“Thank you so much. Thanks to you, I survived.”
“No, what? Trade ships help each other. And it was thanks to that young lady that my life was saved.”
She spoke humbly, scratching the back of her head as if embarrassed.
It’s not that Ayla didn’t save her, but if she hadn’t come forward to help this ship, such a dangerous situation wouldn’t have happened.
However, the conversation between the captain and the woman could not continue any further. This was because a man who looked nostalgic came over from the woman’s boat and called out to her, making a fuss.
“Natalia, honey… … ! Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
The man, with his long brown hair neatly tied into one piece, ran towards her and started looking around to see if she was injured.
“Why did you come here? I told you to hide in the cabin because it was dangerous.”
“But, I’m so worried about Natalia…”
When Ayla was watching that scene, she felt somewhat warmed by that sight.
“Miss. Please come down now.”
Cloud whispered in her ear.
“… … okay.”
In fact, there was no reason for Ayla to be here any longer. No, it was more correct to say that it should not exist.
There was a risk of being exposed to that unknown woman named Natalia and her crew, so there was no way Cloud could ignore that.
She had no choice but to quietly follow Cloud down to the cabin.
* * *
Ayla came down to the cabin, and the ship, which had been stationary for a while, started moving again. Natalia and her group seemed to have all returned to their ships as well.
With such a short incident behind us, the ship returned to normal life and began to sail vigorously toward the Inselcorp Kingdom.
And a few days later, deep into the night,.
Just as they secretly boarded this ship, they also quietly left in the middle of the night when they got off.
As they climbed down the rope ladder and came down to the small boat, a person sent by Count Senospon greeted them politely.
“The carriage the Count sent is waiting on the coast. This way.”
Byron, who suffered from seasickness while sailing and had half his face, nodded as if he didn’t have the strength to respond, and the small boat carrying them departed for the coast.
After moving for a while, they soon reached land. Ayla got off the boat with Cloud’s escort and looked around in the dark.
‘Is this the Inselcorp Kingdom?’
It was her first time in a foreign country, so it was a new experience, but because it was dark, she couldn’t feel much of a difference from the Peles Empire.
As they climbed the steep rock, following the guide, they soon saw a shabby wagon parked there.
“… … “Are you telling me to ride this now?”
Byron, who was exhausted from seasickness and seemed to have no energy to argue, seemed to regain his original temperament as soon as he stepped on land.
He can’t believe they’re trying to take him on a shabby carriage like this. He showed off his displeasure as if his pride were hurt.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I guess I was trying to avoid inspection.”
In response, the servant sent by the Count bowed his head and apologized, and Byron got into the carriage with the expression that he would only look at it this time.
The carriage they rode in had a double structure, with the seating area where they were sitting and the luggage space separated by a thin board. The luggage compartment was loaded with carrots, pumpkins, and other vegetables, making a clattering sound every time the carriage moved.
How far did it go? The carriage, which was running smoothly, stopped, and the sound of horses was heard from outside.
“Where are you going in such a hurry at this early hour?”
“Ah, these are ingredients that Count Senospon will urgently use in the morning. Here are the supporting documents.”
It seemed to be stuck at the checkpoint in front of the castle gate. For a moment, the sound of paper flapping was heard, and then the annoying voice of a guard was heard.
“It seems like there is no problem. Please pass.”
It passed quickly.
In fact, even if they opened it, all the guard would see was a mountain of vegetables, so there was no problem, but because the documents were perfect, they were able to pass through the castle gate without even having to open the carriage.
If the carriage had a window, she would have been able to see the scenery of a foreign country, but unfortunately, Ayla was trapped in a narrow space without a window and had to only see the faces of her enemies.
After running for a while, the carriage arrived at its destination, Count Senospon’s domain.
As soon as she got off the carriage, she took a deep breath of the cool outside air. It felt like she was finally feeling alive.
“Welcome back, Duke. “I was looking forward to meeting you in person.”
When Byron got off the carriage with a frown on his face, a middle-aged man with bright blonde hair greeted him.
“This is Count Ernest Senospon.”
Count Senospon had dark skin and bright emerald eyes, just like the people he met on the ship on the way here.
He bowed to Byron and offered to shake his hand, but Byron looked down at his hand with cold eyes.
“… … Are you trying to harass me?”
Byron lifted his empty right sleeve and scoffed. Only then did Count Senospon realize that he had made a mistake, his face turned white, and he quickly withdrew his right hand and held out his left hand.
“Oh, no… … . Could that be possible? “I’m sorry.”
Byron, still looking upset, reached out his left hand and grabbed the Count’s hand.
“This is my only son. Gerald, I need to greet you.”
The count introduced his son, who looked like a miniature version of himself, to Byron.
His face was so similar that it made him wonder if the Count had given birth to him alone without his mother, but Gerald Senospon had a pretty decent face, perhaps because he didn’t have the grumpy look on his face like his father’s.
Perhaps the Count didn’t explain the identity of the guest in advance, but Gerald, with a sour face, greeted him insincerely and tried to leave.
Thanks to this, the Count’s face, which had already made a mistake once, only became even more pale.
“… … Gerald, see you later.”
When the Count saw his son, he gritted his teeth and scolded him, but Gerald was not listening to his father’s story.
His gaze was directed at Ayla, who was standing there looking very innocent.
Gerald was looking at her with a mesmerized face. He may have been interested in her because she was a girl of his age, but he also felt attracted to Ayla because she had such a striking appearance.
“Ah, those people over there…”
The Count, who felt his son’s gaze, looked at Byron while waiting for the other party members to be introduced.
He doesn’t know how long he’ll be staying here, but he can’t help but introduce it, so he gently places his hand on Ayla’s shoulder and says this.
“She’s my girlfriend.”
“Ah, I see… …! “For some reason, the young lady was very elegant and full of dignity, and she resembled a princess.”
Count Senospon was on the verge of giving Byron his gallbladder, and Gerald could not take his eyes off Ayla even while his father was fussing.
Those eyes were following her the whole time she moved to the annex under the earl’s guidance.
* * *
The separate room prepared by Count Senospon was very splendid.
Of course, it couldn’t be compared to the Imperial Palace of the Peles Empire or the Duke of Weishafen’s residence, but compared to the old, crumbling fortresses, mountainous buildings, and ruins that he had used as a hiding place, this place was nothing short of heaven.
Ayla also really liked her new place. She was assigned a room on the second floor of an annex, and it was a very beautiful room with a view of the garden when the window was opened.
Laura and her mother and daughter’s room is across the narrow hallway, so it may not be very free, but it is still a pretty nice place to live.
While the people, exhausted from the long journey, were taking a long-awaited rest in their room, Count Senospon was calling his son and scolding him.
“Gerald, you. What is that attitude from earlier? You are a precious guest. I am telling you not to do anything that will make you look bad. Be polite, as polite as possible. Do you understand?”
As a count, he was an important guest who had to be seen as best as possible.
Even so, his position within the Kingdom of Inselkov had recently become narrow, and he was deeply regretting whether he had lined up the wrong line. This was because the person who had openly supported him in the battle for the right to succeed to the throne had become an enemy of the king and had fallen away from the throne.
He thought he was providing insurance in case Byron’s rebellion succeeded, so he began to help him occasionally, but looking at the current situation, it could have been his last help to save him.
So, he had to please Byron as much as possible, but the guy who was said to be his only son was showing off that even greeting him was a bother. He was so upset.
‘What’s the reason I’m groveling like this? I didn’t even know that everyone was telling me to live well… … !’
He thought this and pounded his chest in frustration.
However, Gerald also had his own unfair circumstances.
He had never heard anything about what the name of the ‘guest’ was or what he was doing. In such a situation, how many people would think that Byron, who was worn out and shabby after a long journey, was a ‘distinguished guest’?
Of course, the Count kept his mouth shut because he didn’t want his 16-year-old son to know that he was involved in a treasonous plot against a foreign country, but Gerald pouted in dissatisfaction anyway.
All you have to do is say, ‘I will be careful from now on.’ The Count, who was looking at his son who was keeping his mouth shut as he wondered why those words were so difficult, suddenly had an amazing idea and grabbed his son’s shoulders viciously.
“Gerald, you. You have to look good for that girl, okay? “There’s a lady I saw during the day, a guest in the annex.”
If she were Byron’s daughter, she might become the princess of the empire in the future. She just happens to be the same age difference between her and Gerald.
