Chapter 47
"Zackhart-sama, thank you sincerely for all your hard work up to now."
As Rururia bowed deeply, Zackhart-sama, commander of the Third Knight Order, replied, "There are many ill-mannered people, and I apologize for the inconvenience."
His expression was extremely displeased, but that was Zackhart-sama's usual look.
Rays-sama, watching the scene, seemed to be stifling a laugh, which caught my attention. He was trying to project a stern air by keeping his face as expressionless as possible, though.
"And Northvel-sama as well. Thank you for saving our lives. I will never forget this debt."
The next person Rururia thanked was a short but powerfully built man with a deep tan and a bushy beard—a pirate... no, Northvel-sama, the naval commander.
With a brazen attitude, he said, "Yeah, I hear you're marrying into the Empire. You'd better be careful we don't sink you ourselves next time," making a joke that wasn't funny at all... That was a joke, right?
Rururia proclaimed, "If that happens, even if the ship I'm on sinks Northvel-sama's ship, let's not hold a grudge. But since I owe you one, I'll spare your life." This princess was quite something.
Northvel-sama seemed to really like her reply. "Now, now, you'd be wasted as a princess!" he roared with laughter. What job ranks above princess, anyway?
"It pains me to see you go, but, Rururia-sama, it is about time..." Rays-sama, who seemed to have been holding back a laugh for a while, urged her to depart, and Rururia and everyone else who had been aboard the drifting ship set out for the Empire under the Tenth Knight Order's escort.
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The route for escorting Rururia and the others to the Empire ran through the Yorose Corridor, which had repeatedly repelled Imperial invasions. It was one of the few broad roads amid the steep mountain ranges stretching between Ludeck and the Empire.
Though it was called broad, it was only wide enough for two carriages to pass side by side. Thus, it was far too narrow for a large army to pass through. Ludeck had repeatedly used this corridor to repel the Empire's invasions.
Since we had carriages with us, getting from Gederland's port to the Yorose Corridor would take about five days. Passing through the corridor itself took a full day, so with some leeway, it was about a week's journey.
Even so, what was up with Zackhart-sama just now...?
Just before we set out from Gederland, Zackhart-sama called out to me.
"You there. You're Roa, right? You."
"Yes. What is it?"
"...No, never mind."
He said that and promptly turned on his heel. He never looked back at me as I stood there dumbfounded, which left me very curious.
"What's wrong?"
Noticing my pensive expression, Rays-sama spoke to me.
"Oh, no, it's just... Actually..." I told him about what had happened. Since Zackhart-sama had seemed displeased even when we first met, I thought I might have angered him. I also told him about our greeting.
At that, Rays-sama's shoulders finally started shaking with laughter.
"Um, have you been holding back laughter since we were in Gederland?" I finally asked, unable to stand it any longer. Rays-sama answered with a suppressed chuckle.
"I see. Now the pieces finally fit together. Well, that was interesting to watch."
"I have absolutely no idea what's going on..."
"Naturally. You see, Zackhart-sama had been fidgeting the entire time, so I wondered what had happened. It is quite rare to see him like that. I felt bad for him, but I found it fascinating to observe him."
"Fidgeting? That was fidgeting!?" If that was him fidgeting, I couldn't even imagine what he was like normally.
"Yes. At first, I thought it was an outpouring of complicated feelings toward Rururia-sama, but..."
"Um, so you mean he wasn't sure how to deal with someone marrying into the Empire, our enemy?"
"That is right. But I was mistaken. What Zackhart-sama was concerned about was you, Roa."
"Me? I can't think of anything that would explain it."
"Of course you wouldn't. Strictly speaking, it wasn't you specifically. Zackhart-sama is very attentive to the children of Gederland and the surrounding areas. The Third Knight Order has been based in Gederland for a long time. Zackhart-sama thinks of the children of Gederland and the surrounding areas as his own."
He added that Zackhart-sama was a deeply compassionate man, despite appearances.
"But there are lots of children from Gederland, aren't there?"
"And Zackhart-sama is surprisingly sensitive."
No way...
"He probably learned that the Roa he had treated so brusquely at first was a child with ties to this town, and secretly regretted his initial attitude. On top of that, you did an excellent job hosting Rururia-sama. He must have been pleased deep down, but he never found an opportunity to tell you. Something like that, I imagine."
"Ehh..."
He was nothing like the Zackhart-sama described in the stories. Is he a maiden at heart?
"Don't be so disappointed. It is precisely because he is that kind of man that his subordinates look up to him. Even when he reprimanded the previous king, the man listened, thinking, 'If Zackhart says so...'"
It did surprise me, but it didn't lower my opinion of Zackhart-sama. If anything, I felt I had been told a rare and valuable story.
"What an interesting story."
Rururia, who had somehow stuck her head out of the carriage, interrupted our conversation.
"Rururia, when did you...?"
"I've been listening since practically the beginning."
Rays-sama looked so calm that he must have noticed she was listening in.
"And I would love to hear the story of Zackhart-sama reprimanding your country's former king as well!"
Rururia's eyes shone.
Our journey to the Empire had only just begun.