Answer Me, Please

0. Prologue

It was an endless stretch of flat land. Purple wildflowers in full bloom in a sunny field.

There was a carriage running along the narrow winding road above it. Moments later, the window swung wide open and a woman poked her head out. A low admiration soon flowed from the woman who was looking at the blue sky, dense forests, and flowing river streams.

The beautiful scenery and unfamiliar scents of a midsummer meadow. These were all the strange things she — who had always lived in a limited place until now — experienced for the first time.

“Miss Rosetta, you’re going to get a bug in your mouth.”

Hearing her words, she burst into laughter. Rosetta looked back at her as she ran her bright golden hair behind her ears. Her eyes, resembling summer, gleamed brightly.

“Come on, nanny, get some fresh air too. Then your motion sickness will go away.”

“Gosh, motion sickness or whatever, I feel like I’m going to die right now.”

The nanny’s face was already pale. It was because of severe motion sickness throughout the trip. Rosetta looked at the nanny, who was almost half lying in the chair, with a sad expression.

“That’s why I told you not to follow me. Traveling at your age would be hard.”

“It’s not like that. By the way, why did you suddenly change the destination?”

“Because there is no sea there. I made it clear from the beginning that I wanted to see the sea.”

“But does it make sense to suddenly come to this barbarian land?”

“What do you mean barbarian land? The Basque country is under the kingdom now. Why are you still saying that?”

“Still, naturally, this is a land of barbarians. Blood doesn’t lie.”

The nanny snorted harshly. When Rosetta was about to speak again, the nanny opened her mouth first.

She said, “Anyway, don’t even think about leaving this old woman. Even if I die during the trip, I will follow you to the end.”

“Don’t keep saying that you’re going to die in front of me. Allen!”

At Rosetta’s call, the carriage slowed down. One of the men on horseback approached the window.

“Yes! Is there anything you want me to do, Princ–no, Miss Rosetta?”

“If you have any other medicine for motion sickness, would you give it to me? I need it for my nanny.”

Allen let out a sigh as he looked at the dying nanny through the window.

“I have already done everything I can. Even if my grandfather is here, there’s nothing he can do now.”

Allen’s grandfather is a famous doctor in the kingdom. Allen turned down his grandfather’s offer to study medicine and took his place, and instead, he chose another profession, but he still knows how to do basic medicine.

“Allen, you quack! After taking the medicine you gave me, my stomach got worse!”

But the nanny swung her fists and scolded Allen harshly. The nanny, whose condition worsened after taking the motion sickness medicine Allen gave her, trusted Allen perfectly as a quack.

Allen smiled and teased the nanny. “Nanny, I told you to eat before you get into the carriage, didn’t I? This all happened because you didn’t listen to what I said. Now, make your choice. Get out of the carriage, or listen to me from now on.”

“You spoiled brat! What did you just say?!”

“Oh, I feel sad when you say that. Do you know how much I like you, nanny? So, from now on, will you listen to me?”

Before the nanny exploded any further, Rosetta quickly cut off the conversation.

“I would rather take a break for a while. Allen, see if there’s a place to rest around here.”

Allen quickly looked around. All around was just a vast field, but in the distance, he could see a lake and trees to hide from the sun.

“There is a lake in front. Then let’s rest there for a while.”

***

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The two sat down by the lake to rest while the men checked the carriage and drew water. The lake surrounded by greenery was clear enough to see everything inside. Above the water’s surface, the blue sky and flowing white clouds are reflected like a painting.

Drinking cold water from there and resting, the nanny’s complexion became much better than before. When Rosetta took off her hat and tried to fan her nanny’s face, she stopped her in a hurry.

“Don’t do that. I am fine.”

“Do you think you can live even for a while?”

“Yes, I do really think I will live now. I knew traveling would be tough at my age but I really didn’t expect it to be this much.”

“It’s going to be hard. Did you follow me because you thought I might run away because I didn’t want to get married?”

At Rosetta’s teasing question, the nanny corrected her sitting posture and asked back, “Don’t tell me you still don’t want to get married?”

“No way. I told you I’d get married as soon as I got back from this trip.”

“Sir Issel is a really nice person. He will surely love and cherish you for the rest of his life.”

“Yeah, yeah, you know him so well.”

The nanny raised her eyebrows at Rosetta’s rude answer.

“What’s wrong with you? So is this trip. Why did you insist on a trip that you didn’t have to go on if you were going to stay quiet and get married?”

Rosetta let out a small sigh. She had expected to be scolded like this, so she planned to travel without her nanny. But eventually, she followed her, it was clear this trip would be full of her scolding.

“Why can’t I? No one said anything wherever my sister and brother went.”

“Because I am worried, Miss Rosetta. You have a weak body since you were young.”

“I’m not sick anymore. I’m healthy now.”

“What do you mean? You are still fragile and weak in my eyes.”

The nanny looked at Rosetta’s slender arms, which are less than half her own, and added, “Children, no matter how big they grow, are still children in the eyes of their parents. Especially, the youngest will be the youngest forever.”

Rosetta knew exactly what her words meant. Her family would always treat her like a child. Their overprotectiveness, which had been severe since childhood, continued even after she became an adult.

“You don’t have to do anything. We will do everything for you.”

It was one of the most heard words of Rosetta’s life. And Rosetta knew why she was being treated that way.

Unlike her capable older sister and older brother, Rosetta is not good at anything. She is also mediocre in intelligence, and her physical abilities tend to be inferior to those of her peers.

On the other hand, her older sister has special abilities and an excellent brain, and her older brother is in first place in the kingdom in terms of martial arts. They are Rosetta’s great pride and at the same time confirmed her incompetence.

‘If I had been good at something, I would have been able to take on important tasks like my older sister and older brother instead of getting married.’

While Rosetta’s head was filled with such complex thoughts, her nanny’s nagging continued.

“By the way, I feel sorry for Sir Issel. He couldn’t stop the bride from going on a long trip. If I were him, I would have tied you up so you couldn’t even leave your room.”

“Hey, if you do that, no matter how hard you try, you will never be safe, right? My mother and father, as well as my sister and brother, will never stand still.”

Rosetta snorted lightly, and her nanny nodded her head in sympathy. Her nanny knew better than anyone that Rosetta’s great and terrifying family were not the ones who would let their precious daughter–and youngest sister suffer.

“You are right. They are able to do so. If they kill Sir Issel…… Anyway, Miss Rosetta, as soon as this trip is over, you will be marrying Sir Issel. I mean, what are you worried about? It’s Issel, not any other man. You see, as soon as the news that he was going to marry you spread, there were rumors that noble girls from all over the country were crying.”

“If you’re that happy, why don’t you marry him instead of me?”

“Oh ho ho, I’d love to if I could.” The nanny smiled shyly. “There is no husband in the world like Sir Issel. Apart from his sweet and caring personality, his good looks are also amazing. If Sir Issel says yes, I will marry him right away. Of course!”

By then, Rosetta had no choice but to raise both hands.

Rosetta looked around. While admiring the scenery, and ignoring her nanny’s continuing chatter, she saw something approaching from afar.

“Miss Rosetta, are you listening to me—”

“Nanny, what’s that?”

The nanny turned in the direction Rosetta was pointing.

“Someone’s riding a horse.”

As her nanny said, it was someone riding a horse. The horseman was heading this way.

“Do you think he is coming towards us?”

“I think so.”

They both looked at the horseman. As he got closer, the identity of the stranger became clear. It’s a woman on a horse. She’s also riding a horse bareback.

She is now waving her arm and shouting something. The problem is that it is a language they don’t know at all.

“What is she saying?”

“Well? I don’t know either……”

And it was then that something happened. The calm water of the lake suddenly began to spring up from behind.

whoosh-

Water splashed all over the place. Soon after, something huge jumped out of the lake. Covered in black, it has a round body and a long, slender neck. It stretched its neck and opened its mouth wide. Huge, sharp teeth rushed in front of them in an instant.

“Ahhh!”

Rosetta and her nanny screamed as they hugged each other. The men started running towards them, but it was too late. Just as the monster was about to swallow Rosetta and her nanny in one bite, the woman who ran on the horse flew into the sky with the horse.

slash!

smash!

grg-

When Rosetta looked up, the horse was out of sight. Instead, only two legs were sticking out of the monster’s mouth. Flesh and blood dripped from the monster’s wide mouth.

In the midst of panic, as the monster chewed on the horse, the woman screamed while carrying Rosetta and her nanny.

A terrible sound was heard as the woman fell next to her. It was the last scream of the monster, and the sound of bones breaking followed.

When Rosetta looked up, the horse could not be seen. Instead, only two legs were sticking out of the monster’s mouth. Flesh and blood dripped from the monster’s wide mouth.

In the midst of consternation, while the monster chewed the horse, the woman shouted while holding Rosetta and her nanny.

[—-!]

Even though it was a foreign language that she still did not know, this time she understood what it meant at once.

Run!

That was it.