---

61. Childhood Friends – The Two

After finishing their dinner, Hirie Gaidan and Palace Tertan stepped out onto the terrace to admire the beautiful sunset.

In just a week, the two had become fast friends to the point that they often sent away the servants to spend time alone together.

As they silently savored the sunset, Palace removed his outer cloak. He draped it over the stone chair on the terrace and invited Hirie to sit. Under the shining sunset, laughter flowed between the two. It was Hirie who broke the silence.

“You’ve brought a lot of knights with you, haven’t you? Is there some reason for that? Are you planning to kidnap me?”

Hirie casually tossed out the question that could be perceived as quite sensitive, as she had only brought two escort knights while Palace had come with fifteen.

Of course, having more escorts made sense after crossing into another country, but that was an excessive number.

Palace smiled and replied, “How could I possibly kidnap a lady? It’s all thanks to my grandfather doting on me too much.”

While there was a specific reason for bringing so many knights, Palace didn’t feel the need to elaborate.

Hirie continued without pressing further. “Oh… somehow it feels disappointing. I thought I would finally get to explore the Conrad Kingdom.”

She glanced down and spoke with a slightly moist tone.

Understanding her words, Palace realized that the moment had finally come for him to reveal his intentions. He had made up his mind to defy his grandfather’s orders.

“I’m not breaking the rules; he just asked me to return with a necklace, not to bring anyone back.”

Palace intended to take Hirie Gaidan back to the Duke’s household.

He would request his grandfather’s permission for marriage once he brought her along.

Although he knew it was quite presumptuous, he didn’t want to give up on this woman.

Palace Tertan swallowed hard and pulled a necklace from his inner pocket.

“Would you accept this?”

“Oh my! What is this? It’s really beautiful.”

Hirie’s eyes widened in surprise. However, she already had an inkling that he had intended to give her the necklace, as she had overheard the grand officer discussing it earlier.

When noble families exchanged gifts, they had to ensure that no malicious magic was cast, which meant it had to be verified by a sorcerer.

Right after arriving, Palace had asked the grand officer to summon a sorcerer for verification.

Naturally, the necklace was free of any abnormalities.

‘Even if there was some enchanting magic, it wouldn’t matter.’

If it were this man…

Hirie pretended to receive the necklace while subtly leaning her head forward. Palace blushed as he gently placed the necklace around her lovely neck.

The necklace, a blend of silver and copper, shone a soft pink, adorned with a dark red gem shaped like a closed flower bud.

That gem appeared to remain completely unaffected by the sunset that enveloped the ground.

As Palace leaned in closely to clasp the necklace around her neck, their eyes met, and he said, “I… like you.”

He was serious, and Hirie felt a surge of emotion as she watched Palace’s neck flush red.

How rare it was to meet such a fresh connection in the cold noble society. This moment was likely a scene that all young ladies across the continent dreamed of.

Her heart raced, and Hirie’s mask of composure finally shattered. With unreserved happiness, she met Palace’s dark brown eyes with her own green ones.

She no longer thought of this as merely a meeting to avoid the detestable princes.

It had to be this man.

“I-I like you too.”

Shyly confessing, Hirie’s and Palace’s lips drew closer. However, Palace held her shoulders.

As Hirie looked puzzled with her lips quivering, Palace revealed the truth.

His grandfather was opposed to their marriage. He pleaded that they go together to the Conrad Kingdom, where he would somehow seek his grandfather’s permission.

Such an admirably charming person.

Palace did not hide the truth or suffer in silence trying to solve the problem alone.

He asked for help.

Hirie tugged at his collar and whispered, spilling promises akin to a noble’s oath inspired by their divine match.

“Thank you for asking for my help. I will follow you anywhere, even if it leads to hell. We are lovers now, and no one can part us.”

Having exchanged those words, the two nobles shared a deep kiss, solidifying their bond. And the two of them remained on the terrace until the sunset dimmed.

*

Several days later,

“What? Lena! What do you mean by that!”

Leo exclaimed in shock at Lena’s sudden declaration.

“Why? Isn’t this great?”

Hirie Gaidan announced that she would be leaving for the capital city of the Conrad Kingdom, Rutina.

The grand officer was taken aback by the lady’s unexpected long-distance travel plans and tried to dissuade her, but she remained steadfast.

Lena had received a request from Hirie. It was an invitation to accompany her as she lacked handmaids to attend her.

Initially rejecting the idea, stating she had to go to Lutetia to become a priestess, Lena finally agreed when Hirie promised to write her a letter of recommendation for the Cross Church.

Lena said, “The King is generously taking care of it and even offering a letter of recommendation. He mentioned I would return in about six months. And I need to earn money for my studies at Lutetia anyway, so isn’t this perfect?”

“B-but!”

This is bad!

If Lena gets her hands on that recommendation, it’ll be the end. With it, she would immediately be exempt from tuition fees at the Cross Church as soon as she arrived in Lutetia.

Then, while Lena earns the much-needed money in the capital, his initial plan to connect with the prince would be utterly thwarted.

Lena, noticing Leo’s distress, shot him a look.

“Aren’t you happy?”

“…I am happy. Why wouldn’t I be happy? It’s truly wonderful.”

Leo replied with a forced smile to her suspicious gaze.

“Wait a moment, Lena. But before that, we should bring some money to our parents. Winter is just a few months away…”

He tried to come up with a cunning plan, but Lena quickly thwarted it with her nonchalant reply.

“I already sent it.”

“Huh? When?”

“Yesterday, I asked the lady to send my wages to Demos village.”

“……”

He was wrong. Lena acted on her own.

As Leo sat there in disappointment, he felt Lena press him further.

“Leo, are you hiding something? Just tell me. It’s scary, you don’t seem like the Leo I know.”

Her bright eyes bore into him. Yet, he remained silent.

Eventually, Lena pouted and declared, “Anyway, I’m going to follow the lady. If you’re coming, let me know.”

How could this have turned out like this?

Leo returned to his lodging and flopped down on the bed. He buried his head in his hands, frustrated.

Nothing was going right!

He had intended to go to the Holy Kingdom to utilize his Tracking Skill, but he was stuck at the lord’s castle due to the border pass, and Lena was trying to earn money for her parents, which led her to find a way into the Cross Church herself.

‘What’s going wrong here?’

He couldn’t force Lena to comply. It had become apparent that her demeanor had been strangely changing lately.

She kept giving him a look that said, “I know you’re hiding something.”

In such a situation, he couldn’t act recklessly.

‘Should I have just shown her the starting funds and the money I got from my father from the beginning? Give money to Lena’s parents?’

But if he did that and her parents refused to take the money, it would eliminate the risk of tuition fees at the Cross Church.

‘How did Lena get so close to the lady? Nobles rarely pay attention to commoners…’

Leo felt disoriented.

This childhood friends scenario, unlike other scenarios, felt more open and without noticeable crises, yet it was oddly restrictive in many ways.

The nearest nobles in the capital, Nevis, were all useless, so he had to go abroad, but to take Lena across the border required legal means. Heading to the lord’s castle had led him to this mess.

He couldn’t wait until the nobles’ meeting was over before leaving.

Staying in Demos village could trigger the event for the journey to the Cross Church, placing him at a crossroads.

If he sent her, Lena would become a priestess, and if he didn’t send her, he would have to marry Lena.

But in the meantime, aware of Lena’s keen observations, he couldn’t drag her against her will… This childhood friends scenario was not as easy-going as it seemed.

As Leo pondered the seemingly hopeless situation, he took a deep breath to calm himself.

‘…Right. It’s not a bad idea to visit the Conrad Kingdom.’

While this scenario posed problems, the beggar siblings scenario was also quite challenging.

In Oberg, Count Peter was aware of the siblings’ lineage, making it hard to elevate the younger sister to a princess in the Belita Kingdom.

In that case, he’d have to return to the Conrad Kingdom to reclaim their bloodline in that scenario, and gathering information in this scenario would surely prove useful.

Moreover, the noble who came to visit was none other than Palace Tertan. And the biggest ally of the prince, who had chased the beggar siblings away, was Duke Tertan.

‘If I can follow Hirie Gaidan as a servant and enter the Duke’s household, I can learn a lot!’

He decided to think as positively as possible. After all, it was now nearly impossible to stop Lena from entering the Cross Church. So, in this scenario, he would follow her to the Conrad Kingdom and gather as much information as he could.

After that, he would be content with Lena becoming a priestess and searching for the prince of the Holy Kingdom until the ending appeared.

It was said it would take about three years to become a priestess… There would be time to think about what to do in the remaining time back in Lutetia.

Leo calmed his restless thoughts and began to formulate a new plan.

As he contemplated with his fingers counting off ideas, the snores of the servants lying on the floor grew louder.

*

In the vibrant colors of autumn, six carriages departed from the city of Bosspo, heading east.

As the procession was made up of two high-ranking nobles, a security detail of 17 knights and nearly thirty soldiers surrounded the carriages.

The handmaidens, who served Palace Tertan and Hirie Gaidan, occupied one carriage, while Leo managed to join the entourage under the pretense of watching over Lena, sitting next to the coachman of the noble lady’s carriage.

Passing through the border checkpoint was a breeze.

At the gate of the Orun Kingdom, a knight from the Gaidan Family presented the signet, and at the gate of the Conrad Kingdom, a knight from the Tertan Family did the same, leading to no inspections whatsoever.

Every time the procession halted, Palace and Hirie would step down from their respective carriages, searching for each other.

Since they weren’t formally engaged yet, they couldn’t share a carriage, but they longed to chat during any spare moments, feeling a pang of disappointment whenever the carriages started rolling again.

Leo, too, sought out Lena whenever the carriages stopped. However, Lena remained sulky and unapproachable.

“If you don’t tell me what you’re hiding, I won’t say anything, either.”

“Lena, I’m not hiding anything. I swear.”

“Hmpf.”

He couldn’t reveal the whole truth, either! There was simply no way to explain!

Leo felt frustrated, yet he trusted that this whining would eventually resolve itself; after all, Lena was still his long-time childhood friend.

Within a week, the carriages entered the western territory owned by the Tertan family as a marquis.

They were just a day away from the trade city of ‘Radoga,’ the wealth-giving centerpiece of the Conrad Kingdom, when they met the grand river, the ‘Irotashi River,’ one of the three rivers enriching the kingdom.

Upon reaching a narrow point on the Irotashi River, they found an ancient stone bridge built by the Acaian Empire long ago.

The procession ascended that bridge.

“Please hold for a moment for inspection.”

Seven soldiers blocked the middle of the bridge.

Although a knight from the Tertan family had gone ahead to show the signet, for some unknown reason, the soldiers did not yield, and the procession came to a halt on the bridge.

The captain of the knights escorting Palace Tertan, Tadian Lofero, showed visible annoyance as he urged his horse forward.

“What is the meaning of this?! There is a young lord from the Tertan family in the carriages behind. Move aside at once… Ah!”

But his expression fell as a soldier removed his helmet.

The soldier’s eyes gleamed with insanity as he spoke slowly, “It’s been a while, Tadian.”

At that moment, the seven soldiers drew their swords. The swords they wielded were two-handed, meaning they were not soldiers at all.

All seven were knights.