95. Someone's Wish
Those who had traveled from the Kingdom of Lasquer to the Empire had all experienced a hell that turned a fleeting moment into eternity.
Even though they had become students by being expelled, they were, after all, princesses. They carried the noble blood of the royal family.
They were far more important than hundreds of their own people. If anything were to happen to her, they could be certain that the moment they returned home, they would be bound hand and foot and receive the strictest punishment.
Yet this was the princess riding in the carriage. It suddenly jerked with alarming force, then let out a deafening crash as the wheels shattered. The door flew open and the princess was hurled out into the open air.
In that instant, the same thought flashed through the minds of everyone present.
Ah… I’m dead.
Incidentally, the Empire’s own people escorting the honored guest had faced a similar fate.
They were students, yes, but in reality it was exile. Still, they were members of a foreign royal family. Not distant relatives, but direct bloodline. No matter where they went, they were owed the highest honors.
Yet this was a member of that royal family, and she had been injured on the Empire’s soil. Whether or not the Empire was at fault, they could not escape responsibility for their own people.
Ah… I’m finished.
Please, just don’t get seriously hurt. Please. Oh gods, why must you test us like this?
Those damned Lasquer bastards… were they trying to stir up anti-Empire sentiment by using the princess?
Negative thoughts swirled and tangled together in their minds.
In the end, the worst had been avoided. No one had died, no one had been ruined.
Of course, they could not simply pretend nothing had happened. They had nearly suffered a catastrophe. Everyone would be chewed out by their superiors and superiors’ superiors until they begged for mercy.
But that was still an immeasurable stroke of luck for these people. At least they no longer had to worry about their futures or their lives.
“Ugh.”
“Huh?”
A young man came sprinting toward the carriage at such speed that even those nearby hadn’t noticed. He caught the fifth princess of Lasquer, who had been flung from the carriage, in his arms as if he had been waiting for it.
More precisely, he had saved the lives of both the Lasquer delegation and the Empire’s escort team.
“W-what is this…?”
The perpetrator of yet another absurd incident wore an expression of utter disbelief at his own actions.
*
You damned brute! What the hell are you doing, leaping out like that?!
His subordinates were there, and the Empire’s own guards had been assigned to them! Why on earth had he thrown himself into danger like that?! I’m going insane, I’m going insane!
He grabbed his own head and vented his frustration, but the damage was already done. It was spilled water. Damn it. Damn it.
“T-thank you, Lord Karl Adelheit!”
He gently set the woman he had caught down on the ground. The people rushing over noticed that the woman in his arms was no ordinary person when they saw the moisture in his eyes.
Impossible. The moment he heard the story from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, he had fled. How could he possibly run into her here?
Ah, this was too much. Why had the carriage carrying the princess suddenly had its wheels break?
Was it really… No, there was no way the woman he was holding was the fifth princess of Lasquer…
“Thank goodness! It appears there are no injuries to the fifth princess of Lasquer!”
“…”
Thank goodness? Ah, yes. That’s right. Thank goodness. Good. I’m not the one who should be thankful.
As soon as he confirmed that another strange incident had occurred, he turned to flee. If he stayed here, he would be entangled in something extremely troublesome.
But the Empire’s people and the Lasquer personnel who had been driving the carriage also dragged him back to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, insisting, “Where are you going?! We cannot simply let this benefactor go!”
No, you idiots! I just came out of there! Where do you think I’m going the moment I leave?
He tried to explain that he had urgent business, but these people wouldn’t listen. Instead, they kept muttering about how he was a Medal of Honor recipient, a war hero, a saint of the Church, and that there must be a reason the gods loved him so much.
Even that alone made him sigh. Then he felt a strange gaze on him and turned his head.
There stood the Lasquer fifth princess he had caught. The moment their eyes met, she whipped her head away with a sharp sound.
“…”
Um. He was starting to worry about how he would explain this to Selena.
When they returned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the minister burst into laughter at the absurdity of it all.
“It’s only been thirty minutes since you said you were leaving.”
“Exactly.”
The minister, still chuckling, glanced at the fifth princess walking cautiously beside him and continued.
“I’ve heard the story. You prevented a situation where both the Empire and the Kingdom would have been in serious trouble. Karl, you are truly remarkable.”
“It was just my body reacting on its own. In situations like this, having good reflexes is a curse.”
“A curse? What nonsense. As I said earlier, Karl, you bridged two nations that were on the verge of becoming deeply uncomfortable.”
The minister’s words continued.
The root of the problem lay with the Lasquer personnel and the carriage they had prepared in their home country.
How could they have driven a royal carriage without properly inspecting it? The moment they returned, they would face at least severe punishment, and in the worst case, execution.
But the Empire was not without fault either. For example, the road conditions.
Even if that were not the case, an injury to a foreign dignitary within the Empire’s territory would inevitably lead to some form of blame, one way or another.
“Our Ministry of Foreign Affairs nearly suffered a backlash, and so did the Ministry of the Interior. Of course, we cannot simply pretend it never happened, but it is a hundred, no, a thousand times better than something actually occurring. Karl.”
In other words, he had protected the livelihoods of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of the Interior bureaucrats.
That was not a bad thing. Protecting them had always felt good to him. It was as if he had branded it into his soul. The negative emotions that would have followed if he had failed had been so overwhelming that he had nearly drowned in them.
“Have you spoken with the fifth princess?”
“With the fifth princess?”
“Yes. You saved her, didn’t you?”
“That’s true, but she is still a foreign dignitary. I didn’t think there was much point in speaking with her.”
More importantly, she was from Lasquer. The kingdom of knights whose father had crushed them.
Time had passed, but they would still feel uncomfortable with each other. It would be better to keep distance and avoid eye contact.
He turned his head slightly and looked at the woman who was the fifth princess. Priests from the Church were checking to see if anyone had been injured. The princess was unharmed, waving her hand to dismiss them.
Meanwhile, his people were apologizing profusely, saying they had committed a crime worthy of death. But the princess told them not to worry, that she was completely fine and that they should stop worrying.
Whether student or exile, it’s a hopeless situation.
It was a pity. He felt a twinge of sympathy for her.
Being driven out was already tragic, but to be cast out by one’s own country and thrown into another. He knew how difficult it was to endure hardship far from home, where one’s own house should be.
But that was as far as it went. As a foreign dignitary, he had no further involvement. She would have to manage on her own.
Just as he had found a turning point in the army, he hoped the princess would find the academy to be such a place.
“Ah, Karl. Speaking of which, I’d like to recommend one more Medal of Honor for you.”
“Eh?”
“What ‘eh’? I already told you. Thanks to you, neither the Empire nor the Kingdom had to blush with shame. It’s more than enough to receive a medal, even if it’s not as great as recovering the saint from the Church.”
Without hesitation, he shook his head at the minister’s words. One was enough. No duplicates, please.
*
“One more check, please. Are you sure you’re not in pain anywhere? Even if there’s no pain, that’s fine. Even if you feel uncomfortable somewhere, that’s all right.”
“I’m really fine, Priest. Thank you.”
“I have committed a crime worthy of death, Your Highness! Please, please punish me!”
“Stop it. It was unavoidable. And since nothing happened, I’m truly fine.”
He told the priests, who were about to examine his body inch by inch, that he was fine. He held back his people, who were about to slam their heads on the ground, and finally let out a sigh of relief.
“…”
Unconsciously, he recalled the warmth he had felt moments ago and the arms that had held him so trustingly.
The first person he had ever seen. The first arms he had ever been embraced in. Despite the embarrassment, why did his heart keep thumping so loudly and confusingly?
He had heard that everyone in the world carried at least one wish deep in their hearts.
Big or small, foolish or realistic, it didn’t matter. It was simply human. A fervent thing that only humans could possess.
He had carried one such wish as well. It was a little foolish, but still, what he wanted was…
At least, I want the person I truly love to take half of my life with me. Someone connected by heart alone, without political considerations or anything else.
He knew how foolish that wish was. How close it was to the impossible for a princess.
Marrying someone chosen for political reasons to serve the kingdom and the royal family had been the fate of every princess until now. No one had ever broken free from that destiny.
Not even the queen recorded in the history of the kingdom had escaped it. Everyone had simply chosen partners while considering political factors.
Yet he had not been able to easily give up that wish. Because wishes, like anything else, were too fervent. Moreover, his current situation was not very good.
No matter how he looked at it, he could never approach the throne. His talent was average, and his personality was weak to the point of self-loathing.
All that remained was his status as a princess and his own body. He was a woman half sold off. That was why the wish had been even more impossible to fulfill. He had wanted it, but he had thought he could never have it.
But…
The expression on her face was still clearly imprinted in his mind. The face of the man who had caught her.
The face that had been relieved. The hidden relief that you are unharmed, that you are truly fortunate.
Of course, it had only lasted a few seconds and vanished immediately. But to him, that moment had felt as eternal as forever.