Chapter 33

The carriage that came to pick them up was luxurious, but the ride was terrible.

The road was as bumpy as Sora's mother's face, there were no springs, and the wheels were not made of rubber—there were many reasons for the poor ride. However, if that were the only issue, Sora would have endured and accepted it.

"Another wheel has come off..."

In the tilted carriage, Sora sighed and muttered.

The wheels were poorly made, or perhaps there was a problem with the axles; in any case, the carriage's wheels often came off. Sora felt the resentment of the people in the Kleinzelt territory in the fact that the carriage was made there.

"I'm so sorry!"

The young soldier who was driving the carriage bowed his head. His face was pale, and his body was trembling.

Sora, feeling more exasperated than angry about the carriage's construction, spoke to the soldier with a sympathetic tone.

"It's not your fault. Besides, we still have half a day in this carriage. If we think of the troubles as part of the charm, it can be fun."

"I'm glad you can say that, but..."

The young soldier mumbled and averted his gaze. Razette, who followed his gaze, tilted her head.

"The carriage wheel broke..."

Sora chuckled at the ridiculous nature of the malfunction.

"If it can't be fixed, we'll have to ride on horseback."

"I'm truly sorry!"

Sora got out of the carriage, declined the hand offered by the cavalry guard, and instructed them to help Razette onto a horse.

"I'll ride with the one who was driving."

"Leaving the young one in charge of the heir is..."

"The one who's worried about ruining the carriage needs a chance to redeem himself."

"...I see. Thank you for your concern for your subordinates."

Sora patted the young soldier, who was looking gloomily at the carriage wheel, and didn't let him refuse, mounting the horse. A few soldiers, watching Sora engage the young soldier in casual conversation to ease his tension, were impressed. They, sent by the Kleinzelt Count from the capital, couldn't believe Sora was the lord's legitimate child. Their behavior was too different to be father and son. The captain of the guard, who had a history of misconduct, found Sora's growth undesirable. Moreover, the two children who had escaped from the village Sora had attacked a few years ago were riding horses and following along. When they were first introduced at the manor, they had been so shocked that they thought they were seeing ghosts.

"Stop staring like that, I don't hold any grudges."

Zezu, noticing the captain's gaze, said with a teasing tone. Zezu skillfully maneuvered the reins and rode alongside the captain, with Lylu sitting in front of him. Sanya was riding alone on another horse. Both Zezu and Sanya had learned to ride horses to some extent because they used carriages to transport alcohol lamps.

Caught in the act, the captain boldly faced Zezu. The two, ignoring the path ahead, glared at each other.

"What are you to the heir?"

"That line is used when you're competing for a woman."

Zezu, nonchalantly deflecting the question, shrugged at the captain's angry glare. The tension in the air made the horses neigh excitedly, and Lylu's voice cut through the atmosphere.

"Zezu, you're disrupting the horses' pace."

Drawn in by the pleasant alto voice, the captain turned his attention to Lylu for the first time and was taken aback. With her fair skin reflecting the sunlight and her golden hair streaked with red, she was a stunningly beautiful girl. She was wearing oversized men's clothing for ease of movement during the journey, but it was tight around her chest, which she pulled at in annoyance. The captain swallowed hard as he caught glimpses of her ample chest through the pulled collar.

The next moment, another girl on a different horse blocked the captain's view. She had a slender but supple and dynamic figure, a different kind of beauty from Lylu. She controlled her horse with the skill of a trained cavalryman, and with a stern look, she glanced at the captain before addressing Lylu.

"You're too exposed."

"Sanya? What do you mean?"

Sanya leaned in close to Lylu and whispered a complaint, but Lylu looked puzzled.

"...Why are you so unaware?"

Sanya sighed. Not only the captain but most of the soldiers were looking at Lylu with lustful eyes, but Lylu didn't seem to notice.

"Anyway, Zezu, keep the horses in line. I'm studying."

Lylu, who had turned forward, held up a piece of cloth given to her by Sora at the manor and read it intently. The cloth was covered with numerous diagrams of tree cells and tissues, made for her because she couldn't read. Sora had created it as a textbook for her interest in biology.

"Sure, sure. I'll be careful, Miss."

Zezu responded with a light-hearted remark and moved his horse closer to Sora. Sanya followed, and they formed a line on either side of Sora and Razette.

"How much longer until we arrive?"

Sanya asked Razette.

"Switching from the carriage to horses will speed up our arrival at the dock."

Razette, who had been dozing off in the carriage, yawned loudly. She had been napping whenever no one was looking, and she was still sleepy. The route to the capital involved using both carriages and river boats. The Kleinzelt territory had numerous rivers, most of which were slow-flowing and had little elevation change. While this allowed seawater to flow inland, it also provided natural transportation routes. Sora and his group planned to travel upstream by river boat to the Bartz侯爵領 (Bartz侯爵領 should be translated as Bartz Marquessate), where they would meet additional guards and a waiting carriage to continue north to the capital. They would likely reach the Bartz Marquessate by noon the next day.

"Isn't the Bartz Marquess on bad terms with the Kleinzelt Count?"

Sanya asked anxiously. Razette let out a small, troubled groan and looked to Sora for help, who met her gaze.

"The relationship with the Bartz Marquess is not good. It's because we belong to different factions."

The Kleinzelt Count's family was aligned with the Church, while the Bartz Marquess's family was aligned with the mages. However, the Bartz Marquess wasn't so short-sighted as to assassinate other nobles in his territory just because they belonged to different factions. While it was wise to be prepared for an assassination, the increased guard in the Bartz Marquessate was more for show. In fact, the likelihood of being attacked by bandits or rebels in the Kleinzelt territory was much higher.

"We're using the river boat for safety. On a boat, we can limit the number of combatants, and the view is more open than in the forest."

—Besides, even if the Bartz Marquess doesn't attack, refugees who fled from the Kleinzelt territory might seek revenge.

Imagining a plausible future, Sora sighed.

December 14th, revised.