Unlike when we arrived, the air around our exit was gloomy. the King and his queen were there to see us off, but none of their children were with them. Instead, there were a number of nobles in extravagant clothing.
“Prince Edoardo, do you truly not require an escort?” the King asked, a concerned look on his face.
“No. Though our numbers may be small, we’ve come this far alone. Adding additional members would just slow us down.”
“I see... We’ve inconvenienced you greatly.”
“It’s alright, we’ve already received your apology,” His Highness replied.
“Bernardina...has been sent to the convent in Theotol. The perpetrators—”
“We’ll leave it at that. Excuse us.” His Highness must not have wanted us to hear about the culprits. His words quieted the King of Dal Canto.
So Princess Bernardina was sent to a convent. I wondered what had happened to the kidnappers. Would the attendants be punished as well? There were a lot of things I was curious about, but it wasn’t the time to ask.
After more parting remarks, we began getting ready to leave. Though Miss Maria had refused to ride in the carriage on the way here, she’d climbed in to sit with His Highness this time. I was riding with Sir Celes again.
As we left the castle, we were met by a crowd of Dal Cantan citizens. Knights lined the roads we planned to travel, while the people of Fatna were packed shoulder to shoulder behind them.
“Are you surprised?” I heard Sir Celes ask me from behind.
Yes, very. I kind of regret riding with Sir Celes. I stand out way too much...!
While smiling and waving to the people, he continued, “Though the countries may all have different expectations, having all the people coming to see us off like this really tells you just how much they want the Cristallo Sacro purified. It just makes you want to do your best for them.”
I was in a cold sweat, but he was right. Once we cleansed all of the Cristallo Sacro, the people wouldn’t have to fear monsters anymore. No one else would have to die because of them. I needed to do my best to support Miss Maria!
After being seen off by the citizens, we passed through Fatna’s gate. Since there was still a chance that monsters could be around outside of the barrier, there weren’t any people. The weather was nice; hot, actually. The dry white road stretched straight out in front of us, and a refreshing breeze blew through the tree branches. You would never think that you might be attacked by monsters here. Once the trees were purified, you’d see the people out here added to the tranquil view.
“Lucia.” While I was admiring the scenery, Sir Celes suddenly hugged me tight from behind. He held the reins with one hand while his other held me. I looked around, worried that the others would see, but they had all gone ahead, and we were bringing up the rear. “I’m sorry you had to go through that. If I would’ve found you sooner, I could have protected you.”
“Oh, no! That’s fine! I haven’t thanked you yet, have I? Thank you, Sir Celes. If you hadn’t come, they would have kidnapped me.” Though I was afraid of the others seeing us, Sir Celes didn’t seem to mind. “It’s fine. I have Soap, don’t I? And I’m pretty tough! That wasn’t enough to break me!”
“Even if you were fine, it doesn’t change the fact that you were scared, does it? I managed to get to you after Eric saw your soap bubbles, but when I think about what would’ve happened if I’d been any later...”
Sir Celes bit his lip in frustration. But it wasn’t your fault!
“You came for me, though. It’s okay, I was fine. So let’s end the conversation there.” Forcing a change of topic, I asked him what had been on my mind, “I had something I wanted to ask you, anyway. Was the gatekeeper alright?”
“He was badly injured, but he’s alive.”
I was relieved. He lived!
“Thank goodness... I don’t know what I would have done if he’d died.”
“Yeah, luckily Eric had a few healing potions, so they were able to save him. If you hadn’t told us, we’d have been too late.”
My shoulders dropped in relief as I internally thanked Eric. Thank you so much for carrying healing potions!