TFR 07

chapter 07

“Hey.”

A thin boy’s voice.

Rosellina looked at Monterno, who was sitting in front of her, holding out a food tray. From the very day he returned, Monterno had been volunteering to bring her meals.

Rosellina couldn’t understand why he was doing this. A weak boy. The very boy she had once tied up with rope, intending to drag along.

On the tray, she saw warm soup, several slices of well-cooked bacon, a few boiled eggs and plums, honey and cheese, and soft bread. A luxurious meal, enough to fill the tray. Yet it was a meal far too fine for a prisoner.

“You’re not eating again? That’s bad for you. Just eat it in secret, secretly.”

Monterno placed two boiled potatoes he had hidden inside his sleeve beside the tray.

“Why are you taking care of me?”

Rosellina spoke in a guarded voice, lowering her tone slightly to avoid revealing her true identity.

“Well, His Majesty assigned me to meal duty.”

“……”

When Rosellina’s suspicious gaze didn’t ease, Monterno quickly added,

“B-but I volunteered, too!”

Monterno had shouted in front of the Emperor, before Baron Aventurine could stop him: “Please assign me as Roberto Brida’s meal attendant!”

Dantes had looked at him with curiosity. He couldn’t leave everything to Marco, Gunter, and Cesario forever. They were already too busy investigating the Terzes Kingdom’s raid and determining the safest route back to the Imperial Palace.

Overhearing his father and the butler whispering about the gravity of the situation, Monterno had jumped in without thinking. Dantes, cold-eyed, sized him up from head to toe.

“You?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Eh?”

“I asked why I should assign you that task.”

The sudden pressure made Monterno bite his lip. Usually, he hung around with the three knights, joking and laughing, but facing the Emperor was different. There was a weight to him, a commanding aura that couldn’t be ignored.

“I-I! I’m Baron Aventurine’s only son, so I know this mansion’s layout very well! I’m also interested in medicine and magic, so I can take good care of the prisoner! And also…”

Monterno rambled on, but stopped dead when Dantes raised his hand. Even a small gesture carried absolute authority. His gaze was languid, unhurried, and yet unbearably commanding.

It felt as though just breathing exuded imperial power.

“Can members of the Imperial Family control people just by breathing? Is it some kind of magic power?” Monterno had wondered at the time.

Dantes studied the boy’s wide, round eyes. Of all the people around him, Monterno seemed the least threatening and the least likely to be swayed by court factions.

“No one must harm Roberto until the truth is uncovered. Until I know why he left, why he fled this far…”

To Dantes, neither Monterno nor anyone else mattered. Only Roberto Brida.

Why Monterno showed no fear of the notorious fugitive Roberto was puzzling. But this was the same boy who had once walked straight into a goblin nest out of curiosity. Dantes decided to use that curiosity.

Inside the Imperial Knights, not everyone was hostile to Roberto. Some seemed to know that if he returned, he wouldn’t necessarily be treated as a criminal.

The five friends had always shared a special bond. Of them, Roberto was the strongest and most brilliant. A man of quiet strength. His very survival despite years of pursuit was proof enough of his ability.

Monterno belonged to neither Roberto’s enemies nor his allies. And since he was Baron Aventurine’s son, no one could easily lay hands on him.

That was the only reason Dantes allowed him.

But Rosellina thought differently. She didn’t know all the political currents outside, but she sensed there must be another reason this boy threw himself into such tangled affairs. He pretended to be pure-hearted, but perhaps he had another agenda.

Turning away from him, Rosellina spoke,

“I won’t eat the food you bring.”

“Why not? It’s not poisoned! If you want, I’ll eat it myself right now!”

Stung by her suspicion, Monterno shouted. The guards on watch peeked in, but, terrified of Roberto Brida, they didn’t approach.

Rosellina kept her gaze on the wall.

“If only it were poisoned… I’d devour it greedily right now.”

She was afraid. It felt like only a matter of time before her true gender was exposed. Baron Aventurine’s mansion was a labyrinth, heavily guarded. Since she’d been locked in this underground room, an extra iron weight had been added to her shackles, heavy enough to make running impossible.

Rosellina stared blankly at the iron ball chained to her ankle.

“Monterno Aventurine.”

“Yes?”

“What is it that you really want?”

“Me? I just want you—Roberto—to eat….”

“Was it goblin control you were after?”

“……”

Monterno’s eyes widened. Rosellina pierced him with her gaze. She was certain he had studied forbidden magic. The goblins hadn’t harmed him, not fatally at least—only a few bruises from the journey. They’d captured him without attacking. It had to be some sort of experiment.

In this age, few practiced magic. Even in a world plagued by monsters, people avoided it, scarred by the horrors magic had once unleashed.

“W-what are you talking about? I-I was captured by goblins! I nearly died! And then… and then…”

He stammered on, but Rosellina lost interest. The boy dreamed of becoming a mage. If goblins had spared him, then he had at least some ability.

“I should tell the others. Someone like him could be valuable to Delion. Few in the Empire can use magic at all. If raised properly, he’d be an asset. Left here, he might become a danger.”

But she didn’t say these thoughts aloud. She rarely did. Closing her eyes, she said simply,

“I won’t eat the food you bring. That’s all.”

“These meals are under His Majesty’s command! Refusing to eat is the same as disobeying His Majesty himself!”

“……”

Rosellina didn’t bother to answer. Her charge was already insulting the Emperor. She had defied him, even injured him. Whether she ate or not would hardly change her sentence.

If she truly feared punishment, she would have ended her life long ago.

But she wanted to live. Even after years of fleeing, she still had a greedy desire to live a little longer—watching him from afar, living in his world.

The chase wasn’t over. She didn’t know what he wanted from someone so insignificant as herself.

“He must still be furious.”

She remembered that day, the day he had shouted her name. Dantes’ voice had deepened, his features had grown sharper. His body was twice as large, yet his face still strikingly handsome. Rosellina’s eyes were drawn to him.

And the more she was drawn, the more she wished to die. She had been foolish, to want to live in his world.

She sighed deeply. The wounds she had clumsily treated in the stables before capture throbbed with pain. Neglected and overworked, they had festered. She tried to hide her discomfort from everyone, closing her eyes. When the lights went out, she would check her wounds in the dark.

“Are you ignoring me? I’m Monterno Aventurine! The Baron’s only son!”

“……”

“I’ll keep bringing the meals! Tomorrow, the day after, always!”

Frustrated, Monterno slammed the tray down with a clatter.

“Ah! Now it’s ruined! Hey! Somebody, bring a rag!”

Soup and bread scattered messily across the floor. At his whining, the guards clicked their tongues and moved. As they rustled around, Monterno gripped one of the potatoes tightly.

The potato crumbled, revealing a small vial hidden inside. Rosellina noticed the sudden shift in his expression—no longer playful, but serious.

“Painkillers. You saved me, Roberto, so I should save you too.”

“……”

“Monterno Aventurine isn’t the kind of man who lives only by receiving help.”

He grinned, then crushed the potato again, hiding the vial inside the mash. He wiped the floor with a rag the guards handed him. Amid the mess, the concealed medicine went unnoticed.

“Are you cleaning or making more of a mess…?”

“Sir Monterno, you should return inside. We’ll handle the rest.”

“No! I’ll clean it! I’m carrying out His Majesty’s orders, after all! Just bring me another rag.”

Monterno kneaded the soggy bread like it was a toy. The guards frowned, unsure if he was cleaning or playing. But since he was Baron Aventurine’s beloved son, they didn’t dare scold him. Clicking their tongues, they went to fetch more supplies.

Rosellina silently watched the boy and the guards.

Then Monterno suddenly tossed the potato toward her and stood up. She looked down at the potato in her hands, then up at him.

Could he help her escape? Could he keep her secret safe from Dantes?

Was this fortunate—or was it only going to complicate things further?

Rosellina couldn’t decide. But she gripped the potato tightly.

Better this than being exposed.