“Madam, is it truly unnecessary for this old servant to accompany you?”
“Just watch over Elena at home, Sebas. With you here, I can go to the Empire with peace of mind.”
“Yes… I understand.”
After finishing her instructions to Sebas, Serena knelt and gently stroked Elena’s head.
Her daughter’s ink-blue eyes were just like those of her late husband — as if they contained the entire galaxy.
“My little Elena, you must listen to Grandpa Sebas while you’re at home. Mother will be back soon.”
Serena reluctantly began to pull her hand away from Elena’s head, but as she stood up, she felt her sleeve being gently grabbed.
“Mother… I…”
A flicker of tears shimmered in those ink-blue eyes.
For some reason, seeing her daughter like this made Serena’s own nose feel stingy.
“What is it, little Elena?”
“I… I want to make a promise with Mother. I hope… I hope Mother can come back today. I want Mother to spend my birthday with me! Is… is that okay?”
It had been a very, very long time since Serena had heard her daughter ask for anything.
Since that incident, Elena had acted as if she had locked herself in a dark, sunless room, refusing to even look at the world through the only window.
Resentment, acting spoiled, getting angry, or having a good cry…
Elena had done none of those things.
Since that incident, what Elena did most often was curl up on the bed alone, huddled in the shadows where the sunlight from the window could not reach.
What exactly was her daughter carrying? Serena did not know, nor did she dare to imagine…
Whenever she saw her daughter sitting on the bed, hugging her knees and staring blankly into space, Serena felt a sharp pang of pain in her heart.
“Okay, Mother promises you. Mother will definitely, definitely come back today to spend my little Elena’s birthday with her.”
She wanted to pull her daughter into her arms and use her own body to feel that heartbeat that she simply could not let go of.
But Serena could not do it.
She was certain that if she did, she would lose the resolve and courage to leave her daughter’s side.
‘My dear daughter, my dear little Elena…’
Looking into those ink-blue eyes, Serena gave her daughter’s head one last stroke.
“Madam, the carriage is ready.”
…It was time to go.
After letting her palm linger for one last moment of warmth on her daughter’s hair, Serena stood up with a smile. In a moment when no one was watching, she lightly wiped the reddened corners of her eyes with her finger.
Then, she walked toward the door.
—
“Lord Sirius, the Duchess of White has departed.”
“…So, it has come to this.”
Since this was Serena’s choice, Sirius had nothing more to say.
After all, he was not surprised by this outcome.
With a sigh, Sirius picked up a wine glass and stood by the window, looking at the rising sun.
His preparations were complete. Now, no matter what happened, nothing could stop him from achieving his ideals.
“The Duchy of White needs a Witch. This will be the greatest turning point in the history of the Duchy — the first step of the entire continent’s resistance against the Empire’s rule! So… my dear sister-in-law, farewell.”
Facing the morning sun, Sirius poured the wine from his glass onto the floor.
—
In a sense, the distance between the Duchy of White and the Imperial Capital was not that great.
By carriage, if one departed in the early morning, they could return by sunset on the same day.
This time, she was only going to submit the Signature Book. As long as they moved quickly on the road, she would be able to return to the Duchy tonight to fulfill her promise to Elena.
But…
Would things really go so smoothly?
Grasping the Signature Book in her hand, Serena recalled the words Sirius had spoken yesterday —
‘As long as Elena can become the Great Mage of the Duchy of White, she will be the most powerful Great Mage in history! We will have the leverage to negotiate with the Empire.’
Serena understood the relationship between the Duchy and the Empire perfectly well.
But her daughter should not become a tool for politics.
“Madam, the journey is going smoothly. We should be able to return to the Duchy before the sun sets.”
Perhaps seeing the worried expression on her mistress’s face, the personal maid accompanying her smiled and gently placed her hand over Serena’s clenched fist.
She could probably understand what her mistress was thinking.
She had been by Serena’s side since Serena was still a ‘Young Lady.’
She had accompanied Serena as she transitioned from a young lady to a madam, followed her when she married far away from the Imperial Capital to the Duchy, and watched her go from a young girl to a mother…
“Madam.”
Following a flurry of hoofbeats, an accompanying Knight appeared beside the carriage.
“Madam, we are about to pass through the last village of this journey. Shall we stop the convoy to rest and resupply?”
“What is our current progress?”
“Reporting to Madam, according to our current pace, we should be able to see the walls of the Imperial Capital in about 3 hours.”
A 3-hour journey…
It had been nearly 4 hours since they departed from the Duchy.
When they set out at 5:00 AM, the faint morning light was barely visible, but now it had completely illuminated the entire sky.
Although Serena wanted to push straight through to the capital, she also knew that both the convoy and the horses needed rest.
They had not stopped at any of the previous villages. If they missed this last village, there would be nowhere else to rest.
“…Very well. We will rest for a short while at the next village.”
‘I hope all is well…’
—
“Lord Sirius, the Duchess and her party have indeed stopped at the last village to rest. Your Lordship truly predicts things like a god.”
Hearing his subordinate’s report, Sirius did not look up.
To Sirius, such an inevitable result did not require his attention. Currently, the documents regarding the placement of the Magic Stone Bombs were the only things truly important to him.
According to past experience, the Leviathan and the Monster Tide would land on the coast of the Duchy of White within the next 1 to 3 months.
And this time, they could not simply repel the Leviathan.
“From now on, unless there is an exceptional circumstance, there is no need to report the movements of the Duchess’s party to me.”
Sirius still did not look up.
—
The village was very quiet.
Perhaps it was because it was located exactly halfway between the Duchy and the Imperial Capital that the population was sparse?
No, that was impossible.
This was the mandatory path from the Imperial Capital to the Duchy of White. Any passing merchant caravans or travelers would stop here to rest.
‘But it’s too quiet here…’
Although she could still see villagers moving about, she didn’t see a single merchant caravan.
“Perhaps because the arrival period for the Leviathan and the Monster Tide is approaching, the merchant caravans have temporarily stopped passing through due to the risks,” the maid suggested.
While her words made sense, they were not the reality.
The closer it got to such a time, while large merchant caravans might choose to stay away from the Duchy of White due to risk, small caravans often saw such timings as an opportunity.
During the preparation period when goods were scarce, small caravans could often sell for much higher prices than usual without having to compete with the large ones…
Merchants, after all, revolved around money. Among the vast number of merchants in the Empire, there were bound to be those who valued wealth over their lives and would dare to take these risks.
“Should we ask a villager and see what the situation is?”
“Yes.”
But just as the attendant was about to go and question a villager, a smiling young girl walked over carrying a water pitcher.
The girl was tall, with long brown hair pinned up on her head, and a Dagger was tucked into her waist, giving her the appearance of a hunter.
“Respectable Duchess, you must be thirsty after your long journey. This is a specialty tea from our village; please, you must try some.”
After handing the water pitcher to the attendant, the girl performed a bow.
“Please allow me to introduce myself. I am the daughter of the village head. My name is — Anna.”