Chapter 22 Part 4: The Wedding, and Elchen

‘Should I.. just hit him?’

Rosa thought, looking at Caron’s cool expression.

She felt annoyed, thinking that his expression might all be an act.

“Why. Do you have something to say?”

Caron asked with his usual expression.

The two were seated together in the carriage.

It was comfortable and cozy, but this situation was uncomfortable.

Caron’s expression was too relaxed.

‘It’s like I’m the only one who cares.’

It really was.

When Rosa didn’t answer, Caron turned his gaze back to the window.

And he rested his chin on his hand.

Still, he clearly saw Rosa’s expression.

Chuckle-

A smile he couldn’t see.

With Rosa, he found himself smiling more often for no reason.

The scenery outside the window was a desolate plain.

In the distance, only bare tree branches indicated the existence of a forest there.

It had been quite some time since the carriage had left, and they had completely left the capital, Delphinad.

And. During that time, Rosa had been like that.

As if she had something to say to him, or not. She kept opening and closing her small mouth.

“Caron.”

Her voice was heard again.

“Why?”

“..Do you have something to say to me?”

“I don’t.”

Her voice stopped again.

After a moment, a small voice was heard.

“..You should.”

That was the most courage Rosa could muster.

She couldn’t just bluntly tell Caron what to do.

‘Even if I was drunk..’

She had agreed to Caron’s actions.

‘It’s not like I was forced against my will.’

Still.

She felt like she had been taken advantage of, and she couldn’t shake that feeling.

She felt like she had to address it.

However.

The problem was that if she brought it up first, it would seem like she cared about it, but if she let it go, Caron would probably never mention it.

‘Could it be..’

Really.

Did Caron think nothing of what happened last night?

Around the time Rosa was thinking that.

Caron changed the subject.

“Elchen is quite far from here.”

It wasn’t the story she was expecting.

But Rosa was curious.

“How long will it take?”

“At least ten days.”

Caron answered.

Of course, if the knights rode without rest, they could reach Elchen in a week.

“But you’re here.”

Caron said, emphasizing it.

“So if you feel sick or want to rest, be sure to tell me.”

Yes. Although she looked healthy, Rosa was the type to get sick for a few days each month.

If such a time came, he had to take care of her.

“I have plenty of medicine.”

Before leaving the capital, Caron had received a thick pouch of medicine from the Count.

“Mary would have taken care of that.”

“Mary..?”

Caron knew what Rosa was feeling wistful about.

“If you mean your personal maid. I’ll assign you a new one when we get to Elchen.”

“Yes. It’s unavoidable.”

Rosa nodded slightly.

“So, what’s your answer?”

And at the next question, she shook her head.

“..I won’t tell you.”

Such. What a childish way to get back at him.

Seeing Rosa, who had turned her head away as if sulking, Caron chuckled.

It was childish, but also cute.

“Rosa. This is an important matter.”

“I’m not a child. I’ll take care of myself if I get sick. Just give me the medicine pouch.”

Caron answered Rosa’s rebuttal.

“No.”

Should he give her the answer she wanted at this point?

He had already thought of an excuse.

“Let it go. Rosa. What happened last night was just practice.”

At those words, Rosa’s face, which had been turned away, turned red.

Practice. That’s a nice way to put it.

“What kind of practice is that?”

Rosa asked.

Caron looked at her silently before answering.

“Didn’t you agree to it?”

“That’s..!”

She had nothing to say.

“Besides, you provoked me too. Saying you didn’t feel anything. How many men on the continent would just let that go?”

Yes. She could understand that.

But that alone wasn’t enough to fully convince her, the Caron she knew was different.

He had definitely changed.

At least since they made the marriage contract, he seemed to have become more shameless.

“Of course. That wasn’t the only reason. As we made a contract, for the next year, you and I are husband and wife.”

“..And?”

“At least during that time, we decided not to arouse unnecessary suspicion. We made a promise to each other.”

Yes. She remembered it clearly.

On the first day of the triumphal banquet.

Caron had suggested that they act.

“Of course, you agreed. But words are always easy to say, and there are things you don’t know unless you experience them.”

“For example.. practice for experience?”

Unable to say the word kiss, Caron nodded at Rosa.

“It’s the most common act of a married couple. Honestly, I thought you would know if we tried it. If you understand the feelings of a married couple, it will definitely help with the act.”

She still wasn’t fully convinced. But since Caron said so, it seemed like that was the case.

But Rosa was curious about something else.

“So.. how was it?”

Her mouth felt dry with tension for no reason.

“..I don’t know. I didn’t really feel anything.”

Somehow. At those words, Rosa’s energy deflated.

She didn’t know the reason. She just suddenly felt down.

‘Still, it would have been nice if..’

He said it was good.

No, it wasn’t like she expected that.

It was just that he had initiated the kiss and said he didn’t feel anything, it just felt like.

So her pride was hurt.

‘Why over something like this..’

She didn’t know the reason. But the fact that he didn’t feel anything was, after all, an evaluation of her.

‘It doesn’t feel good when someone else’s evaluation is bad.’

Even if it was in an area she wasn’t interested in.

Rosa thought so.

“Yes. That’s good. We don’t have to do it anymore.”

At her subdued voice, Caron hesitated for a moment.

“Rosa. I’m not done talking.”

“It’s okay. I already understood what you meant.”

It really was.

Rosa had completely understood Caron from last night.

‘He has no reason to be so prideful.’

She was dumbfounded by that thought, but. It actually happened.

‘So it was simply because of my provocation.’

He said he didn’t feel anything.

Wasn’t that what she had said to Caron?

Thinking about it that way made her head clear.

“..It was good.”

Suddenly, those words were heard.

“What..?”

At first, Rosa thought she had misheard.

“It was good. The kiss with you.”

Caron said it again, clearly, as if for her to hear.

“What are you..”

Really. Rosa’s neck turned red without any way to stop it.

“I didn’t feel anything about the feelings of a married couple. Honestly, I don’t think you can realize that just by doing that.”

Caron chose his words for a moment.

“But, the act of kissing you. It felt quite good in itself.”

Rosa didn’t know what to say in response.

“How was it for you? Did you not feel anything last night, too?”

The expression he made as he asked that was quite serious.

It was really embarrassing.

“No.. I don’t know how to answer that.”

Honestly, it felt good. Compared to the resistance she had once imagined, it was much more bearable.

Although it was much fainter now. She had lived as a woman for so long now.

‘But.. I definitely have memories of being a man.’

There was no resistance.

Still, she had been drunk yesterday.

If she had been sober, maybe she would have felt resistance.

Putting all of that aside, the feeling of the act itself wasn’t bad.

It was rather on the good side.

She felt awkward and scared that she felt that way.

‘But..’

Rosa hesitated.

She couldn’t just say it as it was.

“I..”

How should she say it? How could she say it so that Caron wouldn’t be hurt?

“..I see.”

Suddenly, that voice was heard.

Caron, his expression more hardened than usual, was frowning.

He knew. It was his old habit when he swallowed his words.

Somehow.

Seeing that made Rosa’s heart lean towards being honest.

“I, it was good..”

In the end, she closed her eyes tightly and said it.

‘Ah..’

She sighed inwardly. She wanted to hide from the embarrassment and self-loathing.

Caron smiled inwardly as he looked at Rosa.

After that, the journey was peaceful for a few days.

There were no bandits daring enough to attack the procession of the Second Prince.

It was just that the strange awkwardness and embarrassment from that strange conversation on the first day were solely Rosa’s.

Fortunately.

From the next day on, Caron was almost never in the carriage.

Instead, he rode on his horse with his knights. Come to think of it, Caron’s personality wasn’t one to sit still in a carriage. Even on the battlefield, he was always at the forefront.

Of course, when it was time to sleep, he seemed to sleep separately, out of consideration for Rosa.

The carriage was definitely too cramped for two people to sleep in.

There were a few opportunities to stay in cities along the way, but Rosa insisted that it wasn’t necessary.

Ah, come to think of it, there was a crisis.

‘It was definitely nothing.’

Rosa shook her head to shake off that memory.

If it weren’t for her, this procession would have been riding without rest.

And thanks to Caron’s consideration, the carriage was quite comfortable.

More than anything.

She liked that she had a lot of time to think alone.

Rosa once again went over her goal.

‘Just one year.’

A one-year contract marriage.

Since she was doing it, she wanted to do it right.

Honestly, she wanted Caron to do well.

Not just because he was the male lead of the original work, but because he was one of the few connections she had made in this world.

In any case, he was a friend she had made many memories with since she was young, and she had relied on him.

‘If I can help..’

Rosa pondered.

Outside the window, the view of the wide open field passed like flowing clouds.

Unmelted white snowballs clung to the rocks like ornaments.

So, Elchen was really not far now.

Soon, it would be the border of that land.

Coincidentally, Rosa didn’t know much.

‘The starting point of the original work is almost 2 years later.’

After the extra, Rosa Anencia, was removed, only then did the female lead, Freya, appear.

She remembered the triumphal procession and the political marriage only because they appeared several times in the early part of the novel.

Sometimes in descriptions. Or in Caron’s recollections.

And one more thing.

Just once.

In the original work, there was an opportunity for Caron and Rosa to understand each other.

“My lady. Do you know?”

A voice suddenly called out.

His name was Luther, she believed.

He was probably in his late twenties.

A knight with wavy blond hair and cool blue eyes that gave a good impression.

For the past few days, he had been guarding near the carriage.

And with his sociable personality, he struck up a conversation with Rosa.

“You may not know, but the land of Elchen is quite vast.”

Luther said.

“Of course, most of it is forest, and the flaw is that it has a harsh climate since it’s in the north.”

Rosa was well aware of that fact.

Elchen. That land was the so-called ‘north’ that often appeared in other romance fantasy novels.

Because of the harsh and cold environment, other things naturally developed instead of agriculture.

For example, the hunting culture.

Luther continued.

“Every spring, a grand hunting festival called the Cabresius is held in Elchen.”

Men and women of all ages. And regardless of whether they were nobles or commoners, it was a festival to determine the best hunter.

There was a unique custom there, where the hunter would offer everything he hunted to the person he admired.

“The woman who obtains the most prey during the festival is given the title of the Queen of the Hunting Festival for that year.”

Although it wasn’t a big deal, there was quite a bit of competition, and it was a matter of pride among the noble ladies of Elchen.

“Of course, the Queen of this year’s hunting festival is already decided.”

“Hmm.. Is Caron good at hunting?”

Caron.

At that nickname, Luther, who had paused for a moment, burst into laughter.

“It goes without saying. My Lord’s hunting skills.”

In fact.

What was important to Rosa wasn’t that at all.

Just once.

The opportunity for Caron and Rosa to understand each other in the original work.

‘It wasn’t an opportunity for no reason..’

They would face a crisis.

They would be attacked at the hunting festival.

Rosa would be taken hostage, and Caron would be threatened.

Of course, Caron would overcome the situation in his own way, and although he would suffer considerable injuries in the process, it would cause Rosa to misunderstand and fear him.

‘If. If that hadn’t happened, maybe their relationship would have been a little different.’

But in the end, Rosa in the original work reached a tragic end. And at least in terms of his first marriage, so did Caron.

Honestly, she didn’t know if the same thing would happen this time.

It was just a summarized recollection, so she didn’t know the details of the incident or the culprits.

‘But even if it happens the same way..’

She wouldn’t be taken hostage. More than anything, Caron shouldn’t get hurt.

At that time. From the description, it seemed like he was so badly injured that he couldn’t move for a few days.

It wasn’t just for peace of mind. She wasn’t just going on a trip.

Now, something was really starting.

For at least a year, she had to be a reliable ally to Caron.

‘I have to be prepared for the unexpected.’

Just as Rosa made that resolution.

Under the blue sky, a tall, black castle wall came into view.

“We’ve arrived!”

A land beautiful with the scenery of white snow. A land that never submitted to the Empire.

It was the border of Elchen.