TOPWL 257

It felt like a dream. Yudit lifted his head and looked up at his face. Khalid’s gaunt face looked pitiful. As he stroked his dry cheek, Yudit asked belatedly.

“How did you know to come here?”

“I had someone watch the candy shop. I figured if you came, you’d head that way.”

It didn’t seem like that was the only place he’d posted someone, but Yudit decided to let it go. Yudit lightly punched Khalid’s chest and said in a pouty voice.

“Do you have any idea how scared I was when I got word you’d disappeared?”

“I’m sorry. There were people I had to save.”

“People you had to save?”

Yudit asked with a surprised expressio.

“There was a chance to save the emperor, so I hesitated a bit. But I figured if I didn’t, I’d hear complaints for the rest of my life.”

“……?”

“Come in.”

At Khalid’s command, the door opened. Two hooded men entered, followed by Bagon. Yudit looked up at them. They removed their hoods.

“This can’t be…”

“Long time no see, Yuli.”

Slightly long black hair, a burn scar on the left cheek, a long scar running from the eyebrow to the hairline. Red eyes. Slanted eyes and distinct features. Eden and Viego, whom he had been told were dead, stood before Yudit.

Yudit covered his mouth. Tears fell out despite his efforts to hold them back. They were tears of joy. Yudit threw his arms around them.

“You were alive. You were alive…!”

“Sorry we couldn’t contact you. There were circumstances.”

“No. It’s enough that you’re alive. Really, that’s enough.”

Yudit shook his head. His face was drenched in tears. Khalid gently wiped his wet face with a handkerchief. Seeing Yudit calm down a little, Bagon held up the plentiful food he had brought and said.

“Let’s talk over a meal first.”

* * *

“It was always meant to sink?”

“Yes. If it had just returned as is, we would have died.”

“And Khalid knew that.”

Khalid replied defensively at Yudit’s cold voice.

“I thought it might actually have sunj because it was in a different spot than where it was supposed to go missing. When I saw you again, you looked fine.”

“But you could have at least given me a hint. Think of how much I agonized over it then…”

Eden, who had been picking at a greasy turkey leg beside them, swallowed the meat with a gulp of beer and said.

“It wasn’t His Grace’s fault. Things didn’t go according to plan and they made the first move. Because we’d done a decent job repairing it early on, the ship didn’t sink as quickly as expected, so they tried to puncture our vessel. That’s why we chose to sink it first instead. We sank the ship as far away from the empress’s side as possible at night, then took the spare boat to the prepared ship. I was worried their people might come close, but fortunately they didn’t, they were probably afraid of getting caught in the whirlpool as the ship sank.”

“That’s not all.”

Viego nudged Eden. The latter chuckled and continued.

“Ah, of course. Over several days, we also looted most of the items from the empress’s side’s ship. It’s a shame I didn’t get to see the expressions on their faces when they opened the boxes.”

“You looted the empress’s belongings?”

“Yes. They treated us like absolute slaves. So we were waiting for our chance. They forced notorious back-alley pickpockets onto the ship, so this was bound to happen.”

Eden shrugged. Yudit stifled a laugh and asked.

“No one got hurt, right?”

“Not a single one. Thanks to that, we bought weapons and men with the goods and money we brought back. Just as Your Excellency ordered.”

Eden praised Khalid in his characteristic smooth voice. They hadn’t had much contact before, so it was confusing how they’d become so close in such a short time.

“Do you know how many soldiers we brought back? Take a guess.”

Eden said confidently.

“Hmm… Three thousand?”

“Ten times that.”

“…Thirty thousand?”

“Yes.”

Yudit’s breath hitched. Ten thousand had seemed like a lot, but thirty thousand? There was a reason Eden looked so confident.

“We were training daily on the island when word came of trouble in the capital. We figured it was time to head out. But on the way up to the capital, we ran into the empress’s army and fought one battle. They were in disarray after losing too many leaders, and that’s when His Excellency made his dramatic entrance.”

Eden said, his eyes sparkled as he looked at Khalid. Yudit had wondered how he’d tamed Eden, who’d lived as freely as a wild cat, but it seemed he’d earned his respect by saving his life twice.

“So, Khalid, that’s why you disappeared in the middle? To save the people of Lirut and the soldiers…?”

“Yes. It happened so suddenly I couldn’t notify anyone.”

“And I didn’t even know…”

Now everything finally made sense. It felt a bit hollow, but Khalid was safe, and both Eden and Viego were alive, there was nothing more to wish for.

“When you went near the imperial palace, what was the emperor’s situation like?”

“It wasn’t as bad as I’d feared. He seemed under constant pressure, but his fury was so immense he didn’t seem likely to surrender easily. Plus, directly confronting the emperor would give his forces a reason to counterattack, so the empress’s forces were holding back too. But reinforcements are arriving, so they’ll likely try something more forceful soon.”

It wasn’t greatly different from what Yudit had anticipated.

“I have a way to save the emperor.”

“You have a way?”

Khalid looked at Yudit incredulously. He nodded and spoke.

“I’ve heard some information from a reliable source. There’s about a 70% chance we could slip the emperor out amidst the chaos. But we need chaos. A huge disturbance that distracts everyone.”

Yudit explained his plan in a low voice. After hearing his explanation, Khalid said confidently.

“Leave the chaos to me.”

* * *

In the room where everyone except Khalid had withdrawn, the massage was in full swing. Khalid gently kneaded Yudit’s swollen calf and said in a frustrated tone.

“You should be resting, yet I’m only causing you hardship.”

“This is the path I chose. And strictly speaking, I’m the one causing you hardship.”

“No other pregnant omega in their final month goes through as much as you do.”

“You’re right. I feel really bad about it, especially towards Ru.”

“You’re trying your best to show him a peaceful country. You don’t need to feel sorry.”

“Hmm… but I feel like I’m putting him through too much… Ah.”

The pressure on his calf felt good. It felt like all the knotted muscles were releasing.

“Would it have been better if you were someone who could be replaced?”

“Someone who could be replaced?”

“Yes. Like a merchant or… a servant. Our prince is irreplaceable, so he’s just suffering all the way to the end.”

Yudit briefly imagined himself as Khalid’s attendant and giggled.

“Would Khalid have liked me even if I were his attendant?”

“Of course. I would have loved you even if you were a puppy or a hedgehog.”

“A hedgehog might have been a bit troublesome.”

“Touching you would have made me come back to my senses every time.”

Yudit giggled at Khalid’s joke.

“Come to think of it, doing nothing visit our sitewould’ve been better. I could’ve kept you in my bedroom every day, feeding you only sweet things to make you plump.”

“You want to raise me?”

“No. I want to let you rest in a safe place, carefully selecting only the very best things to give you.”

Is that so different from raising me? Yudit tilted his head.

“But a life spent only doing that seems a bit boring.”

“It might be. But I’d like you to enjoy it sometimes. I want to spend every vacation like that, just lazing around with you.”

“Tell me more.”

“We’ll go to an island. A mild southern island would be nice. We’ll lounge around in a soft bed for days until we get bored, then head to the beach. I’ll cover you in warm sand while I play with Rudbeckia. I’ll stroke your hair as you sleep under the sand, and if you say you’re thirsty, I’ll give you a cool drink. We’ll watch the sunset together, then go home. That evening, I’ll prepare dinner. I’ll choose only your favorite foods and Rudbeckia’s favorite foods. On rainy days, I’ll play chess with you, or we’ll pick instruments and play together. Anything would be fine as long as I could be with you.”