Yurina felt strangely sympathetic towards Dave..
“I’ve heard about the difficulties of your studies, you must have had a hard time.”
“It wasn’t that bad.”
“You know your words don’t match your face, right? You look completely dead right now.”
“No way.”
Dave finally relaxed his shoulders, but his expression was still dark. Yurina recalled the contents of Raynald’s letter.
‘He didn’t say anything about it.’
In his letters, he always said positive things, such as “I’m doing well,” “I like people,” “I’m enjoying studying,” “I’ve improved my magic,” and so on.
But if you think about it, wouldn’t he have been uncomfortable in a foregin country and not yet used to studying or proper etiquette?
“Since you had a hard time too, is Ray doing well? He did say he was fine in the letters.”
Dave tapped her check as if to ask her to not dwell on the topic.
“My Lady, don’t worry too much. If he couldn’t get accustomed and something happened, wouldn’t you have known sooner?”
“Well, that is true…….”
“Besides, isn’t this my student? I’m sure he’s doing better than anyone else.”
Yurina looked at Dave’s expression and clicked her tongue. His raised chin looked just like Raynald’s when he showed off.
Raynald had always been arrogant, but it odd to see this change in Dave any time the topic of magic was brought up in the last 5 years.
‘Are all wizards this cocky?’
Yurina thought about asking but decided against it.
“As you know, Mr. Raynald is quite strong. He can survive even hell.”
“…Is that a compliment?”
“Of course it’s a compliment.”
“But it doesn’t quite sound like a compliment.”
Instead of making any excuses, Dave just laughed out loud.
* * *
There were no suitable villages around since they were near the border, so Yurina was homeless for the night. However, unlike the knights that had to sleep on clothes and blankets piled on the ground, Yurina slept alone in a spacious carriage.
It was a luxurious form of homelessness in its own way. Two knights kept watch through the night.
The next day they left in a hurry to cross the border before dawn. Even so, Yurnina did not do much.
She got up as soon as Betsy did, washed her face, and got dressed before Dave got into the carriage. Compared to the knights and servants who took care of the horses and slept on piles of clothing, she still enjoyed a sense of leisure.
There was no time to eat, so she had some bread and jam they picked up in the last village. Everyone else had beef jerky.
‘I love power.’
Yurina rubbed her sore waist. Thanks to Dave’s magic, the wagon was a pleasant ride without any rough shaking, but Yurina’s whole body still ached sitting down all day. She desperately wanted to soak herself in a warm bath.
Scenes of the wilderness flashed by as they continued their journey. By the time Yurina became tired of sightseeing and playing cards, the Maorun River finally appeared, shining under the sunlight.
Her heart was pounding at the thought that there wasn’t much time left before they saw each other again. Betsy was excited as well and whispered,
“My Lady, I’m in trouble.”
Yurina turned her head to see if something was really wrong, but found Betsy’s expression was calmer than she thought. Betsy took a few deep breaths as if she had been running before laughing.
‘So the deep breath was a joke huh?’
Yurina quickly caught on and played along though Betsy was 10 years her senior.
“Betsy, don’t tell me your heart is pounding at the thought of seeing Ray soon?”
“Why wouldn’t it be? Think about it, miss. Raynald will be an adult soon.”
“Yes, that’s true.”
Yurina answered half heartedly, but Betsy tapped her chest as if she was frustrated. It was pretty cute.
“It’s not ‘Yes, that’s true’. Aren’t you curious how he grew up!?”
“Um…… not really?”
Yurina crossed her arms and tilted her head to the side. But, if you asked Yurina if she was looking forward to seeing Raynald, she would honestly say yes. Her heart felt full and she felt she could cry at any moment.
These five years apart were so long that she very easily could have forgotten him and stopped missing him. But if you asked her if she looked forward to seeing how he grew up, then her answer would be unclear. She didn’t know. She did wonder how much he’d changed, but she didn’t have any expectations for how he looked now.
“To be honest, he’s always been handsome. I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of man he grew up to be. Oh, that doesn’t mean I’m interested… it’s just he’s grown up now and…”
“Just say you’re interested, Betsy.”
“It’s not like that!”
Yurina laughed at her quick answer.
‘How much has he grown?’
She was a little curious because Betsy emphasized how Raynald was so handsome. Obviously, he’s been handsome since he was young, even when he was covered in dirt.
In the novel he returned from the Academy once he became an adult, and his perfect appearance ignited the hearts of many young ladies.
Even so, Yurina could hardly imagine what he looked like. In her mind, Raynald will always look the way he did when he left the mansion, a small 13 year old.
Still, she tried imagining Raynald in her head before they met in a few days. He will be 18 soon, so he must have grown a lot and his hands must have gotten bigger.
‘His frame itself was good, and his shoulders probably got broader… does he have muscles now..? Maybe?’
The reason her train of thought ended in a question was because she was skeptical.
Not all of them, but Dave and the other wizards were generally pretty skinny.
Dave was in that state because he was constantly stuck in his lab and research. He didn’t eat properly and was always stressed out.
‘I don’t think Ray’s any different.’
Listening to Betsy’s chatter, Yurina continued to imagine Raynald and burst into laughter. She just imagined 13 year old Raynald but with his legs stretched out. It was quite an odd sight.
“Why are you laughing all of a sudden, my lady?”
“Oh, it’s nothing…..”
Yurina tried to hide her smile by covering her face. Not just Betsy, but even Dave, who was reading, gave her a strange look. Still, she couldn’t stop laughing.
It was a rather mischievous smile for a boring trip.
* * *
The Carthia family was a great and powerful house. Their grand carriages proudly boasted the Carthia family crest. Still, even a Carthia carriage could not withstand such a long journey between the Empire and the Kingdom of Crohn.
“I thought I would die from how sore my body is, my lady.”
Betsy got off the carriage and stretched into the sky while complaining. Yurina smile at her while being escorted off the carriage by Dave
“Betsy, there are people around. You shouldn’t say that.”
“Oh! My goodness!”
Betsy became conscious of the people around her and hurried to cover her mouth.
Due to the tough journey, they decided to make a rest-stop in the village closest to the border. Since the village resided along the Maorun River, it was much livelier despite being in the border area. It was, however, still a remote village compared to the border areas in the Empire.
“May I help you, miss?”
Yurina shook her head at the eager Betsy.
“I’ll take a break first. I want to soak myself in a warm bath.”
“We’ve secured rooms in an inn, miss.”
Just in time, Dave came out of the best inn in town and showed her to her room.
Under the helpful eye of Betsy, Yurina took a warm bath and changed into simple clothes before climbing into bed. After a while, her eyelids drooped from the comfort of the luxurious bed.
Betsy’s voice saying that she shouldn’t sleep entered one ear and exited out the other.
Just as she was about to fall asleep, there was a knock on the door.
“That must be Dave. You can open it– I’m dressed well enough.”
“Yes, my Lady.”
As Betsy approached the door, Yurina continued to bury her face in the pillow. As Betsy answered the door, she sounded a bit cautious.
“Who, who are you?”
Oh? Isn’t it Dave? Yurina was wide awake now. She instinctively got out of bed and ran to a corner of the room.
“I asked who you are! No, wait a minute! You can’t come in!”
She was surprised that Betsy did not run away. Rather, Betsy was blocking the intruder with her whole body, so she rushed to Betsy. In her head, she was thinking of what kind of magic she could use in this situation.
‘Fireball? No, if I don’t aim well, Betsy could get hit. Then, electricity?’
If she shocked the intruder, she could use that time to run to Dave with Betsy. In the Empire, she couldn’t have done this, but mana concentration was high in the Kingdom of Crohn.
She could use the magic, but she would be drained for the night.
Yurina organized her thoughts, gathered the mana at her fingertips and prepared to save Betsy. Betsy was still blocking the intruder, but suddenly stepped aside, calling out in confusion.
“What? Huh?”
The intruder’s goal was Yurina, and now he could get to her without any obstacles to hinder him. She hurriedly stepped back into the corner of the room, not realizing how odd it was for Betsy to have stepped aside of her own volition.
“Don’t get any closer! If you do, I’ll attack!.”
The man didn’t stop his approach despite her threat. On the contrary, in just a few steps, he was right in front of her, taking off his hood.
Yurina lost her train of thought as she looked upon his face. The mana gathered at her fingertips had long since scattered.
‘No way…’
Bright blond hair and beautiful features lit up the room like the sun.
Unwavering, ruby red eyes gazed into hers.
From the red eyes, she knew immediately that he was the one she had been waiting for.
“Ray?”
Standing frozen like a statue, yet he responded to the name. She remembered his eyes from when they were young, how could she forget?
His stiff expression distorted as if he was about to cry, but he managed a smile.
“Yurina.”
It was a low and sweet voice. Yurina vaguely remembered the high, tinkling voice of a child from the past. She felt so unfamiliar facing his masculine voice.
Is this man really Ray? When she saw the red eyes, she instinctively knew, but she still doubted herself. While Yurina worried over such a ridiculous thing, the man reached for her.