“So please, Snow. It won’t be long, but please let me have Zeke to myself for just a little bit. Is that okay?”
At first, Snow was silent in the face of Cecily’s request. However, before long, she raised her giant body. Cecily looked up at the ceiling and watched Snow’s large throat move as she let out a gurgle.
Zeke’s eyes widened in surprise, and Cecily beamed at Snow.
“Thank you for understanding, Snow!”
Snow let out another quiet gurgle.
“So she listens to Cecily, huh...?” Zeke murmured, looking troubled.
Oh, Zeke. It’s just Snow’s unfathomable maiden’s heart.
Cecily smiled to herself. Zeke and Snow were an irreplaceable pair, so that was probably why his wyvern sulked or got angry from time to time—it was because Snow felt comfortable enough around Zeke to express her emotions.
More importantly, Snow had been successfully convinced to accept Zeke’s departure. Zeke approached Cecily, who was still smiling.
“Thank you, Cecily. You saved the day.”
“It’s nothing. I’m just happy I got to talk to Snow again.”
Zeke flashed Cecily a smile before calling out to Cyril and the other knights outside the stables.
“Sorry, all. I leave Snow in your hands.”
“Leave her to us, Captain!”
Zeke then gave a thorough explanation to Cyril and the rest.
Despite the difficulties so far, it seemed that they would be departing after all. Cecily put her hand to her chest in relief.
A few hours later, it was time for Cecily and Zeke to leave.
“I’m fully aware of the situation at hand. I’ll be accompanying you, Cecily!”
“W-Wait a second—Lady Charlotte?!”
The young woman who’d suddenly appeared was none other than Charlotte, the Fifth Princess of the Carzenia Kingdom.
Ever since her best friend and her teacher had left the palace one after the other, she had been low on energy. But today, she was full of life.
Her wavy rose-gold hair was tied into two bunches. Her emerald-green eyes glittered like jewels, and her rosy cheeks were flushed with excitement.
Maybe it was specifically tailored for outings, but the princess was wearing a comfortable dress that looked easy to move in. She was full of vigor and as sweet-looking as ever.
Then, Charlotte clicked her fingers. It must have been a sign, for two carriages pulled by two horses each came trotting down the stone pavement towards them. Charlotte puffed out her chest in pride at Cecily and Zeke’s surprise.
“I asked my father, and he got the finest craftspeople with the best skills to specially make these super special carriages. They’re not as fast as wyverns, but they’re super quick, and traveling in them won’t hurt your bums during the journey! They have little windows to adjust the temperature inside, to make them the perfect warmth at all times. Not only that, they’re made so that they can’t be opened from the outside, so they’re safe against bandits and villains. Despite that, the outside is designed to look like a normal merchant’s carriage, reducing the chance of anyone targeting it!”
“Th-That’s quite something...”
Cecily was quite overwhelmed by Charlotte’s rapid and unrelenting explanation.
The king was soft on his daughter, so Charlotte had evidently managed to get him to spend money on something quite incredible.
“So, which is why, basically... I’d like to join you on your journey home.”
Cecily and Zeke looked at one another as the fifth princess stared up with her beautiful eyes. Charlotte had prepared these special carriages, and had even explained what was great about them. She truly did want to join them.
“I’d be more than happy to have you with us, Lady Charlotte.”
Cecily was excited to go on her first journey with Zeke, but it would be fun having Charlotte there too. However, there was a problem.
One knight isn’t enough to ensure Lady Charlotte’s safety.
Not only this, the one in charge of guarding Charlotte was the captain of the Celestial Knight Brigade himself, Zeke, who was currently on vacation for the purpose of making this journey to Cecily’s home. This was a personal matter, during which he would meet Cecily’s father.
It was a difficult ask to get the other knights to come along, and even if they did, their entourage would be quite a sight.
I think it would be hard for knights to even enter my witch village.
There were many people who wished to use witches’ potions for evil purposes. Witches in the current era usually lived out of sight of regular people. Having said that, ever since Cecily was a child, many people in Cecily’s village had brought their friends and lovers into the village. Witches had limited choices in terms of marital partners, so this wasn’t unexpected. But a long time ago, there was a witch who invited someone with wicked intentions into the village. Of course, this witch had taken responsibility for her actions, and had given him a hiding as well as a potion to erase a portion of his memories. However, because of this, to this day the location of the village remained unknown.
For this particular journey, Cecily was sure no one would be angry if she brought Zeke and Charlotte, whom she trusted, to the village. However, taking multiple knights there was a different story.
Perhaps Charlotte had sensed all of Cecily’s worries, for she huffed loudly through her nose before speaking.
“Don’t worry. Alphonse’s loins will be guarding me.”
“You heard her. Leave the princess to me, you two,” Alphonse said.
“Sir Alphonse, you’re coming too?”
“I’ll add that Maria will be taking care of my personal requirements,” Charlotte said. Maria, who was standing behind the princess, bowed her head deeply. Charlotte couldn’t even dress herself, so having her lady-in-waiting was a requirement. At any rate, Cecily felt safer with the reliable Maria with them.
“So that’s that. There are no problems now, right? I won’t cause any trouble. Although you can’t send me back now, anyway—I’ve decided I’m coming.”
It seemed that Charlotte knew there was a possibility of her being turned down. She stared bravely up at Cecily and Zeke, but her swimming, puppylike eyes had no force behind them.
Zeke glanced at Cecily. She returned his look with a smile and a nod. She was hesitant, but she knew that Charlotte’s request wasn’t a huge burden on them.
“Of course you won’t be any trouble, Princess,” Zeke said. He fell to one knee and looked up at Charlotte.
Charlotte pouted, as if to ask what he was doing. In gentle tones, Zeke spoke to the adorable princess.
“However, there will be dangers outside the castle. In such an event, you must follow my or Alphonse’s instructions. I only ask you to promise me that.”
“F-Fine. I promise.”
Zeke smiled as Charlotte fiercely nodded her agreement.
“In that case, Cecily has agreed, and I see no reason to say no either.”
“Really? Thank goodness...”
Charlotte’s relief lightened her expression. She excitedly hugged Cecily.
“Okay, we have two carriages—one for men and one for women!”
“Huh?”
Alphonse muttered something in response to Charlotte’s statement. Cecily couldn’t hear his words, but it was evident that he was unable to comprehend what Charlotte was thinking.
✧ ✧ ✧
After these various delays, the group set off for Cecily’s witch village, with Cecily, Charlotte, and Maria riding in the first carriage, and Zeke, Alphonse, and Rolo in the second.
This division of passengers had worked nicely. Alphonse had initially been unhappy with it, but it was an order from Charlotte, so he couldn’t really complain.
All the same, Cecily was surprised at how seriously Alphonse was taking his guard duties. She was certain his dismay was at the fact that dividing them up between the carriages in this way would decrease the amount of protection Charlotte had.
But Lady Charlotte does hate all men, after all.
Due to her brothers’ loving but overprotective attitudes, Charlotte had internalized the idea that men were all terrifying creatures. This had led to her developing an intense fear of and aversion to them.
From Cecily’s point of view, it seemed that Charlotte’s condition had improved as of late, if only a little. However, it would have been far too difficult to expect Charlotte to spend an extended period of time with Zeke and Alphonse in an enclosed space. In fact, Cecily found it strange that Charlotte requested to travel together in the first place.
The men Charlotte usually saw were members of the Celestial Knight Brigade. However, if she were to leave the palace, then she would inevitably encounter more than double the number of men she dealt with on a daily basis.
Cecily and Charlotte sat facing one another in the carriage. With a look of confusion on her face, Charlotte spoke.
“Everything okay, Cecily? Your bum doesn’t hurt?”
“Everything’s fine. It might be a bit too luxurious, even.”
“Isn’t it just!”
Carriages usually led to sore behinds and an uncomfortable sense of claustrophobia. Some people got sick just from traveling in one. But this one was different. Even when it traveled across unpaved track, it barely shook. The inside of the carriage must have been soundproofed, because you could barely hear the wheels turning outside. The seats were soft and bore their weights well, so there was no need for extra cushions. This carriage was full of alterations that would make a long journey bearable. If it went on the market, every noble would want to get their hands on one.
“It feels, I don’t know... A little too fast, maybe.”
The view outside passed by in a blur. Yes—the carriage was far too fast. She had indicated the general direction of her village, but at this point Cecily was somewhat anxious that they might go speeding right past it.
“We’ve got the most macho of horses pulling us along, so of course it’s fast.”
Yeah, they were pretty buff horses.