Chapter 67
I put on an outdoor robe that I had never worn since I bought it. And likewise, I packed my things in the trunk that I had never used since I bought it, and finally put on my gloves for the last time.
After tying my hair with the ribbon Maria gave me, I left her room and headed straight to the back door of the castle. I hurried my steps and remembered what I said to the commanders yesterday.
“I said that because of the circumstances, I couldn’t help it. I’ll try to understand first. But please don’t lie again or deceive me in any way.”
Ares, who was standing with a drooping face, nodded his head hard enough to make the sound of slashing the wind, and Odil also smiled faintly. Endymion continued to laugh, and Damian also agreed without saying anything for some reason.
It was fortunate that my affiliation was transferred to the knightage because of this. When I was still working at the main palace’s library, I had to coordinate my schedule with others to take a vacation, but I didn’t have to do that here. Thanks to that, I was able to take a long vacation.
When there were no people around, I reached the back door, stepping on the shadows and moving quickly. Endymion and Odil were standing together in simple, dark clothes, unlike usual.
“Miss Lily.”
“You’re here.”
“Hello.”
After a brief greeting, Odil gave me a map. I took a quick look at it yesterday to estimate the distance, but the road was marked boldly.
“I’m not sure how far we can travel in one day, so I made a guess, but if we keep going, we’ll be there in four days. It could be faster.”
“What is written on the side?”
“Since I don’t know which town where we’ll be stopping by, I’ve written down the inns and restaurants that were recommended to me when I asked the knights.”
The more I got to know him, the more I saw that he was a meticulous person who took good care of others—it didn’t match the impression I had of him before. It was the same for the other commanders, it really overshadowed the fact that we had known each other for three years.
“Thank you for caring for me.”
Not just one or two places were written there, but in every town and city in the direction we were going. He cleared his throat at my words. Looking at the map once again, I raised my head and looked at Endymion.
“Endymion. As I said yesterday, I want to go back as soon as possible. But during the day, I can’t use my own strength, so I want to move at dawn. For now, I’m going to stay up all night and switch between day and night from tomorrow, would that be okay?”
“Yes, it is fine.”
I made a plan to move as much as I could until dawn, rest during the day in a nearby city or village, and move from night to dawn again. I didn’t know how much essence I needed to absorb, but since things turned out like this, I honestly just wanted to hurry up.
But now, I didn’t have to walk on eggshells around him like I did before, and the fear that made me anxious was all gone, that’s why it’s easier to deal with him. The fact that I kept calling the captain’s names without realizing it just came naturally now.
I folded the map well and put it in the trunk.
“Tell Damian to send me a bird in three days.”
“Yes, be careful, both of you.”
As I was leaving the palace gates with Endymion, he looked so excited that I sighed.
“The nearest place is a city called Sylphen. Have you ever been there?”
“Yes. Originally, there was nothing, but it is an unusual place where merchants going to and from the capital made a village for themselves to rest and then turned into a city.”
“…Is that okay?”
“It was built secretly during the reign of the former emperor, but it seems that the former emperor was a person who cared a lot about people’s attention and public sentiment, so he left it as it is.”
I wasn’t born and raised in Ciel in the first place, so I’ve never experienced anything outside of the empire ruled by Emperor Kyren. But considering Endymion’s voice and expression, it seems that people had mixed opinions.
“Well, I couldn’t see anything other than an incompetent person struggling to seize public sentiment.”
Startled by his harsh words, I raised my head. No one is around, but can we talk about this casually?
“Can you say that? Still, he’s the former emperor.”
“Since things are the way they are now, he’s called the former emperor. But at the time he was a king, and no one listened to him.”
“I am listening.”
“Oh, I see. If Miss Lily accuses me, I will get in trouble, but that doesn’t matter.”
“I won’t.”
I thought he was going to say something strange again, so I quickly stopped talking and averted my gaze. When I heard the happy laughter, my insides were noisy.
The road to Sylphen was well maintained and the scenery changed quickly so it wasn’t too difficult or boring. Most of all, it wasn’t bad that Endymion kept talking to me and telling him about towns and cities we could see in the future.
When the sun came up, we took a short break and ate a simple meal, but just like when we were at the palace, he kept trying to feed me something.
“You were fine for a while, but then you lost weight again.”
“I heard that Endymion doesn’t eat well either. Why are you only doing this to me?”
“As you can see, I don’t have any problems even if I starve for a few days, but that’s not the case with you, Miss Lily. If you do collapse, I think I will be very sad.”
“Even if you’re sad, I don’t care… Right, why are you enjoying it so much?”
He smiled as I spoke bluntly. He even seemed happy. I don’t know if there’s anything laughable about what I said. He looked at me quietly and continued talking as if he was having fun.
“Excuse me. I am so happy that you’re able to speak honestly with me now. You were always so unwilling to answer me, and you kept on averting your eyes when I spoke before.”
“……”
“Oh, I don’t mean anything negative about that. It’s just that, rather than you getting embarrassed, I feel like we’re having a more honest conversation.”
“…I suppose so. Every time you said embarrassing things, I wanted to run away.”
“If you’re honest with me like you are now, I won’t do anything Miss Lily doesn’t like.”
Without replying, I stuffed the food he gave me into my mouth.
It was before sunset when we arrived at Sylphen. I got motion sickness because there were too many people, but the unpleasant smell made me feel bad. The scenery of the city was all over the place, so there was nothing special about it.
Endymion said to me who frowned and covered my mouth.
“Do you hate noisy places?”
“It’s not really like that, but it smells a little.”
“I think since it is a street corner where merchants come and go, it seems that this and that smell is mixed. I’m going to go buy the things we need from now on. I’d like to tell you to wait here, but at times like this, an incident always occurs when a group splits up.”
“…You really express your desire to want to be with me in such a roundabout way.”
“It’s actually dangerous. In a place like this where there are a lot of people, the slightest disturbance goes unnoticed.”
I nodded my head at his serious expression with a serious voice. Then Endymion held out his hand to me. What does this mean? I looked at him alternately, but he still continued with a serious face.
“Just in case, let’s hold hands.”
“Is it because it is dangerous?”
“Eighty percent is due to my own self-interest.”
“……”
Apparently something similar happened. At the time, I didn’t think much of it and turned it down, but maybe that’s why he said it openly now. When I saw the serious face without the slightest hesitation, I lost my energy. I smiled dejectedly and held his hand.
“Where are we going first?”
“Even if we have a short schedule, we can’t satisfy hunger with bread and beef jerky all the time, so I thought it would be better to make something simple.”
“Are you good at cooking?”
“Not before. I learned how to do it just for this day.”
There wasn’t much for us to buy, as it was better to buy only what we needed each time we arrived in town than to buy a lot at once. In addition, the blankets and canteens that Endymion brought from the knightage were of much higher quality than those found in places like this, so there was nothing really necessary except for food.
“For now, how about riding a horse as far as we can go?”
“The sun will set soon anyway. I can go with you, Endymion, but horses…”
It doesn’t matter if it’s difficult, but I didn’t like animals very much. It was also because I became a succubus and my senses became more sensitive, and I hated their characteristic smell. Perhaps Endymion had only suggested it, so he accepted my answer without saying anything else.
Not long after leaving Sylphen, the sky quickly turned dark.
“Then, Endymion, please give me your luggage.”
Sensing that there was no presence nearby, I changed my appearance. I spoke to Endymion while feeling the hair gradually lengthening and the magic spreading from under my feet. As he put down the luggage he was carrying without saying anything, the black orb I created wrapped around the bag and floated up.
“I felt it when you were cleaning the sheets or cleaning my body, but you seem to be using magic in an unusual way.”
“I only use magic ordinarily with things like this.”
“Thanks to that, the succu… No, Lilith didn’t seem to think of hurting anyone either. Aren’t the tentacles just used to bind them?”
I had never thought of attacking anyone with this power. No, it only happened once. The knight named Noble, who had picked up the ring, had such a mind and used magic. Fortunately, Odil blocked it, so nothing irreversible happened.
I reached out my hand to Endymion, who was smiling at the sphere that had completely floated into the sky. My cheek flushed, he firmly held my hand and said.
“I wonder how you move. Do I step on the shadows or go inside?”
“After repeating it a few times, I get a little tired, so I’m going to fly.”
As I answered with my wings wide open, Endymion looked puzzled. It would be difficult if I only held his arms and flew, so I took Endymion’s hand and held it and floated a little in the air.
“M-Miss Lily?”
Then, with the other arm that was not holding his hand, I raised his legs and carried him before soaring high up, but Endymion lowered his head in silence.
“Do you not like heights?”
“…No.”
“If you don’t mind, I’ll fly away quickly.”
“…Yes.”
Hearing he responded softly, I moved my wings. It was uncomfortable to spend hours hugging each other, but it was a decision made after much thought.
I can’t ride a horse. That meant that I had to ride in front or behind Endymion to move, and if I had to stick with it anyway, it was better to go a little faster.
The fog began to hide us.
“Don’t worry about me, you can go to sleep if you’re tired.”
I said that to Endymion, who didn’t say a word unlike before, and he shook his head, but he still didn’t say a word. I noticed he was ashamed of this position, but he didn’t show it.
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