Translator: Nox

Chapter 28

The carriage headed toward the Midwintree high-speed airship station.

Even in the Pen Rota Empire, renowned for its advanced magic engineering, few cities had high-speed airship stations.

A high-speed airship was a type of mobile magic device operated by at least three wizard engineers and vast quantities of purified magic stones.

Needless to say, the ticket prices were far beyond what ordinary citizens could dream of affording. In exchange for the steep cost, they could cover distances that took four days by train in just six hours, so tickets were always in short supply no matter where or when.

‘It used to be even pricier. The fares have really come down since then.’

It must mean technology had advanced tremendously in a mere four years.

“……Wait.”

Lost in a daze staring out the window, I asked the coachman—of course, the butler assassin—to stop.

While Lu was absorbed in 『The Continent’s Seven Great Mysteries for Children: Treasure Edition』, I stepped out briefly.

The Potato Old Man, who had clocked in at the alley from the hazy dawn, was already setting up shop.

I boldly planted myself in front of the old man, who was busy sorting potatoes in his basket.

And made my demand.

“I’ll buy all your potatoes at top price.”

Today was the day I’d received my first paycheck, along with a hefty sum for maintaining Viscount Weatherwoods’ dignity.

I had no clue how such a fortune had emerged from a household too broke to afford flea livers….

‘They gave it to me, so it’s only proper to spend it freely.’

The old man, who had been squinting up at my face, greeted me with a beaming smile.

“Hmm? Oh my, if it isn’t our young lady? Perfect timing, perfect timing. The potatoes have been top quality lately.”

“…….”

“…….”

“Ah! Is that your real face? Whichever one’s real, you’re handsome and pretty as can be. Life’s so unfair to the rest of us. You must get all the attention.”

“……How did you know?”

I was honestly thrown for a loop.

Hard to believe, I touched my face and hair, but it was still Viscount Weatherwoods’ face unchanged.

Right now, I wasn’t Daisy Farger.

“How did I know?”

“That it was me. My looks are totally different.”

So what on earth had tipped off the old man?

Chuckling heartily, he answered with warm eyes.

“I always sit right here watching folks’ backs as they pass. You wouldn’t believe how many people come through this street. And everyone walks differently. By gender, by job, by personality, even by whatever ailment they’re nursing—it’s all unique.”

He’d recognized me just from my walk? It was a method I’d never even considered.

‘Come to think of it, a few days ago Lu pointed out my swordsman habits too.’

Were habits something engraved in the soul rather than the body?

I was incredibly lucky.

Thanks to those two, I now knew exactly what to watch out for at the Noble Assembly.

‘My walk and my left-handed swordsman habits. If I’m careful about just those two, not even the Berkeley Grayton Duke’s eagle eyes will spot me.’

I wasn’t heading to the Noble Assembly without a plan.

Raphaelo skipping this year’s gathering was definitely welcome news. But with the Sword Saint Berkeley Grayton Duke in attendance, I couldn’t relax for a second.

The Sword Saint was a Sword Master.

Once you reached Sword Master level, your sixth sense grew sharper than your five physical ones, letting you peer straight into the soul rather than the flesh.

The sixth sense was a perception fundamentally honed by experience and insight. No matter how cautiously I acted, the Sword Saint would surely sense that ‘familiar strangeness’ about me. Which meant my cover could get blown.

‘So I have to hide even the tiniest habits.’

Left-handed swordsmen were rare. All the famed sword styles were designed for right-handers, so lefties got trained out of it.

But I’d had no master and learned no prestigious style, so I’d never been corrected.

‘Gotta be careful.’

Steeling my resolve, I looked back at the Potato Old Man.

At first, I’d planned to snap up every last potato of his, but I’d changed my mind.

Keen-eyed folks who could ID people by their walk were few and far between. If I could put that talent to good use….

“Granny. Ever thought about picking up some side work?”

Our talk didn’t drag on long.

After hashing out the side gig with the Potato Old Man, I returned to the carriage.

I didn’t buy up all the potatoes.

For him to keep up his ‘side job’ surveilling the Midwintree market, the basket had to stay stocked with them.

“Move out.”

Just before alighting at the station, I passed the note I’d prepared in the carriage to the butler assassin.

Grayish-blue eyes flashed sharply from beneath his hat. I hadn’t forgotten the secret favor he’d asked of me.

And he was the sort who could make perfect use of the Potato Old Man’s sharp eyes where needed—and pay him fairly for it.

Before long, the high-speed airship carrying Lu and me lifted into the skies over Midwintree.

It was around then that rumors began sweeping the Pen Rota Empire: the Viscount and Viscountess Weatherwoods had broken their long seclusion and were out and about again.

The capital, Ragal.

A grand metropolis smack in the heart of the Pen Rota Empire, cradled between the Pen River to the north and the Rota Plains to the south.

As the name implied, the empire itself took its name from this river and those plains.

From the sky, flatland-bound Ragal was a sight of staggering majesty. The city sprawled like outstretched wings around the central imperial palace, looking for all the world like a vast labyrinth.

Gazing at the palace gleaming like a pearl at Ragal’s core, I slipped into nostalgic reminiscence.

‘The first and last time I entered… was that already nine years ago?’

That day had also marked the Pen Rota imperial family’s debut of the mobile high-speed airship.

I’d flown twelve hours straight from the front lines to reach the palace—for my comrade Natasha’s crown princess investiture.

Natasha Milliorgh Pen Rota.

True to her blood from the Pen Rota imperial line dubbed the mage lineage, Natasha was a brilliant combat mage who’d earned great renown in the magic wars.

Times being what they were, the investiture had been kept simple. Even so, to me—raised in some rural backwater—it had felt dazzling enough to hurt the eyes.

But that day wasn’t remembered as the ‘Natasha Crown Princess Investiture.’

“Anderte.”

It was still crystal clear.

That day, fat white snowflakes had been dumping down.

At the far end of the long red carpet, the instant Natasha received the successor’s Small Rota Hall from the emperor and stepped back, she came straight to me and asked.

“You said you’d offer any gift for the crown princess I’d become, right?”

Every eye in the place turned to me.

Was this really okay? But I figured Natasha had her reasons.

Before her—not dust-stained from the battlefield, but radiating the lofty grace of the throne’s heir—I dropped to one knee and replied.

“Of course, Your Highness Crown Princess. Anything short of plucking a star from the heavens, and I’ll fetch it for you.”

“Then marry me.”

Hold on.

“……What?”

“…What?”

“Anderter Farger.”

Kneeling right there before me on my knee, she confessed.

“If you’d have me pluck a star, I will. Be my secret, my future, the fortune of the Pen Rota Empire. I’ll spend my whole life protecting and cherishing you.”

That day.

The Natasha Crown Princess Investiture wasn’t remembered as an investiture.

In plain view of everyone, it lived on as the day Pen Rota’s new heir to the throne desperately wooed a mere commoner.

Hahaha.

Ha ha.

‘Natasha was… such a fun friend.’

But two months ago, when I opened my eyes again on Queen Island, the Pen Rota throne was no longer hers.

Where was she now, and what was she up to?

Her striking face floated to mind now and then, but I hadn’t dug beyond confirming she was alive.

Because if she was, that was enough.

“Darling.”

Cool, silken skin slipped between my fingers.

I flinched, body going rigid, but turned my head as if nothing was amiss. Lu gazed up at me with languid eyes, fingers laced with mine, cheek pillowed on my arm.

“What’re you thinking so deeply about? You look upset.”

“……Really? Did I tense up without noticing?”

“Tense? You?”

Lu’s low chuckle faded as he slowly closed his eyes, like he was drifting into a light doze.

“That was a pretty cute lie.”

Pretending I hadn’t heard, I turned my gaze back to the window.

As the high-speed airship descended slowly, Ragal’s scenery rushed right up to meet us.

Moments later, our feet touched solid ground.

True to the imperial capital, Ragal buzzed with energy even at the airship station.

After breezing through the simple procedures and passing through the gate, two men waiting nearby approached us.

Up close, they caught sight of Lu’s beauty, startled with a jump, and swallowed hard.

“A-Are you the Viscount and Viscountess Weatherwoods? We’ve come to escort you on the Black Ragal Ho.”

I’m Viscount Weatherwoods.

Say it to my face!