Chapter 57

Lirika got out of the carriage and stretched.

"Ugh—!"

Bryn, who came down gracefully after her, smiled.

"Yes, it must have been stuffy, right?"

"Yeah, it was exciting but stuffy."

It was the first time she had traveled in a carriage for so long. They had to stay overnight and travel for two full days.

Although it was her first time coming so far, she found it very enjoyable, but sitting in the carriage for so long was indeed stuffy.

"Now you can move around freely."

Bryn instructed the servants to unload the luggage and then said to Lirika.

A moment later, Lirika exclaimed. Tents were set up all over the spacious clearing in the forest.

Flags with the family crests were fluttering around the tents. Lirika quickly found the largest flag.

The dragon embroidered on the flag stood out clearly.

Some tents were set up alone, while others were set up in groups. Lirika settled into the tent where the white dragon flag was flying.

The floor was not bare earth but covered with a soft carpet, and the space was divided by partitions.

The furniture was designed to be foldable. It was impressive to see the desk unfold from the bag.

Of course, with so much luggage, the carriage's speed was naturally slow.

"Are we staying here for three days?"

"Yes, that's right. For the hunting festival in other territories, we stay in annexes, but the royal hunting festival adheres to tradition."

Bryn answered while designating the placement of the furniture.

Lirika, feeling curious, looked around and said,

"Can I go out? Laubrang."

She quickly grabbed her knight's hand, and Bryn, after glancing at the luggage outside, nodded.

"Yes, go ahead. Don't forget your pendant, though."

"Okay."

Lirika pointed to the artifact she had pinned above the ribbon.

"Let's go."

Lirika pulled Laubrang, and he smiled and followed the little princess.

"Let's see."

Thanks to the flags, it didn't seem like she would get lost. The silver dragon and black dragon were visible, and the place with the empty flag must be where His Majesty was staying.

"Wolves!"

Lirika pointed to a nearby flag.

"Diared said he would come, so let's go."

Lirika took the lead with quick steps. The servants and people setting up the tents bowed slightly and moved aside.

"Diared!"

"Princess!"

The two of them clasped hands tightly. Lirika, looking around the wolf family's tent, said,

"The tent is big."

"Thanks to sugar, things have improved. In the past, we had to patch up tents, but this year, it's huge and brand new. I think we won't have to worry when it rains."

"Is that so? That's good."

Thanks to the sugar shipment, the northern territory's situation was gradually improving.

"Still, it must be hard to continue guarding alone, right? I heard the basic guideline is to have at least three people rotating."

Diared shot a glare at Laubrang, who didn't back down. Lirika, hearing this, tilted her head in surprise.

"One is enough."

"If something happens to the princess, how will you take responsibility?"

"With my life."

Diared's mouth dropped open, and Lirika's did too. The moment Lirika stood up, the tent flap opened.

"You can be heard outside. You shouldn't make the princess uncomfortable with pointless arguments."

There was only one person who would enter the tent with a bowed waist.

"Tan!"

Lirika called out in relief, and Tan smiled.

"Welcome to the Wolf family's tent, Princess."

"Head of the House."

Diared placed his hand on his chest and greeted him lightly. Tan bowed and then lifted Lirika with a "Whoa."

"Are you stuffy? Shall we walk while we talk?"

"Head of the House!"

Diared protested at losing Lirika. Tan said,

"Later. I won't fight with the princess's knight in such an undignified manner."

"!!"

Diared's face turned red. Tan, leaving her behind, stepped out of the tent. Lirika glanced back and asked,

"Will he be okay?"

"Of course. The young ones are excited because of that book."

He clicked his tongue.

"Trusting someone completely is a very scary thing. Thinking of it romantically itself is..."

He sighed, looked at Lirika, and smiled.

"Now you weigh about as much as a candy."

Lirika's eyes widened, and she laughed.

"Yeah, because I ate all the candy Tan gave me."

"I'll have to give you more candy then."

Lirika stared at Tan intently. She said,

"I really like Tan."

"Thank you. I also like the princess very much."

"Yeah."

She stared at him, and Tan asked awkwardly,

"Is there something on my face?"

"No, nothing."

'Tan is handsome, but not as much as His Majesty. Mother is very beautiful, so I think her husband should be handsome too. Tan has a great personality, but...'

Lirika was secretly considering candidates for her mother's husband—basically, her father candidates.

Since that night, Lirika had started thinking about the next "stepfather" after the divorce.

Mother said it would be nice to have someone, so she hoped it would be a good person.

Most importantly, he had to love Mother very much.

'But does a man who won't fall in love with Mother even exist in this world?'

After that, Altears became her top candidate, and Tan became her second choice.

Tan, unaware of being considered, tilted his head. Lirika changed the subject.

"By the way, Diared said we need three people for guarding. Is one enough?"

"Practically, you do need shifts."

"I see, I didn't think about that."

"But please let Laubrang do it alone for now."

Lirika nodded at Tan's gentle words. He stopped, and she followed his gaze.

It was the flag of the snake.

"Tan."

"Yes, Princess."

"Someone in Sandar must be very sick."

She thought of Athil, who had just returned from meeting Fay. Athil's expression was so bad that Lirika couldn't ask him anything.

Is Fay sick?

Athil answered her short, hesitant question, "No, that's not it."

Tan turned to Lirika. He seemed to want to say something but eventually held back and let her down.

"Don't wander too far."

"Okay, thank you, Tan."

If Diared and Laubrang had continued to stand off, it would have been troublesome. She bowed, and Tan smiled and returned the bow before turning away.

She wanted to visit Fay, but it didn't seem right to go to his tent.

'Barat too...'

For some reason, she didn't have any friends she could meet confidently.

Feeling a bit down, Lirika returned to her tent.

"Wow—"

Lirika let out a small exclamation. She thought it was excellent before, but now that it was almost complete, it was even better. Bryn asked curiously,

"You're back early."

"There was no one to visit."

Bryn laughed lightly.

"More people will come tomorrow. Most of the people you met in Partha will be here too."

"Okay, thank you. Oh, and Bryn, the inside is so beautiful, I was surprised."

"Does it please you?"

"Very much."

"That's a relief."

The tent was nicely decorated with tapestries, and the foldable furniture was in place.

Surprisingly, a temporary bathroom was even set up behind the partition.

Lirika, feeling excited, said,

"I want to visit Mother and Athil."

"Yes, go ahead."

Leaving Bryn to finish organizing, Lirika headed to Athil's tent first.

"Athil's tent is also great."

She marveled. It was decorated just to Athil's taste. Well, it was more like Bryan's skill in matching Athil's taste.

Lirika pulled him.

"Let's go see Mother."

"Uh, wait a moment."

At the mention of going to Rudia, Athil quickly tidied himself in front of the mirror.

"Let's go."

Mother's tent was elegant and luxurious. Even the folding chairs had intricate patterns.

Rudia, who had changed into a riding dress, smiled and welcomed them.

"Lirika, Athil. Come in."

Rudia offered them seats. The three of them sat in a circle and enjoyed a cozy time.

Around dinner time, Altears entered with a sullen face.

"Again, without me."

"His Majesty is busy."

Rudia smiled, and Altears rolled his eyes, thinking, 'Is he still angry?'

He hadn't learned that his expression only made Rudia angrier.

When Rudia's eyebrows slightly furrowed, Altears quickly said,

"It's my fault, so I apologize."

He knew what her expression meant.

"What did you do wrong?"

"For proceeding with everything on my own."

Rudia stared at Altears intently. Athil and Lirika watched the two with bated breath.

"Alright. Steward, bring a chair."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief at Rudia's smiling words. The steward quickly unfolded a new chair and placed a cushion for Altears.

Thanks to the apology, dinner was quite harmonious, and in the end, Altears escorted Rudia to his tent. The two of them would finish their unfinished conversation there.

Athil said,

"I'll take you there."

"Okay, thank you."

Lirika smiled and took Athil's hand. Athil smiled faintly and held her hand tightly.

Even though it was night, the place was bright with lanterns lit everywhere. Conversations and laughter from people socializing could be heard from all directions.

Athil listened to the sounds.

The noise of others talking was pleasant. The sounds of happiness were not bad.

It was all because Lirika had appeared. Before that, the sounds would have filled him with anger.

'So, I understand.'

He looked at his little sister, who was holding his hand tightly.

'I'll do anything to save you. So, in return...'

The more he understood Fay, the more he became wary of him.

'Is it okay to let this kid sleep alone in the tent?'

There might not be anyone bold enough to sneak into the royal tent, but desperate people were different.

"Let's sleep together tonight."

Lirika tilted her head at Athil's words and then laughed.

"Okay."

"Sure, sure."

Athil answered half-heartedly and brought Lirika to his tent. Bryn instructed a servant to bring clothes.

Lirika changed into her pajamas behind the partition and came out.

Athil commented, "You always wear the same kind of pajamas," and Lirika suddenly asked,

"Why is that?"

"Huh?"

"Why did you say we should sleep together?"

"Uh..."