The Owner of the Golden Goose (1)
“How strange.”
Edwin furrowed his brow at my answer.
“The Brown County is that dangerous?”
“My hometown is not the Brown County, Your Highness. You know that.”
It was fortunate that the real Rachel Brown had been an adopted child. It made excuses like this possible.
“Ah.”
Only after hearing my words did Edwin seem to recall Rachel’s background.
“I’m sorry.”
Edwin apologized at once, then frowned again.
“But you’re going to such a dangerous place alone?”
“I’ll be fine.”
At his concern, I pulled the hood of my cloak low over my head. It was a place I had known well for a very long time—almost like a second home.
‘I don’t like leaving my post at a time like this, but I’ve already prepared countermeasures against any assassins the Second Consort or the others might send.’
I looked down at Edwin and spoke.
“Your Highness, you promised to undergo joint training with the Gloria Knights while I’m away.”
“That was before I knew you were leaving the capital. If I’d known, I never would have agreed to it.”
Of course he hadn’t known. I had kept my leave strictly secret from Edwin until yesterday.
‘It took some effort to get permission from the Emperor and Duke Crowner.’
A member of the imperial family—especially a direct-line prince—eating and training alongside the Third Knight Order, which was made up of commoners, was unprecedented in Ventrum Empire history.
‘It was unexpected in many ways.’
Even Cabelius III had shown a positive attitude toward Edwin’s joint training. Obtaining the Emperor’s approval had been easier than securing Duke Crowner’s.
‘In the end, Duke Crowner gave reluctant permission.’
Without Vice Commander Philip’s persistent persuasion, I might never have obtained it. The duke had no interest in the succession issue, but as Edwin’s unofficial swordsmanship instructor, he had grown quite attached to the boy. The fact that he was willing to risk his superior’s displeasure to champion the prince’s cause spoke volumes.
“Nanny!”
At that moment, Catherine came running from afar, a basket hanging from one arm. In her other arm she carried a still-sleepy Emilia.
“Catherine, I told you there was no need to see me off.”
“Oh, but you’re going to be gone for so long—how could I not come?”
She thrust the basket toward me as if to say there was no point in arguing further.
“Here, eat this on the way. Salted dried meat and apple pie.”
The bundle was still warm. She must have baked the pie just moments ago.
I accepted it with a bewildered expression.
“You baked a pie at this hour?”
“It’s the least I can do.”
Catherine stepped closer to Edwin.
“Please travel safely, Nanny!”
“Uung, Nanny, where are you going?”
“Nanny says she’s going home for a little while.”
“Home?”
Emilia rubbed her eyes and reached out toward me. She naturally climbed into my arms and buried her face against my neck.
“Uung, then how many nights until you come back?”
Perhaps because she had just woken, the princess’s cheeks were unusually warm—enough to ward off the chill of the early morning air.
“If you sleep for about seven nights, I’ll return.”
“Uung, okay.”
Emilia kept rubbing her face against my neck, acting spoiled. Then, as if it were habit, she pressed a kiss to one of my cheeks.
“Then have a safe trip~”
“Your Highness Edwin should say something too, shouldn’t he?”
When even his little sister offered a proper farewell, Edwin finally gave up trying to stop me.
“……Haa.”
He let out a long sigh and glanced at me.
“You know.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“You have to come back safely, okay?”
I curved my lips into a crooked smile.
“Don’t worry. When have I ever not come back safely?”
“Still, if bandits show up like last time……”
“I’m lucky, so I’ll be fine. If something like that happens, someone will help me again, just like before.”
It was confidence backed by solid experience, but to Edwin it must have sounded like mere bravado. He continued to stare at me with worry etched across his face.
“Rachel, Sir Philip said that dealing with a single monster isn’t that difficult. But bandits are people. They can think like us and attack in groups, so they’re more dangerous. So……”
“I have a long way to go. I should depart now.”
I cut off the prince’s words and tugged on the reins. The horse lifted its front hooves lightly.
“Rachel—!”
“Then I’ll see you in a week.”
Edwin’s anxious voice calling after me faded into the distance. I simply spurred the horse into a gallop—at full speed.
* * *
The horse snorted as I brought it to a halt.
Below the mountain sprawled a vast city in all its grandeur. To the west stretched an endless horizon, while to the east rose a towering mountain range that seemed to pierce the sky.
‘It’s been a while.’
After two days of nonstop riding, I had arrived at Paradis, the great city located in the southeastern part of the empire. It was the largest port city in the Ventrum Empire and, thanks to its beautiful scenery, attracted not only merchants but tourists from across the continent.
‘And……’
I recalled Paradis’s other name.
‘The greatest pleasure city on the continent.’
Facilities catering to those seeking entertainment had naturally earned it that reputation. A pleasure city with history and tradition—it was almost laughable.
“Hm? You came alone?”
When I descended the mountain and entered the checkpoint at Paradis’s gate, every gaze turned toward me. The soldier conducting inspections kept glancing between my travel permit and my face.
“You really came alone?”
“Yes.”
A woman traveling alone to a place like this? The soldier’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“Are you perhaps a widow who’s come here of your own accord because your family needs money?”
Paradis had its share of young men and women sold into service to pay off gambling debts—usually the children of incompetent heads of household who had lost more than they could afford, or sheltered noblewomen who knew nothing of the world. Many of those sold into such circumstances ended up taking their own lives out of despair.
“That’s not it either. I simply came here to find someone. Would you let me through?”
“Ah, you’re looking for someone.”
The guard finally looked convinced. Just as many children were sold to pay their parents’ debts, just as many came to Paradis searching for parents who could never leave.
“Go on in. Be careful. This isn’t a place a young lady should wander alone.”
Even a complete stranger was this worried about me. Did I really look that weak?
‘When I get back, I should increase my personal training time.’
I gave the guard a slight nod and passed through the gate.
Boisterous laughter erupted around me. It was unmistakably the pleasure city.
The moment I stepped inside, a cacophony of voices greeted me.
‘This neighborhood hasn’t changed at all.’
A light drizzle fell over the streets. Even so, all manner of people mingled on the roads.
‘The rowdy, frivolous atmosphere never changes.’
Men brawling with swords outside a tavern after a fight broke out inside, spectators cheering and jeering at the spectacle. Flashily dressed men and women trying to lure anyone and everyone into their establishments. There were also quite a few nobles accompanied by attendants or guards. Between them, ragged children darted like mice, picking pockets.
‘It’s a complete cesspool.’
Luxen Village had been covered in stench, yet it still carried the scent of human life. Paradis, however, was filled with pleasant fragrances that failed to mask the reek of human greed rising from every corner.
It was a scene all too familiar to me.
‘It’s not my real hometown, but it feels like I’ve returned home.’
I let out a self-deprecating chuckle and slowly guided my horse forward. Young men who had been loitering deeper inside began to approach me.
“Miss, where are you from? Have you found a place to stay? If not, come to our shop. You can even have pretty sisters or brothers serve you.”
“Our shop has the best bathhouse in the empire after the imperial palace! Come on in, miss!”
“There are plenty of bathhouses elsewhere! Our shop has the biggest stables! We even have a dedicated stablehand! Come on!”
They were soliciting customers exclusively from women. I frowned.
‘Still nauseating.’
Why did the sight of beautiful young men and women in nearly transparent clothing thrusting themselves forward feel so repulsive? They were like demons thrashing in hell—ignorant demons who didn’t even realize they stood in a pit of fire.
“Move. Unless you want to be trampled by hooves.”
I deliberately lowered my voice into a threatening tone. The people gathered around the horse slowly backed away. Those who worked in places like this survived on their instincts. My firm, unyielding voice—cold enough to draw no blood even if pricked with a needle—had apparently made them realize I was not an easy target.
“You there.”
I pointed to the woman among them who looked the most reserved.
“Do you know where the Golden Goose is?”