TPWSM 15

Chapter 15

“…I won’t be able to come visit for a while.”

Inside the cabin deep in the forest, shrouded in the thick night.

David bent one knee to meet Melania’s gaze.

Relying on the light of the oil lamp, he carefully studied the child’s face.

Before announcing their parting, he wanted to memorize it as clearly as possible. The face of his one-and-only little sister.

Her round eyebrows, chubby cheeks, and adorable little nose.

There wasn’t a single feature that wasn’t lovable.

[Why? Is something wrong?]

Melania blinked her violet eyes and touched her right index finger to her temple, as if a huge question mark hovered above her head.

“I’m getting married.”

[Marriage? So suddenly?]

“Yes.”

[Did you already have a fiancée?]

Melania pressed the pinky of her right hand against the thumb of her left hand. Her hand movements seemed urgent, probably startled by the unexpected news.

“No. It’s sudden, but it happened.”

[Even if you get married, could you still come visit sometimes?]

“In a few days, I’ll leave across the sea to the mainland. The bride is from Levantea.”

When David carefully pronounced “Levantea,” Melania flinched in surprise.

[Levantea? The country that invaded Yorka?]

Melania couldn’t believe it.

David was marrying someone in Levantea of all places—the very country that had been an aggressor.

[Then why are you going, David? In the books, the bride usually moves into the man’s family home. Shouldn’t she come here to Fadon Island instead?]

A sharp question. David lowered his head briefly.

‘…Because this is a marriage I’m being sold into.’

He couldn’t answer honestly. Instead, he pulled the corners of his mouth into a bright smile.

He wanted to appear happy to his little sister, no matter how cruel reality was.

“Mel, I’m going because I want to. I kind of miss life on the mainland.”

A pure white lie.

David had never once longed for that time.

Back then, all he knew of life was confined within the towering walls of the imperial harem.

Looking back, his sister’s situation wasn’t all that different.

That’s right. Both siblings had lived in captivity—he in the harem, she in the forest. The outside world was only known to them through books.

[David, is that really true?]

“…We will meet again, I promise. I’ll make my way back and come for you.”

David’s promise was solemn, like a priest reciting a prayer.

“I swear it. No matter what.”

His quiet words carried deep lingering affection.

David’s large hand lifted the girl’s small one and linked their pinkies. He had no way to bring her with him now, but he vowed to protect her under his wings someday.

Melania kept her lips tightly shut, staring intently at David.

David swallowed. Why was Mel’s reaction like this? Was she unable to accept the sudden farewell? If it was grief, he wanted to comfort her. What should he say to console her?

“I’ll bring lots of gifts when I return. Anything you want to read, just tell me.”

[No, no… more than books…]

Melania’s lips moved slightly.

Her gaze became a little unfocused, as if she were reaching into a memory pocket to retrieve something.

Her violet eyes focused again.

Tap, tap. Melania’s hand lightly tapped David’s wrist as she remembered something.

[David, may I ask a favor?]

Melania raised her left thumb and shook her right hand vertically twice. The request seemed earnest.

David nodded. He wanted to grant any request—if it was at all possible.

“Just tell me, Mel.”

[While you’re there, could you please find someone for me?]

“…Someone? Who?”

David frowned slightly.

Who could Melania be looking for in Levantea?

She had been secluded in the forest, whether in Yorka or on Fadon Island. Her acquaintances were limited to David, her nanny, the late Uncle Emil, and a few villagers near the forest.

[It’s someone you know, David. When I was six, she stayed briefly in the Brim Forest cabin. She was the first person I ever saw besides Mrs. Olenka and Uncle Emil, so her image is deeply imprinted in my memory.]

“…Ah.”

[She was very pretty. About the same height as Uncle Emil. Her hair was as red as autumn apples, and her eyes… silver mixed with gray.]

Melania’s lively gestures resembled the rhythmic movements of Christmas celebrations.

David finally remembered. The protagonist of the stories Melania often mentioned.

“Mel, are you talking about that red-haired lady?”

[Yes! She never told me her name, but she said she was from Levantea. She stayed at the cabin, teaching me and my nanny sign language and letters. She even came back later with the sign language book and picture storybooks.]

“Right, I remember.”

Almost all the books on Melania’s desk, starting with the sign language manual, had been brought by her.

Even though Melania eventually donated the other books David gave her to the village library, she kept the old, worn sign language manual and picture storybooks carefully.

She had long mastered sign language and was far too old for picture books, yet she treasured them.

[Levantea is a bad country, but not everyone there is bad. Because she exists. Right?]

David remained silent for a moment.

Technically, he wasn’t going to Levantea itself, but to the Levantean territory of Dvorka.

If he were to enter the Yorka royal palace, he might not be able to move freely. Every action would be under the colony governor’s supervision.

[If you happen to meet a lady like the one I described, please ask if they know a violet-eyed Melania! And tell her thank you first! And that I’ve kept all the books she gave me!]

Melania hopped in place as she continued signing. Each little jump of her feet seemed to punctuate her exclamation marks.

David smiled wryly.

This child still didn’t understand how vast the world outside the island was. How expansive Dvorka was, and how much larger Levantea’s territory was—likely tens of millions of people combined.

Her exposure to people had been very limited. Even while fleeing to Bedef’s port during the war, she had hidden under hay in the carriage, unable to see the outside world.

…The chances of finding this “red-haired lady” were incredibly slim.

Yet he couldn’t ignore the sparkle in his sister’s eyes.

‘Still, I can try using my connections. Even as a hostage prince, there should be some budget.’

Finally, David nodded with a smile.

If he could meet her, he wanted to. Whoever she was, she was Melania’s benefactor.

She had brought the light of sign language and letters into Melania’s dark, narrow forest life.

Ku-uu, ku-uu…

Melania’s steady breathing came from the cabin.

David gently stroked his sleeping sister’s hair, then quietly closed the bedroom door.

The living room of the forest cabin was silent. Only the flickering oil lamp on the old side table made a quiet glow. Occasionally, the chirping of insects came from outside. Summer, which had felt distant, seemed to have taken a step closer.

“Uh, David.”

He heard a rustle and turned. Nanny Olenka had quietly approached from behind.

“Ah, Nanny. You’re not asleep yet?”

“I… overheard outside. Marriage, you say? I heard correctly, right?”

“…I was about to tell you. Let’s step outside for a moment.”

David led Olenka to the cabin’s front yard.

Stars dotted the sky around the crescent moon caught in the branches.

The day when he would no longer see this familiar spring night in the forest was approaching. Counting the countless stars, David spoke in a resigned tone:

“Levantea will declare Dvorka a duchy and grant me the title of duke. On the condition that I marry the king’s granddaughter there, they will restore the royal line.”

Olenka’s eyes widened.

“What? David, you’re becoming the Duke of Dvorka? There are already five princes above you, and Prince Bruno is still unmarried… how can it be you?”

“The position is clear—no way the queen would send her own son. The title is just that, a title. I’ll have no real authority. Levantea just needs a face for their colonial puppet regime—a name to represent them.”

David thought inwardly: if things go wrong, I could disappear without a trace. As if I never existed.

“And… who’s the lady you’re marrying?”

“She’s a minor noble. We won’t be living together. I’ll probably be trapped back in the Yorka palace under the governor’s watch.”

David gripped his chest in a dull ache. Life’s irony—returning under the tiny sky of his childhood.

Olenka cautiously patted his wrist, sensing his despair.

“You’re going back to the palace….”

“Yes. Back to the place I struggled to escape. I guess I was always destined to live trapped. Like our mother.”

David’s tone was dark and self-mocking. Olenka shook her head quickly.

“Don’t say that. David, you’re kind and noble. People will treat you well. You’re an adult now—you can go out freely.”

“Thank you, even if it’s just words. So, I have a favor to ask of you…”

“Go ahead.”

Olenka’s voice trembled. Her eyes were already wet. She had raised this prince like her son and now had to part from him unexpectedly. It felt like a hole had opened in her chest.

“Take care of Melania until I return. She’s grown resilient without me, but she might feel empty if I suddenly disappear.”

“Of course. I’ll pay extra attention to her, so don’t worry.”

“…Right. I’m not being sold off cheaply either. I left a gift at the door—open it when you get a chance.”

David pointed to the cabin’s entrance.

After sharing a brief, calm hug with Olenka, he rode Ruby away.

Olenka watched his figure disappear among the dense trees for a long while.

Returning to the cabin, as David had said, there was indeed a box at the door. It was much larger than the “small gift” he casually mentioned.

“Oh my!”

Opening the lid, Olenka dropped to the floor. Inside, neatly packed, were solid rectangular gold bars glowing a bright yellow.