33 – secret conversation

A chariot bearing the seal of Eternia was crossing the borders of the Empire.

Inside the carriage, an old man with gray hair tied back was looking out the window.

said a young masked attendant sitting across from him.

“Kalios-sama, in principle, you must hide your identity until you die.”

“Huh, is that bastard’s rule of thumb again? What are people worried about in an open area like this?”

“This is not a procedure to protect Kalios. This is imperial territory. If, by any chance, the Empire gets this news… .”

“Ha, okay, okay. I’m still an Imperial person, so why are you so hard on me?”

The old man lifted the mask he had put aside and fixed it to his face.

Soon the wrinkles around his face and neck were smoothed out and his hair dyed black.

“Even if you don’t do this, it’s only a matter of time before the Empire finds out. Don’t you know?”

The attendant paused for a moment and then said.

“Are you saying there will be spies on Eternia?”

“of course. Eternia is a place that is not wary of the Empire in the first place. It has never done any harm to Eternia.”

“Then why does Kalios want to go to Eternia… .”

“Shouldn’t it be balanced if I go and interfere?”

The oath binding Kalios to the Empire was now running out.

He was now completely cut off from the Empire, and he intended to commit himself to Eternia.

The news that one of the three sword masters who stood firm at the top of the empire would leave would cause quite a stir.

“I will abide by Kalios-sama’s choice, but I wonder if you really have to go that far.”

Kallios will not hesitate to go beyond the level of keeping a distance from the Empire and become hostile if necessary.

“Didn’t you see it too? It’s not just extraordinary. Can’t you draw what will happen if there is a contact between that child and the empire?”

They will use all means to keep the Eternian divinity on the leash of the Empire.

“… In the end, they will be raised as royal guards.”

royal guard. It was a bodyguard under the direct control of the imperial family, where the highest points of the empire’s armed forces gathered.

“You can’t see me like that even if I die. It’s too good a talent to rot there.”

For the knights of the empire, the Royal Guard, considered the highest honor, was actually a tomb of talent.

Numerous geniuses who became royal guards fell victim to the imperial power struggle.

He knew all too well because he had personally raised and commanded the Royal Guard.

“Isn’t that boy’s teacher also there? If you touch it wrong, the empire will become a sea of fire.”

“Even that woman cannot take a disciple with her all day.”

The attendant thought for a moment about the meaning behind the words.

“I’ll take the opportunity when she goes to the North.”

“right. You never know. Will you use that little boy as a hostage and later use the master as well?”

“… .”

“The members of the imperial family are originally such filthy and despicable people. Aren’t there already several records?”

The attendant closed his mouth and thought for a moment.

“jeon… I am afraid that all of Master’s hard work will go to waste.”

“hehehe, what a waste of an old yard. If I just let go of my hands, later that Zeldan guy will resent me forever.”

***

Silverin stretched her arms out to the sky.

To get to the mansion, we still had to travel a couple of hours by carriage.

We stopped the wagon on a forest road and took a break.

The carriage doors were left wide open, allowing sunlight and wind to enter the carriage.

The chirping of the birds was pleasant enough, so she lay down on the carriage seat as if she was tired.

As Silverin’s long hair fell down and swept the floor, I picked it up with my hand and placed it on top of her body.

Silverin said with half-closed eyes.

“thanks.”

The wagon wasn’t wide enough, and her ankles poked out of the wagon door.

Silverine twisted and twisted to find a comfortable position, and finally folded her legs halfway so that her knees were facing the sky.

Thanks to that, the skirt slipped down her thighs. Then, with her hand, she tucked the skirt between her thighs and secured it.

The shoulder strap on one side has come loose, revealing the collarbone, and the hair is all loose.

There is no body pain in front of the disciple.

They seem to think of me as an underdeveloped child or an invisible person.

As I observed her with an anguished face, she also rolled her eyes at me.

“What you looking at?”

“… .”

And Silverin was still not wearing any jewelry.

I don’t know much about women, but I do know that women dress up as prettily as possible for important events like social gatherings.

To go out without doing anything at such a place must mean that he made up his mind on something.

It’s like a silent protest.

I should go to the mansion soon and finish the preparations and tell you…

Silverin, probably bored, reached for the pile of letters next to me and pulled out one.

“That’s my letter… .”

“I will read it to you.”

“… .”

She roughly tore off the seal on the letterhead and inspected the contents.

“The youngest of the three sons and one daughter of the Marquis of Dalton… too long. something else.”

She roughly folded the letter and threw it away before picking up something else.

“Puha, he must be still young, he believes in fate.”

in another letter.

“Bored.”

She tore out four pages like that and tossed them away without reading them properly.

“This is a bit peculiar. Yes, you should prepare something like this to attract attention.”

She held the black letter paper in her hand and waved it.

“Amarillis Rae lives in the misty city near Meihen. You want to come and play? where is the fog city? You’ve become quite famous, haven’t you?”

Rather than reading aloud, it is at the level of roughly reading and notifying the contents.

I half listened to her and said.

“Shouldn’t we go soon? If I drag it any longer, I think I will be late.”

Don’t you want to receive a gift quickly?

“I don’t know, I’m sleepy. Just start like this.”

She really closed her eyes like that.

“… .”

I tidied up Sylverin’s sagging limbs, closed the door, and started the carriage.

We arrived at the mansion in the early evening.

Silverine had been sleeping soundly without waking up even once.

In front of the front door of the mansion, there were large wooden boxes stacked one upon another.

Servants came out and were busy moving them onto carts.

Everyone was in the middle of preparing for Eternia.

Silverin rubbed her eyes and left the carriage.

“Teacher. Do you have that much baggage to move to Eternia?”

“yes… .”

She didn’t seem to be awake yet.

Why do I have to bring so much when it’s just the two of us? Anyone who sees it will know what kind of house they are selling and moving.

“This is almost at the level of escaping from a war, isn’t it?”

She yawned and said.

“You know that I only have one mansion.”

“… ?”

for a moment. Is there another mansion in Eternia?

As I looked around, it wasn’t just me and Silverin’s luggage.

“Are all the others leaving too?”

“Only half remain and the other half will go with you.”

Among the servants, Lilia was also moving the luggage to the cart while sweating profusely.

“And Lyria?”

“Why do you want me to go with you?”

“well. It will be your first time going to a foreign country, so wouldn’t it be hard to adapt?”

“That little boy said he would follow on his own. I must have learned some things, so I guess I wanted to experience the big water.”

“… .”

Lilia was a child with a strong desire to live well. Since she was young, she might have been a bit greedy.

Even if you live as a maid in Eternia, you will see and hear more than Wiesel.

“More than that, are you ready?”

Now I have to move fast too.

“Nope. There are urgent matters left.”

I left Silverine behind and ran up the doorstep.

“Why are you in such a hurry?”

“There is such a thing!”

I hurried through the hallways of the mansion, entered my room, and shut the door.

There was a box wrapped in paper on the desk.

It must be something I asked the butler.

I opened the package and inside was a necklace of ruby and silver cut to the size I wanted.

The size of the gem wasn’t very satisfying, but this is the best I could have.

A necklace certainly requires more effort than a ring, but it is unclear whether Silverine will understand this.

I took the unfinished work out of the drawer.

It was an accessory that had been ground with meteorite so that the jewel could be fixed. However, the size of the jewel is smaller than expected, so there are many places to touch.

‘It should be over after midnight at the earliest.’

***

Silverin was awake even late in the morning.

She was sitting in a chair and reading a letter, relying only on a candle placed next to her.

She tapped her lower lip with the tip of her finger and fixed her eyes.

It wasn’t something like that at all, but Silverin occasionally smiled happily as she read the letter.

It’s something I’ve already read three more times.

It was partly because I had already slept for a long time during the day, and I couldn’t sleep easily because I had a lot of thoughts after reading this letter that arrived in a hurry today.

Then, quiet footsteps approached outside the door.

A knock sounded soon after.

smart.

No one came to her room at this hour.

“come in.”

The door opens cautiously with a squeaking sound.

It was Damien.

“Teacher.”

“What is it?”

“I didn’t know you were awake.”

“Have you had any other significant dreams?”

Damian cleared his throat as if he didn’t know why.

“Nope.”

He put his hands behind his back and approached her.

Silverin said without taking her eyes off the letter.

“I don’t know what it is, but put it on the table and go.”

“… Yes.”

Damian put a small box on the table and glanced at the letter in Silverine’s hand.

There was the seal of the Knights Templar.

“support… Is it a related letter?”

“no.”

Damian’s face hardened.

“It’s an apology from the knight commander.”

“… .”

“They say they sincerely apologize for committing disrespect with words that go against chivalry. Did you know what was going on?”

“… Yes.”

“Sooner or later, you will form an envoy to come and apologize in person?”

“Teacher… What are you going to do?”

Silverin finally lowered the arm holding the letter and raised her eyes to Damian.

“me?”

Damian swallowed nervously and said.

“Yes.”

“I said it was already done. Now I have to go to Eternia… .”

She blurted out her words like that, but after a while, she spoke again.

“I don’t get angry because someone already scolded me.”

Damian froze for a while before suddenly saying hello.

“… Then let’s go.”

Silverin stopped Damian from going.

“Why are you running away already? The story isn’t over yet. I’m not angry.”

As Damian averted his gaze, Silverine smiled.

Watching his reaction like this was one of Silverine’s little pleasures.

“What’s this?”

Silverin asked, holding the small box he had brought.

Damian groaned.

“I made one by chance, but I thought it would suit the teacher well, so I brought it. Just because you don’t wear jewelry well…”

She opened the box. Inside was a necklace with a flower-like metal ornament.

In the center of the flower decoration is a ruby. The level of craftsmanship was extremely precise and sophisticated.

“necklace?”

“Yes.”

Her mouth pouted in disapproval.

“Is it over?”

“Yes… ?”

“Is it the end if you come all of a sudden like this and put everything on top of it, or is there anything else?”

Damian replied firmly.

“I don’t know.”

Silverin sighed deeply.

“I’ll tell you.”

Then he pulled Damian’s hand.

She immediately lifted the necklace and placed it on Damian’s palm.

“Pick it up.”

“… … !”

Silverin turned and sat on the edge of the chair with only half of her body hanging over it. So he showed his back to Damian and curled up his hair and put it on the top of his head.

Soon, her pure white back neck was revealed.

Damian looked at him and held his breath for a moment.

“Hurry up, my arm hurts.”

Only then did he realize what Silverin wanted.

Damian hesitated for a moment, then finally walked up behind her and put the necklace on himself.

Damian’s hand brushing Sylverine’s collarbone was trembling slightly.

The corners of her lips lifted slowly.

“I finally see the virtue of raising a disciple.”