How can he just blurt out crazy romantic lines with zero effort?
“Huh? Oh, was this lady too young for a first kiss?” Duke teases while I sit there blushing and speechless.
Ah, right…this is the kind of man Duke is. He may act calm and cool, but this prince actually has a warped personality. He didn’t rush to me to say good-bye; he came here to mess with me.
He played me. Again. I hate that.
I wrap my arms around Duke’s neck and smile alluringly, my nose almost touching his. “No need to apologize, Your Highness. I grant you the honor of worshipping me.”
Duke’s face crinkles into a smile, and I can just feel the strings squeezing tight around my heart.
“You sassy little princess.” And with that, his lips meet mine once more.
I’m not a princess, though. I’m just an aristocrat… When exactly does he think we got married?
“This might sound strange coming from me, but…are you sure you’ll be okay on your own?”
“Who do you think I am?” I stare proudly at Duke and continue, “I never dreamed I would be able to go to Laval. I have nothing but gratitude for you. Though your deception does leave a bitter taste in my mouth…”
“That’s why I’m in love with you.”
Duke murmurs something imperceptible.
“Huh? Could you say that—?”
“I’ll do whatever I can here in Durkis while you’re in Laval, Alicia. I’ll take care of Gill, too.”
“Prince Duke…it occurs to me, how did you know I wanted to go to Laval—?”
“Your Highness, we must depart now.”
A guard’s uncomfortable voice interrupts us. My arms drop from around Duke’s shoulders.
Oh, that’s right. Duke has been acting like his true self in front of the guards… Is that all right? Technically, he’s keeping up the amnesia charade. Plus, rushing out of the castle and kissing a convicted criminal is a tad scandalous…
I glance at the guard.
……He was with me when I was in the caged carriage. This means the “esteemed gentleman” who commanded them must be—
“I trust you to handle the rest,” Duke says.
The guard nods somberly.
I guess he knows the truth. Aha. Well, I’m very grateful to him.
“Don’t you dare let your gaze wander to other men.” Duke tousles my hair roughly with one hand and grins, but his eyes are dead serious.
“As long as I don’t lose sight of my mission in Laval, I will never become infatuated with anyone.”
With a big smile on my face, I take Duke’s hand from my head and gently shut the carriage door. I think this made for a decent parting, considering it isn’t good-bye forever.
Here I was, planning on valiantly pulling away if he forgot me. For him to show me his intentions like this—I’m just conflicted.
I convinced myself Duke and I could never be together, and yet…
The horse-drawn carriage shakes me once more.
How shall I begin my investigation in Laval? I shouldn’t let it be known I’m of noble blood. If possible, I’d love to get closer to the royal family… But if I want to do that, this golden eye I prize so highly will be a hindrance.
I’ve never met anyone outside of my own family who has this eye color.
I’ll have to do as much as I can to avoid drawing attention to myself. Maybe I should cover both of my eyes. Old Man Will managed to live without his eyes. If I practice, I should be able to do it, too…
I’ll have to bind my breasts and disguise myself as a man, too. My hair is already short, and I’ve got muscles. I should be able to pass for a short young man.
“Okay. I’ve got a plan.”
I promptly remove my eye patch and put it in my pocket. Then I tear off my skirt.
“Excuse me, I have a request,” I call out to the guard as I rip some cloth from my skirt and wrap it around my eyes.
“What is it, milady?”
“Is it possible to procure some men’s clothing that would fit me before we get to the Laval border? I would love something tattered and old if possible.”
I can see the slight bewilderment on the guard’s face. My eyes are bound, incidentally, but I’m not completely blind. I can still faintly make out everything, despite my dimmed vision. Reading an individual’s aura also allows me to perceive their thoughts, so some may say I can see perfectly.
I guess my eyes really are special. My reading speed is far from the norm, after all… If my eyes went up for auction, they’d probably incite a bidding war.
“……It is possible, but whatever do you need old men’s clothes for?”
“I’m going to wear them. Oh, I also want some mud and soot.”
The guard looks even more confused now. He doesn’t seem to understand what I’m getting at.
“Understood, my lady. We’ll stop by a town before we arrive at the border.”
The guard appears conflicted, but he eventually agrees. Preparations are made immediately. I obtain the clothes I want, and he hands the mud and soot to me in bottles through the carriage door.
Duke’s vassals certainly are top notch. That reminds me, I never managed to ask him earlier, but does Duke know what exactly it is I hope to accomplish in Laval? If so, he has some godlike insight… Terrifying.
“Lady Alicia, may we start driving the carriage again?”
“Of course,” I answer promptly.
Getting dressed in a moving carriage is mere child’s play for me. The lack of a mirror means I can’t see myself, but I figure I look rather hideous. Nobody would suspect me of being an aristocrat.
I drive the point home further by rubbing soot and mud on my skin. My clean pale skin quickly turns dirty. I catch a glimpse of my reflection in the glass of the carriage window and almost gasp out loud in approval. I feel like I’m playing the part of a dirty little street urchin beautifully.
……All that remains now is my hair!
I can’t let my hair retain its lustrous shine when the rest of me is filthy. I quickly rub ash into my hair and mess it up. It’s a bird’s nest in no time.
Ash creates such an incredible effect. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants rough, frizzy hair.
“We’ve arrived, my lady.”
Just as I hear the voice, I feel the carriage stop moving. Several hours have passed since we left the castle…and we’ve finally arrived at the border.
I can’t quite tell if we’ve come a long or a short distance. This really makes me appreciate how extraordinary airplanes and high-speed railways are.
Transportation in my past life was incredible. I open the door of the horse-drawn carriage, thanking the geniuses of my former world.
“Er—Lady Alicia?”
The guard’s eyes widen and he freezes in shock when he sees me. He knew I was going to be dressed in tatters, but he probably hadn’t envisioned such an extreme transformation. He stares at me, flabbergasted, without a word.
Excellent! What a reaction! Causing shock really is my biggest entertainment.
“Is that you, Lady Alicia?”
“You’d have a big problem on your hands if it wasn’t.”
Then again, sending somebody else to Laval in my place was always a possibility.
The exasperation never leaves his face as the guard binds my hands and marches me toward a big building at the border.
This must be the border checkpoint.
I look at my surroundings as the guard marches me along. It is quite a grand building.
No random passersby are around, and despite the building’s magnitude, there don’t seem to be many employees working here.
I guess that makes sense. There’s no point in staffing a checkpoint when nobody crosses the Durkis-Laval border. If Laval has the money to burn here, they’d be better off spending it elsewhere.
They take me straight to another room.
“What…is this place?” I ask.
“A room where the exiled are assembled.”
Thanks, Captain Obvious.
I’m surprised to find that I’m not the only one in exile. Including myself, there are five of us.
Isn’t it unusual for commoners to be exiled?
One woman and three men. They look to be in their thirties, and they’re dressed just like I am.
“You. Get in.” The man managing the room pushes me inside roughly.
I want to tell him, That’s no way to treat a lady, good sir!—but I hold my tongue and enter the room.