148. Departure to the North

"Be careful on your journey."

Father says this as he sees us off, and though he appears calm at a glance, I know he is merely putting on a brave face.

"I'll protect Lia."

"Luke!"

Unable to bear seeing brother make such a solemn declaration, Father pulled him into a tight embrace. Immediately, gasps of surprise rose from the gathered crowd.

Given the sheer number of people involved, it was decided that the move to the North should be made public on a grand scale; thus, the departure ceremony was being held in the plaza in front of the castle, drawing a massive crowd from the capital.

"Of course, you must look after Lia, but Luke, you must take care of yourself as well. Both you and Lia are my precious children."

"Father."

Big brother hugged Father back tightly. I knew I would be picked up next, but I couldn't wait and clung tightly to their legs.

"Lia."

"Fatha. Big bwo-ther."

My brother was clinging to Father as he lifted me up. The sight of the three of us—with our shining golden hair and pale violet eyes—radiating such closeness made the crowd feel that the House of Allvance was indeed secure. This was a vital thing, a welcome sign that contributed to the stability of the Kingdom's barrier. Beside us, Gil was similarly reluctant to part from his parents.

"Lia, Luke, Gil, it's time to go."

It was Nico calling out in a loud voice. It was rare for royalty to appear before the common folk, yet even the King with his golden eyes and the Prince had come outside the castle just to see Nico and Prince Albert off.

To the common folk, seeing royalty up close was a dazzling sight.

As we climbed into the dragon carriage and departed, the crowds saw us off with a great roar of cheers.

"The fact that the Kingdom's heir has set out on a journey is now public knowledge. No one will dare to attack such a party."

"Yes."

Prince Lambert nodded at the King's words with a solemn expression as he watched Nico depart; I suspect that, in truth, he wasn't quite ready to let little Nico out into the world. However, once the decision was made, there was no turning back. We have no choice now but to simply enjoy ourselves.

We take the dragon carriage to the castle every day. Even so, it was fun to travel along a different route and gaze upon unfamiliar townscapes. Before long, the houses grew sparse, and we found ourselves in the nostalgic grasslands. Even the raag dragon seemed to be enjoying itself.

“Shall we ride in the dragon carriage for today, and then see how things go and ride on Minnie from tomorrow? I want to ride a dragon more than the carriage too!”

“Yesh!”

Riding in a dragon's basket is much more exciting than the dragon carriage. Even so, there is such a thing as decorum, and we had to show the people that we were departing in the dragon carriage.

We set off in the morning, but we stopped for a lunch break at a spot with a wonderful view. It was only for about two hours, but staying in the dragon carriage for that long is surprisingly taxing. After I stepped down from the carriage behind my brother, I let out a big stretch. As soon as Nico hopped out of the royal dragon carriage, he stopped, skipped the stretching entirely, and ran toward the grasslands with eyes sparkling. The guards rushed after him in a panic. I let out a little chuckle.

“You’re so en-thusi-athtic!”

“Lia, you...”

My brother only laughed as if he found it amusing, but Gil looked at me as if he wanted to say something.

“Lia! The grass is so tall!”

“Yesh!”

If I'm being called, I have no choice but to go. I ran toward Nico.

"Ah, so Lia is finally starting to walk properly."

"I'm only walking normally, though."

Having finally received official confirmation that I was no longer toddling, I reached Nico's side.

"The castle didn't have such tall grass."

"When summer comes, I'm gonna get even big-gwo-er!"

"Is that so! Then we'll have to come in the summer too!"

The meadow was still chilly for spring; while patches of green remained, the tall grass had withered and was merely rustling dryly in the wind. Still, to Nico, who had only ever seen manicured gardens, it must have been quite a sight.

I picked up a dried, broken stalk of grass that had fallen at my feet and showed it to Nico. There was nothing to do with it but wave it around.

"Hiyah! Hiyah!"

“That looks fun! Hiyah!”

By the time we, having battled the withered grass, returned to the dragon carriage still clutching our stalks, lunch was already being prepared. There were two sets of small tables—one likely for the royals and one for us.

“Don’t need a chaiw!”

“Well, true. But they went to the trouble of setting it all out, so let's sit down.”

Before I could sit down at Gil's prompting, Natalie gently wiped my hands and brushed the dried grass from my hair. Natalie was always so composed. It made me feel a little nostalgic, thinking how Dolly would have been on the verge of a total meltdown.

Nico was swinging his legs happily, even as Prince Al gave him a warning. Come to think of it, Father always comes to pick me up at lunchtime back at the castle, so I've never actually eaten lunch with Nico before.

"Lia, keep your feet still, okay?

"I'm cawught it fwom Nico!"

It seemed that watching Nico had made me start swinging my legs too. When my brother scolded me, Grandfather stepped in to mediate.

"It is quite alright. Lia is only two years old, after all.

"Grandfather, I think it's lazy to not do something even when you're capable of it."

My brother is quite strict about things like that.

"U-uh, I see. I suppose it's because the family was so overjoyed whenever Claire managed to do even the smallest thing. I'm just glad you were born healthy, Lia."

"Heawthy!"

It seems Mother was very precious to them because she had been so frail. I've heard that paintings of her from when she was a young girl still exist, and I find myself looking forward to seeing them.

Once we had finished lunch and tidied up quickly, some of the seats in our dragon carriage had been folded away to transform into simple beds. I realized that was why the carriage seemed a bit larger than usual.

"This is for Lia. It's just in case you feel like taking a nap."

"Wow! But Lia no want a nap!"

I didn't want them thinking I was always sleeping. I huffed and turned my head away.

"Our destination today is Coulter, which is a lakeside town. If you don't take a nap soon, you might miss the view of the lake."

"I'll thleep!"

Come to think of it, our destination today is the southern tip of the lake located in the northwest of the Royal Capital. And I believe we are traveling north along the lakeshore, and tomorrow we will arrive at the Earl of Coulter's manor. The Earl of Coulter's territory lies in the northwest of the Royal Capital, just before we reach Neville.

"Even this meadow belongs to the Earl of Coulter now. I didn't realize Lake Mills was this close to the Royal Capital myself."

My brother explains the geography to me. The steady swaying of the dragon carriage filters through my warm, cozy blankets, feeling just like someone is gently patting me on the back.

"After all that running around, it's no wonder you're tired."

"You're a handful."

Not a handful. Just a normal toddler. However, the voice I heard next was...

"Lia, Lia, look, we can see the lake!"

...it was my brother's voice. I must have inadvertently fallen asleep. But there was something strange about his voice.

"Nii-sama, you's funny."

"Nothing's strange about it. But, Lia..."

I sat up in bed and watched my brother rubbing his arms. It looked as if he had goosebumps. Gil was also looking at him with a puzzled expression. My brother gazed at me with uncertain eyes, then spoke hesitantly.

"Don't you feel it, Lia? Something coming from the direction of the lake..."