Chapter 43: Taking the Winding Path

The furious shouts rising from below, the violent crashing sounds, the palpable tension in the air.
Who could have imagined that after celebrating her eighth birthday and simply going to sleep, only to wake up the next morning, she would instead be kidnapped.
The ceiling she saw when she woke was completely unfamiliar, and as she turned her head left and right to gather information from her surroundings, a young man with magnificent rose-colored hair and eyes looked down at Faustina with a pitying expression.
The reason she didn’t even cry after hearing the situation from him was because it was a development she had never once anticipated.
The shock had exceeded its limit, leaving her stunned.
As far as Faustina could remember, she had no memory of ever being kidnapped.

But perhaps she simply didn’t remember it.
Perhaps it really had happened—when she was eight.
Worrying about her birthday or the tea party at the House of Fwohrin had been pointless.
If she had remembered, she would have forcibly grabbed her pillow and slept somewhere she never would have expected.

As she tried to distract herself by talking with the young man, this commotion broke out.
Overwhelmed by fear, she clung to the stranger she had just met.
The hand that gently wrapped around her back was warm, instilling her with a sense of security—yet the door was thrown open violently, and she braced herself.

“—Faustina!!”

The first voice that flew toward her was one filled with disbelief.
Given her current age, the person who appeared should have been impossible.

Still clinging to the young man, Faustina timidly looked up at the one who had cried out—Bernhard—and slowly turned her head.

“…Y-Your Highness…?”

The sight of eight-year-old Bernhard standing at the feet of the adults—

“Faustina!!”

—overlapped, just for an instant, with his former self.

“Hey now, Bell. You broke our promise already?”
“Whoa!”

A large hand landed on Bernhard’s faintly violet silver hair.
The noble-looking man, dressed in white and blue, was someone Faustina had seen quite recently, and she stared blankly as she murmured, “Priest…?”
Though he was not dressed as one, the man was indeed a priest of the church.

Why?
A promise?
And was it really fine to call the Crown Prince by a nickname?

Countless questions raced through Faustina’s mind.
Then the rose-haired young man spoke an unexpected name.

“Siel.”

Among those present, the only ones whose names were unknown were the rose-haired young man and the priest.
The young man had just spoken a name.
Which meant—

When Faustina looked at the priest—Siel—his blue eyes widened.

“Vered? Why are you—”
He cut himself off mid-sentence, thought for a few seconds, then shook his head.

Dragging Bernhard by the scruff of his neck over to the bed where the two were sitting, Siel gently patted Faustina’s head.
It was a strange hand, one that calmed children.

“I’m glad you’re safe. From what I can see, you’re not injured, and you weren’t forcibly restrained… There are no signs that anything was done to you…”

“Well, that’s because she was asleep until just a moment ago.”

““What?””

Vered answered Siel’s muttered concerns concisely as he examined Faustina.
Siel and Bernhard spoke in perfect unison.

When Vered told her she had been asleep for two days straight, Faustina said, “That explains why the dream felt so long.”
“A dream?” Bernhard asked, and she hurriedly waved her hands in front of her face, saying it was nothing important.

The dream Faustina had been having involved finishing many kinds of pies, trying to wake up, only for a call duck—absent while she was eating—to suddenly appear and start chasing her or flying-kicking her.
The world’s smallest duck, which she had only seen in picture books and stuffed toys, was surprisingly violent despite its cute appearance.
But when she got tired and went back to eating pie, it stopped attacking her.
Eat, try to wake up, get chased, get tired, eat pie again—over and over.

Bernhard looked suspicious at Faustina’s awkward laughter, but his attention was diverted when knights entered the room and addressed Siel.

“We’ve captured the entire human trafficking ring.”

“Good.”

“However…”

The knight whispered into Siel’s ear.
After listening, Siel let out a long breath.

“I can’t tell whether they’re quick on their feet or simply decisive. Handle it discreetly.
Also, have someone return to the castle immediately and inform His Majesty that Lady Faustina is safe.
And tell them that we’ll return tomorrow morning. It’s already late, and it would be dangerous to have the Crown Prince and a duke’s daughter riding through the night.”

“Understood.”

The knight bowed and left the room.

Siel turned to the three of them.

“For now, let’s leave. This place is close to the church.
Faustina, Bell—you’ll both stay at the church tonight.”

“Y-Yes.”

He then shifted his gaze to Vered.

“You too, Vered.”

“Yeah.”

Since Bernhard was still being held by the scruff of his neck, he struggled, but Siel scolded him to behave.
Bernhard looked up at him with the eyes of a dog that had just been scolded, yet he was holding Faustina in one arm, having received her from Vered.
Faustina didn’t intend to complain about the difference in treatment—she was a rescued victim, after all.
She just wanted to say she could walk on her own.

Then, suddenly, she was lifted.
She thought she was being placed on the bed—but instead, she was picked up just like Bernhard.
Looking up at Siel only earned her a calm, “Hold on tight, you two.”

Siel carried them out of the room, with Vered following behind.
Knights hurried through the inn, bowing each time Siel passed by.

Bernhard turned from Siel to Faustina.
She was already looking at him, and their pale yellow and lapis-blue eyes met wide open.

Faustina opened and closed her mouth, searching for words—but Bernhard spoke first.

“Faustina.”
“Y-Yes!”

His expression was strangely uneasy.
Faustina relaxed her shoulders and waited.

“Um… the ribbon I gave you for your birthday… did you like it?”

“Yes. It was the same color as Your Highness’s eyes—a very beautiful lapis blue.”

“I see… I’m glad.”

“?”

Bernhard let out a large sigh of relief, but his final murmur was so quiet that Faustina couldn’t hear it.
The anxiety left his face, and he began asking her about many things.

“I see. It’s a shame we couldn’t hold a birthday party, but given the circumstances, it couldn’t be helped.”

“But because of that, this year was the best birthday I’ve ever had.”

“Really?”

Both before regaining her memories and before that, she had been happy—but this year felt different.
She searched for the reason within herself, and found her answer.

(It’s probably because the presents I got from His Highness and Mother were different from before.)

And perhaps she herself had also changed, being able to feel genuine happiness.
After all, she now wished for an annulment of her engagement.

Seeing Faustina so delighted, Bernhard couldn’t help but smile as well.

“Oh, but my brother’s and Elvira’s birthdays will be celebrated as usual.”

“Now that you mention it, yours are only a month apart.”

“It’s rare, isn’t it?”

Bernhard glanced upward for just a moment before returning his gaze to her.

“What did the duke give you for your birthday?”

“This year, I made a request myself.
I asked for a stuffed toy and an apple pie that’s popular among commoners.”

“Apple pie?”

“Yes. It was sweet and delicious, with big chunks of apple—very filling.”

“A commoner’s shop, huh. I’d like to try it sometime too.”

“Your Highness doesn’t have any prejudice?”

“None. I told you before, didn’t I? I want to know how they live.
Watching you, I can tell how good it was. When we’re older, let’s go down to the city together and eat it.”

“Yes! (Ah…)”

She replied, then immediately regretted her thoughtlessness.
By then, she might no longer be his fiancée.

I’m such an idiot!
Even as she silently screamed, she answered his questions about other shops she knew, telling him stories she had heard from Rinsuu.

While Faustina and Bernhard chatted happily—

In Siel’s private room, two men sat facing each other.
After pouring wine into their glasses, the servant left.

“Vered.”

The clear blue of a sunny sky closed, replaced by an abyss that dragged any onlooker into darkness.

“Explain to me why you let that child face such danger.”

His eyes and mouth were smiling—

“…All right.”

—but the dark-mixed blue declared there was no right to refuse.