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Chapter 18
Tesia’s Dark History
Tesia was struck dumb for a long while before she finally managed to speak.
“Helios, o… Your Majesty the Emperor. What in the world is going on here?”
She nearly forgot it was a formal occasion and almost grabbed the emperor by the collar as she asked in a choked voice.
“What else would this be? They’re your suitor candidates.”
“Wait—suitors…?”
Suitors? This was the first she had ever heard of it. Tesia had never once been told anything about an engagement. At her reaction, Emperor Helios lightly chided her.
“I told you in a letter that I’d be bringing your potential fiancés.”
“A letter…?”
Tesia racked her brain furiously, but nothing came to mind. No wonder—she always skimmed Helios’s letters and tossed them away. On the battlefield, it was even worse; she burned most of the letters for kindling. Who had time to read every trivial story when war was raging? But now, one of those letters she had carelessly burned had come back to haunt her. With a trembling voice, Tesia asked:
“I never heard of this. But more importantly… why do I have not just one, but ten fiancé candidates?”
“Since I wasn’t sure of your type, I prepared all of them.”
“What?”
“Surely one of them must suit your tastes.”
Tesia looked around the table, her face full of confusion. Everyone’s eyes were fixed on her, filled with anticipation. Then, she accidentally locked eyes with Rowenhart, who was looking at her with the pitiful gaze of a puppy afraid of being abandoned.
“Tesia… do you not like me…?”
Good heavens. Why was he sitting there?
Didn’t he already have a fiancée?
Nothing made sense anymore. As Tesia hesitated, the others, who had been waiting for a chance, raised their voices one by one.
“Princess Tesia! I am Francis Gray! It is an honor to meet you!”
“The moment I saw you from afar, I thought I would go blind. My name is William Reeve Miller.”
“You are the light and blessing of this world. No words of praise could ever capture your radiance, Princess.”
“Princess! I—”
“I—!”
With ten candidates all trying to make themselves known, the banquet hall quickly grew noisy. Emperor Helios nodded in satisfaction at their enthusiasm. If this was a dream, Tesia wanted to wake up. As she stared blankly at Rowenhart, a familiar voice reached her ears.
“Tesia. Did you truly not expect this situation?”
She whipped her head around. There stood Redford, as calm and kind as always. But his presence here meant only one thing—he too was one of her fiancé candidates. Tesia’s green eyes trembled. Never in her life had she faced such chaos. Not even when her most trusted knight betrayed her on the battlefield had her body shaken this much.
Tesia. Whatever happens, don’t be shocked.
Only then did she understand the Empress Riorfe’s final words. This was all Emperor Helios’s doing. Tesia had once dreamed of grabbing her brother’s collar—and now was the time! But before she could move, Rowenhart threw a bomb.
“Princess Tesia. Did you not promise to take responsibility for me…?”
The hall fell into an uproar. All eyes turned toward Tesia and Rowenhart.
“And yet, here you are entertaining others…”
“Hahaha…”
A hollow laugh escaped Tesia’s lips. True, she had once said she would take responsibility for Rowenhart—but only for something trivial: drinking him under the table until he couldn’t get home, and then nursing his hangover the next day! He told her she didn’t need to apologize to a fiancé. Was that because he was the fiancé?!
At Rowenhart’s words, even Emperor Helios, who had been smiling proudly, widened his eyes.
“Tesia. What is the meaning of this?”
“Ha, haha…”
“To take responsibility for Prince Rowenhart? Rowenhart! What did you do to her?!”
His thunderous scolding fell upon Rowenhart. To Helios, the Blood Fairy wasn’t just a warrior dripping with blood, but his only beloved little sister—the flower he had to protect at all costs. He had considered the matter of finding her a proper match, but never—not once—had he imagined his sister would actually… with a man…!
Yet Rowenhart ignored the emperor’s fury, staring straight at Tesia.
“…I believed Princess Tesia had chosen me, Your Majesty.”
“You…!”
“It was Princess Tesia herself who said she would take responsibility for me. But I see now that there are many others besides me.”
His voice was gloomy, his expression that of a man betrayed beyond belief.
Ah, what a mess…
Tesia held her head.
The banquet ended shortly afterward. Tesia fled, insisting she knew nothing of this, and with the main figure gone, the suitors dispersed as well. Even Helios left, saying he had to go see Tesia. Rowenhart hummed a tune to himself.
Things are going well.
He had been surprised when the emperor suddenly gathered all the suitors—he hadn’t expected the engagement matter to be revealed tonight. When he’d asked Helios to keep it a secret, the emperor had agreed so easily, yet now he seemed to have changed his mind. Still, this worked out to Rowenhart’s advantage. He hadn’t said outright that they spent the night together, but everyone present must have guessed what “responsibility” implied. The emperor’s furious reaction had already given the answer away.
The emperor’s wrath worries me a bit… but he won’t interfere if the princess wants me.
After all, who was he? He was the man Princess Tesia had chosen. Rowenhart brimmed with confidence.
Just as he was leaving the hall, he realized someone else had remained.
“Prince Tiranavan.”
Redford approached, his footsteps echoing across the room. He stopped right in front of Rowenhart, lifted his chin, and asked calmly—but with a furrowed brow:
“What did you mean by saying Tesia must take responsibility?”
So that’s why he stayed behind. His tone was polite, but Rowenhart caught the warning in it: How dare you touch Tesia? He chuckled.
“Answer me.”
Always so gentle and kind—yet now showing his impatience.
“It’s exactly what it sounded like.” Rowenhart tilted his lips into a crooked smile. “What more explanation do you need?”
“…Prince.”
Redford ground his teeth.
“Tesia is a noble woman. She is not someone you toy with out of curiosity.”
“You’re right. I agree completely.”
“Then how dare you—”
“But the one who was toyed with wasn’t her. It was me.”
Rowenhart lowered his lashes, feigning sorrow.
“The ever-faithful Princess Tesia promised to take responsibility for me. Conveniently, I’m also a suitor candidate—so it all works out.”
“Tesia didn’t even know you were one!”
“Well, now she does. Isn’t that fortunate? And, Little Duke…”
Rowenhart pushed a finger against Redford’s chest, smiling brightly—the smile that charmed all of Tiranavan society.
“You should stop calling the princess by her name so casually. Even if you are her closest ‘friend,’ there are rules to follow.”
“Prince.”
“Since I’ll soon be her fiancé, I’d appreciate it if you’d keep your distance. Think of it as advice—out of concern for you.”
Rowenhart shoved him lightly aside and strode away. Behind him came Redford’s voice:
“Tesia is far too good for you.”
Ah, fools with poor memories are the worst. He had already forgotten what he’d just said. Yes, Tesia might be too good for Rowenhart—innocent, radiant, someone he even felt guilty about. But no matter what, he couldn’t let her go.
Rowenhart kindly reminded him:
“‘Princess Tesia’ is a more fitting title for you, Little Duke.”
Without looking back, he left the hall. Now was not the time for squabbles—he had to plan how to win Tesia over. First of all…
I’ll need to apologize.
“Haaahp!”
Tesia swung her sword. Wooden practice dummies toppled one by one under the sharp force of her strikes.
“Hap!”
Crack! A dummy snapped at the root and crashed to the ground, beyond repair. At last, Tesia straightened, panting, and wiped the sweat from her brow. Broken wooden dummies lay piled high, like kindling waiting for a bonfire. A ray of morning sunlight poured down on her. She had begun her training past midnight, and only now was the new day dawning.
Burying her face in her palms, she sighed deeply.
“Haa…”
Finally, her heart felt a little calmer. But as soon as she thought of Helios, her pulse spiked again.
“Helios… the dark stain of my life…”
She ground her teeth. Last night, like a man presenting a surprise gift, he had unveiled ten suitor candidates before her. If humiliation could take physical form, this was it. If only Helios would vanish, her life would be so much easier. Yes, he had mentioned it once, and yes, she had burned the letter—but surely there was at least one more chance he could have told her directly!
Even worse was the revelation that among the candidates were Rowenhart—whom she’d thought was just a new healer—and Redford—her closest friend. This could only mean the three of them had conspired to deceive her.
This is all Helios’s fault.
Tesia puffed her cheeks.
I have to do something—before he causes another mess.
