Chapter 127
There was no need to hurry, so they moved leisurely along the road.
She hadn’t ridden a horse for long distances before, so she didn’t realize how tiring it could be.
Even just walking for a long time, as if taking a light stroll, was enough to wear her out.
It was only after quite some time that they finally left the Imperial Capital.
She hadn’t realized the capital was such a vast place.
When she had been sold by her family and brought here, she’d been crammed into a wagon with no windows and barely enough room to sit, so she hadn’t seen anything.
And ever since she began living in the Imperial Castle, she’d never once gone beyond the capital’s borders.
After passing through the bustling streets, they entered a quieter path.
After telling Lynette not to look back anymore, the man had said nothing afterwards.
When she glanced sideways at Sillian, who she had thought would be delighted, she found his expression surprisingly calm.
“How long would it take to reach the Kingdom of Calles at this pace?”
“Well… if we travel at an easy pace, it will take at least half a year.”
“That long?”
“If we aim to get there as quickly as possible, it’ll take just over a month.”
She nodded at his calm reply.
There was no need to rush. She had plenty of time, and it didn’t seem like they would be short on travel expenses either.
“What kind of place is it?”
“Calles, you mean?”
“Yes.”
At that, he gave a small smile for the first time.
“You seem to have taken an interest.”
“It’s where I’ll be living from now on, after all…”
Her voice trailed off.
Whether she liked it or not, she would have to live there now.
Of course, if she asked to leave that place someday, Sillian would likely agree without much resistance.
But still, it was better to stay somewhere with a stable background.
“Compared to the Empire, it’s a small country,” he began slowly talking.
“The entire nation is surrounded by mountain ranges. They’re too steep and high for people to cross easily, so the place is like a natural fortress. Because there are only limited paths leading into Calles, it’s easy to defend, and the country has never fallen to foreign invasion.”
Lynette nodded slowly.
“And as I’ve mentioned before, my family has many Espers and Guides, so we hold an advantage in war.”
“So… wars happen often?”
“Hmm…”
He smiled with a slightly awkward expression.
“Civil wars are quite frequent.”
“…”
“They say that when the outside is chaotic, the inside grows united. But in Calles, the outside is peaceful… so perhaps that’s why the inside is noisy.”
“Isn’t that dangerous, living in such a country?”
“It’ll be fine for the time being,”
he replied with a brief laugh.
“My siblings have already declared their positions. At least while my sister is on the throne, things will stay quiet.”
“Does that mean a civil war has already happened?”
“No. It’s more accurate to say that it was prevented because of my mother’s strong will.”
As if unsure how to explain, Sillian furrowed his brows slightly.
After thinking for a moment, he continued speaking.
He went into detail, but to summarize, this was what had happened.
Sillian’s mother had fought against her own siblings in a war for the throne, and she had emerged victorious. After becoming queen and giving birth to her children, she decided she never wanted that tragedy to repeat itself.
She couldn’t bear the thought of her beloved children killing one another.
So she arranged everything early on.
She named her second daughter, the first among her children to awaken as an Esper, as the heir, and stripped the rest of their succession rights entirely, allowing them to keep their noble ranks only on the condition that they never sought the throne.
“There was one brother who objected, though.”
“What happened to him?”
“Well…”
Sillian smiled vaguely, dodging the question.
It felt like a warning not to pry further, so Lynette didn’t press the matter.
Still, it didn’t seem to have ended well.
‘Well… considering his mother was the one who won a civil war herself…’
There was no way she would have let a child who tried to repeat such bloodshed go unpunished.
That, too, was a way of protecting her other children.
“So that means you’re a prince, but you have no right to the throne.”
“That’s right.”
When Lynette nodded silently, he smiled.
“Are you disappointed, by any chance?”
“What? No.”
“I can’t make you a queen, but I could at least make you a princess consort.”
That had never even crossed her mind.
It was true that she had left the Imperial Castle to be with him, but marriage had never been part of the plan. Even between an Esper and a Guide, marriage wasn’t a necessity.
‘Marriage, huh…’
The word had always felt distant to her.
Even before her regression, she had never once imagined marrying Euphen.
Of course she hadn’t.
Even if he had lived freely, apart from politics and power, he was still an Imperial Prince,
and she was nothing more than a humble maid.
In truth, even the term ‘maid’ was generous.
She had been sold by her family for money. Had she gone anywhere else instead of the Imperial Castle, her life would’ve been no different from that of a slave.
So how could she have dared to even think of marriage?
Lynette gripped the reins tightly.
It wasn’t that she wanted to marry someone else, it was just that she felt she would never be able to forget Euphen for the rest of her life.
Sillian glanced at her face for a moment before deliberately lightening his tone.
“Even if you’re not exactly a princess consort, you won’t be uncomfortable living there.”
When she turned toward him, their eyes met.
“You’re my one and only Guide, after all. I’ll treat you more preciously than anyone.”
“…Thank you.”
She let out a faint laugh.
An awkward silence settled between them, so Sillian began talking again.
This time, about the Kingdom of Calles.
How their clothing was a little different, what the weather was like, what customs they had.
Lynette nodded along his words,
but the truth was, none of it really reached her ears.
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