Chapter 6: The Whereabouts of the Royal Siblings
The day after Christina and Flora were sent to the Paladia Forest, the two of them silently walked through the forest during the afternoon hours, trying to make their way out. Though they took some breaks, they had been walking continuously since morning.
Flora’s healing magic could soothe away their physical fatigue, but there was nothing that could be done about their mental fatigue. Being cornered into an extreme situation like this—on top of going through the commotion of Flora being bitten by a spider in the morning—meant they had long surpassed the limits of their minds.
“How are you holding up, Flora?” Christina asked, stopping frequently to check up on Flora as she walked behind her.
“I’m fine.” Flora nodded with a brave smile, sweating profusely.
“You’ve been staggering for a while now.”
Though they only just took a break a short moment ago.
“Ehehe... Umm, I think I may be a little hungry. It seems I don’t have much of an appetite when walking.”
“I’m sorry, I lost track of time. Let’s have lunch.”
They had been so preoccupied with walking, their sense for hunger had probably been numbed. However, they surely had to be starving—their declining ability to think was evidence of that.
“Okay.”
Though she smiled brightly, exhaustion showed on Flora’s face. Christina let Flora rest while she prepared a meal by herself.
The menu was the same as yesterday afternoon, yesterday night, and this morning—grains boiled with preserved meat into a soup seasoned with salt, along with stiff, dry bread.
It wasn’t very delicious to begin with, yet they had eaten it for four meals in a row. They were definitely bored of it by now, but they were in no position to complain.
It really makes one realize just how luxurious the food Sir Amakawa and Orphia made on our journey was.
Christina looked down at the simmering soup with conflicted thoughts, but this wasn’t the time to be lost in her sentiments. She pulled herself together and turned around to look for Flora, who was resting behind her.
“It’s almost ready, Flo... Flora?!”
She paled at the sight of her little sister wrapped in a blanket, slumped limply on the ground. Abandoning her cooking, she rushed over to her.
“Hah... Hah... Christina?” Flora replied, breathing heavily.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m fine. I’m just a little tired.”
“But you’re sweating so much. Why are you wrapped in a blanket?”
Christina took out her handkerchief and started wiping Flora’s sweat. She then tried to lift the blanket, but—
“I’m fine. I’m just cold.”
Flora refused to let go of the blanket. She curled up into a ball, sticking only her flushed face out. Her eyes seemed to be out of focus, her pupils wavering drowsily.
“...Show me what’s under the blanket.”
Christina had a bad feeling and paused for a long moment before grabbing Flora’s hand. Then, she lifted up the blanket once again. Flora had either given up or didn’t have any energy left to object, as the blanket lifted easily.
“Ever since our last break, my neck suddenly started feeling hot... So I was casting purgo and cura underneath the blanket...” Flora explained in a faint voice. The area where she was bitten by the spider this morning had gradually turned black.
“...I’m sorry,” Christina apologized, her voice heavy with regret. She had been so desperate to leave the forest, she had failed to notice the abnormality in Flora that normally would have been evident to her.
I can’t believe we walked for hours while poison was flowing through her body...
Why didn’t Flora say anything until now? Perhaps it was because saying something wouldn’t have helped.
“Why are you apologizing, Christina? I’m the sorry one... I wasn’t actually hungry, I just wanted to rest a little...”
“Oh, goodness... What a fool. You should have just said so.” Overwhelmed by her helplessness, Christina held back her tears. She was actually calling herself a fool.
“But...”
“No buts. Can you drink water? What about food?”
“Water...”
“Here.”
She placed the cup against Flora’s mouth and let her gulp the water down.
“I’m sorry, I don’t think I can eat. Even though you went through the trouble of cooking...” Flora apologized with a pained look.
“That doesn’t matter at all. I’ll carry you from now on. We have to leave the forest as soon as possible...” The poison gnawing at Flora’s body didn’t seem to be lethal, but she didn’t feel relieved at all. They had to leave immediately.
We’ll take a little bit of food along, but we’ll have to leave the rest behind.
Christina looked around at their supplies before promptly putting out the fire heating the soup and organizing their belongings. They departed from the area soon after.
One hour passed. Christina carried Flora on her back as she walked, hoping to leave the forest as soon as possible. It seemed like Flora was approaching her limit: her high fever had left her so exhausted, she was currently unconscious.
“Hah... Hah...” Christina panted. Her fatigue had been accumulating this entire time, but now she was carrying another person through the uneven forest on top of that.
Since her high heels weren’t suitable for walking, she had thrown them away. Walking barefoot meant she stepped on rocks and twigs that injured her, making her feet bleed and protest in pain.
The air in the forest was cool, but the constant walking left her body flushed hot. She was also sweating a lot, making her dress stick to her uncomfortably. With Flora and her high fever being carried on her back, the fabric there was completely soaked.
However, Christina didn’t begrudge that in the slightest as she walked. She didn’t slow down her pace at all. In fact, whenever she felt like she was struggling, she sped up as though to scold herself for it.
She walked endlessly through the forest like that, step by step, proceeding with an ironlike will. However—
“Aaa!”
Tripped up by a plant, Christina lost her footing and toppled forward heavily with Flora on her back.
“Ugh, that hurts... A-Are you okay, Flora?”
She hurriedly looked towards Flora, but she showed no signs of waking up. Her breathing was rough and she was still completely limp.
I have to get up...
Christina supported her body with her dainty arms, somehow managing to get up. Her elegant dress was dampened by her sweat and absorbed the dirt from the ground, but she didn’t spare a single thought for it.
But it was difficult to use her arms at this point. While her mind could hold up, her body was screaming in protest. It was almost like she was wearing heavy weights. She was filled with the urge to fall forward on her face.
We have to leave the forest quickly. For Flora’s sake!
Christina forced strength into her arms through her sheer will. After a moment, she managed to stand up, though she was shaking like a newborn fawn.
I got up... But which way was I walking? Since I fell forward, then it was that way. But I should climb a tree to confirm our direction soon.
Perhaps she hadn’t supplied her brain with enough nutrients, as her thoughts were finally dulling. For a brief moment, she completely lost track of her thoughts and had to refocus. She was filled with uncertainty about the direction they were moving in.
They had climbed a tree to check earlier, but they definitely hadn’t done it as frequently as Rio had while they were moving from Cleia to Rodania.
What if she had made a mistake? What if they couldn’t leave the forest today because of that? What if they were attacked by beasts or monsters? Christina couldn’t even create water with magic in her current state. And even if she disregarded herself, would Flora be able to make it another night in this forest?
She was sure she had been mentally prepared to leave the forest, but that single uncertainty became the foundation for all the other worries at the back of her head to come forward.
What should I do...?
What if she couldn’t save Flora, even though she was right here beside her? Christina paled as she imagined the worst-case scenario happening.
“...I should check where we’re going.” She furiously shook her head as though to drive away her uncertainties, then voiced her current task at hand to encourage herself.
“I’m sorry, Flora. Please rest here for a while.” Christina set Flora down against a tree trunk and approached a nearby tree that looked easy to climb. Then, she slowly started scaling the tree.
The sun hadn’t set yet. Though she was worried it would be impossible to leave the forest by the end of today, she continued to climb.
Eventually, she reached the top of the tree.
I’m tired...
Christina first looked for the position of the sun. It was still bright out, but sunset would surely happen within the next few hours.
Next, she looked around at her surroundings.
The smoke is close... I can see the edge of the forest.
She spotted the smoke they were heading for as a sign of civilization. At the far depths of her view, she could see where the trees came to an end. It meant the time for them to leave the forest was finally near.
“We can leave... We can leave! It’s the end of the forest... I have to go back down,” Christina said hoarsely, swallowing her saliva. With a slight start, she started making her way back down the tree.
“Christina...”
By the time she reached the ground, Flora had woken up.
“Flora! Thank goodness, you’re awake... I saw the edge of the forest. There’s a settlement right beside it. We’ll be able to leave the forest soon,” Christina said in relief.
“R-Really? That’s great...”
“It is. Let’s go. Come on, I’ll carry you.”
“First, the cup. Procreo Aqua. Here, please drink up.”
Flora immediately took a cup out of the blanket being used to carry supplies and recited a spell to fill it with water. The cup filled with water pouring out of the small magic circle.
“...You drink first.” Christina shook her head slowly and pushed the cup back towards Flora.
“You’ve been walking this entire time, so you drink first. I’ll make more for myself.” Flora smiled weakly and took the other cup, filling it with another spell to create water.
“Thank you,” Christina said with a bow, bringing the cup to her face elegantly. However, it seemed she was severely dehydrated, as she gulped it all down at once.
“Phew... I feel like I’ve been revived,” Christina said in a daze.
“I’m glad. I think I feel a bit better now, thanks to you carrying me this whole time,” Flora said while sipping from her cup.
“Your fever seems to go up when you move your body. You still have a bit of a fever, so let me continue to carry you. If it hurts despite that, let me know.”
“Okay... Thank you very much,” Flora said apologetically. The two of them continued to rehydrate themselves for a few minutes before setting off to leave the forest.
Not long after Christina started walking, Flora fell into a deep sleep as though she had fallen unconscious again—but they were nearly out of the forest. Christina relied on that future to keep her anxiety at bay as she continued walking as calmly as she could.
Then, roughly half an hour later...
“We’re out...”
Christina finally reached the end of the forest. It felt like an eternity since the last time she had seen anything other than trees, making her stare in a daze for a moment.
The forest came to an end at a gentle hilly area with a clear view. There were buildings that looked to form a village outside of the forest. Relief and exhaustion surged within her instantly.
“It’s a village... Let’s go and see if they have a doctor.”
Christina squeezed out what energy she had left in her body to sluggishly drag her feet towards the village. However, with her accumulated fatigue and mind focused on leaving the harsh forest, Christina had forgotten an important thing—the possibility that their pursuer was hot on their tail...
“Haha. Well done. What an effort.”
There was someone in the forest watching Christina descend the hill towards the village with Flora on her back. Lucius.
While the forest was a harsh environment for the two girls raised as princesses, it was nothing but a walk in the park for Lucius. It hadn’t taken any time for him to catch up to them at all, and once he did, he observed the royal siblings in their hard struggle.
Well, they’ll definitely rest at the village in their state. I can leave this be for now and head back to Duran.
Rio had probably visited Duran by now—if so, the moment of truth was near. Lucius grinned and flung the magic artifact to set a teleport crystal’s location to the nearby hill so that he could return at any moment.
“I’ll be back for you soon, princesses. Transilio.”
With the spell for teleportation uttered, Lucius disappeared.
Back in Paladia’s capital...
One day had passed since Rio’s contest with Duran, and it was around the same time Christina and Flora had reached the village.
Rio hadn’t taken a single step out of his inn since the day before. Since he didn’t know when Duran’s messenger would arrive, he didn’t want to be absent from the inn if at all possible.
He had taken a book out of his Time-Space Cache to read, but none of its contents had seeped into his head. He had finally gained a clue about Lucius, so his emotions seemed to be unusually agitated.
This is no good. I need to calm down...
Rio slammed his book shut and took a deep breath. Then, someone knocked on his door.
“Yes!”
Could it be? Rio leaped out of his seat with that thought, answering at a louder voice than normal. He prepared himself sufficiently to react no matter what happened, then slowly opened the door. There, he was faced with someone unexpected.
“Prince Duran...” Rio called his name in shock. He hadn’t imagined the first prince would come to this inn in person.
Furthermore, he was here without a single guard. There was no sign of anyone else in the corridor.
Did he really come without guards? Isn’t that really careless of him? Rio thought to himself, but he had heard word of the prince’s character during his investigations upon reaching this kingdom.
“Why are you so surprised?” the large man looked down at Rio and said.
“I wasn’t expecting Your Highness to visit in person... Did you need something?” Rio asked, collecting himself.
“It’s about your reward. I came to tell you his location,” Duran said as he looked around curiously at the run-down inn room.
“Where is he?” Rio asked with bated breath.
“If you follow the road west from this capital for thirty kilometers, you’ll find a large forest. Before the forest is a village—he said he’d wait for you there.”
“...In a village?”
“Your face says you’re wondering why it’s there, of all places.” Duran chuckled, seeing through Rio’s reaction.
“Would you tell me the reason?”
“There’s someone related to you in that village, apparently.”
“...What does that mean?” Rio’s expression changed with a twitch. The words caught his attention; he had a bad feeling.
“Who knows? I have no more information than that, and you’re looking rather murderous. If it bothers you that much, why don’t you hurry along?” Duran shrugged, suggesting that Rio depart.
“Excuse me, then.”
“Sure.”
Rio left the room. He originally arrived in the clothes he was wearing, so he didn’t have any belongings to take with him.
Duran was left alone in the room. But as soon as he stepped out into the corridor, he entered the room next door.
“Was that enough, Lucius? I did everything you said, but...”
“Yes. I am most grateful.” Lucius stood up.
“That aside, you’ve sure changed a lot since the last time I saw you. He must be quite the outrageous man to make you suffer to this extent...”
Duran stared at Lucius closely. His left eye was covered by an eyepatch, and his left arm was heavily wrapped in bandages. The air around him was sharper than usual, and a hint of deep hatred no regular person would ever have could be seen in his gaze.
“Unfortunately, I don’t have time to chat with you. Reiss will have realized something was off and will visit you again soon. In the meantime, I need to get ahead of the bastard so I can lie in wait. If you’re coming along, then stay silent.”
Lucius was clearly in a bad mood. Before, he would talk to Duran—his contract partner—with some level of respect, but when Rio became the topic of conversation, he instantly unraveled.
That being said, Duran had taken on a role to help him get the jump on Reiss. After Lucius had arrived first to meet Duran, Duran had fed Reiss false information about Lucius’s whereabouts the day before. By now, Reiss should be searching for Lucius, wandering around the point he was originally supposed to direct Duran to guide Rio towards.
“Very well. In return, allow me to watch your battle with him. I’ll have to decide which of the royal sisters to receive as my reward as well.”
Duran didn’t appear particularly fazed and acted as his usual self. He had requested to spectate the showdown with Rio as repayment for assisting Lucius. Since he wouldn’t have been able to outwit Reiss without Duran, Lucius reluctantly agreed.
“Hmph... Transilio.”
Thus, the two of them headed to the village where Christina and Flora were.
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