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After a few hectic days, a man carrying a flag bearing the blue lion arrived at the castle. He was a knight named Godric, claiming to be a messenger from the first prince. Luisen had also seen this man a few times around the royal palace.
Luisen greeted him personally; the man seemed incredibly exhausted. “Did you travel all the way here from the royal palace without taking a break? You look very tired.”
“Not at all. I had stopped by Count Dubless’ estate on the way here and rested. However, I got lost in the woods and got into a fight with a swarm of monsters.”
“Just where did you wander to for you to encounter monsters?” The road through the woods was familiar to Luisen; there was little chance for him to stumble into a monster encampment.
“I don’t know either. It was incredibly foggy in the forest. So, I lost my way and wandered for a long while.”
Fog?
When he mentioned the fog, Luisen was reminded of the thick fog that the Vinard envoy reported. The main road to Vinard was far from the forest–and fog was a common weather occurrence there as well–so the two may have been unrelated. However, he felt discomfited.
‘Is Carlton going to be okay?’ Luisen was worried for the man, but for now, he had to deal with an envoy in the present; he shoved the worry to the back of his mind.
“It seems you’ve suffered on your journey here. What brings you here?”
“I bring a message from my prince to the duke.” Despite the tired lines on his face, Godric pepped up and delivered the first prince’s message. The content was quite simple, if one were to cut out the lengthy wordiness as required by etiquette.
“He desires my presence in the capital? Right now?”
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“Yes. I sympathize with the current messy state of affairs, but we thought it would be more secure for you to arrive alongside Sir Carlton. Come to think of it, where is Sir Carlton?”
“He…already left….”
“Huh? I hadn’t heard about that.” This was a large setback for Sir Godrick. “Has it been long since he left?”
“It’s been a few days…”
“…That’s a shame. He’ll probably already be far on his way. What should we do?” Godric contemplated for a while before proposing something else, “I’ll leave before the duke and ask Sir Carlton to turn around. In the meantime, please prepare yourself for the journey.”
“Well…I’m a bit busy currently with the internal estate affairs. I’ll send a representative.”
Godric was flustered when Luisen flatly refused. Luisen Anies rejected a trip to the capital? But the lord seemed sincere. Godric observed his surroundings before carefully leaning towards Luisen, whispering, “Our majesty is in poor health.”
“He’s always been in poor health.”
“It seems that this time it’s quite serious.”
Luisen’s expression froze. The situation had changed. If the king was truly in critical condition, Luisen had to go to the capital. It was his duty and right as a great lord to nominate the next king and prepare for the coronation. “Do the other great lords know of the king’s critical condition?”
“No.”
“I see. If that’s the case, then I must go.” Luisen ordered a servant to guide Godric to rest. He then called in the retainers that were waiting outside.
“The prince is asking me to come to the capital,” Luisen said.
“Is that the reason for the messenger’s visit?”
“Yes. The public excuse will be to discuss the repatriation of prisoners of war. However, the reality is that the king is gravely ill.” Luisen nodded.
“…It seems that the prince is asking you to prepare for the next era.”
“Are all the other great lords gathering at the capital?”
“Not yet. It seems I was the first one he’s called.”
“Hmm…Then the first prince must have other issues he’d like to discuss with my lord,” the general pointed out sharply.
“…Doesn’t it feel a bit suspicious?” the treasurer questioned. The knight commander agreed.
“That’s right. It’s strange that the messenger arrived as soon as Carlton departed. And saying how he wandered around in the forest because of fog and monsters. That doesn’t happen very often.”
The retainers had a point. Luisen also inwardly held suspicions about the situation because of all of these strange coincidences. “But all we have are suspicions. That’s no excuse to disobey the words of the king.”
“Yes. Of course.”
“Ha, I thought we’d be able to finally take care of the estate business…” the treasurer lamented.
Luisen and his retainers talked more afterwards, but everyone concluded that the lord had to go to the capital. “If there’s anything I need to do in the capital, please let me know in advance. I’ll need to settle some credit while I finish my business there.”
“Yes.”
“And if the king dies…I’ll have to stay for quite a while in order to prepare for the coronation. I’ll have to trouble the general with the work, as I have done before.”
“Not at all. My lord, you have more important things to do.”
Luisen had tried to concentrate on his lordly duties, but even that plan fell apart. He had never been so reluctant to return to the capital.
“The messenger said he spent a few days in the woods, right? Then you must hurry. We do not know how the conditions of the area have deteriorated by now.”
“That’s true. I’m sure you’re busy, but I’ll have to rush you all,” Luisen said.
“It can’t be helped. We’re more worried about your escort than anything else. The number of knights still left in the estate are…”
“Ah, don’t worry about that. The messenger said they would depart ahead of us and call for Sir Carlton.”
“Carlton?” The general was startled at his words. This was true of the other retainers.
“Why, of all people, would they call that son of a bitch again? I’d rather you take all the knights in this land!”
“I’ll follow you instead.”
“Traveling alone to the capital with a scoundrel like him? Absolutely not!”
Luisen was mystified.
Was this truly something that required them to protest so vehemently–blood veins popping out in their necks?
“Don’t worry. Sir Carlton will be good to me. He’s not such a rude person.”
“It’ll be an issue for him to be *good* to you!” The chancellor couldn’t exactly explain in detail because he was worried it would be too shocking for Luisen. The older man was angry and his chest felt incredibly stuffy. He didn’t live to such an old age to see something like this!!
At any rate, despite how the retainers felt, Godric would, after his break, leave to call upon Carlton. The road they’d take would be the same, so they should meet halfway.
Luisen began preparing to head for the capital.
Preparing for this type of trip was no ordinary business. Usually, he brought the servants, attendants, and knights attached to Luisen’s personal detail; with Luisen’s luggage and the luggage of his escort detail combined, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say an entire mansion would be moving. This time, he had to hurry more than before, so he reduced the detail and omitted a lot. However, he still had much to pack. Putting his chief attendant in charge of the journey, Ruger became incredibly busy.
Luisen thought that Ruger would like this change, since he begged and begged to return to the capital; but now that the hour had arrived, he didn’t seem so pleased. His chattiness decreased, and it seemed that a lot was on his mind.
‘What’s wrong with him?’ Ruger’s behavior bothered Luisen, but he had too much to do before he left for the capital. Luisen couldn’t afford to also ask after the concerns in Ruger’s heart. He discussed with the retainers the work that was needed to be done in the estate during his absence, the work to be done at the capital, and the necessity to watch one’s conduct in front of others.
It was not long before Luisen left his estate.
*****
The carriage drove without a hitch along the far-reaching straight stretch of the road. No matter how much they traveled and traveled, there was no end to the vast fields next to the roads. Then, when it was time to rest for meals, they stopped and ate; at night, they slept in nearby villages.
The villagers remained calm despite the appearance of the lord and his retinue because this was the road that Luisen often took on his journeys between the capital and the duchy. The journey started with a great deal of frustration, but the road was surprisingly smooth.
Luisen laid a book on his lap and looked out of the window. The wind blew gently; he could hear the sounds of his knights’ conversations. At first, they were so nervous that they kept quiet, busy being wary of the surrounding areas, but as time went on and the plains continued without any problems, joking commenced.
A boring, sluggish atmosphere enveloped the party.
Luisen turned his head and looked at Ruger. Ruger was lost in thought, gaze far away. He used to sing about his desires to return, but Ruger seemed distracted throughout the entire trip.
“How much longer do we have?”
“A little further and we’ll be out of the duchy.”
As soon as Luisen asked, Ruger answered. When Luisen stretched his neck out of the window, looking straight at the horse, he saw a small forest in the distance. “I see there’s still a long way to go.”
“If you’re drowsy, please go to sleep.”
“No, if I sleep now, I won’t be able to sleep tonight.” Luisen yawned and leaned his head against the wall of the carriage; his eyelids became heavy. Ruger covered Luisen with a thin blanket and neatly arranged his hair. The touch seemed quite affectionate, and Luisen was soon falling asleep.
“Just go to sleep. If you sleep, the journey will be finished soon.”
It wouldn’t be that fast, Luisen tried to say, but he was so very sleepy. Luisen’s eyes closed.
***
“My lord!”
Screams and cries awoke Luisen with a start–there was a commotion outside.
‘What’s this?’ What had happened while he briefly closed his eyes?
He couldn’t even see Ruger within the carriage.
When Luisen opened the carriage door, the weather was foggy enough to make it hard to see an inch ahead, even in the middle of the day. Wolf-like monsters were attacking the party–Direwolves.
‘Why are there Direwolves here?’ This road was frequently used by travelers, so monsters were regularly exterminated here. It was not a place where Direwolves would often come out in throes like this. Although individually they weren’t that powerful, in a throng the wolves become difficult and dangerous through group strategies.
Dozens of pairs of red eyes could be seen through the fog.
‘Awoooooooooo.’ The Direwolves’ cries echoed through the air. Then, they all looked at the carriage in unison.