“Where are we going to stop by first?”

Elsier asked while crossing his legs and sitting in the carriage seat.

“Blacksmith Street.”

“Really? I thought the main point was clothes.”

When Elsier asked in surprise as if it was unexpected, May answered curtly as if it was nothing special.

“That’s true, but we have to take a hired carriage on the way back. Since Blacksmith Street is on the outskirts, it’s better to go there early.”

“Right.”

Elsier nodded.

“We can make it back before roll call, right?”

When Elsier spoke as if he was quite worried, May took out a watch from inside her clothes, looked at it, and said:

“We need to go quickly. Please go a bit faster!”

May shouted toward the driver’s seat.

Then the coachman outside shouted loudly:

“Then the carriage will shake a lot!”

“That’s fine!”

As soon as her words ended, the sound of the coachman urging the horses could be heard.

Heeyah, heeyah!

The sound of hooves striking the ground became more intense.

“……But doesn’t it sound like there’s some strange noise?”

Elsier, who had been slouching against the backrest, glanced around various parts of the carriage.

“I wonder. This is my first time in a school carriage.”

“There’s some creaking sound that’s really bothering me……”

Elsier began moving around here and there while listening carefully to the sound.

“Do you hear something?”

“No…… Wait a moment.”

After wandering around like that for a while, Elsier couldn’t seem to find the cause and plopped down in his seat.

“Ah, I don’t know. I can’t find it.”

“The coachman hasn’t said anything special yet, so it’s probably fine. It’s a carriage he manages every day.”

When May spoke with an indifferent attitude, Elsier also shrugged his shoulders.

“That’s true too.”

In the end, Elsier gave up looking further and lay back against the seat backrest.

How much time had passed like that?

It was when they had passed the straight road continuing from the school and entered a curved road.

Crack!

Elsier and May’s eyes widened.

“Did you hear that?”

“What was that just now? Wasn’t that the sound of something breaking?”

Creak!

“Uh, wait!”

The coachman’s shrill voice could be heard from outside.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know! Stop, you guys!”

The coachman frantically grabbed the reins with urgent gestures.

But the carriage that had already started shaking had startled the horses, and the horses began to run wild as they pleased.

Thud! Thud thud!

“What!”

Elsier embraced the panicking and screaming May and shouted:

“First, grab onto anything tight!”

“Kyaa!”

Along with the coachman’s screaming from outside, the carriage that had escaped the coachman’s control bounced upward.

Thud!

Crack!

As soon as the carriage came down to the ground, there was an impact and the wheel came off.

Thud! Thud!

“Ahhhhh!”

The carriage overturned with the shock of the body settling down, followed by a loud sound.

Crash!

* * *

“AK013. Right?”

“Yeah. They said they checked the application ledger too.”

“Hehe. They’ll have some trouble.”

“They’ll have a hell of a time.”

A group of male students walked down the corridor giggling.

“……But what if there’s a big accident?”

When the boy following at the very back of their group muttered, one of the male students walking ahead turned around and said:

“Ah, this guy always has to be a wet blanket.”

“Leave him alone, Tera. Oliver is naturally timid.”

Tera, who had fallen hard on his bottom during the previous practice class, scrunched up his face as if anger was surging and said:

“It’s because he keeps making such unsettling remarks for no reason.”

“Right, Oliver. What could happen even if it gets big? At most they’ll just roll around inside the carriage.”

Jack Horse, who had been mediating between the two, pushed between them and said:

“But what if it overturns……”

“This isn’t even a mountain road. It’ll be fine.”

“But……”

“If the wheel comes off, it’ll just settle down, there’s no way a big accident could happen. Right? Oliver.”

Jack spoke again while subtly glancing backward.

The name of the boy walking behind them was Miller Periwinkle.

He was the child of one of the most powerful figures among those currently enrolled at the academy.

“Right. If you’re really worried, you can go and warn them to be careful.”

Miller Periwinkle casually left a remark.

Then Oliver Austin, who had no choice but to close his mouth, quietly organized his thoughts to himself.

‘Could this really end up being just a small prank?’

It would be nice if he could just stop caring about it, but he couldn’t help the constant nagging feeling in one corner of his mind.

A somehow chilling anxiety kept climbing up the back of his neck.

* * *

“May. Get it together, May!”

Elsier called May with an urgent voice.

‘This is terrible. I’m trapped under the carriage and can’t move, and May isn’t regaining consciousness……’

Moreover, there were bloodstains on the ground. It seemed May had hit her head on the ground when she fell.

“Ugh……”

“May, are you coming to?”

“Ah……”

May drowsily opened her eyes.

Seeing that she had awakened, Elsier let out a sigh of relief.

“What’s happening right now……”

“Thank goodness. I was worried you had seriously injured your head.”

May frowned as she looked at Elsier who was mounted on top of her and looking down at her.

“Hey, don’t move.”

“Ugh……!”

When she squeezed her eyes shut, Elsier clicked his tongue and scolded her.

“I told you not to move. It looks like something got torn when you hit something, but I can’t check it for you.”

But May endured the pain and looked around her surroundings.

And discovering something, she cried out in surprise:

“Wait, your leg is……!”

“I’m fine. I just can’t get out by myself.”

Elsier said while gesturing with his eyes toward the carriage pressing down on him.

The two people who had been thrown out the door when the carriage overturned were in a situation where Elsier, who had been conscious, was holding up by creating space with his body.

“Can you move?”

At Elsier’s question, May carefully moved her body to check her condition.

“Ugh……”

She felt a stabbing pain in her left arm.

“Are you okay? Don’t overdo it.”

Elsier said with a worried face.

“I’m fine.”

The pain in her left arm was considerable, but fortunately it seemed possible to escape from this spot without using her left arm.

“You don’t seem fine.”

Elsier showed a very dissatisfied expression at May’s answer, but since it would become quite troublesome if she didn’t move, he had no choice but to open his mouth.

“Well. Even if you’re not fine, there’s nothing we can do. Then go out and call some people.”

“Wait, what about the coachman?”

“I don’t know. If the coachman were there, I probably would have had him bring people so two people could lift this carriage first.”

“……That’s true.”

At Elsier’s self-defeating answer, May also agreed as if she had nothing to say.

“I need to go out and see for now.”

May, who had wriggled out from under Elsier, immediately tried moving her left arm where the pain had been.

Throb.

The pain was quite severe. Moreover, it was extremely difficult to move her arm because of the pain.

“Damn it. I think my wrist is broken.”

“Oh no. Can’t you move it?”

“If I move it, I’ll be heading to the afterlife from here.”

“This is serious. Which hand is it?”

“Left hand.”

Hearing her words, Elsier let out a long sigh and then chuckled.

“Ha. It’s funny to say this, but still, it’s extremely fortunate that it’s the left hand.”

“That’s definitely a funny thing to say.”

Hehe. May also burst into silly laughter.

She turned her head to check the surroundings.

Next to them was a man lying sprawled with his neck bent.

“Oh, my.”

“Why. Don’t tell me your leg is broken too?”

“No.”

She put her hand to his neck with some hope to check his pulse.

But sure enough, there was nothing her fingertips could feel.

“Tsk, the coachman is dead.”

“Ah…… That’s definitely bad news.”

It seemed he had died instantly when he was thrown out as the carriage overturned.

“In this case, I really have no choice but to go.”

“It’s fortunate that at least you can go.”

When Elsier said with a chuckle, May threw her head back and sighed toward the sky.

“Sigh…… I should have listened to your words about feeling uneasy today. What terrible luck.”

“Forget it. Life is like Saong Jima, we’ll have to see how this incident comes back in what form.”

Elsier muttered words that Ellen used to say sometimes.

He thought for a moment and continued:

“Anyway, right now we need to call people. The city center is closer, so go there and call the security forces. Please.”

“I’m sorry I can’t get you out. I’ll run there and go back right away, so wait just a little.”

May looked at Elsier trapped under the carriage and bit her lips tightly.

“Alright. I’m counting on you.”

When Elsier waved the hand that was still intact, May looked at that hand for a moment and then immediately ran out.

* * *

“Your Highness.”

Kaiden, who had been reading an investigation report about Gillian Krembell, looked up at the voice calling him.

“Ah. Raven. What’s the matter?”

“It’s news about Crient.”

He, who had previously told them to report any information about Crient to him as much as possible as it came in, closed the report he was reading and said:

“Then tell me now.”

“Yes. There was a carriage accident, and the victim is said to be Young Master Crient.”

“A carriage accident?”

“Yes. He had the accident together with Lady Sorbon, a classmate. The detailed circumstances are still under investigation, but it seems the carriage overturned when the carriage wheel came off.”

“It overturned?”

Kaiden immediately got up from his seat and grabbed his coat.

“Young Master wasn’t seriously injured, was he?”

“It was said that he seemed to have difficulty moving on his own.”

“Oh no.”

He left his office with quick steps.

“Which hospital is he admitted to?”

“Central Hospital, room 113. Are you thinking of going to see him directly?”

“Yes. I’m going right now.”

Kaiden immediately kicked open the door and went out.