Chapter 134: 83

Chapter 83: Grape Vines of Joffen

The next morning was a bright and sunny one.

Georgina and Erwin were the ones who got up the earliest. Of course, Erwin barely slept at all the night before.

Following his conversation with Onean, she had grown rather sleepy and was able to fall asleep after returning to her room, leaving him to appreciate the night scenery alone. The wind on the deck was too strong for him to fall asleep, so he could only conjure up a forcefield in the area around the steering wheel to keep out the wind, then snuggled up on the pilot's seat for a rough night's sleep. As a result of his terrible sleeping posture, his body was extremely stiff, so he could only stand with a hunched back. Furthermore, his eyes were severely bloodshot, and he was looking very much worse for wear.

"Look's like you had a rough night's sleep, Master Erwin," Georgina jibed.

"Don't call me Master Erwin, it's not like I hold any noble rank," Erwin said with a wry smile. "How about you follow Christine's lead and just call me brother."

"I can't do that. Even if you're not a noble, you're still the commander of our mercenary legion, Master Erwin," Georgina said with an amused smile, displaying no intention to change the way he referred to Erwin.

"Alright, do whatever you want then." Erwin shook his head with a resigned smile, then asked, "By the way, why did you come after us? Who's going to look after your mother in your absence?"

Georgina's smile faded slightly upon hearing this, and he replied, "After I returned home yesterday, I told my mother everything that I had seen and done during my journey. I gave her a recount of all of our battles from Windmetal Fort to Illingburn Fort, and after hearing my story, my mother said that even if the Effer Kingdom is going to welcome a new ruler, our family will continue to remain irrelevant, so it would be better for me to come with you and try to make a name for myself elsewhere. She then scolded me for not having higher aspirations and all but kicked me out of the house."

A resigned look appeared on Georgina's face as he spoke. 

"Oh, also, my mother said that you're a man who's destined for great things, and that if I follow you, I'll have a bright future ahead of me," Georgina added.

"Did your mother really say that? You're not just saying that to flatter me, are you?" Erwin asked as he looked at Georgina with an amused smile.

"She did! She really did say that," Georgina hurriedly protested.

"In that case, you must've significantly exaggerated my feats during your storytelling. Looks like you really managed to swindle her," Erwin jibed.

"I didn't do that, either, Master Erwin. All I told her was the truth," Georgina protested, and he was getting so worked up that his face was turning red.

"Alright, I won't tease you anymore," Erwin chuckled. "Are you sure you want to follow me? Kaiba and Gwen are going to the province of Fooz. Gwen is the daughter of Governor Jenkins, and once she returns to Fooz, I'm sure she's going to raise an army to oppose the Lazaar Family. Are you not going to consider going with them? I'm sure they'd welcome a capable warrior like you with open arms."

Georgina shook his head in response. "I won't go with them. I'll go wherever you go, Master Erwin."

"Alright, if you insist on following me, then I won't turn you down." Erwin could see that Georgina had already made up his mind, so he didn't try to persuade him any further. "However, let me make this clear in advance: I'm going to the north to look for someone, so if you're looking for glory and accolades, following me may not be the best path."

"It's alright, my mother told me that following you is definitely the right choice, no matter what you do," Georgina replied with a wide smile.

A suspicious look appeared on Erwin's face as he looked at Georgina, and he couldn't help but wonder exactly what kind of stories he had told his mother.

"What are you going to do about your mother then?" Erwin asked.

"My mother told me that during the time I was away, she was able to fend for herself just fine, so she says I don't have to worry about her." Despite what he was saying, there was still a hint of concern on Georgina's face, but he quickly put on a slightly forced smile as he continued, "I left her all of the Loonies that I earned during our last journey, so she should have enough money to support herself for some time."

"I didn't know that you were going to come back. If I had known this was going to happen, I would've given you more money to take back to your family," Erwin said.

"I can't take any extra money, Master Erwin. Everyone gets the same amount, I can't accept any special treatment," Georgina said with a serious expression.

Erwin faltered slightly upon hearing this, then quickly returned to his senses again as he patted Georgina on the shoulder with a smile. "Looks like I'll have to work hard as well to support everyone during this trip to the north. Rest assured, Christine is always traveling back and forth across the Terarody Mountain Ranges, so we can get her to deliver some money to your mother during her next return trip."

Georgina nodded in response. With the airship making trips between the north and the south, he would be able to exchange letters with his mother, so they could still keep in touch even from across the continent.

At the same time, he couldn't help but feel a hint of sadness on Erwin's behalf. Count Friar had perished on the battlefield, so even if Erwin wanted to send his father some letters, there would be no one to receive those letters.

"By the way, you said you were going to the north to find someone, right, Master Erwin? Who are you looking for?" Georgina asked.

Erwin cast his gaze toward the distance before heaving a faint sigh, then rubbed his own sore and dry eyes as he replied, "I'll tell you about it once we get to the north."

...

Shortly thereafter, everyone on the ship began to get up and go about their day.

However, Onean was still laying in her bed late into the morning. It wasn't that she was too lazy to get up. Instead, she had something on her mind.

Her brain had been too tired to function properly the night before, but now that she had woken up after a night of rest, it was time for her to have a good think about exactly who Fuller was.

During her visit to Fuller at his manor the day before, Onean had been struck by the feeling that his words and actions were all quite rehearsed, as if he already knew what was going to happen in advance. He hadn't done anything wrong to tip himself off, but Onean's instincts told her that his reaction to the news that she had brought to him wasn't genuine. It was like a choreographed sequence that he had practiced in advance, and it simply didn't feel authentic.

Furthermore, as the prime minister, how could he have not already figured out that she had snuck out of the royal palace?

After meeting Fuller, Onean had a vague feeling that Fuller had already predicted that Lazaar would betray the Effer Kingdom.

What was even more peculiar was the arrival of Fuller with the rest of the soldiers in the city during the battle at night. It seemed to be an act of loyalty to the city of Sarus, but in reality, he was doing nothing more than throwing his own life away.

If someone else like Jenkins had been in his place, they would've already fled upon realizing that there was no way to save Sarus, so it doesn't make sense that Fuller came just to save me, Onean thought to herself, following which a rather sinister notion arose in her mind. Perhaps he had something to do with the Pillow Sword Tournament incident.

However, there was nothing that she could do at this point. Sarus had already fallen, so it hardly mattered what Prime Minister Fuller's intentions were. With that in mind, a wry smile appeared on her face.

At this point, she was the only one left in the room as Gwen had already washed up and left.

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Gwen was still recovering from her injuries, so she had slept in the bed that Onean had previously slept in. As a result, Onean had to sleep in Erwin's bed the previous night.

That was a great night's sleep. Come to think of it, I also had a great sleep the last time I slept in his bed, Onean thought to herself as she stretched lazily while inspecting her surroundings.

"Are you getting up soon?" Erwin asked as he entered the room on the upper level.

"Is there something urgent happening? Has Aiden caught up to us?" Onean asked in a joking voice as she got out of bed to do some washing up.

"No, but we've arrived at Joffen. Would you like to come out and take a look?" Erwin as he looked down at Onean while leaning against the railing of the wooden staircase.

"What is there to look at? The grape vines? It's almost spring, but I don't think there's particularly interesting to look at in Joffen at this time of year," Onean said in a disinterested voice while combing her own hair in front of the mirror.

"There may be nothing interesting to see for you, but I've never seen such a sprawling expanse of grape vines before," Erwin said with a smile.

"That's no surprise. You're just an uneducated young noble who's spent his entire life in the capital," Onean jibed while continuing to comb her own hair, not even bothering to spare a glance at Erwin.

"Well, the capital is gone now, so I've been forced to come out, haven't I?" Erwin chuckled in response. Onean stopped what she was doing momentarily before taking a glance at him.

"Come out and take a look. Stop spending so much time on your hair. Even if your hair looks like a bird's nest, you'll still be the most beautiful one on the airship by far," Erwin said.

"You make it sound like you've seen me with my hair looking like a bird's nest," Onean said with an amused smile. "If you ever do see me like that, I'll have to silence you permanently so you don't go telling anyone else."

"Ah, it hurts! Help me change my medicine and bandages," Erwin groaned as he suddenly clasped a hand over his own stomach and put on an expression of mock pain. He was reminding Onean that he had seen far more of her than just her hair.

Onean pursed her lips with displeasure upon seeing this, but she couldn't hide the amusement in her eyes, and she decided that it was time to teach Erwin a long overdue lesson.

As Onean was dragged out of her room by Erwin, she was immediately basked in the light of the bright sun, which instantly lifted her mood.

She felt like it had been a long time since she had seen such splendid weather.

A cool breeze blew past, lifting up strands of her silver hair, and she cast her gaze toward the vast grape vineyard down below. Even though the winter snow still hadn't completely receded yet, even the sight of the bare vines still put her in a pleasant mood.

The mercenaries of the Four Winds mercenary legion had already been stunned on multiple occasions by Onean's beauty, but they still couldn't help but take a few extra glances at her.

Erwin was no exception to this, either. The light of the sun was filtering through her strands of silver hair, giving them a gleaming golden tinge, and he couldn't help but be momentarily entranced by her stunning beauty.

Even Gwen, who was chatting absentmindedly with Kaiba, couldn't help but direct her attention toward Onean.

"I've drunk a lot of red wine from Joffen, but I've never actually been here," Erwin remarked as he looked at the orderly rows of grape vines in the vineyard down below.

"Didn't you say that you would rather see beautiful women than the scenery of the world?" Onean jibed. "Don't tell me you've developed a newfound appreciation for scenery."

"The most beautiful woman in the land is already here beside me, so what else do I have to see? I thought that I had already seen all of the beautiful women of the world, but after seeing you, I realized that I may as well have seen nothing. You were always the missing piece in my life. With you by my side, there's no need for me to look at anyone else. I can read you like a book over and over again. I can read you front to back, back to front, upside-down, and you'll still be as beautiful as ever." Erwin's propensity for shameless flirting was at an all-time high on this day. Perhaps his mood was buoyed by the splendid scenery laid out before him, but he was feeling particularly eloquent and corny.

"Ptui! You're becoming cornier and cornier by the day," Onean chuckled with an amused expression. "Having said that, I feel like you did say one thing that's correct."

She turned around to look at him as she spoke.

"What's that?" Erwin asked as he looked back at her with an intrigued expression.

"For men, there's always a missing piece, isn't there?" she asked with a hint of derision in her voice.

"Ha, you make it sound like you're so experienced when it comes to the realm of romance and relationships when you're actually a complete novice," Erwin said, mercilessly exposing her lack of relationship experience. "You sounded like an old lady reminiscing about her past just now."

Onean wasn't bothered to hear this, and her smile remained unchanged as she said, "I think you should give that book from Lana a good read. She must've given it to you for a reason, so you should reciprocate her feelings by reading it."

"I knew you would mention her eventually," Erwin said with a smug smile, as if Onean had played right into his hands.

Onean was finally incensed upon hearing this, and she gave him a cold glare with her golden eyes.

"Sorry, I'll behave. Let's keep looking at the scenery," he said with a seemingly apologetic smile, but the more Onean looked at it, the more sly and obnoxious the smile seemed, and she was really tempted to throw him off the airship.

However, before she could do that, Erwin wound his arms around her waist and pressed her tightly against the railing with his body.

Onean didn't put up any resistance, allowing him to do as he pleased, but in retaliation, she gently stroked her hand over Erwin's injured palm.

Erwin immediately drew a sharp breath from the pain, and he reflexively pulled back his hand, releasing Onean in the process.

"Did that teach you a lesson?" Onean asked with a cold smile.

Erwin nodded in response with a sheepish expression, then pretended to focus his attention on the grape vines down below, but in reality, he was sneakily breathing in the fragrance of Onean's hair.

Onean merely pretended not to feel his breath in her hair and looked out into the distance.

Meanwhile, Christine was seated on the pilot's chair in front of the steering wheel, giving her the highest vantage point on the airship, so she was able to see the intimate interaction between Erwin and Onean, and she pursed her lips in a displeased manner in response.

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