The Gap Between You and Me - Chapter 58
=========================================================================================================================
Herietta prayed earnestly to God. Otherwise, it was all over.
‘Don’t worry. Because they don’t want you, just the title of direct blood to King Brimdel. They probably won’t pay much attention to you.’
Shawn swore to Herietta, who was worried that such a ridiculous operation would not succeed.
‘Just shut up and live like a mute. Don’t even think about causing problems. If you live as if you were dead there, I will take care of your family in return. Then your father or younger brother will never go to the battlefield again.’
‘But if things go wrong… You know what’s going to happen, right?’
Herietta remembered the man whose eyes flashed like a snake’s, and clenched her teeth.
The culprit behind all of this. An enemy that made her shiver just by thinking of him.
Shawn was proposing a risky deal with her only brother’s life as collateral. He acted so proudly from start to finish, knowing that she would never be able to turn him down. What the hell was wrong in the past? Whenever she thinks of his face, a fire burns inside her.
‘Since I’m going to leave like this, I’m going to scratch that disgusting face with my fingernails.’
Herietta ripped off the pitiful sheet with sincere regret. The white bones on the back of her hand were exposed from how tightly she gripped and ripped it off.
“Are you okay, Princess? Are you experiencing motion sickness?”
Janice, who had witnessed this, came to ask.
“Would you like me to tell them to stop the carriage for a moment?”
“Oh no! You don’t have to!”
Herietta was bewildered and waved her hand.
“I just got a little cramp on my leg… But I’m fine now! Look, I’m fine!”
Herietta said as she waved her legs. Janice frowned.
“Princess, I know I’ve already told you, but you don’t have to be so polite to me. His Majesty’s daughter, the princess, speaks respectfully to a mere maid. If other people hears this, they will be horrified.”
“Ah, sorry… No, forgive me.”
“And to show off your legs in this way is not suitable for the dignity of the royal family. Please don’t do anything that would diminish the prestige of the Brimdel family.”
“That, yes… I understand.”
Herietta looked at Janice’s eyes and answered cautiously. She had a polite personality. Herietta on the other hand, had a free-spirited personality and was not compatible with her from head to toe, but she had no other options.
‘Maybe this is for the better. If someone like Janice stays by my side, I might be able to avoid making a big mistake in the future…’
Herietta gulped as she tried to think positively. She smiled awkwardly at Janice, then slowly turned her gaze back to the window. As the sun went down, it gradually got dark outside.
‘They must be very worried.’
Herrietta sighed as she remembered the Mackenzies in Philioche. She left a vague letter saying that she was looking for Lilian in Lavant, but it would soon be revealed to her that it was a lie, not a fact.
‘If possible, you should not try to find me.’
Will she be able to meet them again someday? Will there ever come a day when she will return to her homeland, the old Philioche? She couldn’t be sure of anything right now, and her situation was so pitiful that it was almost funny.
‘Has Edwin arrived safely in Bangola by now?’
Eventually, Herietta remembered Edwin, who had gone to Bangola to do her a favor.
‘If he returns to Philioche, he will be very surprised. He might be sad. Or maybe he’ll be upset that I didn’t tell the truth to the end…’
Edwin looking at her with eyes full of anger and disappointment. Even though it was just an illusion drawn by her imagination, his face came to life as if it were right in front of her.
‘Why did you do that, Miss Herietta? Why?’
The man who looked at her with infinite tenderness and gentleness was nowhere to be found. There was only a man, trembling at the realization that he had been betrayed by someone he trusted. Herietta shut her eyes tightly.
‘Edwin. I didn’t want to leave you behind.’
Herietta made excuses for the one who could no longer hear her voice.
‘But how could I do that? I will live as another man’s woman in the future… I ask you to keep an eye on me, but how, how can I tell you…’
Herietta leaned her head against the window. Tears welled up as gloom bloomed in her heart.
‘If possible, I want to be with you forever.’
It was a feeling she had never been able to convey to that person. It became a handful of breath and flew away.
* * *
The border between Brimdel and Velicia. The two countries have maintained friendly relations for a long time. For that reason, there was only a vague line drawn on the border, and there was no wall separating the two countries or the troops guarding the border.
Herietta stood behind the border. It was weird. According to the plan, the Velicians who were coming to meet Herietta had to meet her here. They had already made an appointment to meet at the eastern border and hand over Herietta to Velicia.
However, no matter how wide her eyes were opened, she could not see a single soul, let alone a Velician, around. A gentle autumn wind blew across the open border area.
“Is the time wrong? We arrived earlier than the promised time.”
Janice asked the man who served as the guide of the group. Then he shook his head.
“It cannot be. I checked the date several times before departure, and I don’t know how many times I checked the time all the way.”
“Then why can’t we see the faces of those who should be here?”
Janice frowned and asked.
“Obviously something must be wrong. Otherwise, there is no way that the other side will not show up without a message.”
“What if Velicia changed their minds about the national marriage… ?”
The guide, who had been secretly revealing his suspicions, immediately answered and bit his mouth. Because Janice was looking at him with her ice cold eyes.
“No matter how small it is compared to them, Brimdel is a solid country, and this is a solemn promise made between the two countries. Do you think the Velicians are foolish enough to change things so important without consulting us?”
“I, I guess I made a mistake. I, I don’t know anything, please…”
The guide staggered and begged for forgiveness. Despite her small stature, the energy emanating from Janice was enormous. If he makes one more mistake, I’ll show him something really bad, Janice’s eyes threateningly gleamed.
“Miss Janice.”
A middle-aged knight approached them. He was the person who, at Shawn’s recommendation, took command as the guards on this journey.
“I don’t know what happened, but it’s getting dark, and we can’t stay here like this all the time. We’ll take a look at the situation later, but I think it’s better to keep moving forward first.”
“Keep moving forward? Do you mean to cross the border?”
“That’s right. After all, the princess is heading to the capital of Velicia, isn’t she?”
The knight frowned and said.
“If something is wrong with Velicia which caused the delay… Then we have to move. Don’t you think so?”
“I don’t know. However, I don’t think it’s a very good idea to cross the border without checking.”
Janice shook her head and discouraged it.
“I think it would be better to wait for them here as promised.”
“No. Are you saying we should wait until they arrive?”
The knight asked in a slightly nervous tone.
“Don’t tell me, Miss Janice, you… You don’t want the princess to camp here, do you?”
“…”
Janice bit her lower lip. Looking around, it was a barren land with only stone fields. Would she dare to serve the royal blood in a place like this? Instinct was telling her to follow her first intuition, but she couldn’t readily express it.
=========================================================================================================================
