Shadowless Night

The chirping sound grew louder in her ear as she closed her eyes atop the giant beast. Birds perched on her tousled hair and brought her twigs. When Rosaline sat up, the birds flew off to another place.

The sunlight poured in abundantly. Rosaline gazed up at the sky along the straight, towering trees. Just a while ago, lush foliage covered the sky like a roof, but now dry leaves barely clung to thin branches.

It was an old and deep forest. The birds had judged that she posed no threat after a long period of time.

However, something felt peculiar.

A persistent presence lingered. Footsteps, neither receding nor approaching, echoed from a certain distance. Rosaline’s gaze sharpened.

At the edge of the forest, where people were plentiful, it was normal that the identity of the mysterious pursuer couldn’t be confirmed, but in the current situation, it was impossible to not know.

Rosaline recalled what Ricardis had said. A dangerous person is pursuing you. It’s dangerous. Don’t trust anyone. Despite the undeniable warning, Rosaline didn’t consider the person who had been tracking her for a long time as much of a threat. Perhaps it was because they didn’t try to hide their presence or make any attempts to silence their footsteps. It just felt like they were taking a leisurely stroll at a distance.

However, the fact that someone was standing behind her wasn’t a matter she could easily ignore. Even if they didn’t reveal any hostility, her entire focus was drawn to the direction where nothing could be seen. Moreover, now that she had heard the word “dangerous” repeated about three hundred times from Ricardis and Macaron, she couldn’t help but be on high alert.

Rosaline came to a sudden stop in her tracks. The mysterious pursuer didn’t stop either. They were getting closer and closer. Thud, thud. The sound of gravel grinding against boots grew louder.

Rosaline took out some chewy and sweet dried jerky from her backpack. As she chewed and waited, it didn’t take long for the man to enter the same space as Rosaline. If she turned around, there would be no obstacles, and they would be face to face at a clear distance.

Twelve steps.

The man continued walking without stopping.

Eight steps.

Rosaline hesitated for a moment, tightly gripping the handle of her sword that was hanging at her waist.

Three steps.

“Step back.”

At the words “step back”, which she had heard many times before, Rosaline’s body trembled for a moment. However, she soon realized that the voice wasn’t directed at her.

As the man passed by Rosaline, he lightly slapped the muzzle of Chocolate. Chocolate looked at him in bewilderment. Rosaline also looked at him with a complex and subtle expression. The dangerous… figure?

“Your Highness Diech?”

“Ah, Rosaline. Ouch.”

Chocolate seemed to be angry, pressing its snout against Diech’s abdomen. He made a sound of pain as it pressed near his sternum. Rosaline grabbed the reins and restrained the beast’s behavior. The person didn’t seem to be a threat. On the contrary, it was Chocolate that was threatening him.

Diech awkwardly smiled and gently stroked Chocolate’s face. Chocolate turned its head away.

“Why are you bothering Chocolate all of a sudden?” Rosaline expressed her current feelings with a grumbling voice. Why would someone hit someone else’s precious pet? Diech raised his hand and hurriedly explained.

“No, Sir Rosaline. Rosaline. Why are you looking at me like I’m an animal abuser?”

“Yes, Your Highness. Because I understand that a person’s true character is revealed through their attitude toward animals and the weak.”

“No, you misunderstood!”

Diech looked very bewildered. Soon, he hastily plucked something from the bushes where Chocolate had buried its head.

“It’s a poisonous plant. It has excellent effects in paralyzing the nerves. Effects? Is that the right word to use in this situation… Anyway, it looks similar to the grass that herbivorous animals like, and young animals sometimes eat it and die. It would’ve been dangerous.”

Rosaline got off the saddle in fright. She opened Chocolate’s mouth wide and carefully examined it. The creature that had been freed let out angry snorts through its large nostrils.

“Thank you, Your Highness.” Rosaline bowed her head, not out of mere courtesy but because she was truly grateful.

“No need to… say that… is what I want to say, but it was quite helpful, wasn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“Then, would you do me a favor later?” Diech smiled gently and locked eyes with her. Rosaline nodded without hesitation. However, even though she had accepted, Diech couldn’t smile. Instead, he appeared troubled.

“…Rosaline, it’s not something to say now, but if someone asks for a wish or a favor or proposes a contract, you shouldn’t immediately agree. Don’t just sign a contract when someone hands it to you; instead, go to Calyx or Raymond and…”

“Your Highness.”

Diech came to his senses, realizing what was happening. The conversation had veered off somewhere else. He chuckled as if embarrassed.

“Haha… I was just joking.”

It didn’t seem like a joke at all, but they moved on quickly.

“Do you have something to ask of me?”

“There’s always something.”

Unable to contain her curiosity, Rosaline asked various questions, but Diech just laughed without giving any clear answers. Rosaline reminded herself to think twice if she ever wanted to ask something secretive. Lately, she found herself becoming strangely loose-lipped as she had more people to confide in.

Diech, who listened to her words, chuckled as if he understood. “By the way, Rosaline, you’re becoming quite articulate.”

“I studied hard. I read a lot of fairy tales too.”

“That’s impressive, achieving so much in such a short time.”

“It was tough.” Honestly, it wasn’t that difficult. But her efforts to not speak spilled out at Diech’s prompting. Perhaps something that had been obtained with difficulty didn’t seem as valuable anymore.

“Still, they say it’s quite challenging to fit into social circles. I’ll work even harder.”

“It’s alright. It’ll take years for you to fully adapt. Memories will gradually come back too.”

Rosaline nodded. A dry and sturdy branch caught onto her hood. As she stumbled, Diech drew his dagger. Rosaline briefly stiffened and watched him closely.

Dangerous, Rosaline. Don’t trust anyone. Ricardis whispered. However, Diech’s dagger simply severed the branch that was gripping her hood.

“I experienced something similar.”

Ah, he must be referring to when he had aphasia. Rosaline nodded and expressed her gratitude to Diech.

The two of them continued walking, engaging in casual conversation. Even the narrow path created by human footsteps disappeared, and they were surrounded by a complete forest.

“It looks like a landscape where even monsters could appear.”

Rosaline tilted her head as she heard Diech’s casual remark. It reminded her of the forest where ‘It’ used to dwell. The land on the verge of death, barely clinging to life or standing tall in deathly stillness. As they ventured deeper, the green leaves became harder to spot. Diech surveyed the scenery of the forest with a composed expression.

While the continent was gradually dying, Illavenia was still growing trees and bearing fruits. It held the holy power, the essence of vitality. Its healing power extended to humans, animals, and plants alike. It was unimaginable that its influence would reach even the lifeless land, if the Blessed Night came as it should.

As the land died and turned desolate, the act of performing sacred rituals to establish the authority of the imperial family had yielded remarkable effects. Even though it was merely a few visible measures taken over the course of a few years or months.

To Rosaline, an ordinary forest was a landscape half-draped in death like this. After becoming human and living for a long time, only after learning history did she realize that all of this was a misaligned, erroneous outcome.

Rosaline carefully looked around the barren forest, devoid of even a single dry leaf. While it might be a land of death to others, she felt differently. Since she had spent her entire life in such a place, it was no different from a familiar scenery reminiscent of her homeland. It felt comforting. Rosaline blinked slowly, basking in the sunlight filtering through the branches.

“Oh, Rosaline. By the way, I forgot to congratulate you for winning the martial arts tournament. Congratulations.”

“Thank you.” Rosaline smiled faintly. After the martial arts tournament, everyone congratulated her, and it made her feel a sense of accomplishment. She had heard it many times, but words of praise were always welcome.

“You were really impressive.”

“Yes, I was. I was truly impressive.” Diech was right. I was really impressive. Rosaline said with a burst of laughter. It had a subtly teasing tone, but regardless, Diech seemed delighted, and Rosaline felt good too, so they faced each other and smiled brightly.

“What were you thinking when you won?”

“I was delighted that the tremendous prize money finally became mine. I knew it would be mine, but still, having it confirmed in that moment was special.”

“Um… I see…” Diech was taken aback, as he didn’t expect Rosaline, who was a member of the Count Radwiell’s household and the escort knight of Prince Ricardis, to first think of money. But for Rosaline, who had used up 90% of her salary for food, the prize money was a very welcome income.

After receiving the prize money, she bought a piece of expensive cheese and entrusted it to the chef, expressing her joy at the prospect of cheese dishes for every meal and noting that she still hadn’t gotten tired of them. The rest of the money was saved for a tour of restaurants in the capital. As Rosaline was talking about that, she suddenly returned to the original flow of the conversation.

“And I thought His Highness Ricardis will be pleased. I heard that he would be happy if I won.”