Carrier Falcon Princess

Chapter 46

Translator: Kimmy

2 years ago. 

After the coming-of-age ball of the 8th princess, there are a few more things he found out about the 8th princess.

The elders of Roheneim considered the 8th princess a threat to the 1st and 2nd princess. 

The reason they considered a royal heir like her with no background or power was because she was next in line if the 1st princess and 2nd princess are dead. 

Unlike the 1st and 2nd princesses who are in active connection to Lopecce and Roheneim, the 8th princess had no connections.

And that bothered them. 

If she was with some other group of influence, they would have turned their backs on her and would have gotten rid of her. 

Or if she reached out to either of them, they would have helped her with pleasure. In return for her life, they could use her as a tool to keep the balance in the political power of the 1st and 2nd princesses. 

But the 8th princess remained still. And that made everybody uneasy.

In the political world where if one isn’t an ally, they were an enemy, not being on anyone’s side meant one was everyone’s enemy. 

In simpler words, everyone wanted to get rid of the 8th princess. And among them was Valhayle’s Roheneim.

Valhayle didn’t want or intended to harm the 8th princess.

In fact, he wanted to protect her since she was the royal heir. Especially with her unstable status. 

He was so bothered by her unstableness that he even checked her guarding. 

If he, the only successor of Lumares, wanted to protect someone, he could.

But he ended up not harming the princess and not protecting the princess.

It was clear that the 1st princess Linbessy would succeed the throne and the 2nd princess was on the 1st princess’s side and the 8th princess was powerless so they were no longer a threat.

In the resulting political peace, Valhayle spent 10 years protecting the barriers. 

He was involved in politics but he never actively did anything. He had no reason to. Since Roheneim’s political stance was set. 

[Wed the 2nd princess to support the 1st princess.]

That’s why Roheneim betrothed the 2nd princess Demiera to Roheneim’s leading family Lumares’s son, Valhayle. 

If he tried to protect a specific royal heir, the 8th princess,  it would be too politically upsetting.

It could even seem like Roheneim supported someone else since he had the greatest influence on Roheneim. One third of the noble population would follow his decision.

So it was a very serious issue.

It could even be a threat to the 8th princess. And on top of that, the 8th princess did not even want his protection. 

If the supporters of the 1st and 2nd princesses wanted the 8th princess’s death, would he have followed? 

Most likely not. He would instead be against it.

He couldn’t have protected her but perhaps he prevented her from getting harmed. Her death was out of his range of authority anyway. 

Minimizing deaths that are destined to happen. That was his job. 

And deaths caused by war and politics were not his responsibility.

So now he realizes.

Whether far away or near, his existence was a threat to the 8th princess. 

He felt a sudden surge of emotions. The face of the trembling princess in tears flashed in his mind.

He rolled a fist and rushed out of the princess’s tent.

The clear autumn sky at dusk.

The setting moon set long shadows on his steps. 

Just like how he felt running to the captured princess on that full moon’s night, he walked towards his tent. 

*･ﾟ:༻✦༺･ﾟ:*

Valhayle arrived near his tent.

He sent away most of the guards to have a serious talk with the princess so it was quiet.

The sky was still dark but it was bright enough to guide oneself without a torch.

He stomped towards his tent and frowned.

“…..”

The sentry was not there. He posted a sentry here while he went to the princess’ tent. 

Valhayle looked at the awfully silent surroundings and felt an ominous feeling.

Valhayle hurriedly rushed into the tent, thinking the sentry could have entered his tent where the princess stayed unprotected. 

“……!”

The princess wasn’t there.

‘What the…?’

Valhayle searched the entire tent.

He only left for about 15 minutes but she disappeared. There was only a mere warmth on the bed where the princess slept but she was nowhere to be found. Valhayle called the advance troop in haste. 

The first suspect that came to mind was the sentry. 

He ordered the advance troop to search.

“Find Her Majesty and the 3rd shift sentry.”

Valhayle himself started searching for the princess. From the princess’s tent to the regular soldiers’ tent.

‘She’s not here.’

He searched the entire camp and could not find a sign of the princess. He also couldn’t find her whereabouts from the sentry who returned lately.

His heart started pacing.

His mind was filled with all the bad things that could happen to the princess.

Where his eyes couldn’t reach her. 

At the moment where he couldn’t protect her.

He felt a horrible feeling running through his veins. His head turned, making his blood boil.

He imprisoned all the shift sentries including the one in blame and left the camp with the advance troop. 

If she wasn’t in the camp, she must be outside it.

Considering there was no sign of intrusion in his tent and one of his chief commander’s sigil was gone. 

The guard of the camp’s entrance reported that a maiden had left the camp earlier so the princess must have walked out on her own.

Valhayle clenched his fist.

“…..”

The princess ran away from him once again. Considered him an enemy and left his range.

Rage and shame boiled inside of him.

He shouldn’t have pressured the princess last night saying she was giving illogical excuses.

He shouldn’t have left the princess alone in his tent. 

He shouldn’t have dismissed the guards and he shouldn’t have posted only one sentry.

No, if he had accepted the princess’s truth a little faster in the first place…

He could have prevented the princess from living solely on her own abilities again.

Valhayle clenched his jaw.

‘I must find her.’

He didn’t know why the princess left but he had to find her regardless. He will think of the rest after he brings her back.

Valhayle spoke to the advance troop bitterly.

“You must find her.”

His voice was violent.

The rage Valhayle was fuming was enough to intimidate the advance troop. 

They were directly under Valhayle but they have never seen him like this.

Valhayle glared up ahead.

There was only one place the princess could have gone to.

‘The town.’

Valhayle raced towards the town on his horse.

*･ﾟ:༻✦༺･ﾟ:*

It was still dusk.

Zelle left the Roheneim camp and paced. She tried to go faster but she kept getting slower.

The recklessness of when she escaped was wearing off and all sorts of thoughts filled her mind.

She escaped thinking if she would be locked up anyway she would at least attain one bit of information but…

It was dusk. The whole world seemed asleep.

Standing alone, Zelle felt terribly lonely.

Ever since she became a bird, she was always with someone so it’s been a long time since she had felt this way. Zelle stopped and looked behind.

“……”

The path was covered in a thin layer of fog. Chills ran over her along with loneliness.

Zelle started shaking and pulled the brown cloth tighter.

No one was on her side in this world. The fact that no one would trust her in this world pierced her heart.

She told the truth and proved it in the best way she could but…

If Valhayle, the only witness, could not believe that, then it was all in vain.

Zelle didn’t know what more she could say to get out of this situation. 

Since she had already told him that she was a bird. 

 But at the moment, she couldn’t bear to see the untrusting look on Valhayle’s face. 

She recalled her first escape as a bird after scratching the soldier in charge of messenger birds. 

She then came back and dashed towards Valhayle’s hands only to be held by him upside down. Zelle recalled those moments and chuckled.

‘Yeah, human and bird.’

Not only for Valhayle but for anyone, it must be hard to relate a bird and a princess.

Even she herself found it unbelievable. 

So asking Valhayle to believe that was irrational even though the only person she wished to believe that was Valhayle. 

The bond she had with Valhayle as a bird pained her. Zelle chewed on her lips and shook her head.

‘That doesn’t exist anymore. It’s gone.’

If I was in his shoes, I wouldn’t have believed it either.

She thought but soon felt sore on her chest so she held the chief commander’s sigil tightly.

She sped up again. She had to hurry if she wanted to return before daybreak. 

Even though no one was on her side in this world, she was aware of her responsibility as a royal heir.

If the only living royal heir escaped, it could cause great chaos in the military so she had to return. She will return.

The only place Zelle could ever return to was the Roheneim camp too, anyway.