[11]
The incident was successfully concluded. Not only was the culprit caught, but most importantly, his lifespan increased.
It was truly a joyous moment to see the numbers increase upon waking up. Sena stared at the top of his head in the mirror for a while.
“But Your Majesty, what came to the outer walls?”
“Nothing happened.”
[224]
‘Then why did her lifespan decrease?’
There was something bothering him, but it was fine. The medicine worked well, so as long as Astria continued to take it regularly, there should be no issues.
However, from now on, he planned to be as careful as possible. He couldn’t forget his duty as her physician.
Thus, Sena and the others were able to prepare to leave the barony. Early afternoon. They said their farewells in front of a large carriage and five horses.
“How can I repay this kindness?”
Watching Sir Karon bow deeply, Sena waved both hands.
“Haha, I didn’t do anything.”
‘Except faint.’
Last night was a black mark he wanted to erase. No matter how terrifying it looked, he never expected to faint.
Still.
“It was thanks to you, Sena-nim, that things were resolved so well.”
It was always a pleasure to receive gratitude from people.
Sena smiled gently and shook Karon’s hand.
“Take care.”
“Yes. And may you arrive safely, Sena-nim.”
After greeting Hannes as well, Sena moved towards the carriage. At that moment, Astria took out a piece of paper and handed it to Karon.
“What’s this?”
It was a scroll, tied with golden thread. It seemed quite thick, as if several sheets were stacked together.
“Read it after we’ve all left.”
‘What is that?’
Setting aside his curiosity for a moment, Sena got into the carriage. After a short wait, Astria entered the carriage a little later.
“What was that just now?”
“Nothing important. Depart.”
The carriage started moving. Hannes and Karon saluted simultaneously towards the departing carriage.
Sena, remembering Astria’s words about reciprocating a knight’s courtesy, leaned out of the carriage and waved.
Unlike the Baron Lihaton’s territory, this time, due to the need for secrecy, only those two were there to see them off. Even so, to Sena, the road seemed full.
Once they were just a speck in the distance, Sena sat back inside the carriage and looked at Astria with a slanted gaze.
“Please tell me.”
“I’m not telling you.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t want to.”
‘How petty.’
Sena, who had been looking at Astria with discontent for a moment, started whining. In the end, it was Astria who raised the white flag. She blurted out with an annoyed face.
“It’s an appointment letter.”
“An appointment letter?”
“Yes. It’s an appointment letter recognizing Karon and Hannes as joint lords. With the imperial seal, no one will be able to dispute it.”
Sena was stunned by the unexpected revelation.
“From Your Majesty?”
“…Who else could stamp it besides me?”
“R-Really?!”
Realizing it late, Sena jumped up, hitting his head on the low ceiling and wincing in pain.
“Insignificant furball.”
Astria looked at him with disdain. Normally, he would have been very angry, but now it was different.
“What’s gotten into Your Majesty?! Doing such a kind thing! Wow, well done. I’ll pat your head.”
He hurriedly moved to pat Astria’s head. Her lips twitched in irritation.
“How insolent!”
“Good job, good job. Pat, pat.”
No matter how much Astria lashed out, Sena kept smiling and showering her with praise.
It’s important to praise her properly at times like this so she’ll do good things in the future. Sena was determined.
As a result…
“S-Stop it.”
Astria blushed and looked out the window.
Sena, holding onto Astria’s waist and looking up at her, tilted his head.
Is she embarrassed?
‘Cute!’
Sena’s eyes sparkled. The more they did, the less Astria could look at him.
“Heh, are you embarrassed right now? You are, aren’t you? You don’t know what to do because of all the praise, right? Then I should praise you more! Good job!”
“S-Silence.”
Sena found Astria’s reaction amusing and laughed out loud. Time passed in this manner for a while.
‘I’m happy.’
11 days left.
An unbelievably short time, but Sena felt that this journey would end in a happy ending.
**
[9]
Lucia and Ellie traveled on horseback.
The carriage was big enough for them, but they refused.
—We can’t possibly sit in the same place as an angel…
This was their reasoning. Initially, it was bothersome, so Sena kept trying to persuade them, but they wouldn’t budge. Eventually, Sena had to give up.
Sena’s time was gradually decreasing.
The Rockefeller estate was quite close, but even so, the empire was vast.
Still, thanks to occasionally imbuing the horses with holy power, they could travel without wasting time.
Thus, late at night, with the clock’s second hand pointing at 9, they were almost at Rockefeller.
Sena was looking at the map.
Beyond Rockefeller, past Ashford, and through some smaller territories, they would reach Birkender!
Of course, the destination was slightly beyond in “Rendel”, but…
‘As long as we get past Marquis Rockefeller, we’re practically there!’
Judging by the map, Rockefeller occupied a large area, but once they crossed it, they would be almost at their destination.
“We’ll be at Rockefeller soon.”
As he was happily lost in thought, Sylvia’s voice interrupted.
“Are you really sure about this?”
She asked Astria again. It was the third time, according to Sena’s memory.
Astria could have been irritated by the repeated question, but she merely closed her eyes and spoke calmly.
“Do you think they would really turn me away?”
“Well, no, but…”
“I’ve been wondering, just how much did you torment them?”
Sena had an idea from eavesdropping on a previous conversation but didn’t know the details.
Astria slowly opened her eyes at Sena’s question.
“I demoted them, doubled their taxes, allowed only one child per family, and confiscated all their heirlooms.”
Wow. Sena was genuinely impressed.
“It’s a miracle they didn’t rebel.”
“Hmph, they’re just a merchant family who only know how to play with money. They don’t have the guts to stand against me.”
Sena, who had seen a kinder side of Astria during the previous barony incident, couldn’t let it slide.
With hands on his hips, he spoke firmly.
“If we meet the Marquis of Rockefeller, you need to apologize properly.”
“I’ve done nothing wrong.”
“No, no. Anyone can see you’ve done wrong.”
“The wrong was on Rockefeller for not siding with me.”
“It’s about time you forgave them, don’t you think?”
“Forgive? Rockefeller still has the audacity to remain neutral. They didn’t participate in the last war. They are a founding family, no less.”
Astria fumed just thinking about it.
She ground her teeth for a moment before looking at Sena’s face and realizing it was futile, sighing deeply.
“In any case, my decision is final. While they may not have committed outright rebellion, they essentially defied me. Don’t bring this matter up again in my presence. Even you, Sena, would not be spared from a severe punishment.”
Sylvia, from her position as coachman, turned to look at Sena and mouthed the word, ‘senior.’
In fact, Sylvia had already given him a heads-up. Even though it seemed excessive, refusing a command to join the war was a grave offense that could have resulted in the annihilation of the entire family.
‘I know that, too.’
Sena hoped Astria wouldn’t make any more enemies. Approaching the matter with logic was a mistake from the start. You can’t beat this Empress with logic; her word is law!
At times like this…
“Can’t you do it for my sake? Please?”
“Mind your own business.”
‘This golden one.’
Even his ultimate cuteness tactic was ignored, making Sena puff out his cheeks in frustration.
Neigh—
Just then, the carriage came to a stop.
“It’s too late at night, the gates are closed. Let’s rest here for the night and continue in the morning. We also need to scout the area for any suspicious activity.”
Stepping out of the carriage, Sena looked around.
Night without street lamps was darker than he had imagined.
So dark that he couldn’t see an inch ahead.
“I can’t see anything.”
“It’s night, after all.”
“Yikes!”
A voice startled Sena, appearing without any sign.
“If you get that surprised, it hurts my feelings.”
“S-Sorry.”
Just as he was consoling a dejected Sylvia.
“Lord, illuminate our path.”
With Ellie’s soft voice, light burst forth.
Sylvia’s downcast face was clearly visible.
Sena stood on tiptoes and patted Sylvia a few times.
“Hold on.”
“…This is.”
Astria turned her gaze to a spot on the ground.
Ellie’s light revealed a pile of extinguished logs. From the faint smoke still rising, it was clear someone had been there.
“Someone was here. Sylvia.”
Sylvia closed her eyes, spreading her magical power thinly throughout the forest.
After a short while, she opened her eyes, looking quite perplexed.
“There’s nothing detectable by magic.”
“It’s one of two things: either they’re a master, or they’re a normal person without even the slightest bit of magical power. Like that furball.”
Sena laughed awkwardly.
“Couldn’t it just be that they’re not dangerous? I mean, if I were out here and saw a carriage approaching, I’d hide too.”
“Even so, it’s best to be sure. We’ll start the search. I’ll take this side.”
Astria moved without hesitation. The others followed suit. Just as Sena was about to join them.
“Furball.”
“Yes?”
“You stay here. No matter what happens, do not move.”
Astria saw no signs of movement in the area.
Naturally, they would center the search around this spot, making it the safest.
Sena, with cat-like eyes, replied.
“Understood.”
Astria felt uneasy but sighed lightly and moved on.
In the dark night, With the ability to examine a human’s internal state just by touching their arm.
And an invisible sword strike.
In such conditions, there was no one who could match Sena’s abilities.
Though, from the outside, his combat prowess seemed lower than a passing squirrel, which was certainly disconcerting.
After a while—
When everyone had completely disappeared, Sena blinked.
His hair stood on end.
“Everyone will be hungry when they come back, right? Let’s go pick some fruit.”
Astria’s command to “never move” had long vanished from Sena’s mind.
**
“Don’t worry, we won’t get caught.”
In a well-concealed spot in the forest, Chloe and Chris were hiding with tense expressions.
“Are you sure about that? Sylvia is highly sensitive to magic.”
“Don’t underestimate my magic. It’s a trick that only another magician would be able to detect.”
“…I’ll trust you.”
They had quickly hidden themselves upon seeing Sena and his party’s carriage.
‘How did they get here so quickly?’
It was a big question, but avoiding detection was more important right now.
Rustle, Rustle—
“…!”
At the sudden noise, they held their breath and crouched lower.
And then—
“This should be enough.”
Sena appeared, his robe filled with coconuts.
He didn’t seem to consider his own size, wobbling as he walked.
Chloe covered her mouth. His cuteness was almost too much to bear.
‘No, there’s no time to be happy about this reunion. If we get caught, they’ll misunderstand. They’ll think I’m with Chris… Should I destroy the evidence?’
She was dead serious.
“Oh.”
One of Sena’s coconuts rolled away.
“Did I take too many after all?”
‘Yes, think about your size, you idiot. Just leave it and go.’
“Hmm, it’s dark. If someone trips over it, they could get seriously hurt.”
‘No one’s coming here!’
Their hiding spot was completely within the bushes.
It wasn’t a place where anyone would be walking.
Sena toddled over. The problem was, the coconut had fallen right in front of them.
‘He won’t find us anyway. Don’t panic.’
Chloe had confidence that they wouldn’t be found.
This was a spatial separation spell.
It looked like they were in the same space, but a hidden magical wall separated their hiding place from where Sena was.
They had also cast a cognitive impairment spell.
Finding this place was difficult, and even if found, it was impossible to recognize it.
However, Chloe overlooked a few things.
First.
-…Just asking, what is that?
-Hmm? I found it on the road.
-Seriously, who finds a land deed just lying on the road?
Sena was incredibly lucky, as if blessed by God.
Second.
-Why can’t I do it? I want to fly too.
No magic worked on Sena.
“… What are you guys doing there?”
Hiccup.
Chloe froze, staring into Sena’s clear eyes.
