~Chapter 45~
It was just a city they passed through, but so much had happened in one day.
Still, in the end, everything turned out fine.
Even the unlucky thug with the ruined face was dealt with peacefully and happily, since it was considered “mutual fighting.”
“Damn it!”
The next morning.
They had barely boarded the train when Gianna, the maid, shouted in anger.
“That rotten station worker took my axe!”
She was really excited about finally heading to the capital.
But the 14th axe she’d brought for Lily’s ex-husband—“Ice Terror”—was confiscated by the station worker.
“Can you believe it? Not only did they take it, but they’re mailing it back to the duke’s land! I need it right now!”
Lily tried to speak gently.
“But… isn’t sharpening an axe in the first-class train car a bit dangerous for others?”
“But… Ice Terror was howling! It told me, ‘Sharpen my blade! Let me deliver justice and chop off that guy’s head as soon as possible!’”
Lily patted Gianna, though she secretly agreed with the station worker.
It’s good the axe was taken away.
The train was modern and comfortable, with warm red magic lights everywhere.
It was a new kind of train, first introduced in the 16th year of the previous emperor, solving all the problems of traveling by horse.
Sitting by the window in the morning sunlight, Lily started to read the train’s guidebook.
“Is that fun? Nobles always have something to read when they travel. You could just take a nap instead,” Blake grumbled.
Lily smiled sweetly.
“It’s educational. Sometimes I get bored too, so I do crossword puzzles. People still think I’m reading, but I’m really just having fun.”
She showed him her crossword page.
“‘Which piano quintet, where the piano’s staccato sounds like a woodpecker, is nicknamed “Woodpecker Woman”?’”
The servants, listening, all gave up.
“Uh…?”
“I don’t even know what a quintet is.”
“A solo is when one person plays music. An ensemble is when different people play their own parts. A quintet means five—like in a piano quintet, it’s usually piano, first violin, second violin, viola…”
“Lily, your voice is lovely, but I feel like my ears might bleed today,” said a maid.
“I was saying Blake would know the answer.”
Everyone looked at Blake.
“Me? No way.”
“You’re lying, just like always. This is basic knowledge! I bet you learned it too.”
“…Pivetti No.2, piano quintet, in the fifth year of the third emperor.”
“So you are educated. Here’s the next question.”
Their quiz went on and on, even while others fell asleep.
Before long, Lily and Blake were shoulder to shoulder, working on the crossword together.
“See? It’s fun, right?”
“I never said it wasn’t. Next question—what’s the first domestic sea shipping route? Starts with this letter, ten blank spaces.”
They both thought hard, then answered at the same time.
“Roharstars Road.”
“Roharstars Road.”
Blake said quickly,
“I was faster. Maybe by half a second.”
“You’re almost too well-educated. It’s a little annoying,” Lily teased.
Finally, they got to the last question: number 15, bottom right.
“‘What do you call the man who is your parent?’ Too easy. Must be a bonus.”
Lily gave Blake the chance to answer.
“Father.”
“That fills in the last blank.”
The sky was still bright.
That meant it would be half a day until they reached the capital.
Lily breathed in the clean train smell. It must be West Wood fragrance.
She knew how to pass the time next—by chatting.
“What was your father like?”
“You met him once, right? He had no manners, no thoughtfulness, no kindness… Oh, and no decency either.”
“You make it sound like you’re describing yourself,” Lily joked.
She remembered seeing the former duke once, five years ago, when he spilled wine on her.
He had laughed loudly, seeming friendly and good-natured.
Lily thought seriously,
After he died, Blake wandered from battlefield to battlefield… He must have been a good father to Blake too.
Blake leaned even more on her shoulder, lost in thought.
“He was my only family. My mother died of sickness when I was born. He was the adult who raised me, though I’m not sure if he did it right.”
“For example?”
“Have you ever been buried by a snowball bigger than you, just for fun, when you were five?”
“Oh my…”
Blake looked up at the painted train ceiling and closed his eyes.
The former duke was killed in an unsolved assassination. Blake had been alone ever since.
Maybe that’s why Lily’s arrival meant so much to him.
Maybe that’s why he let himself be dragged along by her so easily.
And why they were sitting so close now…
Blake suddenly snapped out of his thoughts.
Close? Why am I sitting so close to her?
He was so shocked, he pushed Lily’s shoulder far away.
She rolled off the velvet seat.
“Ow!”
The noise woke the napping servants.
“What’s going on? Was that Lily’s voice?”
“Who did that?!”
They looked ready to fight the emperor himself to defend her.
Lily glared at Blake. He admitted right away.
“It was me.”
“I knew it! You deserve to be hit with my 21st axe, ‘Snowstorm’s Might!’”
“How many axes did you bring? And how do you hide them all on your body?”
Outside the window, the peaceful fields and wildflowers faded. Soon, there were iron fences, expensive roads, and tightly-packed houses worth over a thousand Yubles per square meter.
The train slowly rolled into the capital and stopped.
“Ah, I know this air,” Lily said as she stepped out of the station and breathed in the city’s scent.
Bad memories came rushing back, but it was a powerful feeling.
She walked through the streets.
“I’m not used to getting such hostile looks,” she said.
Everyone was glancing at her and Blake.
A neat man with glasses whispered to another noble,
“I heard the trial is tomorrow, but to see her in person is surprising. Is that really her walking beside the duke?”
“I saw Lily Hedwig once. I’ll never forget her face. It’s definitely her.”
“Then maybe the kidnapping rumor isn’t true. I can’t believe she’d walk with a barbarian. What’s really going on?”
Lily worried Blake might hear their gossip.
“Blake, this is called ‘Rich Town.’ Everyone here is upper class. Even with our robes and hats, they could see right through us. If I knew, I would’ve chosen a different route.”
“Huh? What did you say?”
“Nothing… I just didn’t want you to worry.”
“I was busy worrying about what would happen if we run into Count Fox.”
“So we were both worrying about each other.”
Lily looked at a newsstand. Almost all the papers had her ex-husband’s name on the front.
“Don’t worry. If I know him, he’s probably locked himself in his mansion. He won’t come out.”
But tomorrow, she would have to see Count Fox for the first time since she ran away and left the divorce papers behind.
The divorce papers were probably destroyed by now. But that day would always exist.
I should’ve kept a copy. It would have helped in court… But back then, she couldn’t even think about things like that.
She bit her lip and made a promise to herself.
I’ll do well. I can do this.
And the divorce papers still existed, somewhere in the world.
