By the time Edward returned, Colette had made a full recovery.
Ron was not so sure of the details himself, but he explained that the moment Karolina offered her prayers, Colette's wounds had suddenly started to heal.
Karolina said it could not have been her doing, because she did not have any magic powers at all. That was the diagnosis she had received during her magical aptitude test when she was young.
Later, Edward thanked her for watching over Colette without shying away. He had initially taken her for a delicate Duke's daughter raised in the lap of luxury, and had been convinced that she would not have what it took to see a man to his death. For misjudging her, he apologized.
No one had ever said anything like that to Karolina before. It only made her more certain that Edward was incredibly kind. In truth, she was the one who had misjudged him.
Karolina accepted his apology and asked him to raise his head. A prince must not bow so readily.
Back in the tent, Edward told Teodor that he had sent Karolina to another tent. Also, the bandit stragglers had been turned over to the border guard en route to the imperial capital, so there should be no fear of another attack.
As for Colette, he was in stable condition, but his blood pressure was extremely low, likely from losing too much blood. So Teodor and Edward agreed that he should be in the carriage. However, Teodor felt that having Karolina and Colette in the same carriage together was a bit strange. There were no free large carriages, though. Edward had burned the one meant for nobles — and he said that in that moment, he had felt a surge of power that he could not control properly.
Teodor said he had felt the same thing. The powers of several other knights had even gone out of control due to this mysterious influence. There was also a need to investigate the power that had healed Colette, which was similar in nature.
As for the carriage situation, Edward said Karolina would ride with him on his horse.
The following day, their journey continued. Edward offered to slow down if the ride was too rough for Karolina, but she was fine riding in his arms.
At that moment, they arrived at the border of the Malcosian Empire. Before long they had crossed it and arrived in the imperial capital of Malcosius. By then Colette was back on his feet, and Karolina and Edward moved from the horse back into the carriage.
Their journey, seemingly both so long and so short, would be over soon. He offered to take her on another one sometime, if she did not mind. Thinking that would be nice, she decided to reciprocate, saying she would love to go on another, and that she would enjoy seeing the sights with him again.
Soon after, Edward and Karolina stood before His Imperial Majesty, Eric Ruby Martinez.
He was renowned as the strongest spell sword there was, a formidable warrior who had repelled countless foes by manipulating lightning, which was a higher form of fire magic. He was known as the Lightning Emperor, a title derived from his signature magic and his status.
Then there was the current empress, Vanessa Ruby Martinez. She was a rare wielder of frost magic, extraordinary even on a global scale. She was known as the Frost Witch. Empress Vanessa had once repelled a powerful monster to save her people, and that ordeal was how she had won their hearts.
Standing before them, Karolina's stomach hurt. Seeing how nervous she was, Edward assured her she would be fine.
They both graced themselves, and Emperor Eric commended his son, and also welcomed Karolina with open arms. He invited her to have lunch with them, wanting to get a good talk in with his son's future wife.
Outside, they sat at the table, and all eyes were on Karolina. On the way over, just in case something like this happened, she had asked Teodor to teach her some table manners. She feared they might send her back to her country if she made a mistake.
With her only eating vegetables, Vanessa asked whether nothing else was to her liking. Karolina did not particularly have any likes or dislikes, but she had eaten a bit too much for breakfast.
The empress asked her to speak up if anything displeased her, or if she preferred to dine indoors. If the problem lay with them, they would make every effort to correct it.
Eric also encouraged her to speak up. After all, she was going to be part of their family from now on.
Karolina could not believe they already saw her as family. She was such a fool, feeling all scared in front of such kind people. So she confessed that she felt nervous with them staring at her, and apologized for worrying them.
But the emperor could not help but stare, because Karolina was going to become his darling daughter. He wanted to get a good look at her. They had only ever had boys.
Even the empress could not hide her delight at the thought of having a daughter. She thought Karolina's eyes were beautiful — just like Eric's, and like Edward's hair. In their country, the ruby gemstone held a special significance. The first emperor had given the royal line its name so that they, too, could receive the blessing of the ruby.
Vanessa felt this was fate, and proposed that the wedding ring should be a ruby as well.
Karolina teared up, overwhelmed with emotion at their kind words.
After being taken to her room, Karolina was introduced to her maid, Marissa, and her bodyguard, Owen. Owen was a member of the Pyborn Order of Knights, and also the second son of a baron.