Translated by d6y (ko-fi)

Chapter 13

“You. Where’d you come from?”

Confused, I turned around and grabbed Lancer’s arms.

“Did you use teleport magic again? Why aren't you home? What are you-?”

“Wait, Skyla.”

Lancer interrupted me.

“I'll listen to your nagging later. Are you hurt?”

“Huh?”

“That bastard didn't hurt you, did he?”

“Ah… uh, no…”

I blurted out my answer and looked up at Lancer in surprise.

I felt like someone hit me hard on the back of my head.

I didn't expect a harsh word to come out from the innocent Lancer.

“That's a relief.”

Lancer answered briefly and hugged me.

I was in his arms, but this time, I didn't push him away.

Lancer looked different from usual.

He wasn't smiling like he always did.

He wasn't.

I can't believe it.

The Lancer in front of me now seemed aggravated as if he had lost his usual composure.

“Heuk…”

A grunt escaped the mage’s mouth. He was slumped on the floor inside the carriage.

He sounded like he was in a lot of pain.

It was then that I came to my senses.

“Lancer.”

“Yes?”

“That, were you the one who did it?”

“Yes.”

Lancer briefly answered again and flicked his fingers lightly.

In an instant, a black space appeared behind the mage.

The black space soon covered the wall of the carriage like mould under the rain.

His face turned pale and he whined.

“Now, wait a minute. Gold-haired mage, this is…”

“Don't ever touch Skyla again.”

Lancer looked down at him and said sharply.

“This is not a warning, but an order.”

Tak.

Lancer’s fingers flicked once more. The black space took it as a signal and swallowed the mage.

The mage disappeared without a trace.

As if he had never climbed into the carriage.

“Ah…”

I froze in place at the magic I was seeing for the first time.

A chill ran down my spine.

What the hell just happened? Where did Viscount Artisina go?

“L-Lancer… I’m asking out of curiosity but… did you just kill that mage?”

I spoke cautiously, raising my head toward Lancer.

His shoulders drooped like a child along with his smile.

“Oh… Should I have killed him?”

“No, no, no!”

I shook my head so hard that my hair moved like a whip.

It's true that I don't like that mage, but that didn't mean that I wanted him dead.

“Actually, I could get rid of him if I wanted to, but I thought Skyla wouldn't like it if I did so…”

Lancer stammered and scratched the back of his head.

I pulled at his sleeve as if to interrogate him.

“So? What did you do with that guy?”

“I just… threw him into a landfill on the outskirts of the capital.”

“I see.”

Only then did my tension ease.

Ironically, I was relieved that the mage who tried to hurt me was safe.

I think I'm more suited to quietly govern over the duchy than brutal pursuits of committing assassination without hesitation.

Sighing, I slipped out of Lancer’s arms and plopped back into my seat.

Lancer rushed over.

‘Why? What's the matter, Skyla? Are you sick?”

“No, I just sat down.”

Lancer slowly sat down next to me while still looking at me,

I didn't bother to stop him.

Rattle, rattle.

The carriage we were riding was still heading to the palace.

Neither Ticef nor Phoebe had noticed the commotion in the carriage.

As expected, a high-end carriage has soundproofing.

At times like this, I get unnecessarily frustrated.

Sighing inwardly, I called the name of my childhood friend, who sat rather still beside me.

“Lancer.”

“Yes, Skyla!”

A wide grin hung around the Lancer’s mouth.

But I couldn't muster up a smile to match it.

“Explain in one sentence why on earth you are on my carriage.”

“In one sentence?”

“Yes.”

Lancer began thinking for a while and soon said with a bright smile.

“Because I really like Skyla?”

“That's not a proper explanation! And stop confessing out of the blue!”

“Oh… I'm sorry. As of today, I have been rejected 319 times.”

I touched my throbbing forehead and listened to Lancer’s pitiful record with one ear.

“Sigh…”

My head felt complicated in many ways.

It was alright until Lancer suddenly appeared out of nowhere and kicked out Viscount Artisina for me.

But why was Lancer here?

What the hell, how?

 I obviously made sure that no one was here when I got on this carriage

“Oh.”

Something passed through my head for a moment.

‘The blue butterfly!’

Come to think of it, when I climbed up the carriage, I saw a blue butterfly. I told Phoebe to not hit it with a fly swatter, but…

I glanced around the carriage.

As expected, the butterfly that should still be here was nowhere to be found.

A blue butterfly is hard to find in this season.

The blue colour reminded me of Lancer’s eyes.

And Lancer suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

I'm pretty sure I've figured it out.

“Lancer… you didn't turn into a butterfly to stay here in the carriage, did you?”

“M-Maybe.”

Ahaha…

Lancer met my eyes and fiddled with my sleeve with a dry laugh.

But I didn't even smile.

“Are you saying you did?”

“Skyla, do you like honest men?”

“Answer me straight.”

“Then I'll answer honestly, yes.  So why do you not like me?”

There was no need to question it any further.

The blue butterfly that had always been in the carriage turned out to be actually Lancer.

Lancer clung to me tearfully.

“I-I was able to kick him out, so compliment me for that at least!”

“Yes, well done.”

A compliment is a compliment, I muttered under my breath.

Lancer looked at me in disbelief, and, in an instant, he smiled as if he was the happiest man in the world.

However, it didn't last long.

"Now go back to your house."

“Skyla…”

“Come on, now. Do you wanna see me angry?”

“...No.”

Lancer's head hung low at my stern scolding.

Lancer rose from his seat and moved his hands slowly. his body language was indicating that he didn't want to leave right away.

But I wasn't so kind to appease the sullen Lancer.

"Hurry up and go."

“Ah… okay.”

After whimpering, he began to draw a teleportation circle to return to Soli Duchy.

An archmage like Lancer wouldn't need to draw a magic circle to teleport, so I don't know why he's wasting his time to do so.

“Skyla… are you angry?”

Lancer looked at me once again.

Instead of replying, I pushed him into the finished magic circle.

“Don't be angry, I just wanted to see you smile.”

“Then don't make me angry.”

“Skyla, what the hell should I do to make you happy…”

With those words, Lancer disappeared beyond the teleportation circle.

* * *

The carriage came to a halt not long after Lancer disappeared.

“My lady, we've arrived at the Imperial Palace.”

“Huh? The mage is gone?”

Phoebe and Ticef were puzzled as they opened the carriage door.

Their reaction made sense. Two people are arriving at the destination, but when they opened the door, there was only one person inside.

When they tried to pry into the matter, I simply shrugged them off.

“He said he had sudden business to take care of so he used magic to leave the carriage.”

“His magic is amazing! I didn't even notice the Viscount had left!”

Ticef believed me right away.

Unlike Ticef, who naively admires the greatness of magic, Phoebe seemed somewhat dubious.

“I didn't know he could use such great magic.”

Then she groaned inwardly.

‘Hmph, he could've used magic to go to the palace by himself. Why did he have to stick on my lady like a leech? What a nasty guy.’

In any case, neither of them had any idea that Lancer was entangled in this.

That's what I wanted.

I could never tell them the fact that Lancer was in the carriage, because they wouldn't hesitate to protest against the Soli Duchy.

I mean, think about it.

This carriage is designed with security as a priority to prevent intruders.

How shocking would it be to find out a noble of another family was hiding in such a small space?

It doesn't matter if he was my childhood friend, Lancer’s behaviour was way out of line.

If they weren't Lancer, I would have had them apprehended and handed over to the Imperial Court immediately.

Since it was Lancer, I’ll just let him slide.

‘Lancer… what am I gonna do with you…’

When I started thinking about the Lancer who completely lacked common sense, my head spun again.

The saying that mana and common sense are inversely proportional is not for nothing.

Ticef, who had no idea what I was thinking about, shouted cheerfully.

“My lady, I’ll be waiting here with the horse. Take care!”

“Yes. go rest.”

I gave some coins to the imperial guards who were passing by where my carriage had stopped.

They bowed to me and gave Ticef some cool water and refreshments.

After leaving Ticef behind, I walked with Phoebe to the Crown Prince's palace while being guided by an imperial knight.

The imperial knight led me in silence.

‘Why is this knight so quiet?’

Of course, I was relieved that he didn't bother me, but I was also curious as to why.

Usually, knights would try to start conversations with guests at the palace to impress them, so why wouldn't he talk to me?

And after a while, I could soon see why he had been silent.

The imperial knight was trembling on the inside.

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