Official Expedition Departure (1)
With the expedition party's composition finalized, preparations for Eunhyeon's expedition plan proceeded smoothly.
Princess Yuria had truly obtained formal permission from the royal family, including Consort Helena, to participate in Eunhyeon's expedition.
Alex had played a major role in this. Officially, after being appointed as the new vice duke, he had planned an expedition to explore and survey nearby dungeons as part of his heir training and notified the royal family. As a result, Eunhyeon's expedition was publicly announced as one led by the "Armitas Ducal House."
Naturally, drawing from his time as a Cracir royal guard knight when he had escorted her, he suggested that Princess Yuria join the expedition, and she readily accepted, allowing things to move forward.
From the royal family's perspective, they couldn't refuse a request from a ducal house without reason, so Princess Yuria was able to join the ducal house's expedition without interference from Queen Regent Dianne's opposing faction.
And now, after a brief departure ceremony, the expedition—officially Alex's but unofficially Eunhyeon's—was about to set out.
"Who are you trying to impress with that makeup? Take it out right now."
"Ah, come on! Just let it slide this once!"
Eunhyeon had suddenly begun inspecting the luggage of the expedition members who weren't departing with the main group.
He figured that Alex, traveling as her escort knight, and the other Cracir members would have some expedition experience, so he wasn't too worried about them. Erin's gear was fine too, since he'd packed it himself.
But the first person he needed to check was Princess Yuria.
Ignoring her resistance as she tried to hide her backpack with a grim expression, Eunhyeon snatched it away and ruthlessly removed unnecessary items.
"How did you even manage on the last expedition with stuff like this?"
"Back then, the princess was on the run. We didn't have time to pack properly. After leaving the palace with her, we stopped by the adventurer's guild for minimal rations and tools, then headed straight out of the capital."
"And you didn't stop her from bringing this crap?"
No matter how immature the princess was, shouldn't Alex have managed at least this much?
"I have no excuse... I didn't even think about it."
Not thinking about it was just an excuse; the truth was he hadn't stopped her firmly enough. Seeing Alex's bitter smile only reinforced that thought.
"...That expedition was reckless in every way. Truly."
"Aaaah! I'm sorry, okay? Really! I'll apologize for acting without thinking, so give me back my backpack right now!"
"What's this? Cookies? Why would you bring something like this?"
"Th-that's... because I remember starving so much on the last expedition, so just in case for emergencies..."
"Preparing for emergencies like getting stranded isn't a bad idea. Emergency rations are a smart thought."
"Right? You think so too, don't you?"
"But this stuff has zero nutrition. I'll give you proper preserved food, so this is out."
"Uwaaaah! Just let it gooo!"
Yuria wailed like she'd lost her mind, but Eunhyeon ignored her completely. The onlookers could only gape in stunned silence.
"Whoa, even the princess gets no mercy..."
Even Aisha, who had never thought highly of Yuria, hadn't expected such meticulous checking. She mentally reviewed her own backpack just in case, figuring her own mentality couldn't handle getting torn apart like that if inspected suddenly.
"But are you two really okay with this? This is the ducal house's expedition. You don't need to come alon—"
"Senior! How can you say something so hurtful? After all the time we've spent together!"
"I agree. Even if you're leaving Cracir to inherit your house, there's no law saying I can't help you. Besides, we're Princess Yuria's escort knights too. We're volunteering to go wherever she does. It's not just to help you."
"...Thanks."
Alex nodded with a small smile at Aisha and Merdin's words.
"And... personally, I'm joining because that guy Eunhyeon being in the expedition bugs me."
"Eunhyeon?"
"Consort Helena and the princess keep watching him so intently that people in the royal court are starting to dig into who this Eunhyeon guy really is. Plus... he's that witch's lover."
"Oh, I saw that surprise kiss at the trial too. I was totally shocked."
Treatment of Eunhyeon among the Pernias nobility was extremely nuanced right now. He wasn't a noble or commoner of this country, just like Iliana, but a foreigner, and few knew his true identity.
Some nobles dismissed him since his origins, background, and appearance seemed utterly unremarkable, but others called him the "Witch's Lover" or "the Snake Raised by the Witch" and tried to use him to get to Iliana.
Even more had noticed the Armitas Ducal House, Marquis Olivion, and Marquis Boris—key figures in the kingdom—supporting and defending him, so people were starting to recognize his value.
"I see."
It wasn't surprising that nobles and the royal family were scrutinizing Eunhyeon, who had suddenly appeared at the public trial.
"I'm curious too about what kind of guy he really is."
"He's certainly intriguing."
"So? After this expedition, you're fully leaving Cracir?"
"Probably."
"I see..."
Merdin looked regretful.
"Then this expedition will be our last mission together."
"Sniff, senior... What if they take me into the ducal house too?"
"Don't talk nonsense. It's a waste to leave Cracir after finally getting in."
"But senior, we barely survived in the royal guard because of you. Now you're leaving, and they're fighting over positions inside the order anyway—the atmosphere's a total mess. My motivation's tanking. Honor my ass."
"True, the public trial caused serious fractures in Cracir. You haven't heard lately because of family matters, but many members are questioning Captain Walter's unilateral actions—imprisoning innocents based solely on witness reports and beating them indiscriminately."
As a result, Cracir's image had tanked, while the assault case culprit was publicly caught by Artia, boosting their prestige. What started as Captain Walter's reckless move against his thorn, Artia, had gained him no benefit, only massive losses. This fueled internal power struggles in Cracir to question his leadership and oust him. Alex recalled that the two knights known to have directly assaulted Eunhyeon had been disciplined.
While the three from Cracir talked, Eunhyeon finished his inspections and returned the backpack to Yuria.
"You're a demon... How can you embarrass me like that in front of everyone...?"
"Quiet. Load your backpack on the carriage now."
Yuria glared venomously at Eunhyeon, snatched her bag, and scurried away. Next up, Eira nervously handed over her tightly gripped backpack.
"H-here..."
"Got it. Let's take a look."
Eunhyeon took Eira's backpack and stiffened upon seeing its contents.
"This is..."
"Is something wrong?"
"No, not really..."
Eira asked tensely at his rigid expression, but as he said, there were no issues.
"It's too... A-grade perfect manual..."
He spotted a small note inside and burst out laughing.
'You'll inspect it meticulously anyway. I only packed the essentials—no preserved food or sundries. Don't make Eira carry heavy stuff; manage the necessities yourself. Thanks.'
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing."
If he was that worried, he should've just enlisted her in Artia and trained her himself instead of stubbornly leaving and causing this mess. Eunhyeon chuckled wryly.
"Good. Eira, you're cleared."
"Thank you!"
Having trembled watching him criticize the princess without hesitation, Eira was overjoyed to pass unscathed.
"Next up, Lady Elenoa?"
"Can't you skip me?"
"No can do."
Elenoa sighed at his firm tone and handed over her backpack. It looked the most normal—clearly from prior ducal house expeditions. Eunhyeon finished inspecting and boarded the carriage.
"Not checking ours?"
"Huh? Yeah, right?"
"You two have plenty of expedition experience from the knight order. It'd be weird for me to interfere."
"True, but..."
Thoroughly checking the princess and lady while ignoring lower-status ones like them left Merdin and Aisha with mixed feelings.
"Alright, shall we head out?"
The group totaled eight: key figures from the royal family, ducal house, and marquis house—four even without the royals. Merdin and Aisha were also from Pernias noble houses.
"Whoa, wow..."
Erin, the only near-commoner in this powerhouse lineup, couldn't shake the feeling of being out of place.
"Don't get intimidated."
"Okay."
After a quick word of encouragement to Erin, Eunhyeon drove the carriage. It didn't take long to reach near the Arkys Great Labyrinth dungeon.
Originally a half-day-plus walk from Fernin with Elenoa, its proximity allowed the carriage to shorten the trip even more.
"We'll go on foot from here."
The march began through forest paths too narrow for the carriage.
"Princess, will you be alright? The march will be tough."
"I'm fine. I promised that guy beforehand. I won't complain no matter how hard it gets."
At least, Yuria—mistakenly thinking they shared a reincarnator bond—harbored a strange rivalry toward Eunhyeon.
"We'll camp here tonight."
With lots of gear and people, more things to manage, Eunhyeon set up camp in the forest without pushing too hard. Even with knights and veterans, excluding experienced Aisha, four were women—including first-timers Erin and Eira—so he opted for caution.
After pitching tents under the evening glow, Eunhyeon made hearty mutton stew loaded with thick slices.
"Ahh... so good..."
Erin's face melted blissfully as she ate the flavorful stew, sitting down. The others followed suit, taking bowls from Eunhyeon.
"Hey, Eunhyeon. Is it really okay for us to just leave the capital like this on our own?"
"Worried about something?"
"Well... you and I both have records of being imprisoned. And you went through that trial."
Even if it was a misunderstanding, could former criminals like her and Eunhyeon really roam freely outside the country?
Plus, Erin still remembered what Eunhyeon had revealed at the public trial.
"And there's still another demon hiding in the capital, right? We can just leave them be?"
"Oh, that."
At Erin's prompt, everyone turned to Eunhyeon.
The recent demon incident had rocked the entire kingdom, so the "other demons infiltrating the capital" bombshell drew them into focused silence around the campfire.
Finally, Eunhyeon spoke.
"That was a lie."
"...What?"
Princess Yuria reacted first, furrowing her brows. Merdin and Aisha looked like they'd misheard; Erin and Eira were dumbfounded. Only Alex and Elenoa, secretly in on the plan from the ducal side, calmly ate their stew.
To Yuria, the unflappable Armitas siblings seemed even stranger, so she scowled and pressed Eunhyeon.
"I didn't mishear, right? You mean... the demons infiltrating the capital... was a lie?"
"Yes. Exactly."
"H-hey! How can you lie so brazenly in front of all the nobles and the royals?!"
"Begging for my life wouldn't have worked—they weren't gonna spare me anyway. So I had to create a situation where they would. Right?"
Yuria gaped at Eunhyeon's shameless grin.
'Hah... this guy's a total con artist!?'
Bluffing moderately was one thing, but pulling that off when one wrong move meant his head rolling? She was floored.
"Mercury's Snake"—whoever coined it fit perfectly. True to "the snake with silver venom," it almost seemed like a real serpent's tongue lurked in his mouth, letting him slip that crisis with mere words.