From the morning, Luna had been dealing with Seira and had gone out to purchase items for her journey, leaving her exhausted when she returned home. However, that damn Fersen, despite what had happened, visited the Baron’s mansion again and ruined Luna’s outfit.

Smiling with satisfaction and saying, “So you’ve come now,” Fersen provoked Luna’s nerves.

She threw the items at him, not knowing what else to do, and he struggled to stop Luna, but eventually left, leaving only the cake behind.

Thus, after preparing to leave the capital in just one day, Luna boarded the rented carriage and bid farewell to her father.

The destination was the Peils Estate, where the gold mine was hidden. She intended to dig up the gold herself and throw it at Seira’s face, and she also hired dozens of knights to beat up Fersen thoroughly.

“I’ll be back.”

To avoid Fersen, Luna decided to leave without even having breakfast. The Baron had saved up a considerable amount of money from his allowance and handed it over as travel expenses, worried that it might not be enough.

Luna breathed a sigh of relief internally, grateful that it fell into her hands before it got wasted. She expressed her thanks to her father.

“Thank you, Father.”

“It’s nothing. I’m just worried that it might not be enough. By the way, it’s so sudden to take a vacation like this… I’m worried because it’s not a place where you can relax.”

There was nothing at the Peils Estate. There was no village, let alone residents, and of course, there wasn’t even a single dilapidated house.

Since no one ever visited, there wasn’t even a well, let alone anything else.

If it had been slightly larger, there might have been an inn or someplace to rest temporarily during the journey, but it was so small that they could just pass through, and there was truly nothing.

The neighboring city was Vincent Estate, the second most prosperous after the capital, so it was just a passing road, without even a sense of existence.

So it wasn’t unreasonable for the Baron to worry. Luna tried to ease his worries by giving him a reassuring smile.

“It’s okay. I said I’ll rest in the Peils Estate, but actually, I’ll be staying in the neighboring city, Vincent Estate. The security there is good.”

“Still, it’s… it’s just that a pretty, cute, kind, and innocent child like you is going down alone without any maidservants…”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden? When did I ever go around with maidservants?”

There were only three maids working at the Viscount’s mansion.

One was Laura, Luna’s personal maid and also the Baron’s maidservant, as well as a maid in the mansion. She was called a maid, but she was simply a general servant.

One was Henry, who worked hard in the mansion and was responsible for the Baron’s commute and carriage management.

The remaining one was Emma, the head chief, but she also helped with the mansion’s cleaning when her hands were free.

In fact, it was pointless to make such distinctions, as they all inefficiently dealt with the tasks at hand as they came.

Anyway, due to such circumstances, there were no maidservants who behaved like maidservants, and there was no occasion to take someone and go out somewhere. From the start, there was no money, so they didn’t go out much either.

When Luna subtly pointed out this fact, the Baron felt embarrassed and coughed.

“…I’m sorry. It’s not that this father is incompetent…”

“It’s not so much your fault, but rather a problem with the ancestors who accumulated money and debts for generations. How could one become rich overnight? And during the day, we’ll be traveling on main roads, so don’t worry. We’ll be traveling with a large group heading to Vincent Estate, so we won’t encounter any thieves.”

By paying the money, they could be accompanied by dozens of mercenaries. Unless the thieves were insane, they wouldn’t dare to attack such a large group .

“When you arrive, make sure to send a letter. If anything happens, come back immediately.”

“Of course. Father, take care of yourself. I’ll bring back gifts.”

When Luna mentioned that she would be traveling with the group, the Baron finally relaxed a bit, and Luna quickly set the carriage in motion.

She didn’t want to waste time and risk being stopped by Fersen for no reason.

* * *

Before long, they arrived at the gathering place that the carriage rental merchant had informed them about. Luna had requested a prompt departure, so she was worried that the group might be subpar, but when they actually arrived, it was quite impressive in scale.

There were large carriages that seemed to number over twenty, dozens of mercenaries, and the rare sight of neatly dressed group staff.

It felt like a parade that she had seen somewhere before, but something felt strange.

‘Although the appearances are a bit rough.’

Perhaps there was a law that mercenaries had to look rough. If their appearance wasn’t rough, then their physique was, and if their physique was ordinary, then their gaze was, and if even their gaze was ordinary, the tattoos on their exposed skin were rough.

‘I wish they were drawn a bit more beautifully…’

They were so crooked and distorted that it seemed like self-tattoos. On top of that, there were tattoos that seemed to cut someone’s neck or destroy a skull. No matter how fearless Luna claimed to be, tattoos representing murder were terrifying.

That’s why she desperately searched for someone who seemed relatively harmless and could be approached to have a conversation without getting off the carriage.

‘If it’s that man…?’

He might be fine.

Although she could only see his back, he had a tidy appearance and didn’t seem to be carrying any weapons. He was probably someone from the group staff rather than a mercenary.

Luna quickly stepped out of the carriage and called out to the relatively unharmed-looking man.

“Um… I have something to ask.”

“What is it?”

Then, an overwhelming, threatening gaze poured down upon her.

Although it was the blond man she spoke to, for some reason, the rough-looking men around him glared at her.

Surprised by the unexpected situation, Luna widened her eyes, and the neatly dressed man gestured by flicking his finger, signaling those around him to calm down.

Then, after turning around with an indifferent face, he asked, “Who?”

But why is he… so handsome? She hadn’t noticed while he had his back turned, but the man had an astonishing appearance. It left her speechless in a different way than when she saw the mercenaries.

The dazzling blond hair and innocent emerald green eyes seemed like they would suit a buffed-up heroine, but even a tall adult male could use them so well. However, his face wasn’t one that could be mistaken for a woman. It was handsome, pretty, with clean and neat features.

In short, it was a handsome face.

The sharp eyebrows, slightly tousled blond hair, combined with a white shirt, exuded an inexplicable aesthetic beauty.

“Why are you so captivated by my face?”

After being worried by threatening tattoos all this time and being shocked by the unexpected face before her, Luna lost her words. The man smiled as if it was a familiar occurrence and asked.

Even that sight was too beautiful, but with more important matters at hand, Luna quickly diverted her attention from his appearance and revealed her business.

“I want to meet the person in charge of the group.”

“The person in charge?”

Suddenly?

Gazes of disbelief were directed at the mysterious woman who suddenly wanted to meet the person in charge. The man also stared at Luna for a moment before slowly speaking.

“You can talk to me. What is it?”

The reactions of those around him were nonchalant at his words. It seemed that he, with the most unharmed appearance, was the one resembling the person in charge.

Since time was of the essence, Luna nodded her head in agreement and revealed her purpose.

“I’m Luna, and I’m supposed to be accompanied to the Vincent Territory.”

“Luna?”

The man furrowed his eyebrows as if hearing it for the first time.

“Do I need to reveal the family name too? I thought it would be fine since I’m traveling alone, but since I must have provided my information at the carriage rental office, you have no reason to hesitate.”

“Yes, Luna Peils. I received a declaration from the carriage rental office to come here.”

“…Luna Peils?”

He asked with a cold face upon hearing the family name.

Luna wondered if he was questioning because he thought it was an insignificant family name, but it was her misconception. Luna was more famous than she thought.

“Oh? The lover of the young Duke Rodrian!?”

“Now that you mention it, I think that was the name!”

The lover of Fersen.

The man’s expression became even colder at the voices of the mercenaries coming from behind.

Although she should have felt fear from the menacing gazes of the rough soldiers, Luna, who was more annoyed than afraid due to her numerous encounters, vented her anger and asserted the fact.

“Hey, what did you just say? It’s our first meeting, and you’re being so rude? Would you feel good if I asked if you were an enemy’s lover?”

Some mercenaries were embarrassed because they were rude without even checking the facts.

Seeing Luna’s genuine anger, the man, who had been glaring at her with fierce eyes, blinked slowly as if something was strange and asked.

“It’s just a rumor? But I’ve only heard about it from the young Duke Rodrian himself. It’s almost impossible if you’re not his lover.”

Fersen, what on earth was he doing outside? It was unimaginable how such terrible rumors could spread.

Luna, who was annoyed, quickly corrected the rumors.

“No, absolutely not. It was because Fersen had a bad personality, and I had no choice but to be friends with him. Please understand and dispel any misunderstandings. Besides, if we really want to get into it, I hate Fersen. If I was strong enough, I would break his arms and legs.”

It was difficult for Luna to talk negatively about Fersen to people she had just met, but on the other hand, Fersen’s misdeeds were such that they led to such gossip about someone she had just met, so her anger flared up again.

“Hate? Why? You call him a friend.”

“But it’s ridiculous to spread strange rumors about someone you’ve just met, asking if he’s your lover, right? It’s to the point where talking to him is useless, and I even doubt if he has a brain.”

She felt embarrassed to call herself delicate, but she was a fool to lead herself down such a dangerous path, much more delicate compared to adult men.

When she openly criticized Fersen, the mercenaries fell into silence. The man, too, stared at Luna intently, searching for the truth in her eyes.

As Luna vented her anger at being treated as Fersen’s lover, she unconsciously avoided the man’s handsome face, which had cooled down a bit.

“A fool without a brain…”

After a little while, the man rolled his eyes and echoed Luna’s words. Then he quickly rolled his eyes as if he found it amusing.