Chapter 43
For between the Duke of Maido, the father of the Fourth Queen and maternal grandfather of Regnos, and Lena, who despite her great service was fundamentally nothing but a slave, there existed a firm wall of status.
“I have heard much about you, Duke of Maido.”
“I hear you lay in the arms of the usurper at the Taringian palace?”
“…!”
Lena’s heart plummeted. Even as she dropped her head low, she grew sick of her own foolishness.
To be startled like this. It was something they could not possibly not know.
The way the soldiers had looked at her must have meant that as well. The gaze one gives a woman who had been someone’s plaything.
“That is enough, Duke of Maido.”
Regnos warned him in a low voice. But the Duke of Maido just laughed and turned it back on him.
“That wench already served her purpose when she was taken in your place. She is not worth the risk of exposing our position to bring here. You should think about what kind of doubts your overprotectiveness might raise.”
“…”
“Only then will my soldiers not harbor needless suspicions about you, won’t they?”
“Yes. I will make sure my grandfather has no cause for great worry.”
Regnos’s face was stiff, as if he had much more to say. But in the end, he wore a smile that looked as if he was holding it all back.
The volunteers who had gathered under his banner formed one part of the camp. But without the Duke of Maido’s private soldiers, even making camp and fighting a battle would have been impossible.
“This old man has overstepped. With your wisdom, Your Highness, you will surely keep the balance. As I age, my worries only grow, and I’ve made an unsightly display.”
The Duke of Maido then lowered himself and knelt before Regnos.
It was a side of him he would never show Lenasia, the bearing of a true vassal.
* * *
“I’m sorry. My grandfather has a difficult side to him.”
“No. It’s true that I am a slave girl, and you did go out of your way to rescue me. I’m grateful and sorry at the same time.”
“No.”
Regnos stopped and turned Lena by the shoulders, his face firm.
“You are someone truly special to me, Lena. What meaning would there be in seizing victory without you there?”
“Your Highness…”
He carefully held her once more as she looked up at him with tearful, moved eyes.
“Don’t let the words of people who know nothing shake you. You are my person.”
It was a warmth she had truly longed for.
His broad chest carried a familiar scent, and his solid arms held her steady.
In that moment, Lena remembered how Godfrid’s embrace had been different. That man’s chest had been thicker and harder.
And then she could not bear how revolting she felt. How could she think of that man while being held by Prince Regnos.
The opposite might have been possible.
Was she truly, as people said, a hopeless w***e?
She hastily pulled away from Regnos’s arms. She was not worthy to be held by him.
“Lena?”
“I am so sorry about the Fourth Queen.”
Lenasia deliberately brought up the Fourth Queen to double her guilt. Regnos’s face darkened.
“…I have not even been able to recover my mother’s body yet.”
Of the Aitalosian royals who had remained in the palace that day, Lena was the only one who survived. She felt an inexplicable guilt over that fact.
As she was being dragged away by the Taringian generals, she had seen the Fourth Queen lying bloodied in the inner palace garden.
The Aitalosian palace was still occupied by the Taringian army. Regnos’s mind was full of thoughts of finishing the battle before him and reclaiming the palace.
“So first, I must lead this fight to victory.”
“…”
“Mourning my mother can wait until after I have done my duty.”
Regnos led Lenasia to a large tent at the center of the encampment. Inside, a map was spread over a large desk, and armored generals were moving pieces across it, arguing back and forth.
“Your Highness.”
When he and Lena entered, a brief silence fell, accompanied by nods of greeting.
Lena could feel the awkward stillness and the prickling gazes in the tent directed at her.
One armored man stepped forward and asked.
“Your Highness. That woman is…?”
“Did you all not see her when she arrived at our camp last night? This is Lenasia.”
“Yes. Yes…”
“She is like a sister to me. I expect you to show her courtesy.”
At Regnos’s words, the men in the tent bowed their heads toward Lena, though they looked reluctant.
Lena felt more humbled than anything.
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