IWTQYG CH 1

Chapter 1

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For You

Today was different from the other days that were just a repetition of long waits.

With her sapphire-blue eyes full of excitement, Delcia was waiting for her beloved, Edwin. The servants were also busy preparing to welcome him.

Finally, the moment had come.

Today was the day Edwin returned from the western frontier, where he had gone to fight the war against the Kingdom of Polta. After returning safely from the battlefield, her wedding with Edwin was to be scheduled a week later. She was confident that she would be the happiest bride in the world and had no doubt that she would be.

Delcia had to make a lot of preparations from the moment she woke up. The maids put extra effort dressing her up, since it was a very important day to reunite with Edwin, who had been away for more than three months.

Delcia said that she had been doing well while Edwin was away, and although she had stayed up at night worrying about him, she didn’t skip any meals. She wanted to show that she had been keeping all the things Edwin always reminded her to do.

With her ivory-coloured hair braided into a single plait hanging down her back, Delcia paced around her bedroom with a worried expression.

“Are you sure I look okay?”

“Yes, of course. You look incredibly beautiful.”

“Even if you're just flattering me, thank you Ella.”

Delcia smiled brightly at the sight of her maid, Ella who nodded vigorously and answered. But no matter how much she dressed up and hear such compliments, she couldn't completely erase the worry that she might still be lacking.

According to his father's letter, Edwin would not arrive in the capital from the battlefield until this evening. It was still early lunchtime, but Delcia could hardly contain her excitement.

“When Edwin gets back, I’ll make sure to hug him and tell him he did well. And if I leave my brother out, he’ll be hurt, so I should hug him too.”

“That’s a great idea, my lady. The Duke of Adelio and the young master will surely be pleased!”

“Really? I'm suddenly worried. It's been a while since we last met, what if Edwin feels awkward seeing me again? He’s always been so shy since we were young…”

“Well...the only person who looks at Duke Adelio that way is only you, my lady.” 

Ella teased with a chuckle.

About three months had passed since Edwin left for the border, so Delcia couldn't help but worry. She hadn't seen the shy Edwin for three months, and she was worried that he might be awkward seeing her after such a long time.

Of course, Ella and the others didn't think so. It’s not that the duke is shy, but he simply kept a clear distance from everyone except Delcia, treating others politely but indifferently.

“Ah, my lady!”

Just then, the mansion's door swung open and a frantic, desperate voice echoed loudly. It was loud enough that the diligent servants moving around the mansion were startled. At the sound, Delcia, who was just leaving her bedroom and heading downstairs, stopped in her tracks.

The owner of the urgent voice was Lento, who often acted as the errand boy of the mansion.

“Ah, my lady... huff, huff.”

Gripping the handrail, Delcia looked at Lento with wide eyes. As their eyes met, Lento's knees buckled, and he collapsed. Surprised, Delcia hurried over to him. Lento lifted his head and with trembling hands, handed her a piece of paper.

Taking the blood-stained paper, she asked anxiously.

“Lento, are you okay?”

“Huff, an urgent message came for you…my lady”

“Hey, Lento. Can you stop stuttering and speak properly?”

“It's alright, Ella. Lento must be tired from rushing here. Right, Lento?”

Delcia gently comforted Lento and slowly unfolded the paper in her hand. When she fully unfolded the blood-stained paper, the writing was hastily scribbled. The handwriting was a complete mess, blending in with the blood and making it impossible to read at first glance.

Delcia narrowed her eyes and tried to read the writing on the paper, and her mouth fell open. Soon, her pupils began to shake.

“......What… what does this mean?”

Delcia repeated her question as she couldn't believe the contents written on the paper. Her gaze alternated between Lento's face and the writing on the paper. An unbearable reality, it was something she thought would never happen, an absurd reality, was opening its jaws right in front of her.

Her hand holding the paper trembled violently.

“……Ah.”

A short sob escaped from Delcia's teeth.

“Lento…….”

Delcia suddenly called his name, her face turned pale.

“But we've already performed the custom of praying for his safe return.”

In the Petia Empire, there was a tradition that was practiced by both nobles and commoners alike. To pray for the safe return of a soldier who were deployed for battle, one would write a letter using red ink and burn it. Inside the letter, it contains the name of the soldier and the phrase that they had died in battle.

It was a long-standing tradition that had been practiced since ancient times to avoid actually receiving a blood-stained letter. Both the Ferdo Count family, which had sent Delcia's brother Arnold, and the Adelio Duke family, which had sent Edwin, had already performed this tradition.

“Lento.”

“My lady.......wh-what should we do?”

Lento looked at Delcia with a tearful face.

“It’s not…true, right?”

“M-my lady.”

“Edwin couldn’t have.......Lento, it’s not true, right?”

Delcia just wanted to hear that it wasn't true. That this was just a prank to ease her tension. S he wanted nothing more but to hear some light-hearted words.

But contrary to her wishes, Lento shook his small head from side to side. The light from her sapphire eyes suddenly dimmed, barely holding herself up, she finally staggered.

“My Lady!”

Ella hurriedly grabbed her mistress’s arm to support her and carried her back to the bedroom.

Delcia was wearing Edwin’s favourite purple dress, still holding the paper in her hand. Upon arriving in the bedroom with Ella's help, she sat on the edge of the bed, taking slow, deep breaths.

Her heart was pounding wildly. It was like when she was young and ran a long-distance following Edwin, making it hard to breathe. Her chest felt so tight that she couldn’t even tell if she was breathing properly.

Delcia who was barely holding on while trembling, let out a sob.

“Hic...hic.”

“……My lady.”

Even Ella, who hadn't read the contents of the paper, could only guess from her anguish. Unsure of how to comfort her mistress, Ella opened her arms and hugged her.

“Oh, what should I do? Ah... hic. Ella, what should I do?

“Ah, my lady...”

Her mistress was crying desperately. As if she was embracing the misfortune of the entire world.

Ella hoped she was wrong, that her mistress would scold her for her improper assumptions and tell her to stop thinking such terrible thoughts. But Ella has no choice but to accept that her guess was right.

“E-Edwin. Edwin... hic, hic.”

Delcia's lips trembled as she forced the words out. Her beloved, the man to whom she was willing to give her heart. The noble Duke Edwin Adelio had fallen in battle.

That was what was written on the urgent paper.

After a long battle and achieving victory on the way back, a dark magician thought to be dead appeared and attempted to unleash a wide range magic.

Before Edwin could counter attack, the dark magician swiftly unleashed a magic directing at Delcia's older brother, Arnold. And when he saw this, Edwin abandoned his attack and took the blow instead.

Delcia's whole body trembled as she recalled all of that once again. Delcia could guess what Edwin was thinking when he took the hit instead of her brother.

He must have thrown himself, thinking of me who would surely be sad. Thinking about the heart that would crumble at the fact of losing Arnold...

“E-Edwin. Edwin... hii, hiic.”

But Edwin failed to protect Delcia’s heart. With his death, her heart was left in ruins.

Edwin Adelio was dead. He died from dark magic, the opposite of his divine power. And his death was kept secret, known only to the household of Count of Ferdo and the Duke of Adelio.

The death of Duke Adelio, who wields the holy sword, would surely shake the Empire to its core. And so, the imperial family chose to shake only those two houses instead.

Delcia wept as she cried out Edwin’s name. Even when she dozed off briefly, she murmured his name in her sleep, only to wake again in tears and faint repeatedly.

It was chaos, utterly chaos. It was a hellish two days only for Delcia, the Count of Ferdo, and the Duke of Adelio.

“Hic, hic.”

Delcia had never experienced such excruciating sorrow that it made breathing impossible.

Before I could understand what grief is, my mother had closed her eyes and my beloved cat Ellie had died. Only after growing up did I come to know that this emotion is called grief. Now, I understand... that this heart-wrenching, painful, agonising feeling is what people call grief.

“Ah, ah... no. No! “

Delcia screamed as she clutched her head.

This is not real. This misery can't be my reality. It can't be. This is all a dream. All of it, all of it is just a dream.

Delcia wanted to think so.

But she couldn't. Because everything was real.

Chapter List

Chapter 2