Chapter 7

“That……”

Exclamations erupted from everywhere. It was because there is only one country in this world that could use the golden bird pattern: the Holy Kingdom of Lisa, a place ruled by descendants who inherited the blood of the god Elheim.

For the past thousand years, while neighboring countries have bloomed and fallen, only the Kingdom of Lisa had survived without a single dynasty change, as their royal family are beings who received absolute protection from God.

Thanks to that protection, the Kingdom of Lisa became the only land that monsters could not touch. Even while the other areas suffered a lot of damage from monsters, it was always safe there.

The rich and stable environment created in this way, and the people’s respect and trust in the royal family, became the foundation for building the splendid civilization they have today.

It’s a fact that everyone acknowledged that the culture and technology of the Kingdom of Lisa are several hundred years ahead of other countries.

“That, that……”

The chieftain’s face quickly turned white. As he knows, there are two princesses and one prince in the Kingdom of Lisa.

The eldest daughter, the first princess, was appointed as a crown princess early on, and, as the first royal family always had, she possessed great mana.

On the other hand, the second prince showed outstanding talent in swordsmanship from an early age. From the time he was in his early twenties, he assumed the position of deputy commander of the Knights Templar.

Unlike the two, little is known about the youngest princess, as she does little outside activities. However, one rumor was widely known outside. It was that the king and queen loved and cherished the youngest princess so much that they were reluctant to put her in front of other people.

Rosie realized something and muttered, “Come to think of it, the princess’ name—”

“Rosetta Villard Lisa.”

Everyone took a deep breath. It is obviously the name of the third princess of the Kingdom of Lisa, and it is also the name of the woman who had been with them here a while ago.

“That’s the name of the princess of the Kingdom of Lisa and the lady I serve.”

In the silence that spreads, Allen looked away from them and turned to the nanny.

“Allen……”

The nanny approached him. Her eyes filled with tears as she held Allen’s hand.

Allen smiled softly at her. “Don’t worry, nanny. Even if I sacrifice my life, I will definitely bring the princess back.”

“You have to be careful too.”

“Yes. I will be back soon, so please wait here.”

Just as Allen was about to turn his horse’s head, a tribal man appeared from afar, riding a horse. Running through the crowd, stopping before the chieftain, he hurriedly shouted as soon as he got off his horse,

“Chief. We’re in trouble! Now the groom is going back to Croa!”

“What?” The chieftain’s face immediately turned pale. “He’s going back? Then what about this marriage?”

“He gave up on getting married because the situation now is too dangerous.”

“Why? Did someone talk about our situation outside?”

“No, it was the Quats. They left a message for Croa to come to Quat if they wanted to get the bride back. Doesn’t that mean if we continue to insist on this marriage, we’ll be at war?”

“Those motherfxckers!”

Just a little while ago, the Croa had chosen Basque, not Quat. But now they got scared by a single threat and ran away. On top of that, the Basque tribe is really in a mess right now because of the Princess of Lisa.

“You seem to be in a very difficult situation, chief.”

Allen, who was watching the whole situation, threw a derisive remark.

“Now that this has happened, why don’t you cooperate in saving the princess? Then maybe your past mistakes will be reckoned with.”

Instead of answering, the chieftain stared at Allen silently. Since the marriage is already broken, the best way is to save the princess. However, that is if the princess is still alive or at least in a good state.

He clearly remembered what he had done in the past. The Quat tribe never forgot that either. With that humiliation and shame buried deep in their heart, they must have been waiting only for today.

Revenge begins with leveling the scales of blood.

It was the old custom of the Ardennes and a fair way to get revenge. It means that revenge begins with the same amount of blood that was shed. If the Quat tribe followed their beliefs, the princess who was dragged away by them could not remain intact even if she was alive.

How will Lisa’s royal palace react to the return of the princess’ shattered body? Will the royal family, who care deeply about the youngest princess, let those who helped destroy the princess — even though they weren’t directly involved — just go?

The result was too obvious to contemplate.

“Catch that man.”

There were murmurs from all directions at the unexpected command. Despite the command of the chieftain, everyone was bewildered and did not dare to step forward.

“Chief?”

“Catch him right now! Stop him from ever getting out of here!”

“Father, what the heck are you thinking!”

As Rosie went to stop him, the chieftain grabbed her by the neck. Rosie’s brown eyes shook.

“……Father?”

“If you think of our tribe, even a little, don’t even think about helping him,” he said to Rosie, bringing his face closer to hers.

“What the hell is wrong with you? We need to save the princess now—”

“Princess—” He gritted his teeth. “Even if the princess is alive, she will not be in a good state. The revenge-mad ones can’t leave the princess alone. So now that this has happened, the only choice is to destroy all the evidence!”

Allen’s face immediately hardened at those words. He was about to pull out his sword right away with anger, but he stopped for a moment. Now is not the time to deal with the Basque tribe. He needs to get out of here as quickly as possible and save the princess first.

“Ha!”

Allen kicked the horse in the ribs and galloped out like an arrow.

“Stop him!”

As the tribal men blocked him, Allen immediately drew his sword. A dazzling light emanated from the sword. Seeing this, the men let out a short groan and backed away.

Golden aura, the power and source of the Kingdom of Lisa.

It is said that some of Lisa’s royal family, blessed by the gods, have mystical powers from birth. The moment they cast a spell on an object with that power, the object becomes stronger beyond imagination.

A sword that cannot be broken by anything, and roads and walls that remain intact even after a thousand years have passed. That’s the reason why no one dares to challenge the Kingdom of Lisa.

“Stop him at all costs! Whoever misses him will be ruled as a traitor!”

The chieftain’s order was given, but no one was willing to step forward. They confirmed the sign of God, which they had only heard of through rumors, right in front of their eyes. On the other hand, the chieftain ordered them to stop him. Which of the two should they follow?

But the answer seems to have already been decided.

The tribal men all pointed their swords at Allen at once. The betrayal of the tribe is death. It will not end with death alone, but your wife and children will all become slaves.

So if you’re going to die anyway, you’d better die fighting here.

“Put down your sword, Allen.”

The moment the tense confrontation continued, an unexpected voice rang out. Allen turned his head in the direction the voice came from. There he saw Rosie aiming a dagger at the nanny’s neck.

“Put down your sword. Otherwise, the nanny will die first.”

Rosie grabbed her by the neck, and the nanny was trembling, unable to make a single breath.

“You……”

Rosie looked bitterly at Allen, who felt betrayed.

“Sorry. But I can’t just watch my people die.”

The moment Allen paused, a large net hit him. Trapped in the net, something blunt hit Allen’s head from behind. Soon after, darkness came over him.

***

A small garden was built in the backyard of the palace for the youngest princess. The royal couple, who were the Crown Prince and Crown Princess at the time, cherished and loved Rosetta, but they were always busy with national affairs.

Rosetta also had a huge age difference from her older sister and brother, so she couldn’t stay with them for long. Eventually, she had to learn how to play alone.

Rosetta preferred to play in nature rather than play dolls in her room. So her parents made her a small garden full of trees and flowers. There, Rosetta used to spend a lot of time looking at flowers and chasing butterflies.

Rosetta made a friend one day. With a beautiful and radiant appearance, she[1] became Rosetta’s only friend. Rosetta was not alone again as she spent time with her friend in the garden.

[1] The gender is unknown, but Rosetta calls her friend by the pronoun She.

Even that day, Rosetta was playing in the garden with her friend. She would always appear quietly when Rosetta was alone in the garden and quickly disappear when someone else appeared.

That day, too, she played with Rosetta and disappeared as soon as her mother appeared.

Her mother asked, “Rosetta, who were you just talking to?”

“Um, I was playing with my friend.”

“Friend?”

“Marsha.”

“Marsha? Who is that?”

“Marsha is Marsha. Marsha is very shy. So she is only with me. She is not here now.”

It was all that a 5-year-old child could explain. After thinking for a while, her mother smiled softly at Rosetta.

“Then, Rosetta, can you introduce Marsha to me someday?”

“Yes.”

Rosetta smiled brightly as she looked at her mother.

A few days later, Rosetta ran happily to her mother, who was visiting the garden again.

“Mother, this.”

What Rosetta gave her was a bird’s feather. Normally, when Rosetta picked up unusual stones or pine cones from the garden, she would bring them as a gift. So her mother was looking at it with a lot of anticipation.

“Oh my, it is beautiful. Thank you, Rosetta.”

She happily accepted her daughter’s gift that day too. Then, Rosetta pointed at the tree.

“There it is.”

“Yes?”

“Over there, my friend Marsha, up in the tree.”

She followed where Rosetta’s little finger pointed, and what she had not seen before was now clearly visible. No, to be precise, she discovered it.

“Ah……”

She covered her mouth with her hand. Her eyes trembled violently.

“Mother?”

Rosetta looked at her mother and tilted her head. Her mother looked at Rosetta again. Her beautiful face was full of surprise and sorrow. Young Rosetta couldn’t understand why she was making such a face.

***

-chirp chirp chirp!

Rosetta woke up to the sound of birds chirping. It was already brightly lit outside the tent.

Perhaps because of the frivolous birdsong, she must have had a very disturbing dream last night. Although she can’t remember exactly what dream she was in.

Then suddenly, Rosetta realized that she was on top of the blanket now, and she stood up in shock.

She was clearly curled up on the floor last night, but now she’s here. And the man who should have been here was nowhere to be found. Only she remains alone in the tent.

Rosetta fell into great confusion.

How did I get here? Did I come here in my sleep last night because it was cold? So I slept with him? But he said so loudly that he would never sleep with me?

Then the tent opened and the man entered.