The distance between Filmer and Wessex was not that far, but the factor that made it difficult to travel between the two countries was that whether by land or sea, one had to pass through several countries along the way. Otherwise, it would be too much of a detour.

Three countries by land, two countries by sea. So although they mainly traveled by sea, they still had to pass through the border cities of each country once.

This was because Wessex still had few countries that had opened their borders, so permission was required when passing through the territorial waters of other countries.

That’s why they had set an appropriate schedule in advance…

“You can just pay the toll and go.”

On the fifth day since boarding the ship, Layla’s eyes went wide at the words of the city management office employee in the coastal city they arrived at.

‘It’s really effective.’

In the coastal city located roughly halfway between Filmer and Wessex, Layla realized the power of the continental travel pass.

After a simple forgery check on the travel pass, they were granted border passage without much questioning.

Layla was surprised by the treatment of being allowed to pass without even being asked her name, and even all her companions were allowed through. Her lady-in-waiting seemed to feel the same way. Their faces were equally blank as they left the city’s management office building.

This proved that the travel pass Millay had given was not a fake.

The lady-in-waiting glanced at the two knights of Millay following behind and lowered her voice to whisper to Layla.

“What kind of person is Marquis Millay, Princess?”

“Who knows?”

Layla also had nothing to say and just fiddled with the travel pass. She had no idea where or how Millay had gotten his hands on such a valuable item.

She had vaguely speculated that he might be a prince of some country, and judging solely by the existence of this travel pass, it seemed plausible enough to believe even if it were actually true.

‘Besides that…’

Now that her anxiety had been relieved by proving that Millay had not lied to her, other thoughts gradually came to mind.

He had said he would come out on the day the ship departed and reveal his identity, but in the end, he couldn’t make it.

Lilburn didn’t go into details, but it must have been a serious situation.

‘I wonder if he’s recovering well.’

But her curiosity was not something that could be resolved right away.

Layla, sighing deeply, left the management office building and blended into the busy streets of the coastal city with her lady-in-waiting, knights, and mercenaries.

There were some people who got seasick, so they decided to rest here for about 2 hours, leaving some leeway until they returned to the ship.

Thus, she began to move freely to feel the vitality of this city.

When she was in Wessex, she was always stuck in the royal castle, and even in her narrow room. Even when she went for a walk, it was only strolling around the garden near the palace where the princesses and princes resided.

Because of that, she felt a sense of despair at having to get engaged to someone she had never even seen before when coming to Filmer, but she was also excited to see new scenery like this.

Layla walked through the market formed along the coast, admiring the curious items with her lady-in-waiting. Being by the sea, there were many things like pipes made of conch shells and necklaces made of seashells.

Moreover, due to the nature of the port city, it seemed that international trade was also active, as there were many curious items that were not necessarily related to the sea.

What caught Layla’s eye was a store selling low-grade artifacts. In a small tented shop, Layla looked at artifacts made in the form of common bracelets, rings, and necklaces.

Although not absent in other continents, the Dembernant continent had a particularly strong interest in them, as there were many diverse and powerful ability users. Above all, this tendency was more pronounced because the high-ranking leaders of each country possessed powerful unique abilities.

Artifacts served to assist such ability users, and in the case of top-grade artifacts, they either had their own separate power or could drastically increase the efficiency of abilities.

However, top-grade artifacts were not very common. After all, someone’s sacrifice was needed to imbue an artifact with that level of power.

In fact, the most famous artifact among those currently in existence was the one held by the Emperor of Hangkin, an artifact named ‘Tristan’.

It was said to be an artifact created by Tristan, the previous Emperor of Hangkin, pouring all his power into it before his death. It was known to drastically amplify psychokinesis abilities, possessing enough power to destroy an entire city in an instant.

‘But if you used something like that, you might lose your life instead…’

Ability users were definitely strong beings, but they also had their limits.

Layla picked up a bracelet-shaped artifact with a blue gem embedded in it while looking around the store.

At that moment, the shopkeeper, who had been intermittently dozing off while guarding the place, opened his eyes with a sparkle. Noticing that Layla had picked it up without knowing, he spoke in a blunt tone.

“That’s an artifact exclusively for ability users, noble young lady.”

Seeing the lady-in-waiting and escorts by her side, he seemed to infer that she was of a moderately high status.

However, for some reason, Layla didn’t want to put this artifact down and asked while fiddling with it.

“What function does this have?”

“Tuning function. It came from Wessex.”

Feeling strangely pleased at the word Wessex, Layla smiled brightly.

If it had a tuning function, it would truly be useless to her. Because she was neither an ability user nor a tuner.

‘If I had the ability to tune, it would have been helpful, but…’

However, low-grade artifacts had little to no impact on high-level ability users. Thus, they were often treated as just expensive lucky charms, so there was no reason to hesitate to purchase it.

The craftsmanship wasn’t bad, so Layla thought it would be fine to give it to Cedric as a souvenir for going out, and she turned to her lady-in-waiting.

“Pay for it.”

But when she heard the price, it was much more expensive than she thought. It amounted to about half of the pocket money Layla had brought.

As the lady-in-waiting looked at her with a questioning gaze, Layla hesitated for a moment but nodded. However, feeling like she was too ignorant, she approached the owner and casually asked.

“Are artifacts usually this expensive?”

It was a question asked out of curiosity, thinking that perhaps they were special even though they were low-grade. Or maybe she was being ripped off.

Then, the store owner, in a good mood as the expensive item was sold, started to chatter excitedly.

“Tuning artifacts are not only rare, but the prices of Wessex items have gone up a lot lately.”

“The prices of Wessex items have…? Why is that?”

When Layla asked, the store owner instead responded as if he didn’t know why he was being asked such a question.

“Do you still not know the news about Wessex? …Judging by your appearance, you seem to be from Hangkin or Wessex.”

“…I’ve been in a distant country for a while. What happened in Wessex?”

The store owner counted the money and made a casual remark as if it were nothing.

“Where are you headed now?”

Suddenly asking about her destination, it seemed like he intended to withhold information if she was from Wessex, so Layla quickly came up with a lie.

“I’m on my way back to Hangkin.”

Indeed, as if his intention was correct, the man, who had finished counting, returned his gaze to Layla, which he had been avoiding.

“The ports of Wessex have started to be controlled a few days ago. I heard that Fitzroy seems to have invaded? Someone I know who went there last said that the flag of Fitzroy was planted at the port.”

Instantly, the lady-in-waiting beside her couldn’t hold back and gasped. In contrast, Layla couldn’t show any reaction.

Fitzroy.

She naturally recalled the contents of the report Millay had shown her the other day.

About occupying the royal castle of Wessex and kidnapping her youngest brother, Cedric.

〈This is not the time to stand here in a daze. Princess, you need to come to your senses as soon as possible and hurry back to Wessex, even if it’s just a day earlier.〉

Millay’s voice rang in her ears like tinnitus.

Millay had given a truly serious warning. For Layla Wessex.

‘It wasn’t a lie.’

The story she wished was a lie turned out to be the truth.

But now that it had come to this, one realization struck her.

He was a very suspicious man, but he never uttered any lies except for concealing his identity.

The engagement annulment was actually carried out, and the ship heading to Wessex was not prepared with the intention of harming her. The continental travel pass, which she didn’t know how he obtained, was also genuine.

And even Isabella Fitzroy’s plan.

Layla pulled her startled lady-in-waiting and left the store. The rough harbor wind hit her face.

It was when the ship they had boarded came into view in the distance. She stood still, at a loss for what to do, but someone next to her awakened Layla’s consciousness.

“Princess, please follow me quickly.”

The speaker was one of the knights Millay had assigned.

Layla and her entourage’s footsteps headed towards the inner part of the city.