CH 24

Rosalie got up from the couch, grabbed her pendant, and put on her robe. Sighing like this wasn’t going to change anything. She had to act to solve the problem.

Dolan tried to make sense of Rosalie’s words, but it was difficult since he hadn’t read the letter. However, he didn’t dare question his master’s actions, so he simply watched her.

“Then I’ll prepare the carriage.”

“No, I’ll go out secretly.”

“What?”

Dolan asked in surprise, but Rosalie just left the room saying that she would be back.

⊱⊱⊱────── {.⋅ ✧✧✧ ⋅.} ──────⊰⊰⊰

She rode out of the Duchy and headed for a wall on the outskirts of the palace. Because it was far away from the main entrance, it was poorly guarded and deserted, and half the buildings in front of it were uninhabited. 

‘It’s a loophole in the palace.’

Rosalie leaned against the wall, which was not very high compared to the main entrance. However, even if it was not as high, it was still high enough to exceed two adult men.

“When are you going to come out…?”

Apart from that, she knew that this was also the entrance and exit that Derivis used to sneak out and into the palace. Since access was restricted on the other side of the wall, it was the perfect place for him to sneak in and out unnoticed.

After a few hours, the sunset that had come silently was now gradually fading.

‘I’ll have to agree to the deal.’

Rosalie, who was crouching against the wall, was counting the stars in the night sky when she felt someone’s presence above her head, and she looked up. 

“Your Highness.”

Her eyes locked with Derivis, who was jumping over the wall.

“…Duchess?”

As he jumped over the wall, he hovered in the air and looked startled when he saw Rosalie. For a moment, it seemed like he almost lost his balance, but he landed safely on the ground.

Rosalie inwardly admired him as she watched him move his body freely like a spring.

“What are you doing here?”

“I was waiting for Your Highness.”

When a bewildered Derivis asked, Rosalie, who was still crouching against the wall, answered indifferently. With a surprised expression, he reached out his hand to her. 

“You’d better get up. The ground is cold.”

However, Rosalie only looked at the arm that Derivis offered without taking it. Then she shook her head.

“…I have a cramp.”

Rosalie said with a frown. She couldn’t move her legs due to the pain flowing from her stiff muscles.

Derivis, who was dumbfounded, then slowly knelt down and carefully removed Rosalie’s walker.

“Ouch.”

“Hold on a little longer,” he said. 

As Derivis gently massaged Rosalie’s leg, she felt the stiffness gradually dissipating, releasing her from the pain. And then she noticed Derivis’s shoulders trembling slightly. 

‘Yeah, laugh all you want. I know I’m ridiculous, too.’

Rosalie leaned her head back against the wall as she watched Derivis’s shoulders shake with laughter. Derivis, who was rubbing her legs in an effort to suppress his laughter, looked up.

“How about now?”

“Oh, I’m fine.”

As Rosalie answered hesitantly, Derivis started massaging her leg again.

“I’m really okay now. More importantly, can you give me my shoes?”

Then Derivis stopped and picked up Rosalie’s shoes. Rosalie reached out to take them, but it went straight to her feet.

Derivis put them on then reached out his hand again, and this time Rosalie was able to grab it and stand up.

“How did you know I was going in and out of this place? Did Sonia tell you?”

“Well, mm…” 

Rosalie fumbled for an answer. She didn’t like lying, but the situation called for it.

“Anyway, I came here because I want to make a deal.”

“A deal?”

“Don’t you want to know where Baron Rondell is stashing his embezzled funds?”

The words made Derivis flinch. Baron Rondell was one of his opponents. He stared at Rosalie for a moment, then smiled.

“What do you want in return?”

“I want the Imperial Family to strengthen the security on Noveta Pass. I have received information that a large group of bandits is gathering there.”

Derivis nodded at Rosalie’s words. There weren’t many noble merchants using Noveta Pass. The most influential of them was the Countess Seth.

“Looks like there’s something you need to receive from Countess Seth.”

Rosalie nodded calmly at the sharp question. She expected that it would be easy to guess the reason.

“Yes, that’s right. They’re important items.”

“And the reason you’re telling me this is because you don’t want the Duchy of Judehart to be involved.”

“That’s also correct.”

Derivis continued his sharp remarks. Rosalie maintained a poker face, but she was somewhat tense inside.

“If the Duchess’ information is true, we’ll have to send the Imperial Knights.”

“The information is true.”

“Hmm, Duchess. I’m not a diligent Crown Prince. I’m more proactive in slacking off outside the palace.”

Rosalie knew that fact better than anyone from reading the novel. It was one of her concerns.

“So let’s make another deal. The hiding place alone is not enough.”

“…What is it?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

“It’ll be difficult to pay an unreasonable price.”

“It’s not an unreasonable price. If it’s light enough, it’s light.”

Derivis answered with a smirk. Rosalie stared at him, then finally nodded. He was the only one who could fix this right now, and she had no choice.

“Good. I’ll take care of it.”

⊱⊱⊱────── {.⋅ ✧✧✧ ⋅.} ──────⊰⊰⊰

Back at the palace, Derivis took off his coat with a seemingly happy face. Just then, he heard a knock on the door.

“Your Highness, it’s Venick.”

“Come in.”

Venick came in and bowed politely, handing over a document with a serious expression.

“I handled it personally. No one else knows.”

“Well done, Sir Venick.”

Venick nodded his head. Derivis slowly flipped through the papers Venick had given him, and his eyes flashed everytime he turned a page.

‘I didn’t think it would take this long…’

Derivis put down the document he was reading with an interested expression and tapped it with his finger. It took a little longer than expected to prepare this document, but it was a result that was worth the time invested.

“Keep investigating. Be careful not to attract attention.”

“Yes, understood.”

Derivis hid the papers in a secret drawer in the back of his desk. It was a specially constructed drawer that could only be opened by his Auror, so no one else could open it.

“Oh, and about the planned expedition to the Noveta Pass.”

“Yes. Since Your Highness said you wouldn’t be joining us, I increased the number of knights.”

“No, I’ll join.”

“What? You said you didn’t want to because it was too bothersome…”

Venick seemed surprised by Derivis’s sudden change of heart, but Derivis just smirked.

“I have a reason to go now.”

Inside Derivis’s secret drawer was an old pendant that looked just like Rosalie’s.

⊱⊱⊱────── {.⋅ ✧✧✧ ⋅.} ──────⊰⊰⊰

The next day, as planned, Rosalie and Aaron set off to see the crossbow that Gilbert had completed. Along the way, they ran into Erudit.

“Erudit! Where are you going?”

While Rosalie was away, the two had become quite close. Aaron often visited Erudit to discuss knightly equipment and salaries and the two occasionally had deep conversations.

Looking at the unexpected combination, Rosalie looked alternately between Erudit and Aaron. 

“You two have become quite close, haven’t you?”

“It just so happened that way. I was just on my way to the library, but where are you two going?”

“We’re going to see the blacksmith in the village. They say that the weapon ordered by the Duchess is now complete. Would you like to come with us, Erudit?”

At Aaron’s urging, Erudit became lost in thought. Seeing this, Aaron gave him a friendly laugh and tapped his arm.

“You probably haven’t properly seen the village yet. You’re always either in the office or at the library.”

“Let’s go, Erudit.”

Rosalie also urged him. Now that she thought about it, she realized that he hadn’t gotten much rest because of all the work she had given him. She suddenly felt bad and thought about going to the village to buy him a gift.

At Rosalie’s urging, Erudit nodded his head coolly.

“Okay.”

“Do you know how to ride a horse?”

“Don’t you have a carriage?”

“I learned how to ride horses. I want to quietly see the village.”

Upon hearing Rosalie’s response, Erudit finally noticed what she was wearing. She was dressed in clothes made of relatively inexpensive materials that allowed her to ride horses comfortably instead of a dress.

“I learned horseback riding as part of my education at the academy.”

“That’s good. Let’s go.”

With that, Rosalie, Erudit, and Aaron made their way to the stables, led their respective horses out of the stalls, mounted them, and began to ride.

Aaron, who knew the location of the blacksmith, rode in the lead, followed by Rosalie and Erudit. A little away from the center of the village, they could see the smithy, smoke billowing from its chimneys.

After hearing the neighing of the horses, Gilbert came out and bowed deeply to Rosalie, who was dismounting. 

“Hello, Your Grace.”

“We’ve come to see the goods.”

“It’s prepared in the backyard. I’ve also prepared targets so you can test it right away.”

Rosalie looked pleased with his tactfulness and dismounted. The other two followed suit, dismounting and following Gilbert’s lead.

In the large backyard, several targets and crossbows were prepared. The crossbow, made of wood and iron, bore the insignia of the Duchy of Judeheart on the handle and on top of it was the scope she had ordered to be made.

Rosalie picked up the prepared crossbow and examined it closely.

“The weight is good and the length is also appropriate.”

“Try it out.”

At Aaron’s words, Rosalie immediately took a stance. The length of the crossbow was satisfactory, the tip resting on her shoulder. However, the scope wasn’t quite long enough to reach the bowstring. 

‘The scope is a little disappointing.’

As expected, the scope function was not as good as the scope she had used in the military, but considering that it was prepared in a short period of time, it was good enough.

Rosalie assumed a shooting stance and pulled the trigger of the crossbow without hesitation. Unfortunately, the arrow missed the center of the target, and Aaron, who was watching from the side, opened his mouth with a disappointed expression.

“That’s still great.”

“Gilbert, move the targets further away and place them at different distances.”