āMiss, you donāt know how happy I am that you have been eating well and sleeping well lately. If you continue to work hard on health care like this, I donāt think I will have any other wish in life.ā
āā¦Yes, I will try.ā
āGreat! There must be many better medicines than this in the eastern continent! Iāll do anything to get you there, just trust me!ā
For some reason, it seemed like Charlotte could really do it. Charlotte always shows greatness beyond my expectations. I replied with a soft smile.
āThank you. But donāt push yourself too hard.ā
āItās impossible, at least to get medicine⦠uh? Harriet! What is that?ā
Charlotte found Harriet in front of the inn and ran out like the wind. She quickly snatched the box from Harrietās hand, looked around, and after she exchanged a few words with Harriet, she suddenly turned happy.
āMiss! Miss Lily!ā
Charlotte sprinted to my side with the box. When she snapped the lid of her box with a āta-da!ā, a very thick bitter scent hit me.
āā¦ā¦.ā
āThis is also medicine, but itās even better, and if you take it together with what you took before, the effect is much better! Now, go ahead and take this too!ā
āā¦ā¦.ā
āMiss? Here you go.ā
āā¦Mmph.ā
I took the pill Charlotte offered me and quickly put it in my mouth and swallowed it without chewing. Then Charlotte looked at me while widening her eyes, and Harriet, who was watching us, burst out laughing loudly.
* * *
There were so many people waiting to board the ship headed to the eastern continent. There seemed to be a good hundred people.
It was amazing that so many people hoped to go to the eastern continent. Of course, about thirty of them were people originally from the eastern continent, perhaps merchants or travelers.
Some wore the clothes of Fraunces Kingdom, while others wore the clothes of the eastern continent.
Eastern clothing generally had long, wide sleeves. However, there were a few people who tied their sleeves with a metal or leather bow.
A belt made of leather or cloth was wrapped around the waist, and jewelry made of jade or coral beads woven with thread was fastened to the belt.
Unlike the people of the Fraunces Kingdom, who usually cut their hair short, men from the east generally had their hair long enough to reach their waists.
I was curious about them, but I tried not to stare too blatantly. Curiosity could come off as rude at times, too.
āIt will be our turn soon. So, Harriet?ā
After waiting for a long time, it was finally our turn to board the ship. With Charlotteās call, Harriet grinned and held out his hand.
Charlotte took his hand and shook it roughly, and Harriet held out his hand to me as well, but she slapped it away. Harriet, with the back of his hand red, pretended to be hurt.
āOuch, it hurts. Why canāt I even say goodbye? Youāre overprotective of Miss Lily.ā
Before I knew it, Harriet was also calling me āMiss Lilyā⦠We had been staying together for a while now, and we had become quite attached to each other, too. Itās a pity that we had to part ways now.
āCharlotte, donāt cry even if you miss me.ā
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āWho would miss you? Geez.ā
Incredulous, Charlotte snorted at Harrietās joke. I let them both grumble and turned to Zen.
Zen didnāt say much today, so unlike usual, his presence was lighter. For some reason, my heart was troubled when I saw that the person who had always been like the bright sunlight had a slightly gloomy complexion. I said, patting him on the shoulder.
āYoung Duke, is there something that bothers you? You donāt look well today.ā
āNo, that⦠Itās not like thatā¦ā
Zen opened his mouth and let out a deep sigh before speaking again.
āā¦I wish I could go with you.ā
āā¦ā¦?ā
Tilting my head to the side, I was unable to understand what he meant by that. Then, after a while, I suddenly realized, āAh.ā
And I said with a sad expression as if I understood everything.
āYoung Duke said you wanted to travel around the world⦠Donāt be too depressed. The day will come when you will also be able to travel to the East, Young Duke.ā
āā¦ā¦.ā
Zen looked at me with a speechless look for some reason⦠Did I say something wrong? I paused for a moment to think, but Zen hurriedly opened his mouth while looking a little impulsive.
āItās not like that, Lilyā¦! Sure, I want to travel around the world, but what Iām depressed about is⦠Not because of thatā¦ā
āā¦ā¦?ā
āYouā¦!ā
It was at the same moment Zen was about to say something serious.
āMove! Everyone, get out of the way!ā
āW-What?ā
āWhatās going on?ā
āWhoās that?ā
āHeās kind of familiarā¦Ā gasp!ā
A manās shout came, and people started to murmur and then split like waves.
I too was puzzled and looked in that direction. The man who broke through the crowd and appeared like a kingā¦