Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Ash promptly opened the door.

As expected, it was Lennox. And as always, his appearance was perfectly impeccable.

“Are you ready?”

I sighed, gesturing towards my luggage. “Any more preparations and that’d mean taking everything in this room to Elysium.

Asuna rubbed her face in embarrassment.

Lennox took turns looking at us in the room. “That’s a lot,” he commented blandly, then held his hand out to me. “It’s not your job anyway, so don’t worry about it. Let’s go.”

His white gloves did nothing to hide his long, elegant fingers. It seemed that before I realized it, I’d gotten used to holding hands with him.

In front of the mansion was a large, gilt black, four-wheeled carriage with four muscular horses.

“It’s incredible.” I put my hand against it, then pulled back immediately.

The surface of the carriage was marked with fingerprints.

’Oops.’

I pulled on my sleeve to wipe it off quickly, but my wrist was caught in someone’s grasp. When I turned, my handsome companion was frowning.

“Why are you doing the coachman’s job?”

Well, it was my fault that my fingerprints were smudged on such a noble carriage.

I laughed awkwardly. “I just moved before realizing it.”

“…”

“Does it look bad?”

Red eyes stared intently at me, and then the hand on my wrist loosened. “Whether you scratch the wagon with your fingernails or make prints, just leave it alone.”

But why would I do that?

“Alright,” I just said, then got into the carriage.

They began to move when Lennox, who sat opposite me, knocked on the wall behind him.

“How long does it take to get to the portal?”

“About an hour?”

“That’s shorter than I thought.”

“It’s just outside of the island.”

Considering this body’s severe motion sickness, it was very fortunate that we could be able to go to Elysium using the portal. Of course, this carriage was extremely high-quality, but long-term trips were still a burden.

“What does it look like?”

“Nothing special. It’s just a flat rock with engraved magic lines.”

There were things that I became accustomed to while living with Lennox for nearly a fortnight. For one, it was no longer uncomfortable or awkward to talk to him.

We chatted about this and that, and we arrived at the portal in no time.

Lennox got out of the carriage first and assisted my descent. “Be careful. It’s easy to lose your footing because of the gravel.”

Thanks to him, however, no such mishap occurred.

“Welcome, Your Highnesses.” A man who appeared to be a knight of the Imperial Army came running, bowing his head.

“Is it ready?”

“You can go right away,” the knight replied bravely.

After walking for a few minutes, I could see a huge beam of light shooting up to the sky. The rainbow-colored light looked like a beautiful curtain, and under it was solid white rock.

“Lennox, isn’t that too big?” The size of the portal was much larger than I expected, seemingly fit to be used by hundreds of people at a time.

“It’s the top portal. Rather, considering the population of the system, it’s not large enough.”

“Doesn’t it need a lot of mana to operate it?”

“Whether big or small, the amount of mana used is similar.”

“Really?” I’d thought that it would take more if the portal was larger.

“On the contrary, it’s more economical because it can move many people at once.”

“I see.” I stepped cautiously on the white stone.

Lennox supported me unwaveringly. “Don’t step on the magic lines as much as possible. Apparently, touching the light often causes nausea.”

[The portal will be up and running soon. Destination, Elysium. Five minutes before departure.]

While my heart was busy pounding with excitement, I finally noticed something.

“But why are we the only ones here? We’re leaving soon.”

It was only our group who stood in the huge magic circle. There were about ten people, including Asuna, Nishir, and other knights.

“We’re the only ones using this portal.”

Then did he… rent the entire thing?

Lennox shrugged nonchalantly. “I don’t really like mingling with strangers.”

Just for that? This was the equivalent of renting out a whole plane as opposed to just buying first-class tickets.

[Three minutes before departure. Passengers, please do not step out of the magic circle.]

“You could do that? Doesn’t that cost so much more than the usual fare?”

“I wouldn’t know since I’ve always done that.”

I gaped at him, and didn’t even notice his arm wrapping protectively around my waist because of the wind.

“The ground shakes when it starts, by the way.”

“I see.”

“And it could be dangerous,” he added, then pulled me to him.

My face was buried in his chest. “Lennox, wait a minute, this is too close…”

“It’ll only be for a moment,” he responded lightly, tightening his embrace.

[One minute before departure, please be prepared for the tremors.]

I tensed as I felt the firmness of Lennox’s body, the contours under the thin fabric of his clothes.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The pounding heartbeat didn’t seem like mine. I hoped desperately that he would not notice it, feeling that the minute was stretching on for eternity.

[Countdown. Ten, nine,…]

There was a slight tremor under my feet, but I was able to keep my balance due to Lennox’s help.

[Six, five, four,…]

I bit my lip, feeling shaky and dizzy in a way entirely unrelated to the portal’s activation.

[Two, one, zero. Warp.]

Deep relief flooded me when we were finally on our way.

***

“Wow!” Olivia burst into admiration.

Lennox’s gaze at her was surprisingly tender.

“We’re really staying here for a week?”

“Yes.”

She looked ecstatic as she held her hands to her cheeks. “It’s so nice! Ah…”

The Kravant villa on the meadow above the coastal cliff made a picturesque view. From the inside, the mysterious jade sea was visible from the window, as well as the sturdy, centuries-old trees surrounding them. The architecture, old-fashioned gadgets, and cute trinkets were all very pleasing to Olivia.

“I don’t think there’s a better place than this.”

“That’s high praise for those who have prepared it.”

“Well, it’s true. If I had the opportunity to choose the things I liked and built a villa, it would have been like this.”

Most of the things related to the wedding were decided by her, but the accommodation was an exception because of safety and security issues. She only knew that there were quite a few escorts around the villa.

In any case, Lennox’s choice was excellent, and Olivia was very satisfied.

“So, is what you see right now beyond your expectations?”

“Don’t get too cocky. Just in case you didn’t know, I have another lodging downtown.”

“Yes? What do you want to do, stay there? What a waste!” Deep down, still a frugal citizen, Olivia expressed regret at the thought of having another set of accommodations.

“Honestly, I didn’t expect you to like this place this much.”

“Why not?”

“It’s an old villa.”

“How long has it been since it was built?”

Lennox briefly went silent, though it went unnoticed. “About a thousand years.”

“A thousand? No way, I never would have thought that.”

Subdued wallpaper, unvarnished furniture, a soft carpet… It looked as if it had just been built.

“I can’t believe it.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. You seem to have taken care of it very carefully.”

“Well, that’s true. Also, I’m glad you like it,” Lennox answered quietly.

She was right that he had been managing it with great care after all those years. It was also the only villa where he sometimes rested.

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