The Munchkin Princess Wants to Run Away Chapter 14

“The border really has been brutal lately.”

Ethan had intended to tell her a few convincing stories about minor battles, but the princess’s reaction made the truth slip out naturally.

If she had received a proper education and been treated with the respect she deserved, she would have been in a position to obtain information like this with ease.

Ethan felt sorry for the princess, who had been married off to the ducal family as though she were being sold. But there was nothing he could do to help her.

“There are rumors that Tritan’s line of succession will change soon. If the king, who is already on his deathbed, passes away, a civil war will probably break out immediately.”

Ivanna widened her eyes in surprise, but her mind was already working rapidly.

Perhaps encouraged by her astonished expression, Ethan went on to talk freely about the battles that had taken place along the border.

He claimed the information was common knowledge, but Ivanna was able to read between the lines and discern the political situation in both the kingdom and the empire.

“But is it really all right to proceed with the inspection of the territory under these circumstances?”

If possible, she wanted to hear that it was dangerous. Ivanna spoke in a concerned tone.

She didn’t want to go to the ducal territory and was hoping to use the danger of traveling during such a volatile period as an excuse.

After all, there was no reason to take someone who was supposed to live quietly all the way to the ducal territory.

Half of her wanted to remain in the capital and look after the trading company, while the other half wanted to see places beyond the capital.

However, if the duke was the sort of person who followed every rule to the letter, he would undoubtedly take her to his territory, even if she was nothing more than a duchess in name.

“Of course we can! The Reynold Knights are the best in the empire.”

“Even better than the Imperial Knights?”

Her hopes were shattered to pieces.

Ethan winked and proudly declared that, though it was a secret, no knightly order could compare to House Reynold’s Ebony Knights, apart from the royal family members with their divine powers.

“Hmm. Even so, if there’s a risk of war…”

“We will protect Your Grace no matter what happens, so please don’t worry.”

Faced with his confident attitude, Ivanna had no choice but to nod.

She thought of the duke.

When she had first met him, she had thought he was simply a cold and aloof person.

At least, that was what she had thought before receiving his apology.

After he had offered her a formal apology in the garden, her opinion of him had changed.

He was indeed cold and aloof, but he was also someone who knew how to admit when he was wrong.

Even so, she had no intention of meeting the duke again just to tell him she didn’t want to visit his territory.

Being well-behaved probably included following his wishes, after all.

“I trust your abilities. Besides, surely nothing will happen within the empire itself.”

 

***

 

It will.

Ivanna vowed that she would absolutely have to correct her tendency to jump to conclusions so easily.

Of course, the problem wasn’t that something had happened to the empire itself.

“Are you really going to ride in the same carriage as me?”

She asked the duke in a very small voice.

The problem was that her plans to relax comfortably in the carriage had fallen apart.

She had never imagined that the duke would actually share a carriage with her.

“Is there a problem?”

There were so many problems that the words nearly spilled from her lips, but Ivanna barely managed to shake her head.

Anthony and Solar had already taken care of her luggage.

When she looked for them, they were already standing near the servants’ carriages, watching her with intrigued expressions.

Help me! Someone, please save me!

She wanted to shout, but there was no one who could resolve the situation for her now.

“Get in.”

She had even worn comfortable clothes to get into the spirit of traveling. Ivanna forced the corners of her mouth upward.

The duke held out his hand to escort her and gave her a questioning look when she hesitated. With no other choice, she took his hand.

Click.

Once the carriage door closed and they had taken their seats, he spoke.

“Please bear with any discomfort. The ducal territory is rather sensitive about these matters.”

These matters?

Ivanna tilted her head at his choice of words.

“It’s a rather old-fashioned place, so the discrimination may be worse there than at the ducal residence in the capital.”

From his reluctant gaze and tone, she understood what he meant.

“We need to at least appear close in public.”

“Exactly.”

That was unexpected.

She had thought he would turn a blind eye to everything as long as she behaved herself. But he was paying closer attention to her circumstances than she had expected.

Hadn’t he intended to leave her alone?

Ivanna suppressed the urge to ask what exactly he meant by behaving herself. They weren’t close enough for her to ask him something like that.

She was in a position where she ought to be grateful whenever the duke looked after her.

“Thank you.”

“It’s only natural. Even if it’s uncomfortable, please bear with it until we reach the ducal estate.”

He was being perfectly courteous.

Was this because she had become his wife?

She mustn’t grow attached too easily. She was nothing more than a wife bound to him by a contract, after all.

Thinking that the duke had finished speaking, Ivanna turned toward the window.

It was the first time since the Day of Divine Power that she had ridden in a carriage with someone other than Anthony and Solar.

She was nervous, but they had said they would use a teleportation magic circle to travel as far as the territory near the entrance to the duke’s domain, so it wouldn’t take long.

There’s no need to worry in advance.

She would have to spend a month with the duke, but all she had to do was keep her mouth shut and sit quietly.

That was what she did best.

Ivanna watched the scenery pass by and earnestly prayed that this trip would go smoothly and quietly.

 

***

 

“Lady Ivanna, I’m afraid you’ll have to wait a little longer.”

Ivanna nodded at Ethan’s troubled expression.

Things hadn’t gone wrong from the very beginning. The baron who governed the first territory they visited had welcomed them lavishly.

Although he seemed a little intimidated by the duke, he proudly explained that his territory still had a steady supply of drinking water.

Indeed, he had followed the duke’s orders by collecting and storing water in reservoirs, then distributing drinking water after regularly purifying it with magic.

Apparently, whenever it rained, each household also collected rainwater for its own use.

That was why Ivanna could feel relieved even as the baron, who kept glancing at her, boasted about his achievements.

But the problems began after that.

“Is there a water shortage here, too?”

“Yes……”

It was the same answer they had received in the previous village. Ivanna swallowed a sigh at the sight of Ethan lowering his head.

Only the territories closest to the capital were relatively unaffected. The farther south they traveled toward the ducal estate, the more severe the drought became.

In some territories, the water had almost completely dried up, leaving even the rice paddies parched and cracked.

If I make it rain right now, they might discover my divine power.

Ivanna gazed outside the carriage with a helpless expression.

She could see Cedric talking to the village administrator.

“Is there no way to find blocked springs or underground water?”

“They say the drought has lasted so long that even digging into the ground yields no water.”

Since Ethan was speaking beside the duke, it was unlikely that he was lying.

Sigh.

Ivanna told Ethan not to worry about her and to help the duke instead, then sent him away.

Riding in the same carriage as the duke wasn’t difficult.

He paid her absolutely no attention. Throughout the journey, he was too busy working through the documents he had brought with him.

What dedication, continuing to work even in a carriage.

She couldn’t even breathe loudly, but Ivanna occasionally found herself stealing glances at him as he worked.

She was curious about how he handled his duties, given that he must have received an exceptional education from a young age.

I wonder if we’ll sleep separately tonight.

Ivanna watched the duke as he issued instructions to people here and there.

The biggest problem with the trip was the bedroom arrangements. Ever since they had arrived in the ducal territory, they had been sharing a room.

On the first night of the journey, Ivanna had been horrified to discover that there was only one bed in their room.

“Why is there only one bed?”

“That’s how things are in the south.”

The duke had answered calmly, and Ivanna had no choice but to lie down precariously on the very edge of the bed.

Meanwhile, he had lain down beside her without the slightest concern and closed his eyes.

Ivanna hadn’t been able to fall asleep for a long time.

As the duke had said, that was simply how things were there.

Sigh.

Ivanna let out a long breath.

She seemed to be the only one who was conscious of the other person.

Ivanna hadn’t forgotten what she needed to keep in mind. They were together because of a contract, not because of any affection or interest in one another.

All she had to do was exist as the link between the contract exchanged by the Imperial Family and House Reynold.

“But the people are so pitiful.”

She shouldn’t meddle unnecessarily. Yet she couldn’t get the image of children with hollow eyes, unable to eat properly, out of her mind.

The south had once been a prosperous region, blessed with vast plains and access to the sea. And yet it was also the region suffering the most from the drought.

Ivanna pressed her lips together as she looked at the children, all of them reduced to skin and bones.

How much longer could she keep this hidden?

All she wanted was to escape her fate, yet it felt as though the world were telling her she was doing something wrong.

I’m not some saint who wants to give everything to the people who abandoned me.

Ivanna clenched her lips and glared at the cloudless sky.

If the duke couldn’t find a solution, then she would try to do something in secret.

After watching the people carry water barrels brought from the capital, Ivanna drew the curtains closed.