Duke and his party didn’t linger long in Loba Town. After restocking some supplies, they embarked on their journey back to Fengqiu City.
Uncle Doyle’s family was driven by Fok, who was steering the carriage. Fok had abundant experience driving when he worked at the Commerce Association.
On Duke’s side, it was naturally Duke who drove the carriage. He had previously maxed out his riding skills, and the experience he gained naturally included carriage driving.
From Loba Town to Fengqiu City takes about five days. The roads of this era are quite difficult to traverse, greatly affecting travel speed.
The journey was peaceful, with not many disruptions.
At night, the two carriages nestled together, forming a makeshift defensive construct.
A bonfire crackled, with a pot perched upon it, simmering some vegetables, preserved meat, and other stuff.
Duke gazed at the pot, couldn’t help but glance at Vivian’s helmet.
Noticing his gaze, Vivian pursed her lips and smiled, reaching out to tap Duke on the head.
Uncle Doyle’s family saw this scene but didn’t know what was happening, nor dared to ask, silently enjoying the vegetables and preserved meat in their bowls.
Upon confirming Vivian’s status as a Count’s daughter, they went from initial disbelief to reverent awe.
This is something ingrained in the bones of commoners, hard to change.
From that day on, they became much more cautious when speaking to Vivian, and conversation couldn’t be as natural as before.
On the carriage, Duke and Vivian lay side by side, both having removed their armor, as sleeping in it was too torturous.
Vivian had long changed into a white undergarment, bought in Loba Town, but she still kept Duke’s linen clothing, saying she’d wash it before returning it to him.
Vivian naturally turned to hold Duke, just like back in the forest.
Neither spoke, perhaps knowing such days wouldn’t last long.
Upon returning to Fengqiu City, it would be hard for them to sleep together like this again.
...
Five days later.
The news of Vivian’s safe return quickly spread across Fengqiu City, with word spreading to other places as well.
Ever since Vivian disappeared into Moonlight Forest a month ago, Earl Hardy had been continually sending people in to find her.
Ultimately, only Vivian’s axe and several skeletonized corpses were found. The only good news for Earl Hardy was that the corpses were male, while Vivian remained missing.
The corpse of the Two-headed Ogre was also discovered, and marks at the scene roughly pieced together the sequence of events.
From deductions, Vivian seemed to be alive but fled severely injured.
Throughout the month, Earl Hardy mobilized countless people; even the Adventurer Association released many relevant tasks.
Anyone who could find Vivian would receive extremely generous rewards.
Unfortunately, Vivian was still not found, although the Moonlight Forest saw the extermination of many humanoid creatures.
That night, Earl Hardy hosted a grand ball to celebrate Vivian’s safe return.
At the ball, Vivian still donned armor, refusing to wear noble garments, fearing the troubles it would bring.
If she wore the ball gown, many would constantly invite her to dance.
Wearing armor saved her a lot of hassle, freeing her from managing her expressions, feeling at ease.
In this event, Duke was hardly mentioned; many didn’t even know a Knight’s attendant had accompanied Vivian back.
It was exactly what Duke wanted. He didn’t wish to be exposed to many, preventing troublesome situations.
For him, keeping a low profile and quietly developing was ideal.
Throughout the ball, Duke remained largely unnoticed, indulging alone in the feast’s fine wines and dishes, unwittingly devouring much.
Anyway, those attending the ball prided themselves on their status and none came truly to eat, leaving Duke to enjoy the food.
Duke clutched a roasted Gale Wolf leg, dripping greasily, when a blonde young man approached, winking at him.
Duke didn’t recognize him, feeling slightly baffled. After swallowing the Magical Beast meat, he asked, "Who are you?"
"I’m Rein Acosta," Rein grinned.
"Rein... Acosta..." Duke felt he heard the name somewhere, recalling when Vivian mentioned his name while sharing a bed.
Earl Hardy had seven children; Vivian was the youngest daughter, and Rein ranked sixth.
Rein, at only eighteen, had the smallest age gap with Vivian, so they naturally became familiar.
Most other children were already married, building their own forces, seldom interacting with Rein and Vivian.
"Escorting Vivian back along the way, you must’ve suffered a lot, given her ferocity." Rein glanced around, seeing Vivian wasn’t nearby, and whispered.
Duke thought carefully, not feeling the escort was suffering; instead, he rather enjoyed it.
But he couldn’t say that, so he replied earnestly, "Serving Miss Vivian is my duty."
"Come on! I know my sister well. She’s so fierce. When I provoked her as a child, she’d chase me across the city, brandishing a sword. I couldn’t beat her, getting trounced when caught." Rein recalled his childhood with lingering fear.
"Uh..." Duke didn’t know how to respond, quietly gnawing at the wolf leg.
Vivian never acted like that around him.
Rein noticed Duke’s hesitation in speaking, yet continued chatting himself.
Duke found this noble young master unpretentious, akin to any ordinary teenage lad in Fengqiu City, speaking openly.
Vivian had told him Rein had a wild nature, rarely involving himself in family strife, indifferent to family power struggle, idling constantly.
He either hunted or loitered about, lax in his Breathing Technique training, only managing a low-tier Knight Attendant rank.
Duke didn’t understand why Rein targeted him for conversation; pondering a moment, realized he kept distance from Vivian since entering the city, showing no odd behavior.
As the ball neared its end, Rein patted Duke’s shoulder, "Next time, I’ll invite you to Habs Manor for drinks!"
Duke was bewildered by the sudden familiarity, feeling Rein was overly sociable.
Vivian discreetly passed by him, whispering, "Ignore him; he befriends anyone in three minutes."
As the ball concluded, Duke returned to the manor with a heavy box, to his long-missed room.
The box was filled with gold coins, a thousand in total; a reward from Earl Hardy for his safe escort of Vivian.