“It’s nothing but a messenger who has arrived from Lagon,” Marquis Lennox replied in a polite manner as he lowered his head. Lagon had suffered a lot by losing in this war, but there were some people who had benefited.
“Is it from the new crown prince of Lagon?”
Originally, Lagon was under the rule of Klaus, its former commander, and his nephew, the crown prince. However, in the midst of confusion, the third son of the king, prince Avalta, had attacked the original crown prince, successfully claiming his spot. Behind all of this was crown prince Maximillian, who commanded the southern army of Assiette. He had used his spy under his banner to read the complicated situation in Lagon, and ignited the impulses of the third prince, who had been living and keeping his ambitions hidden deep inside. Doing so resulted in…
“Yes. He promised to do his best to support us during the rebellion.”
The corners of Max’s lips rose when he realized he had benefited more from this than he had originally intended. ‘It won’t be long before we initiate the rebellion.’ His body filled with the anticipation to take down his father and sit on the throne.
“Everything will be perfect once you go back to the capital and reconcile with Duke Floyen.”
Max scowled at the marquis’ words. “That will not happen. Never,” he stated bluntly.
* * *
I entered the prayer room with a sigh. Compared to other places, the room was quiet. It was proof that there were many people who would rather relieve their worries by spending large amounts of money to purchase prophecies or amulets instead of giving sincere prayers.
‘I’m going to go to the least crowded part of this room.’ I went to the corner of the spacious prayer room where the fountain, which was said to grant wishes, was located. I could see coins thrown by others laying here and there inside the fountain.
‘I don’t believe in things like this, but…’ I closed my eyes and made a wish. ‘Please let my future go smoothly and let Max come back safely.’ I then threw the coin. I wanted it to land in the middle of the fountain, but sadly, I wasn’t athletic enough. The coin fell to the ground instead.
Clink!
The lower-middle class spirit inside me wriggle at the sound of the coin rolling on the ground. ‘I mean, it’s a silver coin. It’s a waste to just throw it away like this!’ Still, as the daughter of a duke, I had to maintain my dignity, which meant I couldn’t just crouch down and search for the coin.
I looked around. Because I was in a corner, it seemed like no one would be able to see me clearly, and everyone seemed to be busy praying. ‘Alright. No one’s looking at me.’ I carefully crept to where the coin rolled to, then became surprised to find someone on the other side of the fountain.
‘Red eyes…?’ I mindlessly stared at the person from how familiar their eyes were, then let out a hollow laugh. ‘Oh, she’s a woman.’ As I was about to turn around and act like I hadn’t seen her, I noticed a wetness running down her cheeks. ‘She’s crying.’ She was wiping her tears with her sleeves as if she didn’t have a handkerchief.
“Hey, are you oka—” When I had spoken without realizing it, the woman flinched at my voice and glared at me as if she were startled.
“What do you want?” I grew stiff at her cold tone. Nonetheless, I could see that there was loneliness in her fierce eyes.
‘She reminds me of how I was that day.’ I carefully approached her and handed her my handkerchief, remembering how I had cried while waiting for my father who hadn’t come to my debutante ball.
“Here you go,” I softly uttered. I was going to leave if she shook me off, but to my surprise, she took the handkerchief from my hand and wiped her tears.
‘As I thought, she must’ve been lonely.’ I sat behind her and remained silent because I knew from experience that just being with someone brought a huge comfort rather than hearing shallow words. At that moment, I heard her blow her nose.
“Um, you can keep that handkerchief,” I quietly commented.
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