– ……Huh?

Aeli stared at the gradually shrinking back of the carriage with a dumbfounded sound of confusion.

So this is now……

‘Am I being abandoned?’

In fact, there was no one abandoning and only someone being abandoned, making it quite the comedy.

But once you become the subject, there’s no way you could laugh. Aeli belatedly shouted and chased after the carriage.

– Hey…… Hey! Wait! Take me too! Lutis! Adi?!

It was the start of a race that no one had intended.

Who would have thought that I, born as a count’s daughter and became a duchess, would end up racing against a horse.

‘And barefoot at that…!’

After running hard for about 30 minutes, Aeli spotted the carriage far ahead and increased her speed, shedding a few tears.

As a ghost, she shouldn’t be able to cry, but this time she really felt like crying.

– No, huff…… I’m not even running, but! Huu-uck, just floating and chasing after, why is it……!

Why on earth was it so hard? Aeli lamented her situation as she pushed forward, puzzled by the inexplicable unfairness.

At least it wasn’t actually running, so the speed was noticeably faster, but…….

She didn’t want to find out this way that going all out could make her slightly faster than a horse.

Aeli finally couldn’t hold back and let out a loud shout, as the child often did.

– Hey, you……! Can ghosts even get, huff, tired?! I don’t need sleep and don’t get tired, so why is this, huup…… exhausting! How is this possible!

How could it be so unreasonable. Not knowing why she became a ghost, Aeli gritted her teeth, rekindling that question after quite some time.

‘I’m really experiencing all sorts of things……!’

She thought it was something to see after living a long life, but that thought was fleeting. Recalling that she had been dead for quite some time, Aeli retracted her previous statement.

Then this was desecration of the dead. If not desecration, what else could you call getting out of breath when your lungs and heart had long since stopped?

Just moments ago, she had witnessed the child leaning out of the carriage looking for Aeli who had disappeared as soon as they departed, only to be pulled back inside by Lutis.

Suddenly struck by a thought, Aeli took a sharp breath.

‘……Wasn’t there a warp gate just a bit further ahead?’

Forget the carriage, Aeli didn’t know the way to the duke’s territory.

She had always used the gate or rode inside carriages driven by coachmen, so how could she know?

Even if she had a map, it would take time but she could somehow find her way, but being a ghost made that impossible too.

So, question. If she loses track of the group at the warp gate, what will her fate be?

– …….

Aeli, about to become a lost child on imperial soil rather than in a foreign country, hurriedly chased after the carriage.

With desperation added to her earnestness, it didn’t take more than a few minutes to enter the carriage again.

The child’s eyes met Aeli’s, and their mouth moved as if to say something.

“Urgh……”

But they immediately lowered their head and covered their mouth with their hand, preventing any meaningful sound from escaping.

Watching the child sway with a pale face, Lutis reached out to open the closed carriage window and spoke.

“……I’ll open the window so get some fresh air. The warp gate isn’t far, so it won’t take long.”

“Mm……”

As the child’s gaze, sitting with their head leaning against the carriage wall by the window, turned to Aeli, Lutis spoke again.

“Keep your eyes closed, looking at things will only make you feel sicker.”

At Lutis’s advice, the child carefully closed their eyes.

Realizing that the child’s motion sickness was quite severe, Aeli reached out towards the child with a sympathetic look.

– Adi, are you having a hard……?

Oh. Aeli’s eyes widened as she gently placed her hand on the child’s shoulder. She had been so focused on keeping up with the carriage’s speed.

But as soon as she touched the child, she suddenly froze.

More precisely, it wasn’t that she froze, but that she no longer needed to match the carriage’s speed.

– ……?

Aeli looked at her hand carefully placed on the child’s shoulder.

Not that it changed anything.

After unknowingly being able to board the carriage.

Just in case, Aeli didn’t remove her hand from the child until the carriage came to a stop, checking on the condition of the child who was staggering to get up.

She wanted to withdraw her hand, thinking she might be making it harder for the already struggling child, but every time she tried, the child would slightly open their closed eyes, so she remained attached throughout.

“Urgh……”

– If you’re feeling really sick, should we ask Dad to rest for a bit?

“……”

The child shook their head weakly.

Aeli’s heart grew heavy at this, and she lowered her gaze.

‘I used to get motion sickness badly when I was young too.’

She had forgotten about it since it disappeared as she grew older, only remembering just now.

She was about to feel upset, thinking the child’s suffering might be due to inheriting her poor traits.

Lutis, who had gotten out first, lifted and held the child who was about to get off the carriage.

“Ah, uh……?”

The child raised their head in surprise, and Lutis stroked their small back while turning his head.

Lutis spoke to the knight commander who seemed to be searching for something in the luggage carriage, constantly rummaging.

“Haven’t you found the medicine yet?”

“The bundle with the medicine seems to be further inside since we loaded it first. We’ve almost emptied everything, so please wait just a moment longer.”

“Why on earth didn’t you keep it as a readily available medicine instead of putting it in the luggage carriage? Do you use your heads―”

Lutis’s frowning and sharp words trailed off.

It was clear he was about to say ‘Do you wear your heads as decoration?’, and Aeli’s gaze turned to the child. The child seemed to enjoy being held by their father, already having their arms around Lutis’s neck and leaning on him.

“The portable emergency medicine we received from the doctor before departure was mostly for external use and pain relief…… We didn’t anticipate the young master would get motion sickness, so we failed to prepare for it. I apologize.”

“Is that supposed to be an excuse?”

“No, that’s not what I meant……”

“……”

“……It seemed the duke was getting anxious, so I thought I’d mention it. Not keeping it as a readily available medicine means it’s not something urgently needed in an emergency, even if it can be uncomfortable.”

It might sound presumptuous, but as far as Aeli remembered, the two used to be close enough to exchange jokes occasionally.

Although she was quite shocked by the atmosphere that had changed unrecognizably in the past few years…… Thinking about Lutis these days, he probably judged that adding words to this extent wouldn’t kill him.

Aeli looked up at the sky.

In fact, if you think about it, this wasn’t the knight commander’s fault.

‘It’s not like Sir Montero put those medicines in the luggage carriage. He probably only packed his own share of readily available medicine, and it’s not fair to blame someone who doesn’t get motion sickness for not packing motion sickness medicine……’

They thought Mari would be coming along, but. As it had been a few months ago, this time coincided with her regular absences, so she couldn’t join.

Although the situation was different from when they were in the annex, the child didn’t seem to particularly like other servants.

When the child heard about Mari’s absence, they said they didn’t need any servants.

Lutis and the knights, who had originally planned to bring servants for the child, just packed the luggage that some servants had loaded and left.

– That’s where the problem started…….

There were people who loaded the luggage, but no one knew where everything was, so they had no choice but to unload everything to find what they needed.

After some more time passed, the knight commander who found a bag containing simple medicines picked up a small bottle.

Eventually, motion sickness medicine went into the child’s mouth.

A few dozen minutes later, as they entered the warp gate, the child looked up at Lutis and asked.

“……Do I have to ride that?”

“The structure activates even when you’re inside an object, so if you’re scared, you can stay in the carriage.”

“No…… I don’t want to ride that anymore……”

The child replied with a sour face to Lutis’s words. Having suffered so much from motion sickness, they couldn’t help but detest it.

Aeli, vaguely remembering that pain, nodded slightly.

Then, remembering an important fact she had forgotten, her pupils trembled finely.

‘That’s right, when the gate activates, don’t tell me I’ll be left here alone……?’

If so, not knowing the way, she would have to stay put here until Lutis returned from the duke’s territory.

Her body that passed through all walls and doors shouldn’t be any different for a carriage.

She had overlooked that, forgetting again after going through all that trouble just recently, it was enough to make her lament.

Unknowingly, Aeli approached behind the child and crouched down, placing her hands on both of the child’s shoulders. The child turned their head to look at Aeli and opened and closed their mouth.

“……?”

– Mm…… It’s nothing. Adi, can Mom stay like this for a moment?

The child moved their eyes briefly to look at Lutis holding their hand, then nodded.

As light gradually filled along the magic circle engraved under the gate, Aeli closed her eyes tight and prayed.

Truly, if there was any conscience, the world couldn’t leave her here alone.

‘Come to think of it, this was all made by the magic tower. Even though I’m dead, I’m still a Mason, right?’

Surely it wouldn’t betray her. While giving herself such self-assurance, Aeli squeezed her eyes shut nervously at the bright light signaling the completion of the warp magic’s preparation.

– ……?

When nothing happened for a long time, Aeli slowly opened her closed eyelids.

At the same moment.

Thud.

– ……Child!

The child, who until just now had been holding Lutis’s hand with a face that looked much better after taking motion sickness medicine, fell weakly to their knees.