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chapter 32
“Cousin?”
Erdéne’s voice, as she asked back, was mixed half with curiosity and half with caution.
Sophia skimmed over the pages Erdéne had written—she had finally succeeded in getting her to hold a proper writing guide—and nodded with clear satisfaction before replying.
“Yes, Your Highness. Duke Pellerhar is the son of the late king’s elder brother, making him His Majesty Arkan’s cousin. They are the same age as well.”
As Sophia set down the practice book Erdéne had been carefully working through, her brows suddenly furrowed as if she had just realized something important.
“However, Your Highness.”
Erdéne, who had been idly tossing her pen aside and lost in thought, turned her gaze toward her.
“It just occurred to me—I still don’t know how old you are.”
“What does it matter whether you know or not? I am twenty-three this year. After my birthday, I will be twenty-four.”
“I see. I’ll remember that.”
At that, a faint smile—somewhere between a smirk and a sneer—formed at the corners of Erdéne’s lips.
“I don’t even know whether His Majesty is older than me or younger.”
Sophia answered,
“His Majesty Arkan held his birthday banquet in the spring. He is twenty-six this year.”
So his birthday is in spring, Erdéne thought. Twenty-six… that was somewhat unexpected.
At times, whenever she saw Arkan, there were moments when he seemed younger than her—a boy who had only just reached adulthood.
Perhaps that was why she often felt the urge to tease him whenever she saw him.
Not that she still thought of him as a mere inexperienced brat like she had at first.
A maid who had been working in the outer sitting room cautiously stepped inside.
“Your Highness, the Duke of Sonetum has arrived.”
Erdéne glanced at the maid, Anne. Startled, Anne pressed her lips together briefly before quickly regaining her composure and adding,
“His Highness Pellerhar has arrived.”
“Ah, that cousin.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Show him to the drawing room and prepare some refreshments.”
Anne curtsied and hurried out. The maids Sophia had recently brought in were all composed and efficient.
Anne in particular had originally served the Marquis Fiddlers’ household, yet despite working in the unfamiliar royal palace, she had adapted remarkably quickly.
Erdéne pushed her chair back and stood. Ink from her writing practice stained her hand.
“I thought I’d see him at dinner, but he’s quite impatient.”
Sophia dampened a handkerchief and gently wiped the ink from Erdéne’s hand.
“He is rather broad-minded.”
“Who, that cousin?”
Sophia nodded. The ink stains had faded, though not completely.
Erdéne’s eyes drifted as if imagining something, then she shrugged.
“Sophia, if what you say is true, at least he won’t be dull.”
Pellerhar, having been led into the drawing room, slowly looked around at the interior, which felt quite different from when the former queen had resided there.
None of the furniture or decorations had changed.
Only the curtains had been replaced, along with a few paintings and tapestries.
Even so, Pellerhar felt no trace of the former queen—his aunt—lingering in the room.
“Her Highness, the Princess Consort, is entering.”
At the attendant’s words, Pellerhar curled his lips into a smile and rose to his feet.
Erdéne entered the room, almost kicking up the hem of her dress as she walked.
It was due to her long stride, but the deep green dress—like the lushness of midsummer foliage—suited her bold gait in a strangely fitting way.
Her long hair was swept up, revealing the clean line of her pale neck.
Pellerhar’s gaze lingered briefly on the small scars near her ear and beneath her jaw before he grinned.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness. I am Pellerhar Kiprosmine.”
“A pleasure. Please, sit.”
Erdéne’s reply was concise. But Pellerhar could tell she was observing him closely, like a beast lurking in the underbrush.
Each time her pale blue eyes moved swiftly, he felt the strange urge to cover the back of his neck.
Sophia and Anne brought in refreshments together.
Anne left, while Sophia stood, as always, a short distance behind Erdéne.
“Sophia, it’s been a while. Hasn’t it?”
Erdéne turned sharply to look at her.
Sophia lowered her gaze slightly and gave a small bow.
“It has been a while, Your Highness Pellerhar.”
“How is your mother?”
A faintly mischievous smile flickered across Sophia’s lips before disappearing.
“She must be well. As for my sister… I’m not sure.”
Pellerhar burst into laughter—clear and unrestrained.
Erdéne watched him with growing curiosity before asking,
“Are you two well acquainted?”
“Ah, my apologies. If you mean Sophia and me—yes, you could say that. Though in Vetor, it would be harder to find someone who doesn’t know Sophia Fiddlers.”
Sophia said nothing.
As if used to Pellerhar talking about her like this, she remained indifferent.
Pellerhar smiled again and met Erdéne’s gaze.
“Though now, someone even more famous than Sophia stands before me.”
“I’m famous?”
“Surely you wouldn’t claim otherwise?”
Erdéne laughed, amused.
“Well, I’ve never not been famous. At this point, I hardly have the time to care where my name is being mentioned.”
Perhaps her answer was unexpected—Pellerhar’s eyes widened slightly before he laughed again.
“That’s true enough. One could hear Your Highness’s name wherever one went.”
“You must have traveled quite a bit.”
“I’m not the type to stay in one place.”
“Then you must have seen and heard many things.”
“Of course. That’s my only pride. My cousin, His Majesty Arkan, is calm, wise, and meticulous—but I’m nothing like that. I much prefer wandering wherever I please.”
Then, suddenly, Pellerhar smiled—a warm yet slightly playful expression.
“As a matter of fact, I once saw Your Highness a few years ago.”
For the first time, a spark lit up in Erdéne’s eyes.
She had been ready to stand and leave at any moment if he kept rambling, but this was unexpected.
“You saw me? Where?”
“About four years ago. You remember the battle at Lengnoldor Gorge, don’t you?”
A clear look of surprise appeared on Erdéne’s face.
“How do you know about that?”
“The archers and spearmen of the Kingdom of Blatchard ambushed imperial soldiers passing through the gorge. At the time, I was among the Blatchard troops.”
Even Sophia couldn’t hide her surprise.
But Erdéne, who vividly remembered the event, immediately understood.
“You were a mercenary?”
“I knew you’d remember.”
The Kingdom of Blatchard had recruited mercenaries from all over to fight the empire.
In truth, Erdéne and her forces had not been heading into battle at the time.
They had merely been scouting the fastest route to the coast under the emperor’s orders—her father.
The empire was surrounded by steep mountains and difficult valleys, making inland travel unavoidable to reach the sea.
To overcome this, the imperial court had spent years carefully surveying routes.
“At the gorge, Blatchard’s forces and mercenaries ambushed Your Highness—though at the time, you were the imperial princess… In any case, fewer than a hundred of you.”
Erdéne let out a scoff.
“That’s right.”
“The spearmen of Blatchard led the charge, but they were cut down like fallen leaves under the empire’s blades. The archers, seeing that, trembled too much to even nock their arrows, and half the mercenaries fled. When they saw you riding up the slope, one of the mercenaries beside me screamed and fainted.”
The Blatchard soldiers, who had targeted Princess Erdéne thinking her vulnerable, later suffered thorough retaliation.
“You survived somehow.”
Erdéne stared at Pellerhar.
Her eyes seemed to burn, and her smile—revealing even, white teeth—was like that of a fierce leopard that had found its prey.
Pellerhar had joined as a mercenary not out of loyalty or defiance, but out of curiosity.
Though armed, he had not bothered descending into the gorge to fight.
He had merely watched from above as the charging spearmen tangled among themselves and were slaughtered by Erdéne and the imperial officers.
“Thinking about it, Blatchard’s king was rather foolish. To train such weak-willed men as archers—men who think of fleeing first upon seeing that sight. Had they done their part, would things have turned out differently?”
Erdéne tilted her head slightly, smiling leisurely.
“As if that would have made a difference. Still, quite the coincidence. I didn’t leave many alive that day, yet you were among them.”
