Ch.373Side Story 1 – Journey to the Southern Continent (28)

Finally, inside the carriage heading to Lake Territory.

I opened the window and looked outside.

Before my eyes unfolded a magnificent sight of over two hundred Red Moon women gathered in a long procession following the carriage.

‘Truly a spectacular scene.’

They were all silently marching with their dark red garments fluttering in the wind, each carrying luggage on their backs or weapons at their waists.

Though the intimidating aura of the Red Moon had somehow disappeared, the atmosphere they exuded remained intense.

Swoosh.

Normally, such a procession would have evoked awe.

However, right now, they were no different from defeated soldiers.

They looked like knights who had lost their master and were wandering aimlessly, or travelers drifting without purpose.

Yet, there was no despair or discouragement to be found on their faces.

Rather, they only showed determined expressions of people seeking a new home.

‘Sigh… I’ve already sent a letter to Padericks, so it should be fine, right?’

I slowly shifted my gaze to the interior of the carriage.

Across from me, Jawill Wilson was glaring at me.

I let out a deep sigh.

“Got a problem?”

Jawill Wilson’s face was swollen as if he had been stung by bees.

Both his eyes were bruised dark blue, and his cheeks were covered with reddish handprints and scratch marks.

Even his lips were torn with dried blood.

“…You went too far.”

“It was bound to spill over anyway.”

“We could have kept up the lie until the end!”

“As I said before, do you think they’re fools? You’re the only one who went to the Southern Continent with me. How could they not know?”

“…Couldn’t I have just said we parted ways briefly at Valtican Territory?”

“Ah, and then you traveled with someone named Teiran?”

I clicked my tongue in disbelief, and Jawill Wilson forcibly moved his twisted lips, seemingly finding it difficult to speak with his swollen face.

“It would have been nice if you had told one lie to save a person’s life…”

“And what if a woman you slept with got pregnant and had a child? Were you planning to watch from afar?”

“I… I was going to think about that when the time came.”

“Then you would have been killed by three women at once, including Clara.”

Jawill Wilson waved his hands as if feeling wronged.

“Honestly, I was just minding my own business, and the women were the ones who wanted to sleep with me. And then to beat me like this…”

“Your face did look quite different with the transformation leather.”

Jawill Wilson pointed at his face as if no further words were needed.

“No matter what, it doesn’t seem right to do this to a man who once beautifully made love in bed!”

I sighed briefly and folded my arms heavily.

“So what’s the conclusion?”

“What conclusion? We haven’t even had a proper conversation yet.”

“Maybe it’s better if the women don’t get pregnant.”

“I couldn’t agree more. By the way, are you alright, young master?”

“About what?”

“This isn’t the time to just worry about me, is it? That woman Jena is also at Lake Territory, isn’t she?”

I leaned back against the carriage sofa and smiled faintly.

“Padericks said he handled it well. Told me not to worry.”

“Even if we put aside Jena, Lady Alicia is following behind us, isn’t she?”

“I’ve already clearly explained that to Padericks in a letter too. He said not to worry.”

“Hah… I’m starting to envy you today, young master.”

“Honestly, I was in more danger than you.”

“That’s true. At least I’m not married to Clara yet.”

I sighed briefly and pressed my temple with my finger.

“If we had just enjoyed ourselves at a pleasure house, there wouldn’t have been any trouble…”

“…Indeed. Why are you and I always so unlucky? Next time, please don’t take me with you if possible.”

I chuckled and looked out the window again.

The sight of the Red Moon women marching in line came into view again.

How ridiculous would this situation seem to the princesses if they saw it?

Their husband, who said he was going to inspect the Southern Continent, was now returning with two hundred “women” in tow.

I could only trust that Padericks would resolve this well.

Screech.

Lost in various thoughts, I suddenly noticed the carriage wheels creaking to a halt.

Dust rose slightly, and as the coachman pulled the reins, the horses slowly came to a stop.

We had finally arrived at Lake Territory.

Thud.

As the carriage door opened, a large crowd gathered around.

All the territory’s residents had come out to welcome me.

-Hail Lord Selden Alphonse!

-You look even more handsome after returning from the Southern Continent!

-But who are those women behind?

-We live so prosperously in Lake Territory all thanks to Lord Selden Alphonse.

They clasped their hands together or whispered to each other.

Some bowed their heads deeply, while others looked at me with expressions of admiration.

Children held their parents’ hands, smiling brightly and waving.

‘This is what public support looks like.’

I waved to the residents with a satisfied expression.

The thunderous cheers that followed made me unconsciously straighten my shoulders.

But.

The moment I entered the mansion, something about the atmosphere felt strange.

Especially the knights and maids seemed somehow uneasy.

The knights wore subtle expressions, and the maids glanced at each other hesitantly.

Moreover.

Etherian Princess and Sairin Princess, who would normally have been the first to greet me, were nowhere to be seen.

I narrowed my brows and looked at one of the maids.

“Where are Etherian and Sairin?”

“They… they are in the underground training room.”

“The underground training room? Both Etherian and Sairin?”

“Both of them are there together…”

This was indeed strange.

Why would the princesses, who normally wouldn’t go near my underground training room, be there?

“Why are they there?”

“I’m not sure. They just said that when you arrive, you should come down to the underground training room.”

I tilted my head and went down the stairs.

For some reason, the air felt colder than usual as I descended.

After taking a deep breath in front of the door, I carefully opened it.

And then.

“Mmmmph!!”

In the middle of the training room, Padericks was sitting on a chair, tightly bound with his mouth gagged.

Looking at me, he desperately shook his head as if telling me not to enter.

“Pa-Padericks?”

“Mmmmph!!”

“No, who on earth did this?”

Just as I was about to step forward to approach Padericks, familiar voices came from the wall.

“It’s been quite a while.”

“It’s been a while, husband, hasn’t it?”

I reflexively turned my head to see Etherian Princess and Sairin Princess emerging from the dark corner of the wall.

My two wives were dressed in their usual elegant dresses, but their faces bore eerie smiles.

And those smiles were full of madness.

And.

What made it even more chilling were the letters in the princesses’ hands.

The all-too-familiar color of the paper.

They were none other than—

‘The letters I sent to Padericks?!’

I stared at the letters with wide eyes.

This was impossible.

‘No, how, why?!’

As I stood frozen at the door, Etherian Princess waved one of the letters and spoke.

“Who exactly is this woman named Jena?”

Something seemed to explode in my head with a ‘bang’.

Just as I was wishing this was all a dream, Sairin Princess spoke with sparkling eyes.

“No, husband. Who is this woman ‘Alicia’? You must have enjoyed your Southern Continent trip very much?”

Instinctively, I wanted to run away, but it was too late.

The gleaming eyes of my two wives completely blocked my path.

‘Padericks got caught…’

But.

As always, they say even if you enter a tiger’s den, you’ll be fine if you keep your wits about you, right?

I straightened my back and spoke.

After all, I had been careful not to write anything about intimate encounters in the letters.

“You seem to have misunderstood something based on the letters.”

“What misunderstanding are you talking about?”

“Jena is an immigrant who came to Lake Territory with her brother. I granted her request because she begged so much.”

“Then who is this woman Alicia?”

“There’s a mercenary group called the Red Moon, and they’ve all applied to immigrate to Lake Territory. I’ll explain the details after I sort things out.”

Padericks was still shaking his head from side to side.

However, Etherian Princess seemed to believe my lie as she put away her manic expression and smiled calmly.

“I see. Let’s go up to the bedroom for now.”

“…What about Padericks?”

“We’ll release Padericks in due time.”

“Why? Wasn’t the misunderstanding cleared up?”

As I made a questioning expression, Sairin Princess approached from the side and raised the corner of her mouth.

“Husband, let’s go up to the bedroom first.”

Despite feeling that something was definitely wrong, I had to accompany them to the bedroom to maintain my innocent facade.

But as soon as the bedroom door opened, there was Jena, sitting brazenly on a chair.

After a moment of shock, she noticed me and bowed her head deeply.

“…Lord Selden Alphonse, I’m sorry. We’ve been completely caught.”