It’s Not Night - Chapter 112

“You’re stuck with Lady Avellin right now.”

Viola looked from behind at Jonathan who was attached to Andra, and clicked her tongue slightly. Then she dared to stand in the middle, separating the two of them. She shrugged her shoulders when Jonathan looked puzzled at the obvious interruption.

“Sister.”

“There is nothing uglier than arguing like that.”

Isn’t that right? Viola gestured with her eyes to Andra, perhaps to ask for her consent, and Jonathan sighed and took a step back. Viola smiled lightly, finding Jonathan cute. It seemed that in the princess’s eyes, Jonathan still looked like a young prince.

Viola did not stop there and placed her hand lightly on Andra’s shoulder.

“Will you take care of our dear Jonathan for a while, Lady? I forgot to bring a babysitter.”

“Sister!”

When Jonathan finally shouted in shock, Viola laughed cheerfully. She was the model of an older sister who always made fun of her younger brother. Looking at these two people, Andra was reminded once again that the relationship between these members of the imperial family was quite good. Well, this is the part that Lord Eden, who was the Emperor’s consort, put so much effort into.

“I was joking— how cold.”

“Are you still making a joke in this situation?”

“That’s why I need to do it more. Because there may be nothing to laugh about in the future. Then I’ll talk to Sir Airak.”

Suddenly, there was no smile on Viola’s face. She gave Andra the obligatory little smile and walked towards Dustin.

Andra stared at Viola’s back as she went away, then her eyes met Dustin’s. But this time she didn’t just turn her head away, she shared a gaze with him a little more and then left the place.

This should be fine.

Andra took Jonathan’s outstretched hand, and stepped into the tent. While Viola and Dustin shared their opinions, Andra and Jonathan had to work out how to coordinate their schedule.

* * *

After two members of the imperial family, the two Awakened, and several other servants discussed their opinions, the number of people moving to the border area of Morgennis was drastically reduced to about a quarter. The rest of the personnel decided to wait nearby and procure supplies, and decided to request support from the center as soon as the flare would explode if there’d ever be an unexpected situation.

“Our key is to avoid monsters as much as possible. Everyone should be careful so that there will be no unnecessary skirmish. Then I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

Since nothing could be wasted when monsters appeared, the overall briefing was completed over the course of one day. Viola stood at the head of the table and delivered precautions to the party for the last time. Eventually, an order to disband was given so they could depart tomorrow morning.

In the tent where people were leaving, the two imperial families, the two Awakened, and the captain of the escort, Sir Aslan, and one of his knights remained.

“I’m a little worried that the monster’s range of movement is wide.”

“Still, if you don’t make a loud noise to attract attention or attack them first, you won’t end up in a dangerous situation, so if you move carefully, you’ll be fine.”

Though Viola was talking to herself for the most part, Sir Aslan answered. In response, Jonathan narrowed his eyes showing he was not relieved yet.

“But we can’t be sure of that. The soldier who saw the monster himself is still not completely conscious…”

“It should be fine since it was reported by the elite knight’s report who completed the search earlier. Also, even if the worst happens, I will give my life to protect you.”

“I express my gratitude for your loyalty.”

Sir Aslan said to Jonathan, placing his hand on his chest. Jonathan accepted Sir Aslan’s salute and nodded slightly.

However, the shadow did not disappear from Jonathan’s face. That was a given result—Jonathan learned basic swordsmanship as a prince, but he was not very confident in his skill. This was especially true as when he was just beginning to learn swordsmanship, it coincided with the time when Sir Eden, who had been in charge of his children’s swordsmanship, began to fall ill.

Noticing Jonathan’s condition, Viola called out to him in a soft voice.

“How about taking a break, Prince? You seem to be overdoing it today.”

“I’m okay. You’re still awake too, Sister?”

But for all that said, Jonathan looked pretty tired. He’s behaving foolishly. Viola clicked her tongue and then ordered Dustin, who was standing next to her.

“Sir, take Jonathan to his tent.”

Dustin and Jonathan’s heads turned toward the viola at the same time. They looked like they couldn’t believe what they had heard. Andra also stared blankly at Viola at the unexpected combination.

“What? Sister, I can go alone…”

“It’s okay. I hate to see that little head full of worries. Sleep well and see you tomorrow morning. Sir, what are you doing? Go and take the prince.”

“…Yes, I understand.”

From the grumpy Jonathan to the disapproving Dustin, Viola ignored their opinions and pushed them outside the tent. The two men had no choice but to leave the tent with a dirty face. Afterwards, Viola drove Sir Aslan and the other knights out of the tent before looking back at Andra.

“Now the tent looks wide. Don’t you think so?”

“What? Yes, that’s right…”

“I should have sent Sir Airak out a long time ago. He’s all grown up.”

Certainly throughout the meeting, it occurred to her that the tent would look more spacious without Dustin. His body was so big that it felt like he filled the whole area. And besides, he’s still growing… Andra realized again that Dustin had an extraordinary physique.

“Have you ever been to the northern part where the Airak estate is?”

“No, never.”

Andra, who was curious about the intention of Viola’s question, looked at her with a puzzled look. According to common sense, there was no way that Avellin would ever have been to the north where Airak was. So does Airak must have never been to the East, of course. But Viola sat down in her chair with a nonchalant attitude and she continued.

“Contrary to popular belief, the North is a beautiful place. It has its own scenery. The ice caps are especially admirable.”

“Oh, I think I saw the ice cap in pictures.”

“It is different from what you see in pictures. There is nothing better than seeing something for yourself.”

“That’s true…”

Viola nodded, gesturing wordlessly for Andra to sit down. Unexpectedly, Andra sat down across from Viola.

Strangely, she felt like she was wasting a year’s worth of conversations with the princess through this journey. It was the first time in recent years that she had had such a long conversation with the princess.

“It was when I went to propose to my husband, Anthony. I set foot on the Airak territory for the first time… Do you know what my first impression is?”

“I don’t…”

“When I saw Sir Airak, I thought of that time. What came to mind was… that a bear was like a human being.”

“Pardon?”

Andra, who had been silently listening to Viola, was dumbfounded. A bear was like a human being? What’s this again? No, more than that, she couldn’t understand why the princess was saying these things to her.

However, she did not have the courage to tell the princess what she was thinking directly, so she listened to her words again.

“I mean it literally. The bear seemed human. Well, in reality, it was the person who was like a bear. The Airak blood is so thick that it’s hard to find anyone there who wasn’t like a bear.”

From your point of view, Lady, I’m also pretty tall, right? With Viola’s question, Andra nodded in response. Even compared to the other men, Princess was not that short. Anthony, who was next to her, was so tall that the princess looked relatively small. But the princess was actually tall, boasting a superior stature, befitting the blood of Lord Eden. So was Jonathan.

“I was just an ordinary person there. Lady will know when you go there later. But I thought it would be less shocking if I told you in advance.”

Viola said this as she met Andra’s eyes. Andra, on the other hand, still had question marks in her head. Does the princess’s words mean that Andra will go to the North herself later? She somehow seemed to think that the princess was not linking her with Jonathan but that she would go with Dustin.

“Your Highness, with all due respect, but I’m still…”

“Did I say anything? The choice is up to Lady.”

“…….”

Andra seemed to understand a little now why Jonathan was sometimes swayed by Viola. Apart from her status and rank, Viola herself knew how to see through the other person’s inner thoughts. And based on that, she knew how to tease the opponent without offending them.

Andra blankly looked at Viola. She seemed to see the portrait of Lord Eden that she had seen in the imperial palace imposed on the princess.

However, it wasn’t long before Viola’s expression changed. It was because of Jonathan. She opened her mouth with a stern and serious face.

“Take care of Jonathan better than that. He doesn’t believe in his swordsmanship skills. It would be nice if you assist him. If it’s you and Jonathan, you would be able to get through it no matter what. I trust that you will not disappoint me, Lady.”

Currently, Viola, as the elder, Jonathan’s sister, and also as the princess, was giving orders to Andra. At this moment, Andra saw clearly the image of the emperor in Viola. Andra lowered her head.

“Don’t worry, Princess. Of course I will. Because in the first place, I came here to aid His Highness.”

“Yes, it is fortunate that Lady did not forget your mission. More than anything, when you said that, my worries were alleviated. Thank you.”

Viola got up and patted Andra on the shoulder in a way that was neither light nor heavy.