[IYFILWATIP] Chapter 54

When Kirona hesitated, he lost his patience and shouted. Kirona frowned. Her other siblings had been carried or piggybacked by knights even after turning ten, but Kirona hadn’t relied on anyone to carry her since she was five and physically capable. Her mother’s words that a crown prince shouldn’t be spoiled had been drilled into Kirona.   

"What’s this? Are you finally treating me like a princess? I can cross this by myself. What do you think a princess is?"

  "It’s not that... How long have you been in the East?"  

"A year."  

"Then you need to get on. Unless you want to catch one of the endemic diseases here and end up bedridden or worse. Just touching the water could make you sick."  

"And you?"  

"Been here for over five years, so I’m immune to it."

  "It’s been that long. You’re practically an easterner now."   

Jade glanced back at her, then sighed again.  

"Yeah, it’s been five years since my family fell."  

"I didn’t mean it like that."   

Jade gestured again for Kirona to get on his back. Finally, Kirona complied. It felt ridiculous to stubbornly insist on her crown prince pride in such a situation. Besides, her mother had already abandoned her; Kirona wasn’t a crown prince anymore. 

"So what will you do if we get out of the forest? Are you really going to sell me off?"  

"We’ll see."   

Kirona, despite being an adult with a sword, must have weighed quite a bit, yet Jade showed no sign of struggle as he crossed the stream. Kirona remembered her conversation with Sonia and asked Jade. He had been in the East for five years, so he surely knew more about it than she did.   "There really aren’t any flowers here."

  "Do you really think Nadalin's flower exists?"

  "I mean any flowers. Even the weeds here don’t bloom. It’s strange."

  "If you want that flower so badly, send some knights. There are plenty of people willing to follow you. Isn’t that what being royalty is?"  

"That’s why I trust no one."   

Jade seemed to understand her meaning and didn’t respond. 

"Besides, no one would come to a place like this for someone else. They wouldn’t search as hard as I would. If I didn’t search myself, I knew I’d regret it forever."   "Are you really that unloved, being the first royal?"   

Kirona chuckled at how absurd it was to hear the word "love" come out of Jade’s mouth. Love, really. 

"Do you think love is that important?"  

"They make a big fuss about it in the capital, don’t they? Knights offering gauntlets, flowers, and all that. Swearing eternal love... Don’t you have even one knight like that?"  

"Nope, I’m not a popular princess. You have to show your face often to be popular, but I rarely leave the palace because I love it so much."

  "I don’t think that’s something a princess who made it all the way to the East should say... And your mother’s the emperor."  

"Love for one’s children is no different. It’s nothing special, at least not to my mother."   

Jade was silent for a long time, then finally spoke something unexpected. 

"You’re right, Your Highness. It really is nothing."  

"So we do have something in common? That doesn’t sound like something an Eclipse would say."

  "That doesn’t mean coming here alone was a wise choice..."  

"I hid my identity, so it’s fine."  

"Simpleminded and complex at the same time."   

Kirona pulled his hair hard, annoyed at the subtle insult. Arrogant jerk. 

"Sonia said flowers would bloom once the land is cleansed."  

But Jade didn’t flinch and laughed it off.  

"Flowers will bloom if the land is cleansed. But until then, nothing will bloom in this eastern land. No matter what kind of flower it is, nothing can grow in this black soil."   

It felt like he was speaking directly to her, telling her to give up and go back because she wouldn’t find anything. His tone was irritatingly smug. Kirona bit his ear, as hard as she could without actually hurting him.  

"This crazy..."

  "Don’t get cocky, Jade Eclipse."   

Jade screamed but couldn’t finish his curse. He glared at Kirona for a moment but then sighed and lowered his eyes. Of course, he didn’t throw her off his back. 

"In noble families, they teach you to be graceful, but it seems the imperial palace doesn’t."  

He muttered through clenched teeth.  

"The divine descendants don’t need to worry about that. The world is our servant."   

Kirona replied gracefully. It was satisfying to see the once-arrogant mercenary now unable to defy her. Being a princess had its perks, after all. Kirona smirked as she rode on his back. 

The sun was setting. But before night fell and they reached the northern border, they had to stop. Kirona saw something in front of a tree and got off Jade’s back.