Chapter 101: The Katiswear Empire
Siana’s Side
When the carriage arrived at the gates of the Katiswear Empire, Floria Florence handed a document to the gate guards proving that she was a member of the Duke Florence household, and the guards allowed the carriage carrying Siana, Lux, and Floria to pass into the country.
“W-We’ve entered the country now…!”
“Yes.”
Floria responded with that affirmation.
If just bringing him to another country makes Lux-kun this happy, maybe next time I’ll take him to a foreign country myself as Felisiana… of course, without Florence.
Eventually, the carriage arrived at the drop-off point, and the three of them got out.
Then, Siana spoke to Lux.
“Well then, Master… as I mentioned to you inside the carriage, I will be away for a short while.”
During the journey to this place, as they discussed their upcoming plans, Siana had told them there was something she personally wanted to see in this country, so right after entering, she would separate from Lux and Floria and later regroup with them at the mansion where they were scheduled to stay.
Of course, the story about wanting to see something personally was just a pretense; her real objective was to go to a diplomatic meeting.
“Yeah, I understand… this country has a developed economy and good infrastructure, so I think it’ll be fine, but still, be careful.”
“Thank you for your concern! Master, this may be an unfamiliar land and there may be hardships, but please prioritize your well-being above all else.”
When Siana said that, Lux responded with a nod.
Then Siana turned to Floria and spoke.
“Florence-sama, please take good care of Master.”
If you try anything with Lux-kun while I’m not around, I won’t forgive you.
With that sort of gaze, she said those words, and Floria replied.
“Yes, I intended to do so from the start, but since you’re asking, Siana-san, I will take full responsibility for Lux-sama. So please, don’t worry about him and focus on fulfilling your duty.”
Floria didn’t put any particular meaning into her gaze, but her words alone were more than enough for Siana to sense the sarcasm.
You know full well I’m not leaving Lux-kun with you because I want to, and yet you say ‘since you’re asking’… I’ll wrap up this diplomatic meeting as fast as I can and put an end to Lux-kun and Florence’s alone time.
After saying that in her heart, she turned to Lux and said,
“Well then, Master, I’m off.”
“Take care, Siana.”
As Lux said that with a gentle smile, Siana returned the smile, then turned her back to Lux and Floria and began walking.
As always, she found herself almost captivated by Lux’s gentle smile, but then she stopped for a moment, reminded herself that she was about to engage in diplomatic negotiations with Rezamiliana, calmed her mind, resumed walking, changed into formal attire as the third princess Felisiana, then joined Violet, who was dressed in a black maid uniform, and headed to where Rezamiliana was.
“You’re here, Felisiana, Violet.”
As always, Rezamiliana, standing with a dignified presence, addressed the two of them.
“My apologies for the delay, Rezamiliana-nee-sama.”
“It’s fine. More importantly, now that you’ve arrived, we’ll be heading straight to the royal castle for the diplomatic meeting. Any issues?”
“None.”
“No problems.”
“Good. Let’s go then.”
Then the three of them, Siana, Rezamiliana, and Violet, boarded a white carriage designated for royalty and together headed to the royal castle, where the king of the Katiswear Empire awaited them.
Lux’s Side
After parting ways with Siana, Florence-san and I headed in the direction of the mansion where we would be staying, but we were amazed by the streets, the number of shops, and above all, the sheer number of people.
“There are so many shops and people here.”
“The Katiswear Empire is the economic center of this entire region, so people from many countries do business here… I believe the large crowd is partly because it’s the economic hub, but also because we’re on the main street.”
“I see…”
Of course, I’d heard of the Katiswear Empire as the regional economic center, but I’ve been so focused on studying how to govern the domain I’ll inherit in the future that I haven’t learned much about other countries.
“Florence-san, you really know so much!”
When I said that, Florence-san blushed and replied,
“Not at all… I only gather information about other countries so I can stay informed about the political landscape.”
“The political landscape… Florence-san, you really are amazing!”
“Th-Thank you.”
Florence-san said that in a small voice, her cheeks tinged red.
Then I voiced something that had crossed my mind.
“Since this is the economic center, does that mean dangerous things don’t really happen here?”
“Yes, it’s considered a relatively safe country… but since it’s an economic hub, there are also those who have failed in business…”
As Florence-san was speaking… a man suddenly came running toward me from my left-front side, and his shoulder bumped into mine.
“Whoops, my bad.”
“N-No, I’m sorry too!”
When I apologized, the man walked away behind us.
…Even if he was running suddenly, I can’t believe we actually bumped shoulders.
I really should apologi—
“Lux-sama, let’s go after him.”
Just as I was thinking that, Florence-san suddenly said something like that.
“…Huh? W-Why?”
When I asked, Florence-san replied,
“…Because that man stole your wallet, Lux-sama.”
“What…!?”
Upon hearing that, I checked my pocket where I had kept my wallet… and sure enough, it was gone.
“Before he disappears from view, let’s chase him.”
“Y-Yeah!”
Though shaken by the sudden turn of events, I ran together with Florence-san after the man who had bumped into me.