I Have Returned (1-1)

The Taterudo Saint Country, Viscount Carrow in the west of the Thule territory.

Surrounded by vast forests, this land was famous for its abundant fruit wine. Although some of the fruits were in season for harvesting, no one was seen harvesting it.

Meanwhile a carriage was advancing through the forest in such a territory. A fine, four-seater, one-horse carriage, a very out of place sight in this rural area. The small window in front of it suddenly opened and a bright voice was thrown at the nervous female knight who was acting as a coachman.

“Sarah, you’re on the right track. Just a little bit more.”

“Fer…, let’s go back after all.”

‘Both of them are a maidservant and knight belonging to the Verusenia’s family, but I don’t feel any difference in status between Fer, who is from a commoner’s background, and Sarah, who is from a knight’s family,  a low rank noble.’

The red-haired female knight- Sarah cries in a pitiful voice at the blonde woman in the maid outfit – Fer’s words. The other woman in the carriage interrupted their conversation as she leaned out of the side door.

“No, Sarah. We need to get the ‘Kogyoku’ (Note : 紅玉 {Kogyoku} mean red ball), for Lady Ria and Vio.”

“Min~…….”

Sarah’s shoulders slumped in dismay when Min, who is a senior member of the duke’s family, told her to do so.

In most aristocratic families, not to mention other dukes, a person from a noble family would have a higher status than a person from a commoner family, but the Verusenia Duke family doesn’t think it’s a good idea to differentiate between nobles and commoners. This is all because of the influence and the nature of the Duke and Duchess. Even the royal family can’t complain about it because the Duchess, the “last boss” of the Dukedom of Verusenia, doesn’t care about such things at all.

“Your Highness… please come home quickly!”

Even though they are in their mid-twenties and two of whom claim to be married women, which is the two handmaids of the duchess, why are they here in this place moreover they are so insistent on seeking something for their beloved Duchess Riastea and her colleague Vio?…. Even though danger are lurking around, truly what strange women.

“Just zip off and get the hell back here and you’ll be fine.”

“Even if you say so, Fer, we’re still very much out of the Carrow family’s sphere of influence. They might come out from anywhere. I knew I should have gotten a soldier here to help me…”

“No you can’t. We can’t use our strength here.”

“Well, why don’t you take my kids with you and go?”

“No we can’t, it’s no good decreasing Lady Ria’s Protection.”

“……. You’re right”

In the Holy Kingdom of Taterudo, a civil war began about half a year ago due to the rebellion of the Southern Sector Knights.

This has left about half of Taterudo in a state of warfare, with the Duke of Bellrose, the southern guardian, and their factions, the Marquises and Earls, supporting their rebellion.

The Duke of Verusenia from Thule territory in the west is no exception. Even though it is protected from the rebels, the head of the family, Folt, as a member of the royal family and a foreign minister, was required to stay in the royal capital to keep in check other countries and restrain them through diplomacy. Consequently, only his family could get secretly evacuated to the Viscount Carrow’s territory.

Originally, there was a plan to evacuate to a safer place and that is in the new head of the Duke of Capel’s family, who was madly in love with and worship the Duchess of Verusenia, so a plan was made to evacuate to that place. The place was specifically chosen as the evacuation site  just so that in the worst case scenario, they could escape to the Sigiless Kingdom in the west where Folt’s sister was married.

And that was the reason why the ladies couldn’t travel too far.

“I really  hope Yuru comes back soon.”

“She said it was 1-2 years, but it has already been 2 years…”

“As long as Yuru was here, that rebel army would disperse in just a second with the help of the Saint…”

“Um… What is that about saint?”

In fact, it is said among the people that if only the [Saintess] had been there, the rebellion would not have even occur.

This came from a deep sense of gratitude and trust in the “legendary saintess” who had supposedly saved the world at the expense of herself. Her two companions, the [Holy Kingdom’s Brave] and [Holy Warrior], also acknowledged this.

Currently, the progress of the rebel army to the capital is being held back. The two main rebel leaders are being pinned down on the front lines, leaving the rebel stronghold in limbo.

This caused the battle lines to spread out of control and skirmishes to occur in various places.

It is no exception in this Viscount Carrow estate.

“Well, it’s not that easy to encounter them. You know how big the Saint Country is right?”

“I know, right? I thought, ‘How unlucky are we to run into the rebels on the only day we went out in secret?’ That was what we were talking about.”

“Hahahaha–…….”

“…………….”

“There’s someone over here! Turn the troops around!”

“They really came after all—–!”

At the noise of what sounded like soldiers rushing from deep in the forest, the three of them screamed at the same time.

“This is Fer’s fault! It’s because you raised a flag!!”

“Ehhhhhhh……..isn’t it the same for Min?”

“We are all in big trouble……”

Even though there is one person who is capable of combat, in the end they are still just three young women who were found by the enemy soldiers. But even so, there is just no way to make them feel nervous.

It’s not that they had any means of escape or that they had prepared a secret plan, it’s just that the longer they spend with the inhumane duchess, the more their [Mental Tolerance] rises. As a result, the three maids who have been watching the duchess since they were born were feared by the duke’s servants as special maids who could calmly deal with any situation.

‘To put it simply, it’s not that I’m the tense one because I’m ‘bad’.’

“You’ll both have to run. I’ll hold them off.”

Sarah, a female knight whose [Mental Tolerance] has not risen comparatively among the three, jumps down from the driver seat of the horse-drawn-carriage and draws her sword from her waist while exuding a sense of urgency.

“…….Hey, Fer. Can you be the driver?”

“What is Min saying? Do you think I’ve ever done that growing up in the city?”

“You two…….”

Min smiles kindly at Sarah, who wants to say something, and gets out of the carriage, wiping the sweat from Sarah’s forehead.

“You don’t have to do this alone.”

“Master Yuru would scold me if I said I had abandoned Sarah.”

“Let’s figure out a way for the three of us to escape.”

At their unfounded smiles, Sarah nodded strongly and regripped her sword, even though her back was drenched in sweat.

“There they are! Let’s go!”