“Princess Cerne.”
Cerne blinked out of her light sleep at the sound of her maid, Rua’s, voice. The carriage rattled slightly as the horses’ hooves met the pavement, creating a cheerful sound.
Before she could ask why she was woken up, Rua spoke again.
“We’ve passed through the gates of Ildon Kingdom, and they say we’ll be in front of the castle in about half an hour.”
Slowly raising her hand, Cerne drew back the thin curtains that let in a faint glimmer of sunlight, and the warm rays that poured through the carriage’s windows seemed to fill her golden eyes.
Yellow, blue, and pink flowers surrounded by green foliage peeked out from between the two-story wooden buildings.
It was a far cry from the coastal empire of Siaz.
She pulled herself out of her seat and stuck her head out the window frame.
A cool breeze mixed with the smell of damp grass and earthy odors ruffled her dark golden hair, gently framing her slender jawline.
Her eyelashes, the same golden color as her hair fluttered, and every time she blinked, her bright golden eyes disappeared into the darkness of her double-lidded lids, only to reappear.
“The weather is really nice.”
It was easy to see that people dressed as obvious tourists were making their way through the city center of the kingdom with smiles on their faces.
A beloved destination for many, the Kingdom of Ildon was known for its year-round sunny weather, but it wasn’t the weather that made it a small but wealthy nation.
‘Is there a way to heal my body here?’
Just then, the carriage rattled loudly, its wheels making an ominous rattling sound.
“Ouch…”
Cerne reflexively grabbed the window frame to steady herself, only to realize that the carriage had come to a stop, leaning slightly to the right.
“I-I’m sorry, Princess!”
The coachman in the driver’s seat scrambled down from his seat and opened the carriage door for her. Through the open door, she could see the coachman’s face as he fidgeted, unsure of what to do.
“The, the carriage wheels… suddenly broke off. It seems we must have stepped on a stone while traveling through the forest earlier.”
“I see.”
The coachman seemed to catch his breath a bit at the offhand remark, indicating that it wasn’t a big deal.
She held out one hand to the coachman, indicating that she wanted to get out of this tilted carriage, and he held out his hand to escort her out.
It was a good thing that they were on a small street with the buildings facing away from it.
‘I would have gotten a lot of unwanted attention on the main street.’
“I’ll just dismount and take my time looking around.”
The escorts on horseback who had surrounded the carriage made a show of wanting to follow, but she held up a hand to stop them.
“It wouldn’t be bad to look around as comfortably as a traveler before receiving the loud welcome. I’d love to see the Kingdom of Ildon as a princess, but I’m also curious to see it as a tourist.”
After all, Cerne’s final destination was the castle of Ildon Kingdom, which was large enough to be seen from a distance and wasn’t even that far away.
It was not an unreasonable distance to walk after a leisurely tour of the kingdom.
However, her escorts exchanged a troubled glance at her words.
Sensing their unease, Cerne spoke again.
“This is the Kingdom of Ildon, not another place. Travelers bring them profit, and we all know how much the kingdom cares about their safety.”
She tilted her head slightly and caught sight of a group of Ildonian soldiers on patrol not far away.
“Princess, but…”
Rua spoke up on behalf of the escorting knights who couldn’t easily open their mouths, but Cerne didn’t care and spoke firmly.
“That’s an order. Don’t follow me.”
With those short words, she turned around and began to walk slowly.
It was a good thing she had dressed somewhat lightly for the long carriage ride.
Her flowing white dress was free of cumbersome embellishments and instead had delicate gold embroidery. There were flowers along the rounded bodice, leaves on the sleeves that ended just above the elbow, and butterflies at the hem of the dress.
Cerne headed out onto the main road, careful not to stain the hem of the dress, which was simple with golden threads on a white background and set off her dark blonde hair and golden eyes.
The landscape of the mountainous kingdom of Ildon exuded a different sense of determination than the ocean-adjacent empire of Siaz. There were nameless trees, small mountain animals like squirrels scurrying about on them, and…
“Aaah!”
As she spun around, mesmerized by the unfamiliar scenery, she bumped into something.
As her gaze snapped forward, Cerne realized it was a box.
And while she realized that the man carrying the box was a handsome man with near-silver platinum hair and sky blue eyes with skin that was almost as fair as hers, the small purple vials of medicine in the box tumbled to the ground.
The vials shattered with a sharp popping sound as they hit the floor, purple liquid staining the hem of her dress.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I was walking around taking in the scenery and wasn’t really looking where I was going…”
“Haaa…”
Despite her polite apology, he only sighed deeply, brushing the platinum hair that covered the back of his neck.
‘Although it’s mostly my fault, isn’t it the fault of both parties?’
Cerne resented the fact that her apology was met with a sigh.
“It’s true that it was the Lady’s fault just now, but… that’s all right. I’ll take care of it.”
The man who wore a loose-fitting white shirt beneath a leather apron spat out the words and placed the box he was carrying on the floor. Then, he rolled up his sleeves and began to organize the few vials of medicine that hadn’t fallen out of the box.
As Cerne stared down at the man, she realized that he had a fairly lean build.
However, the rippling muscles in his arms beneath his sleeves suggested that he wasn’t just skinny.
From the way he was dressed, it was obvious that he worked in a workshop or something, but he also had an air of nobility about him that he could be mistaken for a nobleman at first glance.
Suddenly, Cerne realized that she had been staring at him without saying anything.
“I’m also to blame, so I’ll compensate you as much as I can.”
The man got up and started walking in the direction he had come from. Cerne started to run after him.
But in order to keep up with the leisurely pace of the man, she had to quicken her pace.
She suddenly remembered that there was a significant height difference between them, with the crown of her head barely touching his jawline.
Perhaps sensing that she was following, he opened his mouth.
“You don’t have to compensate me financially. You wouldn’t be able to, anyway.”
At first glance, his words sounded grim, but the way he sighed into thin air suggested something closer to resignation.
Whatever it was, it was clear that the pills she’d just broken weren’t your average expensive item.
No matter how casual the clothes she wore were, they weren’t commoner’s clothes, so he must have recognized her as at least a noble.
Cerne suddenly wondered what it was that was so expensive that even a nobleman couldn’t easily pay for it.
“What is it that costs so much?”
“You’re a traveler who hasn’t been here long.”
The answer came back quickly, without a hint of hesitation.
“How do you know that?”
“Because otherwise, there’s no way you wouldn’t know what an aphrodisiac looks like.”
“Ah… this is…”
She lowered her gaze and looked again at the purple stain on the hem of her dress.
The Kingdom of Ildon was the most heavily researcher of its neighbors in terms of pharmaceuticals, and that was what made it a wealthy nation, more so than its year-round sunny weather.
It was also the reason why Cerne was here.
Sexual aphrodisiacs were notoriously difficult to come by outside of Ildon, as they were in high demand and difficult to manufacture.
“That’s less in one vial than I thought.”
She grabbed the hem of her dress, which was stained with the purple liquid, and quickened her pace to catch up to him as he walked away.
He glanced at her and raised a fine eyebrow.
“That’s because a little goes a long way.”
He gave her a look that seemed to say, ‘You’re just like everyone else,’ but now, Cerne had her own reasons for wanting the drug.
“Where can I get that aphrodisiac?”
“They’re probably hard to come by right now.”
“The amount doesn’t matter. I can pay any amount, so just tell me where to get it…”
“You can get it at most stores, but you’ll have to make an appointment in advance, and even if you do now, it’ll take a very long time to get it.”
“Why is that?”
“Because a large amount of our inventory has been damaged.”
His eyes traveled to the stained hem of her dress.
In her mind flashed through the hundreds of small vials that must have been broken in the collision with him earlier.
The liquid that stained her dress was the aphrodisiac she’d been looking for.
“Are all your questions answered?”
It was only then that Cerne realized that he had stopped walking in front of a building.
“Somehow. Is there any way I can get the aphrodisiac quickly?”
“I don’t think it’s a solution for you, but I’d have to hire more people.”
“Then I’d love to work here, even if it’s just for a little while.”
His blue eyes went cold for a moment at her outlandish suggestion.
Just as Cerne was about to say that it was a mistake, the words came out of his mouth.
“Come on in, then.”
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