The black carriage that Kalos rode was noticeable everywhere, and it was no different in Maybelle.

People of all ages and genders stared at the black carriage, then widened their eyes upon seeing the Esper family crest engraved on it.

Currently, only one person could ride in a carriage bearing the Esper family crest – the Duke of Esper himself.

In other words, it meant that Kalos was inside.

There were many rumors about Kalos, but one of them was that he strangely holed up in the Esper territory and never came out.

He didn’t even show up for the Founding Day celebration or the Emperor’s birthday, which says it all.

So everyone was surprised and curious when Kalos appeared in Maybelle, far from the Esper territory.

“Well, I guess he came for a hot spring bath since the weather’s getting cold.”

Maybelle was as famous for its hot springs as for its beautiful sea, so many visitors came here even in winter.

“They say older people like to soak in warm water. Maybe the Duke of Esper is like that too?”

“Is the Duke of Esper already that old? How old is he?”

“Well… How old is he?”

Usually, nobles from high-ranking families had their private lives constantly exposed in newspapers and gossip magazines from birth.

However, Kalos was an exception.

Everything about him was shrouded in mystery – when he was born, who his mother was, how many women he had dated so far, what he was good at, and so on.

He didn’t even have a debutante ball, which other families risked their lives for, so it was difficult to even estimate Kalos’s age.

Leaving the murmurs of people behind, the black carriage that had been running diligently stopped in front of a high-class inn.

Deuce, who got off the coachman’s seat, had his hair scattered in different directions.

“Whew, I’m dying.”

Dewey, who was grumbling, was in a similar state.

Deuce roughly fixed his messy hair and opened the carriage door.

But when no one got out, Deuce peered inside the carriage curiously.

Irene was crouched on the floor with her mouth covered, while Jessie patted her back with a worried face.

“Are you alright, miss?”

“…”

Irene shook her head in response.

She didn’t want to worry them, but she couldn’t even say she was fine, not even as a white lie, because her stomach was churning and her head was spinning.

She thought she’d be fine throughout since she was okay at the beginning, but it was an overestimation.

As soon as the motion sickness medicine wore off, she immediately felt nauseous.

She took the motion sickness medicine Jessie gave her right away, but it had no effect, perhaps due to built-up tolerance, so Irene had to suffer from motion sickness for two days.

The cause of the severe motion sickness was the carriage’s speed, so it could have been easily solved by slowing down.

It would have delayed their arrival in Maybelle a bit, but Irene’s health was the priority, so Kalos was about to slow down the carriage.

“I’m fine… keep going like this.”

Unexpectedly, Irene stopped him.

She said she was fine with a pale face that looked like she might collapse at any moment.

Kalos was about to tell her not to be stubborn unnecessarily, but he swallowed his words when he saw her golden eyes, firm with determination despite her sickly complexion.

Thanks to Irene enduring and persevering, they were able to arrive in Maybelle as scheduled, but… it didn’t sit well with him at all.

“…”

Kalos looked at Irene, whose face had turned deathly pale, with disapproving eyes before getting out of the carriage.

“Dewey.”

Dewey, who was talking to the innkeeper, quickly approached.

“Bring a doctor.”

Dewey glanced at Irene and nodded.

“Understood.”

Kalos also gave an order to Deuce.

“Find out where Saren is.”

*

She had gotten out of the carriage, which was the cause of her motion sickness.

Thanks to the medicine prescribed by the doctor Dewey brought, her nausea subsided quickly.

But her body, which had suffered from motion sickness for two days straight, was already in tatters, so Irene fell into a deep sleep as soon as she lay on the bed, without even washing or changing clothes.

Kara’s eyes were moist with worry for her.

“She must have been very tired.”

Jessie also looked very concerned as she wiped Irene’s face with a wet towel.

“Well, it must have been hard for a human body to endure Ecos’s speed.”

In fact, the horse pulling Kalos’s carriage was not an ordinary horse but a type of magical beast called Ecos.

It looked exactly like a normal horse on the outside, but it was at least ten times faster than a horse and had such good endurance that it could run for a week straight without a problem.

It was thanks to this that they were able to cover a week’s distance in just three days.

Jessie muttered with a small sigh.

“She’ll go through the same thing when returning to Esper territory from the capital… I’m worried.”

“…”

Kalos, who had been staring blankly at Irene while sitting on the sofa, suddenly stood up.

He strode towards the door and opened it wide.

“…”

Deuce, who was about to knock, lowered his awkwardly raised arm.

“I’ve found out where the Lord of the Verdant is.”

“…”

Kalos glanced sideways at Irene, then closed the door and came outside.

“Where is she?”

“She’s said to have gone to Cream Beach.”

Named because its white sand looked like cream, it was a must-see attraction when visiting Maybelle.

So it wasn’t strange at all for Saren to go to Cream Beach, but the problem was that Kalos had sent a letter asking to meet today.

It was certain that Saren had read his letter.

But did her going to Cream Beach mean she didn’t want to meet?

“And according to what I’ve found out, Lord Saren was with a blue-haired man.”

If it’s a blue-haired man, could it be Abel?

When Kalos refused Abel’s request to go see Saren together, Abel had sulked and didn’t show himself until Kalos left.

He thought Abel had given up, but it turns out he had come to meet Saren first.

“…”

If so, she should know even more that I’m coming today, so why did she go to Cream Beach together?

Not just Saren, but Abel’s behavior was even more incomprehensible.

Deuce added stolidly.

“If you wish, I will bring the Lord of the Verdant here.”

“…”

Kalos thought for a moment, then shook his head.

“Never mind.”

Saren, who went to Cream Beach knowing he was coming, was unlikely to come willingly.

And she wasn’t someone Deuce could drag back.

“I’ll go myself later.”

He couldn’t leave the unconscious Irene behind either.

Anyway, he had to introduce Irene to Saren, so it was right to go later.

“If Saren returns before that, let me know immediately.”

*

Chirp chirp.

“…”

Irene, who woke up from a deep sleep hearing birds chirping, blankly stared at the ceiling.

The pattern drawn on the ceiling was unfamiliar.

It’s not my room. And it’s not that man’s bedroom either.

Then where is this?

As the drowsiness gradually faded away, the events before she closed her eyes came back one by one.

From riding the unusually fast carriage to suffering from severe motion sickness.

And being examined by a doctor after arriving in Maybelle, everything.

“…”

Ah, it was really hard.

Recalling when she had motion sickness, deep wrinkles formed between Irene’s brows.

Rustle, Irene raised her upper body and looked out the window.

It’s still bright, so it seems I didn’t sleep long.

She had worried that the schedule might be delayed because of her, but fortunately not.

The reason Irene gritted her teeth and endured the motion sickness was because she didn’t want to be a burden to others.

Especially, she didn’t want to be a burden to Kalos.

“You’re awake, miss.”

Jessie, who had briefly left and returned, approached and asked.

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine.”

Jessie examined Irene’s face carefully as if to confirm her words were true, then smiled with satisfaction.

“I was worried you might be very unwell since you slept so long, but I’m glad you’re alright.”

“Did I… sleep for a long time?”

“Yes. You slept for almost 20 hours.”

I slept that long?

I thought I had slept for only three or four hours at most because it was bright outside, but that wasn’t the case.

“…”

Irene’s eyes drooped at the fact that she had unintentionally caused them trouble.

“I feel completely refreshed after resting for a whole day too.”

Jessie added, as if she had seen right through Irene’s mind.

“Geez, the master is too much. Even if the schedule was urgent, running for three days straight without rest is too much. Everyone collapsed as soon as we arrived.”

“…”

That means… I didn’t cause trouble after all.

As Irene finally smiled, Jessie smiled back as if in response.

“Then I’ll prepare breakfast, so come out after washing up.”

*

The news that Kalos had appeared in Maybelle spread throughout the empire in just one day.

In a small village in the northeast of the empire.

“How is that possible?”

Count Aliore, who had briefly stopped by the village to find food, asked back in disbelief upon hearing the news.

“You’re saying His Grace the Duke of Esper arrived in Maybelle in three days? Even going as fast as possible, it takes at least a week… that’s nonsense.”

Albard chimed in.

“Perhaps there’s some misunderstanding? After all, rumors tend to get mixed with people’s delusions.”

The knight who brought the news shook his head.

“I couldn’t believe it either… but judging from the eyewitness accounts popping up about seeing a pitch-black carriage like a coffin, it seems to be true.”

“…”

Since Kalos was the only peculiar person in the empire who rode a black carriage, it seemed certain that he had appeared in Maybelle.

Albard muttered in disbelief.

“Covering a distance of over a week in just three days. Is that even possible…?”

“It’s not impossible.”

Count Aliore answered.

“If that black carriage maintained the speed we saw back then all the way, it’s entirely possible.”

“…”

Recalling the six-horse carriage that ran so fast they didn’t dare to think of chasing it, Albard frowned deeply.

“As expected, the horse pulling that black carriage back then was definitely not an ordinary animal, but a magical beast.”

“I suppose so. It’s probably a spirit horse kept by the Esper family.”

“Either way, it’s a magical beast.”

Albard wrinkled his nose.

“Going to the capital over the magical beast issue while bringing a magical beast along. I really can’t fathom what His Grace the Duke of Esper is thinking.”

Count Aliore nodded vigorously in agreement.

“I don’t understand why His Grace suddenly went to Maybelle either. It’s not even on the way to the capital, the route is completely different, so why on earth did he go there…?”

Albard and Count Aliore put their heads together to think about why Kalos went to Maybelle, but they could only come up with one reason.

That reason was that he left to enjoy hot spring baths with his mistress.

“…”

Surely the Duke of Esper wouldn’t do such a foolish thing before an important matter, even if he’s whimsical.

Count Aliore put his curiosity aside, thinking there must be another reason he hadn’t thought of.

“…”

On the other hand, Albard’s eyes sparkled.

Perhaps this incident could be used as a pretext to put a leash on Kalos’s neck.

Just thinking about it made his lips curve up into a smooth arc.

“I just remembered an urgent matter, so I’ll be going now.”

Albard quickly went outside, leaving behind Count Aliore who was looking at him strangely.