Chapter 39: A Journey Home with Unexpected Company.

The next day, Julius began coming to the Magic Research Institute.

The institute remained as lively and noisy as ever, but he seemed to enjoy talking with people.

Moreover, being naturally caring and attentive, he quickly attracted a crowd around him.

Perhaps because of Julius’s presence, Sarju no longer shut himself away in the academy library and started visiting the institute as well.

He wasn’t antisocial—he simply preferred to immerse himself deeply in his own research.

Amelia accompanied Sarju, going back and forth between both places.

The water magic research became primarily Amelia’s responsibility.

It was undoubtedly a heavy burden, but Sarju stayed by her side to watch over her, and Julius—who specialized in water magic—was always available for consultation.

Since theory alone wasn’t enough, Amelia planned to return to the territory during summer break to conduct various experiments.

She had promised her parents she would come home, and she wanted to see the crops’ growth with her own eyes.

However, security posed a problem.

When she consulted Sarju about what to do, it unexpectedly turned into quite a commotion.

It began when Sarju declared he wanted to accompany her.

He said he would like to see the new wheat variety in the Renis territory with his own eyes.

As a member of the royal family, he had rarely left the capital and had never seen vast farmlands.

Indeed, for a researcher, actually witnessing them would yield invaluable insights.

But that only made the security issue even larger.

In the end, it was decided that escort knight Kaido would accompany them—but then Kaido’s sister Miina expressed a desire to see the Renis territory.

For her, it would be the land she might one day marry into. Naturally, she was curious about what kind of place it was.

That meant her cousin would also need to come along to show Miina around.

Just as they were trying to finalize the arrangements, Julius announced he would join as well—saying he was worried about sending Sarju alone.

Julius already had a scheduled inspection of a nearby territory during the break, and it wasn’t far from Renis lands.

Then Marie—who was engaged to Julius—asked Amelia if she could come too, saying she had always envied classmates who invited each other to their territories during summer break.

She didn’t have many close friends, and last year she had watched others with longing.

In the end, two members of the royal family, two count’s daughters, escort knight Kaido, and Amelia’s cousin would all head to the Renis territory.

Amelia could only sigh, imagining how much of an uproar her parents must be in right now.

But while her mother might be flustered, her father had caused her plenty of trouble in the past—she secretly thought it wouldn’t hurt for him to be a little overwhelmed.

Naturally, the escort wouldn’t be limited to Kaido alone—Julius’s guards would accompany them as well.

Reinforcements from the Renis territory were also scheduled to meet them, so Kaido’s burden would be lighter.

Still, he was Sarju’s personal escort knight.

Amelia wasn’t entirely confident that Sarju would behave himself in front of vast farmlands.

At the very least, she resolved to stay quiet and not cause any extra trouble herself.

The journey from the northern part of the kingdom to the Renis territory took about two days by carriage.

They would inevitably need to stay overnight in a town along the way, and even arranging that seemed to be quite a task.

What should have been a simple homecoming for summer break had ballooned into a major event, and Amelia gradually grew worried.

Still, she could sense how eagerly Sarju was looking forward to it.

If he was this excited, she felt determined to do her best.

She repeatedly confirmed the route with escort knight Kaido.

The Empire’s agents hidden within the country had only just been purged, so the danger was likely minimal.

Timing-wise, this might have been the safest period.

The Renis territory was rural, but guards regularly patrolled the lands, so no bandit groups had taken root.

Her mother had worked hard on welfare, so there were no orphaned children left wandering.

Even Kaido seemed relieved to know the territory his sister might marry into was peaceful.

With such meticulous preparations complete, the group departed for the Renis territory the day after summer break began.

Kaido’s sister and Amelia’s cousin—who were not students—had gone ahead.

So Sarju and Amelia, Julius and Marie traveled separately in carriages and left the capital.

The journey passed without incident, and by evening they arrived safely at the town where they would spend the night.

After staying there one night, Julius would continue on to his scheduled inspection.

Amelia only learned from Sarju that Julius’s destination was the Therma Marquis territory—Lease’s family home.

“Lease’s…”

If it had only been the scandal of a broken engagement and the expulsion of a non-heir son from the Magic Academy, they might have managed with compensation payments or repayment of aid.

They could have fallen into debt but perhaps recovered.

But Lease’s collusion with the Empire proved fatal.

The full truth had not yet been revealed, so punishment was not finalized, but imprisonment seemed certain.

If his plan was judged particularly malicious and he was charged with treason, the crime would not end with Lease alone.

Thus, the Marquis Therma had decided to voluntarily relinquish both title and territory to the crown.

By returning them of his own accord rather than having them stripped, further prosecution might be avoided.

( I know I shouldn’t say “good,” but…)

Amelia felt relief that the blame would end with Lease alone.

She felt no sympathy for him.

Considering what he had done to her, it was entirely his own fault.

(But…)

If Amelia had been merely the daughter of a count’s house, things might not have escalated this far.

It could have been dismissed as a messy broken engagement, with the Empire’s involvement never made public—remaining only gossip in high society.

But Amelia was Sarju’s assistant.

Because she was deeply involved with him and knew the details of his research, she had—without realizing it—become an important figure to the kingdom.

In fact, the Empire had likely known that fact and used Lease to target her.

The knight order’s investigation of Lease had reached that conclusion.

Julius was heading to the Therma Marquis territory for inspection.

The house that would have become her in-laws—the family of her would-be brother-in-law—was disappearing.

Thinking about it brought a faint pang of guilt.

But the connection with the Therma house had already been severed.

There was nothing more Amelia could do for them.