Chapter 21

Vellian thought he was loyal in his own way.

He always had the heart to advise His Majesty the Emperor whenever necessary.

‘But if you inherit the pension like that, it would be against the equity… It’s better to think again.’

But in this situation, he prefers to be silent.

‘Well, I can’t help it. Anyway, no one can object to His Majesty. However, if there is a problem… is that Lady Astelle, the person concerned, will never accept it.’

And there was another problem.

The appearance of Astelle running through the rain kept coming to his mind.

The expression in the cold rain kept on his mind.

‘No matter how much I think about it, there seems to be something wrong with the child. Is he really sick?’

It doesn’t matter if it’s simply a chronic disease that can’t be spoken, but if it is a contagious disease, there is a problem.

He continues to go with His Majesty the Emperor, but what if there ia a suspiciously ill child near the emperor?

‘I don’t know what it is, but I suspect she’s hiding something.’

Vellian thought as he watched the fast passing landscape.

It seems like it would be good to take a chance and find out properly.

* * *

The scene of a peaceful forest quickly passed through the window.

The party was running along the forest road.

It was a little late than expected, but now it is said that it will arrive at the destination in three more days.

Astelle sighed, leaning against the back of the chair.

After being nervous for several days, she was tired and her head was heavy.

‘But it’s all done now.’

A lot has happened in a short time, but this hardship is over in just a few days.

Even in the midst of tiredness, a sense of relief came.

The dog lying on the floor raised its head when it heard Astelle move.

The bead-like clear eyes stared at her.

Astelle smiled bitterly at that cute appearance.

It was good to use her grandfather to get the emperor’s permission.

It was a little off the plan that Kaizen and everyone else went together, but it was better than spending time together in the rain and stuck in the Maern Castle.

Anyway, she’ll be able to send Theor back as long as she gets to Denz Castle.

But as soon as she started preparing for the departure, a small obstacle arose.

Just before the departure, Astelle cautiously soothed Theor, who was holding his cry.

“We have to go a long way, but wouldn’t it be hard for a dog? And this dog’s hometown is here.”

“……”

Tears filled in Theor’s blue eyes.

“His Majesty said it was a gift…”

Theor was not a stubborn child.

He usually quiet and listened well.

He was always convinced if she explained carefully why he shouldn’t even be stubborn.

But this time he didn’t give up so easily.

Theor cried and hugged the dog’s neck with his arms.

He felt a strong will to never fall.

The dog was sitting far, and Theor dragged it, so it waved its tail.

The appearance of a small child holding a dog was quite cute.

Both were like dolls.

The attendants who were preparing for departure glanced past this side.

There were some people who noticed what was happening and shed bitter smiles.

‘How is this…’

It was when Astelle was thinking so much.

Kaizen who came out of the castle found two people and stopped.

It seemed that he easily grasped the situation by looking at Theor hanging the dog with a teary face.

Kaizen came to the place where the two were without hesitation.

“Why? I gave this dog as a gift.”

Astelle was stunned by the appearance of Kaizen asking what was the problem.

She explained to Kaizen the difficulty of raising a dog.

“Because the child is young, I am worried that he will treat the dog by mistake. Then both could be dangerous…”

However, Kaizen did not listen to everything and steadfastly stopped her speech.

“It’ll be fine because it’s a well-trained dog. Take it and let it grow. When you are five years old, it is okay to have a dog or so.”

“……”

Astelle realized that she couldn’t convince Kaizen.

He is the one who gives a hunting dog as a gift to a five-year-old child.

When she tried to explain to this person why she couldn’t have a small child and a big dog alone, she couldn’t convince him.

Still, Astelle tried to refute more.

As Astelle continued to object, Kaizen said, with bitter ridicule.

“Are you going to refuse the gift I gave to the child too?”

“……”

Astelle, who had endlessly refused the gift he gave, missed the chance to refute it momentarily.

Kaizen turned and stroked Theor’s well-arranged hair.

“It’s okay. You can take it and raise it.”

“Your Majesty, thank you!”

Theor laughed with joy and then looked back at Astelle.

Astelle also nodded without much help.

“… Okay. Instead, you must be nice and good. You must never treat badly or harass the dog.”

“Yes, I will take good care of it!”

Theor hugged the dog with joy.

The dog, who became friendly then, shook its fluffy tail.

‘Yeah, well, now there will be a pension, so I can raise one dog.’

If she doesn’t take her eyes off and teach Theor well, it will be fine.

As it became irreversible anyway, Astelle decided to think as positively as possible.

‘Now there is a more important problem than that.’

Astelle took the medicine bottle out of her arms.

There was about half full of blue potion in a small glass bottle.

When she saw the remaining potion as much as her nails, she sighed.

When she first followed Kaizen, it was full.

‘I stayed too long at the castle I stopped by before.’

She was planning to get some herbs in the forest, but from the first day, she didn’t have time to say that she had to go to the forest.

After that, it rained. So she couldn’t go outside.

‘And Kaizen suddenly took Theor to the hunting lodge…’

Astelle sighs and counts her finger to figure out how many more times to put the medicine in until she reaches the destination.

‘Somehow… it seems to be insufficient.’

The remaining time is three days.

It means that she has to put the medicine at least six or seven times, but this amount will be close or a little short.

‘It is easy to make medicine if I have the ingredients.’

The problem was the material.

Materials that are difficult to obtain are all contained in the medicine.

But on the contrary, there is no material that is easy to obtain.

The scarce ingredients were herbs that could easily be obtained anywhere in the forest, but now Astelle was moving with the emperor’s party.

At this point, there was no way to say that she would go to the medicinal store to get medicinal herbs.

Even if she get herbs, she won’t be able to make medicine in the carriage.

Astelle went through the medicine box to check the ingredients and then threw her gaze through the window.

A flat forest road was seen through the clear glass.

With a flat road in the middle, there were dark green trees on each side.

‘When will I arrive at the next destination…’

At that time, she has no choice but to go out to the forest for a while and then come to see the opportunity.

Fortunately, the place to stay this evening was a castle in the woods.

She heard that a small town is also attached to it.

The lodging she stopped by last night was a narrow city, and as soon as the sun rose, there was no time to leave.

However, if it is a castle in a village, it will be possible to go out for a while.

‘I have to tell Theor to see the village and go outside.’

Theor fell asleep on Astelle’s knee.

Astelle looked at the window and pulled up a blanket that had spilled over Theor’s shoulder.

Three days were still left until arriving at Denz Castle, where her maternal grandfather was.

* * *

The party arrived at the destination village until sunset.

A castle built of gray stone stood tall with the setting sky and dark forest in the background.

It was an old and shabby castle that reveals the passage of time.

The old man who seemed to be the manager of the castle was so embarrassed that he greeted the emperor with sweat-like rain.

The waiting servants came out and helped the party to arrive.

The narrow front yard was busy with attendants and servants carrying luggage.

Astelle got out of the carriage and took the child’s hand and went into the castle.

Vellian, who confirmed it, grabbed the old man and asked.

“Is there a pharmacist around here…? Is there anyone who knows medicinal herbs well?”

* * *

Astelle took Theor’s hand and climbed the winding stairs.

After going up the stairs for a long time, a narrow corridor came out, and at the end, there was a way to the bedroom.

“This way, Lady.”

The attendant who guided the room opened the wooden door.

A large room with a high ceiling came out.

There were walls made of dark gray stones on all sides, and old tapestries were hung on one side.

A large bed in the center, a small wooden table, chairs, and a mirror on the wall are all of the furniture.

It was neatly trimmed, but it was something that might have been popular about a hundred years ago.

It was a little shabby for the room to be handed over to the customer.

‘It was the castle where the lords live, but it is a small village in the corner of the country, so it looks like it’s not in good condition.’