The carriage that had set off at dawn finally stopped as the sun began to set.

Apart from brief stops to relieve themselves, the Princess Consort’s party had travelled almost without rest.

They had even made do with packed meals and wine prepared by the imperial palace. Yet, despite travelling all day, they had still not completely left the outskirts of the capital.

The moment she emerged from the cramped carriage, MacGilton rubbed her aching back.

Gareth climbed out after her, stroking her chest and breathing slowly, as though trying to calm her upset stomach.

“How long did they say it would take to reach Oult? Ten days?”

“Hah! We would be fortunate if it took only ten days. The head maid said it would take three full weeks from the imperial palace.”

Gareth’s face instantly turned pale.

Her misfortunes began when she offended the head maid, who ordered her to accompany the Princess Consort into confinement.

As if being caught romping in the back garden with an imperial guard were not bad enough, it also came to light that she had deceived the man by pretending to be a senior maid.

Consequently, she was demoted from imperial palace maid to maid of the Princess Consort, and was then immediately exiled to the Outlands.

‘I truly have the worst luck.’

Looking miserable, Gareth leaned her back against a carriage wheel.

“They are not planning to banish us from the imperial palace permanently, are they? Ah, this is so depressing.”

“What is there to be depressed about? Our wages increased, did they not? There should also be a special allowance from His Majesty.”

MacGilton lowered her voice so the other maids wouldn’t hear and snickered.

Five maids had been assigned to accompany the Princess Consort on her journey.

Gareth and MacGilton had been transferred from the Emperor’s palace, while Ruger and Cayeman, who were burly and fierce-looking, had been selected from the Empress’s palace. The final maid, Halo, was a novice who had entered the palace less than a year ago.

Rumor had it that Halo could barely speak due to a childhood injury to her tongue, and that she was also a witless fool incapable of reading the situation. So it was hardly surprising that she had been forced to accompany the disgraced Princess Consort into confinement — a reassignment that amounted to a demotion.

However, if anyone among them deserved to be called the most unfortunate, it was undoubtedly Gareth.

When she first entered the imperial palace, she had dreamed of ensnaring a low-ranking nobleman and elevating her status. Yet instead of securing a respectable husband, she was now being sent to Oult, far from the capital.

“You fool. What good will a few extra coins do us when we’re being dragged all the way to Oult? More importantly, do you honestly believe what the Chief Attendant told us?”

“Why not?”

“A man like him would take half the money meant for you and put it in his own pocket. Once you are trapped in Oult, how could you possibly verify how much allowance you were supposed to receive?”

Flames seemed to erupt from MacGilton’s eyes. She was the sort of woman who would leap out of bed at the mere mention of money.

“What? That is impossible! That would be embezzlement!”

“……Oh, MacGilton. The imperial palace is overflowing with embezzlement. How can you have worked there for three years without knowing that?”

“That bastard……. Ah, I cannot allow this. I am going back to confront the Chief Attendant right now……!”

“How? We have already traveled for an entire day. Besides, we are carrying out His Majesty’s orders. If we return without permission, you will be punished instead of receiving your money.”

Apparently, that had not occurred to MacGilton, for her face crumpled instantly.

“Th-Then what am I supposed to do? Am I supposed to stand by and watch them steal my money?”

Only after seeing that MacGilton had become every bit as miserable as herself did Gareth find some consolation.

That was right. At least she had not fallen into this cesspit alone.

Looking considerably more at ease, she patted MacGilton’s shoulder. Then she noticed Ruger glaring at them as though she intended to devour them and gestured toward her with her chin.

“There must be something we can do. Let us think about it together later. For now, we had better hurry and prepare dinner. If we keep standing around, Ruger will eat us both alive.”

After whispering those words, Gareth hurried away.

They said shared misery was halved, and the steps that had seemed nearly lifeless moments ago had grown remarkably light.

***

Even after the first day, their grueling journey towards Oult continued.

Having slept outdoors for two nights since leaving the imperial palace, the knights and maids urged each other on, driven by a single desire — to sleep under a proper roof as soon as possible.

Strangely, the Princess Consort was the only one who appeared entirely unaffected by the hardship.

Even the trained knights groaned after two nights sleeping outdoors, yet the Princess Consort never complained.

Instead, she ordered everyone to stay away from the carriage unless summoned and remained secluded inside it throughout the day. Gareth was growing genuinely frightened, wondering what on earth the Princess Consort could be doing in there.

“You worry about the strangest things. She has a spacious carriage all to herself, so of course she is comfortable. We are the ones suffering because four of us are crammed inside that narrow luggage carriage.”

“No, I am telling you, something is truly strange! Earlier, I spilled soup right in front of Her Highness, and she did not even blink!”

“She probably could not be bothered reacting. She was never the sort to make a fuss.”

Cayeman cut her off brusquely.

Of the two maids selected from the Empress’s palace, she was particularly strict.

At least Ruger’s fiery temper meant she exchanged words with the others, whether pleasantly or otherwise. Cayeman, however, was sharp and uncompromising in everything she did, making even casual conversation difficult.

“Still, she is far too quiet. How can anyone remain that still for days? Besides, a horrible smell is coming from inside that carriage. Does it make sense for her not to move at all while sitting in a place filled with such a foul stench?”

Unable to gain Cayeman’s agreement, Gareth grumbled and tapped the ground sullenly.

At that moment, a young, brown-haired knight, who had been sitting quietly eating his soup beside her, subtly brushed the tip of her shoe with his own.

Their eyes met and held each other’s gaze for a moment. Gareth blushed, while the knight looked away, pretending nothing had happened.

It seemed they had taken an interest in each other during that brief exchange.

Cayeman watched them incredulously before clicking her tongue and shaking her head.

“Stop talking nonsense and clean up. We need to hurry if we want to reach the lord’s castle even a day sooner.”

“The lord’s castle? Whose territory is it? Did they say it belonged to Count Bactus?”

MacGilton, who had worn a miserable expression throughout the journey, raised her head with uncanny speed.

“Bactus? That is a rather famous region! Ah! Does that mean we will finally be able to sleep in beds once we arrive?”

At the mention of a place she recognized, even Gareth’s eyes began to sparkle.

“What bed would they give a maid? We should be grateful if they let us sleep in the servants’ quarters.”

“At least there will be a roof! We have spent two nights sleeping on that damp ground. Who cares if it is only the servants’ quarters?”

MacGilton threw his arms into the air and cheered.

Cayeman shot her an irritated glare for being so noisy, but everyone else felt the same way.

Only Halo, who was washing a pot a short distance away, remained silent and indifferent to the commotion.

Leaving the other maids behind, Cayeman naturally turned towards the Princess Consort’s carriage.

She had spent several days in the swaying vehicle without making a single request or uttering a single complaint.

Now that she thought about it, that was indeed strange.

More importantly, the Princess Consort had not relieved herself once in the last two days.

‘……Her Majesty ordered me to report anything suspicious immediately.’

Should she report this as well?

The Princess Consort has not urinated.

Was she supposed to submit a report like that?

Cayeman considered the matter seriously before shaking her head.

Even so, she could not use a messenger stone for something so trivial.

The Empress had given her only ten and instructed her to use them solely for urgent matters. If she wasted one to report that the Princess Consort had neither defecated nor urinated, she might be reprimanded herself.

‘Right. I will observe her for a few more days. Nothing serious has happened yet.’

***

Flash.

The moment her vision flared white, as if heaven and earth had split apart, Mokyeong opened her eyes.

Rather than moving immediately, she took a few deep breaths and examined the inside of her body.

A faint warmth lingered deep within her dantian.

This was not a physical warmth that could be felt by touching her body, but rather the sensation of power swelling and accumulating somewhere much deeper.

‘Just as I thought.’

The Sacred Core could be amplified using principles similar to those governing an inner core.

When this was combined with the Poison Transformation Heart Method, which converted the poisonous energy accumulated within her body into internal energy, her strength increased far more rapidly than expected.

In three days.

If she had progressed this far in only three days, she should be ready to begin proper cultivation by the time she reached Oult.

After calming her breathing in satisfaction, Mokyeong lifted the curtain covering the carriage window slightly.

The surroundings had already sunk into deep darkness. With her enhanced eyesight, she could see the makeshift tents beside the carriages, as well as the knights and maids sleeping around the campfire.

Only the occasional snore disturbed the still night air.

It seemed that no one had interrupted her.

Relaxing with relief, Mokyeong drew a deep breath.

“Ugh.”

A sensation she had not noticed until then suddenly flooded through her nose.