The Man Who Only Did Good for Me #1
Cately Ricgard called out her daughter’s name in a voice tight with anxiety.
Even after giving birth, Cately had always boasted an exquisite beauty and figure, but now she looked utterly haggard. The weight of repeated misfortune and the endless stress of war had worn her down.
And with good reason.
Alon Ricgard had launched a daring rebellion only to meet death almost immediately afterward. Iredain, located not far from the capital Myrdin, had become the target of the queen’s wrath.
Of course, Gildeon had offered his help, but his support base had always been the northern lords who fought under him during the war three years ago. His influence barely reached the southern lands of Iredain.
Alon… This is all because of that stupid man!
The Romandon family—Cately’s maiden house—had always been loyal to the queen. Cately herself had never wanted any part in the rebellion. But because Alon Ricgard had thrust himself into the very center of the uprising, Iredain could no longer easily withdraw.
With the lord’s seat now vacant, the only solution Cately could come up with after racking her brain was one.
Marry off Daisy, seat her as the official lord, and rule Iredain myself as her regent. There is no other way…
But even that had not been easy.
Daisy had already been engaged five times, yet every single one of those men had lost their lives at the queen’s hands before they could even reach Iredain for the wedding.
At this point, the vassal houses under the Ricgard family no longer had any desire to send their sons. After all, anyone they sent ended up dead.
Queen Alena… Just what is she?
Every time Cately thought of her, a chill ran down her spine and her body trembled.
She herself rarely stepped onto the battlefield, but her soldiers had crushed Iredain’s forces countless times, leaving Cately with a horrific trauma.
“Haa…”
Even so, Cately had desperately tried to find a husband for Daisy. A sense of duty drove her forward.
“Daisy, where are you? Daisy!”
She shouted her daughter’s name again.
It seemed the girl had disappeared once more.
Did she truly hate the idea of marriage that much?
Cately could understand why. Daisy had protested every single one of her five engagements, saying she didn’t want to marry any of them. Cately knew exactly why her daughter was being so stubborn, but there was nothing she could do about it.
It must be because of Priest Emil…
But Priest Emil was already dead. There were rumors that people had seen him walking around alive, but she didn’t believe them. And even if he were alive, Daisy’s marriage was absolutely necessary for Iredain’s survival.
“Has no one seen Daisy?”
“I-I’m sorry, my lady.”
“Instead of apologizing, go find her!”
At her fiery command, the maids scattered in every direction like arrows.
“Ah…”
After unleashing her anger on the servants, Cately suddenly felt tears welling up.
Managing the territory, fighting the queen’s army, controlling the vassals, keeping an eye on the political situation in Rosdea.
Having to do all of that while still trying to coax her daughter felt overwhelmingly exhausting.
“Emil… I’m so tired. Oh, if only you were by my side right now…”
Cately leaned against the wall and sobbed.
In moments like these, she desperately longed for a warm embrace. She needed someone who would hold her and whisper sweet words of love.
Someone who would comfort her and take her into his arms.
Yet ever since Emil’s death, Cately had never once let another man hold her.
She had loved Emil as a woman, and she did not want to tarnish that feeling.
“Emil… Emil. Ah… I miss you so much. Hic… I want to be held in your arms again. It’s too… it’s too hard…”
“Hmm. I didn’t realize you missed me that much.”
At the sudden voice behind her, Cately felt a chill run down her spine. She slowly turned around.
“E-Emil—!”
She almost screamed, but a hand quickly covered her mouth.
Yet what truly shocked her wasn’t the hand itself.
It was the person covering her mouth—the man she had thought was dead, the man she had missed terribly, the man she had loved.
Emil… Is it really you? How… How are you alive?
With her mouth still covered, Cately stared at him through a flood of tears, studying his face carefully.
No matter how she looked at him, it was him.
The white hair she loved, the golden eyes she loved, the firm forehead, the sharp nose, and the lovely lips she loved.
It was Emil.
The man she had loved so deeply.
Emil slowly withdrew the hand that had been covering her mouth.
Cately couldn’t speak. Her throat burned, and hot tears streamed down her cheeks. She simply stared at him with eyes full of disbelief.
There was only one emotion in her gaze.
Love.
A love she had never been able to let go of.
A foolish, intense feeling that not even death could erase.
Emil did not avoid her gaze.
He simply looked at her for a long moment before finally speaking.
“…I didn’t expect you to cry like this. What a greeting after so long.”
That single sentence finally shattered Cately’s trembling heart.
“Emil…”
Instead of answering, he reached out and gently stroked her tear-stained cheek. Her skin felt feverishly hot beneath his fingers.
Cately tilted her head into his touch as if leaning on him and whispered, “Is it… really you? This isn’t… a dream, is it? I’m so exhausted right now… How are you even here?”
“Bella let me in.”
“Bella? Who is that?”
“Ah… You wouldn’t know her. Anyway, this isn’t a dream.”
Emil paused for a moment.
Then added quietly, “But it might soon become a nightmare.”
Cately flinched.
“W-what do you mean…?”
“The queen’s army is marching on Iredain. This is different from the previous attacks. This time, the queen herself is leading the campaign.”
At those words, Cately’s heart sank.
Queen Alena.
The name that had tormented her for so long now filled her with pure terror.
“T-that’s impossible. Gildeon said the queen wouldn’t be able to leave Myrdin so easily… And how do you even know this, Emil…?”
“Surrender,” Emil cut her off.
“You are an excellent ruler, but not a great general. Most of the knights capable of leading Iredain have already died on the battlefield. On the other hand, the queen has yet to use her full strength. If she reaches these walls, Iredain will fall in no time.”
“B-but… a siege isn’t that simple. It will take time, and if the vassal houses bring their troops—”
“Haven’t you already lost countless soldiers while holding out like this?”
Emil spoke the plain truth.
It was true.
She knew nothing of military command, and the many knights who should have become her generals had all died fighting the queen.
Iredain no longer had a future.
That was why she had tried to strengthen ties with the vassal houses through Daisy’s marriage—to protect the territory.
“This time is different. The queen has set out to end this war once and for all. Iredain cannot hold.”
“Even so… I can’t. Surrender is impossible. Iredain was at the heart of the rebellion. The queen will never forgive us.”
Emil quietly closed his eyes, then opened them again.
There was no longer any pity in his gaze.
“In that case,” he said in a low voice, “you intend to protect Iredain even if it means selling your own daughter.”
Cately flinched.
She struggled to argue back. “I am not selling Daisy. This marriage… is for her future.”
“No. It’s for your own stubbornness. If you surrender, you could at least save Lady Daisy’s life. Yet you would rather fight to protect the family’s honor.”
Cately was rendered speechless.
Emil took advantage of her silence and continued.
“This is my final piece of advice. Surrender. It is the best path for everyone.”
“Emil… I can’t do that. I just… I can’t.”
Cately lowered her head.
It was a clear refusal.
She could not abandon this land.
Her sense of responsibility was simply too strong.
Emil let out a short sigh, then spoke with visible reluctance.
“Actually, I met Lady Daisy.”
“Daisy…?”
“She told me everything. About the marriage talks, and how much she hated them. I respected her wishes.”
Emil’s voice grew lower and lower.
Cately felt a growing sense of unease.
“Respected her wishes… What do you mean by that?”
“You were looking for her, weren’t you? Where do you think she is right now?”
As he spoke, Emil looked out the window.
Cately thought for a moment, then her face turned deathly pale.
“…To the queen?”
“You are wise, my lady. Yes.”
Emil answered with an expressionless face.
“Do not worry. She has not been harmed.”
“Emil… What have you done…!”
Cately raised her hand to strike him, but Emil caught it lightly and said,
“This is the last persuasion I can offer. If things continue like this, Iredain will fall and Lady Daisy will be treated as a prisoner of war. But if you surrender now, Iredain will be spared, and your daughter will be treated appropriately as a hostage of the territory.”
It took her a moment to fully understand his words.
Hostage.
The word slowly tightened around her heart.
“You… handed her over…?”
Cately’s voice trembled.
Anger and despair burned inside her.
“Daisy, who loved you so innocently… You gave that child to the queen?”
“Lady Daisy came with me of her own will.”
Emil’s voice rang out firmly.
Cately’s eyes widened.
“You’re lying.”
“It is the truth. When I found her, Lady Daisy had resolved to die. She said that if she had to marry someone she didn’t love, she would rather die.”
Cately gasped.
Her heart plummeted.
“Daisy… How could she…”
At those words, she collapsed.
If what Emil said was true, then she had nearly destroyed the last precious thing she had left with her own hands.
“Lady Cately.”
He called her name gently.
“Will you cling to this futile hope for Iredain? Or will you protect your precious daughter?”
She bit her trembling lip.
It was not a question that could be answered easily.
“…Can’t I have both?”
“One of them must be let go.”
Emil’s answer was clear.
The choice was now hers.
After a long silence, Cately lifted her head.
Her eyes still held pain, but a trace of the old strength she had long forgotten had returned.
“Emil… Please make sure that child is not hurt. Just promise me that one thing.”
“I will. I swear on my life to protect her.”
Emil’s words sounded like an oath.
Cately gave a faint nod.
And at last, she spoke.
“…At dawn tomorrow, I will open the gates. I will raise the white flag.”
“Priest Emil has disappeared?”
“Yes. To be precise, he appeared briefly, took a girl with him, left a few words, and vanished.”
Queen Alena, who had set up camp a short distance from Iredain, frowned as she listened to Roen’s report.
“A girl?”
“I do not know the details. She wore her hood deeply, so her face was hidden. But the priest said she was an important person.”
Alena glanced at Roen.
Under normal circumstances, such arbitrary behavior during wartime would never be tolerated.
It would not have been strange if Roen had cut Emil’s throat or imprisoned him on the spot.
The fact that she had done neither meant she trusted Emil.
And Alena did not rebuke her for it.
She simply furrowed her brow and muttered, “Just what is Priest Emil thinking…?”
“I do not know, but it would be best to ask him directly.”
“Ask him? Didn’t you say the priest has disappeared?”
“That is true, but… over there…”
Roen pointed across the field.
In the distance, a single rider was returning.
The rider, cloak covered in dust, emerged from beyond the tents.
Alena slowly turned her head.
The long cloak fluttered in the wind. When the horse stopped, the rider dismounted slowly.
“I have returned late, Your Majesty.”
Emil stopped before her and knelt.
His voice was low and quiet.
Alena looked down at him.
After a long silence, she spoke.
“Priest Emil… Why did you disappear?”
“There was something I had to do.”
“And what was that? Can you explain?”
“Yes.”
Emil did not raise his head.
“The gates will soon open. Before morning comes, they will raise the white flag and come out.”
Alena was momentarily speechless.
“…Priest Emil, is this a joke?”
“It is not.”
“Then you are saying Cately Ricgard intends to surrender? If by ‘they’ you mean Iredain…”
“Of course.”
Alena had not intended to press him too hard no matter what explanation he gave, but this left her utterly stunned.
“Why on earth would she do that?”
“Because her daughter, Daisy Ricgard, is here with us.”
At those words, Alena froze completely.
A girl.
He had said he brought a girl.
Then that girl was…
Impossible!
Alena shook her head.
Good heavens, that couldn’t be.
Unless Emil was actually a wizard…
It was then that a sharp cry came from outside the tent.
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Urgent news!”
A messenger who had come running knelt and offered a letter with a broken seal.
Roen took it, unfolded it, and drew in a short breath.
“…Your Majesty.”
“Read it.”
“Cately Ricgard, acting lord of Iredain, swears loyalty to Her Majesty Alena Esterien, the one and only rightful Queen of Rosdea. She will open the gates. She has raised the white flag and expressed her intention to surrender.”
For a moment, silence blanketed the field.
Alena blinked.
Roen blinked as well.
The two women looked at each other, then turned to Emil at the same time.
The priest simply shrugged his shoulders.
“As I clearly told you, it was not a joke.”