At the time when King Zed's birthday celebration changed to a nightmare because of the Magic Bomb Terror Incident in the Roan Kingdom…
Something big had happened in the Breck Kingdom as well.
"…You couldn't find traces of Rosalyn?"
"That is the case, your Majesty!"
The king clenched the hand that was holding the throne as the head of the intelligence agency lowered his head with a stiff expression.
Only the king and a few of his vassals were in the meeting room right now. The king did not hide his emotions.
"…How, how could this be?"
Princess Rosalyn had left from the Breck Kingdom and was headed toward the Magic Tower in the Whipper Kingdom.
She contacted the royal family at least once a day. However, that had stopped at some point.
The last thing they got from her was an emergency rescue signal.
"…Roan."
"That is the case, your Majesty."
The coordinates from where they received her last signal was in the Roan Kingdom.
In order to go from the Breck Kingdom to the Whipper Kingdom, going through the Roan Kingdom was the quickest path unless they went through the Empire.
'…Did the Roan Kingdom-?'
The king wondered for a moment if the Roan Kingdom had attacked Rosalyn, but he soon realized it was a useless thought.
'The Roan Kingdom has no reason to mess with a neighboring kingdom. That is a place that seeks peace unless somebody attacks them first.'
He was aware of the nature of the oldest kingdom on the continent. It was a kingdom that lived quietly if nobody attacked them, but it was an extremely disgustingly persistent kingdom that would survive through everything and go after anybody who attacked them.
The Breck Kingdom was extremely aware of this as it was the oldest kingdom after the Roan Kingdom and the Jungle.
'Then what happened?'
No, most importantly…
'Only a few people knew that Rosalyn was headed toward the Whipper Kingdom's Magic Tower.'
There was no way for a foreign kingdom to figure it out when only a few people within the Breck Kingdom knew about it.
'But that doesn't mean that there are no ways for them to figure it out.'
If one of those extremely few people from the inside leaked that information to a foreign kingdom…
'Or if there are no connections to a foreign kingdom…'
Furthermore, the fact that Rosalyn stopped contacting them…
'Someone on the inside is responsible.'
Someone in the Breck Kingdom or maybe some faction in the kingdom must have attacked Rosalyn.
"Your Majesty."
The head of the intelligence agency noticed the king's face darken and cautiously started speaking.
"It is possible that only her magic video communication device was destroyed by a monster or a sudden unexpected situation."
"Do you really mean that?"
"…My apologies, your Majesty."
Unlike the other vassals who were in here, the head of the intelligence agency was decently aware of Rosalyn's abilities. Furthermore, the people who left with Rosalyn were from the kingdom's shadow brigade and were skilled enough to even protect the king.
Those people were taken down by a monster or couldn't contact them because of an unexpected situation?
The chances of that were extremely low.
The king sat on the throne and looked down at his vassals who did not dare to look at him and eventually spoke in a low voice.
"Send an official request for assistance to the Roan Kingdom."
"Your Majesty, that!"
The vassal from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs urgently responded.
"The entire continent might find out about this if something goes wrong! If that happens, the dignity of the kingdom-"
"Enough!"
Bang!
The king slammed his hand down on the throne.
"Do you think that I would say something like this without knowing that the dignity of the kingdom might fall or that it might open up some other issue with diplomacy?"
A kingdom's most likely candidate for the throne, who was almost at the point of being officially confirmed, had disappeared. They were uncertain as to whether she was alive or dead and the kingdom didn't even know where she was.
The dignity of the kingdom would definitely fall if others found out about this, and if things went wrong, some kingdoms may send forces to find this potential future queen in order to negotiate or threaten the kingdom. It could even lead to even worse diplomatic situations for the kingdom.
However, it had been a long time since they had been unable to contact her.
Any longer…
The king could not leave this fact alone any longer.
"Am I doing this just to find my child?"
The vassal urgently lowered his head after seeing the king's cold gaze. The king looked at the vassals who were his hands and feet and asked.
"Who is Rosalyn?"
The Chief of Staff bowed and responded.
"She is the future of the Breck Kingdom, your Majesty."
"That is correct."
Nobody here spoke up to oppose what the Chief of Staff said.
The king was looking at Rosalyn, not as his daughter, but as the future of the Breck Kingdom.
"This king, the former king, and the former queen before that… No, even if we go up a few more generations… There is no heir to the throne with Rosalyn's level of abilities."
The king was well aware of his own plate. He also knew about the former king, his father, and the queen before him, his grandmother.
The royal family had not had anybody who had an especially talented brain or special ability.
They had all had decent intelligence and average talents.
Of course, they had been sincere people who had worked their hardest to maintain the kingdom well within their limits.
However, they had been unable to raise the Breck Kingdom to an even higher level.
However, Rosalyn…
That child…
"That child is a talented child. I'm certain that she can raise the Breck Kingdom to new heights."
The Rosalyn that the king had observed had shown talent in Disciplines of Kingship and administration, but that child's talents did not stop there.
Military science, tactics… And magic.
The king thought about the areas in which Rosalyn's talents shone bright as well as the Western continent that had maintained peace for too long.
'A long period of peace is bound to bring forth something ominous.'
Of course, it was fine if something ominous like a war did not happen.
In fact, it was even better if those kinds of situations did not appear.
The king felt this way because he knew.
As a father, he knew that Rosalyn was a warm person. That child would be able to add warmth to her wisdom to use it for maintaining the peace even longer.
The king organized his thoughts and opened his mouth.
"Are you all scared of the Breck Kingdom's dignity falling?"
Dignity falling temporarily was nothing.
"I am scared that the future of the Breck Kingdom would disappear."
The king was afraid of the future disappearing.
"Your Majesty."
The head of Administration calmly responded.
"However, the citizens of the kingdom will fall into chaos if they learn that her highness is missing."
"…Mm."
"I believe we need to deeply consider that aspect, your Majesty."
"…Yes, I understand."
The citizens of the Breck Kingdom called Rosalyn the rose of the sun and affectionately praised her talents and beauty.
There was a moment of silence before the king gave his vassals an order.
"One day. We will look for her one more day and look for a new direction if there are no changes."
With that, another meeting without any progress came to an end.
* * *
Screeeech.
The king, who had been in his study alone, opened his mouth after hearing the door open.
"I said not to let anybody in-"
"Royal Father."
"…Oh, it's you, John."
First princess Rosalyn's younger brother, first prince John. The king straightened his shoulders and raised his head. But his shoulders slumped a bit again after seeing the concerned look in his child's eyes.
"Are you okay, Royal Father?"
The king weakly smiled at his son's gaze that was full of warmth like his mother's. He then shared a bit of his honest sentiments.
"…It is a bit difficult. But I guess I can't let it show, right?"
"…Royal Father."
If Rosalyn was like the sun, John was like the moon. He was someone who made you feel at peace when he was with you and someone you felt as if you could lean on.
"I'm sorry. I know you must be anxious as well and that I should not be showing this side to you."
"It's okay, Royal Father."
Prince John understood why the king was like this right now.
Maybe he was the only one for his father to lean on right now since his sister Rosalyn was not here. He would usually show this weak side to his mother and seek out her opinion for the typical issues, but he only showed his resolute self in front of her for this issue.
John felt as if he could understand him a bit.
"But, Royal Father."
"Yes? You may speak."
"I have a slightly different thought."
John closed his eyes.
His struggling parents and his anxious younger siblings…
The chief executives who were at a loss for words…
The palace that was falling into chaos as the news about Rosalyn's disappearance slowly spread despite their best efforts to contain it…
His thoughts ended with his sister.
His sister Rosalyn's face.
"Royal Father. I'm certain that my sister is alive and well."
"…John."
"We would have heard something about her in some shape or form by now if something had happened to her."
If it was his sister, his sister Rosalyn…
"No news is good news. You know what sister is like, Royal Father."
It was possible that John was more aware of his older sister's personality than his Royal Father.
That was why John spoke honestly despite it potentially sounding a bit cold.
"Sister's corpse has not been found."
"John, corpse?! How could you use such a word-?!"
"That means that she is alive, Royal Father."
"…John."
"Royal Father. Sister is definitely alive. She is probably looking for it."
A gentle smile appeared on John's face.
He then continued speaking to the king.
"Sister should be looking into the reason or the evil person responsible for putting her in this 'missing' status. And once she finds it…"
He heard about how the citizens of the kingdom called his sister the rose of the sun.
"She will definitely return."
However, John did not agree with that.
"She is that kind of person."
She was fire.
His sister was like fire.
Fire symbolized warmth to some but brought fear to others. She was that kind of person. She was more like the sun itself than the rose of the sun.
"Royal Father. So please don't worry."
"Yes, thank you."
John simply smiled despite noticing that the king seemed to take his words just as hopeful words to console him.
'John. Please take good care of things while I am gone.'
'Please be safe, noonim.'
'Oh come on. Do you really think that something would happen to me?'
John recalled the moment he said goodbye to Rosalyn before she left for the Whipper Kingdom.
'I'm sure there won't be. Of course, it's a different story if we are talking about you causing some issues…'
'…John, you know me so well. It's amazing.'
How could he not know?
He was probably the person who looked at Rosalyn's back the most and followed behind her.
'Noonim.'
That was why John knew what his sister was thinking and what she wanted.
"Huuuuuu."
He let out a deep breath to calm himself. He walked out of the king's study and headed toward his palace as he thought to himself.
'No matter what happened, please come back soon, noonim. Please come back before a seed of doubt inside me sprouts.'
He had shown a look of certainty in front of his Royal Father, but doubt was also roaming around a person's heart, looking for an opening to sprout.
Squeeze.
John pushed down on his chest with his hand before taking out his video communication device.
He was waiting for Rosalyn's call.
* * *
That night, the night that the news about the Roan Kingdom's Magic Bomb Terror Incident reached the Breck Kingdom and all of the Western continent…
John stealthily went to visit his mother and father in the middle of the night.
"Royal Father, Royal Mother!"
It was rare to hear John's usually calm voice sound so urgent or excited.
"…John?"
John pulled out a video communication device from his pocket as even the Queen looked at him in shock. The video communication device was already off but it was still warm as if it had been in use until just moments ago.
"Noonim called me!"
"What?"
"R, really?"
John motioned to the Chief of Staff as the king and queen asked in shock. The king quickly snapped back to his senses and sent a signal to someone.
Chhh-
A thorough barrier was created around the area. John grabbed the king and queen's hands as he spoke.
"Noonim called from the Roan Kingdom."
"Did she really?"
"What about her health? Did she seem okay?"
John gently clenched his hands to calm the king and queen who were throwing question after question at him.
"I thought that she looked healthy, Royal Mother. She said that she met a good friend and is in a safe place right now. However…"
'However?'
The king's heart sank at John's last word while the Queen's heart sank at John's now stiff face.
John looked at his parents and calmly continued speaking.
"However, she asked me to keep her status a secret."
"…Why would she…?"
"She also said that she would be here soon. But she is going to travel in secret."
John stopped talking for a moment before continuing.
"She also asked if the Archduke was doing fine."
The king and the queen looked at John's eyes at that moment.
They realized the emotions behind each other's gazes.
Quietly…
Extremely stealthily…
The king's guards left the palace and started moving.
This was the first time something like this had happened since the current king became king.
* * *
Clunk.
The carriage gently rocked. The impact was faint, probably because this was a highest-grade carriage.
"Rosalyn."
"Hmm?"
Rosalyn looked up from the document toward the person seated across from her. Choi Han was looking at the dark night sky as he spoke.
"I agreed to come because you said you needed help. But I haven't heard any details about our plan."
"Mm. I guess that's true."
Rosalyn nodded her head and smiled after noticing Lock timidly looking at her.
Choi Han and Lock.
She was thankful that the two of them agreed to go with her to the Breck Kingdom without any hesitation.
"Mm."
Rosalyn organized her thoughts and resumed speaking.
"First, the Breck Kingdom has one Archduke's household. It was given the title about 200 years ago. We're going to destroy it."
And…
"I'm also going to abdicate my position as princess."
—
Translator's Comments
Rosalyn truly is the rose of the sun!