Chapter Two: I Get the Most Magnificent Send-off
WITH the servants and assistants at Longhurst’s administrative manor gone, the fourth prince will return with us to the capital. We’d originally planned to stay ten days, but our trip didn’t last even half that.
The fourth prince asked favor after favor of my lord husband, who simply feigned ignorance, until we decided to leave. I don’t mind departing early since I’ve already found the stone at the forest spring for him.
I helped the fourth prince with packing when we were trying to escape from the dragon, yet I don’t get the chance to do so again. Everything is already loaded by the time we get back from our stroll. I should have told him I wanted to. I would have been very useful.
We must merely board our carriage, but before we do, my lord husband and I visit the mulberry tree behind the manor at my request.
“Here, my lord. Slash this branch here!”
“Cut!” He wields his magic with ease, slicing through the thin branch with a sharp, diagonal slash. “Is this another souvenir for Ethan, Abby?”
“I want to bring it home and get the old grandfather to plant it. It seems to want to come with us.”
“Hmm? I see… The capital is a four-day journey from here. We’ll have to try to keep it alive.”
We pick up the branch and hand it to a servant before heading back to the front drive. I’m sure our elderly gardener will raise it well, and when it bears fruit, Tabitha will make cobbler for me again. What a great thing to look forward to! I swing our clasped hands happily as we walk. My lord husband chuckles and pivots our hands higher.
Several carriages, including the fourth prince’s, line the drive. Without servants to trim the adjacent hedges, it seems narrow and cramped, the overgrowth almost brushing the vehicles. The flowers planted along the paved stone leading to the gate are beginning to wither as well. The dry soil, bereft of leaf cover, is clearly visible. That can’t be helped; there’s no old grandfather to tend to them.
The fourth prince raises his right hand in greeting upon sighting us.
Abruptly, my lord husband lets go of my hand and darts in front of me.
“Monster!” someone shouts.
A loud clang rings out as a rock the size of my fist drops to the ground and rolls away.
My lord husband used his sheathed sword to knock it from the air. Although I was behind him, I saw everything clearly. He’s so strong.
A screaming human dashes from an unkempt bush and is quickly subdued by Haggis. I don’t think I’ve seen them before.
✦ ✦ ✦
ABIGAIL’S assailant seems to be a boy around ten years of age, and the guards manage to apprehend two grown men as well. They shout and curse, spouting the same vitriol as the former Longhurst staff: all of the territory’s misfortune is the fault of the golden-eyed.
“I know you’d like to deal with these men yourself, sir, but if I may?”
“All authority lies with you, Your Highness.”
A few days hence we abandoned Longhurst’s assistants and the other criminals in the forest, and since then, more and more of their family members have come to the manor in protest. The sight of so many unruly commoners in one place has carved a permanent grimace of distaste on Prince Dominic’s face.
In Drewett, although the boundary of peerage is ever present, the nobility strives to maintain close ties with the lower class. The lack of such respect in Longhurst indicates that they’ve suffered so much disdain that they no longer regard the country’s royalty as their leaders.
The manor is located downtown, right in the heart of the city, fenced not by a stone wall but an ornate cast-iron fence and holly trees for privacy. I’d left the task of securing the manor’s grounds to the fourth prince’s guards that day, and a lapse must have occurred to enable the men to sneak in. I should have been more vigilant.
The captured men are handed over to the knights who are staying behind to guard the manor. To lob rocks in the presence of royalty is a crime punishable by immediate beheading, which will set an example for the rest of the civilians. They must understand that such actions will not be tolerated.
“I don’t really like doing this…but it’ll be troublesome if people think I’m too softhearted.”
“Please do as Your Highness deems fit. But the knights need more security training.”
“…Y-Yes, you’re right. They’ll need to learn from the lady,” the fourth prince chokes out as he turns away, stifling a grin beneath his hand.
…What?
“My lord! Here! Throw a rock at me!”
I twist to see Abigail frowning in concentration as she hefts a thick branch in both hands. “Huh…”
“I can do it too! Come!”
I see. So she watched me knock the rock from the air and wants to try it too…
Like I’d ever hurl a rock at her. Before I can think of an excuse, Rodney approaches with a leather bag that’s been rolled up and tied with string to resemble a ball. Yes, that shouldn’t hurt even if it hits her by mistake.
“If the lady insists,” Rodney says. “Just this once.”
“Yes!”
“Here!” He tosses the ball gently and it sails smoothly toward her.
“Hah!”
The branch in her right hand swooshes through the air as she catches the ball with her left.
Wait, isn’t that a more difficult move?! What was that?!