Chapter 72
Yubel rummaged through his belongings and pulled out that familiar coin-sized red orb.
“Beasts will be drawn to the smell of meat. Did you happen to put this in?”
“Yes, I put it in right after lighting the fire,” Roil replied.
Yubel nodded, “I see,” and put the orb back into his bag.
“Where are you heading, Yubel?”
Roil asked, and Yubel seemed to have been waiting for the question.
“‘Sir’? Just call me ‘Yubel.’ I’m on my way to Roanoke. And you?”
“You can just call us ‘Ellen’ and ‘Roil.’ We’re headed to Roanoke too,” Ellen answered.
Yubel’s face brightened.
“Oh! Then, if you don’t mind, would it be alright if I traveled with you? Traveling alone is rather dull,” Yubel asked, directing the question at Ellen. It seemed he had already noticed that she held the decision-making power.
“Well, that would be fine, but… we already have three people joining us later,” Ellen replied, a little taken aback by his sudden request to travel together.
Yubel nodded approvingly.
“In that case, since the group isn’t small, adding one more won’t be a burden!”
Such a relentlessly positive person.
When Ellen glanced at Roil, he simply shrugged. It seemed he didn’t mind Yubel either.
“Then, there’s one condition.”
At the word “condition,” Yubel’s expression became serious, though his eyes still sparkled with mischief.
“Go ahead, anything,” he said.
“What do you mean ‘anything’? You might regret hearing it,” Ellen said firmly, noticing Yubel’s cheerful smile hadn’t changed.
“If even one person in the group joining later objects to your company, from that moment on, we’ll split up. Those people don’t make decisions impulsively like this,” she continued.
Yubel seemed unfazed.
“Fine. If even one person objects, I’ll step back,” he said, as if it were perfectly reasonable. With one hand raised in a solemn gesture, it was impossible to say no.
Ellen glanced at Roil, who gave a single nod.
“Alright.”
Finally, Ellen agreed. Yubel extended his hand with that familiar cheerful grin.
“Let’s get along well. Shall we speak a bit more casually now? Things feel a bit stiff,” he said.
“Agreed.”
After shaking Ellen’s hand, he reached out to Roil.
“The sparring session this morning was fun. We can do it again, right?”
“Anytime,” Roil said, seemingly pleased at the thought of another match.
“Then, let’s finally eat some meat,” Ellen said, her stomach growling.
Drops of fat were already sizzling from the venison. The crackling sound made their mouths water.
“Hungry, huh?”
Roil chuckled awkwardly and reached into his pocket to pull out the bowls, hesitating. Should he do this in front of Yubel?
Ellen seemed to have the same thought, her hands resting on her hips as she watched him.
If they didn’t act soon, the venison might burn before they could even eat.
‘Ah, whatever,’ Ellen thought, deciding to eat first and think later, and she began taking out the bowls from her pocket.
Yubel glanced at Ellen’s pocket, then took out salt from his own bag.
“I have a pocket like that at home, but my mother never lets me use it. Convenient, isn’t it?”
“Yes. Not having to carry anything makes traveling much easier.”
Ellen and Roil silently noted how natural it seemed for someone of noble status to own such a pocket.
‘But which family even owns a pocket like this? I’ve never heard of it from Eli or from Aunt,’ Ellen thought.
‘Yubel might have a rough idea of what family I come from,’ she mused.
However, neither of them asked about each other’s families.
‘It’s probably for the best that we didn’t ask,’ Ellen thought, remembering Gloria’s repeated advice as she prepared for their journey alone: not to reveal their family backgrounds carelessly.
Gloria had made a commoner ID tag for Ellen and told Roil to make one for himself as well.
“You’re a noble but also part of the royal family. There are still remnants of the rebel army scattered around. To avoid unnecessary trouble, it’s better to disguise yourself as a commoner,” Gloria had said.
Ellen had received a copper ID tag. Gloria, being royal, had a gold tag, while ordinary nobles had silver. Ellen’s true ID tag would be officially issued by the emperor in Debutant.
“And this…”
Gloria pulled out a round golden tag from her chest.
‘A horse tag?’
At first glance, it resembled a horse-shaped pass from Korean historical dramas, but instead of a horse, a dragon was engraved. Probably a black dragon from the empire.
“My mother used this when she ran away. My eldest brother hid my ID tag, so I sneaked this from his room,” Gloria explained.
The crown prince had hidden the princess’s ID tag, and the princess had sneaked into his room to steal the golden tag for her escape.
“The royal family… isn’t exactly harmonious,” Ellen thought wryly.
“What’s this for?” she asked.
“Simply put, it symbolizes the authority to act on behalf of His Majesty. When the crown prince went undercover or traveled on the emperor’s behalf, this was used. Showing it at lordly estates allowed one to eat, sleep, mobilize soldiers, manage administration, and even hold trials.”
Ellen’s jaw dropped as Gloria continued.
‘My mother is incredibly brave,’ she thought.
“Don’t worry. This isn’t stolen anymore. The emperor himself gave it to me,” Gloria reassured.
“This? I thought it belonged to the crown prince,” Ellen said.
“I wrote a report. While running away pretending to be an agent of justice, I waved the golden tag around. Naturally, His Majesty noticed and immediately sent knights after me. I tried to escape, but they eventually caught me,” Gloria recounted.
“I suppose there wasn’t much time to flee with teleportation magic circles everywhere,” Ellen remarked, smiling at the familiar scenario.
“Once I was caught, I thought, ‘I’m done for.’ Even as a princess, one can’t just wave around the golden tag as they please. I had to figure out a way to minimize the punishment, so I wrote a report.”
Gloria dramatically pretended to be exhausted, imitating someone worn out.
“I told the knights, ‘I’m utterly exhausted from running away. If I use the teleportation circle now, I might collapse and die. If I collapse, you’ll be punished too. Let’s rest for a day and a half. I’ll stay in my room, and you can stand guard outside.’”
Ellen marveled at Gloria’s acting skills, studying each movement carefully.
“I wrote a report on every instance I used the golden tag. Thirty pages in total. After so much, the knights finally caught up with me, and I realized the emperor had been lenient.”
“So you weren’t punished?” Ellen asked.
“Punished? Of course I was, until my eldest brother ran to stop it. I think the emperor intentionally punished me more so my brother wouldn’t get mad. After being grounded for three days, I finally received this golden tag.”
“Oh?”
“I promised to only use it for protecting imperial citizens. They probably made a new one for my eldest brother. When my younger brother found out I got one, he nagged the emperor for a year, arguing why I got it and not him.”
Gloria’s expression turned bitter as she recounted the story.
“My younger brother always wanted to copy everything my eldest brother did. When it was just the two of us, he’d always say, ‘If I were the crown prince…’”
“Oh…”
With the rebel leader being the crown prince, the atmosphere grew serious, and Ellen bit her lip.
“Anyway, take this golden tag. Keep it in the warehouse and only use it when absolutely necessary,” Gloria instructed.
“Understood.”
“‘Absolutely necessary’ means only for your safety. Don’t imitate an agent of justice, and don’t try to resolve unreasonable situations yourself. Go to Roanoke and report to His Majesty.”
“Understood.”
Ellen worried she had revealed too much by showing the pocket immediately. The three of them had gone to bed early to prepare for the next day’s journey.
‘No choice. It’s late. I’ll have to figure out who he really is as we go,’ Ellen thought.
After tossing and turning, Ellen finally fell asleep with Neshu in her arms.
✿ ✿ ✿
Ellen, Roil, and Yubel’s journey went smoothly. Thanks to their well-planned route, most meals were taken at restaurants in passing towns, and aside from two days after meeting Yubel, they stayed at inns.
Yubel, having spent a few days with them, was cheerful and always smiling. Both Ellen and Roil liked him enough to consider introducing him to their friends.
Around late lunch, the trio reached a village at the edge of the Eston territory and asked a passerby for directions to the largest inn.
“Three single rooms. Please prepare meals and bathwater as well,” Yubel ordered immediately upon entering. Their clothes were covered in dust after helping a cart stuck in a pit on the way.
“While you eat, I’ll prepare the bathwater… no, better to bathe first. Here’s the key. Second floor, right side. Head straight to the bath, and what shall we have for the meal?”
“The most popular dish today, three servings.”
The three took their keys and went up to the second floor. Confirming their rooms were next to each other, Ellen and Roil briefly inspected their rooms before heading straight to the bath. With all their belongings in their pockets, they had no luggage to unpack. Only Yubel was delayed as he unpacked his bag.
