Zenius, the handsome man, had been standing in front of the painting for fifteen minutes without moving. Amira didn't say anything other than standing next to him carrying a small hand luggage.
"All the equipment and invitations are here," said Amira.
A special party invitation for nobles sent by Quarry to celebrate the duke's birthday. The invitation can only be used by one male noble and partner, but since I refuse to dress as a woman I will enter as that man's attendant.
I could hear a soft sigh from Zenius and then he passed me with Amira immediately following. I stepped beside Amira, "between regional capitals can take three days but from this area it could only be one and a half days and because you are human don't hesitate to ask to stop and rest," Amira's voice sounded soft and caring, I nodded.
"Don't worry, I can also use this sword quite well," I said while touching the fairess who was perched on my waist. She smiled.
"Be careful, come back safely," I saw Amira's sincere face, at that moment I felt the sincere feelings conveyed. No one has ever worried about me before, apart from Anya.
I smiled, sincerely.
Zenius just glanced and got on the horse-drawn carriage first. I raised my right hand, gave a temporary farewell to Amira then followed Zenius. We left the mansion.
"It seems troublesome, don't get in the way either," those words stabbed my heart, my forehead wrinkled, staring at the man who was leaning while staring out the window with a 'what do you mean?!' look. "I won't."
I looked back at the keeper who's now on my lap, this story would cause some tragic deaths, I didn't know what the locker said, but I hoped that nothing would happen off-track again like the snowy incident.
"If that happens again, there's nothing to be afraid of, just focus on finishing your work," he spoke again as if he could read my mind, he glanced briefly then looked back at the direction of the snow hill we were currently passing, aka approaching the location at that time.
I nodded, he said that either just to calm me down or to give a spoiler. I don't know which one but I really hope that nothing out of control happens.
I then looked outside.
The horse carriage suddenly stopped, so suddenly that I was almost thrown forward. Zenius looked disturbed, but he did nothing until a man on a horse appeared in the right window.
He was wearing neat clothes like a government worker with a star badge on his robe, I saw him shocked and looked at Zenius. "Police," said him.
I widened my eyes, "Police?" Didn't the man outside know that this was a horse carriage that was ridden by nobles, why did he block us?
Knock Knock
The man knocked on the window, wanting us to get out.
The coachman who drove us was also seen, his face was worried, he opened the door, "Sorry Sir, they have an official letter," he said, I chose to get off first and saw three other policemen blocking the front of the horse-drawn carriage.
"Count. Sorry to disturb your journey. An official letter for investigation, I didn't know you were going today," the man got off, then showed an envelope with a star-shaped seal. I looked at Zenius.
Zenius took a short breath, annoyed. He then got off and looked at the man whose height couldn't even meet his (Zenius') eye level. "From?" he reached for the envelope.
"Region IV."
If it was region IV.. was it during the first mission? I looked at the policeman, he glanced at me with an appraising gaze. "Usually you and Count Hasletown travel like stamps," he was talking about Orchid. Apparently that was her title in this world.
Zenius looked serious reading the contents of the letter, not wanting to respond. Of course, it would be shocking if it was known that the Count in question had died in another dimension.
"Hm.." Zenius put the letter back into the envelope. "Requesting permission to interrogate?" he asked.
The policeman looked away from me and nodded. "Orders from the superior for permission to interrogate Count Weiner as a suspect in the Rosera Theater."
Wow.
Crazy.
Is he arresting us now because Zenius was caught shooting and kicking them into the fire? I almost wanted to hit my forehead. Why did he have to do that openly? I never thought there would actually be witnesses who reported this.
"It seems to have been explained in the Emperor's decree regarding some nobles who have important duties or are you questioning the Emperor's decision?" Zenius' words made the man change his casual expression. "Please excuse me, Count. This is an absolute order from the Commander," the man gave a short salute, seemingly afraid of offending Zenius who already had a disturbed expression.
"We have quite an important journey, sir," I chose to speak up, breaking the silence.
"Forgive me," he glanced at his three companions. One of them had taken off her hood, a woman with long auburn hair. Zenius could be heard sighing again, this time quite heavily. "Count," the woman jumped down and walked over, glancing at me once and immediately looking up at Zenius. "You will look suspicious if you run away from the official letter, we have a big responsibility as one of the guards formed by the Emperor himself," she said in a rather sarcastic tone.
"Lady Rachel."
"I hope you don't run away again like last time."
Zenius rolled his eyes lazily, "We have a Duke Quarry event to attend, I'm sure you've been invited too."
The woman called Rachel glared at Zenius, her gaze sharp as a knife's edge that could cut through anything. "There's no guarantee you'll be easily found again after that event."
"You're known for being evasive."
I frowned, confused. Was this not the first time Zenius had been caught red-handed? The man from earlier seemed to understand my confusion, and he shifted toward me, bringing his face closer and whispering, "Lady Rachel once proposed to him, and the Count ran away."
I was shocked.
I stared at him in shock.
Proposed to him? To that mad man? I stared back with my mouth agape, "Are you lying?"
The man shook his head.. with a resigned expression.
"Just leave the letter at my house, Amira's there." He then turned and stepped closer to me. I felt like I was going to cower under his sharp gaze. "Get in."
I glanced around, who were starting to view me as the main character this time, especially Lady Rachel, who had narrowed her eyes.
"This is the commander's order. If you run away, it means you agree to be a fugitive," Rachel said.
"I don't care, there are more important things right now. If you insist, invite me to the imperial court. We'll see who's breaking the law here," Zenius's final words before finally "throwing" me in and made them stared in silence.
"Fine..."
The man raised his voice this time and took a deep breath. "We'll await your arrival at the office once your business is finished, Count."
"Be safe on your journey," he bowed respectfully. As the horse-drawn carriage moved again, I glanced at Zenius, who wore a cold, stern expression.
"DON'T YOU DARE TO AVOID ME AT THE PARTY!"
I was shocked again.
Zenius seemed unconcerned.
Really..... what made this woman like this man?
***