Northwestern Road within the Kingdom of Univance (towards the Empire territory)
「Um～. I am terribly sorry.」
「Whoa! …A person? What’s wrong, young lady? In a place like this… are you alone?」
「Yes.」
On a corner of the road leading to the Empire, a caravan belonging to Univance and its guard soldiers encountered a single girl.
She was a young, beautiful girl holding luggage with both hands, looking neat and tidy.
「To be alone in such a place… Was the carriage you were riding on attacked by dragons?」
「No. That’s not it… I got lost.」
From her appearance, the guard soldier made that judgment and began a tremendous misunderstanding.
Normally, for a girl to be alive alone in such a dangerous place was nothing short of a miracle.
「Ah, it’s fine. You must have gone through a hard time. Hey～. Merchant. Can someone spare a woman’s hand? I want her to check if this child is injured.」
「Ah, um～. I am not injured.」
「There’s no need to hold back. Come here and rest.」
「Um～」
The soldiers, misunderstanding the situation, made arrangements one after another, and the girl, unable to voice her claims, was carried into a baggage wagon.
After being cleaned up with the help of the women in the caravan, she learned that this wagon would go to a town in the Empire territory once before returning to the Royal Capital of Univance, so she decided to accompany them, fearing further “getting lost”.
Her arrival would still take some time.
-0-
「Arg-sama.」
Noie, who had walked over, lightly jumped and hugged me.
Putting my hands around her back, I hugged her tightly, moved into the shadow of the castle gate, and replenished plenty of Noienium with a kiss.
I felt like I saw her, barging in without following proper procedures, gracefully evade the spears thrust out by the gate guards, but it was probably my imagination. Since she broke through easily every day, I wished they would realize it was futile soon.
Were they actually confirming her identity by thrusting spears? The guards who had been breached tearfully asked their superior, 『Is it alright if we use bows and arrows soon?』 but in Noie’s case, she would gracefully evade even flying arrows.
「Hmm～」
While I was rubbing Noie’s head as she acted spoiled, the back of my head was pressed firmly.
My beloved horse, “Nagato”, was looking at me with eyes that seemed to say, 『Hurry up and get on. We’re going home, hey!』
He was a massive horse, almost gluttonous in size, but he was intelligent and obeyed Noie’s commands absolutely.
I named him. Since he was large, instead of “Yamato”, I named him “Nagato”. I was just at an age where I wanted to name him after the number two, not number one.
You insolent fellows trying to steal your master’s joy, I’ll have Noie scold you later, okay?
The two of us mounted the horse, leaving the rest to Nagato.
Having learned that he should return home when it gets dark, Nagato walked on his own and returned to the stable without needing reins. In other words, we could get along without interference from anyone.
「Uri uri.」
「Hmm～」
As I stroked under Noie’s chin like a cat, she acted very spoiled.
Since the previous touching ban was lifted, her rate of close contact had been extraordinary. She sat next to me during meals, and if I wasn’t careful in the bath, she would start sitting on my lap.
Since we were married, it probably wasn’t a problem, but since the maids also used the bathwater, I felt hesitant about dirtying it. So, in the end, as soon as we returned to the bedroom, we went straight to bed.
…Was I currently being turned into a good-for-nothing by the existence known as Noie?
-0-
Watching Noie’s sleeping face as she slept soundly, I picked up the magic book that had become a daily routine.
While reading the written text, I vaguely recalled the story I had heard from Frea earlier today. I also remembered the Head Maid, but I had convinced her with 『I will go visit Her Majesty the Queen sometime.』
Now… shall I briefly summarize what I heard today?
Getting bored of reading quickly, I closed the magic book and let my thoughts run.
What came to mind was the story I heard from Frea.
Camilla-san was from the Crostpurge territory, she lost her parents to illness and was picked up by the Crostpurge family, where she grew up. She apparently had the aptitude for magic, but since her magical power was low, she headed to the capital to become a knight.
It was said that she rose from a common soldier to a knight apprentice in no time.
The attribute of the magic she had mastered was enhancement, and she apparently enhanced objects around her to use as weapons.
Frea’s sad expression was impressive, but it seemed Camilla-san had gone mad on the battlefield.
She became intoxicated with fighting, hurting, and killing… and earned the nickname “Impaler Camilla”.
『She was a strict and harsh person… but her heart was kind』, Frea, who had received sword training from Camilla, had said this throughout.
However, she was feared by enemy nations and even by her own country’s soldiers.
As if boasting of her war achievements, she would impale the soldiers of enemy countries she had killed and line them up. Or she would impale them and decorate them… apparently, she performed such acts with delight.
She became increasingly isolated and was finally placed under house arrest, removed from the battlefield.
It seemed Frea didn’t know the details of that day either.
However, according to the report, Camilla… collided with a unit of 100 men commanded by a military officer whose name was not even known, and massacred them all. She confronted the unit of Prince Schnitt, which had rushed upon hearing the news of the annihilation of the allied unit, but she apparently surrendered, muttering boredly, 『They are all small fry. Really.』
After that, she was executed on paper. But she survived and was sent to that facility.
「The more I unravel the past, the more inexplicable and unpleasant I feel… truly.」
Placing the book I had been holding on the bed board.
Seeking healing, I looked at Noie’s sleeping face and touched her glossy skin. After stroking it for a while, her eyes snapped open.
「Arg-sa—」
「Do it.」
I pounced on Noie with a roar and was counter-attacked… but oh well.
Leave a Reply