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Chapter 35
While a brief, awkward silence lingered between them, the carriage had already passed beyond the outskirts of the Imperial Capital.
Not long afterward, they arrived at the Gate reserved exclusively for members of the imperial family.
The knights guarding the Gate came out to greet them.
“Welcome, Your Highness, Seventh Prince.”
“Which arrival Gate is closest to the Verdi territory?”
“Please wait a moment.”
The knight manipulated a device powered by a magic stone before answering.
“Milton territory. From there, it’s approximately two days by carriage to the Verdi territory. Would you like to travel there?”
“Yes.”
Calliope and Lerazier climbed back into the carriage. The coachman carefully guided the horses onto the magic circle and brought the carriage to a stop.
The knight placed blinders over the horses’ eyes before warning the coachman.
“Please make sure the horses remain still so they don’t become startled and move. There was an accident once when a horse suddenly moved while the Gate was operating, resulting in only half of its body being transported.”
“Eek…!”
The coachman sucked in a sharp breath, barely suppressing a scream. He gripped the reins tightly and nodded vigorously.
Hearing their conversation through the open window, Lerazier asked Calliope,
“Can’t magic prevent accidents like that?”
“Of course it can.”
Calliope shrugged as though he had asked something obvious.
“According to 101 Rules for the Safe Use of Gates, written by Molin, the former Tower Master, the Magic Tower developed a safety spell formula for preventing accidents during transportation more than thirty years ago.”
“Really? Then why hasn’t it been implemented yet?”
When Lerazier asked in confusion, Calliope rubbed between her brows.
“Because they failed to commercialize it. Operating a Gate already requires a considerable amount of magic stones. If they activate the safety magic as well, it would cost at least ten times more.”
“So it’s only useful as a theory now.”
As she added that, Calliope gripped the armrest of her seat tightly.
Vrrrrr—
A low hum accompanied by a faint vibration began to spread through the carriage as the Gate activated.
“This awful ride still hasn’t improved. Even the imperial family’s Gate is this bad.”
Calliope complained about feeling nauseous and motion-sick before closing her eyes.
Lerazier stared at her for a moment before suddenly asking,
“Can’t you do it?”
“Do what? My head is already spinning, so unless it’s important, don’t bother talking to me.”
Calliope answered with her eyes still closed. Lerazier, however, persisted.
“I mean that spell formula you said exists in theory. Can’t you improve and refine it?”
Calliope’s eyes snapped open.
Her beautiful amethyst-colored eyes gleamed sharply as she studied Lerazier’s face.
Then, relaxing her expression, she replied,
“Do you even realize what you just said? If you can improve a formula developed by a Tower Master, that means…”
“It means you possess magical power and skill comparable to a Tower Master. I know.”
“……”
For a brief moment, Calliope was rendered speechless.
Could it be…? Does this bastard know something?
An ominous chill ran down Calliope’s spine. Still, she desperately tried not to let it show as she stared straight at Lerazier.
“Absolutely not.”
Her answer was firm.
“If I had that level of ability, I would have claimed the position of Tower Master long ago. Wouldn’t I?”
With that, Calliope closed her eyes again. She simply couldn’t bear to meet Lerazier’s piercing golden eyes any longer.
Please, just let this go. Please.
Perhaps her desperate silent prayer had worked, because fortunately, Lerazier said nothing more.
Vrrrrrrr—
With a powerful rumble, she suddenly felt as though her entire body dropped straight downward.
They were moving.
Fortunately, Calliope and her party arrived safely at the Milton Gate, not far from the Verdi territory, without a single person—or animal—being injured.
“Oh, right! The pass!”
Just after leaving the Gate, Calliope suddenly remembered and pulled the boarding pass from inside her clothes.
“I forgot to give them the pass. Well, I suppose that’s understandable for me, but why didn’t the escort knights take theirs?”
“Of course they didn’t.”
Lerazier replied with a mischievous, teasing grin.
“The imperial family is here, after all. Does it make sense for a member of the imperial family to pay with a boarding pass to use an imperial Gate?”
Lerazier grinned broadly.
Calliope stared blankly for a moment before realizing she had been tricked. Her face immediately crumpled into a scowl.
“You!”
“So, you don’t want that boarding pass after all?”
“Of course I do, Your Highness, Seventh Prince.”
Calliope had raised the heel of her shoe while still seated, intending to make him taste the bitterness of her revenge, but she obediently lowered her leg back into place.
Seeing her, Lerazier chuckled.
“Seriously, serious people are always so much fun to tease—”
“Are you going to stop now?”
Thwack!
Lerazier, who had finally pushed his luck too far, shut his mouth only after Calliope stomped hard on the top of his foot.
The carriage left the Gate and began traveling through the quiet countryside. The scenery was strikingly different from the Imperial Capital, with peaceful landscapes stretching in every direction.
But when they passed through a residential district where the territory’s people lived, both of their expressions hardened at almost exactly the same moment.
“The situation is serious. I knew things were bad to some extent, but it seems to have gotten even worse.”
“It’s getting worse by the day.”
Calliope nodded at Lerazier’s words.
“That’s why people are flocking to the Verdi territory, where conditions are at least somewhat better.”
The Empire had suffered from a drought that had continued for several years, causing crop production to plummet.
Fortunately, the Imperial Capital was still relatively well-off because the government had released its food reserves to keep public sentiment under control. But the territories farther away from the capital were in an extremely dire state.
“However, because the Verdi territory is a border territory, residential areas are restricted for security reasons, so there’s a limit to how many people we can take in. That’s why Grandfather has been asking neighboring territories for cooperation and helping these people establish new homes there.”
Calliope explained with genuine sorrow in her voice.
Lerazier listened to her unusually seriously before speaking.
“That’s not an easy thing to do. It’s not as though all those people can simply settle down somewhere, and the expenses must be considerable in the short term.”
Calliope curled her thumb and index finger into a circle.
“Well, fortunately, House Verdi has accumulated quite a bit over the years. So we’re just putting money into it for now and thinking of it as an investment.”
Then, proudly waving the VVIP Gate Pass Lerazier had given her, she said,
“I wonder how much this would fetch at auction?”
A moment later, Calliope began thinking about how she could sell the pass for the highest possible price.
“But… is there any chance you could get me one more?”
“Go ahead and squeeze the liver out of a flea while you’re at it.”
Lerazier shook his head in disbelief.
After racing along the road for some time, the carriage finally came to a stop at an inn near the Verdi territory.
The sun had already begun to set, and darkness was gradually settling over the surroundings.
It was an inn mainly frequented by commoners. Surprisingly, it seemed fairly popular, as nearly every table in the restaurant on the first floor was occupied.
“Welcome!”
Calliope and Lerazier entered wearing hooded cloaks that concealed their identities, prompting the innkeeper to greet them loudly.
“We need rooms.”
“You’re in luck. We happen to have a fine room available. The bed is spacious enough for two people to roll around on!”
The innkeeper laughed heartily as he pulled out a sturdy-looking key.
Seeing it, Calliope quickly spoke up.
“Ah, we actually need two rooms.”
“Pardon?”
The innkeeper looked back and forth between Calliope and Lerazier before suddenly clapping his hands as though he understood.
“Ahhh, you two are considerate employers! But there’s no need to worry. Our inn has separate sleeping quarters for servants and coachmen.”
“No, that’s not what I mean.”
Calliope waved her hand.
“We really do need two rooms. One for me and one for this man… I mean, this gentleman.”
“Uh…”
A troubled expression appeared on the innkeeper’s face.
“I’m terribly sorry, but there’s only one room left.”
