"I think you're sensitive because of your pregnancy, my Lady."
"I'm sensitive?"
I slowly asked back at the unexpected reaction.
"The Lord explained it to me."
"What are you talking about, Hannah? Kaian avoided answering."
Speaking of the village of Plogne, I couldn't believe that my only friend who completely sympathized with me was telling me I was sensitive. After hearing Hannah's words, I literally doubted my ears, wondering if I'd heard wrong.
Either I'd misunderstood what Kaian said earlier, or I'd misheard Hannah when she said I was sensitive.
"The village is gone. Is it okay to ask if we're survivors of that village and then tell him the Queen silenced us?"
"Claudel."
Hannah took a quick breath and looked me in the eyes. The brown eyes, which usually shone brightly, had lost the outburst of emotion that had exploded when she'd snatched the nameplate and become strangely rational.
"Arbor is a hidden secret, yes?"
"Yes."
Although I felt something repulsive, I had no choice but to answer.
"He didn't say when the Lord went there, yes?"
"...Yes."
"And if Her Majesty has separately commanded him not to divulge it, I think it will be difficult to hear more details from him."
She held my hand tightly.
"Few people know about Plogne, but Kaian is a royal relative. The King wasn't the only person who came to hear the divine tree's predictions."
Hannah was right. Some high-ranking priests and nobles had visited the village. When "guests" arrived at the village at the bottom of the mountain, adults sent the children out of the village and greeted them with masks on their faces and hoods.
Even though adults told us not to look, if we climbed up a high tree, we could clearly see what was happening in the village under the branches that were spread out like Arbor's fan.
"No matter what he knows, he won't be able to tell. You and me too. Just like we can't reveal the sacred tree's affairs."
I lost focus for a moment. The events of the village of Plogne weren't something to be discussed in this logical manner.
Never before had Hannah spoken of our misfortune in such an emotionless way. It was so unfamiliar and strange, but she wasn't wrong.
*I can't tell him our story just to ask Kaian more.*
There was no way to get it without giving something away. Rather, at this point, the reason why Kaian had confirmed to Hannah that I might also be from that village was almost disturbing to me.
Hannah's beautiful brown eyes, like the color of fallen leaves, were watery.
"You don't know how painful it is not to have seen the last of my parents or my younger brother. Thinking there might be hope is something only a person mired in despair would do."
"...Hannah."
I felt like my reason and emotions were separated. It was frustrating because of Kaian, who'd avoided me without giving a proper answer, and it felt like I was being split in half, following the fragments of thought that were organized according to Hannah's words.
"You're right. If I want to hear more, I have no choice but to bring up things I shouldn't say."
Arbor had burned down and disappeared, but those who were born and raised as part of the tree, like leaves hanging at the end of branches, were unable to hastily reveal the existence of the divine tree, which had become a legend.
"If you can't confirm it, you'll suffer more than me."
I hugged Hannah as if to comfort her. My agitation gradually subsided as I patted my delicate friend's back.
"I'm sorry for making you say that."
But Hannah, with her face buried in my shoulder, furrowed her brow and bit her lower lip.
*I'm sorry for lying, Claudel.*
To somehow divert her attention from Madame Cronach, who might be connected to this topic, she'd sacrificed her parents and younger brother, which would forever remain a bitter wound in her heart.
*I'll explain everything properly after the child is born.*
She asked Claudel to wait just a moment. She muttered words that Claudel couldn't hear.
*More than that, I'm worried about Aunt Leonie.*
She was also worried about somehow sending a telegram to the capital.
Hannah held me face to face and swallowed her sigh.
---
Sunlight fell gently on the lakeside in the middle of the day. Because the weather wasn't cold, the green forest path was filled with lone jacaranda trees in full bloom here and there.
"It's winter in Rowan."
Valquiterre walked slowly through the garden. Not a cold winter. The winter with Rowan's flowers and greenery in full bloom was something very special. It was a blessed land that was the only place alive during a season when eighty-five percent of the continent spent curled up inside their homes like hibernating animals.
Paradise.
He thought Rowan was the land closest to the utopia that humans dreamed of. Everyone longed for or imagined a transcendent world, but Valquiterre wasn't like that.
Why should he dream of another paradise when he could actually see the land with his own eyes and feel it vividly in his hands? Every time he came to Rowan, he would always urge himself to covet the land.
Valquiterre's face turned cold as he looked at it. He was seven years old—an age he would never forget.
The castle workers had cut down the tree, smoothed it, and fixed it in the middle, creating something for the two to ride and play on. Madame Elise had smiled mischievously, untied the silk ribbon that adorned her hair, and tied it around the middle, creating a rather nicely made seesaw that looked as if it had been wrapped as a gift.
Madame Elise had smiled brightly and urged the children.
*"Go ahead and try it. Hurry."*
Kaian and Valquiterre, excited, had gotten on both sides and stamped their feet vigorously.
*Thump. Thump.*
Every time the seesaw jumped, his bottom bounced like it was bouncing on a horse's saddle, and he'd burst out laughing.
*"Ahahaha!"*
*"Kyahaha!"*
However, as they'd exchanged foot stomps with each other a few times, at some point the movement of the seesaw became violent, and Valquiterre, who'd lost his grip, bounced off and fell down, hitting his bottom.
*"Ouch..."*
Unknowingly, he'd frowned and raised his head, and his eyes had caught the sight of Madame Elise holding and caring for Kaian.
*"Kaian, are you okay? Does it hurt?"*
*"Yes, it's okay."*
The boy had clearly looked like he was in pain, but Kaian had seemed to be trying to answer resolutely.
Valquiterre had automatically looked at Queen Silvia, who was standing behind him. She'd looked down at him with disdain in her blue eyes, just like the ones he'd been born with, as if they'd been taken from glass melted in a kiln in one go.
*"Stop acting so pathetic and stand up."*
Young Valquiterre had jumped up like an animal caught in a trap. His mind had felt more numb than his bottom hitting the ground so hard.
Recalling that incident, Valquiterre removed a piece of moss from the seesaw and crushed it with his fingertips.
"It's not a big deal, but something small like this is more memorable."
Madame Elise had raised Kaian with care. In comparison, Queen Silvia had treated Valquiterre, who had to learn the art of kingship and was raised as the kingdom's successor, as strictly as a sword.
Every time he'd seen the contrast, he'd felt upset. They were said to be children born to princesses, and even though they were tied together, he'd felt it was difficult—as if he was walking along a thorny path while Kaian was staying in a flower field that seemed to have been copied from Rowan's scenery.
However, looking back, it seemed that Queen Silvia's strict parenting hadn't been particularly effective, because Valquiterre hadn't been raised to be particularly superior to Kaian. The level that humans could reach through effort and training was physically determined to some extent.
If the parenting results of the Queen, who'd raised him coldly and harshly, and the Duchess, who'd raised her child with her arms around him, were similar, could Silvia, who'd raised her child callously without even offering her hand, really be considered to have done well?
It was questionable.
It was time for Valquiterre to brush away the crushed grass. As he turned his head, his eyes met with the flower-like woman who caught his eye the most, as wildflowers of various colors competed with each other to show off their beauty.
"...Ah."
The golden eyes on her pale face, touched by the light shining through the thick leaves, took on a troubled look.
*Not being able to hide your innocence is also attractive.*
Valquiterre was impressed by this aspect of her, giving her generous marks. How lovely she was compared to the noble women who wore very clever masks.
It had already been about ten days since he'd come to Rowan, and during that time Valquiterre had barely seen Claudel.
So he guessed that the relationship between Kaian and the Duchess, who'd confided to him two secrets she couldn't even tell her husband, was probably not that ideal.
*As if he weren't completely infatuated with Claudel, he said it was enough for him to be satisfied with this marriage.*
When he'd met her in the royal palace's garden, Kaian had said he'd hurriedly taken her as if to hide her from Valquiterre's eyes.
*Well, since it was difficult to deal with Bianque, I guess he deliberately misled me by saying it was a very satisfactory marriage.*
If he thought about it, Kaian was doing something contradictory toward him. Although he was the head of a family called the undefeated Temnes, Valquiterre was bound to be much better at scheming. What did the King do? Politics was mostly about covering up intentional things to make others understand them differently.
*It's not a plot, it's a strategy.*
Valquiterre, who corrected his self-evaluation, spoke to Claudel.
"It's hard to see your face, Claudel."
Very sweetly.
Then Claudel nodded her head.
"Yes, I keep feeling unwell."
"Oh my, is it because of that rumor?"
He didn't know it was an excuse not to displease Kaian, but Valquiterre was a master at setting fire without missing even a single word.
"I heard that Kaian spends time with a woman from the capital several times a day."
---