Chapter 67

Chapter : 67

It was, in name at least, a journey with the Crown Prince included. Even the attendants trailing behind were swarming in numbers, so although the journey would be long, there would be no poor camping conditions. It would be comfortable.

Thanks to that, the luggage I prepared for the journey was simple. After packing lightly, I met Navier.

“I should be able to return before the festival. You can prepare well on your own, right?”

“Yes. I do feel a little disappointed, since it would have been nice to decide a few more things together, but it cannot be helped. There will be no problem.”

“Yes. I trust you.”

Navier grinned and shrugged.

“More importantly, why would His Highness the Crown Prince bother returning all the way to the Academy just to take an additional escort with him? If it is for safety, he could draw more people from the knight order.”

“He must dislike me. That is why he picked me out specifically.”

“Haha, there is no way.”

“I think there is a misunderstanding. I am going to resolve it this time.”

“I hope it goes well.”

“I hope things go well for me too.”

After giving Navier a few more requests, instructions, and cautions, I headed to Kartea.

Kartea was an uncomfortable person.

A person who could deal me a grave blow with a single word.

Depending on the situation, he could even kill me, so merely being with him made me tense. Naturally, I became cautious and careful, but at the same time, this was also an opportunity.

In the original, the reason he had been hostile toward Raphael was solely because of the matter involving Bishot.

Now that I had erased that connection, the possibility that he would harm me was low.

The one thing that bothered me was jealousy because of Navier. If I could resolve even that this time, I could feel lighter.

Kartea always wore luxurious clothes, even at the Academy.

As if showing off that he was the highest-ranking person here, he would drape one thing after another over himself, but today was an exception.

Since such a large group would inevitably stand out once we moved together, perhaps he was at least matching his outward appearance, because his clothing was similar to that of the escorts.

Even so, his golden hair flashed in the sunlight and caught the eye at once. I immediately went to him and greeted him.

“There are still a few more things to prepare, so wait for a moment. Let us chat in the meantime. What do you think?”

“I am glad to have the chance to converse with Your Highness.”

“Yes... What did you do after the semester ended?”

“I handled matters in my family and met classmates I had made at the Academy.”

“Classmates?”

“There were Grand Duke Agares, whom Your Highness also knows, and Ian, who is currently serving as Master of the Magic Tower. I traveled to several places to meet them.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

Kartea stroked his chin and nodded.

Then he glanced once at the attendants loading the luggage and spoke.

“And aside from them? Did you not meet any other classmates?”

There was something subtly hidden in Kartea’s tone, something he wanted. At this point, there was no way I could fail to understand. I would tell him everything soon enough, so it seemed fine to be honest. I opened my mouth.

“I met Navier.”

“Why?”

“There was something I helped her with, and she said she wished to repay me. So I received some refreshments. That was all.”

“You helped her? What do you mean? Are you talking about the fencing matter from before?”

“No. It was something separate.”

“What was it?”

It was too early to confess everything. After thinking for a moment, I answered.

“It was related to academics and the curriculum.”

“I see.”

At that moment, a man who appeared to be an attendant approached, sweat pouring down his forehead.

He reported that the preparations were complete, and Kartea merely jerked his chin quietly. At that signal, the knights who had been scattered nearby gathered again.

The knights had taken off their armor for mobility, but one man wearing armor beneath loose clothes approached me.

“I am Jilliot, Vice-Captain of the Imperial Knights. I heard you joined the escort at His Highness the Crown Prince’s request. Thank you for joining us in this important matter. However, there will be no need for you to exert yourself directly. The knight order alone is sufficient as an escort.”

“Ah, yes. Understood.”

Jilliot was a knight who looked to be in his late thirties or early forties. In reality, he was probably at least ten years older than that.

He had advised me not to step forward and to stay quiet, which was welcome to me. It was unlikely to happen, of course, but there was still a chance that I might have to use my sword, was there not?

In one sense, his tone was aggressive, but it seemed that was simply his nature as a person, not that he bore me any hostility.

Apart from his tightly closed mouth, his eyes were smiling gently.

Yes, in the eyes of ordinary knights, I was a genius. Not merely a genius, but a genius raised by Katarina, the Sword Saint, who was universally recognized as one. I must have felt like a promising talent whose ability was assured.

After Katarina advertised that I had reached Expert, I often felt goodwill of unknown origin from people who wore swords at their waists. This knight uncle was the same.

“As a member of the knight order escorting His Highness the Crown Prince, I will fulfill my assigned role, but if there is time later, let us compare our swordsmanship.”

“Yes, if there is time....”

“I will be waiting. I am available at any time.”

“Yes....”

---

The journey was simple. Despite the stated purpose of observing the Empire’s surroundings, we drove our horses straight toward the Nest in a single line. I even felt that we might be able to finish the rites faster than expected. At this point, I wondered why we were not taking a train or something instead of riding horses.

“I became curious after seeing that you are active in many fields at the Academy, so I looked into a few things.”

“Ah... Is that so?”

“Yes. And there was much that interested me. Your wealth has increased greatly of late.”

“I pay my taxes properly.”

“That is not what I mean. Hmm... You are of age now, so you must have thought about this matter before. When do you intend to marry?”

“I have no plans yet.”

“Why? Have you not found a suitable match?”

“I have never thought about it because it feels too distant from me.”

“I see....”

During the journey, Kartea occasionally spoke to me.

In truth, the only two people who were close in age and had even a little in common were the two of us. The knights accompanying him as escorts were older, and they found Kartea even more difficult to deal with than I did.

Perhaps Kartea felt that too, because he kept me beside him as a conversation partner.

“It is true for you as well, but my marriage is not a matter concerning me alone. In life, I have set various goals. I succeeded in achieving those goals, and I also failed repeatedly. In the process, I realized something. If I set my goal too high, I was the only one who shattered.”

“Yes. I understand what you mean.”

“That realization melted into the matter of my marriage and made me set a goal. So I decided to marry someone who would benefit the Empire and the Imperial Family.”

I quietly listened to Kartea’s story.

“After all, is marrying the woman one loves not an extremely difficult thing? At least, it was for me. Though I am young compared to the knights guarding us from behind, I am still at an age when one might speak endlessly of love, yet I had never been drawn to anyone. So marrying someone I loved was too high a goal for me.”

I nodded.

“This time, without my making any special effort, that lofty goal fell into my hands. I had stayed still, yet came to like someone.”

“That is wonderful. Congratulations.”

“Yes... But now that I look at it, there is one problem I had not expected. There is no guarantee that the person I like will accept me, is there?”

“Oh, come now....”

When my face crumpled, Kartea tilted his head.

“Your status is Crown Prince, your appearance is outstanding, and if we add this and that, there is no better spouse. Who would refuse you?”

“You know as well, do you not?”

“No. You are talking about Navier, are you not?”

When I opened my mouth, Kartea, in turn, closed his.

He twitched each eyebrow once, then bit his lip.

“Why do you think that?”

“There are too many reasons to list one by one. Should I say all of them? Or should I shorten it?”

“Shorten it.”

“Because you are the Crown Prince, your appearance is outstanding, and well... you are the spouse anyone would want.”

I scratched my head. I wanted to resolve any needless misunderstanding through this opportunity.

“I think I know why Your Highness is saying this to me. You are wondering if there is something between me and Navier because we are close, are you not?”

Kartea remained silent.

He needed to clearly say yes or no here for me to continue, but because he was being frustrating, I hesitated for a moment.

“Hmm.... I do not know what Your Highness thinks. However, I will tell you in advance that the situation you are worried about will not exist.”

“I will believe you.”

---

Aside from Kartea, I mostly spoke with the other knights. I asked them about their experiences when they reached Expert.

“As you already know since you have reached Expert yourself, it is not a stage one can reach just by being good at one thing. In my case, it was swordsmanship. My family’s Mana Circulation Method was quite useful, so I gathered mana quickly, but my swordsmanship could not keep up with it.”

“Ahh. Is that usually how it is?”

“No. Mine was an unusual case. Usually, one’s swordsmanship reaches the proper realm, but one’s Mana Circulation is lacking, so one fails to reach Expert.”

“What about cases where both swordsmanship and mana are sufficient, yet one still cannot reach it?”

Jilliot’s swordsmanship was far lacking compared to Katarina’s.

The talents they had been given were different, so the mountains they could climb were different, and that appeared as the difference between their levels. But when it came to experience alone, Jilliot’s was more varied than Katarina’s.

First of all, he was older, and he had met many knights while serving as Vice-Captain of the White Lion Knights.

“Hmm.... I have never seen it myself, but in theory, it could exist. Mana does not spread through the entire body the moment it is accumulated, after all. The gathered mana flows like blood as time passes and widens the meridians, so if someone accumulated mana rapidly, it would take time for them to reach Expert.”

“Ahh. That was very helpful. I suppose I was that case. I was certainly skilled enough to reach Expert, but when I hesitated, my master worried.”

“By your master, you mean Lady Katarina, yes? Since she reached that realm at such a young age, it is understandable that she would think that way.”