Fortunately, the next day was a day without training. After spending a considerable time together in the Duke’s chamber last night, they eventually fell asleep. When Rensley woke up, slower than usual, Gezell had already vacated the bed. Just because there was no training for the Knight Order didn’t mean it was a day of rest up to the Duke.
On the bedside table, there was a note left by Gezell. After reading it all, Rensley quickly had a simple breakfast with an omelet and headed to Ivet’s room. As soon as he opened the door, a lively voice burst out like a song.
“Oh, how is it that your hair is so good? It falls down smoothly without the need for much oil. Look at this complexion! Are all Southern women this charming with rosy cheeks? You don’t even need much makeup. They say you do upper-level work, but your hands are a bit rough. Don’t worry. If you start taking care of them from today, they’ll be as soft as silk in no time. Truly lovely. If you wear the newly made dress, everyone will only look at you like a princess.”
The person excitedly delivering a monologue like a stage actor was Lady Samlet, who was helping Ivet who had taken over the role of temporary Duchess that had been Rensley’s until now.
Gezell’s note had explained that they had accepted the tasks proposed by Ivet. Ivet had started preparing to present herself as the Duchess of Aldrant to the Emperor from today onwards.
She planned to resume practicing court etiquette, which she had temporarily forgotten due to her life as a merchant, and tidy up her somewhat messy hair and attire. Sitting in front of the mirror, Ivet replied with a smile.
“It’s been a while since I did my body makeup. I used to find it annoying, but now that I’m doing it by choice, it’s enjoyable.”
Lady Samlet often complimented Rensley on his appearance when dressing him as a woman. Although he found it quite awkward, witnessing her genuine praise for the beautiful princess made him realize that the compliments he had received from her so far were merely courteous greetings. Rensley approached the two with a wry smile.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Ivet, have you ever received such extravagant praise since you were born?”
“It’s the first time. Lady Samlet, I feel like wanting to marry you after hearing that.”
“Oh, well. Unfortunately, I’ve decided not to marry again. But I’ll accept the princess’s feelings gratefully.”
“Goodness, then now…”
“It’s been a long time since we parted. Still, because I had many children when I was young, it’s always noisy. Thanks to working in the castle, it’s not too difficult to raise the children alone, so I never thought about remarriage.”
Rensley was hearing for the first time that she was a widow. He knew she had several grown sons and daughters, but seeing the two somewhat embarrassed people, Lady Samlet laughed heartily.
“It’s not a sad story. It happened a long time ago, so now it’s more nostalgic than sad. As time passes, the sadness fades, and only the good memories become clearer. Now, let me do your hair. Naturally, so it won’t hurt your head too much… Ah, truly splendid, Princess.”
“Lady, didn’t you use to say that I was the prettiest before? Now you’ve turned to Ivet?”
“Of course, even Rensley in women’s clothing is beautiful. But there’s a difference between a man dressing as a woman and a real woman dressing up, isn’t there? Rensley had to hide his physique, so the dresses he could wear were too limited. Surely, Rensley, you’re not jealous?”
“Jealous? Lady, I didn’t know you were such a light-hearted person. I used to be praised as the best beauty among the former Duchesses…”
While playfully pretending to be upset and teasing each other, Ivet, who had been looking at herself in the mirror, asked casually, “Are we going to Pheraira together? To the Imperial City.”
“Of course! I’m going as a Knight Order member serving the Duke. It’ll be my first time visiting the Empire. I’m really looking forward to it.”
“You’ll love it. Celestine is considered a fairly large and beautiful capital too, but the scale of the Imperial City is enormous. There are many things you’ll see for the first time.”
It was not an exaggeration. After being relieved from the heavy duty of serving as the Imperial Alchemist, Rensley was excited throughout, anticipating his first visit to Pheraira.
Pheraira, the Emperor’s land praised by adventurers as a place everyone should visit before they die. The capital, Molbessa, was the most prosperous city on the entire continent.
Since childhood, Rensley had enjoyed imagining countries he had never been to while listening to the stories of travelers wandering the continent. If he couldn’t have anything, he wished he could at least enjoy freedom to the fullest, but the Cornia royal family, citing the management of the king’s honor, had tied down the feet of the prince.
Although he was told that he could go anywhere with the king’s permission, as that permission was never granted, it was just an empty condition. After reaching a mature age, he had visited the areas near Cornia a few times, but crossing the border to Aldrant was the first time since he was brought to Aldrant.
“By the way, Ren, you must have slept very late yesterday. You look tired.”
“Yeah, a bit.”
“I went back to my room because I was tired too, but strangely, I couldn’t fall asleep right away. There was a novel in the bedroom, so I read a bit before falling asleep.”
The invigorating effect of the snake’s meat was so remarkable that even after entangling their bodies twice last night, the two didn’t fall asleep immediately.
Gezell unfolded a rather large map on the bed. Like someone teaching geography to a child, he explained the way to Pheraira, pointing out each place to Rensley. Since it was a visit to meet the Emperor, it would be a considerable diplomatic mission, so they would have to endure the consumption of magic and costs, and use long-distance travel devices divided into several stages.
While magic knew no borders, humans decided where they could and couldn’t cross and made rules accordingly. To pass through the magic devices at the borders of each country, there were procedures to follow.
Therefore, even with the use of magic, it was said that it would take over ten days to travel through some regions and countries to reach Pheraira. Gezell had been there a few times before, actually, but he found it dull and difficult.
However, Rensley countered with a smile. He insisted that back then, it was only boring because the Duke went alone, and there’s no way a journey together could be dull. Even if the path was nothing but weeds and rocks, it would be enjoyable if they were together. Upon hearing this, Gezell chuckled and whispered that, in truth, he thought the same.
Thank you for the chapter 😊
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Thank you! The journey is going to begin 😁
ur welcomee~<333