IYAMD 191

The Harvest Festival had passed, and the day they would finally depart for Ziras arrived.

The children were to travel by carriage with Karim, while Jaha and Marsilia decided to ride horses with the knights.

Just as they had when departing for the campaign, they used Marsilia’s divine power to travel through a portal to the city closest to Ziras, and then immediately began their journey.

It was their first time leaving the imperial palace, so the children were so excited they were unable to tear themselves away from the carriage windows.

The Red Knights followed behind, while the emperor and empress rode slowly at the front with their aides.

Marsilia also enjoyed this rare outing.

“It reminds me of the first time we set out together.”

To be honest, thinking back on that time made Jaha feel a little embarrassed. He also recalled ​stolen content​how exhausting it had been to pretend he didn’t understand what he was saying.

More importantly, what stuck in his memory most was the irritation he felt because of Marsilia, who kept clinging to him.

“You were really like a wild animal back then. We couldn’t communicate at all, and you’d get on guard the moment I got anywhere near you. I had to work so hard to get you to let your guard down.”

“Was I really that bad?”

The man riding Cecilia chuckled to himself, then nodded with a bright smile on his face.

“It was even worse than that.”

“Don’t lie. It wasn’t that bad.”

“Shall I ask Malek? About how much you hated me.”

“I told you, I didn’t hate you back then.”

Marsilia finally called over Malek, who had been following behind them. Malek, who had ran out of energy from handling an unfamiliar horse, sighed at the imperial couple’s childish bickering.

“Could you two stop? Can’t you see how many unmarried people are here? Save your cozy chats for when you’re alone, will you?”

Serez complained, but Marsilia didn’t even acknowledge him. Instead, he moved his horse closer to Jaha’s side and began pestering him.

When Cecilia, who was bigger than him, approached, the sensitive Ventus snorted.

“Get away. Ven doesn’t like it.”

Jaha had spent a bit of time with Ventus and knew the horse’s temperament well. When they were slaughtering monsters while riding, he knew just how ferocious this horse could be toward any monster that came too close.

“I won’t be responsible if Cecilia gets bitten.”

As soon as Jaha finished speaking, Cecilia snorted.

“Cecilia says you shouldn’t get cheeky.”

Judging by their sizes, Ventus did look like a mere bite-sized snack to her. Marsilia’s horse was one of the biggest in the imperial palace, while Ventus was relatively small.

Marsilia backed away slightly after Jaha glared at him, and only then did Ventus calm down a little.

“Ventus’s parents are from Helga. The horses there are smaller.”

Apparently, being big is a disadvantage when running on sand.

“With no grasslands, smaller horses that eat less were the only ones who could survive.”

Jaha patted the neck of the horse and whispered softly.

“You’re going home.”

“It’s not really home. He was born in the imperial stables.”

“He might think of it that way in his heart.”

“What does a horse know?”

Jaha stared blankly at the man who kept contradicting him.

“You’re really excited.”

“Can you tell?”

“Yes.”

Even without pointing out his excited tone, it was obvious from his expression alone that he was thrilled.

“You’re cute.”

As he blurted out without thinking, a small jeer came from behind.

“Oh, really. I guess I’ll have to move to the back. Your Majesty, I doubt you’ll need me right away, but even if you do, please don’t look for me. I’ll follow along just fine.”

Serez pulled over to the side of the road and stopped his horse. Jaha and Marsilia looked at each other and chuckled.

What could he do if he found him cute, regardless of what others thought?

“Did you also come to Arhen via this route?”

“Yes. I wandered from the first port I arrived at and nearly got lost in the desert, but a passing merchant saved me. So I worked as an escort until we parted ways in Ziras.”

By then, he had already finished asking around for Jaryeon in Helga’s city. He had only a small clue that [stolen content]she might have ended up in Arhen, so he had moved forward blindly, without any hope.

Even when he headed for Arhen after hearing a story about a slave resembling Jaryeon in Ziras, he honestly didn’t have much expectation of finding her. He searched just because he had to.

Come to think of it, his life had truly hit rock bottom back then. It was a journey undertaken without even a glimmer of hope. He wandered in search of a place to die.

“How did you cross the border? You must not have had any identification.”

“I climbed over the city walls.”

Since the walls running along the border were so long, it wasn’t that difficult to cross if he timed it to avoid the guards’ patrols.

“So you were an illegal immigrant. ”

“I had no choice.”

Jaha replied calmly and took a deep breath.

“My life has really changed a lot. Ever since I met you. My [fate] has changed.”

“What… is that?”

“Hmm… how should I put it? It feels similar in meaning to the word ‘destiny,’ but it’s not quite the same.”

Jaha found it difficult to explain the word. He felt it was something that couldn’t be expressed using the vocabulary of the Western Continent.

“Try to explain it anyway. I want to hear it.”

“Sometimes you ask too much of me.”

“That’s because you only try to do the easy things.”

“Is that so?”

Was that really true? He tilted his head.

“I’m not sure.”

“You quit your studies, dumped all the work on Gerald, and what else was there?”

The man listed Jaha’s past misdeeds one by one with his fingers. He showed no sign of reproach. Was that why? Even though he was being called out on his faults, Jaha didn’t feel particularly bad about it.

After using up all ten fingers, Marsilia urged Jaha again.

“I said explain it to me.”

“It’s really hard…”

Jaha thought for a long while before finally answering.

“If ‘destiny’ refers to the direction of life, then ‘fate’ feels like life and death itself. That’s just my take on it, but I think they probably mean the same thing.”

Marsilia smiled.

“That’s rather romantic. A partner you met after returning from the crossroads of life and death.”

Jaha glanced at the man, who was staring into the distance as if lost in a dream.

“It’s different. You’re the one who made me turn back near the ‘Samdocheon.’” a mythological river in Japanese Buddhist tradition similar to the Chinese concept of Yellow Springs, and Greek concept of the Styx.

Marsilia had rescued him when he was already half-submerged in the Samdocheon and on the verge of being swept away.

“If you put it that way, you’re my [savior.]”

“I prefer [lover] to [savior.]”

The man, who now understood more words than before, replied playfully and winked.

“I prefer the word [mate] to [lover.] It feels a bit more fated.”

“Ew.”

As a shudder of disgust rippled through the air, a few more people slipped out of the line. Somehow, the area around them seemed to have cleared out. Jaha turned around and spotted the group, now a distance away.

Those people really never seem to get used to this. Marsilia must have been thinking the same thing.

“They act like that because they have no intention of getting used to it.”

“I’ve gotten pretty used to your cheesy lines.”

“It’s not just that you’ve gotten used to them. You’ve gotten [stolen content]pretty shameless, I’d say.”

“They say you become like the one you love.”

“Pfft.”

The sunlight, shining even more intensely than it had in the capital, glinted off the man’s smile. His smile, framed by his golden hair, was so endearing that Jaha tried his best to mimic his expression.

He knew his attempt had succeeded when he saw the look on his face.

“It’s amazing and makes me happy to see you walking the path you’ve walked. Next time, let’s go to the Eastern Continent together. I want to know more about the life you’ve lived.”

“If the opportunity arises.”

He hoped that would happen someday. It was not much of a life to boast about, but if it was Marsilia, he would be happy to see even Jaha’s small traces.

And he wanted to go and recover his master’s remains, which [stolen content]might still be there. It was already very late, but he didn’t want to wait any longer.

The distance between the two, who had been gazing at each other, had somehow grown closer again.

He couldn’t even hear Ventus’s purring or snorting. Jaha approached the man, who was leaning toward him, and conveyed the affection he was feeling at that moment.

He also gladly accepted the affection he offered him.

***

As they neared the border, the number of monsters increased. There were reports that groups had settled not far from the road and were attacking passersby.

Jaha led a few members of the Red Knights at the front of the group, and eliminated every monster in sight.

Since there weren’t that many, the battles ended so quickly they were almost anticlimactic, but they thoroughly searched the area to ensure everything was cleared.

This was because he wanted to be extra cautious about safety with the children present. unauthorized copy Although the schedule was running behind because he had deliberately slowed down the rear group, he decided not to rush.

Protecting what must be protected, even if it meant giving everything he had. That was Jaha’s guiding principle.

As long as the children were behind him, he would never let his guard down, nor would he act arrogantly, relying solely on his own abilities.

Determined never to lose anything again, Jaha vowed to cut down everything that stood in his way.