IDGM 36

Chapter 36

“Why are you suddenly talking about my friend…?”

The reply came back light-hearted, making her previous suspicion feel unnecessary.

“You looked happy when you talked about your friend.”

“Did I?”

She felt embarrassed for having doubted him for no reason.

Looking ahead, Kallius asked while trying to gather his words.

“Is it a man?”

It was a very simple question, yet it left her speechless.

A man? I’ve never thought of Kal as a ‘man.’

He was around her age, so technically he could be called a man, but his appearance was more like a young boy. It wasn’t easy to say yes.

Still, he is male, after all.

She nodded a little hesitantly.

Kallius spoke up as if he’d been waiting.

“Then, he must be handsome.”

That was the quickest thing she could ever say about Kal.

After answering with uncertainty all this time, she finally had a chance to respond with confidence about her precious friend, so she said it proudly.

“Yes, he’s the most handsome person I’ve ever—!”

But mid-sentence, she suddenly remembered what she’d said earlier—that Kallius resembled Kal.

Worried he might make the same connection, she glanced up at him, only to hurriedly look away.

Kallius was smiling with great satisfaction.

He finished her sentence for her, clearly and deliberately.

“You mean, he’s the most handsome person you’ve ever seen?”

“…Yes.”

“I’m curious about the face of someone who resembles me so much.”

“I totally fell for that bait, didn’t I?”

“This is my first time fishing, being from the mountains and all. But it’s not as hard as I thought.”

“Stop teasing me!”

He laughed aloud, wearing a mischievous expression.

He looks even more like Kal when he laughs like that.

While thinking that, he suddenly asked nonchalantly,

“Does your friend know that you’re married?”

“Yes. I told him before anyone else.”

Kallius tilted his head.

“So you’ve been in touch recently?”

She hesitated—was it okay to talk this much about Kal? But none of it was identifying information. Avoiding small talk like this might seem even stranger.

“Yes.”

“I see…”

“Why do you ask?”

“After hearing various things, I thought maybe your friend was someone I know. But since you’ve been in contact recently, I must have been mistaken.”

She laughed.

There was no way Kallius and Kal knew each other.

“No way. My friend didn’t know anything about the marquis until very recently.”

“I see.”

He muttered, just loud enough for her to hear, “Handsome and precious male friend…,” and then smiled.

It was a strangely cold smile.

Was that just my imagination?

She blinked and looked again—it now just seemed like a friendly smile.

Maybe I was mistaken.

He asked,

“How did he react to our marriage?”

“He was a little surprised, since it was so sudden…”

She recalled how Kal had been shocked when she told him about breaking off her engagement to Viscount Pelsus and planning to marry Kallius.

“He was also worried…”

Kal had voiced concerns—what did she really see in Kallius? Would she be able to carry out her plans?

“But most of all, he was happy for me.”

Anyway, Kal had felt relieved that she was finally going to give Andrea a proper taste of her own medicine.

He had always been frustrated with her acting like Andrea’s puppet.

“Is that all?”

“Was there supposed to be more?”

Kallius shook his head with a grin.

“No. Sounds like a good friend. Just a good friend. That’s a relief.”

“What’s a relief?”

“That you have such a good friend.”

“Oh, yes. That’s true.”

They continued chatting pleasantly during the short break they had.

Before they knew it, they had naturally shifted from calling each other “Your Highness” and “Marquis of Rodrian” to simply using their names.

* * *

What’s so funny over there?

Vanessa pouted as she heard constant laughter from Kallius and Chloe up front.

But her grumbling was cut short when her horse stumbled over a rock jutting from the path, and her body lurched violently.

“Ah!”

Vanessa clutched the saddle handle tightly.

Her hands were trembling from the effort.

They were walking now, but not long ago they’d been galloping at a terrifying speed. She had gripped the handle with all her strength, and her hands were now drained.

If I fall off this horse, I’m done for.

She tried not to look down.

Her right foot, in the stirrup, hovered above a dizzying drop—a cliff that looked like the entrance to hell.

They were riding through a dangerously narrow mountain path.

Her face twisted into an involuntary grimace.

Am I seriously going to die like this?

Not even half a day had passed, and already she was thinking like this.

The maid riding behind her had been silently crying for a while now.

At least their saddles had handles. Kallius’ knights were riding without any, relying solely on their thigh strength.

Not one of them looked tired.

Vanessa was certain the pace had slowed not because the group was exhausted, but purely for Chloe’s sake.

That made her feel even more hopeless.

To think I have to survive among these monsters by clinging to a saddle handle… Did I seriously volunteer for this thinking it was some cheerful journey, not knowing it was actually the exile of a princess?

She trembled as she looked at the group pressing forward through the deep mountain trail.

I was supposed to monitor the marquis and report any suspicious behavior to return to the capital…

That was the mission she’d received from Kabala.

But now she had no idea how she would ever make it back.

The farther they went, the more hopeless it felt.

When Kabala had personally assigned her this secret mission, she’d been full of pride.

She thought she’d been chosen because she came from the best family among the princess’s maids and even took the lead role.

She felt superior.

There was no need to care about someone like Chloe—rumored to be a fool or delusional. Vanessa had even felt like she was the real princess.

The senior maid uniform made her pride soar.

But Chloe wasn’t a fool, and the further they traveled, the more terrified Vanessa became that she might never return.

Everything felt like it was going wrong.

Why did they entrust such an important mission to someone who had barely spent a few days in the palace?

She’d thought it was a lucky chance for rapid promotion—she’d struck gold.

But now, with her strength draining from her arms, her pride and loyalty were draining too.

Vanessa wanted to give up and run away, but barely managed to steel herself.

No. Her Majesty the Empress wouldn’t abandon us.

She recalled bragging in front of her parents after receiving the senior maid uniform.

“Our brilliant Vanessa. We knew you’d succeed. Her Majesty must have recognized your intelligence.”

“No matter where you go or what you do, don’t disappoint Her Majesty. We’re counting on you. You are the future of our family.”

For her parents, who had been so proud, Vanessa tightened her grip on the saddle.

I wonder what the others are thinking…

Vanessa glanced back at Lamia and another maid following behind.

To her surprise, Lamia was humming and looking around as if she were out on a leisure stroll.

Unlike Vanessa, who was barely holding it together, Lamia looked completely relaxed.

What’s with her? Why is she so carefree?

And this was the same Lamia who had almost been kidnapped last night in Chloe’s place.

But she didn’t look worried at all.

She wasn’t shivering from cold or exhaustion—she was calmly stroking the horse’s mane and admiring the scenery.

Who even is that girl?

Lamia had suddenly joined them, even though it was supposed to be just three maids.

Didn’t she say she was a distant relative of the Empress, forced into this mission by her father after refusing again and again to go to Ronhaim?

Vanessa looked down on her.

After all, even if she was related to Kabala, her noble family had collapsed generations ago. She had no manners and no sense of decorum.

She was chaotic, unruly, and constantly doing her own thing.

Last night, she didn’t even report to me and went off with the princess, nearly getting kidnapped in her place. Has she learned nothing?

Vanessa didn’t even believe she was truly related to Kabala.

When they left the palace, Lamia had joined suddenly, and no one had formally vouched for her identity.

They just had to take her word for it.

There was no way to tell if Lamia was lying or not.

Why would Her Majesty entrust such an important task to someone like her?

Vanessa kept glancing at Lamia, her eyes full of disapproval.

Then, she noticed something.

Lamia’s wavy black hair shimmered reddish under the sunlight.

That sparked a faint memory.

Where have I seen reddish, curly hair like that before…? In a painting? A person? Where was it?

She had only been in the palace for four days, and she’d met countless people and seen so many portraits that all the faces blurred together.

It’s on the tip of my tongue…