* * *

“Not seeing the sun for days makes me feel a bit depressed.”

“That’s troublesome, shall we go to the room early today?”

“……You said the same thing yesterday and we went to the room early, but I couldn’t sleep early at all. Of course, I couldn’t rest either.”

Magnus whispered, sticking close to her side, and Serena glanced at him and retorted.

Serena let out a groan, remembering how she was overworked by him all night yesterday.

Her waist and hips still tingled with pain.

Already spending all day walking in a daze, and now with her body aching, Serena had been grumbling all morning and eventually ended up being carried on Magnus’s back.

Though she got down and started walking again when it became manageable later in the morning.

“We need to cover as much distance as possible today, Magnus.”

“Please go ahead, Your Highness.”

“……Are you going to keep this up?!”

“We’ve been together for a few days now, but there doesn’t seem to be any danger, and since there are three on your side and three on our side, it might not be bad to travel separately and gather information.”

Drukan looked at Magnus with an expression that said, ‘What nonsense is this?’

He was already feeling like a third wheel stuck between the couple, giving him a headache throughout their journey.

“Sigh, mister. Do friends always fight like this?”

“……Well, they do fight, but usually not to this extent.”

Drukan swallowed a bitter laugh as he answered, realizing that his only conversation partner and someone who could understand his current situation was a small child who didn’t even look ten years old.

“Maybe it’s better not to get married……”

The child said, shaking his head.

Drukan’s expression soured at this extremely realistic and pessimistic comment.

“Why suddenly?”

“But if they weren’t married, wouldn’t there be no reason for friends to fight?”

“……”

Drukan remained silent, unable to say that it was because one side was too narrow-minded and the other side had an overgrown ego.

“Are your legs okay?”

“They’re fine for now. I’ll tell you if it gets difficult later.”

This nameless child who ended up accompanying them had become accustomed to this atmosphere in just a few days, reaching a state of resignation about the world that was unlike a child.

Well, even he might feel drained watching these people who only fight carelessly in such a situation.

‘…By the way, we’ve been moving following the light emitted by the sword…’

It was when Drukan was looking around for something edible that he noticed the sword was faintly emitting light in the darkness, pointing somewhere.

They were now moving past the capital towards the next village, but the darkness or night, whatever it was, continued to the point where they couldn’t even tell the time without a clock.

The only way to calculate how much time had passed was by counting the clock and dates.

The funny thing was that just because darkness had fallen, it didn’t mean natural disasters had disappeared.

Yesterday, it started raining from noon, so they had no choice but to borrow a nearby house at their discretion and turn in early.

The people in the house were all asleep too.

Strangely, they seemed fine despite not eating or drinking.

Days had passed, but no one seemed to be having any physical problems.

It felt as if they were frozen in place, just like sleeping.

The world that had stopped and died, except for them, seemed to have given up on activity.

“Magnus. Let’s keep going for now.”

“Alright, if that’s what you want.”

Magnus, who had been unyielding when arguing with the Crown Prince, promptly nodded at Serena’s single word and started leading the way again.

“……I didn’t know you were this childish.”

“Isn’t being childish better than being inconsistent?”

“Are you really going to keep this up?”

“What’s the problem, Your Highness? Aren’t we traveling together as you asked?”

The Crown Prince’s face twisted with irritation at Magnus’s subtle tone.

He clenched his fists and trembled.

“Your words sound strange. As if I begged and pleaded with you to let us go together.”

The Crown Prince said, gritting his teeth. Magnus raised one eyebrow slightly.

“Isn’t it a similar situation?”

“When did I ever do that!”

“No matter how many times I suggested we go separately, we’re still traveling together, aren’t we?”

Magnus said indifferently. They say once you lose affection for someone, only their bad points stand out, and that was exactly the case.

And honestly, if it were just Drukan and Serena, Magnus could move at a much faster pace than now.

Drukan had the stamina, and Serena could just be carried in his arms as he ran.

Both were individuals with abilities far surpassing humans, so without the three burdens, it would have been much easier to move.

‘And yet, we’re grudgingly taking them along….’

Magnus couldn’t help but feel irritated as the Crown Prince kept picking fights every time their eyes met.

Of course, from the Crown Prince’s perspective, he was just giving appropriate advice and making conversation, but to Magnus, it all sounded like provocation.

“Then go separately!”

“Is that alright?”

Magnus promptly brightened up and asked in response to the Crown Prince’s outburst.

“……”

The Crown Prince’s expression twisted.

“No, I don’t want to do you any favors anymore. Let’s just keep going like this.”

“……”

“Magnus, we’re in a hurry, let’s just go.”

“Your Highness, please stop and let’s go.”

Finally, unable to bear it anymore, Serena and Rosia pulled the men beside them.

“Drukan, do you know how far we need to go?”

“Well… I’m not sure either. I don’t know where this is pointing or how far it extends……”

As the light grew dimmer the further they moved away, it wasn’t easy to separate from Drukan.

“Or how about you two go together? Drukan and… you, Magnus.”

“What?”

Magnus frowned.

“What if something happens to you?”

“I’ll be fine with the Crown Prince and Crown Princess……”

“That’s why I won’t be able to help you if something happens.”

“Oh, I understand, but we’re holding you back, aren’t we? I’m not much help either.”

“Serena, you are a great help. Just by being beside me, you make me twice as strong.”

Serena’s expression slightly crumpled. Magnus tightly held Serena’s hand.

“And they are the only hindrance. I can run anywhere carrying you.”

“No… I know you’re sensitive because of the situation, but… is it okay to keep talking like that to His Highness the Crown Prince?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“How can it not matter! Do you really want to lose your duke title?”

At the Crown Prince’s words, Magnus’s cheek twitched greatly for a moment.

‘Oh, he’s angry.’

Serena thought as she watched his eyes slowly sink.

Magnus’s coldly sunken gaze turned towards the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince’s eyes widened slightly.

With an expressionless face that had turned dark as if all the words exchanged until now were just a joke, Magnus was staring at him.

“Do as you please. It would be better if you don’t think I’d stake my life on such a worthless, half-baked title.”

His emotionless voice was colder than frost and drier than desert sand.

He wasn’t emitting killing intent, nor was he openly angry, and nothing was revealed in his expression, yet they couldn’t move an inch.

It felt like being a mere insect, not even a herbivore, in front of a monster that could never be defeated.

An insect that could be killed with just a flick.

‘……Is this how he becomes when he’s truly angry?’

His eyes were infinitely dark, seemingly devoid of emotion and heart.

Only then could the Crown Prince finally guess how he had learned to control his emotions.

He, in other words, had been educated to cool his head more the angrier he got.

“I never cared about the duke title in the first place. Take it if you want. Don’t threaten me using such a petty title as a weapon.”

Thick anger melted into his chilling voice.

Serena, who had been glancing around, jabbed Magnus’s side with her elbow.

Only then did Magnus blink once and glance at Serena.

“Serena?”

“You’re a bit… like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like… a child who just hit puberty.”

Serena whispered quietly in his ear, unable to say he was acting like a hormonal teenager.