In the end, I found nothing.
I had to return home that day with a sour taste in my mouth after telling Rudrick I was going north.
Still, I decided to wait for Rudrick to come back after his initial dash.
I was worried that something bad might have happened to him, because I saw his face in the distance, and it seemed very serious.
When Rudrick did not return for a considerable time, I decided to sleep at the Duke’s residence.
Ethan Miller, one of the division commanders, dissuaded me.
I was waiting in the reception room and had just decided that I should call the butler to prepare a room for me to stay in for the night when I bumped into him as he entered the parlor.
‘You’re still here?’
He looked surprised that I had not left yet, and broke out in a cold sweat when he heard that I intended to stay the night.
Then he stopped me, saying, ‘His Excellency has suddenly come upon some urgent business and will not be able to return before the end of the day.’
Saying this, he patted me on the back and seemed to want me to leave quickly, so I was puzzled but had no choice but to return home.
But Rudrick, who had been sitting so calmly a moment before, and who, as soon as I spoke, had suddenly become busy.
The division commanders who had rushed out after him, and now Ethan’s behavior, were all so suspicious that I asked him furtively before I went home.
‘What’s going on?’
Sir Ethan looked at me with a puzzled expression and then said something I couldn’t understand.
‘It’s over before it started.’
‘…?’
Eventually, I went home without a good reason.
The next day was no different. Still unable to get any sleep upon my return, I wrote to Rudrick as soon as daylight broke.
But there was no answer, and my steps were slowing to a crawl.
Then, out of the blue, I received news.
‘You’re leaving for the North soon?’
It turned out that Rudrick was preparing to go up north.
‘Yes, he’s leaving as early as this week… Didn’t you know that?’
My parents looked at me in disbelief when I told them the news, and I gave them an awkward smile and blurted out, ‘I didn’t know he was leaving right away.’
But at the same time, I had my doubts.
‘Surely you said you weren’t going then?’
So he was thinking about how to fix what happened when he came back and said he was going to the north and decided to return.
Rudrick seemed pretty serious at the time, too serious for me to think, ‘Did he lie to me?’ He seemed to be quite sincere when he said he wasn’t leaving.
Like he had a reason.
‘So, is that problem solved now?’
Then what’s the reason?
But no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t come up with a single clue, let alone a way to know why, so I soon stopped wondering.
After all, Rudrick had said he was going to the North, so it was as if his destination was set in stone.
Still, I wrote him one more letter, just in case.
A formal request to His Excellency, the Duke of Bouser, as Princess Averine, that I would like to visit the Bouser estate in the north.
Fortunately, the answer came quickly.
[As you please.]
I should have been thrilled with the positive response, but there was something sinister about it, and I found myself staring at the correspondence for a while again.
But my grumbling didn’t last long.
I was about to head up north, just like my parents said.
“What’s the sudden rush?”
The Emperor and Rudrick had already been discussing the journey to the North for some time, and they were ready in no time at all, leaving me to be the only one with my feet on fire.
At least I packed a few things, just in case.
I could have lost track of him as I was rushing to finish packing, or I could have followed him blindly, unprepared.
I couldn’t afford that. As important as this trip was to me, there were a lot of things I needed to prepare for.
Up until the day before I was to leave for the north, I had been busily organizing my belongings, and now I was just about finished.
Hestia, in front of me, was still busy packing her things.
“It’s nearly tomorrow already,” I said wistfully, looking out the window.
It had been a long time since I had traveled. Still, when I was a kid, I used to go to a cottage close to my parents’ house, if not far away, every once in a while…
Between preparing for the war and supporting the family, I had hardly gotten a chance to leave the capital since I started having those ominous dreams.
Sure, I’ve traveled a few times for work, but that’s it.
I didn’t have time for sightseeing, so I’d just look at papers in the carriage, or hurry through the gate and hurry back to the mansion.
Actually, I’m not going up north to relax this time. Maybe it’s better to take it easy, like my parents said.
‘We’ll be busy again when we get back.’
The business would really get off to a good start if they were to find a demon insect and receive the title. At that point, the family would not be able to rest until at least the last general meeting to decide on a successor.
‘It would be a good idea to have someone in place for that.’
No, I didn’t just hope for it, I needed it.
This was the time. Whatever it takes!
“Are you ready?”
I was smirking evilly, thinking of all the ways I’d planned. The door opened behind me. I turned my head toward the direction of the sound.
There was Jeron, with his arms crossed.
As it turned out, Jeron was boarding a ship for Hessen a few days after I left.
I greeted him beaming, requiring someone objective to review my preparations.
“Okay. Done.”
And Jeron, sensing the specter of foreboding in my suspicious smile, turned on his heel and prepared to flee.
“Huh? Well, that’s good, then, and I’ll be off…”
“No.”
But I was faster.
Already preparing to pick him up when I saw him, I sprinted to him in a single stride and grabbed his wrist.
Then I laughed out loud as I watched his face gradually turn pensive.
“Will you take a closer look?”
✿
The division commanders sat around the table, their faces as serious as anything in the world.
To be honest, they were only gathered together because their master was currently plotting a route to the north with someone from the imperial court, and they had nothing better to do.
Still, they were all huddled together now, where they would normally have been scattered. It wasn’t just that.
They were actively participating in the meeting they hated so much.
“It’s on us.”
The first to speak was the 2nd Division commander
Ruth Fedex.
He was feeling a strange sense of guilt about the situation.
He had once been called the ‘voice of reason in the Knights of Bouser,’ but how could he have let things get so out of hand?
If he’d at least prevented it, even His Excellency wouldn’t have fallen for such a ridiculous delusion.
He sighed heavily. There was a figure with an equally dark face.
It was Ethan Miller, the Fourth Division commander, who had been the cause of all this.
The one who had relayed the scandalous news of the society to His Excellency, and who had then blurted out, ‘I think he likes it.’.
“It’s so disgraceful, if only I hadn’t said that…”
“Hey, you know what, come on, don’t be so hard on yourself. We were both mistaken.”
“Yeah, I didn’t expect that name to come up there either.”
Leona Selvig, the commander of the Third Division, was consoling him, and next to her, Michel Dimitri, the commander of the Sixth Division, was nodding eagerly.
But Ruth, who had been observing the situation, interrupted firmly.
“But we can’t deny that His Excellency has been hurt by our mistakes.”
And at those words, no one could help but vomit.
Even they were shocked to learn that it wasn’t him that Lady Averine had fallen in love with, and they couldn’t imagine how traumatizing it must have been for the one who actually witnessed it.
They had never seen him so impulsively leave his seat before.
“Your Excellency, I know you were hoping for this, but…”
“But there’s nothing we can do about it. The princess already has a crush.”
“No, there is.”
The division leaders looked up to see a serious-looking Ruth.
“It’s not like you two are dating yet.”
“Then you don’t mean…?”
Leona, who had been staring at him with her mouth agape, finally spoke.
“You mean to change the princess’s mind?”
“Yes.”
“But is that something that we can do amongst ourselves? If this is another case of us fooling around on behalf of His Excellency…”
“No, this time, His Excellency seems determined.”
Ruth remembered clearly, ‘My master, who had been missing for half a day after the fiasco, had said so.’
He gritted his teeth in exasperation and said, ‘Let’s see what we can do.’
In that silent, burning gaze, Ruth realized. This time would be different. For the first time, he was going to fight to get what he wanted.
He had always looked dead and empty.
“That’s why we have to help him.”
At the same time, Ruth decided. Let’s support him wholeheartedly, now that it’s come to this.
And his resolve must have reached the other division commanders, because they slowly raised their heads, then looked into each other’s faces and nodded firmly.
They looked like they were about to start a revolution.
“Let’s do it.”
“A woman knows a woman’s heart best, don’t you think?”
“Well, my cousin happens to be an unbelievably good seducer of women.”
They looked at each other and giggled.
Ruth Fedex, who was looking at the division commanders with pride, declared.
“Let’s adjourn the tactical meeting.”
And the division commanders were off in his absence.
Rudrick, who was in his office, studying maps with an imperial knight, devising a plan, frowned. Suddenly, goosebumps spread across his body and an ominous shiver ran up his spine.
‘Why am I so uneasy?’
In the end, I found nothing.
I had to return home that day with a sour taste in my mouth after telling Rudrick I was going north.
Still, I decided to wait for Rudrick to come back after his initial dash.
I was worried that something bad might have happened to him, because I saw his face in the distance, and it seemed very serious.
When Rudrick did not return for a considerable time, I decided to sleep at the Duke’s residence.
Ethan Miller, one of the division commanders, dissuaded me.
I was waiting in the reception room and had just decided that I should call the butler to prepare a room for me to stay in for the night when I bumped into him as he entered the parlor.
‘You’re still here?’
He looked surprised that I had not left yet, and broke out in a cold sweat when he heard that I intended to stay the night.
Then he stopped me, saying, ‘His Excellency has suddenly come upon some urgent business and will not be able to return before the end of the day.’
Saying this, he patted me on the back and seemed to want me to leave quickly, so I was puzzled but had no choice but to return home.
But Rudrick, who had been sitting so calmly a moment before, and who, as soon as I spoke, had suddenly become busy.
The division commanders who had rushed out after him, and now Ethan’s behavior, were all so suspicious that I asked him furtively before I went home.
‘What’s going on?’
Sir Ethan looked at me with a puzzled expression and then said something I couldn’t understand.
‘It’s over before it started.’
‘…?’
Eventually, I went home without a good reason.
The next day was no different. Still unable to get any sleep upon my return, I wrote to Rudrick as soon as daylight broke.
But there was no answer, and my steps were slowing to a crawl.
Then, out of the blue, I received news.
‘You’re leaving for the North soon?’
It turned out that Rudrick was preparing to go up north.
‘Yes, he’s leaving as early as this week… Didn’t you know that?’
My parents looked at me in disbelief when I told them the news, and I gave them an awkward smile and blurted out, ‘I didn’t know he was leaving right away.’
But at the same time, I had my doubts.
‘Surely you said you weren’t going then?’
So he was thinking about how to fix what happened when he came back and said he was going to the north and decided to return.
Rudrick seemed pretty serious at the time, too serious for me to think, ‘Did he lie to me?’ He seemed to be quite sincere when he said he wasn’t leaving.
Like he had a reason.
‘So, is that problem solved now?’
Then what’s the reason?
But no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t come up with a single clue, let alone a way to know why, so I soon stopped wondering.
After all, Rudrick had said he was going to the North, so it was as if his destination was set in stone.
Still, I wrote him one more letter, just in case.
A formal request to His Excellency, the Duke of Bouser, as Princess Averine, that I would like to visit the Bouser estate in the north.
Fortunately, the answer came quickly.
[As you please.]
I should have been thrilled with the positive response, but there was something sinister about it, and I found myself staring at the correspondence for a while again.
But my grumbling didn’t last long.
I was about to head up north, just like my parents said.
“What’s the sudden rush?”
The Emperor and Rudrick had already been discussing the journey to the North for some time, and they were ready in no time at all, leaving me to be the only one with my feet on fire.
At least I packed a few things, just in case.
I could have lost track of him as I was rushing to finish packing, or I could have followed him blindly, unprepared.
I couldn’t afford that. As important as this trip was to me, there were a lot of things I needed to prepare for.
Up until the day before I was to leave for the north, I had been busily organizing my belongings, and now I was just about finished.
Hestia, in front of me, was still busy packing her things.
“It’s nearly tomorrow already,” I said wistfully, looking out the window.
It had been a long time since I had traveled. Still, when I was a kid, I used to go to a cottage close to my parents’ house, if not far away, every once in a while…
Between preparing for the war and supporting the family, I had hardly gotten a chance to leave the capital since I started having those ominous dreams.
Sure, I’ve traveled a few times for work, but that’s it.
I didn’t have time for sightseeing, so I’d just look at papers in the carriage, or hurry through the gate and hurry back to the mansion.
Actually, I’m not going up north to relax this time. Maybe it’s better to take it easy, like my parents said.
‘We’ll be busy again when we get back.’
The business would really get off to a good start if they were to find a demon insect and receive the title. At that point, the family would not be able to rest until at least the last general meeting to decide on a successor.
‘It would be a good idea to have someone in place for that.’
No, I didn’t just hope for it, I needed it.
This was the time. Whatever it takes!
“Are you ready?”
I was smirking evilly, thinking of all the ways I’d planned. The door opened behind me. I turned my head toward the direction of the sound.
There was Jeron, with his arms crossed.
As it turned out, Jeron was boarding a ship for Hessen a few days after I left.
I greeted him beaming, requiring someone objective to review my preparations.
“Okay. Done.”
And Jeron, sensing the specter of foreboding in my suspicious smile, turned on his heel and prepared to flee.
“Huh? Well, that’s good, then, and I’ll be off…”
“No.”
But I was faster.
Already preparing to pick him up when I saw him, I sprinted to him in a single stride and grabbed his wrist.
Then I laughed out loud as I watched his face gradually turn pensive.
“Will you take a closer look?”
✿
The division commanders sat around the table, their faces as serious as anything in the world.
To be honest, they were only gathered together because their master was currently plotting a route to the north with someone from the imperial court, and they had nothing better to do.
Still, they were all huddled together now, where they would normally have been scattered. It wasn’t just that.
They were actively participating in the meeting they hated so much.
“It’s on us.”
The first to speak was the 2nd Division commander
Ruth Fedex.
He was feeling a strange sense of guilt about the situation.
He had once been called the ‘voice of reason in the Knights of Bouser,’ but how could he have let things get so out of hand?
If he’d at least prevented it, even His Excellency wouldn’t have fallen for such a ridiculous delusion.
He sighed heavily. There was a figure with an equally dark face.
It was Ethan Miller, the Fourth Division commander, who had been the cause of all this.
The one who had relayed the scandalous news of the society to His Excellency, and who had then blurted out, ‘I think he likes it.’.
“It’s so disgraceful, if only I hadn’t said that…”
“Hey, you know what, come on, don’t be so hard on yourself. We were both mistaken.”
“Yeah, I didn’t expect that name to come up there either.”
Leona Selvig, the commander of the Third Division, was consoling him, and next to her, Michel Dimitri, the commander of the Sixth Division, was nodding eagerly.
But Ruth, who had been observing the situation, interrupted firmly.
“But we can’t deny that His Excellency has been hurt by our mistakes.”
And at those words, no one could help but vomit.
Even they were shocked to learn that it wasn’t him that Lady Averine had fallen in love with, and they couldn’t imagine how traumatizing it must have been for the one who actually witnessed it.
They had never seen him so impulsively leave his seat before.
“Your Excellency, I know you were hoping for this, but…”
“But there’s nothing we can do about it. The princess already has a crush.”
“No, there is.”
The division leaders looked up to see a serious-looking Ruth.
“It’s not like you two are dating yet.”
“Then you don’t mean…?”
Leona, who had been staring at him with her mouth agape, finally spoke.
“You mean to change the princess’s mind?”
“Yes.”
“But is that something that we can do amongst ourselves? If this is another case of us fooling around on behalf of His Excellency…”
“No, this time, His Excellency seems determined.”
Ruth remembered clearly, ‘My master, who had been missing for half a day after the fiasco, had said so.’
He gritted his teeth in exasperation and said, ‘Let’s see what we can do.’
In that silent, burning gaze, Ruth realized. This time would be different. For the first time, he was going to fight to get what he wanted.
He had always looked dead and empty.
“That’s why we have to help him.”
At the same time, Ruth decided. Let’s support him wholeheartedly, now that it’s come to this.
And his resolve must have reached the other division commanders, because they slowly raised their heads, then looked into each other’s faces and nodded firmly.
They looked like they were about to start a revolution.
“Let’s do it.”
“A woman knows a woman’s heart best, don’t you think?”
“Well, my cousin happens to be an unbelievably good seducer of women.”
They looked at each other and giggled.
Ruth Fedex, who was looking at the division commanders with pride, declared.
“Let’s adjourn the tactical meeting.”
And the division commanders were off in his absence.
Rudrick, who was in his office, studying maps with an imperial knight, devising a plan, frowned. Suddenly, goosebumps spread across his body and an ominous shiver ran up his spine.
‘Why am I so uneasy?’
