IDGM 26

Chapter 26

It hadn’t even been that long outside, yet my body had already frozen stiff, making it difficult to move.

“I guess if it gets cold enough, your mouth can freeze, and you won’t be able to talk properly.”

My clothes were heavy enough to weigh me down, and with snow clinging to my feet, walking became almost impossible.

In the end, I had no choice but to return to the carriage in Callias’s arms.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have insisted on going out and made things harder for you.”

Carrying someone through that kind of snowy field couldn’t have been easy…

“It wasn’t hard at all, so please don’t worry.”

Contrary to my concern, Callias showed no signs of fatigue. His breathing wasn’t even disturbed.

Rather, I was the only one panting from exhaustion after comfortably being carried back.

“Your lips are blue.”

He gently covered my trembling knees with a blanket.

Then he took off his cloak and wrapped it around my shoulders, but I let out a startled gasp and slumped forward. The cloak was so large and heavy that it overwhelmed me.

“Oh dear, I’m sorry.”

Callias quickly supported me and helped me sit upright.

Embarrassed by the sound I’d made, I mumbled, “Your cloak is really heavy.”

“More than that, Your Highness seems rather…”

He trailed off mid-sentence.

“What about me?”

“Nothing.”

Judging by his expression, he had probably wanted to say something about how weak I looked, so I decided to let it go.

“Anyway, are you all right?”

I chuckled softly.

“Do you know how many times you’ve asked me that today?”

Seeing me smile, Callias’s expression visibly relaxed.

Then he suddenly reached out and cupped my cheek.

Even though he’d been outside with me, his hand was astonishingly warm compared to my frozen one.

That warmth melted the tears that had frozen on my cheeks and lashes, and they soaked into his palm.

Startled, I looked up at him. He spoke gently.

“You cried, didn’t you?”

“Oh.”

He must have seen me crying while I was standing on the cliff.

“I thought he was behind me and wouldn’t have seen.”

Now I understood why he looked relieved earlier.

“Did you think I was crying because I regretted following you?”

“Well, yes…”

I smiled softly.

“Someone once told me this: pick five of your happiest memories and remember them. Then when you feel like dying, recall those memories. They’ll give you the courage to live.”

“…”

“Today, I gained one of those five memories.”

Callias’s eyes flickered slightly.

“I’ve never seen such a beautiful sight in my life. It moved me to tears.”

Five memories that give you the will to live.

In my past life, I never had those. No matter how hard I tried to remember, I couldn’t name five happy moments. The only one I had was when I first met Karl.

So, when I was killed by the knight of Andrea, Karl was the only thing I could think of.

But today, I gained another one.

And that made me feel strangely thrilled.

“Even now, just thinking about that scenery makes my heart race.”

But Callias’s expression as he listened to me was unusual.

“That saying—do you remember who told it to you?”

“Are you curious about that?”

“It’s just… I’ve heard something very similar before, so it struck me.”

“…It was from my dearest friend.”

It was what Karl told me when we first met and were parting ways.

And I made him a promise.

“Whenever I feel like giving up, I’ll think of you first, as my number one memory.”

In fact, every time I remembered from one to five, it was always Karl. So I’d been faithfully keeping that promise.

I couldn’t tell Callias the full story, so I made something up.

“Words of encouragement tend to sound alike. My friend probably just passed on something they’d heard elsewhere.”

“…”

Callias seemed lost in thought and didn’t respond.

After that, he didn’t say another word, and a thick silence settled over the carriage.

We headed toward Avene Castle, not far from the fortress with the teleportation magic circle.

Since night was falling, we were told we couldn’t depart for Ronheim immediately.

In snowy fields like this, it was easy to lose your way at night. And if a sudden snowstorm hit and we got stuck, it could be life-threatening.

“The weather in the north is fickle. Even when it’s this clear, heavy snow can fall at night,” Callias said.

He suggested we spend the night in Avene and leave at dawn.

We quickly found a place to stay.

Even though we hadn’t done much, I was exhausted. I felt like I could sleep on the carpet instead of a bed.

“And I really want to get out of these clothes too.”

The weight on my shoulders made even sitting feel like a chore.

But right after we arrived, while Callias stepped out briefly to take care of something, something unexpected happened.

“We can’t allow Her Highness to stay in such a shabby place.”

The maids sent by Kabala refused to let me enter the inn.

They’d stayed quiet when Callias was around, but the moment he left, they made their move. Clearly, they had been waiting for the chance.

“I mean, I…”

I tried to get out of the carriage to stop them.

But the head maid quickly climbed into Callias’s seat and blocked me.

“Your Highness, Marquis Rodrian is obliged to treat you with the respect befitting the Imperial House of Idelian.”

She didn’t even let me open the carriage window, so I could only listen from inside as the maids argued with Brentean.

“Go inform the Lord of Avene that Her Highness is here.”

“We only plan to stay one night. If we inform the lord, we’ll be delayed, and that would cause problems.”

Brentean was right.

Once summoned, the lord would be obligated to receive me as a royal guest, and we’d be expected to stay for several days and attend social functions.

Unless we had no schedule, calling on the lord in our current situation would be far too troublesome.

Even the Emperor didn’t notify every local lord when he toured the provinces, to avoid such burdens.

And for a princess simply passing through to her husband’s territory after marriage, demanding the attention of every local lord was absurd.

But the maids were relentless.

“To suggest Her Highness stay in such a filthy inn—isn’t that disgraceful treatment?”

“Disgraceful? Nobles of Avene stay here regularly. It’s the only inn in town.”

Brentean’s voice was starting to sound irritated.

He shut the matter down.

“Besides, the Lord of Avene and I are not on good terms. We won’t be warmly received.”

Before Ronheim was annexed, Avene was its neighboring border region.

The Lord of Avene must’ve suffered a lot during the wars with Ronheim.

Even if Ronheim now belonged to the Empire, a former enemy like Ronheim was unlikely to be welcomed by Avene’s lord.

As Brentean began to win the argument, the head maid who was blocking me issued a demand.

“When Marquis Rodrian returns, please tell him that Her Highness wishes to stay at the lord’s castle.”

I couldn’t understand.

“Why should I?”

“What do you mean, why?”

The maid frowned.

“If Marquis Rodrian fails to provide the utmost respect to Her Highness, it’s no different from insulting the Imperial House of Idelian.”

What nonsense.

“If I’d married a different noble, they wouldn’t be saying this.”

When I married Viscount Pelsus in my past life, how was I treated?

“I wasn’t honored—I was abused worse than a servant.”

No one had ever said that Pelsus was obligated to treat me with dignity.

And more importantly, staying at an inn where even local nobles lodged could hardly be considered insulting.

These maids just wanted to cause trouble for Callias’s people.

“What’s your name?”

“Vanessa.”

She replied coldly.

A senior maid like her should’ve known it was improper not to introduce herself until asked. Yet she was brazen.

“By her logic, she’s the one insulting the royal family.”

She was the one failing to show proper respect to me.

So I reminded her of a critical fact.

“Vanessa, you know why we’re here on Her Majesty the Empress’s orders. Are you refusing her command?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re provoking his people even though you know I need to gain Marquis Rodrian’s trust to uncover his secrets. If he withdraws his goodwill and I fail, I’ll have no choice but to report your insubordination to Her Majesty.”

Vanessa looked flustered at my threat.

She was probably surprised that the supposedly crazy princess was capable of talking so sensibly.

Still, she calmly argued back.

“If Your Highness accepts such poor treatment to win the trust of these barbarians, don’t you think they’ll take the entire Imperial family lightly?”

If I had been concerned with my pride, that might have worked. But I had no intention of fighting for pride with Callias.

“That remains to be seen.”

Then I shouted loudly enough for everyone outside to hear:

“I’m getting off the carriage. I don’t care where—we’re stopping and I want to rest.”

Vanessa could no longer stop me.