Please Answer Me - Chapter 104

Immediately, tears began streaming down Allen’s face once again. Seeing him almost in a trance, sobbing uncontrollably, Rosetta was taken aback.

“Allen, don’t cry! Why are you crying now?”

Unable to handle the torrent of tears, Rosetta pulled out a handkerchief and began to wipe his face. Allen snapped back to reality, startled, and suddenly slammed the table as he stood up.

“I’ll find that bastard and kill him right now!”

“He didn’t force me! I wanted it. It’s true. Now, please, sit down!” Rosetta stood on tiptoe, pressing down on his shoulders.

Allen, staring blankly at her face, slowly sank back into the chair. “Is it true? Did you really want it?”

“Yes, he didn’t touch a hair on my head until I wanted him to.”

“…But what about Lord Iselle?”

Allen knew well about their excessively platonic relationship. As far as he knew, Iselle had never gone beyond a kiss on her cheek, despite their long-standing betrothal.

Yet here she was, deeply involved with a man she’d known for only a month. Moreover, Allen knew Rosetta wasn’t impulsive. She took her duties and responsibilities as a princess seriously. That’s why she had accepted the engagement, even though it wasn’t entirely welcome. Given her nature, she wouldn’t easily accept another man because of her engagement.

Allen was utterly confused by the situation. “Lord Iselle is nearby. He came all the way here to rescue you.”

“…I know. Rashid told me. He’s in Traka, right?”

Allen was stunned. “He knows about that? How?”

“He found Rosie’s brother and learned everything.”

Allen slammed the table again, this time causing cracks to appear. “That fool! I told him to stay hidden and he couldn’t even do that right! Argh!”

Allen banged his head against the table in frustration. After a while, he lifted his head and spoke, “Your Highness, what are you planning to do? What about Lord Iselle? What about His Majesty? If he finds out about this…”

“I’ve told Iselle to come here. When he does, I’ll explain everything to him myself. As for my father and mother… I’ll have to face them when the time comes.”

Rosetta smiled weakly, and Allen shook his head vigorously. “They will never permit this. Even if the sky splits in two, they won’t allow it! This is impossible. Your Highness, please, reconsider.”

“We’ve both tried to give up, but it didn’t work.”

“Your Highness!”

“Let’s stop talking about this. Where is the nanny? Did you leave her in the Basque?”

Seeing the worry on her face, Allen quickly reassured her. “Don’t worry. The nanny is safe in the Basque. It was too dangerous to bring her here.”

“Oh, thank goodness. I noticed the other knights were in the prison, but I was worried because I didn’t see the nanny. You all must have gone through so much because of me.”

In truth, they had faced many challenges. They had been betrayed by Rosie and almost ended up as wolf fodder. Yet seeing Rosetta safe and sound made all those hardships seem insignificant.

“We went through nothing. We didn’t suffer at all. I’m sorry we were late.” Allen bowed his head deeply.

Rosetta gently patted his head. “That’s alright. Now, get up. There’s somewhere we need to go. We’ve talked for too long, and he must be waiting by now.”

Rosetta stood up from her chair. Allen watched her in bewilderment. “Waiting? Who?”

Rosetta smiled and said, “Rashid wants to meet you.”

***

Rosetta accompanied Allen only up to the office door. She repeatedly urged him not to fight with Rashid before turning and disappearing down the corridor.

Allen took a few deep breaths and knocked on the door. A curt voice told him to enter. As he opened the door, he saw Rashid standing with his arms crossed in front of the desk. The sight of his calm blue eyes made Allen’s anger flare to the boiling point.

This was all his fault. Everything had gone awry because this man had suddenly appeared and stirred up trouble.

And how dare he, how dare he touch the princess!

Forgetting Rosetta’s plea not to fight, Allen charged at Rashid, throwing a punch. Rashid, seemingly expecting the move, sidestepped the blow. As Allen swung again, he felt a powerful impact in his abdomen.

“Ugh!”

A second later, a fist connected with his face, turning his head. Disoriented from the rapid succession of blows, Allen felt Rashid grab him by the collar. Using a deft technique, Rashid flipped Allen, slamming him onto the floor.

Thud!

When Allen came to his senses, a small dagger was pointed at his throat. Rashid, kneeling beside him with one leg bent, still wore a calm expression, as if the intense scuffle had never happened.

“I could hear Rosetta telling you not to fight several times from outside the door, yet you still don’t listen.”

“Shut your mouth! You’re not worthy of uttering her name!” Allen shouted, his voice filled with rage.

Rashid sighed quietly. “Do you want to know why you got hit? There are two types of people I would let hit me without retaliation: Rosetta’s fiancé and her family. You are neither, which is why you got what you deserved. In fact, you needed a good beating.”

“What?”

“As her escort, why did you only show up now?”

Allen nearly shouted in frustration. You kidnapped the princess and started all this trouble, and now you’re asking why I came late?

“Where were you when Rosetta was kidnapped? What were you doing?”

“That’s…”

“You failed as an escort three times. First, by not preventing Rosetta’s kidnapping. Second, by not immediately coming to rescue her. And third, by completely failing in that rescue attempt.”

Each of his words cut deep, like daggers into Allen’s heart. Rashid looked down at his pale face and spoke softly, “I give my men a chance to make up for one mistake, but never for two. If you’re an escort, you should be skilled, but seeing how poorly you’ve handled things, it seems Lysa’s military discipline is in shambles.”

“……”

Allen trembled with shame. He wanted to argue, but he couldn’t. There was not a single falsehood in Rashid’s statements.

Rashid sheathed his dagger and stood up. Allen, too, got to his feet, but the fury that had driven him earlier was completely extinguished. Overwhelmed by a sense of defeat, he listened as Rashid spoke again.

“You injured someone I care about deeply, so even though I don’t want to, I have no choice but to keep you by Rosetta’s side. Continue to guard her, but from now on, there can be no more mistakes. If you fail again, I won’t be so lenient.”

Allen stared at Rashid, utterly dumbfounded. It seemed as if their roles had somehow been bizarrely reversed.

Then he remembered the sight of Rosetta crying over the injured boy. He worried that she would be heartbroken if the boy died.

“…Is that boy alright? The princess seemed very fond of him.”

“He’s out of danger, thankfully. They said it was thanks to your excellent first aid. For that, I am grateful.”

“So, what do you plan to do now? Do you seriously intend to marry the princess?”

When Rashid didn’t respond, Allen gritted his teeth and continued, “If you think His Majesty will ever approve of this marriage, forget it. He will never consent!”

“That’s a matter for your master and me to handle. You should focus on your duty as a guard. It’s amusing how someone who can’t do his job properly has so much to say.”

“…Let me just tell you one thing.” Allen leaned in close, his tone menacing. “If the princess suffers because of you, I swear on my honor as a knight, I will kill you. The princess is like family to me. I will chase you to the ends of hell if I have to. So, think carefully. Consider what is truly best for the princess.”

With that, Allen stormed out of the room.

In the suddenly quiet room, Rashid perched on the edge of the desk. After a moment, the corners of his lips turned up, and he chuckled softly to himself.

***

Sika had been sleeping since the previous night.

Benny watched Sika’s face endlessly. Due to the heavy doses of painkillers, Sika had been asleep most of the time, only waking briefly in the morning. When he opened his eyes for that short moment, he smiled at Benny.

“Benny, you’re safe. Thank goodness.”

Then he asked if Rigaina was alright. Just then, the Riga returned and reassured him that everything was fine. Only then did Sika fall back into a deep sleep, relieved.

Benny held Sika’s limp hand on the bed. Sika had a small face and a thin, slender body, but oddly enough, his hands were quite large. As she caressed the hand that could easily envelop her own, Benny thought back to the events of the previous night.