After I finished preparing to leave and went outside Ker, Callius, and his party were waiting for me.
Among the crowd of people, Callius caught my eye.
Strangely enough, I only saw Callius, even though he wasn't the tallest or the biggest among the group.
He looked at me and smiled.
'Yesterday feels like a dream'
It felt like I had been in a warm dream with Callius.
I smiled back at him, feeling much closer to him.
“I can’t see Lhasa.”
I whispered to Callius, who came to me.
I looked for Lhasa from the morning, but no matter how much I looked, I couldn't see even a shadow of Lhasa.
Callius looked sad and explained the reason.
“I heard she is too tired to receive guests after praying.”
“Oh my...”
Callius consoled me as I worried about Lhasa and regretted not being able to satisfy my curiosity.
"Lhasa's prophecies are difficult for everyone. They seem utterly incomprehensible. But looking back on my past experiences, I've always found that, at the right time, her words have always made sense."
“But what if I’m stupid and don’t realize it when the time comes?”
“Then we will meet Lhasa again, just as we encountered the Uttars this time.”
Callius spoke with a confident voice to me, who was still uneasy.
“The coincidence of Lhasa is not a coincidence. Don’t worry.”
I couldn't help it when he said that.
He whispered to me as I nodded.
“Besides, Chloe isn’t stupid.”
“Well, thank you for saying that.”
When Callius said that, I remembered what Lhasa had told me to believe in myself.
'It's really not easy to trust me.'
I felt like I had been given a huge task that I had to work hard on.
We exchanged greetings with the Uttars.
The Uttar chief's wife gave me a necklace made from a small pebble she had picked up in the lake.
It was a very pretty blue pebble necklace.
The stone, with its vivid blue color, was so beautiful that it was as beautiful as any jewel.
"It's a wedding gift. I'm embarrassed by my craftsmanship, but I made it with the prayer that God would protect the bride."
She couldn't bring herself to call me Marchioness, so she called me bride.
“It’s really pretty! You’re so talented!”
She whispered shyly at my compliment.
“I wanted to give it to you as a gift because it resembles the color of your eyes.”
What a meaningful gift. I was truly, truly delighted.
She seemed to want to put the necklace around my neck, but she hesitated, fearing it might be rude. Seeing that, I bowed my head to her.
“Would you like to walk for me?”
“Oh, yes!”
She was flustered when she saw me bowing my head in front of her and hurriedly put the necklace on me.
I hugged her tightly, loving this thoughtful gift that she had made while praying for me.
"I really like it! I'll treasure it. Thanks to you, I've gained valuable things."
She shyly greeted me several times and hid behind the chief.
After a night's rest, our group mounted our horses again.
The Uttar children, who can ride horses on their own at the age of six, watched me as I rode, carried by Callius, as if it was amused.
For the first time, I felt ashamed that I couldn't do something that everyone else was doing.
During my short time with the Uttar people, there were many things I experienced and felt for the first time.
All of that became my determination and realization.
'Once I get to Ronheim, I'll have to learn horseback riding.'
The goat that Bihar gave me was very smart.
We walked only on the paths trodden by mountain goats, passing through all the dangers and obstacles hidden in the snow.
After running and running for a long time, we finally arrived at Ronheim Castle at dawn, when a snowstorm was starting to fall.
As we dismounted, exhausted, the servants of Ronheim Castle stood there holding lanterns to greet us.
It was late, and it might have been a hassle to come out to meet us, but no one seemed tired.
They all had expressions of joy at Callius's return.
'Everyone is holding a lit lantern.'
That was the first thing that caught my eye.
In fact, it was just that my surroundings looked so dark.
"Why aren't you using magic? Is there a reason?"
In Arrental, candles were rarely used unless there was a need for a quick or temporary light, and magic lights were used instead.
Because there is less risk of accidents, and it is easy to use, as it does not blow out even in the wind.
But everyone here was holding lanterns lit with candles.
'The wind is so strong.'
As expected, many people were seen lighting their fires only to have them rekindled.
'This is so strange.'
I only found out the reason later, and I'm so glad I didn't voice my ignorant curiosity at the time.
At the time, I couldn't have imagined that Ronheim was so poor that even the castle couldn't afford to buy and use expensive magic lights.
The servants' lights kept going out, so we had to quickly go into the castle.
Just before we reached Ronheim Castle, Callius had sent Brentian ahead to inform them of my visit, so the castle staff didn't make the mistake of calling Callius "King" like Bihar did.
“Thank you for your hard work, Master. I’m glad you returned safely.”
The butler said, very happy for Callius' return.
He had a peculiarly large scar running diagonally across his face.
The Arrental Palace doesn't hire people with large scars that are visible outside their clothes, so it was surprising that the butler, a high-ranking employee, had such a large scar on his face.
Callius shook hands firmly with the butler.
“Did anything happen while I was away?”
“There was nothing major to report right away.”
"That's fortunate. You've worked hard to protect the castle, Mainz."
“I just did my job.”
Callius smiled confidently and introduced me to his employees.
“This is Princess Chloe Idelian, the Princess of the Idelian royal family and henceforth to be called Marchioness Rodrian.”
The employees all nodded to me.
“I look forward to working with you in the future.”
I swallowed a sigh as I watched their expressions harden with tension.
'It's okay. It'll get better.'
Callius looked around at each of his employees and asked Mainz.
"I don't see the maid. Where is she? I'd like to ask her to guide the Marchioness."
“That’s it, Master...”
Mainz hesitated as if he was troubled, then whispered to Callius.
Judging by his expression, it seemed like he was saying something I shouldn't be hearing.
Callius frowned as he listened to Mainz's story.
"That's an exaggeration. Go and bring Granada back."
It seemed like the maid's name was Granada.
"But..."
"Hurry."
Mainz glanced at me, conflicted, and when our eyes met, he smiled awkwardly.
Then someone came walking from afar with a powerful voice that made the castle tremble.
“There’s no need for that, Master. I’ve come myself.”
She was a middle-aged woman, probably in her sixties. She seemed to be the maid, Granada.
She was a very loud and raspy person.
I absentmindedly looked under her feet, noticing the sound of wood hitting the stone floor with every step she made.
At first, I thought it was the sound of her cane.
But soon, when I saw a wooden prosthesis in place of one of her feet amidst the swaying hem of her skirt, I realized that it was the sound of footsteps.
Her gait, though slightly unsteady, was commanding, as she wore wooden prosthetic legs, made only to enable her to balance while standing, let alone to be carved in the shape of a foot.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Granada Villeno. Please call me Granada.”
She bowed deeply to me, a gesture of remarkable restraint.
She lifted the hem of her skirt slightly, showing one of her uncomfortable legs, with a cold, expressionless look.
"As you can see, my health is not good, and the butler hid me, saying that Her Highness would be upset if she saw me. I was a little late because I had to break down the door. I apologize."
Mainz stood up and stopped her.
“Granada, please don’t do this...”
But Granada shook off Mainz with a single wave of the hand, without batting an eye.
Then, before anyone could say anything, she turned completely towards me with her characteristically restrained movements and spoke.
"I will be serving you at Ronheim Castle from now on. Will my physical condition offend you? The butler said that in Arrental, people with disabilities are looked down upon, but I'm not sure if that's true or just a rumor."
I was so overwhelmed by her momentum that I couldn't even say a word and just moved my lips.
Granada had such a huge gaze that it seemed like it could swallow me in one gulp.
'Wh, I'm scared...'
Embarrassingly, I felt like crying.
But since all the employees were looking at me as if they were curious about my reaction, I strained my eyes and held back the tears.
Even Mainz, who had been trying to stop Granada, was holding his breath and waiting for my answer.
Among the crowd of people, Callius caught my eye.
Strangely enough, I only saw Callius, even though he wasn't the tallest or the biggest among the group.
He looked at me and smiled.
'Yesterday feels like a dream'
It felt like I had been in a warm dream with Callius.
I smiled back at him, feeling much closer to him.
“I can’t see Lhasa.”
I whispered to Callius, who came to me.
I looked for Lhasa from the morning, but no matter how much I looked, I couldn't see even a shadow of Lhasa.
Callius looked sad and explained the reason.
“I heard she is too tired to receive guests after praying.”
“Oh my...”
Callius consoled me as I worried about Lhasa and regretted not being able to satisfy my curiosity.
"Lhasa's prophecies are difficult for everyone. They seem utterly incomprehensible. But looking back on my past experiences, I've always found that, at the right time, her words have always made sense."
“But what if I’m stupid and don’t realize it when the time comes?”
“Then we will meet Lhasa again, just as we encountered the Uttars this time.”
Callius spoke with a confident voice to me, who was still uneasy.
“The coincidence of Lhasa is not a coincidence. Don’t worry.”
I couldn't help it when he said that.
He whispered to me as I nodded.
“Besides, Chloe isn’t stupid.”
“Well, thank you for saying that.”
When Callius said that, I remembered what Lhasa had told me to believe in myself.
'It's really not easy to trust me.'
I felt like I had been given a huge task that I had to work hard on.
We exchanged greetings with the Uttars.
The Uttar chief's wife gave me a necklace made from a small pebble she had picked up in the lake.
It was a very pretty blue pebble necklace.
The stone, with its vivid blue color, was so beautiful that it was as beautiful as any jewel.
"It's a wedding gift. I'm embarrassed by my craftsmanship, but I made it with the prayer that God would protect the bride."
She couldn't bring herself to call me Marchioness, so she called me bride.
“It’s really pretty! You’re so talented!”
She whispered shyly at my compliment.
“I wanted to give it to you as a gift because it resembles the color of your eyes.”
What a meaningful gift. I was truly, truly delighted.
She seemed to want to put the necklace around my neck, but she hesitated, fearing it might be rude. Seeing that, I bowed my head to her.
“Would you like to walk for me?”
“Oh, yes!”
She was flustered when she saw me bowing my head in front of her and hurriedly put the necklace on me.
I hugged her tightly, loving this thoughtful gift that she had made while praying for me.
"I really like it! I'll treasure it. Thanks to you, I've gained valuable things."
She shyly greeted me several times and hid behind the chief.
After a night's rest, our group mounted our horses again.
The Uttar children, who can ride horses on their own at the age of six, watched me as I rode, carried by Callius, as if it was amused.
For the first time, I felt ashamed that I couldn't do something that everyone else was doing.
During my short time with the Uttar people, there were many things I experienced and felt for the first time.
All of that became my determination and realization.
'Once I get to Ronheim, I'll have to learn horseback riding.'
The goat that Bihar gave me was very smart.
We walked only on the paths trodden by mountain goats, passing through all the dangers and obstacles hidden in the snow.
After running and running for a long time, we finally arrived at Ronheim Castle at dawn, when a snowstorm was starting to fall.
***
As we dismounted, exhausted, the servants of Ronheim Castle stood there holding lanterns to greet us.
It was late, and it might have been a hassle to come out to meet us, but no one seemed tired.
They all had expressions of joy at Callius's return.
'Everyone is holding a lit lantern.'
That was the first thing that caught my eye.
In fact, it was just that my surroundings looked so dark.
"Why aren't you using magic? Is there a reason?"
In Arrental, candles were rarely used unless there was a need for a quick or temporary light, and magic lights were used instead.
Because there is less risk of accidents, and it is easy to use, as it does not blow out even in the wind.
But everyone here was holding lanterns lit with candles.
'The wind is so strong.'
As expected, many people were seen lighting their fires only to have them rekindled.
'This is so strange.'
I only found out the reason later, and I'm so glad I didn't voice my ignorant curiosity at the time.
At the time, I couldn't have imagined that Ronheim was so poor that even the castle couldn't afford to buy and use expensive magic lights.
The servants' lights kept going out, so we had to quickly go into the castle.
Just before we reached Ronheim Castle, Callius had sent Brentian ahead to inform them of my visit, so the castle staff didn't make the mistake of calling Callius "King" like Bihar did.
“Thank you for your hard work, Master. I’m glad you returned safely.”
The butler said, very happy for Callius' return.
He had a peculiarly large scar running diagonally across his face.
The Arrental Palace doesn't hire people with large scars that are visible outside their clothes, so it was surprising that the butler, a high-ranking employee, had such a large scar on his face.
Callius shook hands firmly with the butler.
“Did anything happen while I was away?”
“There was nothing major to report right away.”
"That's fortunate. You've worked hard to protect the castle, Mainz."
“I just did my job.”
Callius smiled confidently and introduced me to his employees.
“This is Princess Chloe Idelian, the Princess of the Idelian royal family and henceforth to be called Marchioness Rodrian.”
The employees all nodded to me.
“I look forward to working with you in the future.”
I swallowed a sigh as I watched their expressions harden with tension.
'It's okay. It'll get better.'
Callius looked around at each of his employees and asked Mainz.
"I don't see the maid. Where is she? I'd like to ask her to guide the Marchioness."
“That’s it, Master...”
Mainz hesitated as if he was troubled, then whispered to Callius.
Judging by his expression, it seemed like he was saying something I shouldn't be hearing.
Callius frowned as he listened to Mainz's story.
"That's an exaggeration. Go and bring Granada back."
It seemed like the maid's name was Granada.
"But..."
"Hurry."
Mainz glanced at me, conflicted, and when our eyes met, he smiled awkwardly.
Then someone came walking from afar with a powerful voice that made the castle tremble.
“There’s no need for that, Master. I’ve come myself.”
She was a middle-aged woman, probably in her sixties. She seemed to be the maid, Granada.
She was a very loud and raspy person.
I absentmindedly looked under her feet, noticing the sound of wood hitting the stone floor with every step she made.
At first, I thought it was the sound of her cane.
But soon, when I saw a wooden prosthesis in place of one of her feet amidst the swaying hem of her skirt, I realized that it was the sound of footsteps.
Her gait, though slightly unsteady, was commanding, as she wore wooden prosthetic legs, made only to enable her to balance while standing, let alone to be carved in the shape of a foot.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Granada Villeno. Please call me Granada.”
She bowed deeply to me, a gesture of remarkable restraint.
She lifted the hem of her skirt slightly, showing one of her uncomfortable legs, with a cold, expressionless look.
"As you can see, my health is not good, and the butler hid me, saying that Her Highness would be upset if she saw me. I was a little late because I had to break down the door. I apologize."
Mainz stood up and stopped her.
“Granada, please don’t do this...”
But Granada shook off Mainz with a single wave of the hand, without batting an eye.
Then, before anyone could say anything, she turned completely towards me with her characteristically restrained movements and spoke.
"I will be serving you at Ronheim Castle from now on. Will my physical condition offend you? The butler said that in Arrental, people with disabilities are looked down upon, but I'm not sure if that's true or just a rumor."
I was so overwhelmed by her momentum that I couldn't even say a word and just moved my lips.
Granada had such a huge gaze that it seemed like it could swallow me in one gulp.
'Wh, I'm scared...'
Embarrassingly, I felt like crying.
But since all the employees were looking at me as if they were curious about my reaction, I strained my eyes and held back the tears.
Even Mainz, who had been trying to stop Granada, was holding his breath and waiting for my answer.
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