The carriage carrying Alicia safely exited the outer fortress and joined Killian’s group, who were waiting for her.

“You need to change carriages.”

Alicia nodded at Kasa’s words that they needed to switch to a different carriage as a precaution, even though the one they rode from the imperial palace had no markings. She carefully moved her body out of the carriage.

Even though they had only just left the capital, the surrounding scenery had completely changed.

Alicia boarded the carriage Killian had prepared in advance, protected by the knights surrounding her in a circle.

While its exterior was much more ordinary than the previous one, the interior was perfectly fit to accommodate an esteemed person.

“Lord White will take charge of the carriage. I and my subordinates will lead the way. The Viscount should move at the rear of the carriage with the knights of the Imperial Guard.”

Apart from Alicia, Marisa, the Viscount, Kasa, and Doctor Tilly, the remaining members consisted of six members of the Badulf unit including Killian, and four knights of the Imperial Guard.

Among them, the appearance of Killian and the Badulf unit members at the front of the group honestly showed what they considered to be the greatest threat on this journey.

“Your Grace. Shall I take a few of the men to scout the road ahead?”

A man with short, vibrant crimson hair rode his horse up to Killian’s side and asked.

Killian, who was stroking the neck of his own horse to calm it, as it didn’t like the approach of anyone other than its master, gave a short nod.

“Take two with you.”

“I’ll be back. Number 1, Number 2, follow me.”

“Captain, I told you to use names.”

“You should call me Commander then. When you call me Captain, I feel like I’ve become the leader of a band of mountain bandits.”

“Ah, geez.”

As Killian watched Derek quickly ride away with two subordinates, he slowed his horse’s pace to approach the carriage behind and knocked on the window.

Hearing the sound, Marisa first drew back the curtain to check his face, then pulled back the curtain on the side covering Alicia’s face.

“What is it?”

Alicia asked, opening the window slightly.

“From now on, it’s fine to pull back the curtains.”

“…Really?”

“You must be bored, so why don’t you look at the scenery outside? It would be troublesome if you get motion sickness from reading a book or something.”

…How does Killian know that reading a book in a carriage causes motion sickness?

Alicia, who rarely left the imperial palace and hadn’t ridden in carriages many times, first learned about her motion sickness after ascending to the throne.

She found out on the way to inspect a nearby village. Unable to draw back the curtains due to safety concerns, she thought to do some work and discovered it while looking over documents.

Since then, no matter how short the distance, she never looked at text…

“Thank you for your concern.”

Killian wouldn’t know if Alicia really had motion sickness, so his worry might just be a casual remark.

Or perhaps getting motion sickness from reading in a carriage is unexpectedly common.

Either way, thinking that he wasn’t saying it knowing about her motion sickness, Alicia nodded obediently and looked at Killian.

Like the others, Killian wore leather armor over simple travel clothes and had a sword at his waist. His appearance was so splendid, like the protagonist of a novel featuring heroes and demon kings.

If painters had seen him, wouldn’t they have praised his appearance and tried their best to capture this image in a painting?

If it were a poet, they would have left behind his magnificent appearance in all sorts of beautiful words, and if a musician had seen him, they would have gathered all the sounds in the world to leave behind music praising his appearance.

“Do you have something to say?”

“Ah, no.”

When Alicia, who had been staring blankly at Killian’s appearance, came to her senses at his question, her face was already flushed red.

“I-I’ll open the curtains in a moment. Thank you for letting me know.”

Alicia, realizing her state from the burning heat, quickly closed the curtains as if trying to hide her face and spoke loudly.

Killian, taking in the shadow of Alicia cast on the fluttering curtain through the small window, returned to his original position with a slight chuckle, spurring his horse’s flank.

“Your Majesty, are you alright?”

While Killian was riding his horse back to his position, Alicia, who had hidden her face behind the curtain, was blaming herself for having such ridiculous thoughts even in this situation, with her face buried in her hands.

After telling the Emperor she would return after doing something absolutely necessary for the empire, what was she doing?

She had never felt as pathetic about her face, which so nakedly revealed her inner feelings, as she did today.

“Your Majesty?”

“…I’m fine.”

“Shall I give you some water?”

“Yes, please.”

Alicia, who moistened her throat with the water skin Marisa opened and handed to her, let out a long sigh.

Was it because of the cold water she drank?

It seemed like the heat that had risen to her face had subsided a little.

“My face… is it okay?”

“…Would you like a little more water?”

I see, it’s not okay.

Thanks to Marisa, who changed the subject so as not to embarrass her, Alicia realized that her face was still red and took another sip of water before handing the water skin back to Marisa.

How much time would have to pass before she could take in the scenery outside the window?

As Alicia was thinking for a moment, she shrank back at the sound of someone knocking on the carriage window, wondering if Killian had come again.

“Your Majesty Alicia.”

Fortunately, the voice from outside was Reilly’s.

Alicia cleared her throat, pretending not to notice Marisa’s gaze fixed on her, then slightly pulled back the curtain and peeked out with her eyes.

“What are you doing?”

“There are circumstances… What’s the matter, Viscount?”

“I thought it might be good for you to start enjoying the outside view now.”

“Ah… Duke Diaz said the same thing a little while ago.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yes.”

“Then why are the curtains…”

“I was planning to open them in a little while.”

What should I say if Reilly asks the reason?

As Alicia was racking her brain to come up with an appropriate answer in advance, she involuntarily flinched at the sight of Reilly sighing and scratching his head while looking at her.

“Well, you should do as you feel comfortable, Your Majesty. But there’s a very large lake near the road we’ll be passing soon.”

“A lake?”

“Yes, to exaggerate a bit, it’s a lake as big as the sea, and it’s a place many people visit because of its beautiful scenery. I thought you might regret it if you miss it with the curtains closed.”

“Ah…”

“We won’t be able to stop the carriage because our journey is tight. But if it’s on the way back, we should have some time… If you’re okay with it, I’ll ask Duke Diaz.”

Reilly’s body, which had been shifting his gaze here and there, unable to look directly at Alicia’s face for some reason, suddenly stiffened.

And judging by his face subtly wrinkling, it seemed he had made eye contact with Kasa, who was driving the carriage.

‘Lord White… really dislikes the Viscount, huh.’

The image of Kasa threatening Reilly with his face, unable to speak for fear of Alicia hearing, naturally formed in her mind.

“…Um, Your Majesty.”

“Yes.”

“For now, please let me know if you feel like it after seeing the lake. I’ll try to modify the return schedule by speaking with Duke Diaz.”

“Thank you.”

Kasa must have been quite uncomfortable, as Reilly hurriedly returned to his original position.

While watching Reilly’s behavior, the color of Alicia’s face, which had been flushed red, returned to its usual state.

Just in case, after receiving one more confirmation from Marisa, Alicia drew back the curtains completely when she heard that it was fine.

Although she couldn’t smell the outside air yet as she hadn’t been told it was okay to open the window, just drawing back the curtains made her field of vision brighter, giving her a feeling of openness.

“Wow…”

Alicia, who had been looking at the scenery outside the carriage like a child seeing clouds in the sky for the first time, was able to see the ‘lake’ Reilly had mentioned a moment later.

The surface of the lake, sparkling in the sunlight with a backdrop of densely grown trees, was so beautiful that she couldn’t take her eyes off it.

“Marisa.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Is this your first time seeing that lake too?”

“I came on a picnic with my family before entering the imperial palace.”

“Really?”

“Our mansion in the capital was close to the outer fortress. The children loved it because we could quickly reach it by taking a carriage from home.”

“Ah, you mentioned you had siblings.”

“Yes, twins.”

Marisa’s siblings had left the capital with their father, she had heard.

It must have been because they were afraid of the creditors.

It was only because Marisa remained in the capital and was steadily paying off the debt that they hadn’t been chased all the way to the provinces.

‘The fact that Marisa is a maid in my palace must have helped too.’

Originally, those with family debts couldn’t enter the imperial palace.

It was because no one knew what choices a person driven into a corner might make.

Marisa had entered the imperial palace before her father incurred debts, and because she belonged to the Princess’s palace, which had relatively less power, she wasn’t driven out.

‘She said she’s paid off quite a bit of the debt while working…’

Come to think of it, Marisa’s face seemed to have brightened a bit recently.

“Wow!”

Alicia, who had been thinking about Marisa for a moment, soon completely forgot what she had been thinking about and let out an exclamation without realizing it.

The scenery of the lake, which had grown closer as they traveled, filled her vision.

Marisa, who had been watching Alicia entranced by the sight of the beautiful lake she was seeing for the first time in her life, turned her eyes to the lake as well.

The only difference from Alicia was that, despite it being a lake she had frequently visited with her family, her lime-green eyes showed no emotion as she looked at it.

Marisa, who calmly turned her eyes away from the lake, now took in Alicia with her eyes.

The beautiful and noble princess.

If only she could continue to stay by her side…

Unlike when looking at the lake, a light resembling something began to seep into her lime-colored eyes.