Chapter 16 : The witch doesn’t miss her prey

Seeing Sylvia with my own eyes only made my resolve grow stronger.

Thanks to that, after returning to the family home, I think I spent almost a month holed up in the castle.

I briefly thought about visiting Sylvia again, but since she had regained her freedom, I knew I would only be a burden to her, so I completely gave up on the idea.

Instead, I decided to focus all my efforts on finding what I needed to do now.

Among the things I had to do, the most important was none other than the “Dawn’s Eye.”

Before the regression, it was about getting closer to the group the man who had reached out to me was affiliated with.

Tok. Tok.

Shaking the pen in my hand with a sound, I fell into deep thought.

On the notebook placed on the desk, only the simple words “Dawn’s Eye” were written, with nothing else noted.

This one page seemed to reflect my current feelings and situation perfectly.

In the end, all I knew was the name of the group and the existence of the mysterious man who approached me.

What should I do to get closer to them in this situation?

“…Alf, are you outside?”

“Yes, Young Master. Did you call for me?”

After thinking deeply for a while, I quietly called Alf, who was outside.

He was originally just an ordinary servant working in the castle, but recently, he had become my attendant.

With my permission, Alf opened the door and entered, and I quickly moved the notebook I had spread out on the desk somewhere else and pretended to be nonchalant as I spoke.

“I just found something while reading a book. What is this group called ‘Dawn’s Eye’?”

“Ugh…! Y-Young Master, you should not mention that name recklessly.”

Pretending to have heard it by chance, I asked, and Alf was horrified, looking around as if worried there might be listening ears nearby.

It was unnecessary, since no one with my sensitivity would be close, but still, he was being overly cautious.

“I’m just curious about who they are, so don’t make a fuss. Just answer as much as you know.”

“Well, they’re one of the Empire’s most notorious rebel groups. From what I hear, they are probably offshoots of the Moon’s Order.”

“The Moon’s Order?”

The name came out of nowhere, making me furrow my brows.

The Moon’s Order was a group that worshipped the Dawn Goddess, Lethe, wasn’t it?

At the same time, the group was treated as a heresy in the Hesphia Empire.

Originally, the Hesphia Empire didn’t have a state religion, but with the Peace Goddess, Erze, being worshipped in the holy country Arcadia, followers of the Sun’s Order gradually increased.

This eventually spread to the Hesphia Empire, and at some point, it became established as a state religion.

And the Moon’s Order, specifically Lethe, the Dawn Goddess, was a mythical figure who was Erze’s only rival and had attempted to kill Erze by setting traps.

I had heard that followers of the Sun’s Order rejected the followers of the Moon’s Order very strongly.

Anyway, back to the story, so are the people of Dawn’s Eye connected to the Moon’s Order?

“Maybe that’s why they’ve been rejecting the Moon’s Order so strongly.”

If that’s the case, it somewhat explains why the Moon’s Order had been persecuted until now.

If a notorious rebel group in the Empire actually originated from some religious organization, it was no surprise that people would have a negative view of that religion.

In other words, this story seems to hold some truth.

In short, if I want to approach this group called Dawn’s Eye, I need to investigate the Moon’s Order.

As soon as I realized this, I realized I had no time to waste and quickly stood up, put on my coat, and gave Alf instructions.

“Alf, prepare a carriage immediately.”

“Yes? A carriage? Are you planning to go somewhere?”

“Yes, just a short outing. Make sure you cover for me with my father.”

If it were the old days, I wouldn’t need to say such things.

My father wouldn’t have cared about what I was doing, and he wouldn’t have called for me anyway.

But recently, my father had been looking for me more than Hassel, so this precaution was necessary.

Though he looks simple, Alf seems to have some cleverness, so I figured he’d manage to cover for me.

“Sigh, why do you keep asking such difficult things…”

“That’s your job, isn’t it?”

I casually ignored his muttering as I grabbed my coat and was about to leave the room.

Knock knock.

“Who is it? Come in.”

As someone knocked on the door, I paused and answered.

Then, through the open door, a maid who looked quite flustered entered, bowing slightly as she apologized.

“Y-Young Master Kyle, a guest has arrived.”

“A guest?”

Who would come to see me?

Hassel, with his wide connections, often has guests from various families, but I didn’t have any such connections.

So what kind of guest?

“U-um, no… Lady Eleonore of the Eleonore family has come to visit.”

“…What did you say?”

I frowned, thinking that I might have misheard, when the maid opened her mouth to speak but quickly corrected herself, finishing her sentence with the proper title.

At that, my eyes automatically grew as wide as lanterns.

Sylvia came to find me?

As I hurriedly left the castle, I saw a familiar woman walking gracefully through the garden below.

As if she had sensed my gaze, she turned her head toward me, smiling brightly and waving her hand while gently brushing the flowers blooming in the garden.

How on earth did Sylvia end up here?

“Eleonore, Princess!”

“Prince Lyard, it’s been a long time. How have you been?”

Unaware of my confusion, Sylvia greeted me cheerfully.

“Yes, I’ve been well… but what brings you all the way here?”

I nodded awkwardly and asked about the reason for her visit.

Suddenly, Sylvia pouted, her lips sticking out.

“Well, since you haven’t come to find me, I had no choice but to come on my own. You promised you’d visit me from time to time…”

“I-I’m sorry. There were some circumstances that got in the way…”

“Still, you could have sent at least one letter.”

“My consideration was lacking. I apologize.”

Her words were a hundred percent correct, so I politely offered my apology, but inside, I was thoroughly embarrassed.

Of course, I had been the one who said I would visit, but back then, it was just a polite promise.

Anyway, since we were supposed to be in a relationship of sorts, it was true that I had to continue meeting her to show the connection, but…

The thing was, if I had gone to visit her, I was sure she would have been uncomfortable, so I hadn’t made the effort.

But who would have thought it would turn out like this?

Does my presence not make her uncomfortable?

“By the way, were you planning to go somewhere? For someone in a hurry, your attire is…”

“Yes, that’s correct. I was just about to call for a carriage to go for a short errand.”

“I see. The timing is a bit unfortunate.”

As I explained, a hint of disappointment appeared on her face.

If I were just going out for a quick drink or something, I could easily take her along, but since I needed to go to a far-off place, it seemed I would have to part ways with her here.

It’s hard to believe how things could go so wrong.

“May I ask where you are heading?”

“Yes, I’m briefly going to Ruben.”

Ruben, a city known to have the most followers of the Moon’s Order within the Empire.

It is said that they even call the city Ruben Kingdom, much like how the Sun’s Order calls their own city a Holy Kingdom, but that kind of fact is none of my concern.

When it comes to learning about the Moon’s Order, there’s no better place than there, so I was planning to make a quick trip.

I heard they don’t actually have a culture of excluding outsiders, surprisingly. They are said to be quite welcoming.

As a result, it is also treated like a tourist spot by atheists, who are Imperial citizens but do not believe in any god.

“That’s quite far. What’s the purpose of your visit there…?” Ruben, you say?

“It’s not exactly something that can be called a purpose. It’s more of a personal matter, so it’s embarrassing to even mention it.”

“…I see.”

Somehow, Sylvia’s eyes, which had been looking at me, narrowed slightly.

As if she had some inkling, she tapped her index finger, deep in thought for a moment.

‘…Dawn’s Eye.’

In a voice so soft that it almost got lost in the wind, she muttered something.

It was so quiet that I couldn’t hear it clearly, so I moved a little closer to her and strained my ears.

“Did you say something, Princess Eleanor?”

“It’s nothing. By the way, Prince Lyard, there’s one favor I’d like to ask. Would that be alright?”

“A favor, you say?”

Then, with a sudden shift from her serious expression, she casually walked up to me, hands behind her back, and asked.

It wouldn’t be hard to grant her request, but the timing felt strange.

A sense of unease crept up on me, and I didn’t immediately answer, nodding instead as if I would listen.

“I heard that Ruben is very welcoming to outsiders and is considered a very holy city. I was wondering if we could go there together for sightseeing, would that be alright?”

As expected.

She had always been unmatched when it came to curiosity, so it seemed she had become interested in a place she had only heard of in books or by word of mouth.

Naturally, I had to refuse here.

Being with her would restrict my movements, and there were other issues as well.

If that place really was connected to Dawn’s Eye, we might fall into danger.

There was no way I could take Sylvia to such a place.

“That’s not possible…”

“Surely, you wouldn’t just abandon a woman who came all the way to see you after a whole month without a single letter, nor even a visit? I can’t believe you’d leave me like this, Prince Lyard.”

“…….”

Just as I was about to firmly refuse, Sylvia smiled brightly and cut off my words with a tone that carried a bit of bite.

Having been rendered speechless, I locked eyes with her for a long moment before finally conceding.

“Get into the carriage and wait. I’ll just grab a few things and be right back.”

“Hehe, thank you for your consideration.”

I had no choice but to wave the white flag and allow her to accompany me.

Anyway, I can never win with words, whether now or in the past.