“Wha, what was that?”

Perhaps due to her habit of sticking close to the carriage window because of motion sickness, the child happened to be near the window where the sound came from. Aeli reflexively picked up the child and moved her small body to the opposite side.

This meant they were pressed right against the carriage door, which was a bit worrisome, but it wasn’t like they could just stay put.

“The window is cracked…”

Despite being reinforced glass made by a skilled expert, it didn’t shatter, but−

Aeli leaned forward a little to examine outside the window that was now covered in cracks.

‘−A piece of rock?’

It was an unusual sound, so she had assumed that whatever hit the carriage window must have been a solid object, but to think it was actually a rock.

It seemed odd, as they had already left the estate, so there shouldn’t be anyone around to throw a rock.

Moreover, this was a road for carriages, so forget about pedestrians, there was no one else to be found in the vicinity besides their group in the first place.

Aeli turned her head to look at Lutis sitting across from her.

“Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?”

When she moved the child away from the window, Lutis had stretched out his arm to shield the window as if anticipating it would break.

Blinking her eyes rapidly, Aeli soon shook her head and spoke.

“Uh… No, I’m fine. Adi? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“…Noo. I’m okway too.”

Perhaps startled by being abruptly picked up by Aeli or by the sudden loud noise, the child mumbled with his mouth slightly agape.

He seemed somewhat uneasy, but given the situation, it was understandable.

Judging so, Aeli quietly stroked the back of the child who was hugging the doll tightly to his chest.

How many seconds had passed like that?

Knock knock.

“Your Grace.”

Just as they felt that things were getting chaotic outside after the carriage had hastily stopped, a knight knocked on the door from outside.

Lutis shifted his gaze to check on the state of the child and Aeli once more before opening the carriage door.

Normally, he would have opened the window to converse, but now he was being careful as incorrectly handling it could cause it to completely shatter.

“What’s the matter?”

“Well, we were heading towards the location of the warp gate… but midway, the path has been blocked.”

“The path is blocked?”

“Yes. A few rocks suddenly rolled down from above, making it impassable. They did say it rained quite a bit in Mason recently, so perhaps that’s why…”

Listening to the knight’s words, Aeli’s eyes widened.

…So in other words, he was circuitously telling them that they nearly all died just now?

Aeli looked at the scenery visible beyond the half-open carriage door.

With Mason estate being surrounded by mountains on three sides and bordering the sea on one side, the shortcut was naturally made by cutting through the mountains.

Aside from this cliff road of moderate width where they were now, the only other route was to go around the mountains in a wide arc.

“Any casualties?”

“A few knights at the front were lightly injured while dodging the falling rocks. It doesn’t seem serious, so there likely won’t be any major issues. However…”

“Go on.”

“…The group has been partially split due to the blocked path.”

This was troublesome.

Fortunately, all the carriages were on this side, so if they cleared the path just enough for people to pass through, they could rejoin.

So until then, they asked him to decide whether to wait for them and go together or to take the detour route to the warp gate first and have those beyond the blocked path join up later.

Lutis let out a low hum at the knight’s words.

After all, they couldn’t leave behind part of the group in this situation, so it was better to travel together even if it took more time.

‘But it’s impossible to immediately clear away the huge pile of rocks blocking the path. If we forcibly break through and the debris falls in the wrong place, things could get even worse.’

Therefore, in reality, they had no choice but to remove the relatively small rocks near the cliff and create a narrow path, which was too dangerous.

Although Mason periodically checked the safety of the roads, there was a possibility that the path had been weakened due to the fallen rocks.

In such a situation, if the path near the cliff were to collapse while they were crossing it with horses in tow?

“…”

It would mean certain death.

The knights of Ratcliffe had a reputation to uphold, so their individual skills wouldn’t be lacking, but no matter how skilled, it was impossible to survive a fall from this height unscathed.

In the first place, the very reason Mason had been able to manage the estate without issue despite having such a fortress-like terrain was purely thanks to magic.

‘It’s famous as a resort because of the warm weather and beaches− The warp gate used by aristocrats is one thing. If not for the safety magic managing these cliff roads to prevent accidents for the commoners and merchants who use them, it would have long ago fallen into ruin.’

To the point it was incomprehensible why the founding Count, said to be an archmage, had accepted this place as his estate in the first place.

Moreover, to the east, it was entirely made up of forests with virtually no human presence.

‘If we fall with the eastern forest right below, forget about rescue, it may be difficult to even confirm if we’re alive or dead…’

Therefore, theoretically, it was correct to clear the path and move after rejoining with the separated group, but in this case, it would be better to move separately.

It wasn’t as if they needed to be by their side right now to the extent of taking on the risk.

“Your Grace?”

As if Lutis had the same thought, he furrowed his brows and opened his mouth to the knight.

“…First, check if there are any detour routes nearby. If there isn’t much difference in the time it takes to reach the warp gate, have those on the other side not turn back and go straight to the gate, then we’ll join up with them later.”

As the order was given, the knight briefly bowed his head and immediately took some of the group to search for another path.

If it was Mason, there was someone here who knew it inside out, but it would be suspicious to act like she knew.

Aeli, who had decided to keep her mouth shut, smacked her lips.

She had already done many suspicious things, so she didn’t want to draw more attention here.

Besides, being a collateral branch was one thing. How could she possibly talk about there being no other paths nearby when she had even been kicked out?

‘Even taking the nearest path around here, the sun will set before we reach the warp gate.’

When it got dark, not only would visibility narrow, but various wild animals or magical beasts could also appear.

Of course, if the magical beasts that appeared were at a very dangerous level, not many would come all the way to Mason, so there likely wouldn’t be any major problems with this composition.

But either way, it was too much with a young child in the group.

“Rather than having the separated group go to the warp gate first, it would be better for us to stay a day or so at an inn in Mason estate,”

“Rumors would spread.”

“…”

“Starting with the Ratcliffe crest engraved on the carriage, if we turn back like this and stay at an inn instead of the manor− rumors of discord would circulate.”

There were already plenty of rumors floating around due to the trial that had continued for several years, so there was no need to add more. At Lutis’s words, Aeli’s mouth closed.

He was right. If until now the rumors had at least been based on imagination, this time it would be like showing it to them with their own eyes, so it was a pointless idea.

But even if they returned to the Mason manor, it was questionable whether they would be accepted after already being driven out.

‘The child might be one thing, but hmm…’

Aeli pondered with a small hum.

It was then that the child, who had been quietly keeping his mouth shut, asked a question.

“Awre dere no huwrt people?”

“Huh? Ah− They said a few people were slightly injured, but not seriously. It’s not a dangerous situation, so don’t worry too much.”

“Mmm…”

“Were you scared, Adi? Were you very startled?”

When Aeli asked, the child trembled his eyes slightly and soon shook his head.

He wasn’t usually like this, so why was he being so cautious?

As the child kept anxiously gazing out the cracked window and fiddling with the rabbit doll− Aeli’s eyes met Lutis’s.

Wasn’t this an unfamiliar reaction to simply be because he was startled?

She asked with her eyes if anything stood out to him, but Lutis seemed equally perplexed, so there was no insight gained.

‘Was he shocked by people getting hurt? Or could it be because of the falling rocks,’

…Huh?

Aeli, who had been thinking with narrowed eyes, suddenly widened them.

The situation was so baffling that she had been flustered and didn’t notice the strangeness.

“Come to think of it, falling rocks shouldn’t have been possible in the first place…?”

As mentioned earlier, the roads in Mason weren’t rough until entering the estate.

Even if they paved those roads well to ensure smooth travel, dangers were natural.

So they would have magical countermeasures in place to prevent accidents like being crushed by something falling from above or plummeting off the sheer cliffside.

“…Lutis.”

“Aeli, if there’s a problem−”

“Tell everyone to get away from here.”

Such important magic couldn’t possibly malfunction even if coincidence piled upon coincidence.

[It was designed so that if one part broke down, another part would substitute for it, so for it to completely fail, it was impossible unless someone deliberately caused it.]

As the incident with the communication sphere suddenly flashed through her mind, Aeli urgently shouted.

The child and Lutis both seemed startled by her abrupt action, but there was no room to pay attention to that right now.

“There’s no need to mind the luggage carriages, so tell the knights to get off the road right away…!”

Crrrack.

However, before they could realize something was wrong and turn back the way they came, the sound of something collapsing came from the carriage floor first.

To be precise, it came from the ground supporting the underside of the carriage.

If there was any silver lining in this misfortune, it was that only a part of it seemed to have collapsed, causing the carriage to tilt halfway and stop with the door facing that direction.

Thud!

The door, which had been opened halfway earlier to talk to the knight and hadn’t been properly locked, swung open.

“Uh−,”

In an instant, the body of the young child who had been defenseless due to the sudden impact was flung out beyond it,

and from their current position, outside the door meant…

“…!”

a cliff.