When she opened her eyes again, strangely, the whole world was bright. She was definitely hiding in the carriage's cargo area, so it should have been pitch dark.
"……!"
The moment she sensed something was wrong, Lellia's eyes snapped open.
And like a startled animal, she quickly sat up. Despair lingered in Lellia's eyes as she surveyed her surroundings.
"…What is this, exactly."
"Where did she follow us from?"
"I told you I saw her? She's the kid I saw in the capital."
"Then she followed us from there? Without being caught all this time? Does that make sense?"
"I don't know either. She's just a child, and she doesn't even have killing intent, so how would we notice?"
Large knights in blue armor were surrounding her and talking amongst themselves.
They all had deep frowns on their faces, which was enough to make Lellia feel afraid.
'To be discovered...'
Overcome with surging fear, Lellia unconsciously clutched her bag tightly.
"She seems scared."
"...."
The knights were flustered as they looked at Lellia like that.
Frozen with fear, Lellia couldn't think straight. She was on the verge of crying like a child. This was even more so because she had been starving the whole time.
As tears began to well up in her eyes, the knights grew even more flustered.
In that situation, Lellia could barely manage to think rationally.
'Sleeping powder...'
Thinking she needed to escape, she instinctively fumbled to take out the sleeping powder from her bag.
However, her body wouldn't move as she wished. Even just wiggling her fingers drained her strength rapidly.
Like this, even if she managed to take out the sleeping powder, she wouldn't be able to spray it at the knights.
That was when it happened.
"What is the situation? A child secretly snuck into the carriage?"
A very low and dignified voice was heard.
When the owner of that voice appeared, the knights surrounding Lellia straightened their backs and bowed their heads.
"It seems she followed us from the capital."
"The capital?"
Listening to the conversation, Lellia slowly blinked her eyes.
"...."
The owner of the voice was an elderly man, both tall and large in build.
With wrinkles forming on his forehead, he bent his waist to look at Lellia.
"So it's a girl."
"...!"
At that sight, Lellia buried her head and trembled. The man before her had an intense gaze, just like a lion.
The knights felt restless, as if they had become bad people who had brought in a wild animal's baby and were tormenting it.
"...Bring a physician."
When the man gave the command in a low voice, one of the knights said, "Understood!" and disappeared.
After that, the man lowered his posture even more to meet Lellia's eye level. The old man gazed at Lellia for a while before speaking.
"You followed us all the way from the capital... You must be hungry. Aren't you?"
"...."
It was a thick, low voice, but not hostile. Rather, it was a gentle tone.
A kind adult's tone that she had never heard even once since returning to her home country.
It was a tone that made her feel somehow at ease, so Lellia carefully lowered her bag and lifted her head.
When their eyes met, the grandfather with a fierce face like a tiger grinned.
"...!"
Startled by that smile, Lellia buried her head again.
"...Pfft."
And one of the knights watching couldn't hold back his laughter and burst out.
"...Are you mocking me?"
"N-no, sir. My nephew also says I look scary when he sees my face and trembles like that."
"Are you saying I look scary."
"...Yes, of course..."
The knight said firmly, as if he couldn't bring himself to say empty words about that particular matter.
The old man's face had a fierce impression even to his subordinate knights. He was a ruggedly handsome man, but his gaze was remarkably sharp.
In his youth, he was probably quite a popular handsome man.
But even back then, he probably had that scary impression. The knight thought to himself.
If he weren't a noble with a title, he would surely look like someone doing secret work in the underworld.
"Hmm..."
The old man pondered for a moment, then gently curled up the corners of his mouth and spoke carefully.
"Are you not hungry?"
It was a question addressed to Lellia. At the kind tone, Lellia slowly lifted her head again. And then, she carefully nodded.
"Come, then. Let's go. I'll give you food."
The old man held out his large, thick hand.
Lellia couldn't bring herself to take it and just stared at the hand for a moment. It was the first time an adult had reached out their hand to her.