Answer Me, Please

to destroy all the evidence!”

Allen’s face immediately hardened at those words.
He was about to pull out his sword right away with anger, but he stopped for a moment.
Now is not the time to deal with the Basque tribe.
He needs to get out of here as quickly as possible and save the princess first.

“Ha!”

Allen kicked the horse in the ribs and galloped out like an arrow.

“Stop him!”

As the tribal men blocked him, Allen immediately drew his sword.
A dazzling light emanated from the sword.
Seeing this, the men let out a short groan and backed away.

Golden aura, the power and source of the Kingdom of Lisa.

It is said that some of Lisa’s royal family, blessed by the gods, have mystical powers from birth.
The moment they cast a spell on an object with that power, the object becomes stronger beyond imagination.

A sword that cannot be broken by anything, and roads and walls that remain intact even after a thousand years have passed.
That’s the reason why no one dares to challenge the Kingdom of Lisa.

“Stop him at all costs! Whoever misses him will be ruled as a traitor!”

The chieftain’s order was given, but no one was willing to step forward.
They confirmed the sign of God, which they had only heard of through rumors, right in front of their eyes.
On the other hand, the chieftain ordered them to stop him.
Which of the two should they follow?

But the answer seems to have already been decided.

The tribal men all pointed their swords at Allen at once.
The betrayal of the tribe is death.
It will not end with death alone, but your wife and children will all become slaves.

So if you’re going to die anyway, you’d better die fighting here.

“Put down your sword, Allen.”

The moment the tense confrontation continued, an unexpected voice rang out.
Allen turned his head in the direction the voice came from.
There he saw Rosie aiming a dagger at the nanny’s neck.

“Put down your sword.
Otherwise, the nanny will die first.”

Rosie grabbed her by the neck, and the nanny was trembling, unable to make a single breath.

“You……”

Rosie looked bitterly at Allen, who felt betrayed.

“Sorry.
But I can’t just watch my people die.”

The moment Allen paused, a large net hit him.
Trapped in the net, something blunt hit Allen’s head from behind.
Soon after, darkness came over him.

 

***

 

A small garden was built in the backyard of the palace for the youngest princess.
The royal couple, who were the Crown Prince and Crown Princess at the time, cherished and loved Rosetta, but they were always busy with national affairs.

Rosetta also had a huge age difference from her older sister and brother, so she couldn’t stay with them for long.
Eventually, she had to learn how to play alone.

Rosetta preferred to play in nature rather than play dolls in her room.
So her parents made her a small garden full of trees and flowers.
There, Rosetta used to spend a lot of time looking at flowers and chasing butterflies.

Rosetta made a friend one day.
With a beautiful and radiant appearance, she[1] became Rosetta’s only friend.
Rosetta was not alone again as she spent time with her friend in the garden.

[1] The gender is unknown, but Rosetta calls her friend by the pronoun She.

Even that day, Rosetta was playing in the garden with her friend.
She would always appear quietly when Rosetta was alone in the garden and quickly disappear when someone else appeared.

That day, too, she played with Rosetta and disappeared as soon as her mother appeared.

Her mother asked, “Rosetta, who were you just talking to?”

“Um, I was playing with my friend.”

“Friend?”

“Marsha.”

“Marsha? Who is that?”

“Marsha is Marsha.
Marsha is very shy.
So she is only with me.
She is not here now.”

It was all that a 5-year-old child could explain.
After thinking for a while, her mother smiled softly at Rosetta.

“Then, Rosetta, can you introduce Marsha to me someday?”

“Yes.”

Rosetta smiled brightly as she looked at her mother.

A few days later, Rosetta ran happily to her mother, who was visiting the garden again.

“Mother, this.”

What Rosetta gave her was a bird’s feather.
Normally, when Rosetta picked up unusual stones or pine cones from the garden, she would bring them as a gift.
So her mother was looking at it with a lot of anticipation.

“Oh my, it is beautiful.
Thank you, Rosetta.”

She happily accepted her daughter’s gift that day too.
Then, Rosetta pointed at the tree.

“There it is.”

“Yes?”

“Over there, my friend Marsha, up in the tree.”

She followed where Rosetta’s little finger pointed, and what she had not seen before was now clearly visible.
No, to be precise, she discovered it.

“Ah……”

She covered her mouth with her hand.
Her eyes trembled violently.

“Mother?”

Rosetta looked at her mother and tilted her head.
Her mother looked at Rosetta again.
Her beautiful face was full of surprise and sorrow.
Young Rosetta couldn’t understand why she was making such a face.

 

***

 

-chirp chirp chirp!

Rosetta woke up to the sound of birds chirping.
It was already brightly lit outside the tent.

Perhaps because of the frivolous birdsong, she must have had a very disturbing dream last night.
Although she can’t remember exactly what dream she was in.

Then suddenly, Rosetta realized that she was on top of the blanket now, and she stood up in shock.

She was clearly curled up on the floor last night, but now she’s here.
And the man who should have been here was nowhere to be found.
Only she remains alone in the tent.

Rosetta fell into great confusion.

How did I get here? Did I come here in my sleep last night because it was cold? So I slept with him? But he said so loudly that he would never sleep with me?

Then the tent opened and the man entered.