kscans

Chapter 19 - Before Departure

"Is this all of Lady Lupia's luggage?"

"Wait, there's one more!"

"And Lord Rupert's belongings?"

"They are all prepared over here!"

Maids, butlers, and various stewards bustled about, loading the packed items into the carriage. Lupia had been living in their capital residence to attend the academy, but here, she was treated as 'the pitiful young lady who lost to the true love of His Highness the Crown Prince and the current Crown Princess.' That, too, was irritating, and she needed to put some physical distance between herself and those two. She had heard that her father, mother, and even Vernella had mercilessly delivered the finishing blow to the two fools who had attacked them the other day. Not to them personally, but to their 'house.'

Although they had been told not to come, the barons who were their parents came to apologize, but were naturally turned away at the gate. They had apparently come in a great hurry, but Aristerios had dismissed them with a sharp, "If you're going to apologize, don't raise sons who cause trouble for others in the first place." Their actions might have stemmed from a sliver of hope, but it was far too late.

'I wonder if the nobles of this country lack the brains to understand what they're told...' Aristerios had muttered in all seriousness. Considering the King had done something similar, perhaps he wasn't far from the truth. Listening to him, Lupia had thought, 'Could that system thing be influencing them somehow...?' It seemed Rupert and Vernella had the same idea, as the three of them exchanged glances.

With the packing done, a rather long journey would begin tomorrow morning. Accepting Vernella's proposal, they would take a grand detour from the Calmond ducal domain to the territory of the Alcioni Count Family.

Aristerios had informed the royals that Lupia's place of convalescence was 'not in the capital.' Furthermore, he had stated, 'If my daughter remains in the capital, she may be hurt by thoughtless words.' He had driven the point home to the King and Queen, as well as the Crown Prince and Princess, without any reservation. If they still tried to get involved after all that, he could only conclude they either had no brains or no ears to listen to what people were saying.

While Lupia focused on her future and resumed her basic training, her father, mother, and twin brother, Rupert, had all worked on her behalf in various ways. Rupert's fiancée, Vernella, had also pulled strings in several areas to lend her strength.

I'm glad I wasn't alone. After thinking this to herself, she walked out to the courtyard to begin her training for the day. Spotting Alfred practicing there, she approached him so as not to disturb him.

"Alf."

"My lady, are you here to train?"

"Yes. The movements I can do indoors are rather limited, you see."

Alfred stopped his practice swings and wiped away his sweat as he responded to Lupia's voice. During the attack by the baron's sons, he had been sent on an errand by Aristerios and was unable to protect Lupia. He had regretted it, but it went without saying that Lupia had furiously scolded her father, shouting, "Don't you dare send someone's personal guard on your errands!" Millière had also reprimanded him with, "What were you thinking, you fool?!"

"What good is a guard who isn't there when it matters most!" his beloved daughter and wife had further yelled at him. A crestfallen Aristerios was then hit with another blow when Rupert and Vernella added, 'Well, Father, you did something that deserved a scolding,' and 'Uncle... that was not a good idea...' He became even more dejected than anyone outside the family could ever imagine seeing him.

Could such a coincidence, such terrible timing, really have happened by chance? Lupia had suspected something more was at play, but for the time being, everyone had agreed that it was simply a case of incredibly bad timing. They had borrowed Alfred for errands before without any such incidents, so perhaps they had been complacent. But since the Crown Prince and Princess's wedding, too much had happened, and they couldn't be too careful. The entire Calmond Ducal household, including the servants, renewed their shared understanding of this.

"I apologize for failing to protect you, my lady."

"Next time, you will refuse. If you don't understand who you are assigned to guard, I will have your replacement assigned immediately."

"No. Even though it was an order from His Grace the Duke, I should not have obeyed."

"If you understand, then I suppose it's fine. ...Though it's not fine at all."

How contradictory of me, Lupia said with a laugh as she readied the slender wooden sword in her hand.

"Alf, what would you think?"

The wooden sword cut through the air with a sharp whoosh. There was no wasted motion in her movements, and Lupia's gaze was fixed straight ahead.

"If your consciousness was taken over by some unknown entity, and in that time, the future you were meant to have was stolen from you."

Lupia posed the question without specifying what had happened to whom, or how.

"But, the future you wanted... the future that was your goal, arrives instead of the one that was stolen. ...Well, what would you think?"

She performed a few more practice swings and then suu, changed her stance. She went through the forms taught to her by her sword instructor, one by one, from the beginning. Without speaking, she counted in her head—one, two—in a steady rhythm. The rhythm never faltered, making it captivating to watch. One's eyes couldn't help but be drawn to it. Who was it that said martial arts had something in common with dance? With that thought, Alfred watched Lupia's movements intently. Then, he snapped back to reality and answered her question.

"If it were me, I would likely grieve for the future that was stolen."

"...I see."

"However, if the future that I originally wanted, the one I had set as my goal, was not stolen, then I would change my mindset. Lost time cannot be recovered. I believe it would be a waste of time to grieve."

"...You're right."

Hee hee, Lupia laughed.

Alfred had been worried too. His mistress's eyes had been strangely clouded, and no matter what she was asked, she moved and responded like a doll. It was a state unbecoming of a ducal daughter, yet for some reason, everyone around her had accepted it as normal. Including, of course, himself.

There was a unsettling feeling, a contradiction between his concern and the thought that 'it's probably fine.' That feeling vanished on the day Lupia seemed to return to her senses. It was at the Crown Prince and Princess's wedding, when she was being coerced into offering words of celebration by those sons of the baron. Something inside Alfred had been about to snap.

At the very moment he was about to move, the strength returned to Lupia's eyes all at once. In that instant, it was as if something snapped inside Alfred as well, and he came to his senses. It wasn't that he had lost his sanity, but 'coming to his senses' was the most fitting description.

The light, the power, returned to Lupia's eyes, and she called his name with her own will. 'Ah, that's the lady I know,' he had thought with relief. But then Lupia vomited, collapsed, and ultimately decided to recuperate.

He was happy and relieved that she had recovered enough to wield a sword like this, but as an attendant, he couldn't let his emotions show so plainly on his face. Thanks to years of reminding himself of this, he managed to hide his expression, which was on the verge of softening, as he hurried to inform the Duke and Duchess and arrange for a carriage.

She had seemed embarrassed about being carried in Aristerios's arms, but even now, he remembered how pale her face was. Aristerios's actions as a father were not the least bit strange. The nobles and royalty who saw it were said to have been quite surprised, but this was normal for them. Lupia's embarrassment stemmed from the fact that 'at my age, being carried around like a child is embarrassing. It's even more embarrassing because people were watching.'

Among other nobles, the Calmond Ducal Family was perceived as being emotionally distant, but that was a colossal misunderstanding. They would have done the same to protect Lupia, the heir—no, even if it had been Rupert, they would have acted in the same way. The Calmond Ducal Family, including its branch families, had very good family and kinship ties, even if it wasn't apparent on the surface. It was precisely because they kept it hidden that they were able to act so quickly this time.

"My lady, the packing is almost complete. Please do not overexert yourself."

"Yes, yes. ...But if I don't move, my body feels so dull."

"I understand the feeling, but perhaps it would be better to wait until you arrive in the Alcioni territory."

"...Hmph."

Lupia grumbled, wanting to go through all the forms, but Alfred's point had merit. However, he also understood the urge to move once one's body felt better, so he tried not to be too harsh. It was certainly better to sleep well and be in perfect condition for the carriage ride than to be exhausted.

And so, the preparations for departure were made, with every effort to ensure they were in perfect condition. To physically distance themselves from the royal family, they would travel to the territory of the Alcioni Count Family via a long-overdue visit to the Calmond ducal lands.

For Lupia, the path to becoming Crown Princess was gone. It would be good to leave the capital until the fuss died down and focus anew on her studies as a future Duchess. With that thought, Lupia wiped the sweat trickling down from her forehead.

There were still too many unknowns, but she would be able to think more calmly than in the noisy capital where rumors constantly reached her ears. Falty and Liam wouldn't be able to send letters so easily either, she thought as an afterthought, before walking back into the mansion.