“No one is attacking us now. Anyway, those who are going to die will step forward. And we didn’t bring the iron specialists here to scare them.”

“Ah…”

“Only our group will go straight, and the others will come after working.”

“Then, what about me…?”

“You should stay with me. You know I can’t do anything without you?”

With an indifferent remark, Noah’s heart sank like a lump of iron. His lord would never know. With just one word, he had already accumulated three years of loyalty.

Due to the reduced size of the group, the journey became faster. The itinerary from Lesonia to the capital took over ten days by carriage, but exactly ten days after their departure, they reached the Hwangseong. Despite Noah’s persuasion, Carson passed by the royal palace without stopping.

There were about 20 more days to go. They tried not to rush too much, but exhaustion was inevitable. Occasionally, they were invited to stay in inns or noble houses, but there were also times when they had to sleep on the roadside.

Passing through the Hwangseong, there was nowhere to stay for three days, so they had to sleep on the way down.

Their group consisted of a total of thirty-five people. Due to the presence of Carson and Louis, the number of servants, both male and female, was higher compared to other groups.

As it got dark, everyone got off their horses and carriages to rest. If they couldn’t find a place to stay overnight today, sighs mixed with complaints were heard everywhere.

Servants, regardless of whether they were maids, male servants, or stablemen, hurried to prepare places to sleep and meals. The knights helped set up the tents, lit fires, and established a perimeter around.

Ines and Charlotte also began preparing meals with other servants.

“I saw a stream suitable for washing on the way here.”

Charlotte whispered with subtle anticipation, and Ines’ eyes sparkled.

“Really?”

“Yes, let’s go quickly. If we hurry, we can fetch water before preparing the meal.”

It had been quite uncomfortable not to bathe properly for the past few days. When the two of them picked up buckets to go and get water, two knights named Hugh and Glenn approached to help them.

The two knights had been very friendly to them since the start of the journey. They exuded the freshness typical of young men at a glance.

“Sir Knights, thank you, but the two of us can handle this.”

Charlotte smiled gently and spoke, and the two men stepped back with a neat smile.

“Be careful and come back before it gets too late… Come back safely.”

Ines and Charlotte bowed slightly and headed straight for the stream. When they returned from around the trees with a lot of tall trees, they couldn’t see the light of the fire that the group had lit.

They walked the path relying on a small lantern hanging inside the tent.

“This kind of path reminds me of the temple.”

“That’s right.”

“We’re lucky to ride a relatively comfortable carriage. Other maids really struggled because their backs hurt.”

While walking to the stream, Charlotte told Ines about the events that happened during their stay here.

Actually, she didn’t need to go to Monstera. It was in a state where she had permission to wait until Louis decided how long he would stay there.

However, Charlotte chose to go together. She said it felt very liberating to go to the other side of the world where people knew nothing about her.
“Among the maids, Hanssen, the priest, is quite popular. Even though it’s clear that he can’t get married.”

“He’s handsome, and he’s kind.”

“Exactly. That’s true.”

Charlotte spoke as if she were strolling in a dream. At such times, she seemed very much like a young girl.

“I’m not tired of this journey at all.”

In response to Charlotte’s murmur, Ines finally burst into laughter.

While walking toward the water, Ines briefly thought of Hanssen. His reaction was a bit strange when she told him they had to go to Monstera.

When he heard the word Monstera, his face crumpled to the point where it would show. He didn’t even think about hiding the eyes that shook without mercy with a pale face.

After closing his eyes for a moment and remaining silent, he soon returned to his original calm demeanor. It seemed like a misunderstanding to think that he had been swaying randomly.

“And those knights seemed a bit interested earlier.”

“What do you mean?”

In response to Ines’ question, Charlotte laughed as if she found it amusing.

“Sometimes, you don’t seem like a person living in this world.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“No, oh, over there!”

Charlotte pointed to a place where the stream didn’t seem deep. Since they were already far from the people, the noise from the camp didn’t reach them anymore.

Turning off the lantern and immersing themselves in a corner, even if someone approached closely, nothing would be visible.

“I’ll look first, so hurry up and wash.”

At Ines’ words, Charlotte quickly undressed and went into the water. The sound of her shivering was audible as there was still a lingering chill. The rhythmic sound of water she made somehow felt peaceful to Ines.