Chapter 206
“What? Where are we going?”
“Since we can’t go to the estate looking like this, I told them to detour to the outskirts.”
I was so shocked that I let out a gasp. He told them to detour to the outskirts? That meant he opened the window to the driver’s seat and spoke through it, but I hadn’t noticed at all.
“Did they… hear my voice?”
Come to think of it, toward the end, I let out more moans than I managed to hold back. Even if the driver heard, it would only lead to a rumor among the servants… but it would be awkward to face the driver.
“No. They couldn’t have heard.”
“How do you know that? They might have heard.”
Luwen silently pointed his finger at the ceiling. As I looked up to see what was there, I finally heard it: the sound of rain hitting the carriage hard with a consistent rhythm.
“…Huh? Rain? When did it start?”
“Since the time I wasn’t covering Fei’s mouth.”
Something felt strange.
When I asked for a brief rest, the carriage suddenly jolted heavily. Thanks to that, the rest became… not a rest at all. And even when I covered my own mouth out of concern for the driver, Luwen didn’t tell me anything.
‘…Hmm.’
What was this peculiar feeling, as if I’d been rolled around in Luwen’s palm?
But soon I let everything go with a smile that crept onto my face.
‘Well, what does it matter? It’s Luwen after all.’
He’s the only person who’s allowed to deceive me or mislead me. Because I like him so much that even that is acceptable.
‘Well. I would be very sad if he did it with ill intentions.’
But Luwen wouldn’t do that, would he? If he ever hurt me, it would be a decision made for my sake.
“I, it wasn’t intentional, but somehow the situation just happened to align perfectly…”
I silenced Luwen’s lips—as he was awkwardly mumbling while reading my expression—with my own. His eyes widened in surprise before he smiled broadly and accepted my kiss.
* * *
Time passed with coziness and peace, tinged with a bit of anxiety. By the time the construction of Luwen’s estate was nearly complete, anti-Tuaso sentiment had exploded throughout the empire, reaching a boiling point.
Since the end of last year, there had been an unsettling atmosphere as if a countdown to war had begun. Rumors flowing from the border to the imperial capital were generally ominous, and the root cause was always the Tuaso.
War was coming.
The Second Prince had persuaded the Emperor, holding out longer than expected, but now even he seemed to have shifted his focus toward preparing for war.
‘Fei. Do you still want to follow me to the battlefield?’
When I first mentioned it, my sister flatly refused, saying absolutely not, and wouldn’t listen to me no matter how much I tried to persuade her. She would frown even if I just tried to bring up the ‘w’ in war.
Despite that, I felt an inexplicable fear and sadness from her, which made me hesitant to press further.
Time passed indecisively, and then last night, she was the one who asked me first. It meant the moment had come when we could no longer avoid discussing my participation in the war. When I nodded, she sighed with a serious face and said we would talk again today.
‘Because of my sister, Luwen has become serious too, but…’
What woke me from my thoughts as I rested my chin on the desk, looking out at the lake through the window, was the assistant Corel I had hired after sending Taran to his boss.
“Teacher, Miss Greta is here!”
Corel, who still had a youthful appearance, shouted in a cheerful voice.
“Young master! I’m here!”
Following Greta’s hefty voice as she was in charge of security, I got up and opened the door. Downstairs, Greta was smiling brightly and waving her hand vigorously.
I placed my hand on the second-floor railing and quickly surveyed the interior of the clinic. Though newly built, the interior was identical to the previous one, and I carefully took in the familiar scenery I had grown accustomed to over a long time.
If war broke out, I would have to leave my post for quite a while. I’d need to entrust the patients who trusted and followed me to my master…
‘I wonder if he’ll still object.’
But I had to go regardless. If I stayed here, I might develop a nervous breakdown.
The most important moment in life. An event that would be a turning point changing the future. Because we were standing at a crossroads where either we would all be safe or someone would die, I had to go and confirm it myself.
That the future had changed. That what I feared wouldn’t happen.
‘There are other things I need to do too.’
There was someone who must be kept alive to end the war quickly. Since the hints in the book were fragmentary and might differ from reality, I needed to go and verify them myself.
But today, Greta’s strangely grinning expression caught my eye, making me tilt my head. Even when I asked why, she said it was nothing while continuing to snicker. Usually, when she acted like this, it was when she was reminiscing about pleasant memories with her family…
‘Today, it feels a bit different though.’
It was as if she was teasing me.
With a somewhat uneasy feeling, I opened the clinic door while being seen off by Corel. But then.
“Fei.”
Luwen was standing there, bathed in the warmly shining sunset. Surprised, I opened my eyes wide before my heart melted, and I jumped high and ran to him.
“Luwen!”
Catching me in mid-air, Luwen lifted me up and supported my buttocks with one arm. I hugged his neck and shared my joy at seeing him.
“What? I thought you said you couldn’t come pick me up today?”
“That’s right. But the Duke said he had important matters to discuss.”
He winked one eye, saying he was able to leave the palace earlier than others because of it.
So that’s why Greta was snickering unnecessarily. It was because Luwen had come secretly.
‘This kind of teasing is always welcome.’
Like someone who knew no shame, I remained in Luwen’s arms without getting down. As we walked to the carriage parked nearby, several gazes followed us sharply, but who cares?
“Teacher~ You look happy today too!”
Someone among them called out loudly while pretending to know me. I turned my head toward them and nodded with a bright smile. A middle-aged man holding a hoe laughed heartily.
“Everyone truly loves Fei too much.”
At Luwen’s soft murmur, I laughed out loud this time.
“No one loves me as much as you do.”
“A person’s heart can change at any time. Always go with Greta. The only ones you can trust are me and Greta.”
“I understand.”
I could have told Luwen there was nothing to be wary of, but having heard such concerns often, I’d grown accustomed to giving him the answer he wanted. And look—he smiled contentedly like this. Like a well-fed leopard grooming itself.
‘Ah, I want to kiss him.’
It’s just a shame there are so many eyes watching.
But it wouldn’t take long to reach the carriage. I just needed to be patient a little longer. Just a little.
“I want to kiss you.”
Hoping he would hurry a bit, I whispered, and Luwen’s pace quickened. His transparent reaction made me burst into delightful laughter once more.
* * *
Upon arriving at the estate, the butler who came to greet us guided us to the study. My sister, sitting in her knight’s uniform, rose with a tired face.
“You’re here.”
“Yes…”
Concerned about my sister who looked drained, I approached to check her complexion. She was slightly paler than usual. Her lips were also lighter in color. Fortunately, she didn’t seem to have a fever. It appeared to be due to accumulated fatigue.
‘I should make more of the fatigue recovery medicine Master taught me.’
When I was deeply involved with Luwen and spent almost every night entangled with him, I happened to meet my master by chance. Seeing my face at that time, he clicked his tongue and recommended a combination good for fatigue recovery, which was definitely effective.
‘Thanks to that, I could do it twice instead of once, and occasionally even three times.’
Of course… it felt half-deadly, but since I would want to do it again after some time passed, I was truly a hopeless human.
‘Ah, now is not the time to think about such things.’
Composing my expression, I sat across from my sister, who appeared full of worries. She took a sip of water and spoke.
“His Majesty has expressed a firm intention for war.”
“Ah…”
I had anticipated it, was prepared for it, and had made arrangements. Yet, upon hearing the news that war was actually breaking out, my heart pounded heavily with anxiety.
“The Emperor also knows that the Crown Prince of Tuaso is deliberately trying to provoke a war. But he said that very fact was more vexing. The fact that he’s sacrificing the imperial citizens to maintain his own power.”
There was no need to deliberately start a war while knowing everything. Also, the Second Prince had attempted to change the situation by pushing for the Third Prince of Tuaso to become Crown Prince. But last year, that Third Prince suddenly disappeared. Since the Tuaso Crown Prince’s side was also searching for him, it had to be assumed he had hidden himself of his own volition.
‘It’s a mystery how such a person would be found there, but…’
Perhaps many things had gone awry compared to the past, and this time that person might not be found. Everything needed to be verified in person.
“So I’ll ask again. Fei. Do you really want to come along?”
“Yes. I want to.”
“I haven’t told you… no, I couldn’t tell you, but…”
My hesitating sister took another sip of water. Thud. She put down the glass a bit more roughly than usual and took a deep breath.
“I don’t know how you’ll take this, but there’s a dream I’ve been having repeatedly since some point.”
“…A dream?”
I had a strange feeling. Something like intuition. A feeling that I somehow knew what kind of dream my sister was talking about.
“Yes. In the middle of the battlefield, I was isolated with Luwen. But you pretended to be me and diverted some of the trackers. Thanks to that, we had an opening to escape the encirclement, but…”
My sister’s voice was trembling. She picked up the water glass and put it down again. After repeating these anxious actions, she added with a contorted face.
“You… get hit by an arrow. And eventually, eventually…”
My sister regulated her breathing. She seemed to have difficulty speaking.
“It’s strange. It’s just a dream, but it feels too real. I can’t shake the feeling that someone is warning me by revealing the future.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
