Chapter 18
The relief expedition heading south through the Henten Empire toward Sester progressed smoothly.
Thanks to the well-paved road leading to Sester Port, they were able to stay comfortably at inns along the way without camping out, and at William’s orders, food was provided generously. As a result, even though it was already the fifth day of travel, both the expedition members and the knights looked healthier than when they had departed. The atmosphere naturally became cheerful and relaxed.
However, there was one place excluded from that mood.
“Duke, stay still.”
“You shouldn’t do this….”
Inside Raphaella’s carriage, a suffocating tension hung in the air—completely at odds with the peaceful mood of the expedition.
Raphaella moved in close to William, who had retreated into a corner of the carriage. Her golden eyes glistened as she looked at him, like a predator gazing at delicious prey.
“Don’t move. Don’t dodge. That’s an order.”
“Y-Your Highness… please stop….”
William tried to escape Raphaella, who was closing in to within a hand’s breadth, but there was nowhere left to run. Finally giving up, he squeezed his eyes shut and turned his head away.
But at that moment—
Raphaella’s hand grabbed his chin.
As her scent rushed toward him, William involuntarily gasped.
Then Raphaella’s sweet yet low voice burrowed into his ear.
“It’ll be over soon. Don’t be scared.”
And then—
Snap!
A sharp sound echoed inside the carriage.
“Ugh!”
William clutched his forehead with both hands.
“Haha! See? I told you to just settle it with money.”
Raphaella laughed triumphantly and made a snapping gesture in the air.
“Challenging someone of my caliber—the master of flicking foreheads. What, are you trying to stack bumps and become a unicorn?”
Mark, Annie, and Ferry, who had been watching from the side, burst into laughter, clutching their stomachs.
“Mark… you too?”
Mark, in particular, had been laughing as if releasing a thousand years of resentment, but when he felt William’s glare, he hurriedly shut his mouth.
In the center of the carriage carrying the four of them and the spirit was a small table, covered with cards and game chips.
Of course, not a single chip remained in William’s spot.
“Alright, dealing again. But Duke, you’re loaded—why do you bet on forehead flicks? You’re terrible at games, too.”
“…I didn’t think Your Highness would actually hit me. And under imperial law, betting money constitutes gambling.”
“Then what about forehead flicks? Isn’t betting on anything still gambling?”
“There is no clause regarding forehead flicks in the imperial legal code, so strictly speaking, it’s lawless.”
“Honestly, you really are stiff in all the right ways. Mark, I can totally see now why you always look like a zombie.”
“That’s right—! Ahem.”
Mark nearly agreed enthusiastically, his hips even lifting from his seat, but he cut himself off under William’s murderous stare.
Raphaella cheerfully began shuffling the cards again. Watching her, William rubbed his reddened forehead and let out a small chuckle.
On the first day they rode together, the duke, Mark, and even Annie—the personal maid—had all been shocked by Ferry’s presence.
It had been nearly a hundred years since the bloodline of spirit masters had all but vanished from the continent. There was even a saying that if a spirit master appeared in a family, three generations would live in luxury.
Spirits had thus become distant, almost legendary beings, and items related to them were so rare that even selling a castle wouldn’t be enough to obtain one. Most ordinary people lived their entire lives without ever seeing a spirit.
William Klimt, heir to the great ducal house that had rendered immense service to the Henten Empire, was no exception—Ferry was the first spirit he had ever seen. Naturally, his confusion was even greater than Mark’s or Annie’s. When the three of them asked how she had become a spirit’s master, Raphaella’s answer was brief and to the point.
“I met her by chance, she was cute, so I tempted her.”
Raphaella summarized the long story of how she met Ferry in a single line. Once again, faced with an answer so far removed from common sense, the three of them couldn’t bring themselves to ask anything more.
During the journey, Raphaella limited Ferry’s presence to inside the carriage only.
In other words, it was a secret shared solely among those riding together. Partly because explaining it to others would be troublesome, and partly because she wanted to confirm a certain lingering suspicion.
“Mzter, iz thiz reely not okay?”
“No. Keep holding it.”
A being of fantasy—the spirit Ferry was perched on Raphaella’s shoulder, biting down on a lock of her gray hair, her face scrunched up miserably.
At first, Annie’s hands had trembled as she passed cookies to Ferry, but now, charmed by Ferry’s cuteness, she bit her lip to keep from smiling too widely.
“Your Highness, please calm down and forgive Lady Ferry.”
Mark, who had shouted “Aaaah!” and jumped so high he hit his head on the carriage ceiling the moment he saw Ferry, had quickly fallen for her charm and was now completely on Ferry’s side.
Raphaella shook her head firmly.
“No. This brat peeked at my cards earlier and got so excited she started causing chaos. I lost several rounds because of her.”
“Mzter! Ferry promizzez she won’t do it again!”
“Ts!”
Ferry pleaded desperately while chewing on the hair, but Raphaella remained unmoved.
“Hng….”
Seeing Ferry droop her blue wings in defeat, everyone’s gaze softened. William was surprised to realize that he, too, was looking at Ferry with fondness.
Clearing his throat awkwardly, he spoke up.
“Your Highness. Then how about this?”
“How about what?”
Raphaella hid her cards against her chest and asked suspiciously.
“You’re not planning something weird just because you got hit once, are you?”
“…Do you take me for Your Highness?”
“Well, true. You’d sooner bite your tongue than pull something like that. So what is it?”
“Let Lady Ferry sit on my shoulder instead. I’m terrible at games anyway, so even if she causes a ruckus, it won’t make much difference to the outcome.”
Raphaella caught on to William’s soft spot as he gazed at Ferry and smirked. Even someone that stiff had a weakness.
“If the duke insists that much. Ferry, spit it out.”
“Ptoo! Haa! I almost suffocated! Duke, thank you!”
Ferry fluttered over and landed on the duke’s shoulder. Mark smacked his lips regretfully.
“She could’ve come to my shoulder too….”
“Mark! Next time, I’ll go to your shoulder!”
“Hah—promise?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Mark’s face lit up instantly.
Just as Raphaella was about to deal the cards again—
Skreeech—!
The carriage suddenly came to a halt.
“Halt! Stop!”
“Who goes there? Identify yourselves!”
Outside the carriage, the knights’ voices rang out in confusion.
William caught Ferry, who had rolled off his shoulder from the sudden stop, with both hands, while Mark grabbed Annie, who had nearly fallen. Raphaella remained seated, completely steady.
“I’ll go check outside. It could be dangerous, so please stay inside.”
Handing Ferry back to Raphaella, William quickly exited the carriage with Mark. Annie felt a surge of fear.
“Your Highness, what if it’s bandits?”
“Then I stretch my limbs a bit. There are plenty of knights, so don’t worry—stay inside.”
“What? Stay inside?”
Raphaella passed Ferry to Annie and stood up. Annie hurriedly grabbed her arm.
“You can’t go out! The duke just said it could be dangerous!”
“They say when things go wrong, you should take a break. I’ll take a little walk.”
“Now?!”
Gently brushing Annie’s hand aside, Raphaella stepped out of the carriage.
Just in case, she took out the spirit-tree branch baton she had hidden in her petticoat and slung it over her shoulder. Then she slowly walked toward where people were gathered.
“Please help us!”
“Please, have mercy!”
Before the knights stood several people in ragged clothing. All five were kneeling, clutching the knight commander’s trouser legs and begging through tears.
“My daughter’s fever won’t go down. We need medicine.”
“My mother collapsed over two weeks ago. Please, save her.”
Raphaella pushed through the expedition members and stepped forward. William was already there, listening to their story.
“What’s going on?”
“Ah, Your Highness.”
As she approached and asked, William explained.
“They say they’re refugees driven out of the Sesta region due to taxes. They urgently need medicine…”
At that moment, the oldest of the refugees cut in.
“A-Are you Her Highness the Imperial Princess?”
“Yes.”
“Oh my! Oh my! We’re saved! We’re saved!”
“What’s all this about?”
The old man let go of the knight commander’s trouser leg and crawled on his knees, now trying to grab the hem of Raphaella’s skirt.
