Belletria Lien Archesium (8)
Belletria Lien Archesium (8)
"By any chance, does Prince-nim wish to hear rumors about Belletria-nim?"
Ruamel asked a personal question for the first time.
It was such a sudden question that I was slightly taken aback, but since I was incredibly desperate right now.
I gazed into her light purple eyes for a moment to gauge her intentions before opening my mouth.
"... Yes, since we are to be married soon, I wanted to know even the smallest details about Belletria-nim."
"... I see."
Ruamel gave a strange reaction.
Thinking that she wasn't going to give me an answer after all, I finished off the remaining smoothie and was about to move again, when it happened.
"If that is the case, I think I might be able to help you...."
"Ruamel-nim...? How?"
"The thing is...."
Ruamel trailed off and hesitated again.
Seeing her act in such an unfamiliar way was proof that she was holding onto some massive information.
'I must not rush her here. Stay calm, Idelon.'
I desperately suppressed the desperation to live that was rising up to my throat.
If I rushed her carelessly and this only lifeline of information was cut, my life would be cut along with it.
Therefore, I put on an expression that perfectly matched the setting of a pure-hearted man with an 8-year unrequited love—as affectionate and desperate as possible.
"It's fine if it takes some time. Since my feelings for Her Majesty are so great... I want to keep every tiny habit, taste, and trivial daily detail of hers in my eyes and ears. Even the most trivial thing is fine, so please, could you tell me?"
"......."
At my words, which I had packaged as best as I could, Ruamel lifted her head slightly and looked at me again.
She let out a small cough and glanced around once.
There was no one in this cafe listening to our conversation, but her attitude was extremely cautious.
I was so excited to know what kind of incredible information it was that made her react like that.
"Actually, almost no one knows this, but...."
Finally, her lips opened.
"I am... Belletria-nim's only friend...."
"... Pardon?"
For a moment, I doubted my ears.
I wondered if I had drunk the smoothie too quickly and caused some issue with my hearing.
However, Ruamel continued speaking without even a single twitch of her expression.
"That is why Belletria-nim personally chose me, not another knight or attendant, to be the escort and guide for Prince Idelon Halden Rehentra."
'Frie... nd?'
That iron-blooded tyrant has a friend? And it's this seemingly ordinary maid standing expressionless in front of me?
No, her appearance and aura are no joke, so I can't just call her ordinary... anyway.
Without realizing it, I stared at her, my disbelief plastered all over my face.
Honestly, I was suspicious.
It could be a trap or a scheme by the nobles to test me.
But soon, my rational thinking began to spin rapidly.
'No. That can't be.'
Hadn't I confirmed it with my own two eyes while walking around the bustling streets of Iter all morning?
Even ordinary Imperial citizens and merchants, who would never have a chance to encounter the Emperor in their lives, trembled like aspen leaves just by mentioning her name.
There was no way a mere maid would have the guts to boldly make up a lie that "I am the Emperor's only friend" to such a terrifying tyrant.
If that were a lie, it wouldn't be me, but Ruamel whose head would be rolling on the training ground tomorrow morning.
That meant this unbelievable fact was the absolute truth.
And if Ruamel was truly Belletria's friend, what I had to say was decided.
"I, if you really are the Emperor's friend... then you must know everything about her, right?"
My voice started to tremble without me knowing.
"Since I have been with her for 15 years, ever since I first entered the Imperial Palace at the age of five...."
Ruamel replied in a calm tone, clutching her skirt slightly.
"It would be safe to say I know everything."
"Ah...."
'I survived!'
I had come out with the mindset of grabbing at a straw, but somehow, I had grabbed an indestructible golden rope that would remove the guillotine blade that had been tightening around my neck.
If she was the only friend who had watched by her side for a whopping 15 years.
She would definitely know everything, from Belletria's eating habits to her hobbies on holidays, and even her secret tastes that she never showed to others.
I finally let go of the last thread of my reason, jumped up from my seat, and approached Ruamel closely.
And I grabbed her two hands as if interlocking them.
"......!"
Ruamel's light purple eyes shook violently.
But her embarrassment didn't matter to me right now.
The key to survival depended on her mouth, so who cares about saving face?
I smiled brightly as if I had the whole world, and shook our joined hands up and down vigorously.
"I look forward to your help. Ruamel, no...."
I bowed slightly and shouted with overwhelming sincerity.
"Ruamel-nim!"
"No, wait, so...."
Exactly 2 hours and 33 minutes later.
I, who had continued a barrage of questions to the point where Ruamel, who had maintained an expressionless face from the moment I first saw her, had her face completely distorted.
I stood up from my seat with a smile quite satisfied with having extracted as much information as I could.
Of course, Ruamel was on the verge of becoming one with the cafe table.
"Ugh... my head...."
"I apologize. I made Ruamel suffer because I love Belletria-nim so much."
"Ugh......."
Ruamel, whose eyes shone so intensely that I thought, 'So a person can really put that much resentment, hatred, and regret into their gaze,'
Soon, she stood up, staggering.
"I truly, sincerely regret it. I shouldn't have opened my mouth."
She began to walk ahead, taking heavy, difficult steps without taking her resentful gaze off me.
Even in my opinion, I thought I might have gone a bit overboard, so I had no choice but to follow her, scratching the back of my head awkwardly.
After arriving at the main gate of the Imperial Palace, Ruamel left as if fleeing, saying she would take a nap, still looking full of exhaustion.
Seeing her staggering back off, I was left alone, standing blankly in the middle of the hallway, pondering for a moment.
'There's still quite a bit of time until tea time... or should I just meet her a bit early?'
Either way, returning to my room and groaning alone would just be a waste of time.
Since my head was packed with her tastes and secret information squeezed out by Ruamel's blood and sweat, I felt a strange surge of confidence to try it out in practice.
Having made my decision, I caught a passing attendant and asked for the Emperor's whereabouts.
The attendant bowed deeply and replied that Her Majesty was currently sparring with the 1st Division Commander, Silent Harsedia-nim, at the 1st Division Training Ground.
Now that I knew her location, I turned my direction toward the 1st Division Training Ground without delay.
'More than that, a spar....'
As I moved my feet, a strange sense of anticipation welled up in a corner of my heart.
Even the ordinary soldiers of the Imperial Army I encountered during the war handled their swords better than the elite knights of the Rehentra Kingdom.
If so, just how great must the swordsmanship of the Emperor, who is called the pinnacle of the continent in name and reality, be?
'If I'm lucky, will I be able to witness that swordsmanship?'
The desire for swordsmanship that had been sleeping inside me—or more accurately, the one I had shoved deep into my chest because of my shitty family—began to crawl out.
Kang—kang!!
As I got closer to the Training Ground, I could hear the sharp aura of mana piercing the skin and the sound of metal clashing.
Feeling my heart beating louder and louder, the moment I turned the corner and entered the open Training Ground, I gasped without realizing it.
In the middle of the wide sand floor, the first thing I saw was two massive energies clashing.
On one side was an aura mixed with pure white, resembling Belletria's dazzling white hair, and ice blue.
And the energy opposing it was an aura the color of red flames that seemed like it would burn up all the oxygen in the vicinity at any moment.
Kagagak—!!
The two auras collided fiercely, drawing erratic trajectories dozens of times per second.
Every time the blades clashed, sparks flew and dust swirled.
The giant man emitting the red aura, presumably the 1st Division Commander Silent Harsedia, rushed in like a beast and swung his sword, but.
Belletria was flowing all those attacks away gracefully as if dancing, without changing her expression at all.
"Wow...."
I had almost never held a sword myself, but having watched the knights' training and sparring thousands of times in the royal palace, I could tell at once.
Even if their spar looked like a tight contest that was hard to determine the winner of at a glance.
Silent was showing a desperate struggle just to land a single hit,
And the pure white sword strikes were at a level where she was testing her opponent's limits and toying with them.
'Still, if he can manage something similar to a spar against a Master... that man Silent must be a monster too.'
I stared, mouth slightly agape, my gaze stolen by that lethal swordsmanship.
However, the spar, which was so flashy it could be called beautiful, did not last long.
It was right after about ten more exchanges.
"Ugh...!"
Silent, who boasted a giant physique and swung a sword with the size and mass of a greatsword, sat down on the floor just like that.
The sword, which had left its owner's hand, also rolled powerlessly on the sand.
"...... That was quite enjoyable today as well."
Belletria glanced down at him, who was panting heavily, and flicked her sword lightly.
Soon, she turned her body toward the entrance of the Training Ground without hesitation, but her steps suddenly came to a halt.
Perhaps it was because she had discovered me watching from afar.
'Ah... we made eye contact.'
"......."
Belletria looked at me for a moment with a gaze that seemed to say she hadn't expected to see me in a place like this.
Then, tapping the tip of the sword she was holding against the floor, she raised her voice toward me.
"You came at a good time. My fiancé."
"Ah, yes. Thanks to Her Majesty's consideration...."
"I was just thinking that my body hadn't quite warmed up yet."
"... Pardon?"
At her words, which had an ominous feeling just by hearing them, I stopped in my tracks just as I was about to approach her happily.
However, it seemed it was already too late.
Belletria kicked up a spare wooden sword that had been stuck in the floor of the Training Ground, and threw it so it slid accurately to my feet.
Thud.
The wooden sword stopped right in front of the toe of my shoe, sweeping the sand.
I stared down at it blankly for a moment, then swallowed dryly and shifted my gaze back to the front.
Belletria looked at me with a bright smile, like a child who had found a new toy, and said.
"Pick up the sword. I would like to check your skills."
"Ah......."
I had forgotten while focusing on the concept of being an 8-year unrequited love pure-hearted man.
The fact that the person I was currently begging for love was a battle maniac who boasted the craziest martial prowess in the history of the continent.
'... Save me.'