Since that weakness was a secret that must never be allowed to spread, facing him again was absolutely
to be avoided. Only then would what Yuliana and he had done not become known to Karsel.
Thus, the two of them had no choice but to vent their rage at the merchant solely in their imaginations.
“Should we unleash the guards and have the bastard secretly dragged back to Karsel? If we blind him first and
bring him in, he won’t realize who we are. Then we can take out our anger on him……”
“Wouldn’t it be better to ask the Assassin Mercenary Corps? They say they’ll kill
anyone as long as the money is enough. It’d be better to just kill him cleanly and be done with it.”
But they knew very well that their thoughts had to remain only thoughts. They knew nothing about
who the merchant was, or where he lived. After cursing the merchant for a while,
Yuliana wearily pushed herself up.
“Let’s go into Dontrel for now. I’m hungry, and if we stay here, those bastards might
spot us.”
“But do we have money to buy food?”
At Mitchell’s question, Yuliana was left speechless. Of course, there was no way
they had any money. Because that hateful merchant had taken everything they had left, including their swords,
the two of them were literally penniless.
Moreover, in their current state, it was doubtful whether they could even enter Dontrel. That was because
they had no passes. Before attacking the merchant’s wagon, the two had wrapped their passes and all documents
that could prove their identities in cloth and buried them in a nearby thicket. It had been
a precaution.
Thanks to that, they had avoided having their identities exposed, but now that they were trying to enter
Dontrel, it had become a problem. Of course, if it were an ordinary city or trade city, there would be no
problem entering even without a pass. Most cities did not conduct inspections, and even if they did,
it was merely a formality. But Dontrel was, by universal admission, Terbia’s stronghold city, and without a pass,
entry would most likely not be permitted. Remembering that fact, Mitchell’s face
twisted.
“This is insane. What do we do?”
Going back there and digging up their passes was out of the question. They had been transported
in a cart under guard for a full week, so returning was not even something they could
consider. They had neither the travel expenses nor food for that. In the end, Yuliana
rose to her feet irritably.
“What choice do we have? We’ll just have to try. If I reveal my identity, they’ll probably let us in.”
Perhaps afraid of being seen by the merchant, Yuliana hurriedly moved on. Mitchell
glared at her retreating back.
‘Tch. You think that charging in blindly will work here just because it worked in Karsel?’
But there was nothing else he could do. Mitchell had no choice but to follow her with drooping shoulders.
A little later, the two finally arrived at Dontrel’s gate. In front of the gate, the line
of people waiting to enter stretched on endlessly. It was the line of people and carriages
that Russellant had seen. At the sight, the two widened their eyes.
“Wow! Are all these people lined up to get into Dontrel?”
“It really is incredible.”
After glancing at the line of people, Yuliana ignored it and headed straight for the gate.
She calculated that if she properly used her status as a princess of Karsel, she could
pass through easily. Mitchell hurriedly followed after her as well.
The gazes of the people standing in line naturally focused on them. But those gazes
were quite different from Russellant’s.
“What are those? Some filthy beggars?”
“Are they trying to beg from the guards?”
Because the two looked so shabby, the people had no choice but to think that way. Their clothes were
turned inside out, and having ridden in a cart for a full week, both of them were completely
covered in dust. Their appearance was in no way normal. Under such gazes,
Mitchell and Yuliana finally reached the front of the gate.
“Halt.”
The guards crossed their spears in an X to block their way. Many of them frowned.
That was because the two were so dirty they were reminiscent of beggars.
As if there were no need to call a superior, one guard shouted roughly.
“What is your business? If you intend to enter, take out your pass and stand in line.”
From her experience in the Kingdom of Karsel, Yuliana decided she had to come on strong. She
was of a status accustomed to giving orders, and when she acted that way, guards were usually
bound to be intimidated. With her dust-covered face filled with anger, Yuliana
shouted without hesitation.
“I am a princess of the Kingdom of Karsel. On my way here, I encountered a band of thieves and lost
all my escort knights. Open the gate at once.”
Expressions of bewilderment appeared on the guards’ faces. A girl who, from her appearance, looked like nothing more than
a beggar was loudly shouting at them with great authority.
“P-please wait just a moment.”
Since it was a situation he could not possibly understand, the guard had no choice but to
call the gate captain. The captain, who had been absorbed in inspections some distance away, came running over at once.
After hearing the circumstances from the guard, the captain looked at Yuliana with suspicious eyes. Perhaps thinking
there was a possibility she was a noble, he maintained a somewhat cautious attitude.
“You say you are a princess of Karsel?”
Emboldened by the captain’s response, Yuliana nodded as if there were nothing more to consider.
“That is right. I lost all my knights to a cruel band of thieves, and only I and my knight captain barely
managed to escape.”
“Then could you show me the pass issued by this kingdom called Karsel?”
At the captain’s question, Yuliana was left utterly at a loss for words.
“T-that was taken by the thieves……”
At that, a sneer settled on the captain’s face. He had already experienced many cases
like this. People who would use any means necessary to get through the gate quickly. In such
cases, there was only one way to respond. Unlike before, he completely changed his attitude and
growled fiercely.
“Is there such a thing in this world as a band of thieves that steals passes? As far as I know, there are no
thieves around here at all. So if you’re going to lie, at least make it sound plausible. If it were the north
or the west, maybe, but thieves here…… Ha! I’m so dumbfounded I can’t even speak.”
“I-it’s true. We really……”
Frowning, the captain looked Yuliana and Mitchell up and down.
“And besides, I’ve never once heard of a kingdom called Karsel. Even though I’ve
served as a gate guard for nearly ten years. And one more thing: you people do not look
like you were attacked by thieves at all. No matter how urgent things were, who in the world wears their clothes
inside out?”
When things did not go as easily as she had expected, Yuliana became anxious.
“It’s true. I am most certainly the princess of Karsel, and this knight is in charge of my protection……”
“A knight without even a sword, of all things…… How amusing.”
As if there were nothing more to think about, the captain called his subordinates.
“Bind them. They will be put on trial for impersonating nobility.”
“W-wait a moment……”
The guards rushed at the two, whose faces had gone pale, and harshly thrust their spears at them. As if
they had encountered cases like this many times before, the guards gave them not the slightest opening.
“Raise your hands and turn around.”
Even Mitchell, formidable as he was, had no sword, and in the end he had no choice but to be subdued.
Since he had not eaten properly and was utterly exhausted, he could not show anything of
a paladin’s ability. Seeing the two firmly restrained by the guards, the captain turned away
as if there were nothing more to consider.
“Take them away and put them first in the prison for petty criminals.”
“Move.”
When the guards pulled them roughly, the two had no choice but to be dragged along helplessly. Having gone through
so many hardships, they no longer had even the strength to protest. In the end, the two had no choice
but to be quietly dragged away by the guards.
At that moment, an unexpected savior appeared.
“Why, Princess Yuliana?”
At the voice that suddenly rang out from beside her, Yuliana’s head snapped around violently as if she had been slapped
on the cheek. Tears quickly filled her eyes. The one who had called her name was someone who could not
have been more welcome to her.
Although they had abandoned him in a remote mountain, he was someone who could not have been more reliable. Seeing him,
her emotions surged up, and in the end she burst into tears.
“Waaah. Kasim.”
If she had followed her heart, she would have run to him and thrown herself into his arms, but since she was bound with rope,
she could not. Astonishingly, the one who had called Yuliana’s name was Kasim. He,
who should have been holed up in an inn in Dontrel practicing the mana cultivation technique,
had appeared here alone.
“Hm?”
The one surprised by that sight was the captain. That was because he was acquainted with Kasim to some
extent. The captain hurried over to Kasim and widened his eyes.
“Kasim. Are these people perhaps acquaintances of yours?”
Kasim silently nodded.
“They are. She is the princess of the Kingdom of Karsel. I was once assigned to escort her, but we parted
due to certain circumstances. I truly did not expect to meet her again here.”
This time, it was the captain’s turn to be surprised.
“I-is that really true?”
“It is. Judging by her appearance, she seems to have gone through something very harsh. The young man standing
beside her is an escort knight who came with her from the Kingdom of Karsel. But how did he end up losing even his sword?”
The captain asked back with wide eyes.
“Are you certain of that?”
“Of course! He’s a paladin who can even manifest Aura Blade. I confirmed it myself.”
The captain felt a chill run down his spine. To think that he had tried to bind the princess of a kingdom
and her escort knight, a paladin-class knight at that, and throw them in prison…… It was difficult
to believe, but in the end he had no choice but to accept it. If none other than Kasim had acknowledged it,
then everything had to be true.
Several years ago, when Kasim had been a member of the Thunderbird Mercenary Corps, the two had
fought together. At the time, the Kingdom of Terbia had been engaged in a territorial dispute with the nearby
Kingdom of Tanblet. Intending to expand its territory as much as possible before the Crosen Empire
intervened, the Kingdom of Terbia had hired mercenaries on a large scale at the time. Back then,
the Thunderbird Mercenary Corps carried out joint operations with the unit to which the captain belonged, and because of that,
the captain had spent a little over a year together with Kasim.
For that reason, the captain knew well that Kasim was not only extremely brave, but also upright and honest.
‘If Kasim vouches for them, there can be no mistake.’
The captain hurriedly ordered the guards to untie the ropes. Then he bent at the waist
at a right angle toward Yuliana.
“We have been terribly discourteous. Please forgive our rudeness.”
Yuliana’s tear-wet gaze slowly turned toward the captain. Sensing something glint
in her eyes, Kasim tensed sharply.
‘No!’
From what he knew of Yuliana’s temperament, she was more than capable of slapping the captain across the face without warning.
To think they had tried to bind such a proud and fiery princess and throw her into prison…… If that happened,
the problem could only grow larger.
There was no way Terbia would acknowledge the princess of Karsel, a weak nation. But his
expectation was completely off the mark. Perhaps because she had suffered so harshly that her spirit had been utterly broken,
she showed an unexpectedly generous response.
“You did not know, so I will not take issue with it. Then we will be on our……”
Kasim, with an expression of immense relief, quickly guided her.
“Let us go to the inn where we are staying for now, Princess.”
Even so, Kasim did not forget to say a word of thanks to the captain.
“I’ll be going now. Keep up the good work.”
“Take care.”
After bidding farewell to the captain, Kasim took Mitchell and Yuliana and headed into the streets of Dontrel.
The captain was still watching them disappear with a dazed expression.