65: The Carriage Ride
I wavered until the last minute about who to bring on the inspection trip.
The official scenario confirmed that the protagonist, Leticia, the three male Capture Targets, and I would participate.
Since the men would be there for their own reasons, I thought that as long as Leticia and I went, I could leave the rest to fate.
Of course, considering the serious work involved in the inspection, Ciel was indispensable.
If we used a four-person carriage, we could take one more person… but, as Leticia had said, it was a trip, even if it was for business.
It would be better to have only familiar faces in the main carriage, so I decided to limit it to those three, plus the coachman. A lighter carriage would also be less of a burden on the horses.
Since the head of the ducal family and the first in line to inherit the title were traveling together, we would also have an escort carriage.
That one was a covered wagon, with five people, including the driver.
While it wasn’t a substantial force against a serious attack on the ducal family, the “shadows” patrolled the roads, and there were also official highway patrols.
More importantly, I had been gathering intelligence. It would be difficult to mobilize such a force undetected.
While it was a habit to consider the possibility of an attack, I hadn’t heard of any such plans, or even rumors of bandits.
While I couldn’t completely trust fate’s scenario, there were no such [Events].
It was easy to forget, since my execution was predetermined.
[Moonlight Liberium] was a romance simulation game… a love story.
While I should always be mindful of such concerns, my immediate priority was—
“…Elder Sister, is it okay if I sit next to you?”
—How to respond to my sister’s adorable request.
The moment I heard her words, the jockeys in my mind took off.
“Of course. Come sit next to Big Sister,” surged ahead at top speed.
“Sit in front. I want to see your face,” started late but caught up quickly.
“Come sit on Big Sister’s lap,” was a dark horse, conserving energy.
My weak heart momentarily rooted for the dark horse.
As we boarded the carriage, I looked down at my sister and said curtly—or at least, I tried to make it sound curt—
“…Do as you wish.”
I had a vision of the jockeys in my mind falling off their horses simultaneously.
Since my sister wanted to sit next to me, I supposed it had the same meaning as the first option, “Of course. Come sit next to Big Sister.”
A reasonable outcome, I suppose.
“Okay!”
Leticia eagerly came to my side and sat down neatly.
She seemed close, but I didn’t have any siblings, so I wasn’t sure.
Was this normal?
At least, those around us—Ciel, the coachman, the butler seeing us off, and the servants remaining at the mansion—didn’t seem to find Leticia’s behavior unusual.
“I leave the mansion in your care.”
“Yes. You can count on me.”
The silver-haired butler smiled, the wrinkles on his face deepening, and bowed.
“…Enjoy yourselves. As long as everything is in order when you return, I won’t complain.”
The male servants and maids lined up behind the butler bowed in unison.
As expected of the ducal family’s servants.
Ciel boarded the carriage and closed the door.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The coachman replied curtly, and the carriage started moving.
A moment later, cheers erupted behind us.
I could hear their cries of joy: “Alright!” “She gets it!” “Yay!” “Time to relax!” “Long live Vanderwaals! Long live summer vacation!”
This wasn’t a summer vacation.
Such behavior was unbecoming of the ducal family’s servants.
“Ahaha…”
Leticia, who had also apparently heard them, chuckled wryly.
Ciel sighed softly.
“We’ll have to reprimand them when we return.”
“I’m sure the butler will take care of it.”
The inspection was an annual event. I had accompanied my father, and as I grew older, I gradually learned about managing the territory.
When my mother was alive, we sometimes went together, and sometimes, I visited her separately during the inspection, since the air was cleaner there than in the capital, and it was a good place for her to recuperate.
I had visited the territory countless times—this would be my last.
However, it was the first time I was going with my sister.
I suppressed my excitement.
This [Inspection Event] was more important for establishing her as a noble than for romance.
Leticia had to learn.
Not just superficial manners and knowledge, but the spirit of a noble.
How this country worked.
Not just the limited world of the “back alley” corner, the Vanderwaals mansion, or the Royal Castle…
Well, the fact that we kept encountering the same three men made it a little less exciting, but perhaps the novelty came from meeting them in different locations.
I, the villainous sister, was a stage prop.
My only job was to accompany my sister to the territory and make the necessary arrangements for the inspection.
So, there were no [Individual Events] between my sister and me.
My sister, sitting next to me, covered her mouth with her hand and stifled a yawn.
While I inwardly thought, Even her yawns are cute, I maintained a neutral expression. Perhaps misinterpreting my gaze, Leticia blushed.
“S-sorry. I was so excited, I couldn’t sleep…”
Saying such things so casually… it would be misunderstood, I thought with an inward sigh.
If the Capture Targets saw her like this, they would fall head over heels in love.
Or rather, they probably already had.
After all, my sister was adorable.
“Get some sleep. It’s a long journey.”
“O-okay… excuse me then.”
Excuse me?
Just as I was about to ask what she meant, I felt a weight on my shoulder.
Leticia leaned against me, her body relaxing as she closed her eyes.
It was the same position as when she had fallen asleep on the bench, with me as her support.
This was… beyond informal!
I inwardly screamed, and tried to say something, but the words wouldn’t come out.
Then, her body relaxed completely.
…My sister was a sound sleeper.
“…How nostalgic, Lady Adelheid,” Ciel murmured after a while.
“Yes… it is.”
――I, too, used to get sleepy during carriage rides and would lean on Ciel like this.
So, she remembered.
Now, it was my turn.
There were no [Official Events] between my sister and me.
But this, too, would become a small, precious memory of our journey.
――But this wasn’t very villainous sister-like, was it?
I was torn between being a good older sister and being a proper villainous sister.
This time, I prioritized my sister’s sleep.
…The protagonist’s well-being took precedence over everything.
Probably.
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