Please Answer Me - Chapter 116

Rosetta’s voice trembled. “Why did you do it? You told me that as long as I didn’t get involved with those people, nothing would happen.”

Rashid had let her go without any conditions. She couldn’t understand why Iselle would go to such lengths.

“It was a good opportunity.”

“A good opportunity?”

“A perfect chance to make those savages fight among themselves.”

Iselle tilted his head slightly. “Rosetta, did you know that the marriage alliance between the Basque and Croa tribes was something His Majesty desired?”

That was news to Rosetta. She had always thought it was just an issue among the tribes here. The revelation that Lysa was involved shocked her.

“What Lysa wants most right now is for the Ardenese to waste their energy fighting each other. We’re already struggling to deal with Toulouse, and if the tribes here were to unite and form a powerful kingdom, it would be very troublesome for us. Recently, the Quat tribe’s power has grown too much, and the tribes haven’t been fighting each other as they used to. To balance the power, we had to make the other two tribes form an alliance. So this situation is a good opportunity for us. It wouldn’t be bad to make those two tribes enemies again and have them fight each other.”

“How do you plan to make the two tribes fight?”

“The Basque chieftain’s son and daughter are probably staying where the magic stones were scattered. Does that answer your question?”

Rosetta realized his intention. He planned to kill the Basque envoy. If they died on Quat land, it would be blamed on Rashid. Given the history, it would be hard to escape suspicion.

“I never intended to let that guy off. He made me very angry. He stole you from me and mocked me. He must pay for that.”

As Iselle spoke, he smiled softly. It felt strange. The man before her had the same face as always, but he seemed like a different person. The Iselle she knew wasn’t this cold and twisted.

“…Do you have no feelings for the people you’re going to kill? So many will die because of you.”

She knew he had killed people in war. Her siblings, except for herself who had lived in seclusion, had done the same. But that was war, a fight for survival in unavoidable circumstances. This, however, was a needless sacrifice of many lives.

“Why does that matter? All I need is you.”

There was no guilt in his eyes. To him, it truly meant nothing.

Rosetta finally understood. “It was all a lie. Everything you showed me was fake.”

He had never truly been a good person. He had just pretended. His kind words, his gentle smile, none of it was real. It was all a facade. She hadn’t known because her world was too small and confined.

“No, I was always sincere with you. You like good people, so I wanted to be a good person for you and will continue to do so. Upset about the people who will die? Then don’t make me do such things next time. Simple as that.”

Iselle sighed deeply. “Rosetta, let’s stop talking about this. It’s already done. I’ve personally confirmed everything.”

“Confirmed?”

Iselle’s red eyes quietly observed Rosetta. “I saw it during the reconnaissance mission. Flames burning in the distance.”

Realizing what that meant, Rosetta immediately bolted towards the tent entrance.

“Rosetta!”

Iselle quickly followed, grabbing her.

As they suddenly burst outside, all eyes around the tent turned towards them.

“Let go!” Rosetta struggled, but Iselle’s grip was too strong, holding her like a vice.

“Get inside. We can talk there.”

“I said let go!”

“Stop acting like a child. Listen to me, Rosetta!”

At that moment, Rosetta swung her other arm hard.

Slap!

A loud sound echoed as Iselle’s head snapped to the side. Everyone around gasped in shock at the sight of the duke being slapped.

“Iselle Scallion.” Rosetta glared at him, enunciating each word with venom, “Don’t you dare command me. I have no reason to obey you. I give the orders.”

Her eyes fixed on his hand still gripping her arm. “Release me.”

With a reluctant expression, Iselle let go.

But he had already calculated his next move. He was certain Rosetta wouldn’t get far. It was dark, and she would eventually wander back.

Contrary to his expectation, Rosetta ran straight to a nearby horse. Her skillful mounting, without any assistance, stunned everyone.

“Y-Your Highness!”

“Hya!”

The knights were too late to catch her as she kicked the horse into a gallop. Without looking back, she sped forward, vanishing into the darkness. As the confused knights hesitated, unsure whether to pursue, Iselle quickly mounted his own horse.

“I’ll go after the princess. You all stay here and wait!”

With that, Iselle rode off in pursuit of Rosetta.

***

Rashid’s group arrived in Burga much sooner than they had initially anticipated. On their way to the beacon fire, they unexpectedly encountered someone familiar.

“…Rosie?”

The woman’s face, riding alone on a horse, was indeed familiar. It was none other than Rosie, the daughter of the Basque chieftain. She, too, recognized Rashid and looked equally surprised.

“How did you get here so quickly? I thought it would take a few hours…”

Rashid rode his horse closer to her. “Did you light the beacon fire? For what reason?”

“I was trying to find a way to contact you… Anyway, it’s a relief to meet you so soon.”

She pointed towards the opposite forest with an urgent tone. “Iselle Scallion, the Duke, seems to be plotting something. He placed something strange in that forest and deliberately lured us here.”

“Something strange?” Rashid’s attention shifted from the ambush to the object in the forest.

Rosie shook her head slightly. “I don’t know exactly what it is. Maybe I’m being overly cautious, but it’s a glowing stone in the dark…”

“You saw it in that forest?”

Rashid’s expression immediately changed. Rosie sensed that he knew something about the stone.

“I didn’t see it myself; the children at the inn where we were staying were playing with it. When I asked where they found it, they said they got it from the nearby forest.”

Rashid narrowed his eyes, staring into the dark forest. The magic stones brought by the two men had already caused one explosion. It was because they were thrown into the fire. So, what would happen to the stones scattered in the forest? Rosetta had mentioned that the stones could explode with sunlight. It was nighttime now, so it should be safe for tonight.

Rashid quickly dismissed his own assumption. No, no one could guarantee that. He only knew a fraction about the magic stones. It was safer to act under the assumption that the forest could burst into flames at any moment.

“Where is the envoy staying?”

After hearing the inn’s location, Rashid took a deep breath and looked at Rosie. “You need to leave here immediately. For your safety, I’ll assign a soldier to escort you. You should get as far from here as possible without stopping.”

Rosie swallowed hard. Her earlier sense of foreboding had been correct. “What exactly are those stones…?”

“There’s no time to explain. We need to evacuate the villagers immediately…”

At that moment, a loud boom echoed in the distance. Everyone’s eyes turned towards the forest.

“Riga! The forest is on fire!”

As Nell shouted, a section of the forest began to burn. Flames from the roadside rapidly spread towards the village with two more explosions, heading straight for the inn Rosie had mentioned.

“There are still our people in the inn…” Rosie’s voice was filled with anguish.

Rashid spoke quickly, “I’ll get them out. You focus on getting away. Pard, escort her to the border.”

“Yes!”

A man named Pard immediately moved to Rosie’s side. Rashid shouted to the others, “You’ll come with me to evacuate the envoy and villagers to a safe distance. Do not approach the forest. There will likely be more explosions. Focus on evacuating everyone!”

Rashid turned his horse towards the village and spurred it into a gallop. All the soldiers, except for Pard and Rosie, followed him.

Rashid headed straight for the inn where the envoy was staying. He left a few soldiers there and sent the rest to wake up the villagers.