Time to Move

Clop, clop. As about ten riders passed by in formation, kicking up a fair bit of noise and dust, it was like a bolt from the blue for the animals dozing leisurely nearby. They bolted upright and fled in the opposite direction in an instant.

"Hyah!"

Leading the pack was a girl urging her horse forward, her smooth hair whipping in the wind. Trailing behind her, looking half-dead, was a frail-looking woman with brown hair. Riding a horse consumed no small amount of stamina, and it seemed particularly grueling for this woman, who didn't have a scrap of muscle on her. Still, her effort to keep up showed just how hard she was trying.

"Huff... huff... huff..."

...Though it looked extremely grueling.

"Uwaaaah—!! Princess Remi! Can we take a break!? Please!?"

"......Sigh, Tesa."

"Waaaaaah!!!"

At the wail of Tesa—the librarian from the royal library—Princess Remi, ever soft-hearted, gradually slowed her horse and finally came to a stop. The others, who had lagged behind scouting the area, arrived one by one. As the sun set in the forest, everyone bustled about preparing for camp: building fires, setting up simple shelters to lie down in, and readying dinner.

A lively, cheerful commotion.

Soon, dinner was ready, smoke curling up from the pots. Of course, it was worlds apart from the palace feasts in quality, but no one there complained about the food.

Clink.

Tesa and Remi sat facing each other at a small table with their meals. Remi spoke first.

"Sorry, Tesa. For dragging you into this."

"...What are you talking about, Princess? If anything, I'm the one who should apologize. If I'd only been a little faster..."

"—Like I always say, it's not your fault, Tesa. If anyone's to blame, it's me for not noticing Aris was struggling so much."

Tesa, the royal librarian, had decided to join Princess Remi on this final journey. The second princess, Remi Akaia, was set to study abroad in the empire. She'd be away from her homeland for months, perhaps years. So, Remi had insisted on personally searching for her missing youngest sister one last time.

Everyone else shook their heads, calling it a futile, fruitless endeavor, but Tesa was the only one to stand by her side. If she'd only noticed the note in that book sooner, if she'd spotted Princess Aris's strange symptoms earlier, maybe the tragedy could have been averted—that was Tesa's way of atoning. Or perhaps it was her reluctance to let go of her lingering attachment and hope for the little princess she adored.

Though she lacked stamina and skill in any physical task, her knowledge from books proved invaluable on the journey: identifying edible foods, reading maps, recognizing terrain features. Well, beyond that, she was pretty useless—her body was screaming in protest—but a sharp mind couldn't always compensate for a weak body.

"....."

"....."

As they began eating, an awkward silence settled in. Unable to bear it, Tesa struck up a conversation with the princess, whom she'd grown quite close to lately.

"Next year... you're enrolling in the academy, right?"

"Well... yeah."

The topic quickly turned to the Museion—the Akad Empire's scholarly institution, commonly called the Academy—where Princess Remi would be heading. Tesa was genuinely interested and eager to hear about it.

She gazed at Remi with eager anticipation.

And that anticipation was betrayed, in the worst way.

"Well, they call it an academy, but it's really just an exile camp."

".....Pardon?"

"Marriage mart... graveyard... lots of nicknames, but I like 'exile camp' best. It's a good word, don't you think?"

The Academy.

It was the Akad Empire's way of testing the loyalty and influence of neighboring kingdoms. Send your important figures—those with 'hostage' value—to our schools. A threat disguised as goodwill.

The nobles had no choice but to send their children, weeping bitter tears. Who would want to ship their kid off to a foreign empire's school instead of their own? Especially when the curriculum subtly pushed empire-friendly policies, ideologies, and a revised version of history.

"Aris got down on her knees, begging me to find our sister, and what do I get? Not even a search party—just the cold shoulder from everyone. Ha—!"

".......P-Princess?"

Moreover, those in line for the throne or a ducal title never went there in the first place. With top-tier instructors everywhere, why would they? They built their networks from childhood through tea parties and balls, steadily forging connections. They didn't need to seek them out—opportunities crawled to them.

So, to appease the empire and fill quotas, they sent dispossessed royals and lesser nobles below the earl rank. And then there were the talented commoners paying through the nose just to network with those "decent" nobles. That was the Academy.

Crash, thud.

The sounds of crumbling illusions echoed one after another.

Tesa shuddered from head to toe. Her trembling hand sent the food on her spoon tumbling back to the plate. The thick stew in her mouth was sweet and deeply flavorful, but she couldn't tell if it was going down her throat or up her nose—or into her ears.

This is a trap, she thought.

For the second time in her life, she wished she could turn back time. The first was the day Princess Aris vanished.

The second was now.

"That guy inherits the throne, so I have to get far away. 'Go be a hostage,' they say. Kick. Hahaha!! Off to school to build connections—or snag a husband and get married, whatever."

".....Princess Remi..."

"Ah— sorry, Tesa. Heh heh."

Remi muttered that she hadn't meant to make it awkward, then crunched hard into a hunk of hard rye bread. Crunch. It tore with a loud snap.

Watching her, Tesa clutched her pounding heart and somehow finished the meal.

I'll never bring up the Academy again, she vowed.

And when I get back to the library, I'll burn every romance novel set there.

Leaving the two in sour moods, dinner ended.

Caw, caw.

As the crows cried from high in the sky, the sun fully vanished beyond the horizon. Save for the night watch, everyone dragged their weary bodies into deep sleep.

Thus, another day passed.

Caw, caw. Caw.

In the faint moonlight, no one noticed the small gem tied to the crow's leg.

Everyone slept.

Urgent report from the crow.

—The people from the Tesilia Kingdom are coming down along the river.

Of course, there had been search parties in the area before. But most were equipped only for basic searching, with negligible anti-shamanism gear, making them easy to fool. The subtly altered local environment served as camouflage—a form of shamanism in itself. People passed by without sensing the hideout's incongruity.

But now, things had changed.

"...Caw... caw..."

"—Well done. Rest now."

Crackle, crackle. She gazed at the orb sparking with small electric currents. It now emitted only static noise and a garbled image.

Usable no more. The shamanism had been disrupted. At least high-grade countermeasures—possibly higher.

Likely anti-shamanism gear issued to the princesses to prevent repeats of past incidents.

And—that princess was approaching.

Coming near the house where she and Alice lived.

"....We absolutely cannot let them meet."

The decision was made.

No. Absolutely not.

Her distrust of the Akaia royal family hadn't faded. And now, word was that the eldest princess—the one behind that atrocity—had fully secured succession to the throne.

Who knew what that woman would do if she learned her sister was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠alive?

For Alice's safety, they had to avoid contact at all costs.

"......"

She turned. There stood the small cabin they'd lived in for so long. A place she could almost call home.

Denying its preciousness would be a lie.

But—

"—Time to move."

No hesitation.

The conclusion had been set from the start.

Alice's safety—that was everything to her.

She quickly scouted suitable spots for her and Alice to live. Treasures, companions, memories, the past—none mattered more than that one child.

She could sacrifice a dozen such houses.

A place near a village where she could buy essentials for Alice, now entering a growth spurt, ensuring the child's peaceful life. Not too sparsely populated, lest ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the locals be clannish and hostile. Not too crowded, or rumors would spread fast.

Far enough from Tesilia Kingdom that they couldn't easily exert influence.

The options narrowed swiftly. Considering Alice's fatigue, she picked the closest viable one.

Tap. A pebble rolled away underfoot.

Time was up.

"—Shall we head to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Empire?"

It was time to move.

Akad Empire, Siria Village.

A grubby-looking girl staggered along, arms full of laundry.

Or rather, me.

Huh, why am I tearing up...?

"Ugh... the medieval era... what is this... I wanna use my phone... watch YouTube... listen to the latest hits, not hymns... eat macarons..."

"—Hey, Hahn! What're you muttering about!? Hurry up and do the laundry! You trying to starve me today!?"

"Uwaaaah—!! Mr. Hurst, got it!!"

Day after day: laundry, sewing—my fingers were a mess of eczema and needle pricks. Cooking, exercise, hunting—nothing but superficial knowledge for me, so all I could handle were these odd jobs.

Tell them the world is round or everything's made of atoms? Without real principles, just hearsay—it fell on deaf ears. To them, only practical knowledge mattered: distinguishing edible herbs, knowing planting seasons.

For me, Hahn Sia—a typical high schooler looping school, cram school, and free time—it was brutal.

Yes. Brutal.

"Seriously— I clearly died, so why was I reborn in a place like this?"

They say everything in the world has meaning.

Did my birth have any?

In this harsh daily grind, I couldn't shake the doubt.

And even after a decade, it lingered.

Unfortunately.