TOPWL 260

Each newspaper covered the front page with a different tone. Some claimed Reginald was a true savior, others argued Yudit was by no means an evil man, and some even tried to remain neutral. Their way of expressing opinions while pretending to be objective was exactly like the noble style of speech. Yudit naturally read through the articles while considering the hidden meanings.

Nearly an hour passed by the time he finished every paper. Yudit, who had sorted the articles by their viewpoints, tilted his head as he looked at the names of the publishers that viewed him positively. For some reason, the names felt familiar.

“Where have I seen these before…”

Yudit racked his brain for a moment and eventually realized most of these companies had a connection to Khalid. He remembered seeing the list of newspapers Khalid owned back when he worked at the publishing house.

“He told me I shouldn’t worry about it…”

Yudit smiled even as he shook his head.

While most papers favored Reginald, over thirty percent either supported Yudit, stayed neutral, or leaned toward Yudit while pretending to be balanced. Since Khalid didn’t own every single paper, it meant someone out there was actually defending him.

The mere fact that people supported him gave him a sense of security, as if he wore an extra layer of armor. Yudit silently thanked his nameless supporters, then took a sip of juice and opened a magazine.

[Prince Yudit’s Secret Private Life]

“Pfft!”

He almost spat out the juice in his mouth. He looked once, twice, and a third time; it really was a column about him. Fortunately, it wasn’t anything lewd, but it discussed Yudit’s hobbies and preferences. However, it seemed they hadn’t done proper research because the content was entirely wrong. It claimed his hobby was making dolls and that he was good at embroidery. He couldn’t believe such lies. He would have preferred it if they mentioned foreign language conversation instead.

He wondered why they told such lies, but right next to it, he found “Reginald’s Secret Private Life” and even “Hiore’s Secret Private Life.” The claims that Reginald’s hobby was volunteer work and Hiore’s was carving carrots were so ridiculous that Yudit stopped thinking about it.

Yudit flipped through the magazine with a blank expression, tossed it aside, and picked up a book. It was the one he wanted to read most, but he’d put it off because he felt he should check the others first. He opened Rita’s book and saw the first line.

[With reverence and gratitude to the one who opened the door to a true life.]

He wondered if it was too arrogant to think “the one” was himself as he turned the page.

[When I took the carriage to go to him, my fingernails were already half worn down.]

A husband who left to start a life with a mistress, three children who did nothing but stare at her, a boss who told her to endure it because she shouldn’t bruise a man’s ego, and Rita herself, a woman who was powerless despite producing three masterpieces that would last a thousand years. To Rita, Yudit was the only one who gave her a chance to live, and she was grateful for him. She wrote the prose calmly and left out as much emotion as possible, yet Yudit could still feel her helplessness, despair, and her strong will to live.

The writing, which captured such a miserable situation, moved Yudit to tears several times. He’d intended to read just a bit before falling asleep, but this wasn’t that kind of book. In the end, it took two hours to finish the whole thing. Yudit blinked his dry eyes. It was worse because he’d cried a few times. Yudit thought about Rita. How could such a small body hold such immense genius? Yudit felt grateful he could live in the same era as Rita.

His body felt tired, but Rita’s book had cleared his mind, so Yudit picked up the next volumes. Naturally, it was Yvonne’s. Yvonne Lelac. Yudit ran his fingerprints over the author’s name before he opened the book.

***

Yudit woke up to a sensation like the ground was vibrating. He thought maybe the bed shook because he tossed and turned, but another vibration followed a sound like something huge exploding in the distance. Yudit quickly put on his slippers to see what was happening. As he started to head out, he made eye contact with Bagon, who was just opening the door.

“Your Highness, the noise woke you up.”

“The ground feels like it’s shaking… What’s going on?”

“That… it’s probably because of the Duke,” Bagon said with a troubled expression. When Yudit looked confused, Bagon couldn’t meet his eyes as he spoke. “The Duke said… he wanted to test the new weapon.”

“…?”

“As you know, the Northern Dukedom is a bit cold, but it has plenty of mineral resources. So, while we make farming tools… we mostly produce weapons. His Grace was once very serious about new weapon development…”

“So you’re saying this sound… is the sound of the imperial palace collapsing?”

“Yes…” Bagon said apologetically. Yudit was speechless.

“Why didn’t I know about this?”

“He told me to keep it a secret because a pregnant person might be shocked if they knew. I’m sorry.”

Yudit sighed at Bagon’s answer and ran a hand through his hair. He knew a disturbance was necessary, but he didn’t expect a commotion so large that he could feel the vibration all the way here.

“However, he probably doesn’t intend to destroy everything… maybe.”

“I don’t care if he destroys it. But next time, I’d like you to tell me whether I’m pregnant or not. Of course, I’m not blaming you, Bagon.”

“Yes…”

Yudit imagined the ruined imperial palace for a moment. If an enemy did it, his heart would have ached, but since Khalid did it, he felt strangely fine. Perhaps it was because he’d wished for the palace to crumble when he was a child. Tthe palace held a few graves he wanted to protect, and Isiah was there too, but he felt relieved.

The imperial palace was the symbol of the empire, a sacred territory that had never been invaded in history. Since Khalid bombarded such a place, Yudit could imagine how panicked they must be right now. Yudit suppressed a laugh and asked Bagon a question.

“But how did he bring such a weapon?”

“Whenever he developed a weapon, he always kept one at the mansion.”

“Ah…”

Yudit nodded as if he finally understood. At the same time, it dawned on him that the full-scale battle had begun. The sound of bombardment continued in the distance. His palms were already sweaty.

“Waiting… is harder than I thought.”

When they went to war together, he never worried much about Khalid because the tension of being in danger himself occupied him. Now that he was in a comfortable and safe place, anxiety took over instead. Ru started to kick the stomach as if he sensed Yudit’s mood. Bagon watched worriedly as he saw the silhouette of the belly bulging repeatedly.

Two doctors and a midwife stayed in this safe house. One was the military doctor who had treated Yudit so far, while the other doctor and the midwife were employees Khalid prepared before Yudit even arrived. Both tools and people were ready, but he couldn’t help his anxiety since the situation outside was a mess.

“Um… would you like to use the prayer room?”

“The prayer room?”

“Yes. There’s a prayer room in the room at the very end. It’s already cleaned.”

“I’ll go. Thanks.”

Just as Bagon said, Yudit opened the door at the end of the hall and saw a small prayer room with a holy statue and a couple of chairs. Yudit sat on a chair and looked at the statue. It looked like a benevolent parent. Yudit looked up at the statue with a strange feeling.

Yudit used to pray to God every single day. He’d even immersed himself in other religions. Humans tend to lean on anything when life is hard and exhausting. However, Yudit gave up his faith after the princess’s death. He studied religion occasionally because he enjoyed the academic side, but he had no real faith. But habits are scary, and he naturally sought God again now that he was in a difficult situation.

Yudit clasped his hands and closed his eyes. He wondered what kind of prayer he should offer, but the words came out naturally when he closed his eyes.

“Thank you for letting me survive until now.”