Chapter 15 Wherever the Gaze Reaches

Albert, though not yet eighty, was close to that age. When he was a very young man, he had entered the Bayern ducal residence as a servant and eventually became the butler.

When he was about to retire in his sixties, that incident occurred at the ducal residence. Albert fled with the duchess and Arsen.

He had followed them prepared to sacrifice his life for the young child if necessary, yet somehow Arsen had survived to adulthood.

“I’m being shameless, young master.”

Albert had wished only to live long enough to see Arsen reach adulthood, but as the saying goes that human desires are endless, he found himself with another wish.

“Growing old makes me sentimental. Before I die, I want to see you return to society and perhaps place a flower on your parents’ graves.”

“That’s not sentimental at all, butler. It’s perfectly understandable.”

After hearing from Bruce that their schedule was quite flexible, Albert couldn’t suppress his desire to join them.

Having lived his entire life in the capital before fleeing to the borderlands fourteen years ago.

He missed his hometown. Much time had passed, and he had aged considerably, so surely no one in the capital would recognize him now.

“Ask Bruce about the detailed schedule. And have him help with the packing.”

“This old man can pack his own bags, young master. Ho ho, my, it feels like going on a trip.”

Albert was excited at the thought of seeing the marquisate and the capital after so long. And he would end up witnessing something quite different from what he expected.

* * *

The departure day arrived. They would leave from the Edis mansion. Lydia arrived at the mansion on time with Wellington and Byron.

“Priestess, you’ve arrived.”

Kedrick greeted Lydia. She looked around for Arsen, who was busy giving instructions to others.

When their eyes briefly met, Lydia gave Arsen a slight nod before walking toward the carriage Kedrick had pointed out.

“Priestess, you’ll ride in this carriage with Maria.”

“I’m not sure if Maria will be alright.”

Lydia wondered if Maria, whose pregnancy was starting to show, could endure the journey to the capital.

It seemed too much, but Maria insisted that seeing the capital was her lifelong wish and stubbornly joined them.

“Maria is healthy, so don’t worry. Priestess, you’re actually weaker than Maria right now.”

Wellington interjected, unable to hold back. He opened the carriage door and stuffed a large bag of medicine inside.

“You must take this three times a day.”

“I know already.”

Lydia shuddered,  tired of Wellington’s nagging. She couldn’t believe how many times he’d repeated the same thing.

However, Wellington thought that given Lydia’s track record, he would need to say it a hundred more times.

‘No, that’s not right. There’s no point talking to the priestess about this.’

After watching Lydia complain about how long she needed to take medicine when she was already better, Wellington quickly ran over to Arsen.

Lydia called after Wellington, but he didn’t even look back. Watching him, Lydia shrugged, wondering what his problem was.

“Then take care on your journey, Priestess Lydia.”

“I wish you could come with us too, Priest Byron.”

“I’m too timid to venture beyond these borderlands yet.”

Though he spoke jokingly, Byron was serious. It had only been three months since his narrow escape from Count Brastelma’s territory.

He thought it unlikely that anyone from the count’s territory would recognize him in the capital, but he still felt uneasy, as is natural for someone who has fled.

The same was true for Nella, who also declined Maria’s invitation to join them, simply saying her heart couldn’t take it.

“Maria is much braver than I am.”

Byron smiled warmly as he watched Maria approaching with her luggage, clutching her belly and taking small steps.

Seeing Maria’s bright face made Lydia feel like she was going on a vacation.

Lydia wasn’t alone in this feeling. Even the Black Wolf Knights, who would be riding all day, treated this journey as an outing rather than a mission, allowing themselves some leisure.

The only person not enjoying this journey was Arsen.

* * *

Arsen’s plan was to pass through the monster-infested areas between the Edis mansion and the marquis’s castle as quickly as possible.

As usual, Arsen led the group from the front. He rarely looked back.

Kedrick always rode watching Arsen’s proud, broad shoulders and fluttering cape.

“……”

But today, was it just his imagination, or did he keep making eye contact with Arsen ahead?

No, it couldn’t be! Their eyes met because Arsen was actually turning around.

Not that Arsen was turning to look at Kedrick. His gaze went past Kedrick toward the carriage carrying Lydia.

“Commander, why don’t you just move to the rear? I’ll take the lead.”

Unable to bear it any longer, Kedrick spurred his horse and overtook Arsen. Seeming to think it better to be where he could see Lydia’s carriage, Arsen moved to the rear without protest.

In truth, from the moment they departed for the capital, from the instant Lydia boarded the carriage, Arsen’s gaze had been fixed on her.

Whenever he came to his senses, Arsen found himself looking at Lydia. His eyes naturally drifted toward her, and it took conscious effort not to look.

It was very strange. To be so distracted while traveling through monster-infested roads. No, his mind was focused on one thing: the carriage carrying Lydia.

Was the carriage moving smoothly? Were the horses behaving? Were the wheels holding up? Would she get motion sickness on the rough road? And so on.

‘At least I can see her now, that’s better.’

Just as Arsen was feeling reassured that he could watch the carriage while riding, it suddenly occurred to him that if monsters appeared ahead, he wouldn’t be able to respond quickly.

‘It might be safer if I stay in front after all.’

Arsen increased his speed and moved back to the front of the group. But then he grew anxious because he couldn’t see the carriage, so he moved behind it again.

Watching this behavior, Kedrick nearly fell off his horse out of frustration. Nevertheless, he maintained his grip on both his sanity and the reins, offering advice to his superior.

“Why don’t you just ride beside the carriage?”

“……That’s a good idea.”

In the end, Arsen found stability by riding beside Lydia’s carriage all the way to the first campsite.

At the campsite too, all of Arsen’s attention was on Lydia. Throughout setting up camp and during meals.

That’s not to say he stared at her openly. Even without directly looking at her, she remained constantly within Arsen’s awareness.

Lydia seemed completely unaware of this since their eyes didn’t meet.

Perhaps that’s why Lydia thought she could get away with the adorable idea of discarding her medicine.

‘Priestess Lydia is a troublesome patient. Extra caution is required.’

Just before departure, Wellington had asked Arsen to make sure Lydia took her medicine properly. Based on his observations, Lydia was the type of patient who would try anything to avoid taking medicine.

Arsen had noticed this too. It was cute how she tried to leave a sip each time she took her medicine, but it was clearly wrong.

It happened just now. After finishing a light meal, Lydia acted as if she’d forgotten about her medicine and prepared for bed. But when Maria reminded her to take her medicine, she reluctantly poured it into a cup.

After seeing Lydia drink the medicine, Maria began preparing for bed, and in that moment, Lydia removed the cup from her lips.

Confirming that Maria and the others weren’t watching, Lydia grinned mischievously and furtively checked her surroundings.

Then she tried to casually pour the remaining medicine onto the grass. She clearly thought no one was watching her.

Her face glowed with a moon-bright smile of satisfaction, like she just committed the perfect crime. Arsen wanted to watch that face a little longer, but he couldn’t allow it.

Medicine must be taken. No matter how bitter.

So Arsen swooped in like an ambush on an enemy and lifted the tilting cup.

“Are you throwing away your medicine?”

“……I-I spilled it, really.”

Caught red-handed by Arsen, Lydia offered a flimsy excuse.

She felt somewhat embarrassed about discarding her medicine like a child because it tasted bitter. Wait, how did he know? He was clearly looking elsewhere. How unfortunate.

Lydia secretly bit the tender flesh inside her mouth.

“Then you should take out more and drink it. I’ll bring it to you.”

“Um, well, I’m not sure if there’s enough medicine left.”

How cunning.

Arsen nearly burst out laughing at Lydia desperately trying to find excuses not to take her medicine with her little head, but he held it in.

“Don’t worry. Wellington said he packed plenty of medicine just in case.”

“Tsk.”

With all escape routes blocked, Lydia pouted and shook her cup. The remaining medicine sloshed audibly.

“I didn’t spill much.”

“Then please drink it quickly.”

Lydia glared at the medicine with a cold stare, sighed softly, and finally drank it.

“Ugh, urgh.”

Particularly sensitive to bitter tastes, Lydia made sounds of distress and searched for candy.

Unfortunately, the candy was in Arsen’s hand, and he only allowed it after confirming that Lydia had finished her medicine.

Hastily putting the candy in her mouth, Lydia glared at Arsen with prim eyes.

“Sir, your trust in me seems to have hit rock bottom.”

“When it comes to medicine, yes. Your track record is quite impressive.”

They bickered over the medicine. It was mostly Lydia expressing complaints and Arsen dismissing them with logic, a circular conversation.

An invisible line seemed drawn around the two of them. Watching them, Albert chuckled heartily, saying it was a good time.

“Ho ho, the springtime of youth.”

Albert felt pleased watching Arsen. Though Arsen’s eyebrows were furrowed, he somehow looked happy.

Albert felt nostalgic, wondering how long it had been since he’d seen Arsen like this.

“They make a fine pair. I hope things work out well between them.”

“That will be difficult.”