"It's an honor to meet you, my lord!" Bowing her head to Snow, Maggie and the other two showed their respect to him.
Completely unaware of the fact that he had already met the trio back at the adventurer guild. However, since at that time he was masking himself as a mercenary they had no clue that it was the same person standing in front of them.
"They're the adventurer's party unlucky clover, I've vetted them myself so you can rest assured about your safety in their presence," Masking herself as the mage again, Asuka introduced the trio to Haruki.
"To think Miss Rise would be an acquaintance of our duke…" Maya mumbled, hiding her face behind the witch hat she shyly peeked at Snow.
Thankfully, the lousy lie about Snow getting to know Rise through the royal academy was holding up better than they had expected. If that hadn't worked then knowing Rose, she would've been keeping track of everything Snow did and everyone he ever met while being in the duchy.
"I'm grateful for your help, and the help of all the other adventurers who've accepted to be my escort to Daria," glancing at the party, Haruki knew they weren't worth much nor did they have much experience. Bringing his attention back to Asuka, he questioned whether her assessment of the three was purely sentimental.
"Um…Miss Rise, is your boyfriend not going to be one of the convoys?" Maggie asked, completely glazing over the formal setting.
Just hearing the word boyfriend made Asuka's whole body turn a cherry red. And as if fumes of embarrassment were shooting off of her head, her eyes twirled around in bafflement. Noticing how fazed she was, Garth beamed a smile and added.
"Arnold, was his name, right?" with his arms folded and his chest puffed out, he seemed extremely proud of his cheekish behavior.
"What?! No! I mean!" Like a child her arms mimed in circles as she stared at them.
"Arnold, the mercenary, correct? I believe I have assigned him some other tasks in the duchy until my return to Laria," Saving face, Haruki quickly made up an excuse for the fazed Asuka. "To be honest, I'd like you to join him now, we're about to depart for Daria soon so it's best you be with him."
Looking around, Haruki noticed a herd of adventurers scattered throughout the castle's garden. Standing by the entrance stairs, he was trying to assess their strength before coming up with a way to make use of them.
"Y-yeah, I'll be off then, take good care of mast-I mean, Lord Snow," Correcting herself at the right moment, Asuka took the trio to show them their convoy carriage. Once done, she was supposed to circle around the castle and meet up with Haruki as Asuka to accompany him on the journey.
In the meantime, all to himself, Haruki's eyes kept a stern watch over everyone. From the adventurers who were supposed to safely get him to Daria to the numerous carriages lined inside the castle's gates. But what he was spying on was none of those things, instead, he was looking for Roselia as well as the notorious slave trader Moriyana.
'Where the hell are these two? I haven't seen Rose since this morning and she's supposed to be in charge of the duchy's safety while I'm gone. As for Moriyana, she still hasn't provided me with those bottled potions!' nervously tapping his feet, he let out a tired sigh.
"I almost forgot," Seeing how Snow's breath came out as bone-chilling as always, he was reminded of Snow's affinity for ice magic. "Should I practice while waiting? I still haven't taken those levels from Asuka but…it can't be worse than my dark magic abilities. Not to mention. I can't be seen using dark magic in public spaces"
Holding his hand forward, Haruki took a deep breath and channeled his mana to his arm. As the image of an icicle came up in his mind, he began to condense his mana into a sharp shard of ice that could be shot across long distances.
"What's that?!"
"Holy shit! Are those real?!"
"No way! It's a burning claw tiger!"
Distracted by the commotion, Haruki's spell shattered into small pieces of ice. Bringing his attention to the front, he noticed that all the adventures had subsided to the sides creating a straight path leading from the main gates to the castle.
"This bitch…" Haruki cursed as he saw Rose riding on top of a giant flaming tiger. It roared with each step, and every time its claws hit the ground the very earth shook from the impacts.
"You'd need one of these master, in case you get lost in the tundra," Getting off the tiger, she caressed it over its back. The giant feline purred innocently as if it was a domesticated house cat. "She hadn't left her lair in the mountains for a while, so I thought she might be of good use to you, especially since you wouldn't allow me to accompany you myself."
Rose had never failed to surprise Haruki, and yet lately her surprises as helpful as they were felt a bit more menacing. He knew that to some extent, Rose was aware of the changes in Snow, and yet the only thing Haruki could do about it was to continue to pretend.
'We might need to take care of her sooner than I thought,' Breaking his thoughts was a light tap on the back of his shoulder. As he turned around, he saw Asuka standing right behind her.
"Is there something wrong, master?" She asked, having noticed the concern in Haruki's eyes.
"No, the-'' Noticing a saggy pouch by Asuka's hips, Haruki realized something important. "Nevermind, we should get going before the sun settles."
As he looked into her eyes for confirmation of his thoughts, Asuka gently nodded making sure Rose wouldn't pick up on the hints. The pouch resting by her hip had a doodle of a cherry in the same luminous ink as Moriyana had used.
'It's better she didn't directly come to me with the potions, seeing a slave peddler with a duke was bound to raise suspicion.'
"Get the adventurers ready!" Turning around, Haruki shouted out to one of the guards.
Giving Haruki a quick salute he went on his way to stuff the adventurers into the convoy carriages. Glancing back at Rose, Haruki couldn't help, but question her intention with the giant flaming tiger. A single look at its macular limbs with crimson flames flaring out of its stripes, made him wonder if it was supposed to keep him safe or to cook him alive.
"I'm not taking that hazard with me, if she goes feral, who knows how many people will die," Offering his rebuttal, he tried to walk past her. But grabbing him by his shoulder, Rose stopped him in his tracks.
"It's me or her, master, if you die, then there's no point to this expedition," Letting go of him, she continued to add. "Besides, I have zero trust in this suicidal plan of yours, what are you dreaming to achieve through this anyway?"
Telling her the truth wasn't an option, but lying to her face when she was as perceptive as a seer, would only make matters worse and elevate her suspicion.
"I'm going to strike a deal with her," He replied, not letting a shred of doubt reflect on his face.
"What kind of deal do you wish to strike with a traitor? It's suicide master, and I know you know it!" Laced with concern, her voice grew weary. Turning around to Haruki, she gently wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "I've lost plenty, so please… just a century more…that's all I ask, please don't die."
Those words struck a strange chord in Haruki's heart. The lingering dread and the pain in her voice felt familiar to him\. Almost reminiscent of him being shown his dead mother's grave by Moriyana.
"Asuka, we're taking the tiger. Bind her to my carriage, she can draw it, I'm sure," gently unwrapping Rose's arms around him, Haruki made his way forward.
"Thank you, young duke," Bowing her head, Rose prayed for his safety as well as the quick return of her master. "I'll keep Daria safe in your absence, I promise."