusion, Lionel smirked.
“To see a woman sleeping soundly before the man who ordered her to take her own life only a few hours ago—how could that not be entertaining?”
“…”
“You seem to have strong nerves… I hope you’ll live up to my expectations.”
With those ambiguous words—part threat, part mockery—Lionel left the tent.
Left alone, Isabel ran her hand through her hair and sighed deeply.
“Ha…”
She tried to think positively. Better to appear calm—or even indifferent—than to sit there crying in despair.
And perhaps because she’d slept, her heavy mood began to lift, replaced by a flicker of defiance.
‘Live up to your expectations, you say?’
So he wants her to endure long enough for him to play with her at his leisure?
As she turned his words over in her now-clearer head, a soldier arrived bringing bread and milk.
“It’s not the regular meal time, so this is all I could bring. Please forgive me.”
“This is more than enough. Thank you.”
“After you’ve eaten, please prepare to depart.”
“Depart?”
“It’s His Highness Lionel’s order.”
So they were moving again.
Isabel nodded obediently and forced herself to eat, even without much appetite.
She needed strength for whatever was to come. Discipline from her years in the convent drove her body to act.
“Lord, please watch over me, that I may not lose myself…”
After finishing her meal and prayer, Isabel stepped outside.
Finding Lionel wasn’t difficult—the black eagle banner was visible as soon as she lifted her gaze.
A nun walking through the center of the military camp was an unusual sight, but no one stopped her.
“You’re here,” Lionel said.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Mount up. We’re heading to the castle immediately.”
She didn’t know which castle, but she didn’t ask. She simply mounted her horse.
With more knights and attendants joining them, the prince’s entourage grew larger as they headed east.
The journey wasn’t harsh. The pace was brisk, but they stopped for rest every two hours, and each time, the attendants looked after Isabel’s needs.
After three such breaks, as the sun began to set behind them, a massive fortress came into view—glowing crimson in the light of the setting sun.
Isabel was awed by its scale and design.
‘So this is the true grandeur of the Empire…’
Having studied military strategy, she immediately recognized that the castle was built purely for warfare.
A fortress where neither entry nor escape would be easy.
“May the color of my soul not fade…”
Pushing down the fear that tightened her chest, Isabel whispered a small prayer.
By the time they reached the gates, night had fallen and torches were lit.
As they entered, people bustled about to receive the prince.
“Any unusual reports while I was away?”
Receiving the updates while still on horseback, Lionel issued swift commands—his decisiveness almost impressive.
Then, without forgetting Isabel, he gave another order.
“Prepare a room for her. She’s my teacher, so see that she’s well attended.”
“Y-Your teacher, Your Highness?” the officer repeated in surprise.
Lionel nodded casually.
“Of course. She’s my preacher—so naturally, she’s my teacher, isn’t she?”
With that simple declaration, Lionel established Isabel’s position and strode into the castle.
Still dazed, Isabel followed the servants to her assigned quarters—a luxurious room with a fine bed and table.
‘Why… why is he actually treating me as a preacher?’
She had expected him to toy with her or kill her right upon arrival. She hadn’t anticipated this kind of treatment.
Still, she refused to let her guard down—but the moment she lay on the bed, her mind went blank.
Like fleeing from reality, Isabel quickly drifted into sleep.
Any hope that she might reason with him shattered the very next day.
“Do you really think I spared my valuable time just to listen to your scriptures?”
“But, Your Highness…”
“Don’t pretend to be an ordinary nun now. Go ahead and preach—stake your entire life on it.”
The ordeal had only just begun.
Isabel had no idea what she could possibly give this mad prince to satisfy him.
