(-.-) ā Sorry for the delay guys, had to solve some problems this weekend.
(OwO) ā Anyway, enjoy the chapterā¼ā„
āā¦-Leonora-samaā¦ itās time to wake up, Leonora-samaā¦ . ā
(Hmmā¦? I can hear Kaiās voiceā¦)
*Tweet!* *Tweet!*
(And this isā¦ the sound of a birdā¦?)
As the warm sunlight of the dawning sun gently caressed his cheek, Leo started to slowly wake up.
(Where is thisā¦? Thereās a bird tweeting nearby, soā¦ maybe this is a forest? Hmm, wild vegetables sell for a high price in the marketā¦ and I can earn a lot of money by selling medicinal herbs tooā¦ maybe I should go harvest some real quickā¦?)
Even though he was still a bit drowsy from sleeping too much, Leo couldnāt help but think about all the money he would make by selling those plants in the market. However, as the initial wave of drowsiness started to fade away, Leo noticed something really important.
(Huhā¦? Wait, this isnāt a forest! This is a carriage! And a really expensive one at that! Wow, is that gold adorning the walls!? ā¦ā¦No, wait, why the hell am I inside this carriage!?)
āOh, youāre finally awake, Leonora. Good, weāre almost at the border.ā
ā!!!!!!!!!ā
After hearing that familiar voice, Leo finally remembered why he was riding this carriage right now. He was going to Eland with Kai, Gustavā¦ and a caged bird. The young butler was sitting by his side, while the holy knight and the bird were on the seat across from him.
āThat, uh, thank you for, waking me up, Kaiā¦ . ā
āIt was nothing, Leonora-sama. I know youāve been staying up late every day while studying with your teachers, so I let you sleep. However, you have to promise me to never do this again, okay? Your health is just as important as the knowledge you could gain from studying. Never forget that.ā ā Said Kai, as he stared at Leo with a reprimanding look on his face.
āUnā¦ I will try, to not, stay up late, againā¦ . ā
Leo knew that Kai was reprimanding him because he was worried, so he decided to just comply with the young butlerās demand, after all, he had already learned everything that he could from his teachers.
(Iām sorry, Kai! But you have to understand that I couldnāt simply waste that golden opportunity!)
After escaping, Leo would never have the chance to study with the best instructors of the Empire again, so he did his best to cram everything he could inside his head. He learned a bit of everything during his studies, including history, religion, manners and even everyday chores, like how to make his own bed, among many other things. But what really made Leo give his all during his studies, was the fact that everything that he was learning had a practical use. In other words, with the knowledge that he had now, Leo could work anywhere he wanted, including high-class places.
(Those expensive restaurants back in Richard pay their workers really well, so I can earn a lot of money by working thereā¦!)
However, even though Leoās motives for studying were actually quite selfish, to the servants of the Harkenberg household, who watched their young lady doing her best to learn how to do the work of a servant, Leonora had become way more than a saintessā¦ to them, she was now the symbol of humility.
But Leo obviously didnāt know any of that.
āHaaahā¼, even if that was for the sake of becoming a good shrine maiden, I shouldnāt have let your teachers teach you how to do the work of a servantā¦ I mean, youāre definitely better than us servants at some things, but making you do those heavy chores, on top of your studies, was a bit too muchā¦ . ā
āBut I enjoyed, learning how to, do those things, Kai. Besides, all of my, teachers were, kind to me, so I never, thought that was, too much, you know?ā
After hearing his masterās opinion on the matter, Kai let out a resigned sigh. The young butler knew that his master would never change her way of doing things, even if that harmed her, so the only thing he could do right now, was to watch over her until she needed his help.
(Haaahā¼, why does it have to be herā¦? I wish Leonora-sama didnāt have to go to that placeā¦)
Although Kai wasnāt really okay with any of that, Gustav, on the other hand, seemed to agree with Leonoraās way of doing things.
āYou shouldnāt be too hard on her, Kai. Sure, theyāre going to give Leonora a lady-in-waiting after she arrives in Eland, but a lady-in-waiting isnāt a maid, so I think her idea was actually really good, specially since we canāt be with her all the time, remember?ā
āUghā¦! I almost forgot about that. Who thought it would be a good idea to allow only pure hearted maidens into their main cathedral? This doesnāt make any senseā¦ . ā ā Said Kai, with a dissatisfied look on his face, as he worried about Leonoraās living conditions during the time they would be separated.
However, even though Kai was genuinely worried about his master, to Leo, the young butlerās concerns sounded a bit different in his head.
(I know you want to become a woman, Kai, but you canāt just break the rules of the festival because you think thatās unfair! What if they decide to lock you up!?)
āItās okay, Kai. Iām used to, taking care, of myself, so everything, will be fine. Besides, being angry, wonāt solve anything, so please, calm down.ā ā Said Leo, as he tried to calm the young butler before he did anything rash.
But, instead of calming the young butler, Kai became even more worried after hearing that.
āLeonora-samaā¦ . ā
Since he knew everything that his master went through during her childhood, Kai couldnāt help but think that Leonora was just making herself look strong in order to not worry him.
(Thatās right, Leonora-sama had to look out for herself even back thenā¦ Iām sure she worked really hard to make something good out of the hard bread that those pigs kept feeding herā¦ not to mention how much she had to endure by sleeping on the cold, hard floor of her cellā¦! And now sheās being forced to look out for herself, againā¦! She will be all alone, againā¦! This is just too cruelā¦! How could the people of Eland do this to herā¦!?)
Even if that wasnāt actually the case, Leonoraās past was becoming even more cruel in Kaiās head. It reached a point where the young butler almost burst out in tears just thinking about it. However, while Kai was lost in thought, Gustav stared deeply into the girlās amethyst eyes with a serious look on his face, and saidā
āāEven if you can take care of yourself, I want you to know that you can always rely on us, Leonoraā¦ā¦ no, seriously, your grandfather is probably going to kill us if something happens to you, so please, rely on us, okay? Hahaha!ā
Gustav tried to pass that as a joke by laughing at the end, but Kai knew that the holy knight was actually telling the truth.
Klaus and his men, the dragon knights, had too much magic power, so the Elandians would never allow them escort Leonora to their main cathedral. Thatās why the marquis chose Gustav and his holy knights, plus Kai, to escort his granddaughter instead, after all, they had no magic power.
However, that didnāt mean Klaus fully trusted their capabilities, so he decided to make sure they would do a good jobā¦ā¦ by threatening them.
āYou know what will happen if you donāt do everything you can to protect her, right?āĀ ā Thatās what the marquis said to them right before they departed to Eland.
Well, with theĀ Sword of the EmpireĀ here, no one would be crazy enough to do anything to his master, so Kai felt relieved in knowing that he wouldnāt lose his head so soon.
āEven though I take pride in being Leonora-samaās servant, Iām not strong enough to protect her, so Iām glad youāre here with us, Gustav-sama. With a holy knight as strong as you here, Iām sure nothing bad will happen to Leonora-sama.ā
After hearing that, Gustav shrugged lightly to indicate that he was just doing his job, but as a fan of the holy knight, Kai couldnāt let an opportunity like this pass, so he cleared his throat, and askedā
āāTo tell the truth, Iāve always admired you, Gustav-sama. You are an amazing holy knight, and youāre almost there to becoming a Sage, soā¦ I was wondering if you could tell me how to become as strong and dedicated to your goals as you are?ā
āK-Kaiā¦?ā
Leo started sweating cold after Kai said that. To him, being a Sage meant that you were an old man who hadnāt even lost his V-Card yet, so he couldnāt help but think that his butler was making fun of Gustav.
However, instead of getting angry at the young butler, the holy knight just answered him honestly.
āHahaha! Itās good to see that you are enthusiastic about this, but unfortunately, the only advice I can give you, is how to deal with women.ā
(T-this guyā¦! Do you really want to expose your secret that badly!?)
āReally? I always thought holy knights only cared about swords, muscles and stuff related to that.ā
(Kaiā¦!?)
āWell, youāre not wrong about that, but recently, I started thinking that itās about time I find someone as well, if you know what I mean.ā
āHeeā¼, is that so?ā
(Ahhh! I give up! I canāt watch this anymore!)
Leo couldnāt stand watching Gustav embarrass himself like that anymore, so he stared at the young butler with a serious look on his face, and saidā
āāI donāt think, you should, be making him, talk about that, Kaiā¦ specially since, Gustav-sensei is, almost there, to becoming, a Sageā¦ . ā
āI-Iām sorry, Leonora-sama! This wonāt happen again!ā
Kai hurried and apologized as soon as he saw the serious look on Leonoraās face. Many people still followed the old ways of the spirit faith, which demanded that their priests had to remain pure throughout their entire lives, so after guessing that was probably the reason why his master was so bothered by their conversation, the young butler cleared his throat and changed the topic.
āAnyway, just like Gustav-sama mentioned earlier, the two of us will come running to your aid if something happens, Leonora-sama. Just donāt forget to use the singing bird if you ever feel like something even more serious is about to happen, okay?ā
After Kai mentioned the caged bird on the seat across from him, a small frown appeared on Leoās face.
The white bird was really elegant and it was no bigger than Leoās palm, but even so, seeing that little thing only brought him discomfort, after all, the one who gave it to him was none other than Albert himself.
(Great! This is everything I ever wanted! A bird that will warn the prince if I ever try to run away!)
Before departing to Eland, Leo was surprised by Albert, who handed him the bird, along with a warning.
āSince you wonāt be able to use magic power in Eland, Iām giving you this singing bird. In case of an emergency, the bird will memorize the last words spoken near it and relay the message to me, so I want you to know that Iāll come find you no matter what happens, even if I have to invade that place with the might of our entire armyā¦ but I hope I wonāt have to do that.ā
Even though Albert managed to fool everyone with his caring smile, Leo knew exactly why the prince gave him the birdā¦ it was for the sake of monitoring him. Albert already knew that Leo was looking for a way to escape sometime during the trip, so giving him the bird would limit his chances of escaping considerably, after all, the bird just had to go inform him in case Leo tried something.
(Haaahā¼, escaping from this prince is really hard, huhā¦? Not to mention that he always knows what Iām going to do nextā¦ this is a bit disheartening, but I need to think of somethingā¦)
Although escaping from the prince seemed more impossible with each passing second, Leo continued thinking about what he could do to escape from Albertā¦ until he had a great idea.
If the bird was his main problem, then he just had to find a way to get rid of it!
(Yosh, Iāll bake that thing as soon as we reach the cathedral!)
However, right after Leo thought that, the bird started making a lot of noiseā
*Tweet!* *Tweet!* *Tweet!*
āIt was as if the bird knew what Leo was going to do with it, once they arrived at their destination.
(Hmm, this bird is really intelligentā¦ but I wonāt let it ruin my plans.)
After learning that he was going to Eland, Leo exchanged many letters with Leena and Bruno while planning his escape. Everything on their end was already set in motion, so Leo just needed to wait until the last day of the festival to make his move. In other words, he could enjoy his time in Eland to itās fullest, before finally saying goodbye to all this.
(I just hope Leenaās grandparents wonāt feel too sad when Iām goneā¦)
Leo wanted to escape more than anything, but deep inside, he couldnāt help but think how much he was going to hurt the Marquis couple by doing this. Not to mention how sad Kai and his friends would be after he was gone.
āOh, it seems like weāre finally reaching the border. The temperature even rose a bit after we passed the green plains.ā
āYes, weāre almost at the land of the spiritsā¦ the land blessed by light.ā
After hearing the short exchange between his butler and the holy knight, Leo shook his head to get rid of those bad feelings and looked outside.
The air coming from outside was way more clean than Leo expected and temperature was only getting hotter and hotter by the minute.
The weather here was the complete opposite of Richard, but in a good sense.
(So this is Eland, the land of the spirits!)
As the never-ending plains started giving way to beautiful, lushy trees, Leo could finally see a giant stone arch, fully adorned by all kinds of precious metals and gems.
(May the Golden Spirit of Coins bless this beautiful arch!) ā Thought Leo, as he offered a prayer to his one and only deity.
They were finally at the border between Eland and the Empire.