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Chapter 1
The Burned Letter
Blood Fairy. The Mad Sprite of the Battlefield. The Butcher of War.
All of these titles referred to one single person—Tessia, the beloved only daughter of Duke Cloris and the “Pink Diamond” of the Estonian Empire.
The emperor’s most cherished younger cousin, Tessia was the only girl born to the royal bloodline in that generation, showered with endless affection from the moment she came into the world. She was not only recognized as a legitimate heir to the throne but also granted the title of princess at birth.
With her soft pink hair and fresh green eyes, Tessia only needed to smile, and people were ready to hand her the world. Noble by blood and an only daughter, her worth soared sky-high. That was Tessia Cloris.
And Tessia was the commander of the empire’s pride, the knightly order Valkyrie.
When Tessia first chose the path of a knight, people said the tears shed by the emperor and her family could have raised the water level of the Twency River by a handspan. Yet, tired of overprotection, Tessia shook off her cousin’s desperate pleas clinging to her trousers and marched onto the battlefield. Thus, the Pink Diamond of Estonia became the Blood Fairy.
Tessia tightened her grip on the reins.
Hiiiiiing! The horse’s cry split the battlefield. The monsters tangled with men raised their heads.
The Valkyrie’s emblem was the winged heavenly steed, and now an army of them blotted out the sky and eclipsed the sun. Tessia lifted her ice-forged sword.
“Valkyrie!”
The wind from the heavenly steeds’ wings cut through the despairing Estonian knights. They had awaited the Valkyrie’s arrival ever since word spread they were marching to the front. The Valkyrie were said to be the strongest of all the knight orders that faced monsters. At last, hope had descended upon them.
“Charge!” Tessia shouted.
The monsters were trampled under white hooves. Sunlight flashed off the ice blade, blinding them, and her sharp sword pierced their hearts. The Valkyrie’s reputation was no mere rumor. Monsters fell to their knees.
Tessia pulled her sword from the last creature’s body and removed her helmet, smiling brightly.
“We really won, didn’t we?”
Her green eyes curved softly with her radiant smile. Her spring-like pink hair danced in the wind, carrying with it the sweet scent of blossoms—masking the blood and sulfur stench that scattered on the breeze.
After the long winter war, Valkyrie—Tessia herself—had brought spring.
“Yes, Lady Tessia,” her lieutenant replied, handing her the scabbard lying on the ground. She sheathed the sword she had never once laid down since stepping onto the battlefield.
“Uwoooooooah!”
“Glory to Lady Tessia!”
“Glory to Valkyrie!”
Cheers erupted. Tessia’s eyes sparkled as she turned to her lieutenant.
“Alex.”
“Yes, Lady Tessia.”
“How about meat for dinner tonight?”
The reverent shine in Alex’s eyes immediately dimmed. Tessia ducked her head, motioning to him secretly.
“It’s not that I want to eat meat. But since we won, don’t you think the knights deserve it too? You know?”
Know what? Alex stared at her with cool eyes.
“You had meat yesterday, my lady.”
“Well, just because I had it yesterday doesn’t mean I can’t have it today.”
“You had it the day before as well.”
“…Are you really going to be stingy over meat? Don’t tell me my cousin cut supplies because he’s sulking?”
Tessia asked with an appalled look. Alex sighed and shook his head.
“Of course not.”
The emperor would sooner take the food from his own mouth than deny Tessia anything. He might bully Alex to no end, but he would never risk her displeasure. Not when Alex already had to process dozens of telegrams from His Majesty every day. The emperor clearly thought of him less as Tessia’s adjutant and more as her babysitter.
“Then why so grumpy?”
“…We’ve run out of meat.”
“What?”
Tessia was a glutton. A colossal glutton. No one knew how her small frame could contain so much food. She ate double what a knight three times her size could. People joked that Tessia consumed half of Valkyrie’s supplies by herself—and it wasn’t far from the truth. And because she demanded meat three meals a day, the order’s stock had finally run dry after weeks of marching through the forest.
The look of despair on her face—anyone would think she had lost the war. Sighing, Alex said,
“I’ve already sent the supply knights into the forest. Whatever’s caught in our traps should tide us over.”
Tessia’s face instantly lit up with a grin. So simple.
Straightening, she announced to the waiting knights:
“Everyone, rest! We march again tomorrow morning. Tonight, eat and drink your fill!”
“Yes, my lady!”
The knights, relieved it wasn’t bad news, scattered with bright faces.
Fortunately, today’s battle had few casualties. If Valkyrie had arrived earlier, there would have been even fewer, but the request for reinforcements came too late. Even though they immediately turned back from their route to the capital, over three hundred fell. Without being told, the knights gathered the fallen and collected their dog tags, to return to the families. Tessia too prayed for their souls before retreating to her tent at last.
One must never grow used to death, no matter how used to war one becomes.
She wiped her face with a dry hand, loosened her gear, and finally, rest arrived.
“What’s this?”
On the table lay a letter.
“Ah…”
It was from the imperial household. But instead of the official seal, it bore the emperor’s personal one—another private letter. Sometimes, he was even more overprotective than her own parents.
She slit it open with a paper knife, intending to read it before dinner. But just as she unfolded it—
“Commander! Lady Tessia!”
“What is it?”
“Remnants of the monsters remain! A scouting party has spotted them—you must see for yourself!”
Tessia sprang to her feet. The letter slipped from her hand into the brazier’s fire.
Yet what she regretted most was not the letter, but—
‘Ah, my meat…’
Tessia grabbed her ice sword, not sparing the burning letter a second thought. She had no inkling how much that letter would one day affect her life.
[“My beloved sister Tessia, soon I will see you in person. I know you always give your best for the Empire. For you, I felt I must do something as well. Tessia, it is spring now. Shouldn’t you also find a warm partner, like spring itself? After much thought with Aunt, the Empress, and other relatives, we have chosen candidates for your fiancé. Surely you will like them. (omitted) The strongest candidate is Prince Lowenhardt of the Tirnavan Kingdom. Of course, the choice is yours. The prince is said to arrive earlier than the others, so you may meet him soon in the capital. (omitted) We’ll speak of the rest when you return. – With love, your brother, Helios.”]
Who knew ignoring that letter would come back like this?
Now, Tessia sat at a banquet table with Helios and ten men—all staring only at her.
‘What on earth is happening…?’
Never in her life had she been so bewildered.
“Helios…? What is this?” she asked in disbelief.
“Tessia, I arranged this for you. These are all your fiancé candidates.”
Helios smiled proudly. Tessia had thought tonight’s banquet was to welcome Lowenhardt. Instead, it was… this?
More than once in her life, Tessia had been tempted to grab Helios by the collar and slam him into the floor. Mostly when he began his endless sermons praising her in 101 different ways.
And now was another of those times.
“Tessia, do you not like me…?” Prince Lowenhardt asked with pitiful eyes.
Wait—wasn’t he already engaged to someone?
Before she could process it, another familiar voice spoke.
“Tessia. Did you truly not expect this?”
It was Redford, her long-time not-quite-friend. His face was as calm and kind as ever.
Why are YOU here…?
Tessia’s green eyes trembled.
As the other candidates began to speak, Lowenhardt suddenly dropped a bombshell:
“Did you not promise to take responsibility for me?”
Well, yes, she had said that—but it was over something trivial! Spoken here, it sounded far too meaningful.
The banquet hall erupted with murmurs.
“Wait, Tessia!” Helios cut in.
“You mean you didn’t know? But the letter I sent! That letter full of love!”
“That’s…”
“I keep every letter you’ve sent me! Don’t tell me you burned or lost them? You didn’t, right?”
“That’s…”
“You didn’t even read them all, did you?”
Helios looked as though he had lost a thousand-year love. His aides squirmed in embarrassment at the emperor’s lack of decorum before the suitors.
Tessia forced an awkward laugh. The truth? She had tossed most of his letters into the fire as kindling. Who had time to read those long, repetitive things on the battlefield?
But if she said that, he might send even longer letters next time.
She swallowed nervously.
“Tessia! How could you…” Helios covered his face with his palm, then raised his head, trembling.
“And—what’s this about taking responsibility for Lowenhardt?! What did you do to her, Lowenhardt?!”
Though it was she who had said it, somehow the blame shifted to the prince. But to Helios, the Blood Fairy was his precious flower, his baby sister he had sworn to protect. Never in his life had he imagined she might have done anything with a man.
His eyelids twitched furiously. Tessia clutched her head.
‘Ugh, this is a nightmare…’
She needed a way out.
