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Ten days later.
Deep within the garden, where the colors were ripening into a reddish-yellow, a rugged carriage—unbecoming of the Imperial Palace—clattered inside.
The moment I confirmed the noisy arrival of the old carriage, I grabbed my lightest suitcase and bolted from the room. Behind me, Fedora shouted, “Your Highness, please don’t run, you’ll fall!” but far from slowing down, my pace only quickened.
“Huff, huff.”
As I stood before the carriage, breathing heavily, the door opened.
Valentin, who was just about to step down, looked at my face and gave a helpless smile.
“You are quite excited.”
“I am.”
“Your eyes look hollow; perhaps you tossed and turned in your sleep?”
“Exactly!”
“I clearly told you to preserve your strength for a long journey...”
“I don’t know about that. Fedora! Hurry down and help check the luggage!”
Before long, the servants descended one by one and loaded the suitcases onto the back of the carriage. Five, six, seven... how many were there in total? As I counted along with Fedora, I spotted a single bag sitting lonely amidst the mountain of my own luggage.
“...Valentin.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t tell me that’s your only bag?”
“It is.”
I was utterly shocked.
How could this be? He intended to handle food and lodging for such a long period with just one bag?
It was unbelievable. However, Valentin was the most learned intellectual I knew, having experienced the widest variety of things across the vastest lands; if I couldn't trust him, I couldn't trust anyone.
After much deliberation, I commanded the servants.
“Stop! Take them off. All of them. I’ll take one... no, one is a bit too much... two! I’ll only take two!”
Watching me, Valentin let out a small sigh.
“There is no need to overdo it, Your Highness. You have already reduced your load significantly. Normally, four carriages would have to follow, but you’ve managed to condense everything into just ten bags.”
“No, two is the right number. I thought about it, and in the worst-case scenario, I need to be able to carry one bag in each hand. Who knows if there will be a moment I have to flee during the journey?”
“That will not happen. I, and of course the driver of this carriage, will protect Your Highness with our lives.”
Chenko, sitting in the driver's seat, chimed in with a drawling voice.
“Yeees... of course. Murder is my hobby and specialty, after all.”
At Valentin's persuasion, I stared at the two bags I had whittled down to as a final resort.
“Then...”
“...”
“Let’s make it three. Valentin, you have a free hand too, right?”
Just as Valentin shook his head with a smile.
A familiar call reached me from behind.
“Lara.”
Recognizing the owner of the voice, I opened my arms wide and jumped into his embrace. With a tender smile, he patted my back and let out a sigh mixed with concern.
“I can’t believe it. That you’ve grown so much that you’re leaving this older brother behind to go on a journey.”
“Yeah, I also...”
“And that your companion is Count Valentin, of all people.”
“Right, I can’t believe it either.”
“I understand your feelings for Valentin, but do not trust him too much.”
“I got it.”
“Always remember Tanya’s words. There are many men in the world for you.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“You certainly say those things boldly with the party concerned right in front of you.”
After leaving a deep kiss on Vasily’s cheek, I took Valentin’s hand. He easily helped me up into the carriage and asked quietly.
“I understand that the two Majesties have left for a while to recuperate. But Princess Tatyana and Prince Ivan...”
“Ivan spent the whole dawn in my room nagging and chatting about how I was making a fuss over a mere trip before he fell asleep, and Tanya is already there.”
“Already there?”
“At our first destination. She said she’s too worried and needs to check my face every now and then to satisfy her curiosity.”
I comforted Valentin, who looked exhausted.
“Isn't it better that she's not coming along?”
“That is true.”
The door closed, and the two black horses guiding us slowly began to step forward.
As I opened the window, the cool late-autumn breeze pierced deep into my chest. Leaning my upper body out, I waved my hand vigorously.
“I’ll be back, Vasily! Stay healthy and well, Fedora too! I’ll send a postcard as soon as I arrive. Don’t forget to read it! Give my regards to Emma and Oksana!”
The two figures waving back gradually grew distant.
The emotion of that moment was difficult to put into words. If described in colors, it was like a cloudy grey sky, or like the transparent surface of a summer river. I felt longing and regret, yet excitement and joy.
“Be careful, Your Highness. We are now leaving the Imperial Palace.”
At those words, I closed the window.
Leaning back against the seat, I opened my bag and took out one of the postcards I had carefully stacked.
A postcard depicting the apple blossom street of Oblonsky.
This place was also our final destination, which we would reach next spring. On the day of the coming-of-age ceremony, the square of Oblonsky, crowded with merchants selling apple blossoms, looked vibrant and bustling. To think I would actually go to this place from the postcard Valentin sent with his letter.
“Valentin.”
He, who had been looking at the postcard with me with his head bowed, quietly lifted his face. Meeting those beautiful turquoise eyes, I questioned him with a deliberately stern expression.
“Tell me honestly.”
“About what?”
“The Head of Libertan. You weren't actually planning to bring it, were you?”
A question that had occasionally surfaced over the past few days.
Was that bizarre rumor regarding Libertan's head truly just a baseless rumor?
Ivan had always been prone to exaggeration, but Tatyana was not. Of course, Tatyana could get excited occasionally, but Vasily was the exception. Vasily was always extremely rational and did not rely on circumstantial evidence. This meant there was clear evidence that warranted him coming to visit me out of concern.
And...
“Was it really true that there was no letter from Igor?”
Thinking about it again, it was strange.
Even though I hadn't known Igor for long, it was easy to see that he was as calm and meticulous as Vasily. For someone like him to reject me and yet expect or hope for something from me made no sense.
Valentin closed his eyes and leaned against my shoulder. Folding his large frame into the small carriage, he answered in a voice brimming with leisure.
“Every time I see this side of Your Highness, I am greatly relieved that I am sane.”
“You’ve always been sane, Valentin.”
“Yes, if I weren't sane, I would have delivered both the letter and the head to Your Highness, saying they were all well.”
What is that? So it means my suspicions were all correct?
“You shameless...”
“It is too late to realize it now. Your Highness is now destined to take the shameless and mean Count Valentin as your husband. If you are angry, please look at my face and forgive me.”
“Even so, taking the letter was too much. That’s not polite toward Igor, Valentin. Have you already forgotten that you were the one who taught me the etiquette of exchanging letters?”
“I took it because I hadn't forgotten. It was obvious it would have dragged on needlessly, wasn't it?”
I pouted and turned my gaze out the window. But Valentin, if I were you, I wouldn't have used such a petty trick. As planned, I would have presented the head of Libertan as a gift... ah, no. After delivering the political rival's letter, I would have fought tooth and nail to change their heart.
But what was the point of nagging now? The fact that Valentin was a petty coward would not change.
“Once we leave Ohala, I’m going to buy lots of postcards no matter where we arrive.”
“Shall we?”
“I want to try camping at night. Preferably somewhere bears don't come out.”
“And then?”
“This is for a bit later, but I want to make as many friends as possible and invite them to the wedding next spring.”
“What kind of friends do you want to make?”
“Girlfriends like Emma or Oksana. I'll make ten, no, a hundred, and then I'll take a commemorative photo or painting with just my friends...”
Leaning my head against Valentin's, I recited one by one the wish list I had written in my notebook over the past few nights.
The wheels of the carriage turned incessantly. Since some time, it had become a sound far more exciting than the ticking of a second hand. We stood upon a path that could never be wrong, becoming each other's compass.
Finally, it feels real.
I am finally holding Valentin's hand and moving toward the future.
To a place where his god cannot find us.
To the heaven furthest from hell.
Far, far away...
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