The chocolate mousse cake that melted in one bite filled her mouth with a softness like falling in love. The small, cute meringue cookies, each shaped like different colored tiny hearts, seemed worthy of being named love potions.

“Hmm. Sweet and soft and fluffy, and I’m eating something so happy… yet it’s sad.”

Dessert is the final course of a meal. It meant the time to part was approaching.

“I’ll visit Marquis Argen’s residence whenever I come to the capital.”

“Rud. Make sure you keep that promise. Until I prepare a mansion in the capital, you can stay at our house.”

“Oh. Dame Elfleda, please make sure you keep that promise too.”

The two smiled brightly. The sunlight coming through the thin pink silk made their smiles even more lovely.

Before long, all the desserts had disappeared, and the dress shop staff were busy packing Caleb’s party’s clothes.

“What are you putting them in?”

Rudbeckia’s mouth fell open at the scene unfolding before her eyes. The clothes were neatly folded to prevent wrinkles, placed in boxes, and those boxes were going into some kind of sack.

It was clearly a sack of a size that a person could carry on their back, but the boxes kept going in endlessly.

Though she was seeing it with her own eyes, it was an incomprehensible sight, as if her thinking had stopped.

“Hahaha. Surprised? This is called a Black Hole sack.”

Black Hole. A dark unknown world said to suck in everything. Inspired by this concept, this sack was an amazing item that could hold an infinite number of objects, ignoring space and volume.

“Let’s get ready to go. Where are you supposed to receive the wagons?”

“Master Anesio! Are you coming with us?”

Caleb asked in a loud voice, delighted. Anesio laughed heartily, saying it was as if he was asking something obvious, like a grandfather worried about his grandchildren. Rudbeckia hugged Anesio tightly, not hiding her joy.

To them, Anesio was no different from a real grandfather they could rely on, draw strength from, and sometimes act spoiled with, even if they weren’t related by blood.

“Madam, I’ll visit again when I complete the ordered fabrics.”

“Yes, sir, please don’t be too late! There are so many customers waiting for the winter new arrivals. Well then, knights, take care of yourselves. Please visit when you come to the capital.”

“Thank you for the wonderful clothes.”

After exchanging final greetings with Madam Goretti, they boarded the Argen family’s carriage. Rudbeckia and Zeno each went to the knight order to switch to their own horses before heading to Edith Palace.

Emperor Adam had prepared three wagons as promised. And the horse that Caleb had requested at the lance competition was tied to one of the wagons.

“I didn’t expect him to actually fill all three. How should we drive them?”

“We can’t tie all the horses to wagons in case of emergency. Since it’s your horse, Caleb, you and grandfather drive the wagon, and we’ll load the cargo from the other two wagons onto my and Zeno’s horses. Grandfather, do you have more sacks?”

Anesio nodded and took out a sack. Watching this, Elfleda untied one horse from her carriage and handed it to Caleb.

“Tie this horse to the wagon too. Grandfather will need a horse in that emergency too. And with two horses, we can load more things onto this wagon.”

“Does everyone become this rich when they become a marquis? Or is the Argen marquisate special?”

“Argen is a bit special. Because of me.”

Elfleda smiled primly, raising one shoulder.

“You’re really leaving. Take care. Make sure to keep your promise not to forget me.”

“Dame Elda, take care too, and if you happen to enter the palace, please contact me beforehand!”

She hugged Rudbeckia, who was ready to depart. Zeno shook her hand firmly, and Caleb repeatedly thanked her, saying she should definitely visit the territory when the weather improves.

“Grandfather, please take good care of them! And you all, contact me anytime if you need help!”

She forced a smile until the end as she saw the four off. She didn’t leave her spot until they disappeared like dots at the west gate. When they completely vanished from sight, tears scattered from her eyes with the wind.

* * *

From the imperial palace to Finis Castle was about a six-day journey on horseback. Of course, they could arrive faster if they changed horses and didn’t properly rest or sleep, but they chose to move about 10 hours a day while resting sufficiently.

While the capital was in full autumn, as they moved northward, especially toward Finis territory, snow would already be piled up because of Mount Erest with its perpetual snow, so they needed to conserve their energy.

They passed through villages located on the outskirts of the castle one by one and sparsely traversed small forests. They decided to spend the night in a village that appeared when their stomachs started demanding dinner. They tied their horses at an inn with a stable, checked the horses’ condition first, and then rested.

After eating the simple dinner prepared by the inn, they quickly parted to their respective rooms. Travel fatigue truly became poisonous when accumulated, so the wise way to travel was to rest as comfortably and as long as possible when they could.

Anesio and Zeno shared a room, while Caleb and Rudbeckia, who had lived together for well over 10 years, decided to share a room.

Of course, the two had not yet revealed their relationship to Anesio and Zeno.

“There are two beds. Why are you coming over here?”

Caleb very naturally crawled into the narrow single bed where Rudbeckia was lying. Then, ignoring her question, he hugged her like a pillow and showered her forehead and the bridge of her nose with kisses.

“Cal, it tickles.”

Her voice, mixed with nasal sounds, felt like whining.

If asked about Rudbeckia’s first impression, ten out of ten would say she looked cold and fierce. Some even lowered their tails, feeling intimidated from the first greeting.

Caleb felt a strange sense of conquest seeing such a person acting infinitely young, like a baby kitten, in his arms.

“Not tonight, right?”

“Of course not.”

The inn was old, and even now, though he couldn’t make out exactly what conversation was taking place, he could hear the murmuring of two people.

“By the way, Cal, do you hate Dame Elda that much?”

“No. She’s one of the few good Pergos people, why would I hate her?”

Rudbeckia recalled Caleb’s horrified reaction when she escorted him and opened her mouth wide with an incredulous expression.

“Back then, I wanted to be your partner, but when you told me to go with Elda, I was sulking. But why are you suddenly asking about Dame Elda?”

“I’d prefer if she succeeded in rebelling before entering the palace. A wedding with Baningo? It’s sad.”

“Ah, what? You’re even worried about a person from Pergos?”

Caleb tapped the bridge of Rudbeckia’s nose and said,

“She’s different.”

“I’m joking. I also hope Elda and the Argen marquisate remain safe.”

“If the rebellion succeeds and Zeno becomes emperor, we should tell him to immediately elevate the Argen marquisate to a duchy.”

“You’re already thinking that far ahead?”

The two giggled under the blanket, letting their imagination soar to a future they hoped would come but hadn’t yet arrived.

After whispering like that for a while, when they could no longer hear Anesio and Zeno’s voices, they decided to look out the window and then go to sleep.

As Caleb sighed regretfully and tried to get up, Rudbeckia pulled his firm arm.

After getting pulled at an unexpected timing, Caleb fell on top of Rudbeckia’s body.

She held both of Caleb’s cheeks and aligned them with her face.

Then, as if trying to prevent him from escaping, she put her hands in Caleb’s hair and pressed strongly.

Their roughly joined lips made an obscene sound. Tongues and lips were sucked haphazardly.

Rudbeckia only let go after thoroughly exploring the inside of Caleb’s cheeks.

“Goodnight kiss, sleep well.”

With a prim voice, Rudbeckia rolled up the blanket and abruptly turned her body.

Caleb stroked her hair as if even that gesture was cute, then went to his own bed.

* * *

The journey to Finis continued smoothly like the first day of travel. They woke up before sunrise and moved, and as they rode, places where they could eat dinner and sleep appeared.

It was thanks to Anesio, who knew exactly where to rest and which village to sleep in. They could tell anew how many years he had spent wandering.

On the third day after leaving the capital, dusk was falling in the sky.

— Crunch

The ground was thinly covered with white snow. From now on, all the land they stepped on was in the north. The noticeably reduced frequency of villages or private houses made them feel in their whole bodies that they were approaching an abandoned territory.

“Dinner will be late today. We have to go two more hours before reaching a village.”

“Then, Grandfather, please go to the village first. Let’s meet at the village entrance tomorrow morning. We just keep following this road, right?”

“That’s right. There are no forks, so it’s not difficult to find, but why are you telling me to go ahead, Rud?”

Caleb also nodded at Rudbeckia’s voice, which had been following the wagon.

He explained in more detail to Anesio, who was sitting next to him, in a low voice.

“I think we’ve been followed since the village where we ate lunch.”

“Huh? Caleb, is that true?”

“Seeing that you didn’t notice at all, Master, it’s clearly not an ordinary person. It seems to be an assassin……”

After exchanging a few words with Zeno, Rudbeckia approached Anesio’s side.

“Since even Zeno couldn’t sense it, it’s probably not an average person. If we’re attacked while staying in the village, the villagers could be harmed.”

It seemed there was someone who even disliked them going to that abandoned territory. Anesio exclaimed in surprise, left several words of caution to be careful, and headed toward the village.

As soon as Anesio disappeared from sight, the three entered deeper into the forest and tied their horses in a safe place.

Then, they found a spot with suitable tree placement and settled down. Rudbeckia’s spear technique was more advantageous with the terrain, and if she survived, there was no chance of getting lost in this forest. She could remember exactly how many steps she had moved in which direction, even without a compass.