The next day was the full moon.

– Clack, clack, clack, clack!

The carriage cut through the darkness of the night as it moved. Not many people traveled through this forest path, making it extremely bumpy. It was also dangerous because of the snow that had piled up.

‘Slap, slap!’ Thick branches slapped the carriage, creating threatening noises. The vines that scratched at the windows resembled black skeleton fingers. The carriage was silent as if nobody was inside. There were also no magic lights being used despite it being the middle of the night. Only the sound of a woman’s sorrows mixed with the creaking wheels.

“Sob, sob……”

Like right now.

“Don’t cry. You need to firm your resolve.”

Eugénie Kessié scolded her granddaughter. The ones on the carriage were the Archbishop, her son, daughter-in-law, her precious grandchild, and one attendant. The rest were cast aside in their estate back in the Imperial Capital or at the Lord’s Castle. Running away in the middle of the night usually happened with the lowest number of people and light packing. Kessié’s personality was one that was skilled at hit-and-run, knowing how to clearly tell victory or defeat. She also knew that you sometimes had to give up everything and start anew. Without such a personality, it would have been difficult for an Archbishop from the countryside like her to become a named priest in the Imperial Capital.

“Mother…… Will we never be able to return to Riester?” Her son tightly held his daughter’s hand as he asked.

The Archbishop, who had a robe over her head, glared sharply at him. “Isn’t that obvious? We acted as spies for tons of money, so this much karma was to be expected.”

– Clunk!

The carriage thunked after hitting a rock. Her voice was shaking a bit. Even she was scared. Seeing the rise and fall of numerous central nobles and accepting that as her fate were completely different issues. Furthermore, she wasn’t even one of those central nobles. She was just an old hag who roamed around them before this fallout.

“Do not worry. We have connections to the Vatican. Do you really think your granny would have done something like this if there was nothing to gain?”

“……Really?”

“Yes. We will definitely miss the things we have built up in the Empire’s Beau Monde at first, but you are still young and quite talented. Your face is so beautiful as well. We will seek asylum in the Holy Kingdom, change our family name, receive a fief, and quickly make our entrance into the central region. Just selling the information I know little by little will make sure we have nothing to worry about for the rest of our lives.”

The granddaughter looked a bit relaxed after hearing the old woman’s explanation. Her son looked as if he was suppressing his fear as well.

Kessié looked at the youngsters and recalled the ruckus of last night. It was a dreadful nightmare the more she thought about it.

– Slam!

‘Your grace, your grace! Please come out right away! There is a change to the night sky!’

For some reason, she had not been able to sleep as her soul was unable to relax. That was when her attendants had rudely barged into her room. It was quite the spectacle seeing the pale looks on their faces. Kessié, who had been enjoying the heat from the furnace, scowled and stood up. The entire Estate felt rowdy for some reason. She could hear the faint cheers of the crowd in the distance.

She had not thought much of it at that point. It was the day that started the last week of the year, so the lowly things were probably cheering for something like fireplay. So she calmly placed her coat and stepped out to the balcony. She probably wouldn’t fall asleep until the middle of the night after all.

‘What is causing this ruckus?’

However…

‘Over there! There is a ship floating above Claire Plaza!’

‘…….’

A riled-up servant pointed to the sky. She could see it clearly even with her bad eyes. She temporarily could not say anything. Something that should be in the sea was keeping the moon as its friend to travel in the sky.

‘That thing has made everybody in the area go nuts!’

It was an ominous sign.

‘Your grace! Apparently it is a pirate ship. The fact that this was a pirate ship from the north, the ruckus that was louder than most, cough cough! Apparently Prince Jesse and Marquis Duhem have appeared. Umm, even his Royal Highness has alighted from the pirate ship! I’ve received word that her Majesty and her Eminence have also appeared in the plaza!’

Someone else ran over shouting. There were many who were out of breath. The faces of the people wearing cheap clothes and oil lanterns were sparkling brightly with pure piety. They explained using their hands, feet, eyes and nose.

‘Tulips, apparently purple tulips thiiiiiis big grew despite the weather. Purple! Cough! They are calling it a miracle from the Almighty God!’

‘My goodness. They truly are blessed people!’

Kessié could sense that something was severely wrong. The Prince, who should have died a long time ago, had returned completely fine once again. The Marquis, who should have been framed and fighting against the Garrison by now, was having an audience with the Empress. Furthermore, that audience was filled with the blessings of the lord. Her limbs instantly went cold.

The woman quickly calculated the situation in her mind.

‘Call the Chief of Staff to the bedroom. Don’t cause a ruckus for such trivial things and go to sleep!’

‘……Yes, your grace.’

‘As you command, your grace.’

‘I, I’m sorry, your grace.’

The lowly ones instantly looked sad and left after hearing their master’s cold scolding. The Archbishop was aloof and cold despite this clearly being a miracle of the Almighty God.

She immediately planned the escape with the Chief of Staff once the stupid idiots were gone. She stealthily woke her son’s family up, had them pack just their jewels and some clothes, before swindling a carriage to the back door. She sent the knights and guard to the front door while they used a small dog hole to get out.

That explained why their robes were covered in dirt. It was fine if people called it a noble’s shame, and pointed fingers at them for their appearances. Authority, identity, all of them only mattered if they were alive.

“……That fox-like Prince is finally trying to take his Royal Highness for himself.”

“Should we have lined up behind them as well?” Her daughter-in-law cautiously asked.

Kessié instantly shook her head. “You cannot trust anybody from the Holy Kingdom. Have you forgotten the last moments of Julite Statia? He puts a smile on his face as if I don’t know that underneath is a strong desire for power.”

The old woman then stopped talking. In the end, Jesse Venetiaan had been victorious over her. It hurt her more that it was not a fair battle of Divine Power. But what angered her most was that her young granddaughter, who was many years younger than the Prince, didn’t even get a chance.

She let out a cold assessment. “How long can he keep up that lamb-like pure act? How long will his youth and beautiful appearance last? It is all just temporary. He will soon lose his Royal Highness’s affection and plummet to simply being an ether storage.”

“……”

“Get some rest. We will need to get rid of the carriage before the sun comes up.”

The tired four people all closed their eyes at the old woman’s words. Kessié looked out at the darkness and fell deep into thought.

– Clack, clack, clack……!

The path they were on right now was a byway that she happened to find in the past on her way to the Vatican. It was one that the luggage carriages and post carriages that were quite familiar with the Empire’s roads did not know about. Upon further investigation, she learned that it was one of the supply routes of the Warring Era that had disappeared from the maps. Kessié had her coachman memorize this route just in case. The woman was a natural turncoat.

“We will change to a luggage carriage early in the morning and head directly for the border……”

Nobody would be able to track them down after that. The Empire’s territory was vast and the forest paths broke off into hundreds and thousands of roads. It would be endless to research all the byways like that.

The Empress’s army was probably searching her estate and the area around her territory right now, but the only clues they would get would be the shocked faces of those stupid lowly ones. Kessié was the most definitive evidence of this scheme. No investigation could be perfect without her.

“We just need to go to the Vatican and meet a Cardinal from the Holy Kingdom’s side.”

The light coming through the window seemed to symbolize her last chance. Her wrinkled eyes sparkled sharply.

It was at that moment.

– Neeeeeeeeeigh!

“Woah, woah!”

“My goodness!”

The carriage suddenly stopped. Her son’s family and the attendant, who had just fallen asleep, jerked awake. Kessié scowled and tapped on the carriage roof. Tap tap tap!

“What is going on?”

“Y, your grace…… I think you need to come outside.”

She heard a tiny whimper through the thin carriage wall. It was something she had heard at her home in the Imperial Capital as well. A reality that was so hard to believe that she needed to see it for herself. She pressed her lips together. An old instinct flashed through her mind, but she chose to ignore it. Click, Kessié opened the carriage door herself.

– Swooooooosh……

The extremely cold winter air slapped against her cheeks. Unlike the dark inside of the carriage, the outside was overwhelmingly bright. It was because the white snow was reflecting the light of the full moon. Kessié elegantly walked down despite having taken her servant’s robe. There were no polite escorts or affectionate greetings on this escape to the border. Two strands of frigid breath come out of her mouth.

“Archbishop Eugénie Kessié.”

“……”

“It’s been a long time.”

The one looking at her was an old reporter, a woman who did not need to bow her head to someone like Kessié who was called, ‘your grace.’

“Lady Belliard. I didn’t expect to meet you at a place like this.”

“Yes, I understand. It is because I am not here today as a member of the press. I’m sure it is hard to find anything newsworthy in a place like this,” Sarah Belliard joked around.

Kessié then noticed the force supporting Sarah Belliard from the back.

‘The Grand Rouge.’ They were the Imperial family’s guards who did not live in the Imperial Palace. They were the red-clad Knights Brigade that bore all of the protection of the Imperial family.

“I thought that nobody would know of this path. Well, I’m sure the youngsters these days have no idea about it.” Under the elaborately combed white hair, the woman’s emerald-colored eyes seemed happy. Sarah was acting as if she had been waiting for the Archbishop here. It was a dreadful thought. “However, I remember it. The late Empress cherished each and every one of these supply routes.”

“……Why are you cooperating with the Imperial family? Didn’t you leave the palace for good?”

“It is because I have a debt to pay.” She answered firmly.

Kessié clenched her bare fist. Her hand was getting very rough being out in the cold. Her brain was quickly trying to figure out her next steps. If the path was blocked, she just had to plow through it. The whole group of knights would be within the range if she opened her Holy Land right now. She would tie them down with her Divine Oracle and…

“Did you think that her Majesty would have forgotten about the Vatican?”

Her train of thought was disturbed. Her son’s family behind her started to cry.

Sarah smiled brightly. “My dear niece is a wise ruler. She won’t execute you if you cooperate.”

*

Okay, let’s see, where should I start the explanation?

First of all, it has been nine days since the night we returned…… Mm, it was an amazing adventure. That is really the only way to describe it. Every single thing that happened seems so unbelievable. Despite our minds being all over the place, we welcomed the new year, but I don’t remember how we spent that day at all. The incident enlarged to such a scale that dealing with everything and the trials that followed were still yet to happen. Everybody in the Imperial Palace had welcomed us back, but I also had reasons to be scolded.

– Odododo!

– Screeeech!

– Pipipi!

“Hey little troublemakers, Laurence is saying ‘bad’ to all of you downstairs!”

Demy and Percy were loudly chirping away while running around the hallways of Juliette Palace. I could hear the attendants groaning in the distance. I held back some laughter as I scolded the little kids and then looked toward Rhea and Perry. These two seemed to really like the twin cradles the Duhem March gifted us. Although Tithé was already sleeping in there, they were squishing through any gaps they could find. I grabbed one of the red panda’s by his soft belly and stopped him.

“Perry, your little bro is sleeping. Let’s play over there instead of waking him up.”

– Squeeeeee

“Rhea won’t move? No, she’s not like that. I’m sure she’ll move if you ask her nicely.”

Oh right. Most importantly, all five of the Duhem siblings were safe! The March’s Knights Brigade did clash with the Imperial Garrison as we were concerned about, but around a thousand of the territory’s citizens gathered together to act as shields, leading to no major injuries. Not harming unarmed commoners was the number one rule for the Empire’s army as well as a core principle of the continent’s Knights Creed. After that, the Empress’s personal army got involved and safely ended the altercation, but……

“Your highness, the pithivier is here!”

“That looks delicious. Thank you.”

I smiled while looking at the large pie dish. This was a masterpiece created by Laurence after her magnificent return from her vacation.

‘Oh right, the main point is that our esteemed chef was the hero who saved the March!’

“Please try it while it is warm. Laurence made it extra large just for you, your highness.”

“Just seeing your face makes me feel so full.”

“Aww, your highness! No matter what you say, I’m already taken!” Ganael saying something weird made my mind deflate.

However, I really was happy. I had no idea that Laurence’s family lived in the March and it was so amazing that Benjamin and Ganael managed to meet her while they were there. It also felt like a miracle that we were all able to gather together again because of our choice to help each other. Of course, there was still a mountain load of things we had to take care of, but……

‘Let me eat first before I think about it some more.’

– Knock knock.

“Prince Jesse.”

Benjamin appeared with an awkward look on his face the moment I took a big bite of the pie that smelled so deliciously of savory almonds. We both blinked and looked at him.

“I truly apologize for having to deliver this news, but…… It is time for you to receive your punishment.”

‘Ugh. Is it already time?’

—
Translator’s Comments

Prepare for trouble! And make it double!

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