Please Answer Me - Chapter 110

“Princess, this is truly fortunate. Now that Iselle is here, he’ll take care of everything,” Allen said, his tone full of relief.

Rosetta was crouched in the garden, her gaze fixed on a small flower blooming a short distance away. She replied calmly, “There’s nothing to take care of. I already told you that Rashid and I have agreed on my departure.”

“That’s true, but still…”

Allen rubbed his forehead, feeling a bit helpless. Perhaps if Rashid had refused to let her go and Iselle had come to resolve that conflict, Rosetta might have felt differently. Instead, Rashid had agreed to let her leave with an almost disconcerting ease, leaving Iselle with nothing to intervene in.

“Allen.”

“Yes, Princess?”

“Rosetta, are you alright? You like this, don’t you? Rosetta, you should do this because it suits you. Rosetta, that’s dangerous for you.”

Allen’s eyes widened at the seemingly random string of words.

“Those are things Iselle often says to me. What do you think of that?”

“How should I think of it? He’s only saying those things because he cares for you and knows you so well.”

“……”

Rosetta’s silent stare made Allen uneasy. “Did I say something wrong? If so, just tell me.”

“No, it’s just… it made me realize you, like me, never really thought much about it.”

“…What?”

A shadow fell across the small yellow flower she had been observing. It was trampled underfoot as Iselle approached.

“We’ve settled everything. It’s time to leave,” he said, taking Rosetta’s arm to help her stand.

“Now?”

“Yes, now.”

“But I’d like to say goodbye to everyone…”

She had already prepared everything the night before, but she wanted to bid farewell. Who knew when she would see these people again?

“Would your farewell mean anything to them?” Iselle asked, looking down at her. “What would you say? That the Princess of Lysa is returning to where she belongs and thanks them for everything?”

“That’s…”

As Rosetta hesitated, Iselle’s tone softened. “The fewer people who know your identity, the safer they will be. Rosetta, you don’t want these people to get hurt, right? You don’t like that.”

There it was again, that manipulative tone, making it seem like something terrible would happen if she insisted.

In the past, this tone didn’t bother her, but now it did. Was it Iselle who had changed, or had she changed in the past month?

Regardless, Iselle was right. For the sake of their safety, it was best to leave quietly and quickly.

“Alright,” she conceded, hoping she would still have a chance to see Rashid one last time.

Iselle turned to Allen. “Allen, can we talk for a moment?”

He led Allen aside, listening as Allen explained everything that had happened. When he finished, Iselle muttered to himself, “So, the son of the Basque chieftain is also captured by him now.”

“Yes, he was brought here yesterday and thrown into a cell. It’s because he confessed everything that we’re in this situation. I’m truly sorry.”

Iselle patted Allen’s shoulder reassuringly. “It’s alright. I don’t blame you. In fact, it’s worked out well. Just having the chieftain’s daughter might not have been enough.”

“Excuse me? What do you mean by that…”

Iselle smiled. “Nothing much. Allen, let’s get ready to leave. We don’t have much time.”

***

As Rosetta waited in the carriage, finishing the preparations for their departure, she noticed the unusual quietness in the square. It seemed like the people of the castle were avoiding the area, perhaps due to Rashid’s specific orders.

Seeing her knights and Iselle’s knights surrounding the carriage, she realized the moment to leave was drawing near.

When is Rashid coming?

Waiting anxiously for him, Rosetta finally realized that her expectation was mistaken only when she heard Iselle’s voice giving the order to depart. She hurriedly opened the window.

“Wait a moment!”

Iselle, on his horse, approached the window and asked, “Is there something uncomfortable?”

“It’s not that… Where is he? I haven’t properly said goodbye…”

Iselle looked at Rosetta for a moment before sighing softly. “Well, it’s hard to miss such a large carriage, and I did say we were leaving. If he hasn’t shown up by now, maybe he’s skipping the farewell.”

“……”

Is that really the case? As Rosetta pondered this, Iselle spoke again. “What do you want to do? Should we wait until he comes, or do you want to go find him and then come back?”

It was already late afternoon. They needed to hurry to get a head start before sunset. Going back into the castle to say goodbye would mean encountering others.

“…It’s fine. Let’s go.”

At Rosetta’s words, Iselle gave the order to depart again. Rosetta couldn’t let go of her attachment and kept looking out the window. Even as the carriage left the square and reached the castle gate, Rashid still did not appear.

“Allen.”

Allen approached the window as Rosetta called him and lowered his body.

“Yes, Lady Rosetta.”

“Do you see him anywhere?”

Allen looked around but slightly shook his head. Rosetta then realized the reality. The last time she saw him was in the reception room.

How…

She thought there would be time to say a proper farewell.

Shocked, Rosetta closed the window and curled up inside the carriage.

He might be watching from somewhere, but she couldn’t help feeling disappointed. Perhaps they would never see each other again.

Rosetta gripped the green ribbon tied around her wrist with her fingers, biting her lips to hold back the tears.

As they entered the quiet fields, the carriage picked up speed. Allen, riding alongside to protect the carriage, kept glancing at the window.

He couldn’t forget her expression earlier. She looked deeply shocked that Rashid hadn’t come to say goodbye.

Bastard. He could have at least said goodbye.

Though he cursed, Allen understood his feelings. Not being able to keep her and having to let her go, meeting face-to-face would make it even harder. If Rosetta cried, he might lose his mind and change his decision. So it was probably easier not to see each other at all.

Allen realized that what Rosetta had said was true. There might not be another chance to say a proper farewell. He hadn’t had the chance to properly say goodbye to Rosie either. Was it fortunate that she had said goodbye when she did…?

As he traced his lips with his fingers, something came into his view. Staring at it for a while, he urgently approached the carriage.

“Princess, could you open the window for a moment?”

When Rosetta opened the window, Allen pointed to a spot. “Look over there. Isn’t that Nazar Quat?”

In the distance, there was a man riding a black horse. Though it was far, making it hard to see more than the black horse and the long black hair, Rosetta knew at once. It was Rashid.

He was riding parallel to the carriage, as if to protect it from afar. His gaze was unmistakably directed towards the carriage.

Rosetta brought her trembling hand to her lips, tears already filling her wide-open eyes.

“Perhaps it was too hard for him to say goodbye in person. He might have worried about showing an undignified side. It seems he intended to see you off like this from the start.”

Allen didn’t want to defend him, but seeing Rosetta in pain because of Rashid hurt even more.

At Allen’s comforting words, Rosetta nodded with a smile. “Yes.”

Rashid continued to ride alongside them for about two hours. When the sun began to set behind the distant mountains, Rashid finally stopped on a hill.

Rosetta watched as he grew smaller and smaller. When he disappeared from view, her face was wet with tears.

Rosetta buried her face in her hands. Under the pouring red sunset, her golden hair was drenched in red.

She would never forget this day, no matter how long she lived. The green fields, the blue sky, and the breath of her beloved carried by the wind.

***

The work took place in the dark of night. The men were tasked with scattering sacks brought by the carriage throughout the forest.

The job was finished quickly, and the men dusted off their hands.

“But why are we dumping this stuff all the way out here?” one man asked.

This place was far from their territory, near Edirne. If they rode their horses, they could reach Edirne in half a day.

In response to the man’s question, another man shrugged. “How should I know? The higher-ups tell us to do it, so we just follow orders.”

“Wasn’t this stuff supposed to be valuable? And now we’re just throwing it away like this?”

The workers, who toiled in the mines, didn’t know the exact purpose of what was in the sacks. But they knew it was worth a lot of money. They had seen their chieftain colluding with foreigners to extract and sell these stones several times.