NOVEL NEXT Chapter 182
The final meeting was held at Averine’s estate, not in the capital.
It was an important meeting to choose a successor.
All of Averine’s vassals were required to attend the meeting, and the location was set within Averine’s estate to facilitate this, as well as to minimize the influence of the current lord, who had deliberately avoided the capital.
And when the date of the final meeting approached, I had to leave for the estate. The day before, I wrote a letter.
The recipient was, of course, Rudrick.
I hadn’t spoken to him since we parted ways.
By now, news of the upheaval in the capital must have reached the North, but I thought it was best to deliver the news in person.
That way I could explain the situation in more detail, and tell him that the engagement was called off, as I had told him.
And also…
[Just a few more minutes, and I’ll be able to tell you…]…I stopped writing and crossed out the last line. Then I patted my burning cheeks.
‘No, what’s the point of writing something like that…!’
I couldn’t help myself, though, because I remembered Rudrick’s face from before we parted ways.
More precisely, the way he looked at me, saying
‘I’ll wait’
.
It was his usual self, but for some reason, it stuck in my mind like a sore thumb.
I glared at the paper as if it were the enemy, until finally I shook my head, crumpled it up, and pulled out a new one.
There were many things I wanted to write. Things I wanted to say.
But I wanted to say them in person, face-to-face, as much as possible, since we wouldn’t be seeing each other for as long as we had as children.
That way, Rudrick would be rewarded for his patience.
‘It’s not that long.’
Regaining my composure, I quickly composed the letter. I began with my latest news, then the events that had transpired in the capital, Duke Goldman’s last words, and the public favors I had already told him.
After writing everything down, I felt much more at ease and concluded with the words…
[I miss you…]Once I was in a flurry of emotions, I stood still. Then, after a silent sob, I had to take out a new sheet of paper with tears in my eyes.
I repeated this several times.
Somehow, I managed to finish the letter to Rudrick, and I took it straight to O’Neill.
It would have taken too long to deliver the letter the normal way, so I asked O’Neill to forward it.
O’Neill, of course, readily agreed. But she added, in a wistful tone.
— ‘Are you sure you don’t want me to come? I’m sure it would be helpful…’ — ‘I’m sorry, but only those with guaranteed status are allowed in the meeting hall, so I’m afraid O’Neill is out of the question.’ — ‘Wouldn’t a mage from the Magic Tower be enough? That would be enough…’ — ‘That would be rather awkward. Officially, the Magic Tower remains neutral.’ — ‘…’O’Neill remained silent, still dissatisfied, but eventually muttered in a tone of understanding and resignation.
— ‘Well, have a good trip. I’m sure you’ll do fine, Princess, so don’t worry too much.’ — ‘Thank you.’All I could do was smile apologetically at her.
And it wasn’t just O’Neill who encouraged me.
No matter when the news got out, everyone at Averine Manor would offer a word of encouragement whenever they saw me, or they would come over to cheer me on in person.
Hestia, for example, offered me some pills to help me relax, and Cecil offered me some ornaments she had made.
Jeron was going to accompany me, so let’s move on, but the most embarrassing of them all was…
“My darling, when did you get so big…”The parents were now teary-eyed.
My father was the only one sobbing, and my mother was smiling gently as usual, but her eyes were filled with concern.
Patting my father, who was hugging me tightly and refusing to let go, I said,
“How long have I been this big?” “But I can still see your little face in my eyes… I used to carry you all the time when you were little…” “No, you’d think I’d grown out of it.” “Of course, our daughter grew up wonderfully, but…”Mother, who had been watching us from the side, said worriedly.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay on your own, I wish we could go with you…”It was obvious why my mother and father were so worried about me. They were worried that I would not be able to attend the final meeting.
In a way, it was natural. Since the business of the successors had already been decided, she was to have no part in it, let alone help.
In fact, it was no different from the past, but I was worried that it would be the same old story. I looked back and forth between the two of them and calmly replied.
“Don’t worry. You’ve done a good job so far.” “But…” “I can’t rely on the two of you forever, after all, I’m a ducal princess…”I trailed off, smiling,
“I’m the daughter of proud parents, believe me.” “…”My parents looked at me for a moment, and then they smiled wistfully.
“I’ll always believe you.”Only after my parents dried their tears did I finally climb into the carriage. Once seated in the carriage, Jeron clicked his tongue.
“Even Yunan doesn’t have that kind of family.” “Tell me your family’s not like that.”Jeron shook his head, looking bored. Then he looked me over for some reason and asked softly.
“
How’d you sleep?” “I slept well.” “How are you feeling?” “Great.” “Does anything hurt?” “Why do you ask the obvious?”Jeron smirked at my confident answer. He shrugged his shoulders lightly.
“It’s okay if you’re nervous, it’s normal.”Although I laughed at Jeron’s comment, I wasn’t really nervous at all.
But there was still time. The final meeting wouldn’t start until tomorrow, not today, but tomorrow.
It would be the first time in a long time that so many people would be gathered at the estate, and they’d give us time to unpack.
But that didn’t mean we had all the time in the world. I looked at Jeron and said.
“Enough of this nonsense, let’s get everything in order for tomorrow, so when it’s our turn…”We spent the rest of the carriage ride discussing what was to come.
It was really just a matter of organizing the numbers we’ve prepared so far and figuring out how we were going to lay them out and lead the discussion.
And when we were done, and I’d finally gotten to the point where I could stand up.
“Okay, so we’re going to do that, and then… ugh!” Thud!The sudden jump made me let out a new scream. I looked up, dazed, to see Jeron looking equally flustered as I was.
‘What, what is it?’
Before I could even get my bearings, I heard the knight’s panicked voice from outside the carriage.
“Miss, are you all right… hey, hey, hey, stop!” “What? What… Ugh!”I was speechless.
Somehow, the carriage had suddenly started to gallop like crazy.
‘What the hell!’
Even if the carriage was enchanted, it was bound to be affected if it started running at this speed.
The carriage rattled like a ramshackle carriage from the North, and I clung to the seat with all my might. Behind me, I heard the clash of swords and the occasional scream.
‘Have we been attacked?’
I could only assume so. Jeron must have sensed the same thing, because he muttered urgently.
“Who, who, attacked us?”Gritting my teeth, I asked. I could think of any number of people, and any number of reasons for the attack, but that didn’t matter now.
The real question was…
“No, more than that, this carriage…”I said with a sharp look on my face.
“Where are we going?”At the same time.
Thump—!Our bodies jerked with the impact of the carriage hitting something.
I was so startled that I lost my grip on the chair. Jeron, who noticed my body tilting sharply to one side, reached out urgently.
“Dahlia!”But Jeron’s hand never reached me.
My body, falling away from him, crashed into something, and with a dull thud in my head, my vision went black.
The sound faded away, and I heard tinnitus in my ears, which lasted for a moment before slowly diminishing.
Before I knew it, I was out cold.
The vision went out.
When I opened my eyes, I was sitting in the middle of nowhere.
After blinking dazedly for a moment, I soon realized.
‘I’m dreaming.’
Because otherwise, the scene in front of me didn’t make sense.
My mother wailing, my grandfather, the butler, with a sullen look on his face, the servants wiping away tears, the knights hanging their heads like sinners.
The feel of a hard body in my hands for the last time.
My father.
‘Ahh.’
For a moment, my vision seemed to spin.
Before I knew it, tears were falling from my eyes. I had been crying since that moment. I couldn’t take my eyes off of my father as I sobbed uncontrollably.
Not only that, but I kept muttering to myself.
[No way. No way… This is a dream… This is a dream… Father… Father… He is real…]Moving against my will, I wanted to scream, no, he’s alive, he’s alive, I saved him, I changed the future, he’s alive now.
‘This is a dream!’
As I was screaming desperately to wake up now.
Suddenly, the scene changed.
One minute I was sitting on the couch. I didn’t recognize myself, wearing a black dress with my hair completely down and not tied up in a bun like I usually do.
Especially with my eyes downcast and sitting so still.
[Dahlia.]I looked up.
There, I saw a familiar face. My mother, her hair a little shabbier than usual, but her eyes as sweet as ever.
[I know it’s hard for your father to be so…, but if you don’t eat anything, you’ll collapse, too.] […but mother.]A trembling voice came out of my mouth.
[Without my father… who will protect us?] […] [You know my relatives are after our family… I’m a woman, I can’t carry on the family name… They keep approaching me, saying they’ll help me, but what can I do…] [Dahlia.]I heard my mother’s firm voice.
[I’ll protect you.] […] [This family, you too. It’s a treasure your father tried to protect to the end, and I will continue his work, and I will not give up on our family until the end.] […] [So…]I looked at my mother, another tear rolling down her cheek.
[Don’t be so hard on yourself, you have me by your side.]Unlike me, who was always weak, she hadn’t changed.
My mother, who was always kind and gentle, who seemed to be weak on the outside, but who was strong at crucial moments, and who even stood up for my father, was in front of me.
She smiled gently at me, wiping away my tears. Then she held my hand tightly and said.
[Shall we have a meal?]At that moment, I felt my heart ease.
If it’s a dream, I should get up and run to my parents right away, and if it’s not a dream… I need to go through this together with my mother.
[Trust your mother.]And then I stood up with my mother, hand in hand.
The scene changed again.
My mother, who had smiled so sweetly, was nowhere to be seen.
Gone was my mother, who was smiling sweetly at me, and there was only a trembling maid. Suddenly, a shaky voice came out of me.
[…What?] [Ma, ma, madame, madame…]My eyes widened. From the maid’s mouth came the unbelievable words.
[The carriage you were riding in has overturned…]