It’s been about a month since Leje’s fifteenth birthday and her coming-of-age ceremony.
And that also meant another story was beginning to unfold for Rudell.
A long road stretching along the eastern part of the kingdom.
A carriage was passing through what the people of the kingdom called the King’s Road.
A seal with books and jewels depicted on a scale.
It symbolized the Count House of Weinstein, meaning the value of knowledge is as precious as jewels.
“Umm…”
Inside the carriage, Rudell took out his pocket watch while groaning softly, gazing at the vast grassland outside.
The ticking hands pointed to noon.
“I might be late…”
The meeting time with Leje was one o’clock in the afternoon.
However, the destination was still nowhere in sight.
“Hey, mister. Are we there yet?”
“We’re almost there, young sir. We’ll arrive on time, so don’t worry too much.”
Feeling anxious, Rudell poked his head out the window and called out, to which the cheerful coachman replied with a low chuckle.
However, despite the coachman’s reassurance, Rudell couldn’t shake off his unease.
At that moment…
“Look over there! We’ve arrived at the royal city!”
“Oooh…”
As the carriage reached the top of a hill, the coachman pointed ahead.
At his words, Rudell turned his head, and a soft gasp escaped his lips.
In his view was a massive city settled far off in the distance.
A vast city surrounded by large and small hills, with a big river flowing through it.
The city was much larger in area than the Lagrind Duchy, filled with countless buildings, among which some especially huge structures proudly stood.
A royal castle… an academy… a wizard’s tower…
All of them combined revealed a magnificent sight that was the heart and capital of the kingdom where the Count House of Weinstein and the Lagrind Duchy, along with all other nobles in the kingdom resided.
The capital of the Prucel Kingdom, known as the jewel of the east, Priscillium.
“Truly magnificent…”
As a child, for reasons he could not precisely remember, he had visited the royal city once.
Back then, the scale of the royal city was enormous, but now it appeared even larger.
Whether it was just his imagination or if it really had grown, he couldn’t tell.
“Please wait a moment, young sir. I’ll get you to your destination shortly.”
At that moment, with the coachman’s words, the carriage began to move again. Before long, Rudell’s carriage arrived at the Castle Gate of Priscillium.
As the carriage passed through the blue-brick gate, known as the ‘Gate of Pioneering,’ and entered Priscillium…
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been here…”
Looking at the sights of the royal city nearly ten years later, Rudell murmured softly.
A metropolis with a vibe completely different from the Lagrind Duchy.
Unlike the Lagrind Duchy, this vibrant city was bustling with people, leaving no space to spare.
If his memory served him well, the population of Priscillium was almost a million.
Considering that the overall civilization of this world was somewhere between medieval and modern, that number was truly staggering.
Thus, while Rudell compared the royal city he remembered with the current sights, the pace of the carriage began to slow down, and it came to a halt in a square.
“Is this the right place, young sir?”
“Let me see… Capreit Square… This seems right.”
Rudell, looking around at the coachman’s question, nodded after seeing the sign at the side of the square and stood up.
This was the Capreit Square, where he was supposed to meet Leje.
“I’m glad we arrived on time. I’ll head to my lodging first.”
As Rudell set foot on the ground and the carriage door closed, the coachman said that as he began to drive away on the road.
Before long, the carriage he rode in disappeared among others on the busy road, and Rudell turned his head to survey the area.
Yet, Leje was nowhere to be seen.
“Let me see… She wouldn’t be late, right?”
Could it be that he read the time wrong?
With that thought, Rudell took out his pocket watch once more to check the time.
“Alright. I still have plenty of time.”
But even after checking again, he had about ten minutes left.
That would be ample time to catch his breath for a moment.
“Phew…”
Letting out a short breath, Rudell approached a bench beneath a statue in the center of the square and settled down.
“…”
When he looked up, a clear blue sky without a cloud filled his view.
It was a peaceful sight, but Rudell couldn’t just enjoy the view aimlessly.
As soon as he stepped into the royal city, his tasks were predetermined.
To block the church and turn the tale leading to decayed matter into a bright and hopeful one.
That was his only option now that he was entangled with Leje, the heroine.
“I have to keep my spirits up…”
Of course, it wasn’t going to be easy.
But that didn’t mean he was ready to throw in the towel now.
For himself.
And for Leje too.
“Let’s get going, me.”
Muttering softly to himself, Rudell closed his eyes slowly.
Just then…
Tap. Tap.
“…?”
Someone tapped his shoulder, and taken by surprise, Rudell turned his head with a puzzled expression.
And then…
“Wha…?”
The moment he turned, he felt a finger prick his cheek and let out a dazed voice.
“Ahahahaha! What was that sound?!”
“Leje? When did you get here?”
Rudell exclaimed, flustered at the sight of Leje bursting into laughter.
It was no wonder, as she had been invisible to him until just moments ago.
“I just got here. Did you wait long?”
“No, I just arrived too.”
It seemed they had arrived almost simultaneously.
Responding to Leje’s question, Rudell got up from his seat.
“By the way, don’t you have anything to say to me?”
“Huh? Something to say?”
At Leje’s continued question, Rudell tilted his head, examining her closely.
‘Is there something I forgot?’
Thinking this, Rudell continued to ponder, but no clear answer came to mind.
“It’s about the dress! How does it look on me?”
“Ah, that’s what you meant?”
Eventually, after Leje couldn’t hold back and shouted in a sulky voice, Rudell finally grasped her intention.
“Hmm… It looks great. Very pretty!”
A white dress complemented by a matching broad-brimmed white hat.
Though not anything particularly special or unique, her outstanding beauty made even that ordinariness seem extraordinary.
“Hehe. I put in some effort after a long time.”
Seeming pleased with his answer, Leje chuckled softly and took her seat beside him.
“Is the Count and Countess doing well?”
“Yes, both are healthy. They asked me to send their regards to you.”
“That’s a relief.”
“By the way, how is the Duke? He seems to have quite a lot of headaches these days.”
“That’s just a common occurrence.”
In response to Rudell’s question, Leje answered as if it was nothing, but she couldn’t completely hide the expression on her face.
As the conflict between the royalist faction and the nobility faction, the representative factions of the kingdom’s nobility, escalated recently, the Duke’s house wouldn’t be able to escape from its repercussions.
“Alright. Enough of that talk; let’s go eat! I’m starving!”
“Shall we?”
Following Leje, who skillfully changed the topic and stood up, Rudell also got to his feet.
In a meeting after a month, there was no need for heavy discussions like political strife.
Especially since they had plenty to do today, there was no time to waste.
“Do you know any good places? I don’t really know my way around here.”
Since it had been almost ten years since he last came to Priscillium, Rudell knew practically nothing about the area.
“Hmm… I know a nice restaurant. Should we head there?”
“Then let’s go there.”
Nodding at her proposal, Rudell took hold of her outstretched hand.
Rudell, looking at her hand, held it gently and…
“Then, please take care of me, Rudellheit.”
At the same time, Leje said playfully with a smile directed at him.
“Leave it to me, Your Grace.”
Responding to her playful demeanor, Rudell smiled back and began to walk in sync with her.
Ding! Ding!!
From a nearby clock tower, the chimes signaling the hour started ringing…
Hand in hand, the long-separated duo began to walk through the bustling streets filled with people.
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