Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 74
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 74
Elvia turned her eyes and quietly regarded the coachman.
‘It’s not that he’s deaf.’
He kept his composure better than she had expected.
Besides that…
Those hands holding the horse’s reins.
‘He isn’t just someone with a tight mouth.’
The scars were definitely not from driving a carriage.
His frame was sturdy, his hands bore calluses…
And as if he had been hacked at, scars were etched haphazardly across his hands.
‘That half-elf kid brought someone sharper than I thought.’
It was clear that the Criminal Underworld’s upper ranks had sent someone fairly capable.
And the youngest master had said he was acceptable as well.
‘There’s no need to deal with him beforehand.’
The coachman first spoke when the sun was slowly setting and the road was becoming hard to see.
“The sun is going down, so I should prepare the campsite.”
“Let me help. Now, young master, the air is turning cold, so please go back inside the carriage.”
“Are you sure it’s all right if I don’t help?”
“Heh-heh. I gratefully accept the sentiment, but considering the journey ahead, you would do better to conserve your strength.”
She added that this was a servant’s work, and she would bring his meal in once it was ready.
‘Well. I can’t make them worry just by inserting myself pointlessly.’
Lion decided to listen to Elvia this time and stepped into the carriage.
“Whoa.”
Maybe it was because he had been roughing it outside, but the interior felt far more comfortable than before.
‘Still, you have to find your share of romance and hardship while you’re young.’
It became hard to do once you got older.
Tapping his back, Lion flopped down on the sofa inside the carriage.
The feeling of his tight back stretching right out… the sofa seemed to be made from quite excellent material?
“Peep.”
“Yeah. You think so too?”
Lion smiled as he stroked Nature, who had been sprawled out asleep inside the carriage the whole time…
“Huh?”
“Peep?”
I didn’t mishear that, right?
Lion shook his head lightly and looked at Nature.
He was certain he had made a “peep” sound.
‘Is that possible?’
A spirit is a being from beyond a dimension.
So no matter how much its outer appearance resembled an animal or a person, it couldn’t voice its will aloud.
Even Endairon had never once made a sound like a wolf.
But…
“This one makes sounds?”
That’s pretty good, isn’t it?
Of course, he still hadn’t broken free of his chick-like little body, and at best he only made a peeping sound…
But he felt a real sense of pride.
A feeling, like, my child is different from others?
Honestly, if I’d had a smartphone, I’d have wanted to snap photos and videos like crazy.
Obviously I couldn’t, since I didn’t have one.
“Shall I give him a snack?”
“Peep!”
As a consolation, Lion took out some Spirit Water, poured it into a flat dish, set it in front of Nature, and watched him eat.
How much time passed like that, idly whiling it away with Nature?
Grrrowl—
Lion rubbed his stomach and stole furtive glances outside.
Maybe because it was night, he could see and hear absolutely nothing.
‘The camping preparations are taking quite a while.’
About two hours seemed to have passed.
Just as he wondered if Elvia was taking longer because it was her first time—
Knock-knock.
As if speaking of the tiger had brought it, Elvia knocked on the carriage door.
“Young master. May I come in?”
“Yeah. Come in.”
Only after Lion gave his permission did Elvia step into the carriage carrying the food.
“My apologies. You must have waited a long time.”
“It’s fine. But… did something happen?”
“Nothing important. There were small wild animals nearby, so I was delayed subduing them.”
“Ah-ha.”
That could happen. No matter how often this spot was used for camping, it wasn’t a place where people lived.
Animals could gather here to eat food left behind by campers and the like.
“So, though it may be inconvenient, it would be best if you stayed inside the carriage until we depart. Many of those creatures carry foul diseases.”
“Got it.”
Judging by Elvia’s words, he guessed she might have caught some field mice.
But the meal was quite something?
It came in a lunchbox form with no fewer than five compartments.
Soft bread, meat, a salad, fruit. Even a stew that looked like it had just been boiled.
They were things he’d never thought he’d eat outdoors.
“I wasn’t able to prepare a table as well.”
“It’s fine.”
He didn’t need a table. Wasn’t eating a lunchbox like this the only proper way to enjoy one?
‘A bit like an in-flight meal, too?’
It felt like a super-luxury trip.
On top of that…
Glug-glug!
Elvia filled a glass halfway with wine and handed it to Lion.
“Even for a carriage made with comfort in mind, you likely won’t fall asleep easily. Please have a glass.”
The wine, gleaming deep red, swirled seductively in the glass.
‘Ah, well.’
I really shouldn’t get too close to alcohol.
But maybe because of the mood, one glass seemed fine.
“Then I’ll have just one glass.”
Lion accepted the glass without refusal and enjoyed it with his lunchbox.
The sweetness of the wine, with a hint of astringency, whetted his appetite.
‘This is good too.’
Lion looked out the window at the moon and sipped the remaining wine.
It had quite the ambiance.
After finishing his meal, Lion washed up comfortably and lay down on the bed that had been prepared for him in the meantime.
Helped by a pleasantly tipsy feeling, his eyes fell shut on their own.
Along with Nature, Lion fell asleep earlier than usual.
And late that night.
“…”
Elvia gazed at the “wild animals” she had subdued, tied up, and neatly “disposed of” behind a large tree.
Multiple figures in black masks whose identities were unknown.
It was an ambush.
“I guarantee, they are not people from our Criminal Underworld.”
The coachman stared at the assailants and spoke flatly.
“Do you know who they are?”
“I suspect they might be pawns of a noble house. However, I am not certain.”
Elvia rested a finger on her chin and stared at the unconscious assailants.
If she used the power of the Witch here, she could satisfactorily uncover the identities of those men and whoever was behind them.
She’d also secure clear evidence to go with it.
But—
‘If I do that…’
It would ruin this rare, enjoyable trip.
This was a journey that our puppy had set out on with a great deal of resolve.
There was no need to create a commotion where none was needed.
Furthermore, Elvia had to keep the fact that she was a Witch hidden.
There were two ways to hide it.
Either avoid detection entirely, or create a state where it didn’t matter if you were detected.
She usually preferred the method of killing everyone to silence them… however.
‘If I did that, the useful coachman would die.’
That was problematic.
Elvia recalled a moment earlier.
The image of the coachman subduing the swarming assailants in a single breath and rendering them unconscious.
What’s more, he had even tied them up tightly at an angle where neither Andrie nor the young master would notice.
She quite liked his way of handling things.
With that level of combat power…
‘It seems the Criminal Underworld has attached quite a high-ranking figure.’
He might even be as promising a talent as Freyania.
“Shall I dispose of them?”
“There’s no need. Since I can guess who the culprit is.”
At the coachman’s question, Elvia shook her head, then created a magic carrier pigeon with a spell and sent it soaring into the sky.
She had a rough guess.
‘It isn’t the nobility.’
Of course, there were many houses that were envious and jealous of House Asteri.
But they would never be able to use this kind of method.
How would they dare handle the aftermath?
That left two factions.
The Temple, standing on the opposite pole from magic.
And—
‘The Imperial Family.’
Since she hadn’t sensed any Divine Power… this side was the more likely one.
Judging by how sloppy this was, it didn’t seem like the Emperor’s personal doing.
She suspected the princes or one of their followers was trying to pull something.
‘Well, that’s something for the Family Head to handle on his own.’
Petrick hadn’t overlooked all of this when sending Lion out either.
On the surface, Lion was the most vulnerable presence in House Asteri.
It was obvious that he’d be targeted first the moment he left the territory.
But that didn’t mean they could lock him up forever.
“This should turn out to be quite an enjoyable journey.”
Gazing at the magic carrier pigeon flying far into the distance, Elvia smiled deeply.
* * *
The next day.
By the time Lion woke, the carriage had already been prepared for departure.
“Young master, did you wake?”
“Did I oversleep too much?”
“No. The breakfast preparations have just finished as well. Was your sleeping place comfortable?”
“Yeah. It was good.”
Whether it was thanks to the alcohol,
he had slept soundly despite the change in sleeping arrangements.
The temperature had been just right too. Lion stretched lightly and stepped out of the carriage.
But…
‘Something feels strange.’
A sense of disharmony he couldn’t quite place.
“Elvia.”
“Yes, young master.”
“Did anything happen at night?”
“Aside from catching some wild animals, nothing at all happened.”
“…Is that so?”
But why couldn’t he see any trace of the wild animals at all?
No, if anything, he couldn’t see any trace of anything.
“…”
It seemed like an issue he ought to let slide.
“Oh, young master. Good morning!”
At that slightly awkward moment, Andrie, who had woken first and was in the middle of eating, offered a greeting.
“Ah. Andrie. Did you sleep well last night?”
“Yes! Even as a baggage compartment, it’s quite cozy. What’s more, getting some fresh air for the first time in a while has really got the ideas flowing, and it’s excellent. And aren’t we near the gate soon?”
Andrie clasped his hands together as if he was quite excited.
“To be honest, this is a bit embarrassing, but it’s my first time riding a teleportation gate! So my heart is pounding quite heavily.”
“For ordinary commoners to use it, the cost is a considerable burden, you see.”
At Elvia’s supplementary explanation, Lion nodded.
In exchange for moving you a vast distance in an instant, the price boasted a cost that could easily feed an ordinary commoner for a year.
What’s more, the price scaled up with weight, so gates weren’t used for the purpose of delivering ordinary goods.
Ah, though of course… they were occasionally used if an item was extremely high-value or if the buyer was wealthy.
“T-To think that I, of all people, would make a delivery via a gate…!”
From Andrie’s standpoint, who had been on the verge of closing his shop at any moment, this could be considered an enormous level of success.
“I heard some people get motion sickness from it.”
“Oh my, even getting gate motion sickness would be a lifetime’s bragging point!”
As if he truly couldn’t feel anything amiss, Andrie kept chattering on and on about the gate the entire time Lion ate his meal.
“Goodness. I’ve taken up far too much of your time.”
The moment he saw Lion finish his meal, Andrie jumped to his feet.
“Yes. There is still a long way to go until the Lungen Territory Teleportation. You may relax and rest until then, young master.”
“Yeah. Got it.”
Just as Lion was about to climb back onto the carriage.
Rustle.
“…”
A sound came from behind a tree.
Lion halted his steps briefly and stared in that direction… then got into the carriage.
‘Hmm, what to do.’
No matter how much he tried not to notice, really.
“Elvia.”
“Yes, young master.”
“Right now, behind that tree…”
Elvia looked at Lion as if she was in a difficult spot.
Because a bad premonition had struck her.
‘Don’t tell me he’s about to order me to let them go?’
No matter how kindhearted the young master was, these were people who had attacked him.
In truth, it would even be justified to kill them on the spot.
Those men had genuinely charged at Lion to eliminate him.
What’s more, their skill was on par with a fairly decent knight order.
If these people belonged to the Imperial Court…
Meaning, if they were from the Imperial Knight Order…
‘Even if the young master gives the order to let them off once, the Family Head will eliminate them.’
Her only worry was that this soft-hearted puppy might receive a wound from it.
Around the time Elvia’s worries were stretching on like that.
“No, I guess I misheard.”
“Pardon?”
“Come to think of it, I heard that the Lungen Territory has been troubled by bandits lately.”
When Elvia’s expression turned puzzled, Lion smiled playfully.
“Count Lungen must be terribly worried.”