By Zephyria Thump—
Leonardo’s head slid down onto the broad chest, following the shaking of the car. Hugo, who had lifted his eyelids at some point, naturally supported the flowing hair with one hand.
He stared down with lowered eyes at the side of his face, which was resting near his abdomen. Soon, he raised his right hand and created a large water droplet in the air. After covering the surface of the water droplet with an airtight layer of air, he placed the completed water cushion appropriately between himself and Leonardo.
Afterward, so that Leonardo’s left arm, wrapped in bandages, would not be pressed down, he slowly laid his head down, adjusting his shoulder to the water cushion as much as possible. The splashing water touched Leonardo’s left arm, but there was no particular reaction, perhaps because it didn’t get wet.
“…….”
His face, with his eyelashes neatly cast down, was unnaturally sound asleep. Hugo gently pressed Leonardo’s eyelids, checking for movement in his pupils.
He also counted the frequency of his pulse, feeling around his neck. Only when he felt that his heartbeat had slowed down significantly did he remove his hand. Instead, he gently swept back the golden hair that had fallen over his thigh.
It was only five minutes. That was the time it took for Leonardo to fall completely asleep.
“I hope he stays asleep until we arrive….”
As Hugo muttered to himself, the person sitting in the passenger seat looked at the two of them in the rearview mirror.
“My lord, are you really going to be alright?”
Hugo’s gaze, which had been lowered, turned to the front seat. He answered his subordinate, whom he met through the rearview mirror, vaguely.
“Well, I have to be alright.”
Just then, a beep— signal sounded from the anti-eavesdropping radio installed in the front seat.
—Gate confirmed 100m ahead, accelerating.
From that point on, the entire convoy quickly increased its speed. The shaking of the car also became more severe, but Leonardo did not wake up. He had heard from the medical officer that if he took a painkiller combined with a sleep aid in a state of impaired nervous system function, he might experience rapid drowsiness.
But it was unexpected that the effect would appear so quickly. He had hoped that he would fall into a deep sleep, but now he was worried that the effects of the drug would wear off before they arrived.
While Hugo was immersed in such concerns, the figure of a huge Gate appeared beyond the front windshield of the vehicle. The outer Gate of Fidele, densely built with light yellow bricks, was in the shape of a sturdy fortress wall carved out of the mountain, befitting the land of the Margrave.
As it was responsible for the beginning and end of the territory, the Gate gave a majestic yet steadfast impression. He had felt it when passing through this place on the way to the expedition in the past, but Hugo felt that the Gate was a boundary line of upheaval and an event horizon that foreshadowed the approaching crisis.
This might just be unnecessary worries of his and Cordelia’s. But looking back at himself constantly paying attention to her words, it seemed that that strange ‘feeling’ was whispering that he shouldn’t dismiss this matter.
Moreover, apart from the fact that he served the Emperor, the Imperial royal guard often tried to exercise their authority over other institutions by riding on the Emperor’s authority. Therefore, he hoped that those they might encounter soon would not be visiting this place with a purpose that would clash with him.
“Execute the operation immediately after passing through the Gate. Do not let your guard down.”
“Yes, I understand.”
The two people in the front seat answered in unison to Hugo’s words. At the same time, the vehicle they were in was now entering the center of the outer Gate of Fidele.
The interior of the Gate, lit by torches, was like a tunnel carved through the mountainside. However, it was not very long, so they could face the bright sunlight again after a brief darkness.
Entering the bridge that stretched in a straight line with the light shining beyond the Gate, Hugo calmed his mind and took a small, deep breath. With his warmly heated hands, he gently wrapped his forehead and crown to prevent Leonardo’s head from shaking.
After entering the forest beyond the bridge, anything could happen there. But no one would be able to take Leonardo away from him. He intended to keep the promise he had made with him.
^
Dellua looked down at Marlene, who had fallen asleep after taking the same medicine as Leonardo, and clasped her hand, praying inwardly. Whenever the car shook violently, she hugged Marlene, even though there was a safety device, and tried to reduce the impact.
If the connection of the Portal was intact, they would have arrived in Zodiac in a day without having to drive on rough roads. Now, the installation of the temporary Portal was also insufficient, so they had to physically move to the Gate of another territory as it was.
Even if they used a convoy, it would take a day or two to get to the nearest place, so Dellua could not easily understand Sir Hares’s decision to inspect the Portal at this time, even though she had heard that there were circumstances.
But soon, she shook her head and emptied her mind, focusing only on nursing Marlene. Just as she was about to pull up the fallen blanket to cover Marlene’s neck, the speed of the vehicle suddenly decreased without warning.
Screech—
Dellua, who staggered greatly, looked ahead with surprised eyes, and the driver, who had been watching the window on the right, said to her.
“Commander, I’ll turn to the left.”
As soon as the driver finished speaking, the suddenly turned car shook violently once again. Dellua, who was thrown to the side in an instant, hurriedly grabbed the bar of the stretcher and maintained her balance so that Marlene would not shake.
“Hey, there’s a patient here, take it easy—!”
Frowning, she suddenly stopped talking and quickly pulled back the curtain that had been temporarily installed inside the vehicle.
Checking outside the car window, she was already past the bridge connected to the Gate and had entered the forest on the other side. The spot where the returning convoy was divided would come out after moving a little further from here, but she remembered that it had been planned to move separately from this point, as she had heard separately the night before. Dellua stretched her neck and checked the rear window of the car.
‘They’re really going that way.’
Several convoys that had been following her were turning and heading towards the opposite road. Perhaps the reason why the driver of this vehicle had reduced his speed in the middle was to hide the trailing vehicles trying to break away so that they would not be discovered by the lead vehicle.
Following this, the wagon train that had passed through the Gate was now just entering the bridge from afar. Because they were relatively slow, the wagons, which had become distanced, would naturally follow her without knowing what had happened in the middle.
So, no one but herself and a few others would know the whereabouts of the convoys that had broken away to the opposite side. Especially ‘that guy’ who would be leading the vanguard of this convoy.
Dellua, checking the situation by looking back and forth, recalled the conversation she had with the Captain last night.
“Dellua. I’m sorry to come at this late hour, but there’s something I’d like you to help me with.”
Since it was by no means a trivial matter that he suddenly came to visit at night, Dellua, who was taking care of Marlene at the time, quickly put on her combat uniform and followed him to a certain tent.
“Leonardo and I will be leaving the return route that we had previously discussed. We’re going to take a different route. I’ll explain the details later, but first, I’d like you to make one promise with me.”
Dellua looked up at him with a puzzled expression, as he abruptly asked her to make a promise. Hugo said to her in a rather solemn tone.
“Keep this matter strictly confidential. Especially to Meterion Kleinder.”
Everyone in the Council knew that the two were not on good terms. But the Captain she knew had never discriminated against or disadvantaged Meterion due to personal feelings or political issues. Therefore, the request to keep the matter related to the return route confidential sounded very suspicious to Dellua, who knew the Captain.
But from her perspective, who was not particularly involved in any faction, she was ready to follow if her trustworthy superior only gave orders, without having to ask for a favor.
Dellua had many things she wanted to ask, but she first gave a definite answer and then asked briefly.
“Yes, I understand. But… I probably won’t be able to hear the details even if I ask now, right?”
Hugo only gave Dellua a small smile. Then, with words of thanks, he explained the location of the convoy she would have to take the next day.
“You can board the vehicle two cars ahead of where Leonardo is standing. For reference, the driver will be wearing the same combat uniform as us, but he is not affiliated with the Council.”
“Yes?”
She needed additional explanation as to what was going on, but Hugo did not reveal any other private matters. Instead, he said that he was counting on her, patted her on the shoulder, and said with a hardened expression.
“It’s for Leonardo’s sake.”
“…….”
Dellua, who had been watching the rear window of the car, watched as the three convoys that had broken away disappeared into the bushes.
As far as she knew, it was almost the first time that the Captain had brought in personal forces within the Council. Dellua’s doubts swelled as if they were about to burst, but she could only deduce that something big that others should not know was happening.
Since she was not in a position to lend a hand other than keeping silent now, she just sincerely hoped that the two would return safely. Just then, she felt the speed of the vehicle decreasing rapidly again. Dellua stared ahead with a puzzled look.
“What…?”
Suddenly, the entire convoy, which had been running smoothly, stopped in a row as if blocked by something. As Dellua and the driver craned their necks to see what was going on, a signal that would solve their curiosity came from the radio.
Beep—
—Checkpoint. We have stopped according to the stop order. We have stopped for the time being.
Hearing that, Dellua gestured to the driver in front of her in disbelief.
“Hey, press that button over there. Press it hard.”
Following her instructions, the driver pressed the button on the radio hard. Dellua retorted in an absurd tone.
“No, we’re the Council, which checkpoint would order us to stop?”
As soon as she finished speaking, the driver took his hand off the button. Nevertheless, there was no answer for a while.
Dellua scratched the back of her hand with a troubled expression and muttered.
“Ah… I need to go quickly.”
At that moment, a signal sounded again from the radio. The words that the other party, who had been hesitant for a while, conveyed vaguely were something Dellua had not expected at all.
—…Imperial royal guard.