Chapter 37: Can't Scale
Chapter 37 – Can't Scale
It had been three years since Kiehl spent at the top of a prison-like castle.
Since his studies overlapped many of his studies at the mansion, he was able to follow the practice relatively quickly.
"Your Highness. These are the documents you will review today."
Tak.
Kiehl looked at the pile of papers with slightly weary eyes.
Despite these achievements, he could not leave the palace.
"I heard that you can recover magical power by collecting relics."
Anyone in the Royal Family could use magic. Except for Kiehl. That was why he must have gone out of the Imperial Palace to collect the holy relics and time turned back.
For some reason, he didn't hear that.
"You're doing well even now. There's no reason to take a risk."
The Imperial Palace was more heavily guarded after he entered. Much more than ten years ago.
‘…I must have tried to escape back then.'
Each time he failed, he had to spend a month in the cage again.
‘I want to go to the mansion and check it with my own eyes.'
Nevertheless, hiding his heart, Kiehl spoke as if he had forgotten his past.
"But, wouldn't it be nice to have magical powers?"
"Well. Your Highness’ swordsmanship is so good, so…"
Rohan was one of the most popular knights in the Empire. Even in his eyes, Kiehl's swordsmanship was quite impressive.
"If you're bored, would you like to do a match?"
Hearing his words, Kiehl looked at the papers and nodded his head.
Although he didn't like anything else, he liked it when Rohan offered a match. Others say how dare he fight the Crown Prince, but he fought Kiehl with all his might.
Where the knights practiced, Kiehl drew his sword.
— "Kiehl, shall we fight?"
For the moment when the swords collided, it was like going back to those days.
However, sometimes…
"Your Highness’ basic skills are solid, and you have great application power."
When the knights praised him, it felt like he was like a broken window.
"Who was your Master?"
They probably thought that Rohan was his teacher, and they were trying to praise him. Kiehl threw the sword he was holding and answered coldly.
"I want to stop."
Kiehl was allowed to wander around the Imperial Palace a year and a half ago, and from then on, he went to the library and diligently searched for traces of the ‘Animal Kingdom.’
— "Oh, you're talking about the Animal Kingdom?"
— "Where?"
—"It's a big zoo next to the Capital."
Nonetheless, nothing came out.
No one knew…
It was as if he was just talking about floating clouds in his imagination. Fortunately, Leo was also helping with the investigation, though there was no progress either.
— "No matter how much I researched, it didn't come out. As expected, maybe it's not the Animal Kingdom, but it's really the people of the eastern kingdom? People who have crossed over from the past to this time."
— "Does it make sense to go against time?"
— "Of course, it doesn't make sense, but living in a different world might mean living in a different time zone."
The Eastern Kingdom was a kingdom that had already disappeared into the back of history a hundred years ago.
Perhaps, because of the memory-diluting drug, the memory gradually faded.
‘At that time, everything seemed like a dream.'
It bothered him that the villagers said they had no memory of them. Maybe, it was a delusion he made up after going through such a difficult time. Day by day, he endured to find a clue that made him think of Bella like today.
He fell into an early sleep hugging the holy sword that only tells him that those days are not fiction.
***
The demon mansion without Kiehl was enough to remind her of the Demon Realm.
"Unfortunately, there is no young master, so I prepared a special delicacy!"
"Oh. Pur, as expected."
"It's the brain of the monkey running around freely in the mountains behind us!"
"You know things. Wild-grazing animals taste the best."
Jenkins frowned and glanced into Bella's eyes.
"Isn't it just catching wild animals, not natural grazing?"
As soon as she saw it, Bella was nauseous.
"I'm sorry! Next time, I'll try to get a brain with good quality control!"
“Where did Iwer go without eating?”
"I'm here! It's a pity that the young master is not here, but it's nice to have a bath in blood after a long time."
Though they didn't know either, there was something Bella could do without Kiehl.
"Hey, you #$%s&#s*# !!" [ Yes, the raw was like this hahaha ]
As the demons acted instinctively, Bella's hope for the completion of the original story grew bigger and bigger.
‘Never, never let the original change.'
Even though it was sad that they separated, she had to move forward. This novel was a romance-fantasy after all, and if Kiehl and Rosanne had to meet and play with each other, it would have been completed properly.
So, when the assassin came to the mansion a couple of times after the first raid, Bella couldn't delay the move any longer.
"Guys, let's go on a trip."
They left their house in good condition and started their journey, wandering aimlessly.
But, just being there was enough to make a small mistake. When they accidentally kill another character…
"…Guys, let's just go away."
The journey, which was gradually moving away from the Empire, arrived at the end of the continent, the Desert Kingdom, the Fire Kingdom. For the past three years, they have been able to spend quite lavishly there.
Zanbar, who at first grumbled about what kind of human world he was traveling to, was admiring as he drank a traditional drink dressed in noble desert attire.
"About 1100 years ago, a very big battle took place in this area. There are still traces of it. Would you like to go see it?"
Even Jenkins didn't like the trip, but whenever he went to a new place, he would open a travel brochure and explain.
"If it were a battle 1100 years ago, it would be a ‘War of sand'."
"I didn't tell Sir Zanbar."
"I didn't answer you either."
And, in Bella's eyes, Jenkins and Zanbar still didn't look good.
Of course, only she saw it that way. While Pur thought, ‘Finally, there are signs of reconciliation!'
Although her mouth was itchy because of the crowd, Pur had completed her teddy bear mission to the end. Since Iwer didn't have Kiehl around, she went to meet other men with coppery muscles every night like a fool.
"Miss…! I missed you!"
"There’s no way I miss you."
Bella frowned as she removed Iwer’s face that was clinging to her with her hand.
“Hey, Miss, do we have anything to buy here?”
"Once we bought some clothes, I'm going to buy a few more of these hammocks here."
The market of ‘Hofu,’ the Capital of ‘Fire Kingdom,’ was overflowing with various items. They were selling everything from jewelry to food and even lived animals.
As she was walking around the market, Bella stumbled in front of a shop that had a collection of cute little cactuses.
"Oh, this is cute."
"Welcome. Just looking at it, you look like you're from the Empire, aren’t you?"
The owner of the flower shop sticks out his head and greets the foreign customer. They were all wearing the Fire Kingdom clothes, how did he know that?
She then glanced at the owner of the flower shop a little curiously.
"This is the specialty of Hofu!"
"Every shop you pass by says it's a specialty."
"No, the cactus that the lady is looking at is a cactus that is a must-have for every house."
The owner showed her one by one the cactus displayed in the same shape and the flowered cactus.
"It's really hard to grow, but when the flowers bloom, the things you've been longing for will come true."
Bella giggled and laughed.
“Kiehl, I’ll grant your wish.”
He said that he had so many wishes, and she said that he would be the first to come forward if she said that she would grant him a wish…
‘Ah…'
The smile on Bella's lips gradually disappeared.
As she traveled, she occasionally thought of Kiehl.
‘Really, I thinking unnecessary things now.'
With that thought, she hurriedly took the money out of her pocket. Before she could think, she had to move her body.
"I'll take this."
“You should alternate watering once a week, then one day in the shade and one day in the sun.
That's how the flowers bloom."
It had already been three years already.
Still, it seemed like she wasn't ready to accept it as if he were by her side, as if she was accustomed to it.
‘Come to think of it…’
Gazing at the sky for a moment, Bella started counting them one by one with her fingers.
"What month and what day is today?"
"June… the 3rd."
"Oh. What year is it?"
"It's 1162."
Soon, it was 1163 when this novel began.
"Ah. Now is the time."
"What time?"
When Bella returned to the underworld… As in the novel, when Kiehl leaves the Imperial Palace to collect relics to be recognized as Crown Prince.
And, it was her last chance to face the fate of the novel.
Bella smiled as she put the cactus on Jenkins' chest.
"Let's go back to the Empire."
***
Bella returned to the Empire, where she sat on a large tree overlooking the Imperial Palace.
‘What kind of divine power puts a barrier on everything?’
She didn't want to turn into a cat, but it was good that no one was wary. Of course, it was unreasonable to enter the Imperial Palace even as a cat. It was said that the original story had a strong flowing power.
Kiehl entered the Imperial Palace half a year early, so perhaps the search for the holy relics might have started half a year earlier.
‘If that's the case, the original story will be completely wrong…'
Because the pace of the romance story with Roseanne will change depending on the season.
For the past three years, she had let it flow as much as possible to the original story. Even so, if it was twisted, Bella then thought she really wanted to do whatever she wanted. But if, as in the original story, Kiehl came out to find the relics in the spring of 1163…
‘At that time, let go of any lingering feelings.'
At night, she would transform into a cat and check if Kiehl came out, but during the day she would return to a human and rest without affecting anyone.
Bella read the novel one last time, waiting for Kiehl to come out.
"Wow… I can't concentrate again."
Especially at the part where there were scenes between Rosanne and Kiehl shared love with each other, she wanted to leave.
"Why is Rosanne so kind?"
She still liked Shuri, who deliberately approached Kiehl. The more she saw Kiehl hitting Shuri like that, the more she felt happy.
‘Oh, good job. My baby.'
However, Roseanna, who was so naive that she accepted the malice as well and fell into a trap, looked dumb, not good. Of course, Kiehl fell in love with such a good heart.
Because of that, Bella kept getting upset, and she didn't want to leave Kiehl to Rosanne.
"Sigh. Why am I like this?"
She said so, but she knew what it felt like since she had felt it in her previous life, to her brother-in-law.
‘I'm like a very mean sister-in-law.'
Otherwise, this feeling could not be explained.
The novel she read for three years…
The starting point of 「 The Crown Prince 」 was approaching.
"Now is the time to kidnap him."
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