Chapter 25
The Empress was an outsider who could always return to her country whenever she wished.
Rumours spread widely through the palace that the Emperor cherished her dearly.
The glass greenhouse being built for her was proof of that.
If she could not be formally recognised as Empress, then even if she bore a child, that child could not become a legitimate heir to the throne.
Ultimately, she would leave, and unless war was waged to invade her homeland, she would never be retrieved.
Forenze still felt uneasy.
He had not asked his father’s opinion, but he knew the man was not someone who easily changed his mind.
The truth was, Forenze had always aligned himself thoroughly with the temple.
If he had not clung to principle, even when it seemed foolish, the nation might have fallen long before now.
It had been the right choice.
Even if, in the end, he had not been able to uphold it completely.
Which meant Ariella was still in danger.
The only right thing to do was to end the political marriage as soon as possible.
Yes, that was the correct path.
Shoving aside the tangle of thoughts, Ariella began to walk.
It was time to go to the arena where the tournament would be held.
***
The jousting tournament was more than just a game.
It was a battle for honour and glory, a stage to prove the valour and chivalry of the age.
Under the clear, bright sky, the wide-open arena looked as majestic as a stage from legend.
Huge banners whipped in the wind, flaunting brilliant colours, while the stands were packed with nobles and commoners alike.
The arena was surrounded at both ends by towering walls, evoking the fortifications of a battlefield.
Ariella drew in a deep breath before the special place where tradition and change coexisted.
Dmitri’s tent was easy to find.
It was his aide, Eric, who greeted her first.
“He is waiting for you.”
As Eric approached the entrance, the flap of the tent lifted from inside.
Like the sun bursting forth through the darkness, Dmitri appeared suddenly.
Startled by his abrupt emergence, her heart thudded violently.
“To the exalted Crown Prince, I pay my—”
“Come in.”
Ariella steadied her trembling heart and ducked beneath his arm.
Her bare shoulder brushed against the cold steel of his armour.
Inside, three or four attendants were tending to him.
At a mere gesture from Dmitri, they all withdrew, leaving only the two of them in the tent.
Was it because it had been so long since they last met?
Or was it simply the sight of him in armour?
Dmitri felt strangely unfamiliar.
Did he always roam the battlefield like this?
“Have you been well?”
Ariella gave a half-hearted reply of “Yes, yes,” while her eyes roamed over his figure.
On the way here, she had seen hulking men stomping around the arena in heavy armour that looked unbearable at a glance.
The tournament was a massive event.
Most of the time, a lord of the provinces or his heir would participate directly.
If no such person could attend, then the strongest knight of their domain would inevitably take the place.
Dmitri’s armour looked far more streamlined than the others.
Was it truly strong enough?
“I’m built for offence.”
“…What?”
“You’re worrying about it right now.”
“You can read minds, can’t you?”
He gave a short laugh.
“Want to feel it?”
Now?
When Ariella’s head snapped up, he let out a chuckle.
Dmitri took her hand and pressed it against his chest.
Even in the warmer weather, the touch was cool, as if he carried a heart of ice.
“It may look light, but it isn’t weak.”
“…”
“Don’t worry. I won last year. It was my first tournament, too.”
“Winning last year doesn’t mean you’ll escape unscathed this year.
And your arm still hasn’t fully healed.”
“That just means I should end it more quickly.”
“Do you really have to win this time as well?”
“Not necessarily.
But my father prefers swift victories.”
At the mention of the Emperor, Ariella’s face tightened.
Dmitri pressed a finger to her brow, smoothing the crease.
“I like that you’re on my side.
But it’s better if His Majesty doesn’t notice it’s more affection than loyalty.
I won’t be around for a while, anyway.”
Ariella could find no answer.
She no longer knew what to think.
“Hmm?”
When Dmitri prompted her, she only nodded.
“Anyway, I’ll win again this time.”
“There’s no need for you to win.”
“If His Majesty acknowledges me properly, maybe he’ll treat you more kindly.”
Ariella shook her head without thinking.
Once the three-day tournament ended, Dmitri would be gone from the capital for a long time.
There wasn’t much time left.
She might not get another chance to stand this close to him and speak with him like this.
Ariella sifted through the words she had prepared.
For days she had wondered if she should tell him that his father’s jealousy was driving him into madness.
But the decision didn’t take long.
Dmitri would be fighting on the battlefield for the Emperor.
Standing at the vanguard to earn his recognition.
Risking his life, literally.
The brighter Dmitri shone, the deeper Frederick’s heart would sink into the mire, and he didn’t even know it.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing.”
“Hmm?”
“I said it’s not that.”
Ariella gripped his arm.
The smooth, unyielding steel beneath her hand only made her heart feel more helpless.
She bit her lip hard.
“His Majesty doesn’t want you to excel.
He fears you.”
“Ariella.”
“If you win battles, the people will cheer.
And the more they cheer, the more he’ll torment you.”
“What… what are you saying?”
“I know my words sound strange.
But please, don’t risk your life.
Don’t lead the charge.
Don’t put anything above your own safety.
You don’t need to earn His Majesty’s recognition.
You don’t need to strive for glory.
Just come back safe.
Come back alive.”
Somehow her eyes were squeezed shut.
She poured out words without knowing exactly what she was saying.
Because he was pitiable.
Because her heart ached unbearably for him.
“…”
“He envies you!
Horribly so.”
The words spilt out, beyond retrieving, and Ariella could not open her eyes.
Dmitri’s silence stretched on.
Her heart pounded so hard it hurt.
Shapes before her blurred and shifted restlessly.
“And you?”
Caught off guard, Ariella’s eyes flew open.
A sliver of sunlight through the tent seam lit his eyes with a strange gleam.
“What?”
“What about you?”
“I don’t understand.”
Dmitri raised a hand and brushed her cheek.
The armour over his arm shifted smoothly with the motion, the heavy metallic sound prickling her ears.
Each joint of his gauntlet moved as if it were part of his flesh and bone.
As the cold metal grazed her skin, her ragged breaths slowly eased.
A sorrowful feeling welled inside her.
“If I do well, how do you feel?”
“For me… nothing is more important than your safety.”
The hand lingering on her cheek settled on her shoulder.
Goosebumps swept across her skin.
His piercing eyes seemed to dig relentlessly for the truth.
“Vaguely…”
His low voice began, and then he slowly lowered his head.
His forehead, always warmer than her skin, touched her shoulder.
Even though it had happened before, it always left her breathless.
“I knew.
I knew why His Majesty hated me.”
Ariella couldn’t even sigh.
How could he not know?
It was an emotion so obvious it was impossible to miss up close.
There was no way the one who had suffered it for so long could be unaware.
How had he endured it?
That unfairness, that cruelty?
“I just… couldn’t believe it.
It doesn’t make sense, does it?”
His voice was dry, as though forced to ignore the unbearable.
Ariella stretched out her arms and wrapped them around his back.
He stiffened for a moment, then leaned his weight against her shoulder.
It felt as though his heavy life poured onto her all at once.
“As a child, I only wanted to please my father.
But the strangest thing was, the harder I tried, the angrier he became.”
“Your Highness…”
“Even if I had been certain, it wouldn’t have changed anything.
All I could do was… be good at something.
If I didn’t, what else could I have done?”
Ariella rubbed desperately at the armour that gave off no warmth.
Though she knew her touch could never pierce the cold, she couldn’t stop trying.
“It was
easier to think His Majesty hated me because I was lacking.”
“It isn’t your fault.
Never.”
Just as it wasn’t my fault that my country fell because of my foolish face.
There was nothing else to say.
All she could do was repeat that the horrors he had endured were never his fault.
For a long time, Dmitri could not speak.
