Epilogue — Heading for the Gaziel March
Epilogue — Heading for the Gaziel March
Several days passed after that, and now that the preparations had been made, Zenjirou was to leave the capital. His destination was the capital of the Gaziel march, a city sharing its name. He was to be Aura’s representative and attend the wedding held there between the current head of the Guillén family, Pujol Guillén, and the eldest daughter of the Gaziel family, Lucinda Gaziel.
“I am counting on you, Zenjirou. Take my place, as I am unable to leave the capital and convey my blessings to the bride and groom,” Aura told him from her throne.
“Leave it to me, my queen. I shall dedicate my full albeit meager abilities towards acting as your representative,” Zenjirou answered from where he stood below the dais holding her throne.
Several nobles were watching, so the formalities needed to be observed. Their real farewells had been exchanged that morning in the inner palace. They had held each other tightly, kissed, and prayed for each other’s safety. They’d also spent the morning cuddling their beloved son Carlos Zenkichi together. This was nothing more than a ceremonial farewell.
“Sir Zenjirou, your carriage awaits!” a secretary called loudly.
As he heard the statement, Zenjirou turned his back on the throne and left the room, maintaining his pace carefully to follow the expected etiquette. Awaiting him in the garden as he exited the palace still surrounded by his guards was a carriage, eight huge drakes to pull it, and the first Uppasalan princess, who was waiting politely.
“We shall be traveling together, Your Majesty,” she said in greeting. “I look forward to sharing our journey together.”
Zenjirou didn’t have a chance to gape at his first sight of the huge drakes as the princess bowed, sending her short silver hair swishing forward.
“Indeed, Princess Freya. Likewise,” he answered, shifting his gaze immediately from those drakes to the princess.
He hadn’t quite expected the outfit she was wearing. She had generally worn light blue dresses within the palace but was currently clad in thick pants and a long-sleeved shirt with a sleeveless leather jacket over it.
The outfit had several large pockets and was clearly prioritizing function over form. The clincher was the leather weapon holster hanging from a wide belt of the same material. He seemed to remember the type of ax it held was called an adze.
Freya had a soft scarf wrapped around her neck, and the brooch with the blue sapphire was her sole concession to feminine fashion. Was she planning on hiking her way there rather than riding in the carriage? If she’d had a big rucksack on her back, that would have been the only assumption he could make.
While Zenjirou had a decorative bronze sword of his own hanging from his waist, he was wearing the traditional wear of Capua, so it made Freya’s clothing stand out all the more. She seemed to notice his gaze on her clothes.
“Ah, I heard we would be traveling a long distance over land, so I wore clothes with a greater range of movement. If it is an issue, I can change immediately,” she suggested, studying his reaction with upturned eyes.
However, judging from the blonde warrior behind her, who looked like she had just bitten into a lemon, there was a strong possibility that the clothing choice was simply her hobby.
At any rate, Zenjirou didn’t have a reason to object. “There is no need. The outfit suits you well.”
“Thank you. I thought you might say so, Your Majesty,” she answered with a happy smile and another bow.
They then climbed aboard the carriage that was waiting for them. While it was a massive construction pulled by eight drakes, it was limited in width in order to use the Capuan roads. Thus, the interior had a high ceiling and plenty of space in front of and behind it, but the seating area itself wasn’t particularly wide. There were five men and women sitting inside.
The first seat, facing the front and in the center was obviously Zenjirou’s, as the head of the party. Next to him was his partner for the wedding, Freya. The remaining people were in seats facing the first two.
Opposite Freya was her confidante and bodyguard, the warrior Victoria Kronkvist, or Skaji. Opposite Zenjirou was his knight, Natalio Maldonado. Seated a little farther away was Ines, the maid dispatched from the inner palace to care for Zenjirou.
The road to the Gaziel march was not perfectly safe, so their guards, Skaji and Natalio, had their weapons—short spears and swords—on them even in the carriage. Allowing people who were sharing a carriage with the prince consort to be armed would ordinarily never be allowed, but Skaji was the confidante of Zenjirou’s likely future concubine. With her also being the only person present to ensure Freya’s safety, she was of course allowed her armaments.
The carriage slowly set off. The royal coachman’s skill was evident, as the departure was extremely smooth. Suspension was nonexistent at Capua’s level of technical development, so even the grandest carriages had little relation to the passengers’ comfort, but fortunately, the roads from the palace were all paved with stone. The seat cushions were also of superb quality, so he had no issues with the ride at present. If he were to have any issues, they would likely come once they switched to the plain dirt of the salt road.
As he considered that, the carriage passed the palace gates and moved into the downtown region. Zenjirou let out a slightly unbecoming, though quiet, cheer at the sights through the open windows. It was the second time he had seen them, the first being during the parade for his own wedding.
It was hardly surprising, though, that at the time he had been focused solely on not screwing up and keeping a smile on his face as he waved. Therefore, it was the first time he’d truly looked at the sights.
It’s actually a bigger city than I thought. Even bigger than Valentia.
It was rather late, but he directed an inquisitive gaze at the paved road and the buildings lining it. The central road had been closed for their passage, but unlike at the triumph, the carriage didn’t do anything but progress at a steady pace.
However, the lavishly decorated carriage drawn by the eight drakes was more than enough to draw the citizens’ interest. Spectators were watching with rapt attention from either side of the road, looking deeply interested as they pointed and chattered. The small children in the crowd were doing their best to run along the footpath after the carriage.
Yup, that sort of thing doesn’t change wherever you are, he thought, his expression softening at the charming sight.
“Your Majesty, has something caught your interest?” Freya asked from her seat where she had thus far remained silent. She was likely just searching for a topic to break the ice.
Zenjirou didn’t intend to spend the multi-day trip in awkward silence, so he just smiled slightly stiffly and answered honestly. “Ah, excuse me. It was nothing of particular interest; I just rarely see the streets of the capital so I was somewhat fascinated.”
Freya exclaimed in surprise, “Is this the first time you have seen it?”
“It is. Well, I suppose it is not technically the first, but essentially yes.”
“I do not quite know what to say,” she replied.
Zenjirou hadn’t seen the streets of his own city despite living in the palace. If anything, it made him seem like the princess who was shut away in the inner palace.
He didn’t want her to have the impression that Aura had forced it upon him, so he added to his explanation with a smile. “I have had the opportunity on a few occasions, but I tend to stay at home. Princess Freya, have you spent much of your time outside?”
It was a somewhat obvious change of subject, but she couldn’t pass up a topic he brought up, she decided.
“Indeed,” she answered with a smile. “Embarrassingly enough, I always tended towards more boyish pursuits in my youth. I spent much of my time in the water, horse riding, hunting, and sailing. My mother and father were often rather put out by it.”
“I see. Then, although this may be a rather long journey, I doubt you will need to worry.”
“Definitely. I’ve spent time on longboats heading upriver... I’ve even led hunts.”
“Oh, that is heartening to hear.”
“Although I often caught foxes and rabbits, I have never hunted drakes. If we have the opportunity on our journey, I would quite like to make the attempt.”
She didn’t seem to be joking, considering the look in her eyes as she patted the ax at her hip.
“Ha ha ha, I would be happy to join you. I would most likely just be a hindrance, though, and unable to aid with the hunt itself, so I would ask Sir Natalio to go in my stead.”
While the knight was somewhat shocked by the topic shifting to him, he immediately rallied and placed his right fist on his left shoulder. “Yes, my liege. I will make use of the wyvern bow you granted me.”
As the conversation continued, the carriage left the capital and eventually reached the salt road. The sight out of the window transitioned from wood and stone houses to large fields.
“Sir Zenjirou, the quality of the roads will worsen significantly now. Please take care, and if you feel unwell, we can stop the carriage anywhere, so do not hesitate to speak up,” Ines told him.
“Understood, Ines,” he answered with a smile.
Right, the road until the Gaziel march doesn’t pass through settlements. It feels like a proper journey.
The greenery outside the open windows let Zenjirou feel how far he was from civilization. Of course, there were still several hundred soldiers protecting him, and the nobles also traveling with him had their own guards. As long as nothing extreme happened, there was little risk to their journey.
Well then, I’ll take a pass on any issues and just hope we get there safely.
He understood that and felt more like he was on a field trip as he enjoyed the rolling scenery out the window.
To be continued in The Ideal Sponger Life Volume 7.