Chapter 40
<42화>
A snowy morning.
The entrance to the Duke’s Castle, usually so quiet, was bustling with people for the first time in a long while.
“What about the dresses and shoes to wear at the Royal Palace?”
“Loaded, ma’am.”
“And the Lady’s pajamas?”
“Loaded!”
May, the head maid, wrapped in her outdoor coat, was busy with the final preparations for my short journey along with the other servants.
“Position two knights each at the front, back, right, and left of the carriage Aisha will be riding in. It doesn’t matter if you go slow, just make it as safe as possible.”
The Knight Commander nodded with a tense expression as Calips repeated the same instructions for the tenth time.
As for me, what was I doing?
Well, originally, I had planned to sit quietly inside the carriage and keep warm.
Besides, wasn’t I now a beloved Lady of the direct line?
I had secretly looked forward to receiving everyone’s farewells and the loving concern of my older brother.
However.
“Don’t cry, stop it!”
I was currently busy with childcare.
“I’m not crying!”
Lucas let out a sharp shout and hurriedly rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand.
“Why, why am I being left behind… I’m, hic. I-I’m worried about you too!”
His tearful voice was filled with such a sense of injustice.
From the day it was decided I would go to the Royal Palace, Lucas had clung to Calips’s pant legs and thrown a tantrum, but in the end, he wasn’t allowed to come along.
The reason was this:
“You have to stay and take your successor lessons.”
Of course, this was just an excuse Calips had made up on the spot.
Being the successor didn’t mean he lacked even a short amount of time to go play at the Royal Palace.
But Calips didn’t seem confident in his ability to worry about Lucas on top of worrying about me.
So, the excuse Father pulled out was ‘successor lessons.’
“Successor lessons… I have to take them.”
For Lucas, who loved Crost dearly, that excuse worked quite well.
I nodded solemnly and held up a finger.
“Exactly! You’re the successor who will become the Lord of Crost someday, right?!”
“The Lord of Crost… the successor….”
Look at that.
The moment I brought up those cheat-code words, his thick, caterpillar-like eyebrows slanted upward.
“…Right. I’m worried about you, but Dad said he’s sending forty knights with you… and you’re strong, Aisha.”
Of course, he still wouldn’t let go of my hand, looking regretful all the while.
“You have to come back quickly. Got it?”
There, there, my big brother is all grown up.
I nodded and held out my pinky finger.
“Yup. I’ll buy you a souvenir from the Royal Palace!”
“…Aisha. The Royal Palace is not an amusement park.”
It was then.
“The carriage is leaving soon.”
Calips, having finished his conversation with the Knight Commander, approached us.
“Lucas. Are you crying?”
“Why would I cry?! I-I was just seeing my little sister off.”
Lucas rubbed his eyes again and glared at Calips with reddened eyes, and Calips let out a soft chuckle as he roughly ruffled the boy’s hair.
“You’re too cute, honestly.”
Then, with a slightly serious expression, he leaned down to inspect the inside of the carriage.
“The blankets and furs seem sufficient.”
Having checked the interior, he began to check my clothes.
“Hat. Scarf. Coat. Lining. Gloves. Kid, what did I tell you to do if you stop at a village and stay at an inn?”
I put my hands on my waist, puffed out my chest, and answered.
“I won’t use a room alone; I’ll sleep in a room guarded by May or Knox!”
“Good. And when you’re hungry outside of mealtimes?”
“I won’t hold back and I’ll eat jerky!”
“Good. And if you’re in the carriage and need to use the restroom?”
“I won’t hold back and I’ll call May.”
“Good. And when you arrive at the Royal Palace?”
“I’ll stick right by Knox’s side!”
“…Right. Perfect.”
Father muttered, narrowing his eyes.
He looked like he wanted to find some fault to keep the conversation going, but since I was so perfect, there was nothing left for him to nag about.
‘Isn’t this what a Golden Seed does?’
When I giggled with a pounding heart, Father sighed as if his mind were complicated.
Finally, he grabbed both of my cheeks and gave me a warning.
“It won’t happen, but what if you want to come back home halfway through?”
“I’ll cry my eyes out!”
“Right. Cry your eyes out. Don’t worry about Knox’s schedule or anything else; just cry your eyes out and come home. Got it?”
“Yes, sir!”
It was really time to go.
After leaving me with necessary words and unnecessary warnings, Calips stepped back, and the carriage door closed.
The coachman gave the signal to depart, and the heavy carriage began to move slowly, cutting through the snow.
I opened the carriage window and poked my head out.
“I’ll be back—!”
Then Lucas, who had run all the way outside the castle entrance, shouted through his tears.
“Aisha, Aisha! Come back soon!”
Beside him, Father, looking strangely grumpy with his hands in his pockets, shouted at me.
“Cry your eyes out! Aisha, just cry your eyes out halfway through!”
Why is there not a single normal farewell?
“…Ye-es.”
I nodded vaguely and hurriedly closed the window.
“Are you ready?”
Knox, sitting beside me, adjusted his monocle.
“Yup!”
From now on, Knox was my guardian. So, I had to be loyal to him.
After giving a salute of loyalty, I leaned down to check under the seat.
And the baby I had to protect was….
“Nya?”
Under the seat.
A white ball of fluff popped out from between the buttons of the ‘Special Carrying Bag for Research Subjects’ that Knox had made himself.
“You stay quiet too! Got it?”
“Nyong.”
The purple eyes buried in the white fluff narrowed into slits as it let out a lazy yawn.
My journey had begun on a heartwarming note.
Leaving the Crost Duke’s Castle in the far north of the Frozen Kingdom, the carriage rolled its wheels diligently for a week.
At night, thanks to Calips sending word ahead, I stayed at nearby noble estates.
When that was impossible due to distance, we camped out.
As we traveled further toward the Center, the roads piled with snow gradually turned a deep gray, until at some point, green fields and forest paths thick with greenery unfolded.
And now, as I slept inside the carriage cradling the baby.
“Lady Aisha. It is time to wake up.”
“…Mmph, yes?”
Waking up at Knox’s call, I rubbed my face against the baby I was holding.
When I reached out my hand, I felt a solid warmth that I assumed was Knox’s torso.
Sometimes when we left an inn, Knox, finding it difficult to wake me while I was asleep, would carry me to the carriage, so I figured this was one of those times.
If that was the case, it wouldn’t be a problem to sleep for a few more minutes in the carriage.
“Umm. I wanna sleep a little more.”
Seeking warmth instinctively, I buried my face into Knox’s side.
However.
“She’s cuter than most monster cubs. She has a perfect arrowhead-shaped head, just as you described.”
“Your Majesty. What Your Majesty should be looking at is not the Lady, but…”
“No, wait. The child is twitching her lips. I must observe this through a magnifying glass for a moment.”
Wh-what are you observing?
Whirrr—
It wasn’t a joke; I even heard the mechanical sound of something actually moving.
“……?”
It wasn’t a dream; it was reality. Sensing something was wrong, I slowly lifted my heavy eyelids.
“I should look at her eyes instead of her mouth.”
A giant lens filled my vision.
“Oh my, her eyes are open. Are sapphires embedded in her pupils?”
After someone finished giving their serious impressions of my face, they pulled the magnifying glass away—
“Wow, is that the Lady Knox-nim mentioned?”
“Seeing as she has no pores, she really is a baby.”
“Can I try touching that arrowhead hair?”
Strangers were gathered around me as if they were looking at a hamster trapped in a plastic cage.
‘?’
Among those people was even someone who had been described in quite a bit of detail in the original story.
‘…Queen Consort Grace?’
Wait, why is this precious member of the royal family in front of humble old me…?
“Knox?”
Startled, I looked up at Knox.
“Ah, I apologize for frightening you, my Lady.”
Knox carefully set me down on the floor once I was fully awake and spoke.
“Please greet them. These are the members of the club for those who love monsters enough to beat them to death—Masamo for short.”
“……?”
“Her Majesty Queen Consort Grace, Marchioness Aria, Lady Maria, and Count Del.”
“Gasp.”
…Wow. Knox has incredible connections.
