Our carriages formed a line surrounded by guards as they trudged along a long road that connected two cities. Farmers lifted their heads from their work in the fields on either side of this road, their gazes full of surprise and curiosity. Typically, outside of Sans-Terre, one wouldn’t often see the Royal Order of Knights, clad in their flashy white uniforms, or fancy carriages that surely held nobles. The farmers called for their families and neighbors, pointing their fingers as they watched us drive into the distance.
I was among this line that was pulling all eyes, inside of the carriage meant for the royal family themselves. The carriage hardly rocked at all, allowing for a most pleasant ride. Its interior was not only extravagant but also carefully constructed—one’s bottom wouldn’t hurt even after riding in it for long periods of time.
Unfortunately, it was not so still that I could write.
“Urgh... It’s hard to keep my pen straight...”
No matter how high-quality the carriage, there would inevitably be some level of wobbling, making it hard to write on the go. My editor would surely complain about how messy my handwriting was. Despite how hard I was fighting, the manuscript was still hard to read.
A voice drawled next to me, “Why are you doing that inside of a carriage?” This was His Highness Prince Severin, who was waving to the people along the road with a smile. He turned to me with an exasperated expression.
“My deadline is coming up.” I squinted at the ink marks. “I can’t waste the long travel time staring into space. I told you that I was busy, yet you still forced me to come here. Please don’t complain.”
“I wouldn’t necessarily call this complaining, but you should stop for now.”
“I told you, I don’t have time— Ack!” The tip of my pen slipped in an odd direction after we hit a bump. “It’s fine...! As long as it’s legible, it’s fine!”
“Marielle, you’re so... Oh, whatever. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
I genuinely did not have time to waste, so I opted to ignore His Highness’s gripes.
“Since you’re here...” I attempted to steady my pen again. “You may as well help. Your role is to be rejected by the heroine after being recommended to her as a potential partner.”
“Can’t you put me in a better role?!”
“The more pathetic you are, the more popular you’ll be.”
“I don’t want that kind of popularity!”
“Hmm... Then you’ll be one of the victims murdered halfway through.”
“That’s even worse! And it has both romance and murder? What kind of story are you even writing?”
“My publisher is putting together a special on marriages with princes. It will be released in September, so I’ll be sure to make it good to celebrate your upcoming marriage, Your Highness.”
“Don’t kill me off to celebrate my marriage!”
A few days after the carriage accident, Princess Mira had finished her activities in Lagrange without delay and begun her journey home. She was set to stop by the land of Terrazant along the border, during which Prince Severin would accompany her, as Lord Simeon had informed me. The group had ended up being quite large.
Why am I participating, you might ask? Well, you see...
“Then we’ll just have to take you along with us wherever we go.”
After arguing with Lord Simeon over what I would do while he was away, Prince Severin came up with this idea.
“No matter what course of action we take, Simeon will be unable to calm down if we leave Marielle here by herself. It would be better to just take her with us and leave a guard with her.”
I did what I could to resist. “Would it really be all right to take someone who’s being targeted along with you? You and Her Highness Mira will end up involved as well. I really should stay home.”
“You’re. Coming. With us.”
My counterargument went unheard, meaning my battle with my upcoming deadline would go unrecognized as well.
His Highness was having none of it. “I’ve learned well enough that in times like this, the worst thing we can do is take our eyes off you. This will surely be the plan resulting in the fewest casualties.”
He spoke as if I were the one always causing trouble. As I puffed my cheeks out, Lord Simeon shot him a grateful look. “I’m in your debt, Your Highness. However, Marielle has a point—there are still things to be concerned about.”
“I wonder about that.” Prince Severin arched an eyebrow. “I have to doubt whether this is really that big of a deal. As far as I’ve heard, it sounds like the culprit is just trying to threaten her. In fact, the one being threatened isn’t Marielle—it’s probably you. They may be trying to rip you away from Princess Mira.”
If his wife was really being targeted, then that was even more reason for Lord Simeon to return home. He’d have to leave his duties to one of the squad leaders, or even to the Captain himself, but it wasn’t as if he couldn’t get away from this guarding mission no matter what. He didn’t wish to do so, of course, what with his strong sense of responsibility. But from an outside perspective, doing so was perfectly plausible. Prince Severin was pointing out that this was likely the perpetrator’s aim.
His Highness gestured toward me. “Also, I can’t think of a reason anyone would want to threaten this one.”
Why are you glaring at me with that unamused expression?! It’s normal for a person to not be threatened! Just so you know, I’m also wondering what the purpose of threatening me could possibly be!
Lord Simeon tilted his head slightly. “Indeed, there’s much room for wonder.”
“Whatever the case, no one would benefit from you being separated from Marielle. There’s no guarantee that removing you from your guard duties would solve things, so we may as well just bring her along.”
Once that was said and done, I was brought along to Terrazant as an interpreter. Only in name, of course, since the Visselian delegation were all skilled in language, and Prince Severin had no issues speaking Visselian either. There would ultimately be no case where interpretation would be needed.
I knew I should have been grateful to His Highness for this decision—it was to protect me, after all. Indeed, I am grateful. I get to be with Lord Simeon, and I can put my worries about Princess Mira at ease.
But...you know...I have deadlines. Deadlines! And I’m teetering right on the edge of them!
That was why I was fervently rushing my pen over the parchment. Prince Severin didn’t take offense to it and let me do what I had to.
Terrazant could only be reached by land, so travel took time—typically about five days, or three if one hurried, meaning there was no time for detours. Aside from the occasional break, we had to keep pressing on.
That evening, we arrived at our lodgings for the first night of the journey. Though we had traveled all day, we were only about a fourth of the way to Terrazant.
When I attempted to step down from the carriage, I lost my balance and slipped. A hand caught me as I was about to fall.
“What’s the matter? Your complexion is terribly pale.” Lord Simeon placed me on the ground, his eyes boring into me with a worried look.
“She’s just motion sick because she’s been staring down at her writing this entire time,” Prince Severin answered after exiting the carriage himself, since I wasn’t able to respond. “I told her over and over to stop, but she just kept going with that desperate look on her face.”
Lord Simeon gazed down at me with a mixture of pity and chastising.
I couldn’t help it! You know what my circumstances are!
I wanted to defend myself but wasn’t able to, as I felt something other than my voice would rise up my throat if I tried to speak. My ambling steps were about all I could manage.
Lord Simeon tried to steady me. “Hold, Marielle. I’ll carry you inside.”
“Please, let me walk on my own... I don’t want to sway anymore...”
I pushed his hands away when he tried to pick me up. It’ll be better for me to walk right now. Please, let me use my legs.
I took several deep breaths as I turned my eyes to the building in front of us. If I recalled correctly, tonight we’d be staying at a landlord’s manor.
That was when I noticed Princess Mira looking my way. She seemed surprised at the state I was in and became very worried.
“Please, don’t mind me...” I scraped together a smile and forced my voice out. “I’m merely motion sick...”
“You haven’t come down with an illness?” She smiled back. “Then I suppose you’re fine. Lieutenant, please take me to my room.”