WBWB | Chapter 53

“What is it?”

The maid, unable to speak, tugged at my hand.

“What’s wrong? I’m in the middle of a lesson.”

The maid shook her head.

“The royal palace! Someone from the palace is here and asking for you!”

At her words, I felt the blood drain from my face.

“Me? Why? For what reason?”

My first thought was that it might be someone sent by the Princess. I had been worried that she might retaliate against my family in Franc after returning to the capital.

“Just come!”

Urged by the maid, I excused myself from Lady Ana and followed her. At the entrance hall, a man dressed in the royal livery was indeed waiting.

“Are you Miss Jeanne de Toulouse?”

“Yes, I am,” I replied, my body stiffening.

“I bring a royal decree.”

“This decree grants you a full pardon, Miss Jeanne de Toulouse. Your sentence of exile is hereby lifted, effective immediately.”

The moment I understood the meaning of his words, my legs gave way, and I sank to the floor, uncaring of my appearance. I stared at the attendant in disbelief, and the young man nodded, confirming my ears hadn’t deceived me.

“You are free, Miss Toulouse.”

My indefinite exile had been suddenly lifted.

‘I can go home.’

I covered my mouth with my hands, but a sob escaped my lips, and I burst into tears, like a child.

“Please pack your belongings. His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince, has sent a carriage.”

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince? A carriage? For me? Why? I was bewildered, but my mind was numb, unable to process anything. The thought of returning to my family, to the place I longed for, consumed me. I was now free, no longer a criminal.

“Please get up, Miss.”

After a while, the maid helped me to my feet, and I went to the study, my face streaked with tears. Lady Ana, who had been waiting for me, looked at me with a puzzled expression.

“Have you been crying, Teacher?”

I sat down next to Lady Ana and briefly explained the situation. That I could finally go home. Lady Ana hugged me tightly when I told her I was leaving.

“This is good news, isn’t it, Teacher?”

Then, her voice filled with sadness and regret, she asked, “When are you leaving, Teacher?”

I told her the carriage was here, and I was leaving now. At my words, Lady Ana’s eyes widened, and the arms that she wrapped around me loosened.

“Right now? Teacher… will you be able to come back? Even if it’s later? You’ll come back to see me, won’t you?”

I nodded silently, but truthfully, I didn’t know. Could I return here? To this remote place? Alone? Without an escort or a carriage?

It seemed impossible. Seeing my expression, Lady Ana realized the answer to her question and burst into tears. Her tears triggered my own again. We both knew this was our last moment together, a sudden and unexpected parting.

“I’ll miss you so much, Teacher,” Lady Ana said through her tears.

Of course, I would miss her too. I had grown very fond of Lady Ana. I wouldn’t have been able to endure my life here without her. We held each other and cried for a long time.

As I left the study after our farewell, Madame Pauline was waiting for me.

“Miss Jeanne, congratulations! I heard you’ve been pardoned! I’ve lived in Skadi for most of my life, but this is the first time I’ve seen an exile pardoned.”

And then I was told that the Duke wished to speak with me privately. wiped my tear-stained face and followed Madame Pauline, wondering what expression I should wear when I saw him. This would be our last meeting.

‘I can’t hug him and cry like Ana. He wouldn’t want that.’

As I entered his office, the Duke turned from the window, where he had been looking out, and faced me. His face was expressionless, and unlike Lady Ana, I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

“The carriage has arrived. I just received the news.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“Congratulations.”

A moment of silence followed. I fidgeted with my clasped hands. This was the end, between him and me. Forever. This place, the exile I had longed to escape… strangely, the thought of leaving suddenly made me not want to leave.

‘Can’t I stay a little longer?’

I shook my head, dismissing the absurd thought.

“It will be a long journey. It’s good you have a carriage.”

He then said, “Have them tie Brulee to the back of the carriage and take her with you.”

His tone was indifferent, as if he had no intention of keeping me here.

‘Brulee.’

I hesitated for a moment, then shook my head again.

“No, thank you. Brulee would be better off here. There’s no stable where I live.”

I wanted to take Brulee with me, but I couldn’t provide for her. She would be much happier living here, in her homeland.

“Is that so? Then I’ll buy her back from you. I’ll tell Madame Pauline to prepare some food for your journey. You should go pack now.”

I bowed to him and left the room.

I felt… empty. What had I been expecting?

‘For him to tell me not to go? To ask me to stay a little longer?’

How ridiculous.

I packed my belongings, then hesitated, looking at the fur coat and winter clothes. Franc had a warm climate, and they would only be extra baggage.

‘Wouldn’t it be better to leave them here or give them to someone who needs them? It would lighten my load.’

Even as I thought that, I packed the bulky items into my trunk.

‘It might be cold on the journey. I can use the coat as a blanket.’

Having packed everything, I stepped outside, feeling a part of my heart hollowed out.

‘Should I really go?’

The fleeting thought made me shake my head again. He hadn’t tried to stop me. It wouldn’t make sense to stay.

‘Isn’t this the pardon I’ve been longing for?’

Since the day I arrived, I had prayed every night to be freed from this place and return to my family in Franc. But now, as I placed my trunk in the care of the coachman and climbed into the carriage drawn by four horses, I felt not joy, but a strange sense of… emptiness.

‘This is the end.’

Just as the beginning had been sudden, so was the end.

* * *

A wave of drowsiness washed over me inside the rattling carriage. It was strange, since I had slept well last night.

I dozed off, my head bumping against the carriage walls repeatedly, as if I had never slept properly before. I would briefly open my eyes whenever the carriage stopped, then doze off again.

As the carriage entered the capital, the attendant, who had been sitting silently across from me, finally spoke.

“Shall I take you home?”

His question bewildered me. I suddenly remembered the questions I had wanted to ask him.

“But why did His Royal Highness the Crown Prince send a carriage for me? And why was I pardoned? Has my name been cleared?”

“It’s a long story.”

The young man in the royal livery began his explanation.

“First of all, the reason you were pardoned is because of the plague.”

“The plague?”

“Yes, there was a severe outbreak of plague at court recently. It resulted in many deaths within the royal family, and a large-scale pardon was issued to pray for His Majesty’s recovery and to commemorate those who lost their lives.”

My eyes widened.

The plague started with a simple fever and muscle aches, but after a few days, the entire body would be covered in red spots, and in the end, the victim would cough up blood and die. It was a terrifying infectious disease.

“His Majesty was the first to fall ill. Despite their best efforts, the disease spread rapidly through the court, claiming many lives. His Majesty thankfully survived, but…”

He hesitated.

“Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, along with his two brothers, have passed away.”

“…”

Deeply shocked by the news, I opened my mouth, but no words came out. Only the rattling of the carriage wheels filled the air.

“Due to this tragedy, only one heir remains to inherit the throne after His Majesty. Prince Mael, the son of Duchess Ventadour.”

Hearing his words, the tangled threads of my unanswered questions began to unravel in my mind.