If You Leave Without a Word - Chapter 221

‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.

Greed knows no bounds. The official decided it was better to focus on the money than get caught up in a tiring dispute.

“Fine. What was the original destination of the reservation?”

“Arta, in the west.”

“Arta…”

The name sounded strangely familiar. The Grand Duke briefly pondered, recalling that Arta was not part of the Empire’s territory in the past, and he tilted his head in curiosity.

“Who is heading to Arta? In this little rural town, is there someone with ties to Arta?”

“He’s an outsider. Two days ago, a high-ranking noble from the capital hurriedly boarded a ship here and said he was going to Arta.”

“A noble from the capital?”

“Yes. They say he stayed at the Borgia estate.”

It was Kristin’s daughter. Now that he thought about it, Arta was indeed owned by the Kristin family. So then…

“The one trying to take the fast ship to Arta must be that Vernat fellow.”

“Yes?”

“Prepare the ship immediately. Once they load the minimal luggage, we’ll depart right away.”

“Yes, yes. About the fare…”

Those insignificant fools who only care about money without knowing their place… The Grand Duke’s disdainful glance swept over the official.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

Traveling by ship proved far more challenging than imagined—not because sailing itself was hard, but because it was difficult to travel while carrying a child. Even after morning sickness ended and she could finally eat, seasickness made it hard to keep food down.

The longer the journey, the tougher it would be. Agatha’s fragile condition was a far bigger problem than expected.

Days passed with little nourishment, and a month had nearly gone by. Cain, who was supposed to join in about twenty days, still hadn’t appeared. Charlotte and Kristin’s knights began to worry.

Should they stubbornly insist on going to Arta, or find nearby land to dock and rest for a while?

According to the original plan, the former was the choice. Even with some of Kristin’s knights and Lehman, a key member of the Vernat knights, joining them, no one knew what dangers might lurk in the southern wilds.

But if they ignored Agatha’s weakening condition and the possible danger to her and her unborn child, that too was risky.

Charlotte and Liana spent the day pondering. They leaned toward stopping to rest, but the knights favored continuing onward.

“There’s no time to hesitate. Miss showed signs of bleeding this morning.”

Charlotte’s usual warm smile had hardened. The reason: Agatha had begun bleeding.

The knights quietly agreed to find the nearest port and dock temporarily, taking swift action.

They had a month left until reaching Arta.

“We found the nearest port city on the map. We’ll have to turn east and sail about half a day.”

“Let’s move as quickly as possible. We must get the Miss to a doctor immediately.”

“Yes.”

Karon moved to the bow and personally directed the captain. Rubens ordered the remaining knights to fully arm themselves.

After leaving Pahel, a month later, the ship carrying Kristin’s people began preparations to dock.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

“You need stability.”

They hurriedly docked at a remote border town on the far west of the south.

After disembarking, Charlotte and Liana first sought a doctor. The small village meant the nearest doctor was in the next town, over the mountains, but Kristin’s loyal knights managed to bring one with little trouble.

The doctor was helpless, dragged along by a group of imposing strangers. He dared not ask who these men were or why they came for him. Only after hearing the name Kristin did the doctor seem to understand and quietly breathe a sigh of relief.

“How long does she need to rest? There’s a long way to go.”

Rubens asked on Agatha’s behalf. The doctor trembled slightly as he answered.

“Uh, how far exactly are you going…? All I can say is to rest as much as possible…”

“I said it’s a long journey. You need to specify how long so we can schedule accordingly.”

“Well, her condition is quite poor…”

“You mean the baby in her womb?”

As Rubens’s voice rose, the doctor’s face paled further.

“Fortunately, the baby is safe. It’s not the baby but the mother who’s extremely fragile. There’s no choice but to rest thoroughly until she regains strength. Whether that takes ten days, two weeks, or a month depends on her condition and environment…”

“So you’re saying there’s no cure here, when you’re a doctor?”