As promised, Rudrick came to pick me up.
The sight of the knights in formation around the carriage was more majestic than I had expected.
It was like something out of a fairy tale, especially with the entire order in full uniform and on their horses.
And sure enough, at the head of the line was the man everyone had been expecting.
‘Rudrick.’
I hadn’t seen him in a long time, but he was still dazzling.
No, he looked even more so today.
He wasn’t dressed in his usual casual clothes, but in his full uniform and riding a shiny black horse, he looked more like a work of art than a man.
I couldn’t help but admire him, no matter in what way I looked at him. As I gazed at him in awe, I was forced to realize one thing.
Rudrick, who hated to adorn himself, could not have dressed up like that…
‘What about Lord River?’
For a moment, his princely appearance reminded me of the first time I saw him at the victory banquet.
He was already handsome to begin with, but when he dressed up properly, he was magnificent.
Especially when he’s wearing a white uniform and riding a white horse, he looks like ‘my prince’.
No, actually, a white uniform and a white horse is what I’m hoping for. He could also wear a black uniform like the other knights. Black would be fine, too, as it would add a spoonful of sexiness that he lacks.
My eyes already rolling back in my head, I scanned the knights, barely paying attention to Rudrick as he dismounted from his horse.
‘Where is he? Where could he be?’
With looks like that, he’d stand out anywhere. Maybe at the end of the line?
“What are you doing?”
“Well, I’m just trying to find out where Lord River is… Huck!”
Suddenly, I jumped at the low voice.
I looked up, startled.
There he was, Rudrick. He strode up to me, eyes narrowing as he realized I was somehow distracted.
I flashed him an awkward smile.
“Oh, you’re here? No, I was just looking around to see if I recognized any familiar faces, you know, it’s been a while…”
“Looking for Goldman?”
My eyes widened in surprise at Rudrick’s straightforward question, which didn’t even acknowledge my greeting. Then it hit me.
‘That’s right, I said it myself.’
I realized that I had just said it out loud to myself.
I’d blurted it out without thinking at the time because I thought he knew, but now I felt a little embarrassed that I’d spilled the beans to a man who probably didn’t know anything.
But at the same time, I thought, this might be okay, they know everything about it anyway, so they don’t have to keep asking.
“Uh, yeah… do you happen to know where…”
“I know.”
My face lit up at his words. But it didn’t last long.
For some reason, Rudrick’s mood seemed off.
‘What, what, why are you smiling like that.’
He was definitely not his usual self.
Normally, he would have been annoyed and replied, ‘Why are you asking me that?’ or bluntly say, ‘I don’t care,’ but instead, he answered that he knew…
“I know very well.”
Why the hell he’s smiling so crookedly. His handsome face complemented his unpleasant laughter.
Seeing him laughing so wickedly, as if mocking me, made me feel uneasy, and I finally couldn’t help but ask.
“Where is he? Tell me.”
“He’s not here.”
“Oh?”
My eyes widened at the unexpected answer. Seeing me like that, Rudrick said, genuinely amused.
“Because he left first.”
He added with a confirming nod.
“A few days ago.”
According to Rudrick, this was the story.
Originally, we planned to travel north with only the Bouser people, but with the reinforcements the Emperor sent, we were overwhelmed by the growing numbers.
We’d already organized the shortest route familiar to the northerners, and now we’d have to change everything.
To add insult to injury, I, Princess Avery, would be accompanying them, so it was hard enough to control the doubled number of people, but now they had to escort a princess as well.
Inevitably, the Imperials and Rudrick discussed the matter for several days, and the conclusion was…
“You want to split the team in two?”
“Because it’s most efficient.”
Lord Leona, who happened to be at Rudrik’s side, added an explanation.
It would be better to divide the army into two and set out separately, as traveling in large numbers at once would make us slower.
It would also be better for my escort.
The closer we get to the north, the more monsters there are to encounter, and if the advance party goes first and eliminates the dangers, the others could follow safely.
And so they promised to rejoin us at the entry point to the north.
I could understand that. It was for my safety.
But the question came next, “Lord River was to lead the vanguard?”
The answer was yes, Lord River had been chosen to lead the advanced team.
I later learned that it was Rudrick who highly recommended Lord River, but I didn’t know that at the time, so I let out a muffled scream.
Still, I thought that if he had been among the vanguard knights, we might have been able to bring him in as a backup, but since he had been decided, even that trick didn’t work.
In short, I couldn’t even see his toes, not until we joined the group at the entrance to the North!
‘No way!’
How about my grand scheme of traveling together and getting cozy?
I’d share water with him when we rested, rub his feet when he was tired, and if we were ever homeless, he’d take off his jacket and drape it over my shoulders, and we’d have a nice campfire…
“Homeless? Of course not.”
On top of that, the trip itself was quite different from what I had envisioned.
Instead of making the arduous march to the north, stopping at villages along the way, as I had seen in the novels, they chose to use a great magic transportation system.
They decided to use a travel portal owned by the imperial family.
“So here’s how it works: during the day, we travel to where the portal is, take the portal to the next town, stay overnight, and then when it’s daylight again, we travel to another portal, spend the night, travel, and…”
It was almost a mechanical schedule. To the point where one might wonder if we were rushing.
And I was right.
Rudrick said he was in a hurry. In fact, it’s only romance for me, but work for him.
He was familiar with the peculiar difficulties that I hadn’t experienced, and, as Lord Leona said, ‘It’s hard to stay on the roads for a long time,’ and I got tired just thinking about it.
I wanted to give it a try, but the thought of stopping and camping along the way, of boiling up a big pot of stew and eating it, making small talk with the knights…
‘I should give up.’
I grunted in disappointment and cleared my throat.
Actually, I don’t mind doing any of these things later, but the loss of Sir River was still a blow.
I planned to have them ‘with’ Lord River.
If there was any chance at all, it would be when we joined them later, but until then, I didn’t know how long I’d have to wait and hope I wasn’t exhausted by the time we finally arrived.
‘I wish I could join them sooner rather than later.’
By the time they reached the imperial-owned travel portal, they would already be far away.
So we’ll either have to travel day and night to get there, or we’ll have to use a further portal to finally join them…
‘A portal that travels further?’
A thought popped into my head, and I asked him out of the blue.
“But why an imperial portal? If we want to rush, we can use a better portal, for example, the one owned by the Magic Tower.”
“The tower is too expensive. They charge a fee per person, and if we want to move all these people, we need to use…”
Lord Leona looked around as he said this, and I realized that it would be difficult if the Imperials and Bouser had a separate budget.
They couldn’t afford to spend all of their budget on travel portals.
But what if I paid for it out of my pocket?
“What if I pay for it?”
“What? That’s a lot of money for a princess to spend out of her pocket, and I doubt she’d even want to use it unless she was a very wealthy person…”
“Still, if I could afford it, perhaps Lord River… No, how long do you think it will take to catch up with the vanguard?”
“Well, since the vanguard left for the far side about four days ago… We’ll probably catch up quickly with another day’s ride, or we could wait until we get to the northern entrance first.”
“Good.”
At the same time, Lord Leona’s meaningful ‘what the heck is so good about it’ glare returned, but I merely smirked wordlessly.
Luckily, I’m one of the ‘modestly wealthy’ she was referring to.
She probably thinks I only get a measly pittance, but I’m the heir to the Duchy of Averine, which has been rolling in assets since I was a little girl.
I have more than enough money. I even had some fun with the medicine I sold with the help of the Knights this time.
“Where is Rudrik?”
I decided. I’m going to give them a proper taste of their money this time.
Leona Selvig, head of the Third Division of the great Knights of Bouser, couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
She rubbed her eyes again and yet again. But the familiar landscape in front of her did not disappear.
Towering watchtowers, frost-covered gateways, and dense conifers.
This was the northern frontier.
And here they would reach in just three days.
‘Three days….’
In truth, when Princess Averine spoke of the Portal of the Tower, she hadn’t expected much.
As I mentioned before, the Magic Tower charges an insane price to use their portal, and even if they traveled in a group, they charged per person, with no discounts.
So she used to look at the nobles using the portal and say, ‘Screw the money,’ and click her tongue. She would just throw the money on the ground.
But I couldn’t believe she actually threw money in the trash.
‘Is this reality?’
Although Princess Averine was the one who did it, not her, to be precise.
The first time I used the portal in the tower, I thought it was possible.
Even then, I was surprised, but after all, she was the only daughter of one of the richest families in the Empire.
But what shocked me was what she did next.
After using the portal in the tower and being charged, the princess’s eyes widened in surprise.
As if she was surprised, she said, ‘What, it’s not much?’
And then she calculated the entire cost of the portal to the north on the spot.
Leona’s heart clutched at her stomach as she was so taken aback by this act of utter coolness that she thought her heart would freeze.
Staring at the majestic back of the great princess, who was no longer just an aristocratic darling, but that ‘light’, she muttered to herself.
“I wonder if I should get a job at the Averine Duchy.”
As promised, Rudrick came to pick me up.
The sight of the knights in formation around the carriage was more majestic than I had expected.
It was like something out of a fairy tale, especially with the entire order in full uniform and on their horses.
And sure enough, at the head of the line was the man everyone had been expecting.
‘Rudrick.’
I hadn’t seen him in a long time, but he was still dazzling.
No, he looked even more so today.
He wasn’t dressed in his usual casual clothes, but in his full uniform and riding a shiny black horse, he looked more like a work of art than a man.
I couldn’t help but admire him, no matter in what way I looked at him. As I gazed at him in awe, I was forced to realize one thing.
Rudrick, who hated to adorn himself, could not have dressed up like that…
‘What about Lord River?’
For a moment, his princely appearance reminded me of the first time I saw him at the victory banquet.
He was already handsome to begin with, but when he dressed up properly, he was magnificent.
Especially when he’s wearing a white uniform and riding a white horse, he looks like ‘my prince’.
No, actually, a white uniform and a white horse is what I’m hoping for. He could also wear a black uniform like the other knights. Black would be fine, too, as it would add a spoonful of sexiness that he lacks.
My eyes already rolling back in my head, I scanned the knights, barely paying attention to Rudrick as he dismounted from his horse.
‘Where is he? Where could he be?’
With looks like that, he’d stand out anywhere. Maybe at the end of the line?
“What are you doing?”
“Well, I’m just trying to find out where Lord River is… Huck!”
Suddenly, I jumped at the low voice.
I looked up, startled.
There he was, Rudrick. He strode up to me, eyes narrowing as he realized I was somehow distracted.
I flashed him an awkward smile.
“Oh, you’re here? No, I was just looking around to see if I recognized any familiar faces, you know, it’s been a while…”
“Looking for Goldman?”
My eyes widened in surprise at Rudrick’s straightforward question, which didn’t even acknowledge my greeting. Then it hit me.
‘That’s right, I said it myself.’
I realized that I had just said it out loud to myself.
I’d blurted it out without thinking at the time because I thought he knew, but now I felt a little embarrassed that I’d spilled the beans to a man who probably didn’t know anything.
But at the same time, I thought, this might be okay, they know everything about it anyway, so they don’t have to keep asking.
“Uh, yeah… do you happen to know where…”
“I know.”
My face lit up at his words. But it didn’t last long.
For some reason, Rudrick’s mood seemed off.
‘What, what, why are you smiling like that.’
He was definitely not his usual self.
Normally, he would have been annoyed and replied, ‘Why are you asking me that?’ or bluntly say, ‘I don’t care,’ but instead, he answered that he knew…
“I know very well.”
Why the hell he’s smiling so crookedly. His handsome face complemented his unpleasant laughter.
Seeing him laughing so wickedly, as if mocking me, made me feel uneasy, and I finally couldn’t help but ask.
“Where is he? Tell me.”
“He’s not here.”
“Oh?”
My eyes widened at the unexpected answer. Seeing me like that, Rudrick said, genuinely amused.
“Because he left first.”
He added with a confirming nod.
“A few days ago.”
According to Rudrick, this was the story.
Originally, we planned to travel north with only the Bouser people, but with the reinforcements the Emperor sent, we were overwhelmed by the growing numbers.
We’d already organized the shortest route familiar to the northerners, and now we’d have to change everything.
To add insult to injury, I, Princess Avery, would be accompanying them, so it was hard enough to control the doubled number of people, but now they had to escort a princess as well.
Inevitably, the Imperials and Rudrick discussed the matter for several days, and the conclusion was…
“You want to split the team in two?”
“Because it’s most efficient.”
Lord Leona, who happened to be at Rudrik’s side, added an explanation.
It would be better to divide the army into two and set out separately, as traveling in large numbers at once would make us slower.
It would also be better for my escort.
The closer we get to the north, the more monsters there are to encounter, and if the advance party goes first and eliminates the dangers, the others could follow safely.
And so they promised to rejoin us at the entry point to the north.
I could understand that. It was for my safety.
But the question came next, “Lord River was to lead the vanguard?”
The answer was yes, Lord River had been chosen to lead the advanced team.
I later learned that it was Rudrick who highly recommended Lord River, but I didn’t know that at the time, so I let out a muffled scream.
Still, I thought that if he had been among the vanguard knights, we might have been able to bring him in as a backup, but since he had been decided, even that trick didn’t work.
In short, I couldn’t even see his toes, not until we joined the group at the entrance to the North!
‘No way!’
How about my grand scheme of traveling together and getting cozy?
I’d share water with him when we rested, rub his feet when he was tired, and if we were ever homeless, he’d take off his jacket and drape it over my shoulders, and we’d have a nice campfire…
“Homeless? Of course not.”
On top of that, the trip itself was quite different from what I had envisioned.
Instead of making the arduous march to the north, stopping at villages along the way, as I had seen in the novels, they chose to use a great magic transportation system.
They decided to use a travel portal owned by the imperial family.
“So here’s how it works: during the day, we travel to where the portal is, take the portal to the next town, stay overnight, and then when it’s daylight again, we travel to another portal, spend the night, travel, and…”
It was almost a mechanical schedule. To the point where one might wonder if we were rushing.
And I was right.
Rudrick said he was in a hurry. In fact, it’s only romance for me, but work for him.
He was familiar with the peculiar difficulties that I hadn’t experienced, and, as Lord Leona said, ‘It’s hard to stay on the roads for a long time,’ and I got tired just thinking about it.
I wanted to give it a try, but the thought of stopping and camping along the way, of boiling up a big pot of stew and eating it, making small talk with the knights…
‘I should give up.’
I grunted in disappointment and cleared my throat.
Actually, I don’t mind doing any of these things later, but the loss of Sir River was still a blow.
I planned to have them ‘with’ Lord River.
If there was any chance at all, it would be when we joined them later, but until then, I didn’t know how long I’d have to wait and hope I wasn’t exhausted by the time we finally arrived.
‘I wish I could join them sooner rather than later.’
By the time they reached the imperial-owned travel portal, they would already be far away.
So we’ll either have to travel day and night to get there, or we’ll have to use a further portal to finally join them…
‘A portal that travels further?’
A thought popped into my head, and I asked him out of the blue.
“But why an imperial portal? If we want to rush, we can use a better portal, for example, the one owned by the Magic Tower.”
“The tower is too expensive. They charge a fee per person, and if we want to move all these people, we need to use…”
Lord Leona looked around as he said this, and I realized that it would be difficult if the Imperials and Bouser had a separate budget.
They couldn’t afford to spend all of their budget on travel portals.
But what if I paid for it out of my pocket?
“What if I pay for it?”
“What? That’s a lot of money for a princess to spend out of her pocket, and I doubt she’d even want to use it unless she was a very wealthy person…”
“Still, if I could afford it, perhaps Lord River… No, how long do you think it will take to catch up with the vanguard?”
“Well, since the vanguard left for the far side about four days ago… We’ll probably catch up quickly with another day’s ride, or we could wait until we get to the northern entrance first.”
“Good.”
At the same time, Lord Leona’s meaningful ‘what the heck is so good about it’ glare returned, but I merely smirked wordlessly.
Luckily, I’m one of the ‘modestly wealthy’ she was referring to.
She probably thinks I only get a measly pittance, but I’m the heir to the Duchy of Averine, which has been rolling in assets since I was a little girl.
I have more than enough money. I even had some fun with the medicine I sold with the help of the Knights this time.
“Where is Rudrik?”
I decided. I’m going to give them a proper taste of their money this time.
Leona Selvig, head of the Third Division of the great Knights of Bouser, couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
She rubbed her eyes again and yet again. But the familiar landscape in front of her did not disappear.
Towering watchtowers, frost-covered gateways, and dense conifers.
This was the northern frontier.
And here they would reach in just three days.
‘Three days….’
In truth, when Princess Averine spoke of the Portal of the Tower, she hadn’t expected much.
As I mentioned before, the Magic Tower charges an insane price to use their portal, and even if they traveled in a group, they charged per person, with no discounts.
So she used to look at the nobles using the portal and say, ‘Screw the money,’ and click her tongue. She would just throw the money on the ground.
But I couldn’t believe she actually threw money in the trash.
‘Is this reality?’
Although Princess Averine was the one who did it, not her, to be precise.
The first time I used the portal in the tower, I thought it was possible.
Even then, I was surprised, but after all, she was the only daughter of one of the richest families in the Empire.
But what shocked me was what she did next.
After using the portal in the tower and being charged, the princess’s eyes widened in surprise.
As if she was surprised, she said, ‘What, it’s not much?’
And then she calculated the entire cost of the portal to the north on the spot.
Leona’s heart clutched at her stomach as she was so taken aback by this act of utter coolness that she thought her heart would freeze.
Staring at the majestic back of the great princess, who was no longer just an aristocratic darling, but that ‘light’, she muttered to herself.
“I wonder if I should get a job at the Averine Duchy.”
