Chapter 11
And Kael saw all of it.
For the past week, from when they left Rainford until now, as they were getting closer to Willow—
Rosana had not missed a single day of bothering Vanessa.
No.
She was trying to keep Vanessa alive.
And now, the other young ladies were following her.
It was a scene that made Kael doubt his own eyes.
Rosana was running?
And she was running that well?
“Hah.”
Even after watching the same sight for several days, Kael could not hide a small laugh.
The hand that had been rubbing his face suddenly stopped.
The Rosana he had thought was the biggest mess had changed first.
She was now running better than a deer, and she had more vitality than rainbow-colored fish jumping out of the water.
Her energy was almost blinding.
Rosana never stopped moving.
Whenever she had some free time, she secretly watched the knights training and copied their movements.
Surprisingly, Kael had witnessed every one of those moments.
“My lord.”
Kael turned his head and looked at Seraphin.
Seraphin, who came from the Monteria family, had apparently been trained as the heir of her family for a long time.
Her disciplined movements.
The careful way she held a sword.
Her quick feet and decisive movements.
All of those things came together to make the person known as Seraphin.
Even though she was the heir of her family, Seraphin had volunteered for this expedition.
Her short hair, cut before the expedition began, swayed around the back of her neck.
“The training is over. Breakfast is being prepared. Let us go.”
“…Sir Seraphin, come here.”
Seraphin tilted her head and came over to Kael.
Kael moved slightly to the side and pointed with his chin toward Rosana, Vanessa, and the other young ladies.
Seraphin narrowed her eyes and looked at them.
“What do you think?”
“They are definitely better than they were a week ago.”
“Do you think Lady Vanessa can run away from a monster’s fangs?”
“…I believe her chances have increased.”
A possibility had appeared where there had once been none.
Kael raised one corner of his lips.
Vanessa, who had seemed the most likely to fall behind first, was slowly changing with Rosana’s help.
Every time she fell, she got back up.
And now, she could run with the group fairly well.
If things continued like this, perhaps she could at least avoid danger on her own two feet.
“What about the other young ladies? I heard you got them new shoes through the Register. Clothes too.”
The Register was in charge of supplies.
Rosana had said she had taken supplies from them.
So that must have been what she needed them for.
Seraphin answered carefully.
“At the very least, I think they have gained a chance to survive once.”
Kael looked at Rosana again.
He had thought of those who could not help in battle as nothing more than burdens that had to be protected.
But perhaps there was another way.
Kael watched Rosana with a heavy gaze as she smiled brightly and pushed Vanessa forward.
Rosana was bringing hope to this expedition.
And to Kael.
That Rosana was doing it.
That was probably why Kael could not take his eyes off her.
Kael turned around to leave, but stopped for a moment.
“Seraphin.”
“Yes, my lord.”
He remembered something Rosana had muttered in Rainford some time ago.
“Can you teach Lady Rosana how to use a sword? But do not spend too much of your time on her.”
“…I will try.”
Seraphin nodded stiffly.
Kael shook his head once, then roughly ran a hand through his hair and narrowed his eyes.
I never thought I would come to think this way.
Kael gave a quiet order.
“And starting tomorrow, the non-combat personnel will train as well. Give the knights orders to divide them into groups and train them. Start with basic physical training.”
“Yes, my lord.”
If the spark of hope Rosana had created was a small flame, Kael intended to breathe into it with all his strength.
So that the flame would not go out.
For some reason, a situation different from the original story had happened.
An order had been given for the non-combat personnel to start training as well.
As for me, I was completely in favor of it.
But Vanessa was shocked, and some of the young ladies complained.
Still, no one could disobey the Crown Prince’s order.
Among those who volunteered to help with the training was Seraphin.
I did not know why Seraphin had volunteered to do this…
No, wait.
Maybe it was precisely because she was Seraphin.
As the female lead of this novel, Seraphin was the person who gave hope to the male lead, Kael.
It was like…
How should I put it?
Like refreshing soda being poured into a stomach completely blocked by a sweet potato.
She was also the only person who could make Kael smile.
Whatever Seraphin did was always right.
Besides, even in the original story, Seraphin was one of the people who continued to care about the non-combat personnel until the very end.
She grieved over their deaths and blamed herself for failing to protect them.
Perhaps this time, she had grown a little more than in the original story and convinced Kael to start this training.
As expected, the female lead.
She even grows on her own.
She really is not just an ordinary female lead.
I looked at Seraphin with a proud smile.
Then she opened her mouth.
“Among the non-combat personnel, there was also an order that those who wish to learn swordsmanship should train as well. If there are any volunteers…”
“Me!”
Before I knew it, I raised my hand high.
Ahem.
Was my voice too loud?
Everyone who had been listening to Seraphin with dull eyes turned their gaze toward me.
I heard Vanessa sigh.
Why? What?
There was a limit to training alone.
Seraphin had enough skill to awaken as a Sword Master during the story, specifically while fighting monsters.
Do they think it was easy to get a chance to learn from someone that skilled?
I slowly lowered my raised hand and stepped forward.
“I really want to learn, Sir Knight.”
Seraphin stared at me.
Then she turned her head and looked over the others.
“Is there anyone else who wants to learn the sword?”
“…Do we really have to fight monsters? Us too?”
A weak-looking man asked.
He was still wearing silk clothes, so he seemed to be one of those who had not yet realized his situation.
“Let me meet the Crown Prince. I will strongly suggest that guards be assigned to protect those who cannot fight. That seems to have a better chance of success than making us train. Surely His Highness would not abandon us.”
Hmm.
He is literally talking shit.
I clicked my tongue softly.
How did that even make sense?
The non-combat personnel made up almost half of the expedition.
If they wanted to protect people who could not even run properly, most of the remaining combat personnel would have to stay behind and protect them.
But the highest priority of this expedition was not to escort them.
It was to defeat the monsters.
To recover the sacred relic.
And, in the end, to protect this Empire and the world.
To protect the Empire from the monsters.
That was the purpose of this expedition.
I saw several nobles nodding in agreement.
They had dull faces, as if they had come here for a leisurely sightseeing trip.
Tsk, tsk.
They will be the first ones to become monster food.
I quickly turned my head away.
It was better to pretend I did not know them.
“Those who want to skip the training may do so. His Highness said he would not stop such people.”
“Did you not hear what I just said? There is something I want to suggest to His Highness…”
Seraphin drew her sword without hesitation.
The sword gave off a blue aura.
That was the sword Kael had bought for Seraphin at the black market in Rainford.
It was also a pair with his own sword.
Ah, so it really did go to Seraphin.
It suited her.
The sword added even more dignity to the cool female lead with her swaying short hair.
Look at that bright blue aura.
If only I could use a longsword…
It was still a shame when I saw it again.
I clicked my tongue.
It would be much more efficient for Seraphin and Kael to have them anyway.
After all, I already had ten daggers.
“Do not forget what we came here to do. Those gathered here are no different from people who have joined the army. Do not forget that in a time of war, disobeying the commander-in-chief’s orders will result in immediate punishment.”
I almost applauded without realizing it.
At Seraphin’s powerful words, the nobles who had been shouting for protection quietly backed away.
I had originally read this novel because I was captivated by Seraphin’s strong presence.
Even when frustrating situations kept happening, the refreshing moments created by Kael and Seraphin, along with their romantic back-and-forth, were incredibly satisfying.
And now I could watch it happen right in front of me.
Of course, if I survived.
If I learned swordsmanship from Seraphin, my chances of survival would increase even more.
I happily cheered for Seraphin in my heart.
Go, big sis! Beat them all up!
Most people participated in the training without complaining.
The training was conducted by Seraphin and several knights whenever they had time.
But there were still some who refused to train or quietly slipped away.
Their complaints piled up day by day, and they increasingly took their frustration out on the people around them.
There were always people like those burdensome idiots.
They say there is a law of a fixed amount of crazy people.
If there is no crazy person in a group, you should suspect yourself.
Anyway, they did not share my way of thinking, so I did not need to care about them.
Perhaps because Vanessa had been pushed so hard by me, she was adapting much better than I expected.
They would soon arrive at Willow.
Willow was the last gateway to the north.
They would probably buy supplies here.
I wondered if there was anything I could buy here too.
Hmm.
I rubbed my chin.
Just in case, while Kael was buying supplies, I thought it might be a good idea to wander around the market and look into real estate.
Since this was an apocalyptic romance-fantasy novel, proper information about real estate was hardly ever mentioned.
It was only mentioned once in a blue moon.
If I had not read the novel as carefully as if I were studying for a civil service exam, I would not even remember those little details.
Good.
I had already managed to sneak away once.
It would not be hard to do it twice!
I just had to find a chance when everyone was busy!
I only needed to put Vanessa to sleep!
It was around the time Rosana was making such hopeful plans.
The first people to enter Willow were Kael, his aides Millers and Masca.
It was a small village, but its situation was much better than Greystone, which had practically been taken over by monsters.
So it was a suitable place for the expedition to restock its supplies.
Or, at least, they thought it would be.
“What? Five gold coins for one sack of flour?”
Masca’s rough voice echoed through the marketplace.
Register, the officer in charge of supplies, scratched his chin awkwardly before continuing.
“All prices have increased to five times their normal amount. It seems the merchants realized that the expedition had arrived and intend to make a large profit.”
Even in times like these, money was still necessary.
Since there was hardly any business, it was not strange that merchants would take advantage of this opportunity.
“Those thieves.”
Masca gritted his teeth.
Register spoke.
“Your Highness, given the current situation, the merchants only asked for our understanding. They did not seem willing to negotiate at all.”
Taking advantage of the situation to charge excessive prices was a crime.
But there was no one here to punish them for it.
The Lord of Willow had already fled long ago.
The farther they got from the capital, the more lawless areas with broken security appeared.
Even Willow, which was supposed to be in better condition, was like this.
It was easy to imagine how bad other places were.
“It is as if all the merchants agreed on the prices. They are all exactly the same. They insist that they absolutely will not sell anything unless we pay those prices.”
Kael frowned.
Unfortunately, the expedition did not have enough money for that.
This expedition involved many interests, power struggles, and political situations.
It was a world full of people who wanted salvation but did not want to make any sacrifices.
The Emperor had tried to steal the relief funds that had been collected.
The ministers and officials also had their eyes on that money.
When they should have been adding more funds, there were only people trying to take them away.
In such a situation, Kael had to do everything he could to secure supplies.
There was no guarantee that more supplies or money would arrive later.
If possible, it would be best to save as much money as they could.
That was why Register was so troubled.
“Haa… What should we do, Your Highness?”
Goods and people were both scarce in these times.
Even if they went to another village, there was no guarantee that the situation would be any better.
Kael roughly ran a hand through his hair.
It felt as if another difficult obstacle was waiting for him after he had barely overcome the last one.
Then, suddenly, someone came to mind.
Rosana.
She had shown a completely different side of herself at the black market in Rainford.
Rosana had successfully protected herself and her money from the violent black-market merchants.
Kael narrowed his eyes.
The hair falling over his forehead moved slightly.
“Bring Lady Rosana here.”
“Lady Rosana, Your Highness?”
At Millers’s question, Kael nodded.
Right now, he could not think of anyone more suitable than Rosana.
She seemed quite skilled at bargaining.
More importantly, she had not backed down easily even in the rough black market.
“Yes. Lady Rosana.”
It was the first time.
The first time Kael had gone looking for Rosana himself.
The first time he had waited for her.
He swallowed a dry laugh.
Who could have imagined things would turn out like this?
That he would end up asking for help from the fiancée he hated so much.
And yet, Kael was looking forward to it.
He was looking forward to seeing Rosana’s excellent bargaining skills.
And her lively eyes.
Everything she gave off.
I gave Vanessa, who shared the same tent with me, some medicine with a calming effect and put her to sleep.
Once Vanessa was asleep, no one would notice me sneaking away.
I was just about to go look around Willow when Millers, one of the Crown Prince’s aides, came to find me.
“Lady Rosana.”
Why was this man looking for me?
I stared at him awkwardly, completely caught off guard by the unexpected visit.
Did he realize that I was planning to go into Willow?
Is he going to brand me as a deserter and kick me out of the expedition?
How did he even find out?
I swallowed nervously.
“What is it?”
“His Highness is looking for you.”
“Me?”
“Yes. He said he needs your help with purchasing supplies.”
Purchasing supplies?
Help?
That was a genre I had never expected.
What did Kael trust me for?
We were not even close enough for him to ask me for help.
And didn’t he hate Rosana?
In the original story, Rosana had left the worst possible impression on Kael.
Because of that, Kael despised not only Rosana but also the Ardena family that had raised her that way.
But now he was asking me for help?
Something was strange.
Is this a trap?
“…Why are you looking at me like that?”
“No, it’s nothing. Where is he?”
Of course, since I was part of the expedition, I could not refuse an order from Kael, the commander-in-chief.
And rather than continue feeling uneasy, it would be much better to go there myself and find out what was going on.
I followed Millers to the Willow marketplace, where Kael was waiting.
