Chapter 75
They had already parted ways with Harold and were now staying for their second day in a land called Eloa. It was midday, and Maeve had spread her map out over a patch of flat, level ground, peering down at it. She used the charcoal Harold had given her to mark their current location.
Eloa was quite a large piece of land. If they continued west like this, they would soon encounter the Lucen River, which cut through the middle of Eloa.
Strictly speaking, Eloa was the territory of Viscount Quill, located on the western outskirts of the Empire. Like most lands with a master, such as Lutea, places like this usually had fastidious checkpoints or guards. However, all they had encountered since arriving here were beasts and small merchant groups passing through on their way elsewhere.
Maeve partially lifted her body from the map and straightened her back. Her dry gaze swept across the surrounding landscape.
The beautiful maple forest that Prince Declan had not stopped admiring since they entered, the low mountains and hills situated like fences along the edges, and the relatively docile prey.
It matched the information Harold had given them exactly. An equitable land that everyone used merely as a road because it was so neglected by its owner that nothing remained. Usually, people do not leave such land alone. Yet, the reason it had become a place where anyone could pass through was solely because this land was located in the west.
When looking solely at the Colm continent on the map, they had already reached a point that anyone would have to call the western region. If they continued without issue, they would soon arrive at a land called ‘Mo,’ which Harold mentioned he visited out of necessity once every few years.
Good. For now, reaching the river is the priority.
The plains and forests of Eloa continued almost endlessly. Maeve noted separately in her journal: Did not see the river today either.
“Go play over there, Ambrox!”
While she was organizing the luggage she had taken out, she heard Prince Declan’s voice nearby, sounding disgusted. Maeve immediately snapped her head up to check the direction of the noise.
She saw Prince Declan lying on the wild grass, trying to push the donkey away. Regardless, the donkey, Ambrox, stubbornly and repeatedly thrust its snout toward him. It had likely chewed on Prince Declan’s hair or pants again.
The brown stallion named Bebe was waiting quietly near Maeve. At least the horse was old enough to understand some semblance of discipline.
Maeve tucked the map, journal, and charcoal into the bag attached to Bebe’s saddle. Prince Declan ran toward her, looking as though he were being chased by the young donkey.
“Where are you going?”
“To check the traps I set last night.”
Prince Declan followed Maeve naturally, without even saying “let’s go together” anymore. The two walked into the forest, which was not far away.
“Maeve. No matter how far we go here, the scenery stays the same. Just fields and forests.”
“It’s my first time in a place like this, too,” Maeve said, agreeing with the sense of displacement he felt.
“Just as you said, it’s fine because we’re going straight through this area, but imagine if we were in the middle of those plains.”
“We would have spun in circles until we starved to death.”
“Right. Is that why this land was abandoned by its master? I know the lord of this land. I saw him a few times at banquets where kings and lords of small nations gathered.”
Maeve and Prince Declan walked deeper without hesitation, following the markings they had left on the trees last night.
Maeve listened attentively to Prince Declan’s words. Despite appearances, that man was a prince and was acquainted with the masters of these lands.
“So? What kind of person is Viscount Quill?”
“He pretends otherwise, but he is a man obsessed with money. Outwardly, he is an old man who appears very stoic. However, he has four wives and more than twenty children. Among them, the first through the fifth, the oldest, are sons, and everyone below them is a daughter.”
“How……?”
“Well, according to what a certain lord secretly told me, he reportedly took some kind of medicine obtained from sorcerers.”
“……Sorcerers deal in such medicine?”
Maeve could not help but cut him off to ask.
“Aren’t they scammers claiming to be sorcerers? Sorcerers from Sorten are so proud they wouldn’t engage in that kind of petty business.”
“Do you know a lot about that country of sorcerers?”
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