Naturally, Enoch rode Theodore’s horse.
It would be ridiculous to see the emperor on a horse while a butler rode in the carriage.
In an instant, Rosenta’s companion had changed, but it was more comfortable than before.
Theodore was a friend and family member who had been with him for many years.
"Then what about your work?"
Inside the carriage, the sound of conversation between Rosenta and Theodore continued.
"I left it in the hands of someone I can trust."
"Ah……. Did the Marquis respond well? I'm sure he hates this considering you have a lot of work to do.”
Theodore smiled slyly. Rosenta understood the meaning of that smile.
Naturally, Rosenta felt immediate respect for Marquis Marigold.
After Theodore ascended to the throne, he identified Marquis Marigold as a reliable person and appointed him the chancellorship.
It was both an executive and support position. Now, on top of his own daily work as chancellor, he had to take on the job of the emperor, who’d left with short notice.
It was complete overwork.
Fortunately, it was the first time Theodore had done something so impulsive. That's why the situation was even more surprising.
"You’re someone who’s never just left everything to the Marquis...I didn't know you wanted to see the Duke of Cardia that badly."
"I didn't know either."
"I mean, you had a chance to meet her not too long ago."
Theodore answered as if he were listening to someone else’s story.
"That's true."
‘Sigh. My mouth is starting to hurt.’
Rosenta shook his head and looked out the window like it was a habit.
Then, their eyes met.
A pair of pale green, discontented eyes were watching him.
When Rosenta turned away, so that he was out of Enoch’s sight, a bit of life returned to his eyes.
Theodore worriedly called him, wondering why he looked so strange while looking outside.
"Rosenta."
Rosenta shook his head.
"It’s nothing."
And yet his eyes were still on Enoch.
***
It became dark.
However, they had not even come close to their first destination. There wasn’t even a place that could be called a village around.
Eventually, they decided to camp.
The carriage drove slightly off the road into the forest.
It didn't go in too deep, just enough of a distance so that they wouldn’t be found.
"I'm glad we brought beef jerky."
He took the jerky out of the saddle bag on the horse. It was divided into several pieces.
Cooking and eating food would be unreasonable.
Doing so would require lighting a fire, but that would be like telling monsters and bandits their location.
They had no choice but to satisfy their hunger with beef jerky.
Rosenta took a hard bite into the tough jerky and walked over to Theodore’s side.
Theodore was staring down at the jerky with his back against a tree.
"Don't you think your joining us was a bad idea?"
This would be a difficult experience for someone who had only experienced the highest luxury in the imperial palace.
In fact, Theodore was reluctant to put the beef jerky in his mouth.
But maybe, because of Rosenta’s question, Theodore quietly stared at him, then put the jerky into his mouth.
"No."
Theodore began to chew the beef jerky.
Rosenta let out a sly, light laugh. Then, sitting next to Theodore, he looked up at the sky.
They were inside a forest full of dense trees, so there was almost no light at all.
However, the starlight in the night sky shone most vividly.
It was a beautiful sight.
Perhaps because of that, it was not as scary as it could have been in the dark forest.
Such a sight could only be seen if there was darkness.
"Still, you'll only see this view here."
He looked at Theodore.
Theodore's golden eyes, which resembled starlight, were directed at him.
Those golden eyes shook gently. It was a very calm movement as if a stone had been thrown into a river.
He replied, "Yes. You’re right…….”
Theodore's lips moved. Like he wanted to say something more.
Then he closed his mouth tightly.
He even turned his head away suspiciously.
"Your Majesty?"
It was dark, but Theodore's ears seemed to be red.
Rosenta anxiously grabbed him by the shoulder.
‘Maybe he’s caught a cold while staying outside.’
He needed to check his temperature.
He tried to put his hand on Theodore's forehead.
However, Enoch was faster.
"Excuse me."
He suddenly appeared from somewhere and put his hand on Theodore's forehead.
He put a grave look on his face.
"You have a slight fever. Sire, why don't you hurry into the carriage and take a rest."
"What? I don't have a fever...….”
Before Theodore could finish speaking, Enoch stuck his handkerchief to Theodore's forehead.
It was a handkerchief that was dripping with water, perhaps secretly using magic.
"I think you'd better get him into the carriage quickly, Duke."
It was disgraceful that he’d used magic without permission. But Rosenta didn't intend to argue about it.
As Enoch said, Theodore's health came first.
Rosenta nodded.
"Your Majesty, let's get you into the carriage quickly. I'll sleep outside, so don't worry and relax."
***
As soon as the day broke, they packed up their camp and hurriedly moved.
Just like yesterday, Theodore and Rosenta sat comfortably in the carriage.
Theodore, however, kept twisting his body, as if the blankets wrapped around him were uncomfortable.
"Please bear with me even if it's uncomfortable. It's better than a cold."
"It’s impossible to be cold."
Theodore frowned.
"We’re on the road to Silva, so it's getting humid and hot...…. I can't take it anymore.”
Eventually, he threw off the blankets, swinging his arms. The blankets rolled on the floor.
He was more likely to get a fever from the heat, rather than the cold.
In fact, Theodore was so hot, he began stretching his jacket collar around the neck.
In the end, he collapsed as if melting in the heat.
"As expected, it's not any better."
Leaning heavily on the backrest, Theodore glared out of the window.
To be exact, towards Enoch.
“He did it out of concern for Your Majesty."
"Yes. Thanks to that, I had to sleep in a mountain of hot blankets."
Theodore pushed back his sweaty bangs.
"It's better than catching a cold. How could I look the Marquis in the eyes if I allowed you to go back sick?"
"I wasn’t sick in the first place...….”
Theodore paused as he spoke. Then he shook his head once from side to side.
He exhaled deeply.
"Sigh. It’s okay. After all, the Marquis will never know that I followed you anyway."
This time Rosenta was appalled.
Of course, he thought that Theodore had told the Marquis that he was going to take a trip with him. Otherwise, there was no way he’d have suddenly left.
"Then how did you...….”
Theodore began to smile.
It was a smile Rosenta knew well.
It was the playful grin he would wear just before saying something explosive.
Rosenta’s fists clenched in tension.
"He wouldn’t have let me come here in the first place, so I just left a letter.”
It sounded to Rosenta like he had run away from home.
Is this what it felt like to have high blood pressure? The back of Rosenta’s neck had become stiff.
The person who never had so much as an accident, even when he was a crown prince, was now how old?
"This isn’t like Your Majesty."
Theodore didn't budge despite the criticism.
On the contrary, his smile deepened. His golden eyelashes slightly lowered.
Theodore, who had been looking down for a long time, slowly raised his head.
"Yes. It’s not like me. So, I'm going to find out more."
"What..."
The gentle breeze coming from the window tickled Theodore's hair.
The sweaty golden locks clung to Theodore's cheek.
However, even in the midst of that, his golden eyes maintained clarity.
The wind stopped.
Theodore pushed back the hair from his face.
Rosenta could see his expression more clearly as Theodore looked at him. Theodore wasn't smiling anymore.
"Well, what’s the cause?"
After that, Theodore smiled again. As if the atmosphere just now was a joke.
"The weather is nice.”
Then he turned away from Rosenta.
He quietly observed the scenery outside and then closed his eyes.
***
Thanks to their hurried travel, they were able to reach the village this time.
‘I'll have a comfortable night tonight.’
With a heart full of anticipation, they entered the inn.
It looked quite old, like an inn in a rural village. The other places all seemed to be the same.
Rosenta smiled broadly as he approached the man who appeared to be innkeeper.
"Good morning. Thank you for coming to our inn. How many rooms do you need?"
"You can give me four single rooms."
When he handed over eight silvers, the owner handed out four rusty keys to each person.
Rosenta went to the room that matched the key number on the second floor and opened the door.
It was a place that evoked old memories, resembling the appearance of the place where he’d worked as a child.
"I'll go in first."
He simply ignored Theodore.
He looked at Enoch for the last time, then entered the room only after giving him a warning look against any nonsense.
He could see dust coating the floor, but it didn't bother him much.
He threw himself on the bed as if he was diving. He could feel the hard springs, indicative of a lower-class bed, on his back.
"Long time no see."
His back ached as he rolled around, but he couldn't stop smiling.
At first, he thought about what a hardship it was….
"It’s not bad."
He’d been brought up as a commoner, but Theodore may be in quite a bind.
‘On the other hand, Enoch must be in his room just as leisurely as I am.’
"Then let's get up."
This was the end of his trip down memory lane.
When he was laying down, he felt grimy and couldn't stand it.
The room only had a place to sleep. He had to go out to wash up.
‘It's probably divided into men's and women's shower rooms...….’
Leaving his worries behind, he headed to the shower room first.
He saw the sign on the stairs and went up to the third floor.
"Do I go left or right?"
There was a men's shower at the right end and a women's shower at the left end.
He stood there blankly for a while.
Of course, he had all kinds of worries and choices repeating in his head.
If he took a shower with his body covered in magic, he didn't feel like he was truly clean.
Of course, it would also be a big burden to head into the women's shower room just to feel like he’d washed properly.
But if he went into the men's shower and ran into someone who was washing up...…. It was terrible just imagining it.
"First of all, I have to look for a place where there are no people."
He looked down the stairs.
He didn't sense anyone. Then this was the time to hurry and go to a shower room.
Thinking so, he quickly leaped to the right.
He slightly opened the door of the men's shower. To check whether anyone was there, he loudly said through the gap in the door, “Is anyone in here?”
There was no sound of water running. It was completely silent.
He quickly went inside and looked at the doorknob to see if there was a lock.
Fortunately, he saw something like a hook that could latch the door shut.
He firmly locked the door.
Then, he was able to remove the magical tools one by one.