Chapter 15: A thorny return

With the rattling of the carriage, familiar yet now distant scenery flashed past the window.

Leaving the barren lands of the Demon Lord’s territory and entering the Empire’s domain, the desolate landscape gradually regained its verdant hue.

But such scenery hardly mattered.

All of Anastasia’s attention was focused on one person sitting across from her in the carriage right now: Logan.

‘This isn’t a dream, right? Right?’

She tried hard to feign composure, but her heart was pounding as if it would burst at any moment.

Starting with Logan leaning on her yesterday, and now returning together in a carriage!

Just the fact that she had held him, even for a moment, made her heart so full that she couldn’t sleep properly last night.

‘I didn’t even put on makeup properly, I hope I don’t look too haggard, right?’

Even as she worried about dark circles under her eyes making her look tired, she was so excited that she pretended to look at the scenery outside the window while stealing glances at him.

His profile still looked a little weary, but much more at ease than when he was lost in deep anguish.

That alone eased her mind a little.

‘Ah. Ah. Ah. Ah. Ah. Ah.’

Anastasia found it incredibly difficult to control herself.

Since her complete recovery from illness with Logan’s help five years ago, she had gone through all sorts of trials and tribulations, eliminating all the obstructors in the Imperial Palace.

Therefore, she thought she was an expert at controlling her emotions, but in front of him, all of that was useless.

The brakes in her heart were already almost broken.

‘I like it, I like it so much, I like it so much, I like it so much, Logan, Logan, Logan, Logan, Logan…..’

If she had her way, she wanted to ask him to call her ‘Anya’ right now, just like yesterday.

She wanted him to hold her.

More than that… more… more..!

She desperately wanted to express her deep affection.

But she barely managed to hold back.

‘…I can’t just prioritize my personal desires… Logan is still…’

He must be suffering from a wounded heart.

Perhaps he had accepted her offer to ride in the carriage together simply to seek solace for a moment because he was so exhausted, or to avoid Irene.

So, she shouldn’t act too rashly.

She shouldn’t burden him too much.

That would make her no different from that damn woman.

Therefore, Anastasia bit her lip and struggled to suppress her surging emotions.

Meanwhile, Logan thought as he watched Anastasia, who was barely restraining herself and at a loss for what to do.

‘…Was I too hasty…’

Last night, after much thought.

He had decided that if Anastasia wanted it, he would try to respond to her feelings.

But was it really okay to do this?

To be honest, he hesitated whether it was okay to unconditionally accept her kindness when he hadn’t even properly sorted out his feelings about Irene.

He felt guilty, as if he was just seeking refuge with her.

‘…Anya probably knows that too… That’s why she’s not saying anything now.’

Of course, in Anastasia’s case, she was trying her best to control herself for fear of burdening Logan and inadvertently saying something strange, but,

Seeing her remain silent since they boarded the carriage, Logan couldn’t help but misunderstand.

That she too was gauging the distance between them.

He had thought about speaking first, but they weren’t alone, Renate was there too, and her expression also seemed a bit intimidating.

And rightly so; despite his lowly status, Anastasia had shown him consideration and kindness, which he had declined.

After dedicating himself solely to Irene, to suddenly act like this now, it would be a natural reaction for her loyal knight.

Therefore, Logan maintained his silence as much as possible, keeping his distance.

On the other hand.

‘Haaah….’

Renate, not fully realizing how stern her own expression was, couldn’t help but sigh inwardly, her face hardening even more.

‘How frustrating…’

If she had her way, she wanted to give them some space to be lovey-dovey.

But there were too many watchful eyes.

Most people knew that Logan, despite having suffered more than anyone, didn’t have a good relationship with the Hero party members.

Therefore, they might find it a bit strange but somewhat understandable that he would ride in Anastasia’s carriage to get away from his companions and return comfortably.

However, for her, the knight escort, not to accompany them and for them to ride in the carriage alone?

All sorts of rumors would fly.

That would be extremely detrimental to Anastasia, who had to return to the Empire, manage state affairs, and eventually become Empress, and it would also be a great burden to Logan.

‘Haaah… At times like this, I envy that thoughtless Fiona.’

If she were even a little as affable or flexible as the boy’s master, she could have helped these two blockheads, who were thinking different things and couldn’t even converse properly, to connect naturally.

‘Well… it’s okay to take it slow….’

She didn’t know what had happened, but it was certain that Logan, albeit belatedly, had changed his mind and was trying to approach Anastasia.

So, that was enough.

Her master would gain much strength and support in returning to the Imperial Capital and succeeding to the throne.

Of course, Logan would also face checks from many imperial family members and nobles…

‘I believe you can do well.’

Therefore, Renate decided to silently cheer for these two frustrating individuals and watch over them.

---

Meanwhile.

Inside the carriage carrying the Hero party.

Irene was seething with anger.

‘Logan? Why? Why on earth?’

She simply couldn’t understand it.

She had believed that by the next day, Logan would return to his usual self.

Since childhood, they had had many quarrels, sometimes minor, sometimes a bit bigger.

Of course, after the day Irene lost her parents, they hadn’t even had a light argument, and he had unconditionally listened to her…

Anyway, no matter how long it took, usually within a day, he would resolve everything and return to smiling and treating her kindly.

That was Logan.

But why.

Why wasn’t he returning to normal?

And how dare he.

Try to be with another woman instead of her.

‘Logan! How could you do this to me?’

She still couldn’t understand Logan’s change, nor did she have any intention of accepting it.

In the first place, there had never been a need to.

His kindness and gentleness, which had always granted her wishes, were so natural that it was impossible for her to even entertain such thoughts.

Therefore, the arrow of blame for Logan’s sudden change was inevitably aimed.

‘This is all… because of that cunning Crown Princess!!’

It had to be directed at Anastasia.

In the first place, it was impossible for that Logan to suddenly turn away from her.

So, she had no choice but to believe that.

Irene soon composed herself.

‘He must be like this temporarily because the fight with the Demon Lord was too hard… Anyway, Logan is…’

He was just tired and confused for a moment, and eventually, he would come back to her.

While Irene was continuing such thoughts.

“Irene! Try this. The camp cook gave it to me yesterday, it’s dried fruit, and it’s really delicious!”

Lian handed her the bag of dried fruit he was holding.

Irene, startled, accepted the bag.

“Huh? Ah! Thanks, Lian. Hehehe..”

As Lian handed her the bag and gently caressed her hand at the same time, Irene’s anger towards Logan completely vanished.

Although Lian had chosen Sera over her, it was probably an unavoidable choice for him, given his position as the Hero.

Because, looking at old legends and stories, weren’t the Hero and the Saintess always destined to be together?

‘He must have chosen Sera reluctantly because of the Church… Otherwise, there’s no way Lian would choose Sera over me… Look… even now, he’s so considerate to me…’

Watching Irene and Lian, who was naturally kneading her hand and flirting with her, Sera narrowed her eyes.

‘Haaah… What a foolish wench… She should be begging for forgiveness right now… Tsk… And this Hero, this stupid bastard, is really a womanizer….’

Sera couldn’t help but click her tongue inwardly.

Things weren’t going as she had expected in many ways.

The fact that Demon Lord Belzegor was unexpectedly strong was overcome thanks to Logan’s unforeseen wit and tactical genius.

Sera briefly recalled Logan’s appearance when he had saved her when she was in danger.

‘…Perhaps I should have thought about it a little more… No… What’s important now isn’t the past, but…’

Why Logan’s attitude towards Irene had changed.

His devotion, which could be called foolishly stubborn and blind, had changed overnight… no, to be precise, it had suddenly changed after defeating the Demon Lord.

It was hard to guess why.

‘It definitely wouldn’t be a curse or anything like that…’

Even if that Belzegor had cast a curse in his final throes, he couldn’t deceive her eyes.

And just in case, she had briefly examined Logan before departure under the pretext of checking for after-effects, but there was nothing wrong.

‘Then, a simple change of heart..? No, no matter what, that can’t be…’

Sera could be sure it wasn’t that.

When the sacrifices became too great due to Lian’s stubbornness, Logan had come to her and asked her to persuade him.

At that time, she had made an offer that was impossible to refuse and….

‘I rejected him so blatantly when he was trying to… seduce me… There’s absolutely no way…’

It had to be that way.

Otherwise, her pride would be further wounded.

Because.

‘There’s no way I’m inferior to the Crown Princess, right?’

She wasn’t lacking in appearance, figure, or even status.

Then the only remaining thing was..

‘Did the Crown Princess really pull some strings..? She’s truly an unfathomable woman…’

The only thing left was that Anastasia had used some kind of trick.

What on earth did she do to conquer that iron-walled man?

Sera became wary of Anastasia and began to ponder her next move.

For now, she would leave the giggling idiots in the carriage alone.

---

Thus, the returning procession, as the day grew late, arrived at a suitable campsite and set up camp.

Everyone shared the desire to return to the capital even a day sooner, to be welcomed by the citizens of the Empire, hold a festival, and bask in glory, but,

The journey for the subjugation had been so arduous that they didn’t rush things unnecessarily.

And they had come a considerable distance, so at this pace, they would surely arrive in the capital by noon tomorrow.

It was also the best time to be welcomed and to greet the festival, so they decided to rest at the campsite without overdoing it.

After all, the Demon Lord and the demons who had threatened them were all gone now.

Therefore, Logan, after alighting from the carriage, intended to have a brief conversation with Anastasia, but.

“Kuhahaha!!! Boy! We don’t have much time left to see each other, so we should at least have a drink! This pointy-ear next to me is also disappointed that you haven’t spent any time with her at all!”

“Sh-shut up! You dwarf! You just want to drink with Logan, don’t you? Why are you selling me out!?”

“Really? Then just me and the boy alone…”

“Don’t be ridiculous!”

Thus, he was dragged away by Baldur and Elara, who approached him bickering, and had to postpone it.

The two grabbed Logan’s arms and chattered boisterously, leading him towards the bonfire.

“…It seems it would be fine to join them, Your Highness.”

Renate, beside her, tried to nudge her, but Anastasia hesitated for a moment before shaking her head.

“No… It’s… enough for today… I don’t want to burden Logan any further…”

She smiled faintly as she watched Logan interacting with Baldur and Elara.

Seeing him comfortably mingling with others like that reassured her a little.

“Haaah… Is that so.”

“Renate…? Is something troubling you? Why the sudden sigh….”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

Watching Anastasia tilt her head, Renate couldn’t help but sigh inwardly again.

The boy was truly a problem, but her own master was also very frustrating, making her wonder if the two could ever get together properly.

It was then.

A woman strode towards the two of them.

Renate was about to say something to the woman, who was sending hostile glares and making no effort to hide her animosity, but Anastasia raised her hand to stop her.

Anastasia looked calm, as if she had already anticipated this.

And soon, Irene, who had approached, glared at Anastasia with murderous eyes and opened her mouth.

“May I have a word with you for a moment, Your Highness the Crown Princess.”