Jane said it would take about two days by carriage to reach the outskirts of the capital, where her hometown is located.

We had been traveling for about an hour already…

Well, best not to think about it. It only gives me a headache.

At least I take comfort in knowing that the carriage roads have been well-maintained over the past year. Unlike before, when every jolt threatened the comfort of my backside.

Isn’t the progress of technology wonderful?

Wait, this isn’t exactly technology, is it?

As I had these nonsense thoughts, Jane was animatedly explaining the purpose of our journey to Priest Ian across from me.

“We are going to find the things that appeared in the Miss’s dream!”

“Ah, is that so?”

Jane was enthusiastic, and Priest Ian was his usual stoic self. He didn’t seem upset, just naturally stiff.

“Yes. We’ve already packed stationery, envelopes, and a quill… Ah, and the first destination is a secret flower garden in my hometown.”

“A secret flower garden?”

“Yes, it’s a garden with red flowers that look like rubies and bloom only for a fortnight. You must keep it a secret, too, right?”

It’s quite a skill to engage someone so cheerfully while faced with so little reaction from the other side.

What’s more surprising is that Priest Ian’s subdued reaction was quite an active engagement for him… Huh?

Come to think of it, when did those two get so close?

Well…they’ve always been friendly, but…now there seemed to be an extra cozy vibe… Ah, what do I know? It’s good to be friendly.

My life’s motto has always been that knowing too much just makes life tiresome.

While life is increasingly happy, annoying things are still just that. Annoying.

“We’ll gather a few flowers from the garden and then head to the port. From there, we’ll take a cruise for about a day to reach Pricenti Island, our ultimate destination.”

“What will we find there?”

“The blue crown and the ivory lighthouse. I asked around discreetly and found out! A colleague from the port city told me. You can get the blue crown during the festival period on Pricenti Island.”

“And the lighthouse…”

“Lighthouses in the port city are mostly red, but those used on islands are typically white. So, we plan to look for it when we get to Pricenti.”

Jane explained with a triumphant look, as if she was a professor in a lecture. It was just cute.

As I quietly observed the exciting relationship between them, I suddenly heard a whisper-like question from beside me.

“Don’t you get motion sickness?”

Turning to the voice, I saw Aiden leaning toward me with a tilted head.

His posture was very close.

Startled, I blinked and playfully tapped his nose with my finger, then answered.

“No, I think I’m okay thanks to you.”

“Remember to tell me immediately if you feel unwell, okay?”

“Sure, okay.”

As I agreed readily, Aiden smiled, his lips curling. Then, he lightly flicked his finger. A fresh breeze swept through the carriage. It was a considerate gesture from him, perhaps concerned that the carriage’s stuffiness might make me feel nauseous.

The refreshing air brushing through the carriage brought back memories.

I thought of the day we were not yet lovers when I had deceived him to be alone in the carriage, intending to end my life.

So much had changed since then.

Our seats, our closeness.

Aiden tilted his head as I was lost in these reflections and silently watching him. Then, realizing something, he slowly raised his hand to shield my face from the light.

His tender act nearly made me laugh, but before I could, a memory from that carriage ride with Aiden surfaced.

Was it the jolting of the carriage or a sudden ray of sunlight piercing through the covered windows that briefly woke me from my sleep?

Back when I was so tired of the dreams about Selena, that I couldn’t tell whether it was a dream or reality…

“That day… ?”

“Yes?”

“Did you also block the sunlight for me that day?”

It seemed like the sun had been shielded by his outstretched hand.

A faint light seeped through the slightly parted fingers, but you, absorbed in the scenery outside the carriage window, seemed unaware.

I remember the gentle sway of your hair as the carriage bumped along.

Watching your back, I thought…

Ah, it must be a dream. And just like that, I closed my eyes.

“If you mean that day…”

I blankly met Aiden’s eyes, then vigorously shook my head and turned away. The changing landscape outside as the carriage moved was beautiful.

So much so that my smile, once raised unknowingly, didn’t seem to want to fall.

‘I suppose keeping one memory that only I remember as if it were a dream…isn’t so bad.’

By turning away, I shielded from Aiden the view of his back that I alone had kept from that day, and Aiden, in turn, hid from me the blush that had crept up to his earlobes.

Well, what Ian and Jane might have thought as they stopped talking and watched us, I didn’t want to know.

* * *

Aiden felt the air was getting hot.

The fluttering of that pale blue hair in the wind seemed to tickle his heart.

‘Did she wake up that day?’

It seemed not.

He felt hot, like a boy whose crush had been discovered, and his fingertips burned.

In fact, despite calmly accepting the journey, he had many worries. The Miss talking about her dream seemed too calm, and that in itself blocked his breath.

‘It felt like the dream was calling me. To find everything and come to the lighthouse. I… I have to go. Only then will everything…’

Her voice trailed off as she looked intently at him, her gaze from that morning when she spoke of her ‘worries’ mirrored the same expression.

Anxiety, impatience, fear, anticipation.

Hesitating to speak while caught in a mix of all these emotions…

What exactly was this unease that suddenly cast a shadow over her on days that should have been calm?

Clearly, it wasn’t just about the ‘child’ issue. There must be something else.

And, surely, the answers lie at the end of this journey.

Aiden’s warm hands fidgeted as he gazed out the nearby window.

Glancing out the carriage window, the view was peaceful.

* * *

The two days it took to reach our first destination passed in the blink of an eye.

Like friends of our age, we chattered endlessly (mostly Jane) as we traveled, slept in the luxury hotel my parents had reserved, and moved some more.

By the evening of the second day, as the sunset began to deepen, the journey became more grueling.

Once again, I had to say hello to the pain in my tailbone.

It was a rural village, so the roads weren’t properly maintained yet. It was just as our Jane had said, no lies there.

Aiden, along with Jane and Ian, all tried to offer me their own cushions, which I firmly declined.

I even rejected Priest Ian’s offer to infuse some divine power in me.

It would look too peculiar.

Imagine two hands directed toward my buttocks, and from them, a radiant white light emanating. What bizarre scene would that be?

Despite having lived as Selena for three years… well, I am, after all, originally from the land of etiquette, Korea.

‘This is a great butt massage.’

I hypnotized myself to endure it. While I was deep in this trance of butt massage, Jane, who had been peeking out and focusing solely outside, suddenly raised her voice.

“Oh! Miss, we’re almost there! See that red roof? That’s my house! My goodness…”

As she bounced excitedly, tears welled up in Jane’s eyes.

Her eyes were filled with longing, and her hands shook as she pointed toward the window.

Come to think of it, I had never seen Jane go home before. Perhaps the journey was too cumbersome to go often.

Common folk would need to hire a stagecoach, and there certainly weren’t any direct services from the Duchy here.

While it was possible to send simple parcels like dolls by post, traveling in person was not so straightforward.

“It’s…. really been a long time.”

With a complex face, Jane murmured to herself, wiping the corners of her eyes with her hand.

Jane bravely wiped away her tears and shifted her gaze from the red roof, which seemed too precious to look away from, and looked at me.

“Thank you so much, Miss.”

She bowed deeply. It was the most polite that I hadn’t seen from her in a long while. Unsure of what to do as I looked at her round head, I awkwardly reached out and tousled her hair a bit.

“Thank me? I should be thanking you for being here.”

Yes, she was a precious companion on my journey. If anyone should be grateful, it was me.

Jane looked up in surprise and bit her lip, then broke into a grin again. Watching the rosy anticipation on her cheeks, I found myself unconsciously counting her age.

As I slowly calculated in my head, my gaze drifted out the carriage window.

The winding road, the fields in the distance, fruit trees, and the sparsely placed houses.

And there, at the very end, was the red roof.

That was the place that thrilled Jane so much. That red roof.

I pointed and traced a circle over the distant red roof as if marking the spot on a treasure map, slowly and carefully.

If we return to the mansion, I thought about lending Jane a carriage at least once a month.

She deserves that privilege as the Lady’s personal maid. Besides… for someone who helped me find the path to my dream, such a reward seemed fitting.

Sneaking glances at Jane’s elated face, I leaned my head against the carriage wall.

Perhaps catching her contagious excitement, a soft smile crept onto my lips.

__