༺ The Surprised Heart Upon Seeing the Executive Manager (2) ༻
There wasn’t any problem with the road to Boyar itself. The members of the Student Council had carefully chosen the road, and the lords of the nearby territories were also keen on maintaining public order out of fear.
After all, terrible consequences would ensue if something were to happen to the Academy students on their territories. The students weren’t just children from normal noble families; there were members of the royal family and future saints among others. If even one of them said, ‘That territory wasn’t great,’ a hard road ahead awaited them.
And as if that weren’t enough, I heard that the Gold Duke pressured the lords. If there was an accident on the way to Boyar, people would remember it as an accident that happened on the way to Boyar rather than where it happened. They’d investigate it thoroughly, so they had to be on high alert.
‘If I knew, I wouldn’t have said anything.’
I’m sorry. I didn’t know the Gold Duke had already warned you all.
To avoid something like a rockfall, landslide, or bandit attack from happening, I sent a message to the lords of nearby territories. I don’t even want to imagine how they felt after being pressured by both the Gold Duke and the Prosecutor’s Executive Manager. But still, it was good to see that everyone was paying attention to safety.
“I’ll take a look around for a moment. We’re leaving in 30 minutes, right?”
“Yes.”
That’s how things went smoothly without a fuss. Then, we stopped at a city for a short rest. This was the last rest stop before entering the tollgate, so we would have to stay inside the carriage until we arrived at Boyar. It’ll surely be stifling, so now was a good time to get some fresh air.
Unfortunately, the one person I shouldn’t have met shared the same idea.
“Irina?”
“Ah. H-hello?”
Irina talked like a broken doll. She was wandering alone, and I happened to run into her. I would’ve taken another route if I had seen her while walking, but I met her on the way back to the carriage. This was the only way back, so there was nowhere else to go.
I was scared this might happen, so I came back early. However, it seemed like Irina had the same idea. Our hearts seem to be strangely connected… This sort of telepathy wasn’t good.
For a moment, I considered rushing ahead of Irina or pretending I had left something behind to go back. But if I avoided her so blatantly, it would make things even more awkward than this chance encounter.
‘Or is it better to just be awkward?’
Now that I think about it, there’s no way things could get more awkward. That would be better than being alone with Irina.
Irina was trembling a lot. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she was biting her lips as if she was trying to hold back her tears.
‘This is going to drive me crazy.’
The actual culprit of the trolling, the 3rd Manager, hadn’t met members of the Yorun family again after that incident. But I, who’d been scolded by the Minister without knowing why, was still suffering like this. If Irina was a worn-out noble, I would have given her something, but she was still an innocent lady.
The stain of the Prosecutor’s Office was too deep.
* * *
I barely held back my scream. It’s clear that Enen despises me. I pray every morning and offer my tithes regularly, yet…
‘I should have just stayed in the carriage.’
I inwardly cried with regret. The pressure of being in a small place with the Executive Manager of the Prosecutor’s Office, the uncertainty of when he might have a change of opinion, and the fear of disturbing the Executive Manager’s sleep were all too much. All of these made me escape under the guise of taking a walk.
I knew the Executive Manager had gotten off the carriage before me, but what were the chances of running into each other in such a big city? I tried to return to the carriage quickly just in case, but this happened. My heart trembled even more as I tried to calm it down.
At least in the carriage, there were Louise and Erich in case of an emergency. The Executive Manager spent most of the time sleeping, so I had few chances to see him. Why did I foolishly go out? I ended up meeting him.
‘Should I run away?’
But how? We met on the main road, and there was no way to go. Would it be okay to avoid him in such a blatant way? What if he becomes offended?
I know that our family’s innocence was proven, and we’d even received an apology letter from the Prosecutor’s Office. However, that didn’t mean the incident had never happened. There was no guarantee that something like that wouldn’t happen again.
They might be planning to take another jab at us to cover up their mistake. In the distant past, there have been cases where nonexistent crimes were fabricated to eliminate a family. If I make the slightest mistake, they might come right after my family.
What should I do?
“Irina.”
“Y-yes?!”
The voice of the Executive Manager made me tremble reflexively. I’ve never stood before a judge, but was this how someone felt while being on trial?
“Go ahead. I left something behind.”
“Ah, yes.”
I blankly stared at the back of the Executive Manager as he went back. He left something behind? But he only had a small bag with him, which he left in the carriage.
However, that’s none of my business. Maybe he bought something in the city. I don’t know what it was, but it was a relief that he forgot it. Thanks to that, I was able to get away from him.
“Sob—”
The tension left my body, and I collapsed to the ground. I felt like I was still tormented by the Prosecutor’s Office, which made me tear up. However, I quickly got up and hurried back to the carriage. It’d be problematic if he returned and we ended up walking side by side.
“Ah, Irina. You’re back already.”
“Yes, I just went out to get some fresh air.”
Louise greeted me as I entered the carriage. Upon seeing her, an unexplainable wave of sadness hit me, so I hugged her. Oh my God, I feel like I’m about to cry again.
“Hehe, that tickles.”
Although Louise said this, she hugged me and didn’t push me away. I was thankful for this. It was warm… It felt like I was calming down a bit…
Erich looked at me with a confused expression, but I ignored him. Please, understand me. I was really scared because of your family.
“I’m glad I’m not late.”
Not long after, the Executive Manager arrived.
‘He’s empty-handed?’
Contrary to what he had said about leaving something behind, he returned in the same state as before. Did he lie? Why? Don’t tell me it was to distance himself from me?
‘Why…?’
Confused, I ended up staring at his hand. It felt like watching someone spit on the road and then pick up trash by the roadside. It felt like an act of kindness, but the person doing it confused me.
* * *
There’s no way I had left something behind. I just used it as an excuse to distance myself from Irina before she caused a scene. In the end, I went for an unexpected walk before returning to the carriage. I almost didn’t make it back in time.
Upon opening the carriage’s door, I saw Irina nestled in Louise’s arms. I’m glad that she seemed to have calmed down.
“We’re heading straight to Boyar, right? It’s really far away.”
“Yeah.”
I briefly replied to Erich’s grumbling. Boyar was situated in the southernmost part of the vast Empire’s territory, probably the furthest away from the Capital among the five Duchies. I always hired a teleport magician if I had a reason to visit Boyar.
Traveling to Boyar by carriage was like going to the Jeju Islands by boat instead of a plane. If this was a leisurely trip, I would’ve enjoyed the journey. But doing it for work? You’d have to be crazy to enjoy it.
Well, although the most important thing wasn’t Erich’s comment or the distance to Boyar.
‘Why is she acting like that?’
She clearly wanted to distance herself from me as much as possible when we met on the street earlier. But now, she was sneakily looking at me. Of course, she wasn’t blatantly staring, but I couldn’t help but feel her gaze in such a confined space. If I were someone who couldn’t even notice the gaze of an ordinary student, then I would’ve wasted four years of my life.
And yet, every time I shifted my gaze toward her or moved my hand, she immediately shrank back, trembling. It was like the reaction of a child who was scared of being hit by an adult, which made me feel uneasy.
‘She did get hit that badly.’
It wasn’t that I had hit anyone, but her family as a whole had been beaten severely. The 3rd Manager was an asshole. To think he’d inflict such trauma on a young lady in her prime.
That’s why I decided to endure Irina’s stares silently. If I thought about the prank the Prosecutor’s Office had played on the Yorun family, such minor discomfort was bearable.
It didn’t take long to reach the central city once we crossed the boundary of the Boyar Duchy. The Gold Duke had put much effort into the roads to ensure a smooth journey. He truly had the mindset of an artisan.
“It’s magnificent…”
Irina and Erich nodded in agreement with Louise’s words as they gazed out the window. It was magnificent indeed. As the major economic city of the Empire, Boyar had a massive influence due to its strategic location.
The final destination of Boyar’s roads, the vast harbor where ships that traverse through the continent dock, and the golden city where the ruler of gold, the Gold Duke, lived. I wondered if it was okay for a city that wasn’t the Capital to have a grandiose name like the Golden City.
But anyway, we reached one of the ten major cities of the Empire, Pkope. It was the Boyar Duchy’s center.
‘That was a long journey.’
I could finally escape from the awkward silence with Irina.
I glanced at her. She was glued to the window like Louise, admiring the scenery of Pkope. She looked happy, which was a relief.
I’ll be careful not to appear before you, at least during this school trip.
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