Chapter 268

The carriage, carrying four passengers and one coachman, had been traveling for about six hours before it came to a stop in a quiet meadow.

The ground was flat, making it a good place to take a break outside the carriage and catch our breath. With the open surroundings, it was also a defensible location in case of any sudden attacks.

It was the perfect spot to rest the horses and have lunch.

“We’ll be taking a break here for about an hour to let the horses rest. I’ll feed them and prepare the meal, so the rest of you may take this time to relax.”

Colt Sharp, the coachwoman and a former palace knight accompanying us, stepped down from the driver’s seat and informed us about the break.

She wore plate armor on her hands and feet, but her upper body was protected by a brigandine, a choice that favored mobility over the heavier plate mail.

“Well then, since Lady Colt has suggested we rest, let’s all take a break,” said Antonio, the prince.

Colt glanced at Agnes for a moment.

One member of the royal family. A duke’s son. A baron’s daughter. And a viscount’s daughter.

Being a knight of the royal family, Colt was generally treated with more authority than a viscount’s daughter. Naturally, she could have asked Agnes and me to assist her in feeding the horses and preparing the meal. However, the problem was that the prince—who clearly had his eyes on Agnes, the viscount’s daughter—was present, and I was, at least officially, engaged to Ethan.

This meant that unless the highest-ranking person among us took the initiative to help, Colt would be stuck doing all the work herself. And knowing Antonio, it wasn’t likely that he would step up...

“Ethan, could you help me move the bag of feed from the storage compartment?” Antonio asked suddenly.

“Of course, Your Highness.”

“I’ll take care of moving the feeding trough. Can I ask you to handle the bag of grain? And, Lady Lilith?”

“Yes, Your Highness?”

“I’ve heard that you’ve been acting as Ethan’s personal maid at the academy. Would it be too much to ask for a taste of your cooking for lunch?”

“Of course. Since we have a long journey ahead, I’ll prepare something simple that can be eaten on the go.”

“I’m not in a position to be picky, so I’ll eat whatever you prepare. Oh, and Colt?”

“Yes, Your Highness?”

“Take a break inside the carriage. We’ll call you when the meal is ready.”

“I can’t rest while everyone else is working, Your Highness.”

“If you’re uncomfortable resting in the carriage, you can relax elsewhere. But either way, don’t work during the break. You’ve been driving for six hours straight, and you need to rest so you can continue this afternoon. Besides, you’ll be driving tomorrow and the day after, so if you don’t rest now, who will drive the carriage when you’re too exhausted?”

“...Understood. I’ll rest as you’ve instructed, Your Highness.”

...Well, at least he had some sense.

In the original story, Antonio was a supporting character who helped the protagonist, so he wasn’t all bad. Even though he had unexpectedly joined the journey, at least he wasn’t going to use his royal authority to cause trouble.

“Hmm.”

Agnes seemed to be impressed by Antonio’s willingness to help, her gaze softening slightly toward the prince.

Yes, that’s the way. He’d made several mistakes with her so far, but if he kept this up, he might just be able to make up for it...

“So, what should I do?” Agnes asked.

“Oh, Lady Agnes, you can just rest,” Antonio replied.

“...Excuse me?”

“There isn’t enough work to require everyone’s help. Please rest in the carriage with Lady Colt, and we’ll call you when the meal is ready...”

“Are you saying I’m too weak or too incompetent to be of any use?”

“...Pardon?”

Oh, no.

You should have left it at that, Antonio.

“No, I only meant that since the three of us can handle the tasks, there’s no need for everyone to exert themselves. Since you’re a mage, carrying heavy bags of grain might be too difficult...”

“Then why did you ask Lilith to prepare the meal and not me? Are you saying I’m useless just because I don’t know how to cook?”

“No, that’s not what I meant at all...”

Antonio had put his foot in it by unintentionally excluding the hot-tempered Agnes. He wanted to avoid making the woman he admired work, but in doing so, he had offended her. In a setting like this, asking her to rest while everyone else worked wasn’t going to sit well with her.

‘You should have just given her some simple task, anything at all.’

Sensing the growing tension, I hurriedly intervened to smooth things over.

“Lady Agnes, I’ll be making sandwiches for lunch. It would be great if you could help toast the bread a bit. You’re good with fire magic, after all.”

“...Fine.”

“That’s alright with you, isn’t it, Your Highness? There’s no reason Lady Agnes can’t help, is there?”

“Ah, yes, of course. I just didn’t know what task to assign her,” Antonio stammered.

“...”

“I-I didn’t mean to imply that Lady Agnes had no tasks to perform...”

“...Hmph.”

Honestly, why did he have to say that last part?

It seemed that Antonio’s courtship of Agnes was going to be an uphill battle.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

And so, the first day of our journey, filled with awkward tension between Prince Antonio and Agnes, came to an end.

By the second day, as night began to fall, the carriage, now carrying five people, came to a quiet stop in a field.

“I’m afraid we’ll have to camp here tonight,” Colt informed us.

As expected.

We had anticipated this. On the first night, we had stayed in a village close enough to the capital to rest and feed the horses. But after that, there were no proper villages between us and the Witch’s Forest in the southwest.

If we were lucky, we might pass by a small settlement of around ten people, but even if we did, it wouldn’t change the fact that we had to camp. Most of these small communities farmed only enough for their own needs, and even if we offered them money, they had little use for it. These smaller settlements were generally less reliable than proper villages.

Having traveled about two-thirds of the distance to our destination, we set up tents from the carriage’s storage to prepare for our second night’s stay.

Thanks to Prince Antonio’s reflection on the previous day’s blunders, he assigned dinner duties to Agnes and me. With the ingredients we had brought, I decided to prepare the cheese fondue I had mentioned earlier.

I sliced the bread, bacon, and vegetables into bite-sized pieces, while Agnes used her fire magic to melt the cheese into a thick, creamy consistency.

“Lady Agnes, do you like cabbage?”

“...Not really.”

“You should still eat it. Cabbage is rich in calcium and helps with growth. Don’t you want to grow taller?”

“...Give me some.”

-Slice, slice.

“...”

“Lady Agnes, how about carrots?”

“...Not a fan.”

“They’re quite tasty when lightly cooked. Plus, they’re rich in nutrients that are good for women’s health... you know, like helping with... uh, chest development.”

“...Give me a lot.”

-Chop, chop, chop.

“...”

“Lady Agnes, do you like broccoli?”

“...Yes. And I prefer eating it raw rather than cooked, especially in fondue.”

“But broccoli contains compounds that can actually interfere with... uh, chest development. It’s not very helpful in that regard.”

“...”

“So, how much broccoli would you like, Lady Agnes?”

“...You eat it. You’re the one with the ridiculous chest.”

With that playful banter, we finished preparing the meal, and we all gathered to dip bread, vegetables, and dried bacon into the cheese fondue.

...Honestly, it was unlikely that eating certain foods would change her body shape at this point. But teasing Agnes had been fun, so I didn’t bother to point that out.@@novelbin@@