*

　Viscount Tina Sheratan slowly lifted her cup.
　She brought it directly to her mouth and enjoyed the aroma for a moment.
　She drank the fragrant tea and let out a breath of relief.
　Her exhaustion from work seemed to go out with her breath.
　The afternoon tea party was a moment of peace for Tina.
　It was the same now that she had taken over the reigns.
　No, the level of importance may be higher now that he is carrying the burden of being a lord.
　The responsibility of a lord is too heavy for a fifteen-year-old lass.
　And moreover, she became a lord before she had time to prepare for it.
　At the very least, I wish I had had time to prepare, but even if I had had time, it might have been the same.
　Because even now, after six months of being a lord, I can't say I'm ready for it.
　There isn't a day that goes by that I don't wish my father hadn't gone deer hunting that day, or fallen off the horse....
　My father's death was an unexpected event.
　He had a third or fourth son of a nobleman with military experience as his son-in-law.
　While her husband served as the commander of the army, Tina learned how to run the estate under her father, and when the time was right, she took over the reigns.
　Tina's plan for life was lost when her father died.
　Anyway, time away from the pressure is important.
Perhaps understanding this, Sebas, the always nagging butler, is quiet at the tea party.
　He is so quiet that I forget he is standing beside me.
　However, the days when afternoon tea parties were a time of peace are a thing of the past.
　Now it's becoming a time of prayer.
　A time to pray, please, that nothing will happen today.
　Tina's ears catch the sound of wild footsteps.
　'Pure white and orderly God,' Tina prays, but the footsteps don't seem to be moving away.
　Apparently, God didn't hear her prayers.
　He must be taking a nap.
　The sound of wild footsteps was close at hand.
　Tina had no way to resist.
　All she could do was wait for the storm to pass.
　Even a field mouse has the wisdom and skill to keep her away from danger, but a nobleman cannot escape his duty.
　The door opened wildly as soon as Tina put her cup on the table.
　It was the maid who opened the door.
　Normally, this kind of misbehavior would not be tolerated.
　In other words, the maid must be that angry.
　'Surely,' Tina shrugged, 'what's going to happen next?

''I will quit now!
Ha-hi.

　The maid walked up to Tina in a demonic fashion and raged at her mercilessly, winding up what she had been subjected to.
　Tina is on the defensive.
　Yes, yes, I'm sorry, that's all I can do to apologize.
　Huh, I heard a small sigh from behind me.
　It was Sebas's sigh.
　It was a sigh that said, "Not again.
　Ever since Tina took over the reigns, it's been a cycle of hiring maids and then quitting.
　I know why.
　We also know how to deal with it, but Tina doesn't have the ability to deal with it.
　Sebas laments about it.
　The maid complained for a moment and left the room.
　Tina let out a deep sigh and plopped down on the table.

'The maid quit again?'

　Suddenly, I was approached by a voice.
　A low, muffled voice.

"Well, that's your uncle.

　Tina sat up and stared at the door.
　There was a bearded man standing there.
　His physiognomy was not good.
　His beard was unkempt and his hair was similar.
　His eyes were downcast and the shape of his eyeballs was well defined.
　He is not very tall, but he is generally thick.
　Combined with his bearded face, he looks like a bear.
　The man's name was Reed he was Tina's uncle.
　He had recently returned from the army.

'Huh?　Do you have a problem with that?
It's not there.

　I had something to say.
　Why would he be insolent to the maid he had just hired?
　That's why the maid had quit, wasn't it?
　But what I could barely squeeze out was a word of acknowledgement of Reed's actions.
　He couldn't even look at her, let alone object to it.

'Then it's fine. You don't want me to leave, do you?
....

　Tina didn't answer.
　Eventually, the door closed.
　When she looked up, Reid was not there.

'I'm getting carried away because Lady Tina won't take a firm stand.
I know.

　I swallowed such a weakness, saying that if you're going to go that far, you can send out a rescue ship.
　Sebas is right in his opinion.
　If Tina, the lord, didn't show her will, her men couldn't move even if they wanted to.
　But Tina was afraid of Reed.
　Sweat broke out at the mere mention of Reid's stare, and his body tensed up at the mere mention of his name.
　There were thoughts of what would happen if Reid left her.
　Tina has two problems.
　One was the matter of Reid, and the other was the presence of a standing army stationed in the Sheratan Viscount Territory.
　The problem is the poor behavior of the standing army.
　It's the new battalion commander and his cronies that are causing the problem, but no organization is going to follow the superior at the bottom.
　The effect of this was beginning to show itself as a disturbance in public morals.
　It was Reed who put a stop to this trend.
　He blackmailed the new battalion commander to correct the public morale problem.
　I want to do something about Reid.
　But if Reed was gone, the new battalion commander might cause trouble again.
　That dilemma and the remorse that he should have held his ground irritated Tina.

'I have to do something, I'm a lord.

　U~, Tina groaned as she rolled her back.
　At that moment, the image of a certain person passed through her mind.
　It was the former Viscount Hamal's gentle smile.
　She had met the former Viscount Hamal many times.
　He also promised me that he would help me if I was in trouble.

''I've decided!　Former Viscount Hammar, no, I'll have Viscount Hammar back me up!
Lady Tina?

　Sebas's face clouds over.

'I know it's altruistic. But there is no other way to solve the problem.
It's not safe for Lady Tina to leave the residence now.
What do you mean?
'Yes, sir, I believe Master Reid has an agenda to take the viceroy away.

　No way, Tina muttered.
　I don't want to believe it.
　But if Sebas's words were true, it would make sense.
　Reed came back to take the governorship.
　But just coming back would make it difficult for him to even stay in the mansion, let alone take the viceroy.
　So he used his connections from his military days.
　He let the battalion commander cause a commotion, and by cleaning up the mess, he convinced him that he was the one who needed to be there.
　The rest was easy.
　All he had to do was wait for the opportunity to kill Tina while making more allies of his own.
　The method of killing her could be poisoning her or faking an accident.
　Tina shuddered in a blur.
　She realized that Reed was not just a violent man, but also a cunning schemer.

'Sebas, you think your uncle is going to make some kind of move on you, don't you?
We think that's very likely. Yes, for example....

　Sebas nodded and covered his mouth with his hand thoughtfully.

I'm going to have you attack the carriage of Lady Tina.
Now, let's go out on your uncle's back.

　Tina smiled.

*

　
　By the way, the chest didn't even need a cloth wrapped around it...and then departed later.
　Tina rode the old donkey and stealthily made her way out the back door.
　Through a narrow alleyway and out onto a main street.
　Tina patted her chest.
　The city was bustling with activity in its own right.
　Viscount Sheratan's territory wasn't large, and it didn't have any specialties.
　Merchants recognize the Sheratan Viscount Territory as a transit point to the Hamal Viscount Territory, so the main street is rarely crowded with people.
　However, the number of stalls seems to have decreased.
　From the assortment of stalls, the number of peddlers seems to have decreased.
　Let's think about the peddlers later, Tina said as she left the city.
　She wasn't sure if her strategy would work for Reed, but she felt elated, as if she was having a great adventure.
　Tina continued west along the city road.
　The sides of the road are covered with dead grass.
　The dead grasses were up to Tina's waist and swayed in waves as the wind blew.
　The tension was lost as they moved along the street.
　So when she spotted two men on horseback, her reaction was delayed.
　Both men carried swords from their waists.
　If a child drew a picture of a sword, he would draw a sword that looked like the two men were holding it from their waists.
　That kind of rugged sword.
　The two men approached slowly.
　They had been standing in the empty street, and as soon as they saw Tina, they approached.
　In other words, the two men were Reid's men.
　Tina jumped off the donkey.
　She jumped straight into the bushes on the side of the road.

'Hey, wait!'

　Tina continues to run, ignoring the voices calling her back.
　She doesn't even turn around.
　The two men must be close at hand.
　If they catch up to her, they will kill her.
　I couldn't turn around from such fear.
　He fell again and again, crawling on the ground and hiding behind a fallen tree.
　The ground was muddy around the fallen tree. If it wasn't winter now, they would have been attacked by a swarm of mosquitoes.
　Tina held her mouth with both hands.
　The two men scrambled through the bushes and stopped not too far from Tina.

'Hey, were you there?'
No.

　The questioned man shook his head.
　Apparently, the two of them were not very good at tracking.
　However, I can't be relieved.
　Even if their tracking ability was low, they could still kill Tina as easily as they could.
　But the two men weren't the only threat.
　It was cold, Tina shivered, her body trembling.
　The frozen mire mercilessly stole Tina's body heat.
　A drop in body temperature is synonymous with the depletion of physical strength.
　What if she found herself in a place where her strength was exhausted?
　What if I have to lurk here for hours without being found?
　Tina gripped her dagger for self-defense.
　Either way, if she was going to die, shouldn't she gamble on her chances of survival?

'Tch, let's go home,'
What are you going to do?　It's a bad job, isn't it?
Well, you know. I had a spur of the moment moment moment, but I didn't want him to talk.　If that's the case, wouldn't it be smarter to just walk away with the advance?
That too, I suppose.

　Both men seem to be poorly thought out and lack professional ethics.
　But for now, I'm grateful for their laxity.

'And while we're at it, let's get the donkey's stuff.
Yeah.

　Thief!　Tina almost shouted, forgetting her position.
　The donkey was loaded with all the necessary luggage for the journey.
　The sound of raking through the grass moved away, but it would be wise to stay hidden for a while.
　It was possible that their conversation was an act to lure Tina out of hiding.
　Tina continued to hide behind the fallen tree, shivering from the cold.



　In the end, the luggage was stolen by two men, but the donkey was safe, even though it was too much trouble to take it with them.
　Tina proceeded cautiously this time.
　She used the branch roads to avoid pursuers and ambushes, stopping only at the village to buy water and food.
　Many of the branch roads were broken, and many stretched in the wrong direction.
　Each time we turned around, we turned around and went west for many times longer.
　The road silver ran out on the way.
　We bought water and food at the villagers' asking price.
　He knew that he was being watched, but he didn't want to cause trouble and be found by his pursuers.
　We ran out of roadside silver, and we had a new traveling companion.
　The guy's name was Hunger.
　I had never been so hungry in my life.
　I was so jealous of the donkeys eating grass on the road.
　The barrier between the territories waited for the night and broke through under the shade of night.
　Tina ran from the guilt of committing a crime and the fear of punishment.
　It was full speed with all the physical strength she had left.
　And then Tina collapsed.



　Gong, gong, shock and pain occurred intermittently.
　To be honest, she couldn't even open her eyes, but Tina opened them thinly.
　Then she saw a boy looking down at Tina.
　He was probably about the same age as Tina.
　His brown hair was short and stood upside down like a cat or a hedgehog threatening an enemy.
　She has a charming face, but the corners of her mouth are hanging up.
　Maybe he thinks he's trying to put on an evil expression, but he's smiling, like a child acting like an adult.

''Are you okay?''
....

　Tina didn't answer.
　When she opened her eyes with shock and pain, the boy was looking down at Tina.
　He didn't peek at her in concern, nor did he kneel in place.
　In other words, the boy had kicked Tina in the head.

'Mi, water, and some food, please.'
That's what I thought.

　The boy thrust out a leather water bottle and bag.
　Tina raised herself up vigorously and snatched the water bottle from the boy's hand.
　Tina drank the water from the canteen, trying not to spill a drop.
　Warm.
　Warm, but tasty.
　It was the best tasting drink she'd ever had.
　With trembling hands, I opened the bag and found a piece of bread.
　It was shabby, but also delicious.
　Tina finished her meal for the first time in a long time and looked at the boy with a huff.

'Oh, thank you.'
I was just trying to help out a freak.

　The boy turned on his heel.
　The wagon was parked some distance away.
　It was a very old wagon.
　The boy stopped and turned around.

'Hey, where are we going?'
Uh, formerly with Viscount Hammar.

　Ahhh,' the boy looked up to the heavens.

'Formerly Viscount Hamal's place means it's a city of Linor, right?

　Linor is the city where the former Viscount Hammar's mansion is located.

I'm going to be working there too, so why don't you come with me?
'What?　Um.

　Tina couldn't answer immediately.
　She knew the boy was being gracious.
　She wasn't sure if she should involve him in such a situation.

'I'm not saying I'm forcing you,'
I understand. Please.

　Tina decided to take the boy's offer after much deliberation.
　There were three reasons.
　Firstly, he was completely drained of energy.
　Secondly, there was no road silver.
　Finally, she thought that if she stayed with the boy, she would be able to fool the eyes of her pursuers.

'I'll tell you who I am, even if it will be a short visit. I'm Cole, the peddler.
I'm Ti I'm Tim and I'm a traveler.

　Tina took the pseudonym with a slight sense of guilt.

'Traveller, nah.'

　Cole looked at Tina like a stinker.
　He regretted that he should have thought of a convincing background, but that was for later.
　Cole was silent for a moment, then let out a small breath.
　Maybe he decided it was safer not to go into it.

'So, what about that donkey over there?　I'm telling you, I can't afford a donkey.
It'll follow itself, I think.
Well, he wouldn't leave you alone when you were down.

　As he said this, Cole didn't seem fully convinced.

'Well, get in the back, then.'
Yes, sir.

　Tina climbed onto the back of the load and slid her body into the gap between the loads.
　That's how many loads were loaded in the back of the car.
　The ride wasn't pleasant, but before she knew it, Tina had fallen into a deep sleep.