The next morning, I was standing outside getting ready to leave. We were taking one long trip carriage, which was exclusively used for me and Becca to ride in comfortably. A second carriage would follow behind us with our luggage and gifts for Becca's family.
I wanted to make sure we were all packed and ready to go, but as a Duke with many servants, I was not allowed to worry about these menial things. Instead, I walked over to James, who was busy supervising all the workers to keep them moving smoothly.
"Hey James, is everything looking good for us to go?"
James turned to me and smiled. "Yes, the last few things are being wrapped up. You should be ready to head out in a few minutes."
"Ok, no rush. Before I head out, I wanted to see if there is anything you need from me for this week we will be away."
James laughed out loud seeing me worry. "The old you never cared about me doing all the work alone, so one week without you won't be a problem."
"Alright…send me a letter if you need me for anything. If it's an emergency, I can quickly teleport back here."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Also before I forget, can you look into getting us in contact with a peanut farmer? Peanuts are Becca's favorite snack, but apparently they became rare suddenly. I want to make a special deal, so we are always supplied with some. With my backing, maybe we can even help the farmer produce more peanuts than they originally could."
"Ok, I'll look into it and set up a meeting for you."
"Thanks James. This task is not a rush, so just work on it when you have the time. The real important thing to prioritize is finishing writing up the laws."
"I understand, my Lord. Everything will be ready by the time you return."
"Alright James, I'm going now. Have a good time without me."
"Safe travels, my Lord."
I waved my hand to James and then got into our carriage. I wiggled a little bit on the seat until I got into a comfortable position. I could tell right away that the cushions were much better than the ones in the carriage we rode yesterday. I was praying I would be able to handle the trip without too much discomfort.
After I settled in, I looked at the sit across from me. Becca was curled up and sleeping. We agreed last night that I would carry her onto the carriage, so she didn't have to wake up to leave. The schedule was to leave the mansion at 6 in the morning.
According to Becca, it was much too early in the morning for her and she would end up cranky for the rest of the ride if she had to wake up. Seeing her drool on her pillow, I couldn't help but smile. 'Maybe I'm spoiling her too much.'
Well, I don't mind carrying her. She is as light as a feather and hearing her mutter in her sleep is always cute. Since I had some time to myself before Becca would wake up, I started to read one of the books I got from the bookstore yesterday.
It was a book about an orphan who used his earth magic to get a position in the Royal mages and rise up the ranks. It was a classic hero's journey story. I was interesting in hearing some stories about the Royal mages, so I decided to read it. Of course it was a fiction story, so it was bound to be exaggerated, but the author probably used some level of realism.
A few minutes after I started to read, the carriage started moving. I quickly noticed that the discomfort from the carriage ride was a lot less than yesterday. The bumping up and down was still noticeable, but wasn't so distracting that I couldn't read my book. Also, the physical pain I felt on my butt was no longer there. I released a sigh of relief. Thank goodness the most retrofitted carriages were at least manageable for me.
Luckily, I did not get motion sickness easily, so the bumping up and down did not bother me in that way. If I did, then the ride would still be miserable. I need to help out Becca's father with the coil springs to get them out as soon as possible.
After two hours of reading silently, I noticed that Becca was starting to stir. It was currently 8am, which was about as early as I had seen Becca wake up before. I took a mental note to remind myself that waking up Becca before 8am would potentially mean me feeling her wrath.
Becca is too much of a sweetheart to do anything actually mean to me, but in general, I wanted Becca to always be happy and smiling, so I would indulge her as much as I can.
Becca rolled over and raised her arms to stretch. A big yawn escaped her lips.
"Good morning Sleepyhead."
"Hmmm…good morning Nick."
Becca barely processed my words. She was only half awake. A few minutes later, she actually fell back to sleep. I couldn't blame her, yesterday was a really busy day, so it makes sense she is even more tired than normal. Plus, since we were going to be riding on the carriage until tomorrow morning, there was no reason to get up quickly.
30 minutes later, Becca sat up in her seat. This time, I didn't say anything to her in case she decided to fall back asleep again. She started rubbing her eyes and called out to me.
"What time is it?"
"It's about 8:30."
"Oh, not too bad. I didn't oversleep too much."
"You are going to stay awake this time?"
Becca titled her head, "yes?"
Obviously, she didn't remember waking up the first time, so I just ignored it. I reached underneath my seat to a compartment for storage. From the compartment, I pulled out a paper bag.
Becca was curious, "what's that?"