Chapter 93: Chapter 93 - To Wester’s Capital (Luke’s POV)

(Rewind time a little)

We arrived safely at Sebel as I held back my feelings. I was surprised that they had come to greet us at Earl Tucker’s fief, but it’s rare for a guest to go to Frontier from Kingdom. So they probably wanted to express their greatest gratitude. Though, it’s a shame that we didn’t get the chance to relax at Earl Tucker’s fief because of that, but it isn’t bad to get to Sebel ahead of time and see what it looks like.

However, what’s with this welcome crew?

“Hoho, so the Four Marquises are this lovely. The violet eyes which are more transparent than jewels and his blue eyes look like the early summer sky. Amazing. Impressive!”

I can’t believe that this noisy, fat man is here to welcome us. Even if people say things about the Four Marquises in the royal capital, they wouldn’t say that much about our eyes. He’s honestly noisy.

I wondered what we should do when he insisted that we ride with him in the imperial carriage, but Gill refused, “Are you trying to say that we can’t ride the Rug Dragons by ourselves?” He straightened his back after saying this. As expected of someone older. But then, he looked at me as if he wanted me to compliment him afterwards, so I ignored him. I’m thrilled that I practiced riding even though I was told that it was still too early.

Sebel may be Wester’s capital, but it couldn’t be compared to Kingdom’s capital, and the city was small and well-organised. The endless prairie on the south side of the city was something I had never seen before, and I wanted to stare at the magnificent scenery forever.

To the north, even though it looked as if the mountain range was close, it actually wasn’t that close. There was a lake to the west, and this was also a rare scenery compared to the flat royal capital. However, the mountain range gives birth to Hollows. The houses were built robustly like in Farland, where I visited last summer. The windows were small, and the gaps between the houses were narrow.

I was particularly surprised by the castle. I didn’t think the castle itself, was particularly small, but the garden is small. No, it was spacious compared to the town, but isn’t the Albans’ garden bigger?

“No, no, if you want to see something big then you can go to the prairie during the day. Sebel is close to the mountains in the north, so Hollows appear at night. The castle’s no different. That’s why it’s designed for people to take refuge in times of emergency.” The fat Deputy Prime Minister explained while wiping his sweat because I was looking around curiously. Apparently, he wasn’t incompetent.

They were probably introducing us to the citizens because the troops were strolling along the main street. The citizens didn’t know why we came to Sebel. However, they would probably be moved to tears if they found out a young Four Marquis heir came here to pick up his little sister who had gone missing.

Not only that, but another member of the Four Marquis was looking for their family, and the second Prince of Wester was involved in this search. Were the citizens crazy about drama? I happened to see a mother holding a baby and was reminded of Lei. I couldn’t help but smile.

The mother had her hand over her mouth, and she was sobbing for some reason. Is the baby alright? The young people around her wept and started waving their hands.

“Hey, Luke. Don’t smile carelessly.”

“I’m not. My mouth just loosened on its own.”

“You know you were really popular in the academy, right? Be more aware of this.”

“What? What other people think doesn’t matter to me.”

“That part of you is just like the head Albans.”

That’s unexpected. I respect Otou-sama, but I don’t agree with all of his behaviours. There are even some that I don’t want to imitate.

However, if Gill tells me that I need to be more aware, then I’ll do that.

“Be aware? Then, Gill, please take responsibility.”

“Responsibility? For what?”

“Now, match my actions.”

“What?”

The people also seemed to love that Gill and I were talking on top of the dragon. I turned away from Gill and faced the citizens. I smiled and waved.

“Kyaa!” They exploded in cheers.

“Luke, you!”

“Come on, Gill. Take responsibility. I know what I’m doing. Now, smile.”

“Shyt. I’ll remember this.”

Gill twitched as he smiled and waved his hand. The cheers got louder, and it was Gill’s fault that we had to continue to wave until we entered the castle.

“Jeez, that was awful.”

“It’s your fault since you told me to be aware. You’re reaping what you sowed, right?”

“Horrible... You’re a horrible guy Luke.”

“Hmm.”

We talked, and it grew dark. We had an audience as soon as we entered the castle. That was a request from us. It will probably take a while for Lei to get here, but I want to take her back to Kingdom as soon as she does. And it wasn’t desirable for us, the Four Marquis heirs, to stay away from Kingdom for too long.

I want to finish all that I can right now first.

I saw a row of nobles when I entered the audience room. We were led by the Deputy Prime Minister, Herman, to the front where the King of Wester and the Prince were standing. The King and Prince had dark blonde hair and dark purple eyes like I had heard. Otou-sama said that they might have had the same ancestors as us, and their aura was similar to the Albans family.

In Kingdom, the King and the Four Marquises are equal, and even if the Four Marquises were called retainers, there was no need for them to kneel. We put our right hand on our chest and bowed lightly. It probably looked like disrespect because the nobles started getting noisy. However, the King controlled them with his hand and greeted us. Once we finished our greetings, the King spoke in a friendly tone, “I’m surprised that people from Kingdom came, even though it was a request from us. How was your journey? Your families are definitely headed this way. They’ll be here in about five or six days. Relax until then.”

“Thank you very much. However, we didn’t come here to play. I want to start doing the things I need to do today,” Gill answered simply to the King. He probably wanted to make it clear that we hadn’t come here to socialise. I can tell from the nobles and the royal family that they wanted to take full advantage of our visit since it was rare for someone of the Four Marquis to come here. I want to keep this annoying relationship to a minimum.

Securing Lei and Gill’s uncle. Neither one is more important than the other. Emotionally, of course, Lei is more important, but to others their value is the same because we’re securing the Four Marquis line. Therefore, Gill will be taking the lead. I’m okay with accompanying him since it’s easier. This time, it was the Prince who answered Gill, “Oh, I’m grateful that you’re here, but it’ll be more fun for you to look around since you’re finally here in Wester. We’ll talk more tomorrow.”

“Then, we’ll see you tomorrow. We want to finish our tasks straight away.”

The Prince who is telling us to enjoy our time, and Gill who insists on finishing our tasks. There were sparks that couldn’t be seen. I’d like to see Lei as soon as possible. Five more days. I sighed softly.