Chapter 62

April 1st. Clear weather, a perfect day to set off.

“Fania-chan, please take the second carriage. I’ll ride the one with Matilda and Abel. We’re going to have a girls’ talk, Fania would feel awkward, won’t you?” Mother had been really excited from the morning.

Matilda and Abel looked delighted too. Mother and Matilda each weighed 2.5 times my weight, while Abel is slightly more than double my weight. Rather than the girls’ talk, I was more concerned about the strain exerted on the horses that would have to pull the carriage, so he chose to back away.

Besides, there was also the thing with the letter. I was glad that our carriages were separate.

“Ow, Matilda, I told you, we need no ginger anymore. Well, Abel too, why are you bringing sweets with you? No need to bring that. Both of you, put the things in your hands into the carriage that is loaded with all the luggages. Come on, everyone, quickly board the carriage. Be faster. Fania-chan, are you okay by yourself?”

“I’m alright.”

Mother promptly gave out her orders, even then, she still paid attention to me. We all boarded the carriages. The carriages were unmarked1, but they were luxuriously built; they wouldn’t tire you even on a long journey along with cushions and blankets provided inside.

“Igni, thanks for everything until now. I’ll leave the rest in your hands.”

“Madam, I don’t deserve your gratitude. Please leave the rest to me.”

Mother watched as everyone had boarded the carriage before she called out to Igni. The house steward, Igni was probably overcome by emotions, he deeply bowed with tears welling up his eyes.

“Well then, we’ll…Oh no! How clumsy I am, I forgot my hat. I kept reminding everyone not to forget anything, while I, myself did it. I’m sorry Igni. I’m sure I left my hat on the sofa of the sitting room, can you please take it? It’s the one with a red rose corsage.”

“Certainly, I’ll go right away.“

From the carriage window, I saw Mother do a mischievous act at the very end and it thankfully had loosened all my tense emotions. I had been jittery since this morning, and finally I somehow managed to calm my nerves.

“Madam, is it this one?” Igni returned and brought a hat in both hands.

“Yes, this is it. Thank you, Igni. Although it’s been chaotic till the very end, we’re off now, till we meet again.” Mother put on her hat and boarded the carriage.

The horse carriage took off.

I had one thing I wanted to ask Mother—what happened with reducing the luggage? I wasn’t even allowed to bring a few pieces of underwear. But what about this large number of horse carriages? There were only two carriages for passengers (guards rode their own horses). But the rest of the carriages were for luggages, just what was she bringing along?

A multitude of horse carriages passed in front of Igni who was bowing his head deep down. Ten minutes after they departed, one of the carriages deviated its path from the rest. But no one made a commotion about it. This single carriage went on its strayed path, opposite to the other carriages that were heading to the country border and it travelled through the forest.

“Phew, finally we’ve set off…”

The carriage had windows but to avoid being seen from outside, it was covered with drapery. Therefore, I had no clue around which area this carriage was travelling at this moment. It was swaying hard, but there were cushions, so there was no problem. Today, things were hectic since morning, so finally I could relax in the carriage; or so I thought…

“Why are you here?”

“So unfriendly~” The man in red who was already on the carriage before me snickered.

When I got on the carriage, I was stunned to find the man in red inside it. I wanted to praise myself for not getting off the carriage out of surprise. I wondered if the others knew that there was this man in red in this carriage. It was possible that among the guards and the drivers, there was this man’s subordinates.

“Hey, may I have a word?”

“Yes, you may. I’ll answer within my capabilities.”

I had tons of questions for this man in front of me, but I decided to ask the thing that bugged me the most, “Why aren’t you wearing a red outfit?!”

I harshly pointed a finger towards the man. He was wearing something resembling a uniform in black. Why? Why doesn’t he wear red? Isn’t it strange? He should wear red! Why after all this time, is he wearing something so normal?

“Eh? From all you can ask, you ask that? Don’t you have something you’re more curious about? Moreover, who cares what colour my clothes are.”

“No! No! No! In my heart, you cannot wear anything other than red.”

The man in red had an astonished look on his face. But I couldn’t compromise on this matter—the man in red should only wear red.

“Next time you appear before me, you must properly wear a red outfit.”

“What’s with that? Is that an ordering tone exclusive to the nobles?”

“It’s a must, so just do it.”

“Ehhh, it just sounds ridiculous.”

I allowed no rebuttal. On top of that, Mother told me that the man in red belonged to His Majesty’s private soldiers. His Majesty, who was informed of our departure date, must have sent him as my bodyguard. I no longer held any fear towards the man in red.

*Thud* Along with a light vibration, the horse carriage halted. It hadn’t been that long yet. The final destination of this carriage was the town at the border. It would take four days to get there by horse carriage. We would then board the ship from the harbour of this town.

“Are you getting off?”

“Yeah. I wanna stretch my body. You just stay there.”

“Eh? I want to go to the gents, I’m getting off too.”

“Hmph, is that so?”

The man in red would probably be guarding me. He didn’t seem like he would separate from me. I wore the hood of my jacket in order to avoid people’s eyes as much as possible. It was a gorgeous one; but maybe it was a bit big, when I had the hood on, half my face was hidden from view.

I put my hand on the door. I slowly opened the door and stepped down from the carriage.