In the morning, the knights began preparing to move, demolis.h.i.+ng the tents, and preparing breakfast. The whole process went quietly as if it had been muted. They were even careful about breathing in case they woke Serwin up.

Meanwhile, Amelie woke up busily. Her eyes opened by themselves because she was hungry.

'Oh, he's asleep.'

Amelie rolled her eyes and looked at Serwin first. He was sleeping like a log. But, as if he was still conscious, he held her hands tightly. She was going to give him a punch if he kept hugging her.

She sat up, regretting last night. As she looked around, it seemed that nothing happened to him while she was sleeping. Still, just in case, Amelie stroked Serwin's head.

'Disaster, don't come out.'

Suddenly, Serwin's black eyelashes trembled. Amelie stared blankly at the sight. The long black eyelashes were slowly lifted. Below it, a long, thin gap slowly revealed golden eyes. His eyes stared silently at Amelie. He moved a little slower and the gold color looked softer because he was still sleepy.

“….Good morning….”

Amelie whispered quietly. As if the phrase was a spell, Serwin lowered his eyes, like he was entranced, and leaned his forehead on Amelie. Looking at the slightly raised corners of his mouth and his downy eyelashes, she felt nervous for some reason.

'You have a handsome face.' Amelie thought anew.

Humans are visual animals. Even if the opponent is Serwin, the standards are congruent. Soon she started to hear regular breathing again. As she listened to his lazy breathing, Amelie's eyelids began to grow heavy as well.

“Your Majesty, it's time to get up.”

Amelie deliberately told Serwin to wake up. Serwin frowned at her, rubbing his forehead on the back of her hand.

“You can't. Everyone has been waiting. First of all, you can't miss your meal.”

Serwin squinted his eyes.

“Is a meal more important than me?”

“Breakfast is important.”

Why do you ask something obvious. Amelie urged Serwin with a glance. Serwin woke up with a sigh.

“Okay, okay. Eat well to listen well.”

He stroked Amelie's head with his big hand. The hand gesture was not easy to accept. Amelie quickly realized that his att.i.tude had changed. But not knowing the a.s.sociation of Amelie = pet bird in his head, she couldn't understand Serwin's change.

When the two left the barracks, the knights' eyes were drawn for a moment. However, Serwin's threatening glare quickly turned their eyes away and they pretended to be working.

“Did you sleep well last night?”

Ethan, who was watching the scene, approached the two and talked to them.

“Yes, I slept well. How about Sir Ethan?”

“I was fine, too.”

Ethan looked at Amelie with surprise. If it were him, he would never have fallen asleep comfortably next to Serwin.

'You're unexpectedly bold.'

It's a little impressive. Ethan raised his a.s.sessment of Amelie.

Serwin leaned his head on Amelie's shoulder. He had to lean heavily because of their height difference, but he is likely to sleep with his eyes closed even if he is uncomfortable. Amelie quickly avoided him by dodging sideways.

“If you're sleepy, go to the carriage and sleep. We'll know as soon as there's a disaster, right?”

Serwin looked at Amelie with discontent. But he didn't drag her away or interrupt her work. He followed her around while Amelia met Maxim and helped him cook. He was neither talking nor meddling. Just following her like he was glued to her back, and when Amelie wanted to stop, all she had to do was lean her head back onto his shoulder.

'How can I say this—?'

A little puppy that follows its owner? Baby bird? Either way, it's creepy enough to go with Serwin.

The knights who had to see it nearly fainted from the sight. He's a bit rough around the edges, but he's always been a perfect and respectable lord. It was a shock to them to see him running around behind a woman who is smaller than himself with a blank face.

This is the second time they've seen this for a while. They first saw it at the witches' forest home, but it was too short then. As time went by, they rationalized it and forgot it by saying, “Our Majesty can't do that.” But now they couldn't even do that much. They were in a state of confusion, going through stages of surprise, suspicion, denial, and doubt again.

'Ha…'

Amelie sighed. Her skin is sore due to their surprised gazes. Serwin's appearance was so shocking, the knights weren't even looking secretly, they were fully staring.

'Now I don't know either.'

Amelie was desperate. Using magic, she arranged the barracks and washed the dishes to dry them in an instant. Then tea was brewed and magic pills were mixed and distributed to the knights.

Amelie did all that standing in one place and settled all her tasks with only a gesture. The knights stared blankly at Amelie's hand gestures. In particular, Roen flinched his shoulders whenever Amelie did something.

After drinking tea, the party started again. Serwin, of course, followed Amelie in the carriage, and soon fell asleep again.

After pa.s.sing through the second transportation magic circle, another world unfolded. The plain had turned into a mountainous area. This was a secret mobile magic camp that could only be used by Serwin and his troop. It is directly connected to the Imperial Palace, and it is a good location to avoid people's eyes, but the road was difficult because it was hidden in the mountains.

In addition, it has been raining since yesterday, so the ground has been muddy and soft. It was the worst weather to have. However, the Emperor's knights quickly climbed down the mountain without hesitation.

'It's too fast.'

Roen clenched his teeth and drove the horse. He must have been tired from a long journey, but the speed of going down was very fast. To be honest, it was too much to keep up with. However after looking around, he was the only one struggling.

'Is it because that tea—'

That was the only difference between his colleagues and himself. They drank Amelie's tea, and he didn't drink himself.

'But it's suspicious. How can a cup of tea energize them like that?'

Despite his confrontation with Serwin, he couldn't completely ignore his gut feeling. So he didn't drink the tea even though he received it.

But as time went by, he started to regret not drinking it little by little. The ceaseless rain bogged down his movement and depleted the heat from his body. Roen's physical strength began to run out quickly.

'Shall I fall back? No. Everyone knows I didn't drink tea.'

Roen began to hold on, not wanting to be derided. He was left out and didn't want to admit that he was wrong. He kept his head down and tightened his legs.

Roen, who had good stamina, seemed to hold out well at first, but his limit came quickly.

“Ugh!”

There was a cramp in his calf. It is because he used too much strength to stay upright on his horse. While he slowed, his horse stumbled and his body shook. It was a big issue, he was running in the front. If he fell now, there was a high possibility that he would get trampled by those on both sides of him as well as the knights behind him. The knights in front could encounter danger if they accelerated too much and were apart from the group.

'd.a.m.n it! Why am I so stubborn!'

For a short moment, Roen regretted it.

If he admitted his limitations and sent the people behind him first, he would only fall over himself and it would be over. Or he could have offered to slow down. It was because he lacked reason that all of them would fall together now.

'What's with that tea!'

He wished he had drunk it with his eyes closed, instead of hurting his companions he'd rather take a risk himself. What would Serwin say when he found out Roen had refused to drink the tea even Serwin had faith in?

“Sir Roen! Open your eyes! If you're having a hard time, fall back!”

At Ethan's voice, Roen opened his eyes wide. What the h.e.l.l is going on here? Far from falling, he was running like his colleagues around him. No one seems to know that Roen almost fell.

What's going on here—Huh! My feet are floating.'

His horse was kicking in the air. What the h.e.l.l happened? Roen looked around his head. At that moment, pink hair was seen hiding in the carriage. It was Amelie's hair. Roen recalled Amelie moving her luggage with her fingertips. In this situation, Amelie was the only one who could levitate him and his horse in the air.

As he expected, it was Amelie who saved Roen. She was looking out the window because she was bored, and when she saw Roen almost fall, she caught him with magic.

'The witch saved me—?'

Roen stared blankly at the carriage. He and the horse slowed down slowly, and only after the knights behind him had moved ahead did he come down to the ground. The knights only thought Roen was tired and slowed down, but they didn't seem to know that he almost fell.

'A big accident almost happened—'

He almost put all his colleagues in danger while trying to keep up. Just imagining it made his spine shudder.

If it weren't for Amelie, a catastrophe would have happened. She not only prevented the disaster but also saved Roen's life twice. The first was to hold him so that he would not fall, and the second was to obscure that he almost fell. If Serwin had found out that he had made a mistake, he would not have let it go. Roen would have received the death penalty because of the last incident.

'I was suspicious of her and went so far as to say—'

Nevertheless, she did not hesitate to help him. Even though he has been like that back then.

'The witch… No, Amelie is a good person.'

When he realized the fact, he had a lot of regrets. Why did he think she would harm Serwin unconditionally when she was such a good person?

As a Knight, it was natural to suspect a strange woman who had a great influence on the master. But his method was wrong. The power of the “witch” was incomprehensible, so it was not a good decision to conclude that it was only dangerous. He should have seen first what kind of person she is and how she uses that power.

Amelia used magic only for helping people. Cooking, helping to pack, making a cheer-up-energizing tea, etc. Her magic was simple and kind.

'Did I really worry about His Majesty purely? If so, I would have changed my mind when His Majesty directly warned me.'

He was preoccupied with prejudice. Serwin might have given him a chance to realize that.

'Don't do anything nonsensical, I shouldn't have said anything about it—'

Roen wanted to go back to the past and at least punch himself when he had been rude to her. But it was already past. He didn't even get a chance to apologize for his mistake.

He trudged down the muddy slope, mulling over his many regrets.