By Zephyria 
For the few remaining days, I tried to spend as much time as possible with my family.
When my younger brothers were younger, I often carried Michael and Asdel, one on each shoulder or one in each arm, and ran around playing. But now that they’ve grown a bit, they acted all prim and proper, saying they didn’t need me to play with them physically.
Instead, I sat with my two brothers in the drawing room for tea time.
I heard a lot about the tasks the children had decided to accomplish while I was in the mountains, and about the subjects they wanted to take when they went to the academy. The children were also curious about my companions, so I told them stories about Marianne, Benjamin, and Rubel.
Then Asdel pouted, sticking out his lips like a chick’s beak, and grumbled.
“I don’t like that person.”
“That person? Who are you talking about?”
“Rubel, the Second Prince.”
“…Why?”
I’d heard that children liked anyone handsome or pretty.
I was bewildered, not knowing what he had heard to make him act like this. Asdel, who was sitting curled up on the drawing room sofa with his feet up and his chin tucked into his neck, whined.
“He looks like he’s going to make our brother suffer.”
“…What?”
What was he talking about now?
I hadn’t even told my parents, let alone these young brothers, that I was… close to Rubel. I hadn’t even thought about such an awkward and strange thing.
I couldn’t open my mouth properly, not knowing when he had found out, and just stared at the child blankly.
Michael, who was sitting next to him, watched what his father did and learned, handing me a cookie and shaking his head. Dumbfounded, I took the cookie and asked again.
“What do you mean? I need you to explain it properly.”
“…”
“Asdel thinks that person…”
“Ah, don’t say it!”
Asdel blocked Michael’s mouth as he tried to say something.
I sat there blinking, unable to understand what these little ones were thinking.
I couldn’t dismiss the children’s words as nonsense, because the children of this land were excessively precocious and thoughtful. With that in mind, I patted the seat next to me and called Asdel.
“Come here, little one.”
“…Ugh…”
Asdel, who had been whining, hesitated for a moment, then threw off the blanket and plopped down next to me. I placed the child’s maple-leaf-sized hand on mine and gently stroked it, and the child averted his gaze.
“What did Ruben do?”
“…I know everything. When he dropped you off this time…”
“Hmm.”
“That person stayed in front of the gate for forty minutes after it closed.”
“What?”
I was hearing this for the first time.
No, if I had known, I would have told him to come in. I had simply thought he was letting me spend time with my family since we would be together for a long time from now on, and I was busy greeting my parents, so I didn’t know. I was taken aback and pressed for more details.
“…What are you talking about?”
“The servants said that if he had brought a bouquet, they would have thought he was proposing. They said he stood there for a long time, looking at where your room was with such longing.”
“No, no. Who said that?”
“Brother.”
Asdel gripped my hand tightly. The child’s red eyes shone fiercely.
“Being handsome is only temporary. You mustn’t fall for it, even if he tries to seduce you.”
“…No…”
“Men should be like deer. They should be obedient, kind, and not look at other women. Not like those, those femme, femme fatales…”
Asdel couldn’t finish the word, so Michael quickly chimed in.
“Not femme fatale, homme fatale.”
“Yes. Homme fatale. You can’t be with someone like that.”
“…Do you even know what that is…?”
“I know! A fatal man who will lead a woman to ruin.”
“…Hmm.”
So, this kid has started reading romance novels lately.
How old is Asdel now? I was at a loss for words and just sighed. I gently pushed away Asdel, who was stubbornly saying it was absolutely not allowed, and told my parents to check his study.
Unlike my father, who was silent and speechless after hearing the story, my mother laughed so hard that she cried. I was so dumbfounded by her reaction that I laughed too.
But on my own, I thought that Rubel was deer-like and lovely enough. He was obedient, kind, and there was no one as gentle as him. And his eyes were so clear and pure.
It was clear that Asdel was still too young and didn’t have a good eye for people. I resolved in my heart to interfere when he chose his partner.
When I told Michael about it later, Michael bravely said that he would protect his younger brother as well.
I cherished Michael so much that I cuddled him for a long time before going to sleep.
Asdel was very sulky when he found out about it, and there was no way to appease him, so my parents suggested that the whole family sleep in one room for one night. I didn’t think it was a problem for the whole family to sleep in one bed, so I allowed it.
So, on the last day before leaving, I stayed up late watching the four children breathing softly.
❖ ❖ ❖
The departure dates for the three groups were spaced out by exactly one day each.
This was to prevent the children from having accidents at the same time while traveling. If an accident happened to the children going ahead, the ones following behind were supposed to help.
Usually, it would be right to go in the order of groups 1, 2, and 3, but since the Second Prince was in our group, we were assigned the second day.
The road to the Yuil Mountains was one that required quick movement, so it was standard to drive the horses and carriages directly without a coachman.
The carriage was chosen from the ordinary market to avoid attracting attention, and the luggage was loaded into it.
Ruben brought a black horse, and I brought a dark chestnut horse that Uncle had prepared. Benjamin and Marianne boasted that they had used their coupons wisely at the Otif Horse Association to choose their horses, and Benjamin’s horse looked just like Victor, which made everyone laugh.
The journey from the Sierran Empire’s capital to the Duke Withrow estate was a very arduous one.
Because the tail of the Eldos Mountains remained as hills, there were many uphill climbs compared to the mostly flat southern part of the empire. The climate was also colder than the capital, and the distance was long, so there were times when there were no houses for three or four days in the middle.
Even I, who was used to traveling long distances after wandering around various parts of the Central Plains in my previous life, was mentally exhausted by the busy schedule of only sleeping at the inn and immediately setting off to drive the horses. It was obvious that the other three children would be very tired, but thankfully, none of them complained.
It was the day we were camping out for the first time after passing the Eldos Mountains.
We were all cleaning up the area after eating dinner around the fire when Marianne suddenly screamed.
“There’s no need for that! I don’t need any special treatment!”
Benjamin, who was standing silently in front of her, awkwardly stroked his chin. Wondering what was going on, I took Rubel and went closer to interfere, and Marianne made an angry face, crossed her arms, and said.
“I know I’m a woman. But I don’t want to be told to sleep in the carriage separately. We’re going to be together all the time now, so what if something dangerous happens to me later if I’m separated?”
“…”
“We need to get used to sleeping together when we camp out. One of you should come in and sleep with me. You can make Michael and Your Highness sleep in the carriage. I can sleep outside too!”
“Hmm.”
I closed my mouth, thinking that I would have gotten the same scolding from Marianne. No matter how witty and lively she was, Marianne was still a girl, so I was consciously paying attention to her. I had to stop the fight, but I didn’t know what to do, so I kept my mouth shut.
Benjamin glanced at us and said.
“…That’s not what I meant.”
“Then what do you mean?”
“Would you like to lie down in it?”
“No.”
“That is.”
Benjamin glanced at the carriage for a moment, then stood next to me. I was puzzled by the way he drew a line from the top of my head to his shoulder to estimate the size. Benjamin spoke again.
“We’d have to cut off our knees to sleep in the carriage.”
“…Huh.”
Marianne blinked her round eyes and slowly opened the carriage door. When a child lay down on the seat, there was barely half a handspan of space left above their head when they lay straight.
Of course. The carriage was meant for sitting, not lying down, and it was chosen with the intention that two people would take turns riding in the carriage while the other two rode horses. How big could a light carriage be that wouldn’t reveal their identity and that the horses could pull easily?
At best, only Marianne, who was about the same height as me in my first year, barely over five feet tall, could lie down straight. Marianne, who had been looking up at the three handsome men as if estimating their height, jumped up and sat down.
I smiled as I saw the anger fade from the child’s eyes.
“Ah, but I still don’t like feeling left out. I want to sleep together.”
“…Well, do as you please. You can go inside if you get cold.”
“I brought a lot of good things, so I’m okay.”
Marianne raised her hands and showed them off proudly. The jewelry hanging from her hands and wrists were the warming Artifacts that I had given her sometime ago. They shone brightly, showing how carefully she had taken care of them.
Hmph, Marianne gathered the blankets from inside the carriage and was about to take them out when she nudged Benjamin’s arm with her shoulder. Benjamin silently swayed slightly, as he always did. Seeing that, Marianne raised the corners of her lips and smiled.
“Still, I’m sorry for misunderstanding.”
“It’s alright.”
Only then did I and Rubel realize that the matter had been resolved, and we helped to prepare the sleeping arrangements.
The carriage, which had been set up in a wide area, was placed at the head of the bed to block the wind, and the horses were loosely tied so that they could rest in the nearby meadow. A warm fire was lit at our feet, just in case. We spread the dry grass that we had brought to feed the horses in case of emergency on the blanket, and then covered it with another blanket, which made it quite soft and comfortable.
I and Benjamin, who had more sensitive Qi sense, agreed to sleep on either side, so we lay down in the order of me, Rubel, Marianne, and Benjamin. The moon and stars, which seemed to pour down from the sky, were clearly visible.