Five days passed in the blink of an eye. People had much to say about the sudden long-term departure of the Count and Countess, but no one dared to directly inquire about their journey.

“My lady. Have a pleasant trip.”

Emily was among those who believed the Count and Countess were leaving for romantic reasons. She packed Cordelia’s luggage enthusiastically with a contented smile.

“Since you’re going alone without any accompanying maids, I’ve packed only the essentials. Don’t worry.”

“Thank you, Emily.”

Cordelia rubbed her bloodshot eyes vigorously as she bid farewell to the household members. Over the past few days, the amount of homework had increased dramatically, resulting in a sharp decrease in sleep time.

The Count’s party was unusually small. The coachman was an unfamiliar face, and the only guard knight was Beluce Ingrion, who had recently been appointed as a knight.

“Please get in, my lady.”

“Thank you, Baron.”

The Baron, disguised as the coachman, opened the carriage door.

It felt strange to see the wrinkled old man in person, having only seen him in the form of solid water before.

Cordelia boarded the carriage, receiving farewells from Baron Lancaster and others. Leonard was already inside the carriage.

As soon as she sat down, he handed her a stack of papers.

“What’s all this?”

“What else? Things to study while we travel.”

“… Can’t I get some sleep?”

“Sleep? Sure. How many minutes do you want to sleep?”

“Minutes? Why is the unit in minutes?”

“No matter how cold-hearted I am, I wouldn’t tell you to sleep for just a few seconds.”

“Right. How very kind of you. I’m almost moved to tears.”

“No need to cry.”

Cordelia clenched her molars and accepted the papers he handed over. As expected, they were covered with all kinds of magic circles. The carriage finally departed with a jolt.

“It’s not too late to reconsider, you know.”

“What?”

“I have a reasonable doubt that no matter how much I cram, it might be impossible for me to actually see Diloana’s barrier. How about the three of you go without me?”

“Don’t worry, my disciple. If you can’t see it, we’ll stay there until you can.”

Leonard imitated a kind and merciful master, comforting his anxious disciple. The listening disciple felt like bursting with indignation but managed to hold it in.

Just then, there was a knocking sound from outside. Leonard opened the window.

“A dog is following us.”

“A dog?”

The Baron said, looking back at the carriage. Leonard half-opened the carriage door to check.

“A pack of stray dogs?”

“No. It looks more like the dog Cordelia has been keeping.”

“What? A dog I’ve been keeping?”

She wondered what dog she could be keeping, when suddenly a name came to mind.

“Could it be Lottie?”

“I’m not sure exactly, but a dog similar in appearance to the one I saw then has been following us since we departed.”

“Wait a moment, please stop the carriage.”

After a short wait, the carriage’s jolting stopped. Cordelia hopped out.

“Lottie!”

As she called out loudly, a dog came trotting from afar. It was indeed Lottie. Cordelia, filled with joy, immediately ran to embrace Lottie…

“You didn’t come to see me?”

As Cordelia tried to hug her, Lottie quickly turned away. Embarrassed, Cordelia withdrew her hands and squatted down a little distance away, making eye contact with Lottie.

“Lottie. I told Emily to give you meat every day. So go back home and wait. I’ll be back soon.”

Cordelia took out a lot of beef jerky she had packed to eat in the carriage and handed it to Lottie.

“Here, eat this. Eat it all and go back to the castle. Understand?”

Normally, Lottie would have buried her nose in it and eaten frantically, but for some reason, she didn’t even glance at the jerky and just stared at Cordelia. It was the first time she had gazed into Lottie’s blue eyes for so long.

Lottie probably didn’t think of her as an owner, but seeing her follow like this made Cordelia’s heart ache with gratitude.

“Is this the dog you’re raising?”

“Oh? You’re here? Just a moment. I’ll say goodbye and send her back soon.”

“How long have you been keeping her?”

“I’m not really keeping her, just feeding her occasionally. The servants say she was originally a stray dog around the castle.”

Leonard looked down at Lottie for a long time before reaching out his hand. Suddenly, Lottie bared her teeth and growled.

“W-what did you do?”

“This isn’t a dog.”

“What are you saying? Is Lottie a cat then?”

Thinking Leonard was joking, Cordelia laughed it off, but her smile froze at his next words.

“It’s not a dog, it’s a magical beast.”

“What?”

“A magical beast, I said. Judging by the faint energy, it seems to be a low-level magical beast, though.”

“What are you talking about? A magical beast? How can our Lottie be a magical beast? She’s so gentle and well-behaved.”

Magical beasts were creatures she had only read about in books. They were said to be intermediate beings between demons and animals, living in Glendney, the Forest of Negation and Tears at the southern end of the continent.

They were known to be so ferocious that humans couldn’t even approach them. How could Lottie be a magical beast?

Cordelia couldn’t easily believe his words.

“How strange. It’s not even a familiar, yet it’s wandering around like this.”

“What’s a familiar?”

“A familiar is a magical beast tamed by humans. In Alino, they call those who tame magical beasts ‘Nasteng’. Hmm. Could it be a familiar lost by a Nasteng, or one whose Nasteng died?”

“But aren’t magical beasts dangerous? Lottie has never bared her teeth or threatened me. If anything, she would get beaten by people when caught stealing food.”

“Nastengs usually steal magical beast cubs to tame them. If this magical beast was tamed by human hands from when it was a cub, it’s not strange for it to have a gentle temperament.”

“Ah, could it be that she thinks of me as her owner and that’s why she followed us like this? Ouch!”

Leonard suddenly slapped Cordelia’s shoulder. It didn’t hurt much, but the sudden contact startled her.

“What’s that for? Why did you hit me? I was just saying. Was there any need to hit me?”

“It’s docile.”

“What?”

“If it really thought of you as its owner, it would have threatened me the moment I touched you. Seeing that it’s staying still without any particular reaction, it seems to just think of you as someone who gives it food.”

“Lottie… Is that true?”

Cordelia demanded an answer from Lottie with moist eyes.

After all the affection built up, to be just someone who gives food…

Leonard, having lost interest in Lottie, returned to the carriage first.

“Whether it’s a magical beast or whatever, send it back. We can’t take it with us.”

“Alright.”

As disappointing as it was, they couldn’t take Lottie to Diloana’s territory. They had to say goodbye here.

“Lottie. I’m going now. See you later.”

Cordelia steeled herself and turned back to the carriage. As soon as she got in, she said to the Baron,

“Drive faster, Baron. Then Lottie will give up and go back.”

“Yes, understood.”

The Baron pulled the reins to urge the horses on. As they were crossing a plain, the horses easily pulled ahead. Cordelia slightly opened the window to check behind. In an instant, Lottie’s figure had shrunk to a dot.

Cordelia quickly forgot about Lottie. This was because Leonard handed her another bundle of papers from who knows where.

She was surrounded by magic circles until they arrived at a village that evening.

* * *

“Yaaawn.”

Cordelia stretched out a long yawn inside the carriage. The sun had already set, and it was dark outside. Just then, the Baron, who had gone to look for an inn, returned.

“They say there’s only one room available. What should we do?”

“Only one room?”

“Yes. They say it’s the season when many fur traders come, so there are no rooms available at the inn.”

“It seems that only the master should go up and sleep for tonight.”

“We’ll camp nearby. It’s late, so please go up quickly, master.”

The single room was given to Leonard as if it were the most natural thing. Cordelia, watching the scene from the side, was dumbfounded.

“Hey, what about me? Don’t you see me? I’m the only woman here.”

“You can just sleep on the ground, can’t you? Our master is a noble person, so it would be a big problem if he sleeps outside.”

“It’s a big problem for me too, I’m telling you!”

“Lady Cordelia, please sleep in the carriage. Beluce and I can sleep outside.”

Even the Baron, whom she had trusted, thought it was natural for Leonard to sleep in the room. He spoke as if offering the carriage was a great privilege. Cordelia pouted and grumbled.

“I’m a Countess too… Sleeping outside… Not even able to wash…”

“Alright. Cordelia and I will share the room. Come to the first floor of the inn tomorrow morning and wait.”

“What? But…”

“Won’t you be uncomfortable?”

Surprisingly, that question was directed at Leonard. Cordelia was incredulous.

“No, wait a minute. You should ask me if I’m uncomfortable or not. Hey? Are you leaving while someone’s talking? Wait a moment. Master! Let’s go together!”

Cordelia, afraid of losing Leonard, hurriedly followed him with just a small bag. When she caught up, breathless, the inn employee was already out to attend to them.

“How many will be staying?”

“Two.”

“I, I said let’s go together.”

Cordelia stood next to Leonard, catching her breath. The employee glanced at Cordelia and asked with a friendly smile.

“Are you two a married couple?”