Rosalyn looked at how the hands that had been smaller than hers had now grown larger. Her young brother's hands had so many scars.
John had gone to the border military training a few years ago and she heard that he was still dutiful to his sword arts training.
"You have to become the next king."
"…Haaa."
Rosalyn chuckled while watching John sigh.
She knew that although her brother was sighing like this, he would be better than anybody at being king.
People said that she had a lot of talents.
She did not deny that.
She thankfully had quite a lot of talent.
However, she could not agree with them saying that she should take the throne and not her brother.
Rosalyn could not forget how, when they were looking out the window at a high spot in the palace, her brother's eyes had sparkled not because he was looking at the sky, but because he was looking at the Breck Kingdom.
He looked as if he was shining.
"I will take care of the Archduke's household and denounce my position as a candidate for the throne. They shouldn't say much about it if I leave the kingdom right after that. People will make their own judgments if I leave as quietly and quickly as possible.
"Noona, that's not good."
"Why not?"
Rosalyn could feel her brother's hands tighten around hers.
"Noona, you have to denounce it while looking cool."
"..."
"Something dishonorable doesn't suit you."
Rosalyn casually responded.
"Then it might put your position in peril. People might keep looking for me."
A smile appeared on John's face.
Rosalyn truly felt as if her younger brother had grown up.
"Noona."
John continued in a low voice.
"Things like that are for me to take care of as well. Knowing that I have a sister I can be proud of is enough to give me strength."
Rosalyn clenched her eyes shut.
'This kingdom, this land, the citizens, and my family…
I really love them.'
"…It really is right for you to become king."
Rosalyn opened her eyes again and they were sparkling brightly as if a weight had been lifted off of them.
However, those eyes soon sank down with an odd glow.
It was the moment John asked this question.
"Noona, but, mm, is it okay for just the three of you to go to the Archduke? You don't need any of the Royal Knights? We also have the Royal Mage-nim."
"Mm."
Rosalyn seemed to debate for a bit before looking toward her friends and responding.
"I think we should be enough. Isn't that right?"
"Huh? T, that-"
Lock hesitated while Choi Han stood up and calmly responded.
"It is."
That was Choi Han's answer after already having visited the Archduke's Estate earlier in the day.
* * *
"This is crazy...!"
"I can't deny that. But who do you think is the crazy one?"
The person peeking out the window stopped talking for a moment after hearing his friend's comment. His friend continued to speak.
"Is it the Archduke who messed with a throne candidate who was traveling to another kingdom? Or is it Princess Rosalyn who said that the Archduke's family name will disappear from the list of nobles if they do not seal their doors for 500 years?"
"…Seriously, why the hell did something like this happen in the Breck Kingdom?!"
The man and the woman… The two reporters were in a residence near the Archduke's Estate looking out the window to see what was going on.
"Princess Rosalyn is amazing. I heard she sent the message to the Archduke's Estate regarding sealing its door yesterday evening?"
"It was more of a declaration of war than a message."
"…And the royal family?"
"They're calm."
The palace was completely silent.
However, all sorts of things were being said throughout the Breck Kingdom starting from the capital.
Most people were not even aware of Princess Rosalyn being missing.
That was why all sorts of theories were being created about her mysterious disappearance and the Archduke who attacked her.
"…The Archduke's household gathered troops? The proof the princess brought with her was thorough. The Archduke's seal was on the document ordering the troops to attack the princess."
"It's a clear violation of the fundamental rule."
The missing Rosalyn suddenly appeared in the kingdom and attacked the Archduke's Estate while revealing the fact that the Archduke had gathered troops.
Anybody who had even the slightest interest in the royal family knew that the Archduke's household was not allowed to gather troops.
"The nobles are quiet as well, right?"
"Who knows? The royal family and the nobles both look quiet on the outside but I'm sure it is quite vicious there right now."
"…There might be a huge political strife between the throne faction and the noble faction if something goes wrong."
"It'd be a blessing if it ended in just political strife."
One of the reporters could not hide their anxiety.
There was only one reason for it.
"It might go beyond political strife to a bloody battle. If that happens, the peace in the Breck Kingdom will break."
"…Groan."
It was at that moment.
Screeeech-
The large iron gate that blocked the entrance to the Archduke's Estate slowly opened.
Clack, clack, clack.
They could hear the sound of hooves getting louder.
"Son of a."
"…Looks like there is no going back now."
A Knights Brigade arrived in front of the wide open gate. They were all riding horses and gave off a vicious aura that showed that they had not only been training for a day or two.
They could see soldiers behind the Knights Brigade as well. They too looked as if they had been trained for a long time.
"…I'm sure that is not all of the troops that the Archduke has been hiding, right?"
"Of course not."
The woman looked at the clock.
"It's soon. Princess Rosalyn will be here soon."
"Will she come with the Royal Knights Brigade? But there was no news about the Knights Brigade leaving the palace!"
"I don't know. I'm sure she'll do some-!"
The reporter who was speaking could not finish the sentence and could only blankly look at something with his jaws dropped.
The path to the Archduke's household.
There were some people walking toward it from a distance.
"W, what is that?"
Just three people.
The knight couldn't take his eyes off of the person in front of the trio.
"…T, that is the princess, right?"
His friend did not respond.
She was also looking at one place with shock.
It was red.
The sky was grey and cloudy as if the spring rain would soon come. It was a day when the freshness of spring was not visible at all.
People were mumbling about how the weather was fitting for a day with a vicious incident.
Through the grey sky and the similarly drab colors of the city…
A red fog was rising up.
No, it was heading toward the Archduke's Estate.
"…That's mana, right?"
"…Yeah..."
It looked like a fire burning up.
Not only was Rosalyn's red mana wrapped around her body, she was releasing it all around her as she leisurely headed toward the Archduke's Estate.
She then looked around with a smile on her face.
'There are quite a lot of hidden spectators.'
She peeked at her wrist. There was a bracelet on it.
'Take it.'
'Royal Father, doesn't this belong to the Royal Mage?'
'He said for you to have it.'
It was a bracelet made of middle-grade magic stones.
'Rosalyn.'
'Yes, Royal Father?'
'If you're going to go down that path anyway, it is okay if you do not become the best. I just hope you grow enough to achieve your dreams.'
'But Rosalyn, your health must be your top priority. Do you understand?'
'Thank you very much, Royal Father. Royal Mother.'
Rosalyn's mother was touching Rosalyn's clothes and asked a question.
'By the way, do you have a place to stay?'
'Yes, Royal Mother. I do.'
She spoke to the concerned Queen and King.
'I have great friends. I have a lot to learn from them in many ways.'
Of course, she also had non-human friends, such as the Dragon who was her friend in magic.
Rosalyn thought about her parents who had finally smiled in relief after hearing that comment before stopping in front of the gates of the Archduke's Estate.
Clack.
The Knights Brigade split down the middle and a person appeared.
It was a man who seemed to be similar in age to the king.
It was the Archduke.
"Your magic abilities are much greater than I imagined. You are quite the skilled mage."
Rosalyn lightly responded back.
"That's why I didn't die."
"Pffft." The Archduke chuckled but the mood of the Knights Brigade behind him sank even lower.
Rosalyn looked at the Knights Brigade, the soldiers, and the Estate before commenting.
"It looks like you have no plans on sealing your doors."
The Archduke shook his head.
"Seal our doors for five hundred years? Isn't that basically telling us to be destroyed?"
"I won't deny that."
"However."
One corner of the Archduke's lips curled up.
"What are you planning on doing with just three people? Will the Royal Knights Brigade be here soon?"
"The Royal Knights Brigade has things to do."
Rosalyn and the Archduke's conversation was not heavy and continued peacefully. However, the Knights Brigade still had their hands on their scabbards and Rosalyn released even more red mana than before and did not decrease it.
"I wonder what the Royal Knights Brigade has to do."
"I'm pretty sure you have an idea?"
"Who knows?"
The Royal Knights Brigade was probably moving to find the nobles who plotted with the Archduke, find the Archduke's hidden troops, or take them down after having found them.
"Then princess, you plan on destroying my family with just the three of you?"
Rosalyn put on a smile instead of responding.
The Archduke smiled as well.
"How arrogant. No matter how skilled you are as a mage, my troops are not chumps who were gathered overnight. It looks like you made some friends while moving alone in a foreign kingdom, but playing house is very different from the realities of battle."
"…My goodness."
'My goodness, he talks so much.'
Rosalyn simply raised a hand instead of saying the rest of that sentence.
As the Knights Brigade flinched and tensed up thinking that she was about to cast a spell…
Choi Han walked up next to Rosalyn.
Clang.
He pulled out his sword.
Black aura appeared at the tip of his sword.
"… Sword master!"
The Archduke frowned once someone was unable to hold back and shouted.
The Knights' faces stiffened.
"Mm."
Lock hesitated a bit before slowly moving to Rosalyn's other side.
Rosalyn stretched her hand toward the sky at that moment. Red mana shot out of her fingertips and headed toward the ash-like sky.
It looked as if a small sun was rising.
However, it was not the sun.
Shaaaaaaaaaa-
A breeze blew by them.
The red mana gathered together and Rosalyn smiled.
The Archduke retreated back while motioning to the Knights Brigade.
"Get them!"
The Knights Brigade started moving.
Rosalyn looked at the red mana floating in the sky for a moment.
My country.
My kingdom.
Princess Rosalyn would withdraw from this land starting today.
'Royal Father. Here's the thing…'
She recalled what the king had said to her.
He said that he wanted her to grow enough to achieve her dreams.
But her dreams were quite vast.
'I want to become the greatest mage.'
She wanted to be a mage who was not lacking even when up against a Dragon.
Although Princess Rosalyn of the Breck Kingdom would disappear starting today, Rosalyn, the mage from the Breck Kingdom was just getting started.
"Rosalyn."
"Noona."
Choi Han and Lock. Her friends were calling her.
Rosalyn thought about how she was simply mage Rosalyn to them and opened her mouth.
"Let's go."
The red mana shot forward toward the Archduke's Estate, a power that was beyond human limits destroyed the Archduke's Estate and a black aura swept through the Archduke's Estate.
At the end, the Archduke's family was no longer a noble family and the people who followed the Archduke and delivered information about the Breck Kingdom to them either silently lost their positions or titles.
"Let's go back. Lock, you come too."
"Okay, hyung."
"…Yes, let's go back."
Rosalyn then left the Breck Kingdom for her new home.
However, she would return to the Breck Kingdom in a little bit.
She would come back to help the Breck Kingdom from the war that would spread throughout the Western continent.
Of course, she was a mage when she returned to her hometown for the first time in a while. It would be just like the dream she had in the corner of her heart since she was a young girl.
– Side Story 5. Why did the Archduke's Household in the Breck Kingdom crumble? End –
– The next side story is 'The God of Death's Observation Journal.' –
< Author's Note >
Hello, it is Yu Ryeo Han.
I plan on providing information about the paperback via a message with my publisher in May!
I hope you have a nice day.
Thank you very much!
—
Translator's Comments
What a nice story about Rosalyn.