I Don’t Want to Be a Lady

“That person is someone who must never die here in the Harpion Empire. Do you understand what I mean?” I said to the blacksmith, who was also a doctor.

The doctor or blacksmith, with his shaggy beard, and dreadlocks, had a grim impression as he glanced at me, then said, “What brings a noble to such a shabby place? If you want to save him, get out of the way and don’t interfere.”

Replying half-heartedly, he began to treat Paku’s wound with his calloused, rough hands. The eyes of the onlookers naturally widened at the unexpectedly delicate and quick hand movements. 

The man focused on the treatment regardless of their gaze. Whoever the patient in front of him right now was in a serious condition, he was only faithful to his duty as a doctor.

I, on the other hand, was burning insides. The prince of the emerging empire, which is expanding its territory right now, dying in the Harpion Empire? There was no noble in the Harpion Empire who dared to slander the enemy of the empire. Most of them were just a bunch of idiots who were just talking in the back. Perhaps it was something the imperial people who rejected the barbarian tribes did.

“Damn it.” Curse words came out naturally.

It didn’t matter who did this. The fact that Kelteman Empire’s prince was stabbed to death in this Harpion Empire, it was the only thing that mattered.  It was a good excuse to start a war.

Wait. I’m sure… From the way the man spoke, he seemed like a foreigner. The foreigner man who ran out of the alley and disappeared after smearing blood on my dress. It’s not like what I’m thinking, right? It’s ridiculous. Could it be that they intend to start a war even by killing the prince of their own empire?

Every family had a lot of problems. They could eat each other and fight for more, whether they were parents, brothers, and sisters. It was even more for the imperial or royal family. The impact could affect their own kingdom or even the whole continent.

This time, it seemed that the Harpion Empire would see blood due to the family problems of the imperial family of the Kelteman Empire.  Even if this prince fainted, his moderately tanned skin became pale and colorless… I didn’t feel sorry for him at all. If I could, I would like to grab him by the collar, shake him, and curse him as much as I wanted, but I had to hold back for now. It would be difficult if he really died. This damn bastard.

I ordered Bein to secretly get the anonymous carriage while the doctor was treating the prince. No one should know what happened here today. My eyes glared fiercely at the back of the doctor’s head.

The doctor wriggled around by threading a needle-like object with thin scissors, then threw it away and sighed. “I’ve sutured it for now. But I’m not sure if he will survive or not.”

I spoke in a subdued voice. “I already said that he should never die here. If you can’t save this person, you will die too.”

Despite my threat, the doctor was unresponsive. “I’m not a god. I just hope he holds up well.”

Just in time, Bein showed up with a carriage. Glaring at the doctor, I said, “Forget about what happened today. You know what I mean, right? On a day when even strange rumors circulate, you won’t be safe.”

The doctor picked his ears and talked as if it didn’t matter. “I don’t know who you are, and I don’t know who this person is.”

“Of course, you should be like that,” said me, putting a bag of gold on the workbench.

As soon as I was about to leave the smithy after Sir Dale and Bein placed Paku lying on the carriage, the doctor spoke to me. “Lady Bornes, you better be careful. These days, the alleys have been very noisy.”

“Hmph. Just worry about your life.”

After Arianne left the smithy, the doctor lit the pipe and exhaled the smoke. “Who cares about whose life? Tsk.”

* * *

“Where is Charter?” After returning to the duchy, I hurriedly sought for Charter. 

Charter, who received a report that an unidentified carriage had entered the duchy, came down to confirm it and looked surprised when he found me.

“Did you come in that carriage just a moment ago? What about the carriage you rode on—”

“There’s Kelteman Empire’s prince in that carriage right now.” I interrupted Charter.

“Why is he in there?”

“I will talk about the details later. I need a room for him to recuperate right away. The employees in this duchy. Are they all trustworthy?”

Seeing Arianne’s determined gaze, Charter sensed that it wasn’t an ordinary question. 

“All the employees of the house have been working for generations. You can trust them.”

Nodding my head, I talked to Sebastian. “There is a patient in the carriage, so please move him to the guest room. We must save him.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Watching Sebastian take the servants and move Paku, I talked to Charter. “Let’s talk just the two of us. In a quiet place.”

I then told Charter the details of what happened today.

“I think it was planned from the very first visit of Prince Paku.”

“Then, it’s possible that he didn’t know about it.”

“I guess so. Unless he’s an idiot who came even though he knew he would die.”

Charter felt his head go cold. Judging from the recent situation, the emperor of the Kelteman Empire was an insatiable man. He made war and invaded randomly, and there was no sign of stopping his movements, regardless of how big or small the other kingdom was. Whether it was planned by the emperor of the Kelteman Empire or someone else, someone strongly wanted war.

“We have to inform His Majesty.”

At my words, Charter nodded his head and said, “I should go to the imperial palace right now. Just in case, we have to prepare for Prince Paku’s death.”

“I just hope he won’t die.” That way, I could enjoy this peace for just a few more days.

Standing by the window and watching Charter leave, I remembered Bein, whom I had forgotten all along. “You should get going. Go wash the kids and feed them something delicious.”

“Would you be okay if I’m not here?”

I replied to Bein’s question. “Your presence won’t make any difference. Go spend time with the kids. As much as you can…” Because the war will start soon.

I sat by Prince Paku’s side. I was afraid that his life would end if he stayed in this condition. With me by his side, I hoped that he would survive so we could stop the war. I haven’t even changed my bloody dress yet, but what’s the big deal? In the matter of war, neither this luxurious mansion nor expensive jewels and dresses would save my life.

Madam also felt the abnormal energy in the mansion and visited me.

“Yes. That’s right. We should be prepared.”

After sharing the situation with madam, she looked at Paku with a sad face and then returned.

Prepare… Yes, I should prepare. But what am I preparing for? Preparing for war? Or preparing to escape? I was wondering if I should sell what I had before, but what the hell is this situation! I got angry, but I couldn’t help it. It was most realistic to prepare for war as soon as possible.

Arianne was lost in thought for a long time. That’s why she didn’t see Paku’s eyes open and close just for a moment.

Only two days later did Paku wake up. Feeling an unfamiliar ceiling and scent, he tried to grasp the current situation.

“Baroness! He is awake!”

Hearing the woman’s high-pitched voice beside him, Paku crumpled his brow and tried to turn his head. But the extreme pain felt in his abdomen made him groan automatically.

“Uurgh.”

“Stay still. If you try to force yourself to move, you might really die.”

It was her. Obviously, he was stabbed by a subordinate he trusted in the alley. However, this woman appeared just when he thought he was going to die. Like an angel, she came to save him. The angelic woman was now looking at him with a very displeased face.

“Thank you, but where are we?” A cracked voice came out of Paku’s mouth.

“This is Kaien Duchy. You’ve been lying down for two whole days.

Two days have passed. By now, his men must have been in a frenzy to find him who had disappeared. As long as those men were still his men.

Tarik! You punk!  Although it had been only five years since he had been with his troops on the battlefield, the subordinate he trusted was someone else’s spy. He didn’t know if Tarik’s master was the emperor or one of his other brothers, but as long as he survived, he would surely pay back this debt.  

Paku looked at Arianne and said, “I owe you my life. I’m sorry, but can I ask you for a letter?”

“A letter? Where and to whom?

Paku laughed vainly at Arianne’s sharp tone. “I would like to send a letter to my men. They probably think I’m dead, but they don’t want a war to break right away, right?”

“Don’t do anything stupid.”

“I can’t even move my hands. Please.”

Paku’s request was something Arianne welcomed for, so she calmly wrote down what he said. Arianne, who had sent the letter to the place Paku had told her, approached him and asked, “Tell me what happened. Starting with the purpose of your coming to the Harpion Empire.”

Paku hesitated momentarily and said, “May I start drinking some water first? It’s hard to tell because my throat is dry.”

Arianne shouted in annoyance. “Madrenne! Bring some water now!”

Paku barely raised his head, moistened his throat, sighed, and opened his mouth. “I think you probably already guessed the purpose of my coming. However, I want you to know that this is something that I didn’t expect either.”

“Who did this?”

Paku shook his head and said, “I can’t pinpoint who did it either. What is certain is that it wasn’t done by people from your empire.”

“Is the Kelteman Empire going to start a war?” Arianne’s voice trembled slightly.

“When my letter arrives, I can buy some time.”

“What about you? Do you want war too?”

Paku felt a little hope in Arianne’s question, which made him feel better. Because he felt that she had some hope in him.

“I’m—”

“You’re awake.”

When Paku turned his head in the direction of the sound, Charter was looking at him with cold eyes.

“What a rude person.”

Seeing the look in Charter’s hostile eyes, Pakuy greeted him in a reasonably feisty manner.

“The Emperor Beirut wants to meet you.”

“Unfortunately, I can’t move at all right now,” said Paku slyly. For some reason, a sense of repulsion soared at Charter’s hostile attitude. And it was true that he couldn’t even move a finger right now. He couldn’t go all the way to the imperial palace in this state.

It was at that moment. The person who had just entered through the door said, “That’s why I came, Prince Paku.”

That person was Emperor Beirut.