episode_0568

“I’ll drive the carriage. It’s not like we’re going far anyway, so it’d be a bit of a hassle to bring the coachman along.”

“You’re about to become a duchess, so you should probably graduate from driving the carriage yourself. If you feel burdened by someone else, you can just have Isabel do it.”

“Hmm… . But the Kilkenny area is a rocky area, so the road is a bit rough, so I’m worried if Isabel can drive well… Ah! ”

… Come to think of it, if you’re just going to go by yourself, there might not be a need to drag a carriage along.

Ethan can ride a horse by himself now. If we’re going to move two horses anyway, it’d be much easier for them to each ride one rather than a carriage.

Although it is said that it is somewhat shameful for nobles to drive carriages, there is no particular criticism or strangeness about them driving their own horses.

“Then, do you want to go on a horseback riding date? Let’s each ride a horse.”

“Why are you trying to run away again?”

“… It’s already been two years, but aren’t you still being so rude?”

“It was such a shocking thing to me. How could I forget the person I was about to get married to disappear overnight with a notice of breakup? ”

“It’s late to say this now, but honestly, back then, Ethan wasn’t that good.”

If I had to be picky, it would have to be my fault.

Still, wouldn’t it be okay to assume that Ethan also has a stake of about 30%?

“Yeah, that’s what it was like back then. I think I was really immature. ”

“I was like that too.”

“At that time, I didn’t realize how important it was to keep the stories in my heart. Thanks to that, now I can say them without hesitation as soon as even the smallest thought comes to mind.”

But, if you’re only going to be out for a bit anyway, there might not be a need to bring two horses.

When I went to Grainstone Village to make my sword before, we rode on a horse together, so I made a suggestion while recalling the memory of that time and locking eyes with Edan.

“Let’s go together like this.”

“Shall we ride together?”

… Ethan was the same.

⁎⁎⁎

Although it is a territory, Kilkenny is not that close to Blackwood Manor. It is almost to the northern end of the former Blackwood Manor.

Although Kilkenny is no longer the northernmost region due to the absorption of lands from several minor nobles, it is still undoubtedly a relatively remote area.

“It’s definitely hot to ride a horse in this weather.”

“Let’s take a short break around here. I think we’ll reach the river a little further, so let’s slaughter some wood.”

“… I think I heard that girl’s name from Edith Meyer last time, Lucina.”

“That’s so cool. And Jeraon said last time that he liked the name I gave him better. Right, Jeraon?”

‘Heeek~!’

See, I like Jeraon too.

After all, you have to give your horse a cool name first. There’s a reason why Lu Bu only rode on a red horse.

Even if you make up a name like the enemy, you’re riding a horse that sounds like it’s going to explode, so isn’t Bangtong dead?

Ethan and I decided to move only until the river appeared while having such a conversation, but even though we moved for quite a long time, we couldn’t hear the sound of water at all.

“Did I get the wrong number?”

“Well, since the direction is still going north, I think this is the right way.”

“It’s about time for it to appear, but it’s strange that it’s still not visible. It’s not like the river that was fine suddenly dried up… .”

No, it’s dry.

Because less than five minutes after saying that, I discovered a riverbed with only a faint stream of water flowing.

If you go up along the Amai River, it will probably be north of Yeongji. Judging from the fact that it even affected here, it seems like a large-scale rockslide accident occurred.

“I’d rather go here and solve this quickly than just rest.”

“… If it affects this much, everyone in the surrounding territory will probably die.”

There are probably more than one or two local residents who use the river flowing upstream of Kilkenny for drinking water or agricultural water.

Ethan and I became serious, thinking that the situation might be a little more serious than we had thought.

⁎⁎⁎

“This is….”

“… It’s definitely blocked.”

The situation at Sangryu Rock Mountain, which we had been guided to by a local lord, or someone similar to a local lord, was more serious than we had thought.

A rock larger than I had imagined was blocking the river. It was so huge that its diameter was nearly 10 meters.

The completely blocked river flowed faintly out of the rocks. I didn’t bother to look behind it, but I’m sure there was a considerable amount of water accumulated beyond this natural dam.

I thought that if Ethan came and cut it a few times with his sword, the problem would be solved, but it wasn’t a situation that could be solved by simply destroying it.

“What do you want to do, Ethan?”

“I guess we have no choice but to start from the top and clean it up step by step. If we just cut it all down like this, the rock debris will roll down the mountain, and the water that was blocked will burst out all at once.”

“… I guess so.”

If handled incorrectly, it was a situation that could have resulted in a series of accidents, including a rockslide and flood damage.

If Ethan is somewhere between a Sword Expert and a Master, he can easily cut through a rock with his sword, but if he handles things in such a simple way, it would be worse than not helping at all.

I would cut it little by little from the top with my sword, and I would create small pieces with the shock wave and blow them away. Then I would cut it again and I would blow it away. This repeated the process, and I spent almost two hours just dismantling the giant rock.

‘I really did it properly for once in the middle of summer.’

I never thought that I would be carrying bricks in this world, something I had never done in my previous life. And I would be doing it as a noble daughter.

After work was over, Edan Dodan seemed to be sitting by the river to rest, perhaps because he was tired.

As he was cutting and breaking rocks, he was covered in dust and got soaked in the river water, which was a bonus.

“Whew… Good job, Lilith.”

“It was harder than I thought. I thought I could get there and back in one day. It seems like it will be hard to get back on the Jeraon again, and above all, the sun will set before I even get to the mansion.”

If I went back to the mansion in this state, leaving everything else behind, the servants would be scared. Even if it was a little late, I had no choice but to stay overnight and go back.

⁎⁎⁎

Ethan and I set out after clearing the blocked river and staying overnight in Kilkenny.

After returning from an unplanned 2-day, 1-night trip, my whole body was tired. It wasn’t easy for two people to ride a horse for hours, or to carve a large rock for hours to create a waterway.

However, since we were moving within the territory, the time itself did not take long, so we left at dawn the next day and returned in time for the morning.

“I’m back.”

“I’m back… .”

“Are you back, young master, young lady?”

… Now that I think about it, when on earth does Dietmeyer sleep?

Just like Idoedan, I’ve been seeing him for almost 10 years now, but he’s still a guy who has a lot of questions. No matter how early I wake up in the morning, he’s always the first one up, and he’s one of the servants who always takes care of the mansion until the very end, even at night.

In the original, the Blackwood family was ruined, so we don’t even know what he’s doing, and he ends up being a MacGuffin. He seems like a hard-working guy who knows how to do a lot of things.

“I will tell the chef to prepare the meal for you two.”

“Yes, please.”

“… And there is an important letter from the north of the empire, so please check it in the office when you have time, Your Majesty. ”

“…Important letter? From the North?”

An important letter from the north.

Usually, when you think of the ‘North of the Empire’, the first place that comes to mind is the ‘Demon Border’ that leads into the Demon Realm.

It’s also the background for the latter half of episode 4. The place where the warrior party guys are having a hard time right now is the Demon Realm beyond the Demon Tribe’s border in the north.

“If it’s the north… That’s where the warrior is.”

Ethan seems to be mumbling Dietmeyer’s remark absentmindedly, as if he had a similar thought to me.

Maybe it was because I remembered the conversation we had in the office yesterday. It was an expression that strangely felt like a smile.

“There are grasslands to the north of here, so the letter could have come from there.”

“I don’t think that Bavarian girl would contact you in such a sophisticated way as a letter. She would probably prefer you to come to her in person, since she can ride horses.”

“If you look closely, the Kingdom of Dephrin, where Queen Raini resides, is also in the north of the empire.”

“I think that woman also said she was reluctant to write letters because of the spirit. If necessary, she would have sent a servant.”

Ethan was halfway convinced that it was a letter from the warrior party.

Actually, I’ve been feeling that way for a while now. There was no reason for Queen Liliana Rainey to suddenly send a letter to us now.

Since the final battle with the Demon King was just around the corner, there was ample reason to call Ethan and me.

I am the main heroine of the original work and have the power to be an essential character, and Ethan is also capable of showing a performance better than Natalie in the swordsmanship position.

I’ve said several times that I would absolutely decline if it meant going back and forth between the Empire and the Demon Realm for years, fighting big and small battles like Agnes and the others are doing now…

‘… If it’s the final and final battle, I might want to participate a little.’

In the end, in a way, I might have been recalling the same regrets as Edan.