Tessen (7)

“Looks like you’re the last guest.”

Alicia was dressed in her nightwear.

Her silk pajamas, lightly padded with cotton, consisted of a knee-length tunic top and matching trousers.

The wide sleeves, neckline, and hem of the top were adorned with fluttery decorations.

The trousers were embroidered with a silver checkered pattern.

Even the fabric’s sheen set it apart.

Wearing elegant yet practical pajamas, the noble young lady held a large spear.

In the brief moment after the assassin entered the room, he grasped the situation.

He immediately bit down on a concealed projectile.

All he needed was a breath of air to launch it.

But the breath he exhaled didn’t fly straight.

A powerful strike slammed upward under his chin.

The needle-like projectiles scattered toward the ceiling.

Clang! Clang-clang!

As his vision faded, he saw the gleaming arc of the spear sweeping across the ceiling.

The spear’s graceful sweep scattered the tiny darts.

Even as he lost consciousness, he couldn’t believe what was happening.

But his thoughts stopped there.

Thud!

As the assassin collapsed backward, Alicia sighed.

Juan was going to scold her again.

The cleaners wouldn’t be any different.

She had summoned them so often, they could no longer pass as simple stablehands—so their disguises had to change regularly.

Yesterday, Ren, the leader of the cleaners, had worn a haggard face and said,

“Lady Alicia, I’ve run out of disguises.”

“It just keeps getting worse.”

At this rate, she’d probably be attacked in broad daylight, right in the middle of the main road.

Then, it wouldn’t be so easy to handle things discreetly like this.

Alicia scratched the back of her head and frowned deeply.

Then her expression softened.

She couldn’t keep ignoring this.

Handling it alone had its limits.

“Maybe I should go visit.”

The sky beyond the window was beginning to brighten.

Tessen lay on the western edge of the Eastern Continent.

To its west lay the border; to the east, a network of public roads.

The north was blocked by mountains covered in ice and stone. To the south, several villages dotted the land.

The further east one went within Tessen, the more prosperous it became.

The west was a gateway for foreign arrivals and new experiences—but strict and heavily guarded.

The north was barren and avoided.

Further south lay poor rural settlements.

At Tessen’s southernmost edge, the two villages of Entai and Restin stood side by side, each claiming to be the southernmost end.

Of course, most people in Tessen didn’t even know their names—or dismissed them as backwater hamlets.

Down the road to Entai and Restin, a magnificent carriage rolled along the humble country path.

The narrow road was sparsely populated, unadorned but well-maintained.

Preparations had been made to guard against accidents or disasters, and potential hazards were cleared.

Its modesty held a quiet strength.

In contrast, the carriage itself was dazzling.

With a pale cream base and gold embellishments, it drew every gaze.

The soft hue gave a gentle impression, and the small golden details hinted at humility— but its sheer size made any modesty moot.

The carriage door was nearly as tall as an adult.

The four well-bred horses pulling it were exceptional.

Though it bore no crest, anyone could tell its owner was someone important.

“Young Lady.”

Daisy was staring gravely out the carriage window.

The scenery beyond was growing quieter and simpler.

“Mmh.”

A lazy reply came, prompting Daisy to look forward.

Her troubled face turned sour.

Alicia was nestled among mint-colored leather cushions and lavish floral silk.

The carriage, prepared by the Baron and Baroness of Rens for the prospective Grand Duchess, looked soft and dreamy on the outside, but the interior screamed luxury.

The inner walls were lined with glaringly ornate floral silk.

The curtains covering the windows were double-layered.

The inner curtain, a light, sheer lace, looked fit for a top-tier dress.

The mint leather seats could have belonged to a royal suite.

They were soft to sit on, with elegantly curved armrests.

The backrest was comfortable yet decorated for aesthetic effect.

The mint leather reflected the baron’s taste, while the wall silk and curtains reflected the baroness’s.

Proudly introducing the vibrantly patterned silk walls, the baroness had beamed with pride.

She also sent lace handkerchiefs, ornate overskirts, and intricately embroidered shoes.

Now she was preparing a silk blanket and cloak for Alicia.

Rumor had it the cloak would be trimmed with lavish silk around the hood, collar, and hem.

Alicia, surprisingly, had no trouble donning and using such flashy accessories.

She didn’t just receive them—she wore them with ease.

“You’re really going to Entai just to meet an embroidery artisan?”

Daisy’s voice remained polite as usual.

But suspicion clouded her usually composed face.

To come this far to meet just an artisan?

“They say she’s brilliant. And it’s also a bit of a picnic.”

Alicia replied nonchalantly.

Entai was just a simple rural village.

Its only real claim to fame was being located in Tessen’s deep south.

A picnic to such a place? Odd, to say the least.

“…Very well.”

Daisy didn’t push further.

She gazed intently at Alicia, who had changed so much.

Alicia had really changed.

Compared to a year ago, she was like a different person.

Back then, Alicia had always seemed timid and withdrawn.

Even standing upright, she looked like she was shrinking.

Now, she radiated vitality just sitting still.

She voiced her opinions clearly, her speech confident.

The once avoidant girl now faced problems head-on.

Alicia tilted her head at Daisy’s stare.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You must have your reasons for coming all the way here on a picnic, Young Lady.”

Just as Alicia had changed, so had Daisy.

She still prioritized her duties and discipline as a maid— but Alicia’s warmth had encouraged her to loosen up more than before.

“I told you, it’s a picnic.”

Alicia turned her gaze out the window, feigning distraction.

Daisy also looked outside.

The scenery continued in the calm, quiet style of a rural village.

She insisted it was just a picnic out to the countryside, but this was a place where they knew no one.

Just as Daisy suspected, this picnic had a purpose.

Alicia knew what was coming in the next nine years.

When and through whom the Emperor would have his first child.

The worsening relations with the Duchy of Ischtern and the resulting freshwater pearl price surge.

A sudden plunge in gold prices.

Unprecedented heatwaves and terrible snowstorms.

An epidemic originating in the south and how it would be resolved.

She knew many future events—but only the outcomes.

She didn’t know the processes, which made it hard to anticipate how things would unfold.

Furthermore, the fact that she was already altering the present based on her knowledge meant the future could shift as well.

So Alicia needed to understand what processes had originally led to those results.

She needed companions to help analyze minor, dismissed details, view them from other angles, and share thoughts.

She also needed an information network to gather and synthesize present developments.

Alicia already knew the perfect candidates.

She had learned they were in Entai thanks to a gossip piece she’d read out of idle curiosity.

At the time, she hadn’t imagined she’d go looking for them.

But as things around her started to shift more strangely, she suddenly recalled them—and the more she thought about it, the more perfect they seemed.

That they were hiding away in Entai, close to Tessen, was a bonus.

The carriage left the main road and came to a stop near a lake in the village.

“Lady Alicia, we’ve arrived.”

Juan approached the carriage window and spoke.

Alicia, buried in brightly decorated silk cushions, sat up.

“Shall we get out?”

“I’ll open the door.”

Daisy opened the carriage door.

Outside, Juan dismounted and came over to the doorway.

“Are you disembarking already? If you wait, we can have the area prepared.”

“I wanted to stroll around the village first.”

At Alicia’s words, Juan pulled out a folded sheet of paper from his coat.

“This is what you requested.”

As Alicia reached for it, Daisy intercepted the paper and handed it over herself.

Accepting it, Alicia gave her a sunny smile.

“Thank you.”

“It’s nothing. Let us know if you need anything else. We’ll be ready.”

Juan went to assist the rest of the team in setting up.

Alicia’s eyes sparkled as she watched his retreating back.

“Ahem.”

A harsh cough rang out beside her smiling face.

Daisy’s expression looked like she’d seen something scandalous.

Alicia shook her head faintly.

She could sense a misunderstanding.

‘It’s not what you think.’

Alicia felt unjustly accused.

“Hey.”

“I’m sure you know what you’re doing, Young Lady. But I worry about Sir Juan being made to sketch unrelated subjects. Shall I summon a professional painter?”

That wasn’t necessary.

“Juan draws really well.”

Alicia whispered clearly.

“Young Lady.”

Daisy called her sternly.

She didn’t know the whole story.

“I wish Juan would draw your portrait, Daisy.”

Juan was born into a family of knights renowned for generations.

His brothers and cousins were all knights.

Even distant relatives served in the Order.

Though royal princes usually graduated the Royal Academy with top honors, the Lukens family had produced the highest number of graduates.

Juan was a capable knight.

But he hadn’t become famous as “Knight Juan Lukens.”

His name had spread across the continent thanks to the Little Ladies series.

The Little Ladies were a series of illustrations inspired by myths from the Western and Southern Continents.

The sensual depictions of goddesses and fairies in mystical settings earned both awe and outrage.

Particularly provocative images of divine beings drew criticism and fury from Western and Southern dignitaries, but each scandal only increased the series’ fame—and price.

Then it came to light that the face models for the goddesses and fairies were boys and girls sponsored by the Lukens family.

Which triggered a second wave of backlash.

“What?! You’re telling me the ‘sensual woman’ I paid for was modeled after a guy’s face?!”

“I mean, they inspired some facial features, but not the whole—”

“Which one was the guy? This is fraud!”

“I said they just gave inspiration!”

“Who drew this?! Show yourself! I’ll kill you and bring you back to life! WHO DID THIS?!”