Chapter 89: On the Road Together
That time, his mother had gone completely mad with rage and kicked him out of the house.
He hadn’t returned home since.
His mother might have a kind-looking face, but in truth, she was a powerful witch with enormous magical strength.
When she got angry, it was terrifying.
His father never stood up to her.
His older sisters were scary, too.
Yes—Aaron had learned from experience: women were frightening creatures.
As for Amal, who used to serve in the Dalmasca military, he was now acting as their guide and coachman.
He was apparently from a rural village north of Mitromica City.
Aaron had heard that Amal had joined the military simply because it was a reliable job.
Now, Amal had offered his cooperation to the Kingdom of Rosaria.
He seemed to have doubts about the military regime and despite being a patriot, came across as a sincere and honest person.
Aaron, meanwhile, spent most of his time in the wagon stealing glances at Shiao Yi, who was sitting across from him.
Shiao Yi looked absolutely perfect with that white frilled collar.
The way he wore his blue plaid wool jacket, fastened at the back with a matching belt, showed off his slim waist in a way that Aaron found irresistibly charming.
His short blue pants, the white socks showing under them, and the little black shoes—every detail added to his charm.
Rather than looking like a humble apprentice, Shiao Yi resembled a young noble boy from a good family.
However, then again, Aaron thought, if someone is that cute, everything is forgiven anyway.
Captain Dominic’ eyes were terrifying—especially when he held Shiao Yi on his lap and wouldn’t let jim go for even a second.
It was like he wouldn’t even allow anyone to look at Shiao Yi.
How obsessed was he?
It was hard to believe this was the same man from before.
Aaron had seen how Captain Dominic used to be, so the change was honestly shocking.
Was he always like this? Or is he acting this way now because he used to be so cold? Aaron thought maybe Dominic was just awkward with emotions.
Once he thought that way, the captain didn’t seem as scary as before.
Maybe it was because he realized that even someone like Dominic was still human.
Aaron no longer froze up with fear every time Dominic looked at him.
As long as he didn’t meet the captain’s eyes directly, he could even manage a normal conversation now.
As Aaron sat there grinning to himself while watching Shiao Yi, the carriage finally arrived at the first posting town.
They pulled up to the best inn in the area.
Since they were posing as wealthy merchants from Pristina, it wouldn’t seem out of place.
The plan was to conduct business in the Rabanastre City and also in Mitromica City.
So it was natural that they would stay in a high-class inn to protect their valuable cargo.
Of course, casting a protective barrier spell on the wagon was standard practice, too.
The merchants often went out of their way to hire mages for that or purchase expensive enchanted tools for protection.
They rented three rooms: one for the master, one for the butler and one for the guards, placed next to each other.
The coachman, being of lower status, was assigned a room in a separate wing meant for servants.
Aaron felt a bit bad for Amal, but it was all part of the disguise, so there wasn’t much they could do about it.
Shiao Yi was supposed to be staying either in the same room or in an adjoining room with Aaron, since he was pretending to be Aaron’s personal attendant.
However, instead, he went straight into Captain Dominic’ room.
Naturally, the captain wasn’t about to let Shiao Yi out of his sight.
There was a restaurant downstairs where they could have had dinner, but instead, Aaron had the meal brought up to his room.
He also called Amal to join them and they all ate together while going over the schedule for the next day.
When he saw that Captain Dominic still had Shiao Yi sitting on his lap like always, Aaron quietly let out a sigh of relief.
Good thing we didn’t eat downstairs in the restaurant, he thought.
Apparently, Amal had hurt his leg during the recent magic circle incident and Rex had been showing concern for him.
Aaron noticed, not for the first time, that those two seemed to get along quite well.
Maybe it was because they had carried out a mission together previously.
"Tomorrow, we’ll stop at the next posting town," Captain Dominic said while looking down at the map. "Shiao Yi mustn’t get too tired from traveling in an unfamiliar carriage."
Yep, Aaron thought, he’s completely dropped the butler act now. Definitely not restaurant material.
"I’m fine," Shiao Yi said. "I’ve mostly been carried the whole time anyway, so I don’t even feel the bumps from the road."
"Still, you need to save your energy for when we reach Rabanastre City," Dominic replied seriously. "We don’t have to leave early in the morning, either. Instead, gather what information you can. Louis, you can handle that while you’re out buying lunch and drinks. We’ll delay departure a bit. Sound good, Shiao?"
Captain Dominic looked into Shiao Yi’s face with an unbelievably gentle expression.
His whole face softened in joy.
Normally, he had that cold, handsome look, so seeing him smile like that was almost destructive—it had a strong impact.
Aaron felt a little tug in his own heart, though he knew better than to do anything about it.
He just thought it quietly in his head.
No way was he brave enough to act on it.
The man was scary.
I wonder if they used that bottle of scented oil I gave them, Aaron mused privately.
I really want to know how it went.
Maybe I should ask later?
After Louis left, he said he was heading to the tavern to gather information.
Captain Dominic also left while carrying Shiao Yi in his arms as he returned to the next room.
Aaron got up too.
There was something he wanted to look into, and now seemed like the right time to go out and do a little investigating of his own.