CH 20

Birds that were wandering leisurely in the square flew up at once. I stared blankly at the scene and thought.

There used to be three people in this carriage, Sein, me and Hisch. It felt a little strange to come to the capital alone like this.

Even the fact that I had a new worry that was completely different from then made me think that life is impossible to know even an inch ahead.

The capital was quite rowdy. The busy people and their voices, whispering to each other, were as lively as usual, but there was a hint of fear behind them.

I looked out the window with my chin in the carriage, and then burst into laughter as I saw Gran still brushing his hair.

“Sir Oswald, isn’t that too much effort?”

“But my lord, this is my first visit to the capital…….!”

I shook my head as I was looking at the countryside knight that was excitedly making noise saying that it was his first time he had seen so many people in his life, or that the building was higher than anywhere else.

After Ensis was attacked, Gran had an expression that was uncharacteristically determined. No matter how much he lived like a salary thief, Ensis was the hometown where he was born and raised.

It was shocking that the Lord’s castle, the center of his hometown, was attacked so easily. and recently, he has been seen training early in the morning without anyone ordering.

But well, a few crises don’t change people that easily.

“Don’t worry, my lord. The moment he enters the duke’s house, I will grab him and make sure he doesn’t fall in the eyes of the duke.”

Sir Bethel whispered to me. I gave a small smile to him who treated Gran as if he could not see him, and raised my hand and shouted at the boy standing far away.

“Here, newspaper.”

At my words, the boy ran quickly in surprise and politely handed me a bunch of paper. Instead of Sir Bethel, I threw a copper coin to the boy.

The first thing that caught my eye when I opened the newspaper was the incident in which the wedding ceremony of the son of the duke of Levitea was destroyed.

Fortunately there seems to have been no deaths.

When I saw an article looking for God’s protection, saying that the cathedral where the ceremony was held mercilessly collapsed, I suddenly looked up.

On top of the highest hill that could be seen from anywhere in the capital, the cathedral, which should have been showing off its majesty as always, was collapsed as if it had been bombed.

“My lord, I’m sorry to have kept you waiting. It seems that the security has been tightened due to the previous incident.”

Sir Jane, who had just finished the formalities in the capital, said that as if in trouble.

It was an incident where monsters were falling from the air, and I wondered what it meant by strengthening the access inspection of the capital, but I thought people would be relieved only if they showed such a thing.

“My lord, we’re leaving.”

Sir Jane, who climbed into the coachman’s seat instead of the driver, said so. Again the carriage rolled slowly. Languidly buried in the seat of the carriage, I stared at the flowing scene.

Before I left here, I was a little worried about how to organize my group, but I decided to put Sein, one of the people I trusted the most, by Hisch’s side.

In my mind, I wanted to stick with him the whole time, comfort him, and shake all of his sprouting goosebumps that I hadn’t been able to do before, but……

Now that things have come to this, I thought it would be better to leave Hisch there alone, but still with someone who could safely assist him.

Sein was dissatisfied, but couldn’t ignore my order and eventually nodded.

About Sir Ted, well…… I didn’t come to the capital with my husband, but I came to the capital with the knight who is in the rumor? It was an absurdity that will make the rumors spread its wings and ascend to heaven.

As a result, this person was chosen.

Hisch was constantly worried until the day I left. There was something obsessive about it, but the funny thing was that he only cared about me.

Ensis is a place that has already been attacked once, so it may be him that is in danger. How should I put it……

‘You will never be in danger.’ It was the attitude of a person who looked at you with such determination.

…… Well, but Hisch, who was restless because he was worried about me, was so cute that I decided to pass on such a small matter.

When I thought of Hisch, I had a very strange feeling. Since I came to this world, I’ve lived in the capital for most of my time.

And yet, why does the mere fact that Hisch is there, where I haven’t lived for too long, instantly makes me think that ‘I want to go back’…… It was a complete mystery.

When I arrived at the mansion, the butler, the maid, and other employees were there to greet me.

I greeted the familiar faces lightly and headed to my room, and the inside was perfectly maintained with no change from when I had left.

“I want to change into something more comfortable.”

At my words, the maid politely opened the closet.

The inside was neatly arranged without a speck of dust. If anyone looked at it, they would wonder if the owner of the room had only just gone on a short trip.

“The Master always tells me to take good care of it.”

The maid smiled fondly and whispered so, as if to say a touching family love, but I just smiled without saying a word.

After that, well. Change into casual clothes, meet my father. After hearing from my father why I came here, I nodded to him saying that I thought it was a distance I could see on the map. That was it.

However, there was one official job waiting for me to finish before I lay down after working in earnest.

“What do you mean an event at this time of year? No one has any sense of crisis.”

The old-fashioned invitation handed over by the butler belonged to a countess who was also a prominent figure in the capital. Her son is getting engaged this time, and there’s a celebration party or something.

Seriously, these people are also insensitive to safety. Do you really want to get together and eat and drink when the cathedral looks like that? I clicked my tongue as I said that, and my father answered.

“Countess Richert was reluctant to hold a party, but as far as I know, the prince actively recommended it.”

“Oh my, our prince must have had something in mind.”

The butler, who was standing next to me, gave a strange expression to my Tallulah speech, but my father remained silent as if he was agreeing.

For your information, the Duke of Catlan was a family who had been faithful to the royal family for generations. That being so, both my father and brother used to treat the prince with a casual expression.

For example, if the prince takes a sword and he falls down and twists his feet, they’ll just say, ‘It’s a great way to fall.’

To unwind the rigid atmosphere of the meeting, when the prince told a joke, he would say seriously, ‘Your Royal Highness, it was the most beneficial and interesting joke I’ve ever heard’.

Even me, watching it from the side, wonders if they are turning the prince away, but our naive prince always blushed shyly at Catlan’s all-out effort.

And speaking of me, I was a sidekick to such an innocent 16-year-old prince for educational reasons that he should be praised for anything he did.

He is even a boy who is struggling on behalf of a sick king.

“Perhaps he wants to reassure the nobles. I mean, it’s not that terribly disturbing. Maybe he’ll talk a little bit about the results of the investigation at the party.”

“Has the results of the investigation come out yet? What did the tower say?”

“Well, they always talk vaguely, don’t they? You could say it’s almost right, but it’s possible that it isn’t, something like that.”

“…….”

That’s easy for them to say, bastards.

“…… It was so big that the cathedral collapsed. It was the most symbolic building that could be seen anywhere in the capital. I don’t know what’s behind this, but I am sure. It seems certain that an intelligent being was involved.”

“Come to think of it, the Lord’s Castle in Ensis was even attacked.”

As if they were aiming for the most important place in the territory. My father nodded and said.

“Yes, that thing you didn’t even talk to me about until I asked.”

“…….”

I smiled awkwardly and silently sipped the tea in front of me, but for some reason my father didn’t continue any further.

“As a lord who is now in charge of a territory, it must have been difficult for you to step here after such an incident. Anyway, thanks for coming, Liddell.”

“It’s not something to be thankful for by my father. But why are you nagging so little?”

“…….”

My father looked at me quietly.

“Because you have always done your part well. You probably didn’t do so because you thought you didn’t have to tell me.”

“…….”

“But sometimes I feel a little lonely, Liddell. Especially since…… you were seriously ill, you’ve become more confident than before. Of course, you used to be a wonderful daughter, but……”

“Father.”

“…… That must be the process of becoming an adult. But please understand this father’s lonely heart sometimes.”

“…….”

I felt a little guilty every time he spoke to me like this, not as a dignified duke, but as a father of a daughter.

After all, I was not his daughter.

His daughter was already dead, and I was just acting in that skin.