293. Going Back Home
“Traveling by horseback is truly exhausting! Rexford, my legs are like lead,” the lady complained, shifting her weight as she sat by the crackling campfire.
Rexford, sitting opposite her, let out a long, weary sigh as he poked at the embers. “With so little stamina, I don’t understand how you were ever able to keep up with Her Highness in bed. Honestly, Laila…”
“As if you were any better,” Laila countered with a chuckle, her eyes dancing in the firelight. “You’re just jealous she used to call for me more often than she did for you.”
Rexford didn't argue; he just hummed a low note and bit into a piece of tough jerky. He looked up at the moon hanging high in the night sky and offered a rare, small smile. “We are finally going back home.”
“If only our home were still the Imperial Palace,” Laila grumbled, nibbling on her own rations. “Instead of some backwater place like Jola Island.”
“It’s Kim Island now. Her Highness changed the name, remember?” Rexford corrected her, his tone sharpening slightly. He chewed the jerky thoughtfully before adding, “Well, wherever Her Highness Ravenna is… that is our home, isn't it?”
Laila went quiet for a moment, then nodded slowly. “You’re right. So, in the end, we are indeed going home.”
Several days later. An Inn in Ronin Town, Mainland Ancorna.
The town was bustling with the energy of a trade hub. Inside a crowded inn, the air thick with the smell of roasted meat and cheap ale, Laila leaned across the table toward Rexford.
“I heard a rumor that the new gambling house, the Raven Casino, is actually run by Kim Dukedom!” she whispered, taking a long drink of wine. Her eyes brightened. “What do you say? Should we go and check it out? Maybe we can win enough to travel in style.”
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“Absolutely not!” Rexford reprimanded her sharply. “We barely had enough coin to sneak out of the Conley Empire and make it back this far. If you waste our remaining money at a card table, we will never reach Kim City.”
After finishing their meager meal and resting their weary bones, they headed toward the harbor the following morning, hoping to find a vessel bound for the Dukedom.
“What do you mean we can’t board?” Rexford asked, his voice rising in frustration as he stood before a merchant captain.
The captain, a weathered man with a salt-and-pepper beard, simply shrugged. “Her Highness has restricted travel into the Kim Dukedom since the day she became Duchess. It’s well known. Unless you’re a registered merchant or a citizen with papers, you’re an outsider. And outsiders don’t board ships for Kim City.”
“I… I see…” Rexford began to back down, his shoulders slumping.
Laila immediately stepped forward, pulling him to the side. “Why are you backing down so easily?” she hissed. “We are Her Highness’s lovers! We were members of her harem! How can we be considered outsiders?”
“Oh, really? And how do you suppose we prove that?” Rexford retorted sarcastically. “We can’t exactly go around telling people that Her Highness disbanded the harem to protect us during the exile, so we went into hiding, and now that we’ve heard the situation is stable, we’ve decided to crawl back.”
“But… that’s exactly what happened, isn't it?” Laila asked, looking genuinely confused.
Rexford sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “I truly don't know what Her Highness sees in you sometimes. Yes, that is what happened, but the question is how we prove it to a skeptical captain, Laila.”
“Hmm… let’s just send a message then,” Laila replied with a confident smile. “Once Her Highness receives it, she’ll allow us entry immediately.”
“Right. And a low-ranking merchant is going to deliver a personal message directly to the Duchess of Kim? Sure,” Rexford sighed again, clearly losing patience.
“Are you an idiot, Rexford? I don’t get why Her Highness keeps putting you in charge of things,” Laila said, placing a hand on her hip and shaking her head. “Of course a merchant can’t reach the Duchess. I meant we should send a message to Otto City, addressed to Kenric.”
Rexford blinked, the realization hitting him.
“He must have already met with Her Highness, especially given the news that Kim dukedom annexed Otto City,” Laila continued. “Kenric will know who we are.”
“Wait… that’s actually a good idea,” Rexford admitted, feeling a bit dumbfounded that the solution had come from Laila of all people. “If we can get word to Kenric in the Free Cities, he can arrange for our passage.”