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chapter 06
A Suspicious Guest
After riding without rest all day, Astel Territory finally lay just ahead. Lucas stopped his horse on a hill overlooking the land.
“Hm.”
Even though dusk was settling in, the entire territory glowed brightly—almost as much as the imperial capital.
“That’s strange.”
After tying the two horses to a nearby tree, Cedric stood beside Lucas, gazing down the hill.
“What do you mean, Your Highness?”
“Didn’t I tell you to call me ‘Sir’?”
Lucas jabbed Cedric in the side. Born of noble blood and exceptional talent, Lucas possessed deep insight and remarkable experience despite being only twenty years old—but his stubborn, boyish nature remained unchanged.
“I— no, Sir. If you hit me like that now, it actually hurts.”
Only a few years ago, Lucas’s blows had lacked strength. Now, with his powerful build, even his casual strikes caused Cedric considerable pain.
“Think of it as training.”
Lucas said shamelessly, then turned his head back toward the territory.
“Look. Don’t you find something odd?”
Cedric followed Lucas’s gaze. True to its reputation as a fertile land, vast farmlands stretched endlessly, and smoke rose from the chimneys of every home.
“It looks like an ordinary agricultural territory to me.”
At Cedric’s answer, Lucas clicked his tongue.
“So all those years traveling the empire taught you nothing.”
During the past six years of wandering the empire, it wasn’t only Lucas’s body that had grown stronger. The breadth of experience he had accumulated would be difficult for anyone to match.
“The farmland is overwhelmingly vast—but something feels out of place.”
Lucas raised his hand and pointed toward unfamiliar-looking structures.
“Have we ever seen buildings like those while traveling the empire?”
Looking more closely, Cedric did notice several oddly shaped buildings he didn’t recognize.
“And it’s far too bright.”
Lucas narrowed his eyes, expanding his field of vision.
“This isn’t a noble district in the capital. How can it be this well-lit at night?”
In other territories, the lord’s residence was always easy to find—especially at night. A single brightly lit mansion in the darkness marked where the lord resided.
But Astel was different. The entire village glowed with a warm, comforting light.
“Astel was already known as fertile land, but recently it’s said to have gained tremendous profit by distributing its specialty products.”
Lucas had heard rumors about Astel berries as well. Not through deliberate investigation—they were simply too famous to ignore.
“You’re telling me selling handcrafted goods named after the territory alone could make every resident this wealthy?”
Through his travels, Lucas had come to understand the true lives of the people—not the sheltered luxury of the imperial palace or the noble districts of the capital.
“There’s something going on in Astel.”
What he was seeing wasn’t merely a prosperous territory.
Most farming communities struggled to survive the winter no matter how hard they worked, and the farther one went from the capital, the more impoverished even the lords became.
“That must be the ducal residence.”
In the direction Lucas was looking stood an especially large mansion. Judging by its classical architecture, it had been built long ago, and a flag bearing the duke’s crest fluttered atop the roof.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Lucas shot Cedric a displeased look.
“Have you forgotten the plan already? You call me ‘Sir.’ I’m a knight, and you’re my squire.”
“Yes, Sir…”
Once Lucas made a decision, he never changed it—meaning they were truly going through with this foolish charade.
“First, pack anything bearing the imperial crest or that looks valuable into the sack. Just in case, put some worthless items on top.”
“Hm. Not a bad idea, coming from you.”
Cedric quickly sorted several items into a large leather sack, placing worn clothes on top. This was a trick Lucas had learned from his fondness for traveling incognito.
“Uh… Sir.”
Normally, they didn’t ask to stay overnight at a lord’s residence, but there was no better way to learn the truth than entering a territory without revealing his identity as crown prince.
“How many times do I have to tell you to call me ‘Sir’?”
“…Yes, Sir. If Astel’s lord has done something wrong, will you handle it as usual?”
Because of the crown prince’s eccentric habits, more than a few corrupt lords had lost their heads—disaster for some, salvation for others. Cedric was wondering whether Lucas’s fiancée would be treated the same.
“Don’t ask unnecessary questions.”
For once, Lucas avoided answering. He pulled an old hood from their belongings and pulled it over his head. Cedric had no choice but to follow silently, praying only that the crown prince’s fiancée wouldn’t coldly drive them away.
* * *
Serena had just finished preparing for bed when Peter requested an audience—unusual for such a late hour. Anna, who was helping her, tilted her head in confusion.
“My lady, forgive the late intrusion.”
Peter bowed formally. If someone as diligent as him came to her chambers at this hour, it had to be for a reason.
“It’s fine. What is it?”
“One of the guards at the gate reported that a wandering knight arrived earlier, requesting lodging for the night.”
“A wandering knight? Do those really exist?”
The unfamiliar term made Serena look puzzled. She had lived in Astel for six years, yet this was her first encounter with such a case.
“They do exist on occasion.”
“That’s something you could have handled yourself, Peter. Why report it to me?”
Peter was cautious and capable, which was why Serena entrusted him with managing the estate.
“Something about them felt suspicious.”
“How so?”
“Their hood and belongings were shabby, but their boots were exceptionally clean—and made of fine leather.”
Suspicious, certainly—but not enough to jump to conclusions.
“I only caught a glimpse, but the face beneath the hood was very refined. Almost like… a noble from the capital.”
As the steward of the Astel ducal house and once a promising figure in the capital, Peter had sharp judgment from meeting countless people.
“What exactly did they say?”
“The tall man claimed to be a wandering knight, and the one with him his squire. They said rough roads delayed their journey and asked to stay one night at the ducal residence. At dawn, they wished to pay their respects to the lord of this land.”
Serena thought for a moment before looking at Peter.
“That is suspicious. Astel already has many fine inns, and everyone knows the duke is constantly traveling the continent.”
“I wished to mention that as well. The servant who greeted them clearly said the lord was away and that you act in his stead. They must have come knowing that.”
But there was more.
“The so-called wandering knight presented an imperial travel pass. I’ve seen one several times before—I’m certain it was genuine.”
Now Serena understood why Peter had come to her personally. An imperial travel pass was not something an ordinary wandering knight could possess.
Only people like her father—the Duke of Astel—used such passes to freely traverse the continent.
“If the pass is real, they’re no ordinary travelers. And besides, who wouldn’t be interested in Astel these days?”
Regardless of who they were or what they wanted, it was clear they sought an audience with Serena—the one who had brought Astel its prosperity.
“Could they be spies seeking internal information?”
“No. If that were the case, they wouldn’t openly present an imperial pass while pretending to be wandering knights.”
Peter nodded at Serena’s reasoning.
“You’re right. Then shall we make an excuse and refuse them?”
Serena paused briefly, then shook her head. Whoever they were, they carried an imperial pass—and in a way, this felt like a direct challenge to her.
“We’ll accept them. Since they’re hiding their identities, they won’t complain if the hospitality is… lacking.”
Her blue eyes sparkled mischievously as one corner of her lips curled upward.
“Anna, we were renovating the unused annex recently, weren’t we?”
“Yes, but the furniture is still covered. It’s hardly suitable for guests.”
Perfect.
“They’re not guests—they’re scouts with ulterior motives.”
Astel’s reputation was growing by the day. It wouldn’t be strange for someone to investigate its secrets.
“As acting Duke of Astel, I’ll accept the challenge.”
Serena’s blue eyes shone with confidence.
Astel was both her dream and her achievement. Even if they were spies, she had nothing to fear—or hide. If anything, she was proud enough to show it all.
