Chapter 1. Kill the Empress
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Perso was surprised by Anna’s answer.
How could she publicly dislike the Emperor in front of the Emperor’s close aide.
His expression became harder than ever.
“It’s dangerous.”
“Me? What’s so dangerous about a noblewoman with no power and no status like me?”
“That’s not what I mean by dangerous.”
“……then?”
“You will put yourself in danger.”
Anna understood his words.
It did not mean that she herself was a threat to anyone, but that she would put herself in danger.
“Everything I cared about is gone.”
Anna turned to Perso and smiled bitterly.
“It’s all because of one person.”
“…….”
“I hate and loathe the person who destroyed all of that. And that’s the emperor.”
“It’s very dangerous.”
“I am aware of that. I don’t speak so openly anywhere.”
Anna stared at Perso.
It was as if she knew he wouldn’t hurt her by looking at his eyes.
Anna sat still for a while, sipping her cold tea, and then suddenly remembered and asked.
“So the Duke of Gertium will not be at the July Festival?”
“I’ve been called, but I don’t need to go. There are others there already.”
Anna’s expression brightened at once at his words.
“I see. You’re right. You’re also busy protecting this place.”
Hearing her cheerful voice, Perso hesitantly opened his mouth .
“Didn’t you say that you had a request for me?”
“Oh, yes, I did.”
“Tell me.”
In fact, Anna tried to get Duke Gertium to go to that far away place by making this and that excuse.
She tried to send him to the furthest place from the capital, or to make up some other excuse to stay close to him and probe his weaknesses.
However, now that he told her that he would not go to the July Festival, where Rosie was coming, and that Rosie did not need to deal with him until Anna was in danger.
Then there was no need for that request.
Anna remembered their earlier conversation for a moment and then opened her mouth.
“Could you protect me one more time when I am in danger, when I need you?”
Wouldn’t this be enough?
In any case, Gertium was one of the most powerful families after the emperor.
She thought that perhaps it would not be a bad idea to leave at least one debt to this family.
“…..I will do so.”
“Thank you.”
Anna stood up with a relieved smile.
“Thank you very much for all the help you have given me. Now that I have met the Duke, I will be leaving tomorrow.”
Strange things happened next, however.
Perso Gertium, who had never reacted greatly to any mention of danger, suddenly got up from his seat.
“Departure? Tomorrow? Where?”
“Oh, I’m going to the July Festival…….”
Perso’s face turned pale at her words.
He followed without bothering for a moment and said.
“Then I too will come to the July Festival.”
* * * *
Anna glared at the man outside the carriage with resentful eyes.
He said he wouldn’t come to the festival and she completed the task Rosie gave her, but here he was, following her to the capital.
‘What should I do….I can’t go with that man in the capital like this.’
What kind of a sudden turn of events would lead him to go to the capital on a whim?
Anna was about to quietly stop by the capital to see Rosie became distracted.
She was supposed to be in a hurry, but Perso followed and she was going slow on purpose.
Moreover, in the name of escort, he did not leave Anna’s side for a moment, and that bothered her.
“Ugh…”
Extremely, her nerves were more acute because of her menstruation, which started yesterday.
She had many worries and her body was not in good shape, so there was not a day when she felt relaxed.
Rwanda, who had been watching her her whole life, noticed Anna’s condition first.
“Miss, if it’s too much for you, let’s rest here. Looking at the map, there is a lake about 10 minutes further. We can take a rest there, since it is almost the same time we will be eating.”
“…… shall we do that?”
Rwanda hurriedly stopped the carriage, and the fifty or so knights who had followed the carriage carrying Rwanda and Anna under the guise of an “escort” also stopped.
It was a number of people that she was aghast every time she saw them.
Of course, many more than this would be accompanied on an official move of the high nobility.
But this was not the situation Anna wanted, and she sighed every time she saw the knights.
The carriage stopped and Anna went outside to look for the lake, partly to soothe her stomach upsetting speed.
Perso followed her without a second thought.
It was like this the whole way to the capital. He followed her around as if he were her personal escort.
It was fine when she thought he was a low-ranked knight.
When the head of a family, who was a duke, followed her around like a personal guard, she couldn’t help but feel a burden.
‘Are you perhaps keeping an eye on me?’
Perhaps, just as she distrusted Perso, Perso’s distrust of Anna grew.
He was not like the successive Dukes of Gertium, but at any rate, wasn’t he the head of his family, which has supported the imperial family for generations?
Anna looked at Perso as he kept following her.
“I don’t want you to follow me any further. I’m going to take wash up.”
“Okay.”
Perso nodded.
“How long do you think it will take?”
“…..Why? Are you coming to pick me up?”
“This is an area where mountain animals come out and it is dangerous. I’ll wait for you nearby.”
“Please don’t. If anything should happen, I will shout loud enough to be heard, so please stay away.”
“…….”
“Please.”
Okay.”
Anna was finally relieved to hear his reply.
What’s wrong with him?
Anna asked Rwanda frustratedly but Rwanda only laughed as if she knew something.
But she wouldn’t tell Anna anything.
Perso Gertium.
When she found out who he was, he was a real nuisance.
* * *
An hour had long passed.
Perso stared in the direction where Anna had disappeared.
Normally, they would leave after an hour of rest.
It was late for the knights.
But Anna took it easy every time, while she had to rush to the July Festival.
Anna had been wary of him since she found out who he was.
Not that Perso didn’t know that, but strangely, he felt uneasy if he didn’t keep her in front of him.
Because he had the feeling that she would surely have some accident or something.
So he impulsively decided to go to the July Festival, which he had been inclined to do.
Anna had an atmosphere in which the storm seemed to come and take her away just by standing still.
It didn’t mean that she looked weak, but somehow she made him feel like she was walking on the edge of the line.
“My Lady is going to be late. She didn’t even bring a blanket…….”
Rwanda sneaked up on him and let Perso hold the blanket.
“She’s not feeling well right now and may have accidentally fallen asleep in the nice weather. It’s easy to fall asleep in this weather.”
Rwanda pushed Perso back, as if to say, “Go ahead.”
“If she is asleep, you can wake her up and bring her back.”
Perso pretended that he could not resist Rwanda’s prodding, and he went to his feet.
Rwanda was right, Anna was sleeping on a flat rock in front of the lake.
Perhaps it was because the shadows of the trees exquisitely covered her face, but it was a peaceful and restful place to sleep.
Perso raised his hand to wake her.
“Ugh…..”
Anna, who was holding her stomach in her arms, groaned.
Perso froze in place, unable to reach out further.
“She’s not feeling well…”
Rwanda’s words about Anna’s body not feeling well came to his mind.
Looking at Anna, who was groaning, she really didn’t look quite well.
Perso hesitated for a moment and put the blanket he had brought over Anna’s body.
It seemed their departure would have to be delayed a little longer.
* * *
“Is it the scent of flowers ……?
Anna could smell flowers somewhere.
Anna, who was in pain even as she slept, awoke pleasantly to the fragrance of flowers.
Why did she wake up her ragged body if she wanted to smell the flowers?
The blanket that had been draped over her shoulders slipped off.
At the same time, she saw dozens of flowers cascading around the rock she was lying on.
“……What is this?”
Wild flowers decorated her surroundings in a spectacular array of colors.
Holding the pale orange flowers in her hand, Anna looked around, but did not see anyone leaving flowers.
For a moment, Perso’s image crossed her mind, but she shook her head, saying, “It can’t be.”
“It would be Rwanda. I’ll go and say thank you.”
She couldn’t believe she didn’t wake her up and even put a blanket on her.
Thanks to that, the pain in her aching stomach was lessened.
Anna tucked the pale orange flowers she was holding tightly in her pocket and stood up.
Perhaps because she woke up from a sweet sleep, her mind was clear.
It was a warm afternoon with only a week left until the July Festival.