A considerable amount of time passed after that.
Unlike when she had first walked in on her own two feet, Lellia came out of the shop carried on a knight's back.
She had tried on so many clothes that exhaustion overtook her and she fell fast asleep.
The knights who had followed Lellia came out with shopping bags filling both hands.
Though they had volunteered as shopping assistants—something far from their lot in life—the knights' faces were full of smiles.
It wasn't because of Duke Superion's influence; the knights genuinely liked Lellia.
"Is there nothing I can help with?"
"Is there anything I can run errands for?"
"Sir Knight. Shall I bring you some water?!"
When the little one came scurrying after them asking such things, smiles naturally formed on their faces.
Though there was nothing to assign, they had sometimes given her trivial tasks as errands just for the sake of Lellia, who looked so dejected.
Watching Lellia feel proud after completing her mission, the knights exchanged glances with each other.
'Cute.'
'Adorable.'
She was on a different level from the servants they had left behind at the territory. Perhaps because she wasn't a squire who dreamed of becoming a knight, to the knights, Lellia looked just like a paper doll.
Indeed. They had felt it when they first saw her—she was too small and thin. How surprised they had been to learn she was ten years old.
However, seeing her gain weight and her skin becoming glossy—so different from their first meeting when she was terribly thin and scruffy—made them feel proud.
It felt like transforming an abandoned dog into a beloved house pet.
"Isn't this too few clothes?"
Duke Superion stroked his chin and worried.
Since they had to leave the city and head to the territory tomorrow, all the clothes purchased for Lellia were ready-made.
Duke Superion planned to summon all the most famous seamstresses in the Superion territory once they arrived.
"It certainly isn't enough."
"Yes. Even I have more clothes than this."
"Still, they suited her well."
The knights answered Duke Superion's words and bantered among themselves.
Duke Superion let out a small sigh as he watched Lellia carried on the knight's back.
He was convinced the child was Elizabeth's daughter, who had died.
But the world is a strange thing.
Perhaps she might not be of Elizabeth's bloodline. However, that wasn't a major problem.
Regardless, it was true that the child resembled Elizabeth. The mere thought that this was a child Elizabeth had sent brought great comfort.
'Someday, she will open her mouth and tell me herself.'
The child hadn't even revealed her name yet, but Duke Superion had no intention of rushing her.
The child was clearly hiding some great secret.
Seeing her being chased in the Imperial Capital, there was definitely something. Though they no longer needed to worry about checkpoints, unease remained.
Every time they crossed the city's outer boundaries, checkpoints continued.
Duke Superion had outright declared the child as his granddaughter.
Duke Superion's children were known to the world, but how many grandchildren existed and their ages were facts most people didn't know.
Because of this, the soldiers conducting checkpoints at each territory passed the Duke through without much fuss.
They couldn't possibly doubt the grandfather of the Imperial Princes and the head of the great noble house of Superion.
'Why exactly is Emperor Perseus chasing this child?'
Duke Superion wanted to ask the child right this moment, but decided to wait patiently until the child opened her mouth on her own.