‘It’s not like royalty always lives in a noble way.’
Hermia brushed away the hair from her cheek and looked at Walter, who was sitting at his desk. He was quickly writing down his personal information on a freshly pulled piece of paper.
When you reach the rank of colonel, do you know other people’s personal information like a charm?
She suddenly asked as her eyes followed the man’s long, straight fingers.
“By the way, what happened to Mel? Did you find her?”
A look of embarrassment lingered in his green eyes, which were framed by long eyelashes. He answered without taking his eyes off the documents.
“… I haven’t found it yet. I searched the inside all night and couldn’t find any traces of it, so I think it must have gone outside the castle.”
“Why is the security so lax… … .”
He muttered as if he was talking to himself, but since they were alone in a quiet space, it was heard quite clearly. The hand holding the pen paused for a moment, then continued.
“I went to the hospital and doctor’s house you mentioned, but he didn’t come. It didn’t seem like he got on the stagecoach either.”
“What about Greenwood Orphanage?”
“It was the same there. First, let’s find out if there were any witnesses… sigh.”
Walter took a sharp breath before speaking.
What the heck? Why are you suddenly like that?
‘I put some strong smelling ointment on my arm this morning too. Is that why?’
Hermia got up and staggered toward the terrace.
“Then why are you closing the door? It smells a bit like medicine, but it’s not that bad… … . I guess you have a very sensitive sense of smell.”
Of course, the last words were her true feelings, but they came out naturally like water flowing. She had now given up on covering her mouth.
It’s not like I applied it all over my body like yesterday, so why did you suddenly do that as soon as I closed the door?
“Ha… … . Haa… … .”
He, who had been exhaling hot breaths, suddenly sat up from his seat. The large chair made a rattling noise, causing Hermia to flinch and turn around.
“What’s wrong? Can’t you stand it? Are you going to throw up?”
Do you have anything like a bucket? I looked around in confusion, then I found a desk bell sitting on the edge of the desk and slammed it down.
“Your Majesty, do you have any illness or something?”
“Gerard, I have to call Gerard… … .”
Walter muttered as he staggered. The closed study door now seemed farther away than ever.
This feeling was definitely not the first.
Yesterday, while we were talking, I suddenly felt out of breath, and as soon as I saw Gerard across the tent, I came to my senses as if I had been doused with cold water.
The symptoms of unknown origin came back again. But this time he missed the timing to escape. His reason began to crumble uncontrollably and rapidly.
As the tinkling sound continued, Walter approached her and looked down at her with a pained expression.
When did you get so close? My neck automatically flinched as I stood facing him.
“I, I, I didn’t ask you to apply medicine.”
“… … .”
Hermia’s heart trembled for a moment at the sight of the man’s blazing gaze.
How dare you stare at someone like that, as if you’re going to kill them, just because their nose is stuffy. How on earth did you hold it in yesterday?
She asked, her expression suddenly crumpled.
“Should I wash it off with water? Or try holding your nose. Don’t you know how to breathe through your mouth?”
“Hermia… … .”
The back of Hermia’s hand on the paper suddenly became warm. Walter had placed his hand on top of it.
He didn’t stop there, but took a step closer. His eyes widened in surprise, more surprised by something than the sudden contact.
Walter’s complexion was unusual. I thought it was motion sickness again, but his face was red rather than pale, which was more unusual.
It was the same in the carriage yesterday. Could it be that it wasn’t the smell, but that you were just feeling unwell? You seemed fine until dinnertime or a little while ago.
Judging by the fact that his ears were bright red and he was breathing heavily as if he was about to collapse at any moment, it was clear that whatever was going on was serious.
“Are you feeling under the weather? Do you have a fever?”
“Hermia, my… … .”
dripping.
“Come in!”
Hermia, who was about to touch Walter’s forehead, screamed in surprise. She didn’t just scream, she pushed the chest in front of her with all her might.
The large body, which looked like it could withstand being hit by a four-wheeled carriage, tilted and fell backwards.
Emily opened the door and came in, then stood there for a moment, unable to continue speaking, looking back and forth between the two of them.
The sound of the bell ringing repeatedly, an urgent voice telling them to come in, the owner of the study falling down on the carpet, and his fiancée who was so flustered she didn’t know what to do…
Emily’s eyes filled with sharp contempt as she looked at her master, whose face was flushed and whose eyes were shining like those of an animal.
“Hey, before we even get married, what the… …!”
There must have been some kind of huge misunderstanding.
* * *
“Puhahaha.”
Gerard laughed, holding his stomach.
Colonel Rockford lying on the couch with an ice pack on his forehead!
“Hahaha! Duke Leonard should have seen this!”
“…Stop laughing.”
“Oh, no. Sorry. Hahaha.”
He, who had been laughing with a face that showed no remorse at all, was now wiping away tears.
“Do you remember how Emily looked at you when she took her away?”
“… … .”
“I didn’t think you would do that. You little rascal! That’s exactly the look on your face.”
Walter squeezed his eyes shut and threw the rippling pouch onto the table. The heat that had risen to his face had disappeared as if it were a lie when Emily and Gerard barged in.
He made an excuse while wiping off the remaining moisture with a towel.
“I lost my mind for a moment. It was hot, yeah. It was the weather that was the problem.”
“Hey, buddy. Tell me the truth. What the hell were you trying to do to her that made you fall on the floor?”
Gerard took the pouch, opened the opening, and put his hand in. He touched the melted ice and asked softly.
“What shameless thing were you trying to do that made your face burn like that?”
“What are you doing? I just… … .”
Walter, who had been serious, closed his mouth and couldn’t continue speaking. It was really ridiculous, if not because of the weather.
I was once again struck by the thought of what would have happened if Emily hadn’t come in. How dare he do something like that to her.
Could this be the writer’s curse that Gerard spoke of?
“under.”
He laughed at himself as he thought about it.
What a curse. I almost committed a fatal rudeness towards my fiancée before we were even married.
If Gerard and Emily hadn’t come in the carriage yesterday, and a little while ago.
Just imagining it made my blood run cold. So it had to be a mistake, not some unknown phenomenon of force majeure.
Gerard, who had followed Hermia into her bedroom last night and lectured her, claimed that Hermia was also a victim of the curse.
Her curse was ‘not being able to lie’. It wasn’t worth responding to, so I just threw her out.
When people didn’t believe him, he bragged that he would prove his curse at dawn, but then he quickly changed his words the next morning.
‘I guess that doesn’t happen every day. Last night was a failure.’
Although he was usually a very light-spoken person, he never boasted, but after introducing the novel, Gerard became even stranger.
Even the act of playing around with the remaining ice suddenly seemed out of the ordinary. He muttered, covering his face with a damp towel.
“‘Curse’ isn’t even funny… … .”
Even among soldiers about to go on a campaign, there are those who often become obsessed with unrealistic things.
Like carrying a lucky item on your person or tying your shoelaces three times.
They didn’t show it on the outside because it was all out of fear, but Walter always felt sorry for them.
If all such superstitions were true, no one should die on the battlefield.
Rather than relying on something that doesn’t even exist, reloading your gun faster than the enemy and swinging your sword freely can greatly increase your chances of survival.
It means that it would be better to study how to stop the bleeding from a body damaged by a shell, or at least how to send a comrade away without pain.
It was also the basic attitude that a commander who was responsible for hundreds and thousands of lives had to have. Because it was Walter Rockford’s identity and firm belief that survived the fierce battles of the past five years.
Gerard smiled, raising his eyebrows.
“Oh my. Curses coming out of your mouth. Do you believe me now?”
“No way. I just became weak.”
It was clear that his mental state had deteriorated during his break, as he, who should have been armed with unwavering reason and cool judgment, was blaming such absurd superstitions.
Walter sat up, rubbing his head irritably.
“I’ll run about twenty laps around the track, then do three hours of fencing training, two hours of martial arts training, and finish with shooting. That’ll bring me back to my senses.”
There is no better remedy for getting rid of evil thoughts than rolling over. This was a truth I learned during my adolescence.
Gerard looked at Walter with a pitiful expression as he walked out of the study with long strides and shouted.
“You have to know how to be flexible. If you hold on like that, you’ll break one day! You’ll break really hard!”
Leaving behind shouts that were either advice or wishes, he walked angrily toward the parade ground.
* * *
Henry, who was supervising the soldiers’ morning training, noticed his superior dressed in training uniform and ran towards him with a crumpled face.
“Will you participate again?”
“Are there any complaints?”
“What could I possibly complain about? Let’s just have some for our children. If we follow the Colonel, about fifteen people will faint and thirty will be exhausted.”
Henry didn’t forget to add grumpily, “Oh. It’s hot outside, so maybe it’ll be twice that.”
Walter, as usual, ignored him and held out his arm. Henry continued talking, casually bringing a sandbag and tying it up with a string.
“The doctor named Isaac that Miss Hermia spoke of yesterday.”
“I received a brief report. He was someone who owed me a favor.”
“Yes. Yesterday, our agents asked about Melissa’s whereabouts and searched her house, but she wasn’t there.”
Walter raised his other arm and waited for further comment.
“But this morning, he came out of the house early. He even had a bag packed.”
“A doctor?”
“Yes. I followed him and he went to the hospital, applied for leave of absence, and then went straight to the central station.”