Using the teleportation magic circle, they reached the Empire in an instant. Rowy, who had leapt into the magic circle before anyone could stop him, arrived first, and one by one, the rest of the party appeared following behind him.
The arrival was so quick that everything they’d experienced until now felt like a dream. Thanks to that, bright expressions spread across the faces of those crossing through the magic circle. Of course… not everyone felt that way.
“Are you okay?”
Rowy asked in a worried voice. However, Van still hadn’t regained his senses. Rowy stopped Van from continuously shaking his head as if he were dizzy.
“Don’t keep moving. It’ll only get worse.”
“Ugh…”
Rowy cautioned him. But Van just kept shaking his head. He was so dizzy that his head felt like his insides were churning. His body wouldn’t listen to him at all due to this sensation he was experiencing for the first time.
‘So this is what they call mana sickness.’
While trying to steady his wavering vision, Van thought hazily. Mana sickness was the most common side effect for those experiencing spatial movement for the first time. Even Van, a skilled knight, couldn’t escape this sickness.
‘Now I understand why that employee emphasized the posture so much.’
If it hadn’t been for the employee’s reminder, Van would surely have done something foolish, startled by the sudden movement of mana. Entrusting one’s body to such massive mana was that disconcerting an experience. The mana that had poured in like a torrent was still churning inside Van’s body even now. Van kept making groaning sounds at the feeling of his insides being twisted.
‘I never want to experience this again.’
Though he felt bad for Rowy, who had been so delighted about using the spatial teleportation circle, it seemed better to only travel by land from now on.
“Come here and sit down.”
When Van continued to stagger without regaining his senses, Rowy quickly grabbed Van’s hand and seated him on a chair that had been prepared to one side.
“Ughhh…”
Van, who had plopped down heavily led by Rowy’s hand, kept making groaning sounds. Rowy sat close beside Van and began checking his temperature with a serious expression. He was clumsily imitating what Van usually did for him when he got motion sick.
“Are you still very dizzy? Do you want to lie down here?”
By Van’s side… Rowy, who seemed somehow excited, was pretending to nurse him, touching here and there unnecessarily. Even though Van didn’t have a fever, the hand pressing against his forehead was serious.
“Come on, lean on me.”
As if trying to make Van, who was twice his size, lean on him, Rowy kept pulling Van’s waist toward himself.
“Be careful. You can’t collapse like this. Do you want some water?”
Moreover, his voice was so gentle that Van helplessly collapsed into Rowy’s arms.
“Ughhh, I want to lie on Master’s lap…”
“Mm? Okay.”
“Master…”
At Rowy’s affectionate response, Van began acting weak and properly starting to act spoiled. The expressions of the Flame Knights watching this scene from the side gradually became increasingly sour.
“Making such a fuss over just motion sickness…”
Someone’s muttering could be faintly heard, but the two weren’t the type to care about such things. Unable to watch Van’s huge frame keep burrowing into Rowy’s embrace any longer, people one by one turned their heads away pretending not to notice.
“The carriage has arrived.”
It was at that moment that the ducal carriage arrived. Those who spotted the duchy’s crest on the approaching carriage got to their feet.
“Hey, everyone get up and get ready! Let’s go back!”
At the fact that they could finally return home, everyone’s faces brightened.
“I know you two get along well, so get up now. The carriage is here.”
Kyle approached the two, who even with the carriage’s appearance were still stuck together and showed no sign of moving, and spoke. However, Rowy only looked up at Kyle with a sullen expression.
“I don’t want to ride the carriage. Can’t I ride a horse? Van can just carry me.”
Rowy slumped back down in the chair. At first, he had sat down to nurse Van, but perhaps because his tension had released at the thought of arriving, his body kept going limp. Ugh, I’m tired. I wish Van would just carry me.
“Don’t be like that and get up. The carriage has already arrived.”
“I don’t care. I’m not riding the carriage.”
Rowy, who had boldly declared this, closed his eyes and leaned back in the chair. Kyle seemed at a loss for what to do, but that wasn’t Rowy’s concern.
“I don’t think that’s going to work. Rowy Irad.”
It was at that very moment that an unexpected person’s voice was heard. At the cold voice, Rowy’s eyes flew open. A man was already descending from the carriage that had stopped. His tall frame and sturdy body wrapped in luxurious clothing, familiar silver hair and blue eyes. It was the second son of the Duke of Irad, Leo Irad.
“Leo-nim.”
At the big shot’s appearance, the Flame Knights instantly straightened their postures. Leo gestured with his hand to stop the knights who were about to kneel and greet him.
“Skip the greetings. Just hurry up and go back.”
Leo, who snapped at them in an icy voice, immediately turned his cold gaze toward Rowy.
“Rowy Irad. Straighten your posture and move now. There’s no time.”
“……”
“Don’t act like a child.”
Even though it’s been a while since I’ve seen him, he’s still the same. At the sharply pouring words, Rowy got up with a sulky expression. Van naturally held Rowy’s hand to support him. At that moment, Leo’s chilly gaze turned toward their clasped hands.
“……”
“……”
Under the gaze that even carried killing intent, Van, who had been reading the mood, quietly released Rowy’s hand. However, Leo’s expression still showed no sign of softening.
“…Let’s depart now.”
Leo, who had been glaring fiercely at Van for quite a while, took Rowy and went straight into the carriage. Van’s shoulders slumped at the door closing before his eyes.
‘Well now, I feel like some kind of philanderer.’
…Is it any different though? If it was Leo Irad, Van knew who he was from what he’d heard from Rowy.
‘He said they were cousins.’
He was Rowy’s family. Real blood-related family. Van let out a sigh with a gloomy face.
“I’ll give you a horse, so come here.”
Kyle, who had approached Van left alone, said. Van, who let out another big sigh, slowly moved his feet. He was worried about Rowy being dragged into the carriage with a frozen expression, but… there was nothing Van could do. Van’s expression was dark as he followed Kyle. His mood had sunk considerably, as if he had gotten a preview of what would unfold at the duchy.
* * *
And Rowy, who had been dragged into the carriage by Leo… was in a much more suffocating situation than Van had anticipated.
“……”
“……”
Rowy glanced at Leo’s face, which had been rigid and silent since earlier, and crammed his body as far into the corner of the carriage as possible. He didn’t want to get scolded for no reason by Leo, who didn’t seem to be in a good mood.
‘But… why did Leo come in person?’
Leo Irad was the person who had become the duchy’s heir in place of his older brother after Liam Irad, the eldest, was appointed as the Imperial Knight Commander. That meant…
‘He must be extremely busy right now. Well, he was always busy though.’
Leo and Liam had always been busy since Rowy was young. Though they were cousins, the two had an age gap of nearly ten years with Rowy, and they had already been actively moving through aristocratic society since Rowy was a child. In other words, they were in an awkward relationship with no real memories or closeness with Rowy.
‘Not just awkward, but extremely uncomfortable.’
Should I try talking to him? Rowy burrowed further into the corner.
“Rowy Irad.”
However, despite Rowy’s desperate body language trying to avoid conversation, Leo spoke to him first.
“You must have heard about hyung-nim’s wedding. Though it’s being organized hastily so the ceremony won’t be large in scale, this marriage will definitely be the Empire’s most important affair.”
“……”
“Did you understand? If you understood, you should answer.”
“…Yesss.”
At the drawn-out answer, Leo looked at Rowy with disapproval. However, seeing that Rowy’s face looked as youthful as before even though it had been a while, Leo eventually swallowed a sigh inwardly and continued speaking.
“…So, stay quiet until the ceremony is completely over. Especially right now, the atmosphere in the Imperial Palace isn’t good, so there must not be any more incidents that give the Imperial Family grounds to find fault.”
“……”
“As you know, hyung-nim’s marriage is something that’s been dragged out for a whole ten years. The current situation isn’t going well at all, so this is a strategic marriage, so absolutely don’t cause any trouble.”
‘The atmosphere isn’t good? The situation isn’t going well? What on earth is happening?’
There was no way Rowy, who had been away from the Empire for two years, would know about the current political situation of the Empire. For a moment he was curious, but Rowy soon let that feeling pass. After all, he planned to leave right after the wedding ceremony ended.
‘Well, anyway. It doesn’t seem like it’s a marriage because a child was conceived.’
Rowy, who had roughly nodded his head, turned his gaze out the window. The carriage was already passing through the heart of the Empire’s capital. Looking at the scenery that only felt unfamiliar, Rowy thought of the place he would return to.
‘When I return to Seraphila, I should renovate the castle the way Van wants.’
Rowy’s home was no longer the Empire.
* * *
There was no one who would block the path before the carriage engraved with the Irad family’s seal. Following the path that opened on its own, Van rode his horse among the Flame Knights.
‘The Empire is definitely different.’
It was a more magnificent country than any he’d seen so far. Especially the sight of the massive mansions lined up along the main road was spectacular. However, Van didn’t have the peace of mind to enjoy this leisurely. Van looked at the carriage going ahead with yearning eyes.
‘He gets very motion sick…’
Rowy was someone who only showed a comfortable expression when Van kept touching his hands and stroking his head. But would that man from earlier really pay that much attention to Rowy?
‘Well. I don’t think he would.’
He was a man who had nothing in common with Rowy except for silver hair and blue eyes. Especially those fierce eyes, thinking of those eyes directed at Rowy…
“Haah…”
Van let out another deep sigh. Kyle, who glanced at Van, spoke to him.
“Why are your sighs so heavy?”
“…Kyle-kyung.”
“We’re almost there now, so pull yourself together quickly.”
Kyle raised his hand and pointed ahead. Only then did Van, who had taken his eyes off the carriage, turn his head in the direction Kyle was pointing. Van’s eyes gradually widened as he spotted their destination.
‘That’s the Irad Duchy…’
There stood a mansion so massive he wondered why he hadn’t noticed it before. The Irad Duchy, which looked like a castle, was completely different in size from the other mansions lined up along the main road. At the sight that was much larger and more magnificent than he’d thought, Van’s face stiffened, having inwardly thought of it as just Rowy’s house and kept his mind at ease.
