Chapter 35

We left Vandarium with a grand send-off by Elder Ben.

“Ah, I can finally sleep on my own bed.”

I muttered in ecstasy as I leaned back on the plush velvet carriage chair.

Even though the Elder had treated me generously, one’s own home was the best. Other people’s beds were bound to be uncomfortable.

Thinking like that, on the other hand, I thought, ‘I now have a certain space that I can think of as my home’, and somehow I burst into laughter.

The life of Helena Peresca must have looked strange in the eyes of Dante Renatus. I had never thought I’d be able to live a life like this.

“My lady, aren’t you cold? Should I cover you with another blanket?”

Agoth, who was sitting next to me, asked while placing a cushion by my side.

Caesar, who was sitting across, snorted.

“Are you planning on crushing Helena by stacking those clothes on top of her?”

“It’s nothing like that! I just can’t let her catch a cold!”

At Caesar’s provocation, Agoth quickly became furious.

“Why are you riding this carriage anyway? Miss Evergreen has prepared a carriage of your own!”

As Agoth had said, Rowena had only assigned Agoth to be on this carriage. It was out of consideration of my arm injury, which hadn’t been completely healed yet—although by my standards it was almost healed already—so I could still get a good rest.

But Caesar left Hamilton alone in his own large, lavish carriage and got into mine.

“His Highness is keeping you from taking a good rest, isn’t he?”

“I’m sure it’s because you keep bothering her. What do you think, Helena? You can lie on my thighs whenever you want to rest.”

Caesar smiled slyly and tapped his thighs.

“Come on, isn’t it cool? These are Helena’s.”

Caesar’s grin couldn’t look any meaner.

“My lady, not only my thighs, but my arms, legs, and hair, all belong to you!”

“Then, even my soul belongs to Helena.”

“My everything! Anything I can give is yours!”

They really never get tired of fighting.

I smiled at the two of them, then slammed the carriage wall with my uninjured arm.

At that loud sound, Caesar and Agoth winced at the same time.

I gave them friendly advice while maintaining a smile on my face.

“From now on, I will push anyone who speaks even a single word out of the door of the moving carriage.”

At my advice, both of them covered their mouths with both hands at the same time.

What a relief. They understood after I spoke nicely.

“Thank you for understanding.”

After smiling softly at the two of them, I closed my eyes using the cushion that Agoth had given me as a pillow.

After that, until I fell asleep, the two of them didn’t say anything.

Ah, how peaceful. It was so quiet that I wondered if they were not even breathing, but what do you know? Silence is the best.

I fell into a deep sleep.

***

I was a little excited when the carriage entered the main street of the capital.

I watched without blinking my eyes as the bustling yet familiar landscapes swooped past the carriage window.

‘How strange. I didn’t feel like this when I first came to the capital.’

For me, who was not interested in everything, it was quite an unfamiliar feeling that the scenery of the capital city got stuck in my eyes.

Caesar, who seemed to be wondering about the same thing, spoke with a smile.

“What’s so fun?”

“What do you mean fun?”

“You were looking out the window like you were having fun.”

I looked at Caesar with a frown on my brows as if I didn’t know what to say. Seeing my expression like that, Caesar burst out laughing.

“Nevermind. I’m sorry to disturb you. Keep looking.”

After that, I turned my eyes over the car window again.

But after that brief conversation, I was conscious that Caesar was staring at me, so I couldn’t look out the window at all.

Eventually, after a while, I sighed and looked back at Caesar.

“Stop it. You’re going to pierce my face.”

“Just this much won’t be enough to pierce it.”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I just like it.”

Caesar smiled softly.

“Because you seem to be interested in something.”

“You sound like my mother.”

“Is it just the Duchess? If Leonard were here now, he would have felt the same way I did.”

“Stop staring at me, anyway. It’s embarrassing.”

“Why? Did you just realize?”

“Just?”

“Yeah. Just.”

Caesar tilted his head to the other side and shrugged his eyebrows.

“I’ve always been looking at you.”

R-Really?

I was a little surprised by that. He often joked with me, but I had no idea he had been looking at me like he was now.

Was it true that I had never paid attention?

Now that I was conscious of it, I just kept thinking about it.

‘Now I understand Hamilton’s remark that he was more surprised I didn’t notice that Caesar liked me.’

Yup, let’s admit it.

I was such a dull woman that “lack of love experience” alone was not enough to excuse me. Yes.

“If you are really uncomfortable, I will close my eyes. Will that be enough?”

Caesar said with a mischievous smile. Then he really folded his arms and closed his eyes.

However, the corners of his lips still seemed to be smiling. He must have thought that my reaction was funny.

‘Why do I like him?’

After shaking my head, I looked out the window again. When I put my forehead on the carriage window, the heat went down a little at the cool temperature.

‘I’m glad Agoth is sleeping.’

I sighed after glancing at Agoth, who was sleeping next to me.

Around that time.

At the end of my sight, the crowds on the street caught my attention.

“… Mm?”

Perhaps there was an accident, but an unnaturally large number of people gathered on one side of the boulevard.

I got up, leaning against the window, and poked my head out to take a closer look.

“Don’t tell me… Are those the dragon’s believers?”

With my murmur, Caesar, who had closed his eyes, also approached the window.

Caesar, who then confirmed my thought, answered.

“I think the same.”

“Right? Shall we take a visit?”

“Mmm.”

Caesar furrowed his brows as if contemplating. But without waiting for his reply, I took the staff that had been set aside and tapped three times on the roof of the carriage.

Soon at my signal, the carriage stopped. Agoth suddenly woke up to the shaking, and looked around in a hurry, asking ‘Huh? Mhm?’

“Agoth, guard the carriage. I’ll be right back.”

“W-Whaat? Where are you going alone?”

“Go out and look around.”

“Oh, then I will…”

As I opened the carriage door and was about to go down, Agoth quickly grabbed her sword and hurried after me. But Caesar held her back.

“No need for that. We’ll be right back.”

Agoth had a dissatisfied expression on her face, but she meekly sat back down and put her sword down.

I checked on Agoth and got off the carriage with Caesar. Then we slowly approached the crowd.

In the center of the crowd was a young woman giving a speech.

“I have suffered from a bloody ailment for a long time. However, I believed in the ‘dragon’ and was healed.”

‘Is it a testimony?’

Well, testimonies are common in religion.

“After the lord touched my body, which even the doctor gave up on, I was completely healed.”

“The lord?”

“She means the bishop.”

Caesar quietly answered my question.

“Everyone says that the lord is a fraudster, but he did not receive a penny after healing me. Rather, he said that it was not his own strength, but the grace of the dragon.”

“Ooooh, dragon!”

“Thank you for the dragon’s grace!”

“Uwoo…”

I was nauseous at the hymn ‘for the dragon’ of the people around me. It was really disgusting.

It was ridiculous that they think the dragons were creatures that saved people and gave them grace.

They destroyed villages, annihilated people, and stole gold and silver treasures. They were not something you could ask for favor, but this…

“The dragons will return! We are the dragon people! Isn’t that right, everyone?”

“That’s right!”

“Dragons are the best!”

Voices in support of the woman’s words erupted from here and there.

“They’re serious.”

Tch, Caesar muttered and clicked his tongue. A glance at his expression revealed disgust and displeasure.

As he blatantly exuded disgust with his sharp expression, some people standing around secretly avoided us.

“Relax your face, Caesar. Everyone is running away.”

“Is it my fault alone?”

“What?”

“Helena’s expression isn’t that great either.”

Oh, is that so?

It seemed that I, too, was unconsciously revealing my displeasure.

But there was no other way. Those people were saying things that might make Dante, who had already gone to the underworld, wake up…

“The dragon is our god, our savior, our king!”

The woman who was well received by the crowd shouted until her throat was hoarse.

‘… Huh? Wait a minute.’

That line.

Why do I feel like i’ve heard of it before?

Where did I hear that from? Where…

[“I’ve been waiting for you to be born. My treasure, my god, my savior. My one and only king.]

“… Ugh.”

I remembered.

When I was young, I met a blonde man at a festival. That person had uttered a lot of nonsense similar to these lines and had even shed tears in front of me.

As soon as I thought of it, the events of that day replayed in my head like a lie. The incident of that day that I had quickly erased from my memory because I had thought he was just a crazy person.

‘Did he talk to me about something then?’

I think I heard his name.

What was his name? Remember, Helena Peresca. I’ve definitely heard his name. What was it? What…

‘… Noe.’

At that time, a man was caught in my sight.

Across the crowd, a blonde man in a black hood. At first glance, I could only see a side of his fair face, but when he lowered his head, his green eyes clearly met my mine.

There was no doubt.

It’s him.

“Noe!”

I shouted at the man.

All eyes were on me. I made my way forward through the crowd to get to the man.

“Hey, what are you—! Hey! Don’t push me!”

“What’s this? A noble? Why is she here?”

But people didn’t make it easy for me. Rather, looking at my clothes, they only surrounded me more and interrupted me.

Meanwhile, the man had already disappeared from sight.

After missing him, I wondered whether he was really Noe.

No, even if that man was ‘Noe’, what did that matter? What was I planning to do when I met him?

“Ha, this is funny. You look like a well-bred aristocrat. What are you doing here?”

Before I knew it, only men with unpleasant expressions were left around me.

Dracoism was a religion of the common people. There was no way a noble girl would be treated well in this group.

“Hey, hey, pretty lady. What are you so busy about?”

A big man stepped up in front of me and said teasingly to me.

Normally, I would have laughed at that imaginary courage, but now I was so absorbed in the existence of ‘Noe’ that I couldn’t think of anything.

When I didn’t respond, the man grabbed my wrist.

“Didn’t your mum teach you not to walk around alone, huh? If you get stuck in a place like this, you won’t feel good…”

But the man could not finish his speech.

Because Caesar kicked the man’s shin with his foot.

“Argh!”

The man fell down with a thud.

Caesar wrapped his arms around my shoulders and pulled me towards him. I only regained my senses then.

Looking around, I saw the common people standing around us, showing hostility toward me and Caesar.

“I am sorry to disturb your meeting. I apologize.”

Said Caesar. It was a fairly gentle voice, but the sense of intimidation was so great that I could see everyone shivering and shaking their shoulders.

Caesar, who had silenced the people with his eyes, took me by the hand and pulled me out of the crowd to return to the carriage.

Fortunately, no one followed us and argued with us.

Everyone must have noticed it instinctively. That there is nothing good about touching Caesar.

“Are you alright?”

Only after moving away from the crowd did Caesar ask how I was doing.

Still dazed, I lifted my head and looked at Caesar.

“Oh. Mm.”

“What were you doing? Who did you see? Who’s Noe?”

“Ah… nothing. I think I was mistaken.”

“Seriously. I was surprised.”

“I’m sorry.”

I smiled bitterly and shook my head.

Yes, I was wrong. I was mistaken because I found someone with blond hair and green eyes at the right time. Now that I thought about it, it didn’t make sense.

It’s not necessarily…

‘It’s been almost 10 years, and there’s no way his face is the same as back then.’

As I shook my head lightly, my body trembled.

I felt a sense of unknown fear spreading thinly under my layers of skin.