Chapter 19: 19

After hearing about Lilica’s business, Atil put on a jacket carelessly as he came out with a tired face.

“Let’s go.”

“Atil, are you okay?”

Pi, who was with him today, rubbed his eyes and said.

“Why are you suddenly asking me to look at documents about the capital’s public security? Honestly—Ugh.”

Pi groaned after Atil elbowed him.

“Stop with your unnecessary words.”

Atil began to take the lead and Lilica followed closely behind. As he walked, Atil clicked his tongue and held out his hand.

“Come on.”

After Lilica took that hand in wonder, he pulled on her arm so that they stood side by side.

“Why are you following behind me like a maid? Are you a maid?”

“It’s because Atil is really fast.”

“You’re the one that’s slow.”

He walked with large strides, so Lilica could only keep pace with him with hurried steps.

Once he left the palace, Atil’s speed went up even further. In the end, just as Brynn was about to say something as Lilica was being dragged about, Atil stopped.

“Do you know how to ride a horse?”

“What? No.”

A horse?

She has only ever seen the horses that pulled a carriage, but she has never seen anyone riding on a horse.

She’d heard that she would be able to see it if she took a walk in the palace’s garden, but Lilica was really busy with work, so she didn’t have time to go to the palace’s garden.

Atil criticised.

“You should be able to learn that much, right?”

As he said that, he scooped up the panting Lilica.

“This is much better.”

Lilica held his shoulders. She recalled the time when Tan gave her a ride on his shoulders.

At that time, she felt very uneasy as it was very high up, but when Atil carried her, it wasn’t that high up and it was stable.

If it was like this, she would be able to land onto the ground safely even if she fell, right?

Pi’s eyes narrowed from the side. He wanted to say something to Atil, but he held it back because Lilica was present.

The party arrived in front of the Knights of the Imperial Guard and looked for Tan.

“The Commander is still in the office.”

There weren’t any waiting rooms in the Knight Order, so if they wanted to wait, they had to wait inside the commander’s office, but Atil refused because it felt stuffy.

He told Lilica.

“Since Tan isn’t here, how about coming again next time?”

“I’ll wait for him.”

If it wasn’t today, she didn’t know when Atil would come again.

Atil sighed and slumped onto a long bench, saying, “There’s no helping it.” Lilica observed the inside surroundings of the Knight Order.

The weapons that were hanging on the walls were very big and amazing.

Just then, Lauv walked outside, dressed in plain clothes. Lilica greeted him happily.

“Lauv, it’s been a while.”

Lauv paused and bowed politely in greeting to Lilica.

“I greet the Princess.”

“Did Tan, perhaps, convey my words to you?”

He smiled faintly when Lilica asked him in a small voice if her apology was properly delivered.

“Yes, I have received it.”

“I see. It’s my first time seeing you in plain clothes. Are you on vacation from today?”

Lauv fell silent at her question, before answering slowly.

“No, I’m going back to my hometown.”

“Oh…?”

Just then, something squirmed and crawled up her spine. It was a spine-chilling sensation.

The alarm bells started ringing as her intuition screamed danger. Astonished, Lilica took a step back.

She kept her gaze trained on him, like she wouldn’t take her eyes off something dangerous.

‘Right now? Lauv? Nothing happened last time though? Everything was fine until a few moments ago.’

Lauv accepted that reaction of hers as natural. Lilica felt her fingertips turn cold and damp.

‘What should I do? What should I do?’

Does that mean,

Does that mean.

Was going to his hometown the problem?

At that moment, someone touched Lilica’s shoulder. She turned around in alarm, but it turned out to be Atil. He was standing with his head tilted.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen? What did he say?”

“N—nothing! He didn’t say anything!”

Her voice came out louder than she’d thought it would.

Lilica looked back at Lauv, thinking the hand on her shoulder was very reliable.

She no longer felt nervous.

“Lauv, won’t you be my escort knight?”

Would it be alright if he didn’t go back to his hometown?

Lauv’s eyes widened at Lilica’s invitation. His eyes shook.

Lilica felt the grip of the hand holding her shoulder tighten, but she continued looking at Lauv regardless.

Lauv examined her carefully like he was trying to figure out Lilica’s true intentions, and asked.

“Are you being serious?”

Lilica stared at him directly, so that he could examine her carefully, and spoke.

“Yes, of course, there’s nothing I can do if Lauv doesn’t want to…”

The alarm bells became much quieter than before. Lilica’s expression became much more relaxed when she was convinced that not leaving was the right answer.

“I’m no longer a knight. So—”

Lauv’s expression darkened again. Lilica tilted her head and asked.

“Can’t I just hire you even if you’re not a knight? Well, I’m not sure if I can give Lauv a lot of money, but…”

“Hey.”

Atil shook her shoulder and spoke loudly.

“Why do you have to hire this guy? You’re Lauv, aren’t you? If you’re going back, that means that you aren’t qualified. What kind of shameless words are you spouting?”

“Atil!”

Lilica raised her voice, turned around and hugged his waist tightly.

“Huh? Ohh?”

Lilica looked back proudly at Lauv in the flustered Atil’s arms and said.

“If it’s alright with you, I’ll hire you.”

Ah! Then Lilica raised a finger.

“A pearl! What do you think?”

Lilica could be bold as she’d received pocket money to get something delicious this morning.

“You’re being serious.”

Lauv blinked.

“You, honestly,” Atil grumbled, but he didn’t even think about pushing her away.

Rather, he carefully adjusted Lilica’s position out of worry that her cheek would be scratched by the decorative button of the clothes that he was wearing.

“I accept.”

The moment Lauv gave his response, the ominous premonition that she felt disappeared completely.

Lilica beamed happily. It was the first time that she’d changed her premonitions by acting personally.

Without running away.

‘So, it can be changed.’

She suddenly felt like she possessed a great weapon.

Lauv came a step closer to her and knelt down.

When Lilica stared at him blankly, Atil clicked his tongue, grabbed and extended one of her hands, while holding her tightly with the other.

Lilica was in Atil’s arms and only her arms were thrown out to the wrong place.

“Oh? Ah? Ah!”

Lauv held the outstretched hand and kissed the back of her hand lightly.

“I will serve you wholeheartedly.”

“Can someone explain what exactly is happening here?”

When Lilica turned around, Tan was standing in front of the open door with a curious expression.

“I hired Lauv as my escort.”

Tan frowned at Lilica’s words. His gaze turned towards Lauv.

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Lauv rose from his position and stood beside Lilica.

Tan asked.

“Did you know that that punk is leaving the Knight Order today?”

“Yeah, but can’t I still hire him regardless of that?”

Can’t I?

When Lilica tilted her head, Tan held his forehead and pondered for a moment, before raising his head.

“If that is the Princess’ choice, then it’s fine. In that case, I’ll just have to bring out the candidates for the crown prince’s escorts?”

“She’ll choose.”

Atil grabbed her shoulders and pushed her forward. Tan gave a faint smile.

“Princess Lilica will be the one choosing, is that right?”

“Yes.”

Lilica spoke flusteredly.

“Of course it should be chosen by Atil.”

“You said you’d look over them.”

“I’ll help you with that, so choose from the ones that I’ve checked.”

Atil snorted at her words. Although astonishment filled Tan’s face, he politely urged them to head inside.

The chair in the office was fluffy, and the tea and snacks were distributed to everyone.

Lauv was packing up his luggage and sending it to the White Dragon Chamber.

Tan rubbed his chin when he heard Lilica’s story.

“So you have a good intuition.”

“Mm.”

Lilica nodded. Tan spoke, deep in thought.

“Then I’ll call for the candidates to enter first.”

He called for a page outside and whispered something. The page tilted his head and left.

After a while, five knights rushed in and gave their greetings. Lilica examined the knights and whispered something in Atil’s ear.

Atil declared.

“Everyone other than the two at the end, get out.”

A strange glint appeared in Tan’s eyes. Atil chose the two that remained.

“You can work in shifts.”

When the two men that were appointed as escort knights went out, Tan asked Lilica.

“Was eliminating the first three based on your intuition?”

“Yeah, ah. I’m not saying that they’re bad people, but something… well……it was a bit.”

Her warning bells didn’t ring as loudly as it did for Lauv. Tan nodded at Lilica’s words.

“I see.”

He smiled.

“Then it’s over, right? I have work to do, so I’ll be leaving first.”

Atil rose from his seat. He pressed on Lilica’s shoulders as she scrambled to get up, and told her not to get up, saying.

“You should eat slowly. Pi, Brann.”

“Then we’ll be taking our leave now.”

“Princess, see you later.”

After they left in a rush, Lilica looked at Brynn and asked.

“Will a pearl be enough?”

“Sir Lauv, I mean, he isn’t a Sir anymore, is he? If Lauv says it’s fine, it’s fine.”

High quality pearls were rare, and it’s so rare that its price is determined by the type of merchant he goes to.

In short, it was such a rare and expensive item that ‘the best pearl: market price’.

Lilica felt relieved.

‘Well, Lauv is the kind of person that would decline if he doesn’t like it.’

When Lilica nodded, Tan approached, sat in a nearby chair and asked.

“But, Princess, is Lauv alright?”

Lilica stole a glance at Brynn and shook her head.

“No, it was really bad. My back turned damp because it was dangerous…”

Tan’s expression turned solemn. So did Brynn’s. Lilica waved her hand at the look on their faces.

“But it was because he said that he was going back to his hometown, and so it became better after I hired him.”

Lilica looked earnestly at Tan with a worried look.

“Tan’s hometown and Lauv’s hometown are the same, right? Did something happen in your hometown?”

“No, the Wolfe fiefdom should be fine. Rather than that, oh, gosh.”

He sighed.

“I didn’t know I’d be entrusting that punk to the Princess. Please inform me if anything happens. No matter what happens, I’ll support you.”

Tan folded his chest to his knees.

“Thank you for hiring Lauv, Princess.”

“Huh? Mm, it’s alright, Tan.”

Puzzled, Lilica waved her hands. Brynn spoke with a smile.

“You’ll really support her, won’t you? Lord Commander.”

Tan raised his head and responded seriously.

“Of course.”

“I look forward to it.”

Brynn grinned. The full support of the Knight Commander of the Imperial Guards wasn’t something that anyone could gain.

‘How wonderful.’

It’s quite amazing to be serving a master that picks up connections like these as though they were shells.

After receiving Tan’s greeting, the two had a relaxed conversation while returning to White Dragon Chamber.

Without knowing that they would face an unexpected challenge in order to hire Lauv.

* * *

Pi spoke bluntly to Atil.

“Why do you speak like that to the Princess?”

“What?”

They were narrowing down the investigation area by sifting out reports on human trafficking from the pile of reports from the capital’s public order.

He hated paperwork, but it couldn’t be helped.

Atil looked at Pi, who spoke after reaching the limits of his patience. Pi looked at Atil somberly.

“Why are you speaking so rigidly? It’s not like you dislike her.”

“When did I?”

“You always do that. Brann, am I right?”

Brann nodded at Pi’s words. Pi waved Atil in Brann’s direction with a pen.

“Today, you’ve also said things like ‘why are you following me like a maid today’, and ‘why can’t you ride a horse’, things that would hurt her in any case.”

“I did?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Atil became lost in thought at Pi’s words and mumbled.

“That’s not true. Both following me from behind, and not being able to ride a horse.”

“If you’re saying that to hurt the princess, I won’t say anything. But it wasn’t like that either.”

Pi narrowed his eyes slightly and said. He had a Sandar-like expression.

“Imagine, if the Princess spoke to Your Highness in the same manner. ‘You’re walking ahead like you’ve become my master.’”

“……”

Atil fell silent. Pi said.

“I’m not asking you to speak amicably, but you just wanted to walk alongside Princess Lilica, right? Then let’s walk side by side. You can just say it like this, right?”

“……Did it upset her?”

He didn’t intend to hurt Lilica or her feelings.

Atil’s words caused Pi to smile and stroke his chin.

“The Princess has a magnanimous heart, so she’ll let it slide, but she might be hurt someday. Please be a little more careful.”

“I’ll obviously try.”

Even after he said that, Atil’s brows was still furrowed

His speed in looking through the documents also slowed down. Pi quickly came up with a plan to lighten his lord’s mind.

“If it’s still bothering you, why don’t you give her a present?”

“A present?”

“Yes, a pony. Since she’s young, I think it would be better for her to ride a pony in the Sun Palace’s garden. Didn’t you receive this as a gift a while back? A Haflinger.”

When Atil thought about the elegant brown pony with a magnificent cream-coloured mane and tail, a faint smile appeared on Atil’s mouth.

If that’s the case, Lilica would definitely like it.

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