Cedric used escorting the emperor as an excuse to leave the place.
Otherwise, he would have had to continue tiresome conversations there.
“Return to the barracks now. You never intended to escort me in the first place, did you?”
“Yes, that’s right. I’ll return to the barracks.”
Cedric immediately turned around at the emperor’s words. He was grateful for being told this, given his position.
As he walked quickly toward the barracks, a bird flew over and perched on his shoulder.
“Tweet! Tweet tweet!” (Claire is in danger!)
“……No matter how much you tweet, I can’t understand you.”
“Tweet!” (I said she’s in danger!)
The angry bird pecked Cedric’s head. Cedric couldn’t understand why the bird was angry.
The bird continued to fly around him, pecking with its beak.
He tried to shoo the bird away by waving his hands, but it was useless. Scratching his chin, he recalled how the bird had stubbornly clung to Zeno out of spite.
‘Did I offend it somehow?’
When Cedric reached the barracks, he frowned deeply at the surprised looks on Kaven and Alita’s faces.
“Your Highness. Why are you coming alone?”
“Claire should have returned to the barracks earlier.”
“……Her Highness has not arrived yet.”
“Tweet tweet, tweet!” (You fool! Idiot!)
The bird pecked at Cedric more fiercely than before. It multiplied from one to many, making it insufficient to just wave them away with his hands.
“Your Highness, did Her Highness say anything else?”
“Tweet tweet!” (I’m telling you Claire is in danger!)
The bird tugged at Cedric’s collar. Multiple birds clung to him, trying to pull him in one direction.
‘It’s as if they want me to follow.’
In that moment, he recalled all the times he had observed animals around Claire. Only then did Cedric’s face contort with worry.
Animals tended to become sensitive when something happened to Claire. It was rare for them to approach humans and take initiative.
“Something has happened to Claire.”
“Tweet tweet!” (That’s right!)
The bird flapped its wings and raised its voice. Cedric narrowed his eyes, feeling as if it was affirming his statement.
“Lead me to where Claire is. I’ll follow you.”
Even if they couldn’t communicate verbally, they would understand what he said. The bird immediately flew off toward somewhere.
“We’ll follow as well!”
“Alita, you stay here. Don’t arouse suspicion from others.”
If others discovered that Claire, who had left earlier, wasn’t in the barracks, it would cause problems.
Realizing that the emperor’s departure might also be related to her, Cedric felt anxious.
His footsteps gradually quickened as he followed the bird flying toward the opposite side of the barracks.
❖ ❖ ❖
I ran desperately but tripped over a tree. This path seemed right, but the darkness made it confusing.
It wasn’t surprising since the back path of the imperial palace was overgrown with trees, and once you took a wrong turn in the maze-like structure, it was difficult to find your way out.
‘This is bad.’
It would be troublesome if I encountered a knight. I lay down and slowly crawled forward.
“Squeak.” (Claire, need help?)
A rabbit suddenly appeared from the bushes and hopped beside me.
“I really needed help. How did you know to come?”
“Squeak, squeak!” (The birds told me. They said you suddenly disappeared.)
“Oh, that’s such a relief. I need to get back to the barracks quickly before father catches me.”
The rabbit hopped ahead, seemingly telling me to follow. I carefully followed behind.
I hesitated to call birds because if they kept hovering above me, others might find it suspicious.
So I hadn’t called my friends and was wandering around trying to find my way. While trying to navigate the maze with the rabbit, it suddenly stopped.
“What’s wrong?”
“Squeak!” (Shh, someone’s coming.)
At the rabbit’s warning, I crouched down.
“His Majesty ordered us to check the surroundings, so look carefully. The commander said to notify him immediately if you sense anything suspicious.”
“I’m already looking, but I don’t sense anything. The guards were all fine too.”
Zeno must have handled it well.
It seemed I didn’t need to worry about the divine beasts. The problem was my current situation.
I covered my head with a nearby branch as much as possible and held my breath.
‘My heart feels like it’s going to burst.’
I was anxious that they might hear my heart pounding wildly. My hands trembled, causing the branch to shake and make noise.
Rustle, rustle.
“……!”
Of all times.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
“Is someone there? If you come out now, His Majesty will be lenient.”
The knight’s voice came closer and closer. I froze and held my breath. I opened my eyes, carefully turning my head to focus on the knights approaching beyond the bushes.
‘I’m going to get caught at this rate.’
At that moment, a stray cat appeared from nowhere, looked at me, blinked, and said,
“Meow.” (Don’t worry.)
Then it pushed through the bushes, passing by me. Meowing repeatedly while prowling around me, I heard the knights’ deflated voices.
“I heard there are many stray cats these days. It must have been a cat.”
“Let’s check over there. The sooner we search the area, the sooner we can rest.”
The knights’ voices gradually faded away. The cat consistently stayed in place, meowing and masking my presence.
I caught my breath and crawled on the grass again, following the rabbit to escape.
After going some distance, my arm was scratched and stinging.
‘What am I going to tell His Highness?’
If only I could heal myself, there would be nothing to worry about!
With regret in my heart, I diligently headed toward the barracks. Finally escaping the complex area, I stood up.
“Squeak, squeak!” (You’re safe now!)
At the rabbit’s words, I let out a deep sigh and dusted off my ruined dress with my hands.
“The troubles never end.”
I looked up at the sky. The moonlight was softly shining, and stars were spread across the dark sky.
“Let’s quickly return to the barracks.”
“Squeak!” (Okay!)
I hurried my steps to match the rabbit’s hopping. Looking back, the imperial palace had receded somewhat.
Just as I was about to relax with the sense of relief washing over me, I bumped into something with a “thud!”
“Ah……!”
Thinking I had hit a tree, I turned my head to look forward and froze again.
“Wife.”
“Y-Your Highness.”
Seeing his somewhat angry face, I smiled brightly. Smiling is best in these situations.
Cedric took my hand and examined my body all over. His face became increasingly fierce as he discovered the wounds here and there.
“Who was it? Who did this to you?”
“……It was me.”
“Wife, is this the time for jokes?”
“It really was me…… There were circumstances. I had to escape quickly, so I hid in the bushes and ended up like this.”
“Tweet tweet!” (Claire!)
A bird flew over and perched on my shoulder. It nuzzled against my cheek, whimpering.
“Tweet, tweet tweet! Tweet tweet!” (I was so worried! Everyone panicked when they learned the emperor was returning!)
“Thanks to you telling the rabbit, I got out safely.”
I smiled while petting the bird. The rabbit, having successfully guided me, quietly disappeared into the forest.
Kaven, who approached next, exhaled in relief when he saw me.
“Your Highness. I was worried. Where have you been?”
Both Cedric and Kaven seemed shocked by my absence from the barracks. Rien and Alita must have been in a panic too.
The problem started when I unexpectedly encountered Zeno and left without telling anyone. I smiled awkwardly out of guilt.
“Hehe.”
“This isn’t something that can be resolved with a smile.”
“But I was dragged away urgently.”
“……Dragged away?”
Cedric muttered lowly, then suppressed his emotions and said,
“Did the emperor send someone?”
Cedric’s blue eyes gleamed fiercely. Seeing his eyes flashing with k*lling intent, I shook my hands vigorously.
Glancing at Kaven, I pulled Cedric close and whispered in his ear.
“Zeno came. After hearing the airship was complete, he said it would be good to make contracts with the divine beasts.”
“……Even so.”
“I didn’t mean to worry you. I’m sorry.”
I gripped Cedric’s collar tightly. Perhaps because the tension was easing, my body began to tremble.
“We should return to the barracks for now.”
I nodded. I was cold, and I wanted to rest after straining myself with the contracts. Actually, it wasn’t surprising that fatigue was setting in after crawling madly across the grass.
“I’m too tired to walk.”
Cedric took off his jacket and placed it on my shoulders. Then he lifted me up gently.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and rested my head.
“Are you very angry?”
“I’m not.”
“Even from a distance, I can tell you’re angry?”
“I’m not angry, I’m worried. This place has no one on your side.”
“That’s true. That’s something we have in common, Your Highness.”
I laughed softly and hugged his neck tighter.
“They say couples grow to resemble each other. I think Your Highness and I make a well-matched pair. Don’t you agree?”
“You don’t need to resemble me in this way. I wish only good people surrounded you.”
“I feel the same about you.”
The regular sound of Cedric’s heartbeat in my ear made me feel increasingly at ease.
Though I was covered in dirt and my body was a mess, the warmth and scent of him kept making me smile.
Translator
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Pitidri
Quando ela fez o contrato com Zeno, o imperador sentiu a energia mesmo ela estando no norte e o imperador na capital… agora ela fez contrato com todas as feras divinas e o imperador só sentiu o feitiço se afrouxar??