It had been a few hours since they had set off.
Lucius was driving the carriage, while Emilya, Melvis, and Maria sat in the back.
Since the road was straight, Lucius allowed himself to turn around for a moment and discreetly asked Emilya why Maria looked so sad.
— It’s not like she’ll never see her father again, right?
Maria heard what he had just said and was about to burst into tears, but she held them back.
Emilya sighed at the young man’s ignorance and lack of tact.
— Of course she won’t.
Once you get married in the capital, you never see your family again.
— What?
What kind of absurd rule is that?
he exclaimed in disbelief.
— In order for the bride or groom to be completely happy with their husband or wife, they must stop thinking about their family entirely and focus one hundred percent on their marital duties, she explained.
— But that makes no sense!
It’s the exact opposite!
he protested, offended.
— The current king was the one who established that rule because of the queen.
— What do you mean?
Lucius asked, shocked.
— Everyone in the capital knows the story.
After years as king, he suddenly asked the previous queen for a divorce.
A few days later, he brought back a young woman from a marquis’s family and married her.
But because his new wife kept visiting her family, he concluded that her family was the problem.
So he forbade future married couples from visiting their respective families.
They were expected to live together, far away from their families, for the rest of their lives, Emilya explained.
— So, basically, he isolated married couples from their families and forced them to stay together?
he asked.
— Yes.
But what’s even more shocking is that the current queen is the same age as the king’s sons.
Twenty years old, to be exact.
— What?
he blurted out in surprise.
— And the king is over forty.
They don’t take age into account.
They’ve been married for four years and already have a child.
So believe me when I tell you that the capital is a nest full of vipers.
Perhaps poor Maria is destined for the same kind of situation.
I’d be sad too if I had to marry a nobleman who was anything like the king, especially since they’re all the same, she added with a vacant look in her eyes.
— That’s not true!
Maria shouted.
They all looked at her.
— It’s not true.
He’s different, I know he is.
— And here I was starting to think you were shy… But apparently, you know how to speak.
So tell me, how am I wrong?
Emilya asked.
— He’s not old, he’s twenty!
We met a year ago in my village.
He came there on business with my father, and it was love at first sight.
Since then, we’ve never stopped writing to each other, and in the last letter he sent me, he proposed to me.
That was when I told my father.
He could hardly believe it.
He was so happy, as if he were the one who had received the marriage proposal, she said with a nostalgic smile.
— I’m sorry if I offended you, Emilya said.
But we don’t really know anything about your situation.
Your father asked us to escort you safely to the capital, and the only thing we knew was that you were getting married.
— Don’t worry.
After my mother died in a bandit attack, I couldn’t really leave the castle anymore, let alone the city, without him.
So this is the first, and perhaps the last, time I’ll ever travel like this.
I won’t have another chance to see him.
They all lowered their heads slightly, saddened for her.
Then Emilya asked whether this was really what she wanted.
Maria hesitated for a moment before answering.
— It’s true that I love him, but I don’t want to spend the rest of my life trapped in a beautiful cage, surrounded by people I couldn’t care less about.
I want to do something else with my life.
— Like what?
Lucius asked, intrigued.
— You’re not going to make fun of me, are you?
Maria asked hesitantly.
— Don’t worry.
No one here is going to judge you.
Just look at our group, Lucius replied reassuringly.
— It’s true that seeing a mage, a fighter, and a warrior together is unusual.
How did you end up forming a group like this?
— Circumstances forced us together.
Melvis and I have known each other for a long time.
Lucius only joined us recently, Emilya replied.
— That’s incredible.
Usually, mages tend to think they’re above everyone else because they have magic.
Warriors think mages are old men with their staffs and make fun of them because they lack physical strength, while fighters don’t like either class.
But you managed to ignore all of that and work together?
I’m impressed, Maria said with a smile.
— They’re nothing but prejudices.
And besides, show some respect for your elders, little one, Melvis retorted.
— Oh, sorry… Wait, elders?
Aren’t we all the same age?
Maria asked.
They all looked at one another before bursting into laughter.
— No, I don’t think we’re all the same age.
I’m nineteen, Lucius clarified.
— I’m twenty-one, Emilya added.
— And I’m twenty-three, Melvis finished.
Hearing one another’s ages, they looked at each other again.
Emilya was shocked to learn that Lucius was younger than her.
Thinking back on his behavior all this time, she began to feel slightly annoyed.
Maria, meanwhile, was mostly shocked that Emilya, who looked so young, was older than she appeared.
Melvis was surprised as well.
— So you’ve been acting that insolent this whole time even though you’re younger than us?
Emilya asked angrily, looking at Lucius.
Lucius ignored her as if he hadn’t heard a word and simply kept his eyes on the road.
Emilya sighed.
— I’ll let it slide this time.
She then turned back to Maria and asked what she truly wanted to do if it wasn’t to marry that nobleman.
Her answer surprised all of them.
— I want to become a warrior.
Is that strange?
Maria asked timidly.
I wanted to tell my father, but I never found the chance, especially since there isn’t a single warrior in our village.
So… I was wondering if you could help me.
They all looked at her.
— Maybe you should ask Lucius instead.
He’s the warrior, Emilya pointed out.
— Yeah, I’d be happy to help you, but are you sure this is what you want?
It’s not easy, especially for someone from a noble family, Lucius warned, sounding slightly hesitant.
— I heard it takes two years of training to become a skilled warrior.
Did you manage to do it in two years?
Maria asked him.
— Small correction: the average is generally three years, but there are rare cases where someone manages it in one year.
And that’s me.
They fell silent.
They knew he was talented, of course, but they hadn’t realized just how talented he was.
— So, could you teach me the basics?
Maria asked.
— I’d be happy to teach you if that’s what you want.
But don’t come complaining that it’s too difficult.
— Yes, Master Lucius, she replied with a smile.
She’s finally smiling, Emilya thought, smiling herself.
After that particularly amusing conversation, the four continued on their way toward the capital, unaware that someone was following closely behind.