#5. A New Beginning (5)
2023.08.05.
When she suddenly raised her head, flap-flap—a messenger bird beat its gray wings and flew over, perching on a nearby branch.
Amy skillfully caught the bird and pulled a note from the small tube fastened to its ankle. Then she quickly read through the contents. A smile soon rose to her face.
The Second Prince was curious about what had happened, but he held his tongue. Amy had already promised to explain everything after they left the capital.
“Amy, is everything going well?”
But he couldn't hold back this question. Though Amy had remained composed the entire time, he knew from his innate sense and years of having to read the room that she had been extremely on edge lately.
‘And she hurt her ankle, too.’
The thought that it was all because of him left him sullen.
“Yes, everything is going very well.”
Amy smiled gently and reached out to neatly smooth the Second Prince's disheveled clothes.
The Second Prince stared at her without blinking. It was a smile he had never seen since she had suddenly come to him two months ago and declared she would become his chief handmaid.
‘When she was His Highness the Crown Prince's chief handmaid, she used to smile fairly often, at least……’
He had been blaming himself, thinking he had become her shackles. But seeing her smile so brightly now…… perhaps a bird had flown into his small heart as well. There was a loud flapping sound.
The Second Prince's procession departed the Imperial Palace. Having dismissed even the few maidservants he had, his only close attendant was his chief handmaid. Beyond that, there were only three coachmen and two servants for menial tasks.
The Emperor, concerned that people might think the Second Prince was being mistreated, had magnanimously offered to assign him Imperial Guards.
But the Second Prince had refused resolutely, saying that since he was heading to the distant and barren North, he could not take the Imperial Guards, who had a sworn duty to protect the Imperial Palace. It was an exceedingly reasonable and sensible answer.
‘Since when does the Second Prince speak so well?’
Some found it odd, but they soon forgot.
In the North, survival was the utmost priority, with bitter cold in winter and severe drought in summer. How long could a young prince endure such an environment? In truth, he was practically walking into a death trap.
In any case, the Empire stood to gain from the deal: by recognizing the land as a Grand Duchy instead of a territory that could barely collect taxes, they would receive a steady annual tribute.
‘Lady Esmaein is a clever one.’
It was Lady Esmaein who had proposed granting the Second Prince's fief independence as a Grand Duchy. She had cited the barbarian tribes beyond the northern mountain range, who had long-standing poor relations with the North.
‘There have been twenty-three riots over the past decade, and the frequency has only increased recently. There have been no casualties yet, but that is tantamount to having war on our doorstep. If the Second Prince's territory remains an imperial domain as it is now, the Empire may have to fight in its stead. But if it is made fully independent as the Second Prince's—His Highness the Grand Duke's—Grand Duchy, then even if war breaks out, it will be of no concern to the Empire.’
It was not wrong. Furthermore, she had set the condition that tribute be paid every year; if they were negligent, they could simply be brought back under imperial rule.
Through this matter, Lady Esmaein had certainly left her mark on the Emperor. In truth, the idea had all come from Count Esmaein's aide. So she had tried to commend him, but the aide had declined and requested to retire to the countryside, citing poor health.
‘You're of foreign slave descent, aren't you? Wouldn't it be better to simply remain attached to our family?’
Lady Esmaein had not particularly intended to insult anyone. She simply discriminated against and degraded foreigners as naturally as breathing, buoyed by a sense of superiority as an imperial citizen—and a pure-blooded noble, at that. She was not even aware that she was doing it.
‘My health is poor…… *cough*. I suspect it may actually be an epidemic……’
When the aide coughed with a pale face, Lady Esmaein immediately threw him out of the mansion. He took his paltry severance pay and headed to the busy streets. Then he entered a pre-booked inn, wrote down all that had transpired, and sent off a messenger bird.
That very messenger bird was the one now in Amy's hands. In other words, she was the one who had orchestrated this entire scheme.
The Second Prince tilted his head.
“Is it really that important for me to become a Grand Duke, and for the North to become a Grand Duchy rather than an imperial domain?”
Since ancient times, the people of the Empire had believed that the barren North only had any people surviving in it because it rested under the Empire's wings. Thus, Amy's actions to break away from that seemed strange.
Amy smiled brightly.
“Of course. Please trust me. I will make Your Highness's Grand Duchy the wealthiest nation on the continent.”
“If Amy says so, then it must be so.”
The Second Prince nodded immediately without a shred of doubt. Amy looked at the boy approvingly and thought,
‘Only by separating from the Empire can the gold ingots and jewels we collect in the future remain solely the property of the Grand Duchy.’
A few months ago, when she had regressed and returned, she had laid out every plan for this day. And this was only the beginning.
“Let us depart now, Your Highness.”
“Yes.”
The Second Prince nodded at Amy's words and climbed into the carriage without hesitation. For someone leaving the place where he had been born and lived his whole life, he was remarkably dry-eyed. As she followed him inside, Amy turned her head and looked around the Imperial Palace.
She had thought she gained a family here, and had devoted her youth to him. But this place had taken her life.
Perhaps that was why her steps as she left were light.
‘I will bring down the Crown Prince and faithfully serve the Second Prince.’
Steeling her resolve once more, she turned her head. The splendid Imperial Palace was no longer of any concern to her.
“Amy, where are we going now?”
The Second Prince, who had been looking out the carriage window, turned and asked. Amy, who had been checking a bundle of documents, raised her eyes and looked outside.
“The central market.”
“The central market? That's right in the middle of the capital. Weren't we leaving the capital?”
“There are a few things to buy. And I have some business to attend to as well.”
“I see.”
His curiosity apparently sated, the Second Prince focused on sightseeing again with a subtly excited expression. Amy tapped her cheek with the pen she was holding, lost in thought.
‘Come to think of it, has he never been outside the palace in the capital?’
She didn't know. Honestly, she didn't know much about him, having only started serving the Second Prince a few months ago. What she knew about the Crown Prince was as vast as a mountain, however…….
‘That bastard gets athlete's foot every summer and snivels all winter long……. When he was little, he secretly spat out his carrots into his shoes and walked around waddling…….’
Recalling these memories made her suddenly furious all over again.
‘No, just what does Lady Esmaein see in me, pairing me with such a defective human being?’
On top of that, every time the Empress's son acted foolishly, the Empress had whipped her. Each time, the Crown Prince would weep and apologize to her, only to turn around, forget it completely, and repeat the same deeds. Thus, her calves had never been free of welts in her youth.
‘Has she lost her mind? How could I ever think of loving a person like that as a man?’
Amy trembled with such rage that her quill pen shook. At that moment, the Second Prince asked softly,
“Amy, what's wrong? Are you hungry?”
His amber eyes were filled with worry as he looked at her.
It was a truth universal, across all ages and lands, that looking at a cute and handsome face dispelled anger. Amy relaxed her expression and said,
“A bad memory came to mind for a moment. By the way, Your Highness, are you hungry?”
“Hm…… a little?”
The Second Prince smiled awkwardly. Amy smiled back warmly. Ah, children ought to eat well. Though there was only a three-year age difference between Amy and the Second Prince, the Second Prince was smaller than his peers, likely because he had been malnourished growing up.
That was why Amy often found herself treating him like a child without realizing it.
“Once we leave the capital, it will be difficult to see such a well-maintained market again…… Shall we look around for a bit before we go? We can eat some market food too.”
“Can we?”
Expectation floated on his small face. Amy suppressed a laugh and nodded.
‘They say he's prickly and the entire palace gossips about it, but he's nothing but gentle. Truly, you have to experience a person to know them.’
They arrived at the market before long. Leaving their carriage and luggage at the carriage depot, they entered the market holding hands like a pair of siblings.
The central aisle was teeming with street vendors and people. Worried for the Second Prince's safety, Amy glanced back. The mercenaries she had hired had already surrounded them. The hefty price had been worth it. Relieved, Amy resumed walking, when the Second Prince, extremely excited, tapped her hand.
“Amy, look at this. What a strange-looking flower.”
“Amy, did you see that? How is that person breathing fire from their mouth?”
“Amy, Amy. Can't we buy that outfit I just saw? I think it would look good on you…….”
Amy thought her ears might form calluses. It felt as though she was hearing every form of address she would ever hear in her life, all today. The Second Prince tirelessly continued calling out to her.
“Amy, you know~.”
“Yeees. Your Highness, Amy isn't going anywhere.”
Amy replied with an enlightened expression, and the Second Prince giggled. Then, as if he had just remembered something, he tilted his head.
“But, is it okay to call me 'Your Highness' in a place like this?”
“Ah, you're right. I made a mistake.”
“I'm not scolding you, it's just……”
Suddenly, the Second Prince couldn't meet Amy's eyes and began to fumble with his words. Amy furrowed her brow. Why is he acting like this?
The Second Prince said shyly,
“Just…… if you could call me…… Noah.”
“……Pardon? That is Your Highness's childhood name, is it not?”
Amy wondered for a moment who Noah was, then she started in surprise and waved her hands in refusal. By custom, a member of the imperial family's childhood name could only be spoken by parents or a spouse.
The Second Prince looked up at Amy with glistening eyes.
“Everyone who used to call me that is dead now. I…… I wish you would call me that, Amy.”