Chapter 14
The moment Kaiden stepped down from the carriage, his face darkened.
He had been uneasy ever since she’d mentioned living in a tent, but he had never imagined it would be this bad.
There was nothing that could even be called properly furnished.
The entire shelter looked as though a slightly stronger gust of wind could knock it over.
Quietly moving to Emilia’s side, Kaiden asked,
“You’ve really been living in a place like this?”
“How many days has it been?”
“Hmm…”
“About three days, I think?”
Another crease appeared between his brows.
“Which tent is yours?”
“Over there.”
Emilia pointed toward a worn tent tucked away in the corner.
Without another word, Kaiden strode forward.
His long legs carried him effortlessly between the rows of tents, drawing everyone’s attention at once.
“Oh my, who is that?”
“Is that some noble lord?”
Just as Emilia had expected.
A man like him would attract attention no matter where he went.
There was no way people wouldn’t stare.
Covering part of her face with one hand as whispers spread around them, she hurried after him.
“What’s wrong?”
“Are you embarrassed to be seen with me?”
Instead, Kaiden looked genuinely puzzled by her behavior.
“W-Well…”
“Most people don’t really like attracting attention.”
Emilia whispered quietly before letting out a small sigh.
Someone who’s spent his entire life in the spotlight wouldn’t understand.
At least asking him to leave the carriage some distance away had been the right decision.
“It’s fine.”
“Let’s just hurry.”
“Young Master Ivan, would you like some of these?”
A maid approached Ivan, holding out a plate.
It was filled with colorful cookies shaped into adorable little figures.
Thinking he might not have understood her, she even mimed eating by bringing her hand to her mouth.
But Ivan simply shook his head.
Then, wearing a somewhat lonely expression, he quietly headed upstairs to his room.
Ever since recently, Ivan had been living in the estate of Duke Valen.
It was certainly nice not having to live in constant fear like before.
But just because his body was safe didn’t mean his heart was at ease.
Duke Valen wasn’t someone he could approach casually.
And everyone else here was still a stranger to him.
Closing the door behind him, Ivan sat down and began scribbling letters onto a sheet of paper.
Then—
He paused.
Some noise drifted in from outside.
What’s that?
Pricking up his ears, he listened carefully.
Neigh!
Hearing a horse whinny, Ivan stood on tiptoe and peered out the window.
The duke’s carriage was entering through the gates.
It looked like any other ordinary day.
Just as he was about to lower himself—
A familiar woman stepped out of the carriage.
Ivan’s eyes flew wide open.
“Emilia!”
The carriage carrying Emilia headed toward the most expensive district in the capital’s newly developed quarter.
The atmosphere was completely different from the neighborhood where she had been living.
Not long afterward, the carriage passed through the gates of the ducal estate.
The enormous mansion, grand enough to rival a castle, left her staring in amazement.
The gardens stretched so far that even after passing through the front gate, the carriage continued rolling for quite some time.
When she finally stepped down, Emilia looked up at the massive estate in stunned silence.
Come to think of it…
Isn’t everything happening a little too… impulsively?
But she didn’t have time to dwell on it.
“Come inside.”
“Huh? O-Okay…”
Urged along by Kaiden, she stepped into the mansion.
Just then—
Rapid footsteps echoed from above.
What was that?
Looking up, she saw a small child hurrying down the staircase.
“Ivan?”
The moment their eyes met, Ivan’s face lit up.
It’s really Emilia!
He had rushed over just to make sure he wasn’t mistaken.
It really was her.
Without hesitation, Ivan ran straight into her arms.
“Emilia!”
“[Have you been doing well?]”
“[Mm-hmm!]”
Ivan nodded vigorously.
He’s adorable.
In an instant, all the exhaustion she’d been carrying seemed to melt away.
But after a moment, Emilia gently released him.
Unlike her, who had become rather grimy from living outdoors, Ivan was neat and spotless.
Ivan blinked in confusion before looking up at her.
“[Emilia! How did you get here? What have you been doing? Why did you come here?]”
Questions poured out one after another.
Ah!
Ivan suddenly realized he’d spoken far too quickly.
She had told him before to speak slowly and simply.
Just as he hurriedly tried to correct himself—
Emilia smiled.
“[I came… by carriage.]”
She pointed toward the carriage in case her pronunciation hadn’t been clear.
“[And while we were apart… I worked at a shop for a little while.]”
Ivan’s eyes grew round.
“[Emilia! You speak so well!]”
Her Hiphrian was far more fluent than before.
“[Really?]”
Emilia couldn’t help feeling a little proud.
Smiling at the boy waiting eagerly for the rest of her story, she continued.
“[Actually… I came to be Ivan’s teacher.]”
“[Teacher?]”
“[Yes.]”
“[I’ll stay by your side.]”
“[And I’ll teach you the Imperial language.]”
Ivan’s eyes widened even further.
He whipped his head around toward Kaiden.
“[Really?]”
“Yes.”
Kaiden answered with a casual nod.
“[So I’ll be counting on you from now on, Ivan.]”
“[Mm-hmm!]”
Ivan answered excitedly.
Watching the child beam with happiness, Kaiden let out a quiet laugh.
“They’ve only met once…”
“And he doesn’t have the slightest bit of caution.”
At Kaiden’s low mutter, Harold lowered his gaze toward his master’s hand.
The sight of the duke carrying a light travel bag himself was… rather memorable.
“…You’re right.”
Harold agreed somewhat awkwardly.
Truthfully, the only reason he’d recognized Emilia so quickly was entirely because of Kaiden.
Repetition through constant questioning.
To put it simply—
His employer had repeatedly made him review everything about her.
When Kaiden regained consciousness that day, he had looked strangely shaken.
As though he simply couldn’t understand what had happened, he bombarded Harold with questions.
Harold had suffered greatly because of it.
What had been less than thirty minutes of events had somehow required several hours to explain.
Shaking his head at the memory, Harold recalled the conversation.
“…She really left?”
“Yes.”
“She left without the slightest hesitation.”
“And she truly refused the reward of her own accord?”
“What, do you think I threatened her or something?”
“…Did your face look suspicious?”
“Your Grace, anyone would think the man who’d just been stabbed looked far more suspicious than I did.”
Remembering those exhausting days, Harold found himself wondering something.
No…
If His Grace remembered her face that well…
Why had he kept asking all those questions?
“You said you couldn’t really remember what she looked like?”
“…That’s right.”
“Well… she had brown hair, green eyes, and kind of a puppy-like face—”
“Not green.”
“Weren’t they light green?”
“…?”
“Oh… right.”
“I suppose they were.”
There hadn’t been any need to cross-check details so thoroughly.
After all…
His Grace had even jumped out of a moving carriage after spotting her from so far away she had looked no bigger than a bean.
Thinking back on it now, Harold couldn’t help feeling that all the time he’d spent answering those endless questions had been completely wasted.
