On the evening of the day I was shown my bridal gown, a banquet was held to welcome me.
Many royal aristocrats gathered in the palace’s great hall to watch the dancers’ splendid dancing while drinking and eating.
I was seated next to Prince Alfeld, but he didn’t let go of me for a long time, holding me by the waist.
And as many nobles came to greet us, I would pass them by with an affectionate smile.
…Can’t be suspicious here.
Secretly, I thought so in my heart, and I tried to keep quiet so that he wouldn’t realize it.
But Prince Alfeld was in a good mood from beginning to end, as if he thought that I had finally accepted my marriage to him.
Actually, that’s not true, but when I think about what’s going to happen next, it would be more convenient for me to let him misunderstand for the time being.
I was afraid that the muscles in my cheeks were going to tighten up, but I kept smiling and managed to get through the party.
When the party was finally over, I returned to my room with Prince Alfeld.
“Cecilia, you must be tired because the banquet took longer than planned.”
“Yes, well…since I’ve never had a banquet like that before. It’s different from a ball or an evening party, and to be honest, I was a bit confused.”
“I suppose so. But if you live in this country, you’ll get used to it in time.”
“I…I guess so.”
“Fufu, come now, my dear bride. The night is still long. Can I spend the night with you like this?”
“What!? No, no! That’s it!”
“Phew, you’re blushing and it’s adorable.”
Prince Alfeld gently stroked my cheek and looked at me lovingly with his heated eyes.
“Oh, please! I’m afraid I’m not quite ready for that…”
“…it can’t be helped. I’m sorry, but I’ll hold off until our wedding night.”
“Wedding night!?”
“Make your mind ready until that day. Good night, Cecilia.”
He smiled bewitchingly and lightly dropped a kiss on my lips and smiled again before leaving the room.
I stared at the door as he left, and then I was left alone with my head in my hands, writhing in agony.
I managed to refuse his invitation for the night and fell asleep in bed.
***
By midnight, the noise of the party had fallen silent.
I pulled myself up quietly out of bed and looked around to make sure no one was there.
Alright! Thanks to the fact that I told him that I wouldn’t be able to sleep well with anyone else around, it really doesn’t look like anyone else is here!
I nodded in satisfaction and I put my hand under the pillow and fumbled around for something.
And when I found what I wanted, I took it and got out of bed.
“…Thank goodness the moonlight is so bright today!
As I said this, I laid out a cushion near the terrace and sat down there, spreading out what I had brought on the floor.
It was a plain, blank piece of paper with no writing on it and a pen that I had obtained by saying the right things to Mara.
I stared at the paper and took the pen and slowly began to write on the paper, remembering.
“As I recall, the first entrance that I entered was here and the King and Queen’s room was here, so this room is here from a positional standpoint. If that’s the case… the king’s back palace must have been here… so the temple must be here! Yeah, I knew I remember it right! That’s a great collection of setting materials!”
So while checking it by myself, I drew a floor plan on the paper.
In fact, when I saw the bridal gown for the wedding, I remembered that the floor plan of this palace was included in a book of setting materials of this game that I had read in a previous life.
By the way, the floor plan of the castle in the kingdom of Beizelm was also included in the book.
To be honest, when I first saw the floor plan of the Molvarado Empire, I was wondering why they even included such a thing, but even so, I thought it was related to my favorite game, so I took a closer look at it.
…But I didn’t expect to be writing that floor plan in a castle anywhere other than the kingdom of Beizelm…
I completed the floor plan as best as I could remember, even though my cheeks were twitching at the thought.
I stared at the floor plan, crossed my arms, and started to think.
“Well…Now that I know the layout of the rooms, I can probably get to the entrance of the building without being found if I take this way…the problem is how to get from the palace to the port town. It’s really reckless to pass through that desert on foot, you know. But that doesn’t mean I can’t ride a horse…I mean, if I did that, I’d be found out one fell swoop…hmm, what to do?”
I twisted my neck with a difficult face and tried to come up with an idea.
However, I couldn’t come up with a good idea at all.
“It can’t be helped! Well, at least it’s good to know that the floor plan is correct now! Anyway, once I actually go through this escape route once tomorrow, I might be able to come up with something. Okay! If I decide to do that, I should get a good night’s sleep for tomorrow!”
So I folded the paper up into a small piece and hid it where no one would find it, then went back to bed and decided to sleep well this time.
***
The next day I received a message that Prince Alfeld was busy with wedding preparations and would not be able to come to see me until this evening, so I decided to get out of the room and go through the escape route as soon as possible.
However, it seems that the fact that I was complacent at the banquet last night seemed to have worked, and when I left the room alone, no one said anything to me.
So while I was walking towards the front door with a floor plan in my mind, I came across a lot of people walking towards the hall where the party was held yesterday.
…What’s that? Hmmm…they don’t look like noblemen from the way they’re dressed, but it’s a little different from a commoner to…Oh yeah! It’s a bunch of merchants by the looks of all those packages! They seem like wealthy merchants. But…why?
I wondered about the group and peered through the shadows of the pillars toward the hall.
I saw the King and Queen and Prince Alfeld at the back of the open hall dealing with the merchants.
Then I heard two merchants passing near me talking.
“No~ If you bring Prince Alfeld’s wedding items, he will buy anything, so don’t help.”
“That’s true. Especially if you tell him it’s for the bride-to-be, he’ll buy it from you without even asking the price.”
“Yes. That’s why I brought so much jewelry with me this time.”
“I’ve brought the finest cloth a woman could wish for.”
I heard all this talk and I groaned, holding my head in the shadow of the pillar.
No, no, you’re buying too much!!!!!
I shouted this in my mind and looked at the long line with a look of dismay on my face.
The two merchants, who were still talking, said something that caught my attention.
“Speaking of which, weren’t you going to Zaira port town after this?”
“Oh, yes. Yes, that’s right, because the ships we sent to the southeastern countries to buy will be back today. I’ll have them in the port town as soon as possible, and then I’ll send them out to the rest of the world to sell them.”
“Hey, if you got something good, you can pass it along to me.”
“Well, if it’s just you and me. I’ll let you get away with it a little cheaper.”
“I appreciate that.”
As I listened to their conversation, certain words were spinning around in my head.
Zaira Port Town, Zaira Port Town…you mean that port town!? I arrived by boat in this country! So that merchant is going to make his way through the desert to the port town of Zaira after this…oh! This could be an opportunity! Maybe I should really take a little more time to plan things out carefully…but I wouldn’t want to miss an opportunity like this! Now, if I can blend in with the merchant’s posse, I should be able to get to Zaira Port Town…if I can find a ship from there that can take me to Beizelm…yes! Then I can go home!!!
I nodded broadly at that and watched the merchant until he entered the great hall.
Then I spotted a woman among the servants following behind the merchant, wearing a black cloth over her head and covering her nose with a black cloth.
I borrowed a similar black cloth from one of the goods and tried to cover myself with a black cloth to avoid being spotted.
In addition, I also covered my mouth with the black cloth, taking care to keep my hair and face as far downward as possible so that it does not show.
And so, while I was hiding and waiting for the merchant who just came out of the great hall, he came out with a very happy expression on his face.
…Looks like it’s over.
A group of servants, obviously carrying less luggage than they had gone, followed behind the merchant.
I followed the group, which passed in front of me, with my head down.
And when I came to the plaza in front of the entrance, people who I assumed to be the merchant’s troopers were loading their goods into wagons.
…Can’t I get into that wagon somehow?
I was looking around for an opening, trying not to be noticed.
Then all the people in the square started to look in the same direction.
I was shocked to see what was going on with the people in the square, wondering what was happening.
The reason is that Prince Alfeld is standing in the doorway with a bewitching smile on his face.
Hey, why is Prince Alfeld here? No way…did he know I was trying to escape?
I managed to blend in with the crowd with cold sweat on my back as I thought about it, and managed to hide myself in the crowd.
“Thank you all for all the wonderful things you’ve prepared for my wedding, and I wish you all a safe journey.”
Apparently, Prince Alfeld had not come to look for me, but had come all the way to thank the merchants for their help and to see them off.
I was relieved to hear that, and then I suddenly realized that this was my chance to get into that wagon.
I passed through the crowd of people who were looking at Prince Alfeld with an ecstatic look their faces, and arrived at the wagon. Then I checked around again to make sure no one had noticed me.
I carefully climbed into the wagon and hid behind my luggage to avoid being spotted.
Then, while I was holding my breath, the wagon began to move slowly and quietly.
Phew, it’s good that I wasn’t found anyway…But I mustn’t let my guard down until we reach the destination port town, right? If they find me here…there’s no way I’ll get away with it next time. I mean, in this situation…wouldn’t the guards catch me for trespassing and stealing this borrowed cloth?
I finally realized this and the blood drained from my face.
But I immediately shook my head and dared to let that thought fly.
…I must make sure they don’t find me in many ways.
I was determined to do so, and clearly feeling the change in my body from the well-maintained ground of the palace to the soft sandy road, I was still thinking about how to get back to the Kingdom of Beizelm.
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