Chapter 11
Chapter 11
YUKI heaved a heavy sigh in the carriage headed back to Adolunde Castle after successfully recapturing Fol. “What…on Earth did I do?”
Her memories of last night cut off at a certain point. She thought she had fallen asleep, but the others were acting too strange about it for that to be the case. Luca reprimanded her for a long time, putting the nail in the coffin for her to never drink alcohol again.
“Kids stop growing when they drink,” he had teased.
Whether I drink or not, my growth has stopped.
Yuki refrained from telling anyone in Aridol about her real age. One reason was explaining would be a pain, but the main reason was she didn’t want to further reveal how different she was from a normal person. Everyone called her a child and a little girl, and treated her as such, but Yuki wanted to appear normal to the point she preferred being treated like a child.
“Oh my gosh, I didn’t mention that, did I?”
What did she do while under the influence of alcohol that she couldn’t remember? No one would talk about it, as though they agreed not to beforehand. She assumed she must have done something people shouldn’t talk about.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! She put her hand to her head and rolled around on the carriage seat. I want to disappear! She swung her archery case over her head.
The carriage proceeded along the road with a rhythmic rattle. Half a day had yet to pass since departing Fol. They would be traveling like this for another week or so.
“Haah…” she sunk into the comfortable cushion and sighed.
She sat there in a trance, not thinking about anything in particular when she heard someone say her name. She stuck her head out the back of the carriage to see Luca and Ain calling her from their horses. They should have been at the vanguard of the march—instead they were behind Yuki’s carriage with the supply train. Panic and impatience marred their voices.
“What’s wrong? You guys seem flustered,” Yuki remarked.
A flustered Ain flapped his mouth open and closed without making any sounds.
What is it?
Luca and Ain stopped when the carriage came to a halt at their request.
“Nasette—he’s one of my retainers,” Luca explained with a pained expression. Yuki found his scowl very handsome.
“His father was taken prisoner by Maruk. He informed me he was going to secretly rescue his father, but I just received word he was somehow discovered by Maruk and is currently on the run. His plan was solid though. I can think of only one reason it failed—it was leaked from somewhere,” Luca spat. He sounded like he had an idea about who leaked the information.
“…Don’t tell me your rotten brother had something to do with it?”
“We can only guess. At any rate, we don’t have positive proof. I want my triumphant return back to the castle, but we are going to turn back and head for Maruk.”
“What?”
Can a prince move around freely and act without a care for political repercussions? Doesn’t he need permission first? Yuki thought dubiously. She wasn’t sure whether it was okay to ask, so she didn’t bring it up.
“Come with us.”
“Huh?” Surprised, she looked at Luca cantering his horse to the luggage side of the carriage.
“Are you okay without your luggage?”
“Ah, yeah.” The only luggage Yuki had was her archery case, which she could easily carry.
“I see,” Luca said offering his hand.
Is he telling me to ride in front of him?
She timidly took his hand. He easily lifted her onto the horse and placed her snugly between his arms in front of him.
“We’re in a rush, so don’t fall off,” his voice reverberated over her head. She quickly nodded. “Don’t fall behind either, Ain.”
“I know!”
“Let’s go!” Luca said, kicking the horse into a gallop.
“Aaah!” Yuki didn’t think a horse could move so fast, but her body fell backward—the back of her head bumped into Luca’s chest.
“Don’t fall,” he whispered near her ear. She blushed and adjusted her sitting position to have a clear view of the scenery in front of them.
***
LUCA and Ain had their horses gallop for the next five days. They would stay at the nearest village or town inn when the sun set, buying and selling clothes and supplies as needed at each stop. Yuki thought it strange Luca could freely travel to different areas without hiding he was a prince.
“Prince Luca is an unprecedented case,” Ain answered when she asked about it.
“What does that mean?” she asked, confused.
“Prince Luca was, well…a problematic child.”
“A problematic child?”
“Ah, but he isn’t as much of one now…or rather… In the past, he used to skip out on his lessons, sneak out of the castle; and then just when I thought he hadn’t come back home for a long time I find him, of all places, staying in one of the training camps for Knights!
“The next thing I knew, he came back bearing the crest of a Knight! Tales of his heroic deeds and a reputation as an experienced philanderer spread far and wide. He’s calmed down a great deal now, but I was constantly being used and abused by him in the past. Honestly, I should have been by his side to stop him.”
Yuki was speechless.
“His actions were most likely forgiven because Prince Luca is the fourth prince.”
Basically, because he’s not the successor to the throne he could do whatever he wanted? That’s the environment he was raised in I guess. Depending on the person, not being cared about isn’t too pleasant either. It’s almost like his family and kingdom are saying, ‘We have no expectations of you from the start’, Yuki thought indigently.
Ain spoke about Luca’s past with a hint of sadness as he criticized him.
***
YUKI caught a glimpse of the state of Aridol through the many different towns they stopped during their journey. Among the townspeople, there were those who warmly welcomed them, and those who attempted to steal their money and supplies. Some people would plead they have pity on them and give them money, and when they wouldn’t, the same person would disparage them.
“It is an inevitably,” Ain answered Yuki when she asked him why he and Luca didn’t get angry, sad, or criticize the cruel things people attempted or said.
War is the same in any world—it only brings about sadness, Yuki thought, a mixture of sadness and a desire not to get involved with the locals growing stronger with every passing village.
Yuki was interested in every destination Luca and Ain stopped at, sticking close to them wherever they went. Eventually though, she found herself waiting outside the stores until they finished their business. She feared others seeing the color of her eyes, but most of all, she didn’t want to witness any more of the sorrow in this war-torn land.
Today too, she waited outside the shops where Luca and Ain were buying supplies soon after arriving in yet another town. Luca and Ain went around visiting the many different stores.
“There’s a chance Nasette has left behind a message or something of the sort for us to follow,” Luca explained when Yuki asked him why they stopped. “We’ll be able to figure out where he is when we find his trail.”
The town they were in this time around was bigger than any other they had visited. People busily bustled about in front of her. Although this town didn’t show signs of decline or ruin, the local’s merriness felt oddly hollow. Perhaps it was because everywhere else she saw until now was both physically and mentally scarred by the ongoing war, while this town only felt the mental impact so far.
The town was dyed crimson by the setting sun. Yuki loved the sunset, because her violet eyes took on a pale blue-gray color in the evening colors. She pulled the mantle off her head. Wearing the hood all day messed her hair up and made it itchy. She peered inside the shop through the window. Ain’s arms were full of supplies. They should be done soon.
“Yuki.”
Yuki instinctively turned when someone said her name. There stood a large, unfamiliar man. Several other men, she assumed were with him, stood eying Yuki from behind the man.
“Ooh, whaddya know, it is you.” The man’s face contorted into a nasty smirk.
Yuki got goose bumps. This man is dangerous, she sensed instinctively, and put her hand on the doorknob to flee inside the shop with Luca and Ain for protection.
“I don’t think so. Not letting you go to Prince Lucat,” he said, easily lifting her into the air.
“Aaah!”
“Let’s go.”
Yuki was carried away like a sack of potatoes by a group of strange men. Her scream caught Luca and Ain’s attention. They looked at her wide-eyed, but it was already too late. Yuki disappeared into the vast town dyed a dark crimson by the sunset.