"I was just lucky. Stop nagging and tell me what happened to Aneli."
"Haa..."
Now the situation had reversed, with Heinley pressing Dekin.
Dekin, who had been looking down at the necklace with a troubled heart, leaned his back against the gold bar box and sat down haphazardly.
Inwardly resenting his lord who didn't consider his subordinate's feelings at all, he glanced at the gold coins rolling nearby.
'Should I just take them all?'
Chewing on this thought for the hundredth time, Dekin reluctantly opened his mouth. After all, he was still Heinley's loyal subordinate.
Thus, it was quite some time later when Dekin finally left the treasury.
* * *
Is this what it means to trade mental health for physical comfort?
I sat leaning against Nadab's back, gazing at the scene before me.
A day after setting out for Kraim, the sun was slowly setting, and we found ourselves spending the night in the mountains.
In this situation, I was now witnessing a splendid campsite being erected in an instant on what had been empty ground.
If Xenon was specialized in camp cooking, Samuel seemed specialized in setting up campsites.
"...Oh."
I couldn't hide my genuine surprise at his utility discovered in an unexpected place.
I couldn't deny it. Putting aside the nuisance of having more companions, at least my body was incredibly comfortable.
Samuel, who had finished organizing the tent's interior, spoke to me as I lay sprawled on Nadab's back without lifting a finger.
"If the bed is too hard, please let me know. I can make the floor softer."
Not only was there a makeshift bed in the small tent, but now I could even choose the degree of softness.
Good heavens, why is that even possible?
"Do you carry a tent around with you when tracking someone?"
"When I saw you before, your traveling conditions seemed inadequate, so I brought it just in case."
Normally I might have mocked him for deliberately following me. But right now, I was very satisfied, and even a tiny speck of favorability had formed.
"The bed alone is satisfying enough."
Honestly, traveling with Xenon and sleeping on the ground with just a blanket had been exhausting.
When I felt generous, a smile formed. At my noticeably softer attitude, Samuel raised his eyebrows. He looked surprised.
"...So you prefer practical things."
"Is there anyone who dislikes practical things?"
When I asked back in confusion, he silently looked at Xenon. I also turned my gaze to follow him.
Xenon was skillfully peeling onions. His dry eyes without a single tear showed his skilled technique.
He seemed even more skilled than when we first met.
Watching the onion being dismantled in an instant, I suddenly spoke up.
"Xenon, lots of vegetables!"
"Yes, yes. I know even without you saying."
Xenon nodded absentmindedly, then looked up at me.
"Is chicken okay for meat? Or we have other options too."
"I don't care what kind of meat. But last time I saw, the vegetables melted away during cooking."
"That was intentional. I'll pay attention to texture today."
I was about to nod satisfactorily when I felt eyes on me. Samuel was watching me with unreadable eyes.
"I heard cooking was your hobby."
"Obviously that was just talk. You believe that?"
"I didn't believe it, but..."
He trailed off, glancing at Xenon. Then he looked at me again with a strange gaze.
"Why?"
Did he have some demands about the menu? But it didn't seem like Xenon would listen to Samuel's requests.
As I blinked blankly, Samuel shook his head stiffly.
"Nothing."
"Do you not eat chicken?"
"That's not it... I just resolved an unexpected question."
What question?
Instead of asking, I stared at Samuel, and he glanced at Xenon.
"I've been curious why you hired him."
"If you try his cooking, you'll understand."
"Then you should have hired a chef."
"It's hard to take a chef on the run."
"A mage with sealed magic is no different from an ordinary person. In that sense, it doesn't seem like it would help with escape."
Thwack!
The moment Samuel finished speaking, a dull sound rang out. Xenon had split an onion in two with a kitchen knife.
"Listening mages are unpleasant."
Xenon glaring at Samuel while holding the knife was quite threatening.
"Soon you'll be really surprised...!"
"Water's boiling, Xenon."
"Argh!"
Xenon hurriedly gathered the ingredients. I chuckled at the sight and got down from the horse. Then I shrugged at Samuel.
"It's hard to find a cook who can run well and is cute, so I hired Xenon."
Samuel closed his mouth with dissatisfaction. I walked toward the tent, leaving him.
There's time before dinner, so I should use it well.
"Focus on organizing information about the twelve criminals for me."
First, I needed to check how soft the bed was.
* * *
"You must have seen it wrong."
"But..."
"Everyone is very worried. You need to get up and shake this off."
Maxwell's forehead, sitting up in bed, was damp with cold sweat. Lilia carefully wiped Maxwell's sweat. However, Maxwell's pale complexion showed no improvement.
Instead, he turned his head slightly as if uncomfortable. A trace of guilt crossed his handsome face.
"Ah, I'm sorry. Does your face still hurt? I thought you were fully recovered."
Lilia apologized, startled. Maxwell smiled as if to say it was fine, but still didn't look at her.
'...How uncomfortable.'
Swallowing words he couldn't say, Maxwell sighed.
His face, which had been ruined from bee stings, had returned to its original form. It was the result of pouring in divine power.
However, the mental shock remained. When he slept, headless Aneli would appear in his dreams asking 'Why did you do that?'
Aneli before her execution had a resigned face. Maxwell's last memory of Aneli was her helplessly pleading.
He had never imagined Aneli spewing resentful words. That's why it was more shocking.
Why would she resent him? In the first place, she brought it on herself by committing tyranny and getting imprisoned.
" It seems like you're overworked. I told His Majesty not to torment His Highness too much."
"Right."
"Let's go on a trip for a change of pace. We might just pass by the festival at this rate. We agreed to see the ocean before the year ends."
Lilia clung to Maxwell's arm as if pouting. Maxwell, who had been avoiding her, reluctantly looked up.
"The schedule has been delayed a lot too..."
"His Majesty must have been worried enough to tell you to rest. Let's see some nice scenery and take a break. It doesn't even take a day if we use the Warp Gate!"
Lilia had been talking about wanting to see the ocean for a while.
To be precise, she wanted to go during a certain event period at sea, but it seemed she was suggesting this for Maxwell's change of mood.
After thinking briefly, Maxwell nodded. As Lilia said, he must have just seen things.
Even if he missed Aneli...
'It's not like I can give her the position of Crown Princess now.'
His fiancée, the woman he loved, was Lilia. So organizing his confused feelings and strengthening their relationship through a short trip wouldn't be bad.
"Alright, let's make time."
Lilia's steps leaving the Crown Prince's Palace were much lighter.
She was surprised by the unexpected situation, but Maxwell had returned to normal. And they had promised to go to the ocean.
She had felt annoyed for a while being pushed around by others, but when hope appeared that she could control the situation again, Lilia's mood rose significantly.
"Mary, where's the carriage?"
"Sir Jace is waiting over there!"
Lilia, walking hurriedly with her personal maid Mary, stopped when she saw someone approaching from the opposite direction.
The other person also seemed to recognize Lilia and slowed down. Lilia slightly bowed her head first in greeting.
"Greetings, First Imperial Prince."
"...Long time no see."
It was Heinley, who rarely had occasion to meet Lilia. He apparently came to deliver related materials after handling some of Maxwell's schedule recently.
Lilia glanced at the documents in Heinley's hand and smiled brightly with innocent charm.
"Why didn't you send a servant for errands?"
"These are important documents."
"My, then you should send an aide... Oh, I apologize. I forgot."
Lilia tapped her head lightly and smiled awkwardly.
"It must be bothersome to move personally. I wish I could help if possible."
It was publicly known that Heinley couldn't even keep a proper aide by his side.
If the Emperor hadn't valued Heinley, he wouldn't have been able to survive.
The struggle for the throne between Maxwell and Heinley had ended before Lilia came here.
But Lilia confidently believed she had made a significant contribution to that struggle.
For her, it was nothing difficult. She just had to secretly pass on information she knew.
For example, where Heinley's privately raised soldiers were, what Heinley's decisive source of funds was, and so on.
'It's all over now anyway...'
She had no choice but to push Maxwell since he was the protagonist, but sometimes when she saw Heinley's appearance, she felt it was a waste.
Like Maxwell, Heinley also boasted outstanding looks as his brother.
Lilia stared at Heinley's somehow poignant yet beautiful impression.
'It would have been nice if Imperial Prince Heinley was the sub-male lead who unrequitedly loved the protagonist.'
To such Lilia, Heinley answered without even giving her a glance.
"I cannot ask for help from someone who is busy."
"Busy? We're going to be family soon. I should help with things I can help with."