The Empire lies on the eastern edge of the Aeroa Continent, a prosperous nation built on trade.
Its lands are bordered on three sides by other countries, with the Imperial Capital at its heart, surrounded by six great territories and many smaller ones. Two large, ice-free ports sit in the northeast and southeast territories. Rugged mountain ranges rise in the southwest and north, while rolling plains and gentle hills make up the rest of the fertile basin.
Trade and agriculture form the backbone of its economy.
Thanks to its position, the Empire has long served as a crossroads for neighboring nations. The same holds true for sea routes—while other coastlines are rocky and perilous, the Empire's shores are calm and deep, perfect for ships. Since ancient times, its ports have linked inland nations to the wider world.
Why, then, has no other country claimed this bountiful land? Well, some have tried.
Each time, they were repelled by the Empire's unshakable defenses. Those invasions ended in ruin for the aggressors—their trade cut off, their power waning, their countries collapsing and reforming until everyone learned the same lesson: Never challenge the Empire.
The heart of that defense lies within the six Grand Cathedrals, each located in a great territory ruled by one Grand Duke, three Marquises, and two Counts. These six houses have served since the nation's founding, guarding their lands as the Empire's pillars.
And one of them is our destination—the Emmental County, the Empire's northeastern maritime hub.
Incidentally, both Count families among the six great territories hold the Empire's only two ice-free ports—one in the northeast, one in the southeast. Their economic and military importance is so great that the Emperor deliberately limited their title to Count rather than Marquis to balance power.
Despite the title, their houses outrank many inner-court Marquises in prestige.
It takes about three days by carriage to reach Emmental County from the capital.
Within the territory lie four major towns: Big Bears at the border, City Kiiwa where the lord's manor stands, the harbor town Minae, and Tabaf—the naval port connecting to the southeast.
For this journey, our first stop is City Kiiwa.
This spring, I—Spica von Emmental—heard from my eldest brother about the Maiden of the Barrier.
A lady who sleeps alone in the church there. I thought she must be lonely, and I wanted to visit her to say thank you for the talisman she once blessed us with.
Originally, I was supposed to travel with only my brother Cain.
But when Father's inspection of his domain overlapped, our entire family decided to go together.
It will be my first long trip since I became old enough to remember things clearly, and I can hardly contain my excitement.
Still, as ours is one of the Empire's ruling houses, it wouldn't do for the entire family to leave the capital at once.
So Father's younger brother, Viscount Pastry, will stay behind as caretaker during our absence.
We'll depart once he arrives.
The last time I saw Uncle was two winters ago, during the social season.
He serves in the military and rarely visits the capital, so I'm looking forward to seeing him again.
In the meantime, I must finish packing—though the maids have already handled most of it, so all that's left is to check the contents.
Or so I thought. The moment I entered my room, I realized things weren't that simple.
Mother and my three brothers were already there.
And spread across the room were piles of dresses, shoes, bonnets, parasols—an entire boutique laid out before me.
"Good afternoon, Mother, my brothers," I said, holding back a sigh. "Would someone care to explain what's going on?"
Mother answered first, pressing a graceful hand to her cheek.
"We were packing your travel outfits, dear. Then these boys decided to help, and now we can't seem to agree on anything." She smiled, serene as ever. I refused to be fooled by that noble composure.
"Most of these were your choices anyway, weren't they?" said Cain, sipping the tea a maid had just served. He'd returned from the academy two days ago for summer break.
"Speaking of which, Cain Brother, what are those stacks of books behind you?" I asked.
He froze. "Ah... those are for the trip! I thought you might get bored on the road, so I brought some reading material..."
"I'm touched, but even if summer lasted twice as long, I couldn't finish all of those. Could you narrow it down to five favorites?"
He sighed, realizing I was right, and began sorting through them.
"Ha! Spica scolded you," Fret laughed, pointing at him.
"Fret, that's rude—and those toys in the corner are yours, aren't they?" I said, gesturing toward the jumble of horse tack, balls, a wooden sword, and cards. He flinched.
"I just thought it'd be smart to bring everything we might need! Is that bad?"
"Our schedule's already set. We don't have room for unnecessary things. And the manor surely has its own equipment. If you insist, discuss it with Mother and pack them as your luggage."
He slumped in defeat.
Finally, I turned to Alex, who had been quietly sipping tea as if uninvolved.
"Alex-nii-sama," I said, narrowing my eyes. "What's inside that box?"
I pointed at the three wooden crates stacked beside the side table. Each one was so large I couldn't have lifted even one by myself.
"Medicine," Alex said casually. "You never know what might happen on the road, so I prepared some just in case."
Just in case? There was enough to stock a field hospital. "We're not going to war! That's far too much. Let's focus on travel sickness and basic medicine. We'll have potions with us, won't we? That should be more than enough."
Alex continued sipping his tea as if he hadn't heard me, his expression sheepish.
"And Mother," I added, turning to her, "I want to limit my luggage to five large trunks at most. That's reasonable, isn't it?" I smiled sweetly to soften the blow. Nobles could use cleansing magic instead of doing laundry, and we were only traveling from the capital manor to our estate in Emmental. Twenty trunks, as they were planning, would make us look like a bridal procession. Just imagining how many carriages it would take to carry everything gave me a headache.
"Oh, but dear, everything looks wonderful on you. Why not take them all?" Mother protested with a pleading tone.
I managed to make her relent by agreeing to model each outfit until she made her final selection. It was the only way to end the debate before dawn.
* * *
By the time Uncle arrived, our packing was still barely finished.
He looked nothing like Father, who served as an internal administrator. Uncle's build was broad and imposing, his posture that of a man used to battle. Father went out to greet him as he dismounted from his horse.
"Good to see you, Pace. Sorry for calling you out like this," Father said.
Uncle gave a gruff chuckle. "No trouble. It's for my favorite nieces and nephews, after all."
He always sounded brusque, but everyone knew he meant every word. He adored children.
"Welcome, Uncle Pastry. Thank you for coming all this way," Cain said, giving a knight's salute. My other brothers bowed in unison, and I waited for my turn to curtsey—since only Cain, as the heir, held the courtesy rank of viscount, the rest of us had to wait to be addressed before speaking.
"Well then," Uncle said with a grin, "I hardly ever get to sit in my brother's chair, so I'll enjoy it while I can. You've all grown. Enough of the formalities—come closer and let me see you properly."
"It's been too long," said Cain.
"Good to see you again, Master!" Fret added brightly. He'd been training under Uncle and looked thrilled.
"It's a pleasure to see you again, Uncle," I said with a curtsy.
He squinted down at me fondly. "Last time we met, you hugged me the moment I walked in. No hug this time?"
My cheeks burned. "Please don't bring up the past, Uncle. I'm working hard to be a proper lady now!"
He laughed warmly. "So you are. I can see that."
* * *
We moved inside the mansion. While we had tea in the reception room, the servants loaded our trunks onto the carriages.
This time, Fret, now a knight apprentice, would ride on horseback with the escort knights. The rest of us would travel in the lead carriage drawn by four Sleipnir steeds. Two more carriages carried our luggage and several maids—a proper noble entourage.
Father would join us later in the territory after completing his official duties. He planned to use a teleportation circle, a rare and costly convenience.
After two hours of conversation with Uncle, it was finally time to depart. Fret looked disappointed that he hadn't been able to train with his mentor, but Uncle promised to make up for it later.
"You'll probably meet my wife and children in Tabaf," Uncle said as we boarded. "Be good to them, all right?"
We waved our farewells to him and Father, then set off.
* * *
Normally, our carriage route from the noble quarter led toward the central plaza and palace. Today, we turned the opposite way.
Soon we reached the gate dividing the noble district from the commoners' quarter. Beyond it lay the bustling outer streets. Lined with shops, the road didn't feel much different from the noble district—if anything, it was livelier. Merchants called out to customers, pedestrians carried baskets of goods, and children about my age chased after our carriage until their parents scolded them.
I'd ridden down this road before with Fret on our secret excursions, but always at a gallop, surrounded by guards and impatient horses. Seeing it this slowly for the first time felt fresh and almost magical.
At the outer gate, we stopped for inspection. With our noble credentials and prior approval, we were soon cleared to pass.
From there, the trade route stretched ahead—known as the Sea Road.
We departed through the Imperial Capital's East Gate, the starting point of the route connecting the northeastern and southeastern port territories. As we left the city behind, golden fields of harvested spring wheat spread across the horizon, rolling into the pastoral distance.
Carriages from the coast passed us, their canopies bulging with goods bound for the capital markets. I couldn't help but wonder what treasures they carried.
Before long, the scenery and novelty carried us through the day, and we arrived at our first stop—the estate of Baron Liston.
His lands lay about a day's journey from the capital. The region beyond his border was the Imperial Territory itself. My brothers usually traveled farther before resting, but since this was my first extended trip and Mother was with us, we would stay at the baron's estate for the night.
Notes:
• Cain - Eldest step-brother, eight years older. A magical genius, often traveling between home and the national academy. The heir.
• Fret - Third step-brother, five years older. Energetic, sword-loving, and determined to become a knight.
• Alex - Second step-brother, seven years older. Suffers from the rare Monaza Disease, which robs both sight and holy power, but shines as a gifted musician and artist.