Chapter 83

“Lilithia Baimery has left for another kingdom…?”

 

And not just today, but two days ago.

 

Unable to maintain his composure, Ivailo’s eyes rolled back as he screamed at his secretary.

 

“Why on earth am I only finding out about this report now?!”

 

“That is… I was told it was a very sudden departure.”

 

The excuse didn’t stand a chance. Heat surged up Ivailo’s spine.

 

“Right. A sudden departure. I see. I see.”

 

Slam!

 

“Do you think I’m going to be understanding? In this situation! Me?!”

 

Ivailo struck the desk with a violent hand, and the secretary trembled, not knowing what to do with himself.

 

“Dammit.”

 

That eyesore Freyer had been loitering around Lilithia Baimery, preventing Ivailo from confirming her special ability yet. He had gifted her a flower imbued with preservation magic to verify his theory—that she possessed a unique constitution capable of absorbing mana and reflecting it back at the caster, thereby blocking their mana points. If his hypothesis was correct, the flower would wither as its mana was drained and its magic circuit severed.

 

‘Lilithia Baimery was keeping her distance from me.’

 

She had reacted with nothing but coldness. Other young ladies would have been desperate for a flower or gift from him. That lowly minor noblewoman had dared to humiliate him.

 

He was already driven mad with rage by that, but then Freyer had suddenly appeared, trailing after Lilithia Baimery like a lost puppy, leaving Ivailo with no opening to approach her. Furthermore, Freyer had used his own mana to destroy the preservation magic on the bouquet simply because he didn’t like it. Breaking a mana chain was a technique that required immense skill.

 

“If you tell me that Freyer has also left his post, I’m going to be extremely angry.”

 

He gripped his fists, trying to settle his rage, but his patience ran dry at the secretary’s next words.

 

“…Y-yes, that is correct.”

 

“Do you think I spent a fortune just to hear that Lilithia Baimery and Freyer have both vanished from the capital?!”

 

He had calculated that since Percival Baimery was absent, Freyer was making himself at home at the Baron’s estate, so he had arranged for Percival’s swift return. Establishing the branch of the Baimery Merchant Guild and sending an agent were all parts of Ivailo’s plan.

 

Ivailo bit his lip, his eyes burning with a dark, smoldering fire.

 

“It’s just… Special Envoy Riulfo was so occupied with Ministry of Foreign Affairs business that the report was delayed.”

 

Lost for words, Ivailo pressed his fingers against his brow in irritation and spoke in a weary voice.

 

“Get out.”

 

“Pardon…?”

 

“Before I split you in half where you stand.”

 

The sound of frantic footsteps scurrying out of the study followed, leaving an indescribable madness swirling in Ivailo’s eyes.

 

“The gentlemanly behavior ends here.”

 

 

***

 

 

Rumble—

 

A strange vibration started in the carriage. I heard the startled cries of the horses leading us, and then…

 

Thud—!

 

With a massive boom, the carriage tilted, and my body was thrown to one side. I was briefly airborne from the sudden lurch. Since Freyer was sitting directly opposite me, I cried out.

 

“Your Highness! Watch out!”

 

If I kept flying like this, I was going to collide hard with him. I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for a heavy impact.

 

Poof.

 

It wasn’t hard; it was soft. I slowly opened my eyes to find myself cradled in Freyer’s arms.

 

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

 

“…Fortunately, no.”

 

Dazed by the situation, I didn’t even think to pull away from him. Outside, I could hear the groans of Winnie and the coachman.

 

Click—

 

The door of the tilted carriage swung open, revealing Sir Derek with a troubled expression.

 

“What happened?”

 

“You… should come out and see for yourselves.”

 

Sensing something serious had occurred, we hurriedly stepped out of the carriage. A long, weary sigh escaped me at the sight.

 

“The front right wheel seems to have come off.”

 

The bolt connecting the front wheel had snapped, and the wheel was tilted and buried in the dirt. Eventually, the aging carriage had reached its limit. I was just thankful the road was flat. If we had been near a cliff, the thought alone was terrifying.

 

The coachman and Winnie, who had been on the driver’s seat, were soothing their startled hearts from the shock. Fortunately, the workers leading the luggage carts and Sir Derek, who had been in the rear leading Freyer’s horse, were unharmed.

 

“What should we do?”

 

The coachman, having regained his senses, brought a toolbox from the luggage cart and closely inspected the fallen wheel.

 

“Oh dear… I can’t fix this well enough to reach Pearching Kingdom. It’ll just collapse again soon.”

 

Sir Derek spread out a map and spoke.

 

“There is a fiefdom not too far from here. Why don’t we do a temporary repair, leave the carriage with a wagon smith there, and then set off again?”

 

There was a fiefdom about twenty minutes away on foot. I let out a short sigh and agreed.

 

“There’s no other option.”

 

“I’ll go to the fiefdom ahead of you and call for a wagon smith.”

 

“Do so.”

 

Freyer answered for me as my mind had gone blank from the disaster. Sir Derek mounted his horse and galloped off quickly toward the fiefdom. The coachman began the temporary repair, fitting the front wheel back into place with his tools.

 

This trip… could only be described with the word ‘exhausting.’

 

 

***

 

 

As a precaution, the entire party except for the coachman arrived at the village slowly on foot.

 

“It was a good thing we didn’t stay in the carriage.”

 

“Tell me about it…”

 

I was staring distantly at the struggling carriage when Sir Derek approached with a man carrying a hammer about 1.2 times the size of himself.

 

“You say the carriage is acting up?”

 

Crash!

 

The carriage, which had been barely patched together, saw its front wheel pop off and the whole frame tilt forward the moment the smith arrived.

 

“Oops. That’s not ‘acting up,’ that’s a full-blown accident.”

 

“Can it be fixed…?”

 

“Let me take a look.”

 

The wagon smith inspected the carriage here and there, then frowned and shook his head.

 

“It’s a miracle you even made it this far.”

 

The smith kicked the opposite side of the broken wheel.

 

CRUNCH!

 

The wheels and bolts collapsed entirely. I widened my eyes at the sound, which was nearly an explosion. The smith bent down and picked up a piece of a snapped bolt from the wreckage.

 

“The bolts connecting the wheels are corroded. That’s why this mess happened.”

 

He dropped the bolt back to the ground and dusted off his hands.

 

“Repair is impossible in this state. I recommend you buy a new carriage.”

 

“How much is a carriage…?”

 

“A four-wheel carriage is 30 gold.”

 

30 gold? The price made my jaw drop. Buying a new carriage wasn’t in the budget, so I couldn’t spend that much money.

 

“Are there any other carriages…?”

 

“There’s one two-wheel carriage for 10 silver.”

 

The price gap between the two was massive, but a two-wheel carriage couldn’t hold five people. As I stood there undecided in this awkward situation, Freyer spoke up from beside me.

 

“Let’s split the party.”

 

“Split the party?”

 

Freyer nodded, and everyone focused on his explanation.

 

“Derek, you take the coachman and the new two-wheel carriage to pull the luggage carts, then head to Pearching Kingdom with the rest of the crew. With fewer people, you’ll be able to move much faster.”

 

“Understood.”

 

Predicting what Freyer was planning, I spoke first.

 

“And Your Highness, me, and Winnie will use the Gate to move to Pearching Kingdom, right?”

 

“No.”

 

“Exactly, I knew you’d say—wait, what?”

 

“Lilithia and I will travel to Pearching Kingdom on horseback.”

 

“T-then what about Winnie? You didn’t mention Winnie.”

 

I pulled Winnie’s arm and presented her to Freyer.

 

“The remaining person will pick out only the most important items from the wagon and travel via the Gate.”

 

“Why aren’t we going together? Why separate?”

 

It was a good idea for Sir Derek and the coachman to handle the wagons since moving all the goods via Gate would be too expensive. But if the three of us moved via Gate together, it would be even faster.

 

“You mean you want me to go ahead and get everything ready, right?!”

 

Winnie’s follow-up made me understand the intention.

 

“Correct.”

 

It was like a scouting mission. If someone settled in first, the rest of us wouldn’t have to suffer together. It was Freyer’s wisdom, but something felt unsettling.

 

“And we will arrive within three days.”

 

“That’s impossible.”

 

Even if Freyer’s white horse had incredible stamina and speed, arriving in three days meant riding without rest.

 

“My Lady, isn’t three days of riding better than suffering from ten days of motion sickness in a carriage?”

 

“Strictly in terms of duration, yes, but…”

 

The subtle, nagging feeling wouldn’t go away.

 

‘Why can’t we all move together?’