Chapter 149 : Chapter 149
Chapter 149. Shartea’s Visit
The Empire’s Third Princess, Shartea, visited her territory during vacation.
Since she was enrolled at the Academy and could not visit often, she made sure to stop by whenever vacation came.
Shartea’s territory, Sherke, was one of the largest cities in the surrounding area.
It was the Third Princess’s territory, but beyond that, the plains were wide and the land fertile, so agriculture thrived, making it relatively wealthier than nearby cities.
Being far from the capital was a drawback, but Shartea actually liked that about it.
“Elder Brother doesn’t like coming this far.”
The Second Prince favored luxury, so he rarely wanted to visit such a remote territory.
He avoided it, saying it smelled of the countryside.
Knowing this well, Shartea took this vacation as an opportunity to head to Sherke.
She made the excuse to the Second Prince that she would be going on a territorial inspection for a few days.
She also instructed the attendants to keep their mouths shut.
“Your Highness, are you really going alone?”
“That is my intention. With my skills, there should be nothing to worry about.”
Her escort knight wore an awkward expression.
“If the Second Prince finds out, my life will not be safe.”
“Then follow me on your own. Just do not let me notice you.”
The escort knight was one of Shartea’s followers, so he already knew her straight-laced temperament well.
He also knew that once she made a decision, she never backed down.
The escort knight nodded and disappeared from in front of Shartea.
This alone was already a major concession on her part.
The reason she was going to such lengths to move was simple.
‘I am going to Radel’s territory.’
Not long ago, Shartea learned that Radel’s territory was near Sherke.
She heard it was a very small and shabby territory, yet for some reason even the Seventh Princess was staying there.
It would have been better if Radel were at the Imperial Palace, but Shartea’s plan did not change.
She intended to teach Radel swordsmanship during this vacation, no matter what.
‘He needs better swordsmanship.’
Shartea was certain of it.
Radel definitely had talent with the sword.
Up until now, his environment had been suppressing that talent.
But what if he learned a higher level of swordsmanship?
Shartea curled her lips upward.
‘Another swordsman will be born among the imperial family.’
To bring that day closer, she needed to reach Radel’s territory as soon as possible.
As she set out, Shartea asked people along the way.
“How do I get to Raviedel?”
When a hooded girl said she was heading to Raviedel, people answered kindly.
“You are lucky. Until recently, the road to Raviedel was blocked, but not anymore.”
“That is right. Thanks to that, it has become so much easier. Before, the Lizardmen blocked the road and caused trouble, which was really inconvenient.”
Shartea’s eyes sharpened beneath her hood.
“The Lizardmen blocked the road?”
“It is fine now. The lord there is a Prince, and they say he scolded the Lizardmen properly. Now they have made peace and get along well.”
“It is Raviedel’s specialty, really. They say Lizardmen just wander around the place like it is nothing.”
The Lizardmen blocked the road, and Radel resolved it.
Up to that point, Shartea could understand.
However, the part about getting along well with the Lizardmen afterward was impossible for her to comprehend.
“That is quite strange.”
To not exact bloody revenge on those who dared to encroach upon his territory.
Shartea’s lips twitched with anger.
But the people, unaware of her feelings, kept talking.
“Right? If I were not busy, I would go take a look myself.”
“Exactly. There used to be nothing to see, but now word has spread that there are lots of interesting sights.”
What was this supposed to mean?
Why would a remote territory have interesting attractions?
Shartea was even more confused.
“They say the Order of the Main God’s apprentice Holy Knights are training there. In a countryside like that, would that not be a huge sight on its own?”
“Of course. And on top of that, there are Lizardmen too, so it sounds really interesting.”
Apprentice Holy Knights of the Main God and Lizardmen.
It was truly an incompatible combination.
At this point, even Shartea was curious.
Were those people’s words really true?
If so, what on earth had Radel done in his territory to give rise to such rumors?
Shartea followed the directions people gave her and headed for Raviedel.
She needed to verify the truth behind those rumors.
***
Inette’s voice echoed through the Lord’s Castle.
“Is this really a vacation?!”
Whenever she felt bored, Inette would go out to the sea to hunt monsters, and if she woke up early, she would go to the fields to supervise the Lizardmen working, spending her days like that.
But today, she finally snapped and screamed.
The sea she had been looking forward to was a monster den, and after coming to Radel’s territory to have fun, all she did was work every day.
It was impossible to call these days a vacation.
Accustomed to the glamorous life of the capital, Inette had reached the limit of her patience.
As Inette exploded, Radel immediately offered a solution.
“Then how about going to the lake?”
“There is a lake here?”
“Yes. Chariot will guide you.”
Radel decided to attach Chariot to Inette and let her tour Raviedel.
He had already been thinking about how to develop the tourism course anyway.
He planned to bundle not only the lake, but also the artisan village and the well-known restaurants on the shopping street and develop them together.
Sending Inette there would allow her to clearly point out both the good points and the shortcomings.
Since Inette shopped often and had a discerning eye, she was trustworthy.
As Radel expected, Inette returned in the afternoon and excitedly spoke up.
“Why didn’t you tell me the lake was so pretty?”
It seemed Inette had stopped by the artisan village, gone shopping for the first time in a while, and eaten at a Raviedel restaurant on the street.
Her hands were full of things Radel had never seen before.
“I only found out recently too. It is nice there, right?”
“Obviously. It is the most beautiful lake I have ever seen. This place needs to be known by more people!”
Inette, full of excitement, said she needed to write a letter to her mother right away and borrowed pen and paper from Radel.
“Can I invite my mom?”
As Inette wrote the letter, she asked, and Radel nodded.
“Of course. It should be fine after the new road is finished. Right now it would be inconvenient for her to come.”
“Exactly. The road is so narrow that only one carriage can pass at a time. How would she even get in?”
Hearing Inette’s words, Radel opened the desk drawer and took out a letter.
“Come to think of it, Senior Shartea said she would visit too…… when was that again.”
Seeing Radel calmly checking the letter, Inette shouted.
“What are you talking about? The Third Princess is coming here?!”
“Yes, I got a letter not long ago. She said she would stop by soon.”
“What? Are you that close that she would come all the way to your territory?!”
Inette looked utterly unable to understand.
Being acquainted was one thing, but visiting his territory during vacation was another matter entirely.
“Well, we are both representatives of the same year. And I do not think she dislikes me……?”
Radel did not know exactly how Shartea felt about him, but at least he knew her favorability was 15.
Considering she was royalty, that seemed pretty decent.
‘At least not to the point of sending assassins, right?’
While Radel was gauging how close he was to Shartea, Inette huffed angrily.
“If she disliked you, would she come?”
“She might come to spy.”
“Tch, spy on what.”
Inette snorted and buried her face in the paper.
Then she said,
“The Third Princess is incredibly busy. Even during vacation, she will be busy, so she will not make it all the way here.”
It seemed to be Inette’s wishful thinking.
Contrary to her hopes, however, Shartea had already arrived in Radel’s territory.
***
“Brother, did you see how I planted potatoes today? It was no joke, right?”
“Do not say ridiculous things. You still have a long way to go!”
“You are too harsh, Brother. Look at my muscles! Have they not been forged by hoeing and pickaxing?”
“Idiot! We are warriors, not farmers!”
The first thing Shartea saw upon arriving in Raviedel was Lizardmen carrying sacks of seed potatoes, heading somewhere.
“Lizardmen……?”
Without realizing it, Shartea began following them.
She wondered if they might be up to something suspicious.
However, the Lizardmen were merely chatting as they carefully stored the sacks of seed potatoes in a warehouse.
“Did you know, Brother? Potatoes become poisonous when they sprout.”
“What? Then the potatoes we planted later too?”
“No! If they sprout and grow properly, they produce potatoes like these that do not sprout. You did not know that? Have you seen how much of a farmer I have become?”
“Hey! We are warriors, not farmers!”
Of course.
Shartea did not lower her guard.
Lizardmen farming made no sense at all.
Seeing them shout that they were warriors put her at ease.
It was a slightly strange sight, but for now, Shartea’s common sense was still intact.
“Now it is time for hunting! A warrior’s time!”
“Uoooooh!”
As expected, the next place the Lizardmen headed was a hunting ground.
From what she overheard, it seemed they were going to hunt monsters at sea.
There were quite a few territory residents gathered there as well.
“You are here? Let us catch them quickly and go!”
“Sounds good. Want to bet on who catches more?”
However, the territory’s people and the Lizardmen looked much closer than Shartea had expected.
They bantered back and forth, competed in hunting skill, then quickly dismantled the monsters and carried them back to the territory.
They then stored them neatly in the warehouse.
‘Did they not say the Lizardmen blocked the road and caused trouble?’
But what Shartea saw was something entirely different.
“Good luck with afternoon training!”
“Yeah, good luck with pickaxing!”
The territory residents and the Lizardmen parted ways in the middle with incomprehensible greetings.
This time, Shartea followed the territory residents.
They headed to an open field, and upon arrival, immediately began training in perfect unison.
Surprisingly, the one instructing them was an Academy professor.
“You must learn how to put weight into your punches!”
“Yes, Instructor!”
As evening approached, the territory residents’ training ended.
The place they headed next was a large plaza in the center of the territory.
There, the apprentice Holy Knights and the Lizardmen were gathered together, waiting for the residents.
“You are late.”
“Looking at it, you are not much different from us anyway. Right, Apprentice Holy Knights?”
“Haha, that is right. We arrived around the same time.”
They chatted briefly, then soon began free sparring in the plaza.
Lizardmen, apprentice Holy Knights, and territory residents alike all took up swords and clashed, regardless of skill.
“Has your skill dropped in the meantime?”
“As if you are any better!”
Clang!
The sound of blades colliding echoed through the plaza.
‘Such a territory exists?’
A place where everyone freely crossed swords.
What she had dreamed of might have been something like this.
Shartea felt something boiling up in her chest.
It was a fierce competitive spirit she had never felt at the Academy.