Chapter 17
Chapter 17
“Wow!”
Isabella let out a gasp of wonder at the scene before her eyes.
Under the cloudless sky, the sunlit walls of the capital glistened, their sturdy presence exuding the dignity of the imperial city. Lined up in front of the city gates, people formed a long procession, almost like a parade.
There were merchants hauling their wares, traveling troupes performing across the continent, and rough-looking mercenaries whose strength was obvious at a glance. And then…
“Baal, look over there! A treasure chest is moving!”
A procession of noble carriages, dazzling with gemstones and gilded metalwork, caught her eye.
‘So this is the capital! If it’s this crowded outside, how many more people must be inside?’
Her spirits soared with excitement, and a wide smile spread across her lips.
To others, it might have been an ordinary sight but to her, it was all new and wondrous.
Just then, Baal pulled her back into the carriage and scolded her with a stern expression.
“Milady, I understand you’re excited, but please don’t stick your head out the window! And try to maintain some dignity. We’re in the capital, after all!”
“Ah! Got it. I’ll be careful.”
Only then did Isabella realize her mistake and quickly straighten her posture, attempting to calm herself down.
‘Composed, composed… Huh? A monkey! No… composed, be composed…’
She repeated Baal’s words over and over in her head, trying to maintain the poise expected of a count’s daughter. But the ever-changing scenery outside made her fidget in her seat.
After all, she had lived freely and without restraint on her family’s estate, and now pretending to be demure felt incredibly awkward.
As Isabella struggled with herself, someone knocked on the carriage window. She turned to see Ijef standing outside.
“Pardon me, milady, but I believe you should step out for a moment.”
“Is something wrong?”
She asked, puzzled by Ijef’s uneasy expression.
At that moment, Baal stood up and said, “Milady, I’ll go check it out. Please remain here.”
“Alright.”
Baal left the carriage and, guided by Ijef, met a knight who appeared to be the officer in charge of the checkpoint. The knight handed Baal a suspicious letter, and the two exchanged serious words.
‘What could they be talking about for so long?’
The longer the conversation went on, the more her curiosity burned. Unable to take it any longer, Isabella threw open the carriage door and stepped out.
“Baal, what’s going on? Is there something wrong with our luggage?”
Her identity was legitimate, so the only possible issue at a checkpoint would be something among their belongings.
But Baal’s expression when he turned to her wasn’t reassuring. He looked both displeased and troubled, causing Isabella to pause.
‘Did I accidentally pack a poisonous herb? Or maybe a banned book slipped in by mistake?’
Unless it was something like that, Baal wouldn’t look so perturbed. Baal approached and handed her a letter.
“The Temple left this message for you, milady.”
“For me?”
“Strictly speaking, it was addressed to House Hellen.”
‘From the Temple? To our family?’
She couldn’t make sense of it.
The Temple usually avoided any dealings with House Hellen due to their opposing natures, so the letter in her hand felt deeply suspicious.
Isabella tore open the white envelope, marked with the symbol of the Holy Grail. Her eyes narrowed at the densely packed lines of tiny text, written like a confession across the page.
‘Seriously? Why is it so cramped…?’
But once she skimmed past the trivial details and reached the main point in the latter half, she let out a dry laugh.
“Huh?”
For all the text, the actual message was simple.
It was a report and request for understanding: a divine beast that the Temple had been protecting had escaped and taken up residence in the Hellen estate within the capital. Unable to hide her disbelief, she muttered aloud.
“What kind of ridiculous nonsense is this?”
Baal nodded in emphatic agreement.
“Exactly, milady. In all my years, I’ve never seen a divine beast make its nest in a den of demons.”
“Right? If it’s building a nest, it’s getting ready to have offspring. If I go back to the estate now, I’ll end up bedridden before I even make it to the debutante ball.”
Isabella pressed her fingers against her temples, clearly distressed.
Divine beasts, known as messengers of the gods, were sacred creatures whose very blood radiated divine power. They entered breeding season once every hundred years, and during that time, they instinctively created massive divine sanctuaries around their nests to protect their young.
Sanctuaries said to work miracles, even capable of raising the dead.
To ordinary people, having a divine beast nest in their yard would be seen as a blessing. But to House Hellen, practitioners of dark magic, it was pure poison.
The stronger one’s dark power, the more lethal the effect, and for Isabella, who possessed immense dark magic rivaling the founder of her house, stepping into that sanctuary was akin to throwing herself into a fire.
Winding her curly hair around a finger, Isabella began contemplating her options with a furrowed brow.
“Is there somewhere else we can stay? Or maybe we could petition the Imperial Court for temporary lodging?”
Surprisingly, the one who answered wasn’t Baal, but Ijef, who had been observing silently.
“That may prove difficult, milady.”
“What? Why?”
“Due to the upcoming ball, most inns and guest chambers in the capital, Imperial ones included, are likely already occupied by nobles who arrived early from the provinces.”
“Ah… I see.”
How troublesome.
At this rate, she might end up sleeping on the streets. But unexpectedly, Isabella accepted the situation with remarkable ease.
‘Well… It’s not like I can’t do it. Sleeping under the stars might even be a charming memory someday.’
“Hm, Baal, should we go buy some camping gear?”
If they had no place to stay, they would simply make one. With a gentle smile, she embraced the idea as a worthwhile experience.
“…M-Milady? A-Are you serious right now?”
Baal was utterly flabbergasted by her nonchalance.
Just then, Cedric, who had been watching with a frown as the delay dragged on, made a curt gesture and spoke dispassionately.
“This is tiresome. Ijef, we’re returning to the estate at once.”
He sounded as if, having fulfilled his duty to escort her to the capital, he no longer had any business with her.
‘Oh no… I’m holding everyone up.’
Only then did Isabella realize she’d been delaying the knights with her family matters. She turned around to apologize.
“I’m sorry for—!”
But just as she was about to speak, Ijef interrupted.
“His Excellency says you are welcome to stay at the ducal estate.”
“…Excuse me?”
Isabella blinked, unable to immediately grasp what he’d said.
Ijef clarified, “If you have nowhere else to stay, you may come with us. His Excellency has given his permission.”
His words only added to her confusion.
“He gave permission? When…?”
‘Was I the only one who didn’t hear it?’
Cedric hadn’t uttered a single word of permission. And now, somehow, she was being invited to stay at the duke’s estate?
She couldn’t keep up.
Noticing her bewilderment, Ijef lowered his voice slightly while glancing at Cedric.
“His Excellency has a tendency to express himself in… unconventional ways. No need to think too hard about it. Let’s board the carriage.”
“Ah, yes. Please thank him for his generosity.”
Everything had been happening so fast, she hadn’t had time to gather her thoughts. But regardless of the chaos, she was still fortunate. She now had a place to stay.
“Baal, let’s head back to the carriage.”
Turning on her heel, Isabella walked toward the waiting vehicle.
Baal watched her retreating figure for a moment, then glanced down at the second letter he’d kept hidden behind his back.
In fact, two letters had been handed over at the checkpoint. One was the Temple’s message Isabella had read. The other bore the emblem of a serpent coiled around a sword. It came from House Elond, the Grand Duchy.
Having secretly opened it while Isabella and Ijef spoke, Baal couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling it gave him.
‘Why would the Grand Duchy offer lodging on behalf of the Temple and the Imperial family…? Was this arranged under the table?’
Since House Elond had broken away from the imperial line, it was likely acting on behalf of those who couldn’t get directly involved, like the Imperial Court or the Temple. But regardless, Baal had never been one to easily accept goodwill from anyone outside House Hellen.
Which was why he hadn’t shown the letter to Isabella.
‘If those d**ned Temple people had just kept better control of that holy beast, none of this would’ve happened! What a bunch of nuisances! I don’t like this one bit!’
Grinding his teeth, Baal furiously crumpled the letter and cursed the Temple and the divine beast.
Just then, Isabella poked her head out of the carriage window.
“Baal? What are you doing? We’re about to leave. Hurry up!”
At her call, Baal instantly smoothed out his expression and shouted back,
“Coming right away, milady!”
He summoned a black flame into his hand, burned the letter to ashes, and rushed toward the carriage.
“Baal, look over there! That meat’s spinning around!”
“That’s called a barbecue, milady.”
“And what about that? There’s music playing in the square! Everyone’s gathered around!”
“Looks like a performance by traveling minstrels.”
Pressed up against the window like a curious four-year-old, Isabella fired off one question after another.
Baal, though visibly tired, answered them all. But knowing how little of the outside world she’d seen, even less than the average child, he couldn’t bring himself to scold her.
“Wow, this is amazing! There’s really everything in the capital! Baal, when I come back to explore the city, can I try that too? It looks like a self-defense lesson!”
“Eh? Self-defense? Milady, that’s a street fight! You’re not supposed to imitate that kind of thing!”
“Really? Hm, still looks pretty cool…”
She looked wistfully at the back of a woman with bright red hair who had just taken down a group of burly men.
A short while later, the scenery changed. Rows of lavish mansions appeared outside the window, and at last, the carriage came to a stop in front of one grand estate’s gate.
……
T/N: Is Cedric that fairy?
