Author: 冬瓜茶仙人 / Winter Melon Tea Immortal
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 21
Despite his inherently haughty nature, Dwight was no fool. After securing adequate supplies in Mobley, he gave Columbus a delicate purse with a long strap, easy for the tin soldier to hang around his neck. Filled with clinking copper coins, Columbus was appointed as the treasurer, tasked with buying up every newspaper they came across on their journey, which Eugene was to iron before handing them over to the Duke for his perusal.
Eugene was highly dissatisfied with Columbus being given control of the finances and strongly demanded to hold the purse himself. As this was Columbus’s first official job, he naturally didn’t want to be stripped of his authority, leading to a noisy argument between the two on the carriage, causing Shivers to drive the horses at a faster pace to avoid their quarrel.
Charlie felt nearly bone-shaken by the carriage ride and couldn’t fathom how the young Duke could sit so upright after such a long and arduous journey, suspecting he might have a spine of steel.
“That thing around Columbus’s neck…” Charlie scratched his chin, noticing he was shedding a bit with the arrival of spring. “It’s a ladies’ handbag, isn’t it?”
Though it looked quite expensive, men’s handbags never had such long straps. He couldn’t believe he had managed to fool two unsophisticated fools into arguing over it for half the day.
Dwight, holding a soft leather notebook and writing with a dip pen, seemed not to have heard Charlie. His inkwell on the side table was uncovered, and it jolted with the carriage, almost sliding off the table sideways. Charlie quickly reached out and grabbed it.
“What are you writing?” He craned his neck to see.
Dwight snapped the notebook shut with a sharp “snap”, giving him a look.
It was a serious breach of etiquette among nobles to pry into someone’s private affairs, especially for a man, considered one of the top three faux pas in his education.
But the rabbit-headed shopkeeper’s education evidently differed.
“What are you writing?” he asked again. “You looked so focused.”
…He could probably never expect this rabbit-headed shopkeeper to exhibit proper decorum, although, ironically, Charlie seemed quite the gentleman around women. Dwight thought sarcastically, watching him coldly.
“Excluding mid-journey resupply, it will take about five days to enter the territory of Mokwen. If we pass directly through the capital, it’s another two days to Lestrop’s lands. Avoiding the capital would add an extra two days but might save some unnecessary trouble.”
Charlie methodically screwed the inkwell cap back on and placed it on the compartment. Dwight noticed he was sitting too close—so close he could see the fluff on those long ears.
“We could enter the capital,” the Duke said after a moment. “Other than the Bataan war report, we haven’t encountered any organized strife along the way, indicating that right after the harsh winter, most of Doran is relatively stable, and the capital’s defenses won’t be overly tight. Besides—”
This was also why he had insisted on not having the Brandenburg Knights accompany him. If he had traveled with an entourage, even disguised as an unarmed trade group, few lords in war-prone Doran would open their gates. Lestrop was the younger brother of the king of Mokwen and would certainly have close ties with the capital. Visiting there first would be a good strategy for gathering information before marching into his domain.
“I, Shivers, a rabbit, a thief, and a talking toy,” the Duke said with his typical sarcastic tone. “We are a small group, unlikely to attract much attention or alarm.”
—
Mokwen’s capital, Syriacochi
Three in the evening.
“Hey, did you hear?”
“Ah, the city gate thing?”
“What? An elf has come?”
“I heard it’s a foreign princess disguised as a man.”
“No, it’s an elf! The boy named Lem from the second group reportedly fainted after just one look…”
“Fainted? Are elves that beautiful?”
“Elves are beautiful, yes, but aren’t they supposed to live in forests?”
“How beautiful can they be? I heard the clerk also fainted?”
“Where are they? Still at the city gate?”
Syriacochi’s city gate was abuzz with gossip, delaying the guards’ duties as the people queued outside the city exchanged anxious inquiries. Before evening fell, a rumor spread like ink on blotting paper. “A princess of the elves, so beautiful she outshines the stars, has come to the kingdom of Mokwen, sitting in her carriage clad in a dress made of various gems, the light of which pales in comparison to her unparalleled beauty.” This startled several lower-ranking officials at the city gates, each reporting up their chain of command.
The ever-strategic Duke was finally thrown off his game. He had to ditch the carriage and put on a cloak, pulling the collar high to blend into the crowded streets with Shivers and the tin soldier.
As the city’s defensive commander, Viscount William was having dinner, enjoying a roasted peacock, when his brother-in-law brought him the news. He was so startled to hear that an unprecedentedly beautiful elf had arrived incognito in Mokwen that he jumped up from his chair, his eyes whirling, as he subconsciously fiddled with the large gemstone rings on his plump fingers.
“Based on what you’re saying, Victor, where is this delicate woman now?”
“My Lord, the trouble is—after she passed the city gate, she disappeared,” Victor bent down and whispered softly. He was thin and tall, and his carefully trimmed mustache looked so symmetrical it was as if it had been measured with a ruler and trimmed.
“Ridiculous! A delicate woman has traveled all this way through dust and hardship, and you let her leave alone? If we had any decency, we should have offered her protection.” Viscount William couldn’t help standing up from his chair in indignation.
An elf—if it really was an elf, would indeed be sensational news, as elves had relocated to Pennigra, living secluded for nearly a hundred years. Even if not in seclusion, this species naturally stayed away from human settlements, being creatures of the forest. Only the innocent and pure-hearted children or maidens might occasionally glimpse these mysterious beings in remote areas. At least, Viscount William had never seen this mysterious race with his own eyes since he was born.
But none of this prevented people from knowing the elves’ exceptionally beautiful average appearance from various poems and paintings. Viscount William anxiously paced back and forth, frustrated at the guards who were such fools to let such a person slip through their fingers. Now that it was early spring, with many people coming and going each day, he had only a small force of city guards at his disposal. With many nobles in the royal city, if others heard of it first…
Victor looked at his overweight brother-in-law, who almost seemed to have “anxious” written all over his face. Suppressing his impatience, Victor stepped forward to advise, “My Lord, the elves’ beauty surpasses even the legends. Her arrival caused quite a stir, and many have already heard the rumors by now.”
“What should we do? What if those guys, Bree and Tim, find out…”
Victor grew impatient inside. So what about the beauty? Even if you were the first to encounter someone of such stunning appearance, could you really hide her away in your Viscount estate without anyone noticing? Elves were never a race to be manipulated by humans. Besides, regardless of her will, this wasn’t Viscount William’s territory, but the royal city of Mokwen. Forget His Majesty, even an Earl would demand you hand her over.
Victor thought his brother-in-law, whose brain seemed lodged in his crotch, really wasn’t suited for this kind of discussion. Unfortunately, Victor’s father was only a Baronet, a non-hereditary title with a declining family estate. If it weren’t for his having a beautiful daughter who fortuitously married the Viscount, the whole family would probably have fallen into oblivion within a decade.
Although his brother-in-law was lecherous and foolish, he was very wealthy and had a certain amount of influence in the army. Victor had obtained a decent military clerical position thanks to Viscount William. As long as he could squeeze into the upper circles, he wouldn’t have to worry about being granted a noble title. Until then, he had to make sure his only backer remained stable.
Victor tactfully said, “Sir, it has been many years since elves appeared among people. If that person really is an elf, such a rare individual would surely be someone His Majesty would want to meet. King Tifa is our wisest and most magnificent king. If the delicate elven lady has any requests, His Majesty would surely be able to assist. With the city abuzz, she might be frightened by the attention. If we can find her first and introduce her to His Majesty, she would surely be grateful to us.” Then the king would also be pleased and reward them.
With Victor’s reminder, William gradually calmed down from his agitated state. Although elves rarely appeared, their historical interactions with humans almost always involved direct conversations with the human high nobility. A mere Viscount trying to win over and subdue an elf was indeed unlikely, and the elf race wasn’t something William could afford to offend. Victor left out an important point: the current King Tifa was also known for his lasciviousness, having had countless mistresses from his princely days to the present, and if a beautiful woman really appeared, which noble in the city could supersede the king to win her?
If William could present the beauty to His Majesty, and if she was as beautiful as rumored, perhaps even the queen might end up wearing someone else’s crown. Since he couldn’t secure the beauty for himself, at least he could strive for title and power.
Resolved, William instructed Victor, “Gather everyone who has seen that woman and round up some men. We need to protect her before any criminals can.”
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