Ian had no desire to go to the empire. If he were given the chance to make a choice, he'd avoid even getting close to that land's borders. That place was not only dangerous but also made Ian feel extremely frustrated. Even if he traveled to the empire, there was no way he'd take part in the emperor's birthday party.
However, he'd now found a new source of entertainment, how could he just give up on that? Ian even risked his life and got himself poisoned in order to keep that new change safe! No matter what it took, there was no way he'd give up on this journey.
"I know that you want to go to the empire and take part in the banquet, but I can't allow it. You need to stay back and rest to get better."
Ranger turned his request down without a moment of hesitation.
"But..." Instead of trying to persuade the old man, Ian looked at his master with a sincerely dejected face. "Master, do you also think it's best for me to stay here?"
"Ah? Yeah. You need to rest, eat proper food, and constantly be checked by the doctor to get better."
The blue-haired blue-eyed servant bit his lips, pupils quaking constantly.
"But that... that can't happen," Ian clasped his hands and held them to his chest. "Didn't you see how they treated me last night? Young master, you saw it too, didn't you?"
"Their behavior? What do you mean?"
The servant's somber eyes shifted around restlessly. His face was paler than last night, dispirited and gloomy.
"They weren't even willing to check my condition. If it wasn't for the young master's insistence, Mr. Doctor wouldn't even examine me. D-do you think I'll be allowed to eat well and rest if I stay back?" The feeble boy raised a hand to rob his cheek, but Alaric could see that he was secretly whipping his eyes, as if erasing his tears. "After the young master and the head butler leave, n-no one will even care if I die!"
"Ian!"
Ian didn't allow Old Ranger to say anything, "But that's the truth! That's the truth! You know it too well. No one cares about a slave's life!"
"Ah!" Alaric let out a gasp of realization as he examined the young man thoroughly with his amber eyes. The boy, who had a firm and unwavering look yesterday, was now only staring at the floor with a sunken gaze. The corners of his lips were twitching, his face was withered, and his back was bent.
"...It seems like the doctor's behavior really hurt you."
It must've made the servant feel worthless and disheartened when he saw the doctor ignore his pain. Everyone would be depressed if they found out that the people around them didn't care for them as much as they thought they would.
"Mmm..." The blue-haired boy only groaned instead of giving an answer.
The preparation was done and everyone was ready to go. The carriages were packed and the soldiers were in position. Early in the morning, just before he boarded his carriage, Ian had run over to him and asked to be allowed to go as well. Alaric didn't expect to see his servant in such a mood.
"I guess I can't just leave you behind like this, it's my fault after all," he turned to the old butler, "Let's take Ian as well, but he'll board the same carriage as me."
Before Ranger could object to the first order, he was struck with the second one. Even Ian felt dumbfounded for a second.
"Pardon?"
Alaric shrugged his shoulders and walked to his carriage.
"I have to take responsibility and look after the person who got hurt because of me. My carriage is much more comfortable, it's better suited for a sick person than the one used by the servants."
"...."
"Come on in, Ian!"
"...."
'No, I don't want this...'
Ian couldn't object to his master's decision even if it wasn't to his liking.
. . . . .
The carriage rode smoothly. Unlike the old vehicle used by the servants, this one didn't shake and make strange noises. The seats were made from the softest and the most comfortable material found, and the cabin was spacious. The ride was nice and relaxing.
However, the atmosphere inside the carriage wasn't as comfortable. Ian wasn't the timid type, not anymore, and could adjust to various situations quite fast, but that doesn't mean he could stand Alaric's continued worrying comments and his restless efforts to look after Ian.
After Ian shouted, "I'm fine so please stop!" at the top of his lungs was when Alaric finally gave up on acting responsibly and retreated. He then picked up a book he'd sneaked into the carriage and began reading it. Judging from the title, it was probably a novel.
"You know what, Ian?"
"Yes?"
Alaric lowered the book he was reading and cast his thoughtful gaze upon his attendant.
"When you are in a novel, the first and most important thing to do is to avoid the main character."
"....."
"...But I can't avoid The Emperor's birthday party. What should I do?"
Ian paused midway eating the orange that was pushed to him. Alaric didn't notice the scornful look on Ian's face.
"....Young master did you by any chance have another nightmare-"
"No!!" Alaric slapped the book close. "I really really really want to avoid that banquet! Isn't there a way?"
Ian's expression grew even stranger.
"Not attending the party when you were invited is considered a great disrespect to the emperor, you and your family might get executed if you do that."
Ian didn't know why was he continuing this meaningless conversation. He sincerely thought that, if this wasn't regression, then Alaric had a problem in his brain, a problem that appeared overnight.
"Then I'll pretend to have died on the way to the empire."
"Why do you want to avoid the banquet so much?"
Avoiding the main character, he said? What does that even mean?
"I told you. It's also troublesome. There will be a lot of important figures, right? I don't want to get mixed with any of them."
"Isn't that a good opportunity for you to find powerful backings and build up connections for your future?"
Alaric narrowed his eyes, "You know a lot for a servant."
"I'm only repeating everything I've heard from Ranger."
"Is that so?" The young master leaned back on his chair, relaxed. "I don't need any connections and backing so I don't have to go to the banquet either."
"How can you don't need any support as a future count?"
"I'm not a future count anymore!"
"...Pardon?"
Ian had an ominous feeling once he saw the other man's smiling face.
"I gave up on that and passed it to sister. I'm no longer the future patriarch!" Alaric declared proudly, giggling in the process.
"....."
Blink Blink
"....."
Ian opened and closed his mouth multiple times, but no sound left his lips. After a few seconds of struggling, he suddenly blurted out in a loud voice, "What have you exactly done?????"
"I-I-" Alaric jolted up at the shout and moved back in his chair, hastly raising the book to his chest as if to shield himself. "I decided not to be the heir anymore? My s-sister can take the position. She also liked the offer very much!"
"Young master!!!"
Ian got up from his seat in a fit of anger.
'Do you even know what I went through for you to keep that position? This round, the previous rounds, the very first life, even before I started to regress, do you even know how much suffering I went through? How many assassin attempts have I seen?' Ian was doing his best not to punch his master in the face.
"Look, listen!" Alaric waved his hands in a hurry. "Isn't it for the best? She gets what she always wanted and I'll be safe from any further murder attempts! My sister promised to learn everything under our father's watch and never try to do me any harm. Isn't that a nice conclusion? Plus, I can now pretend to be dead and run away, so that neither my family nor the emperor can find me!"
"It's not! It's definitely not!"
Dwelled in his fury, Ian retorted back without a moment of consideration. It felt as if all he'd fought with for a long while in his life had gone to waste with his master's one decision. He'd put a lot of effort into helping Alaric achieve the seat of the patriarch when he was his servant, and even after he started to regress, he spent a few of his lives helping Alaric survive his sister's evil plans. Alaric could become a perfect count unlike his sister and had the power to save the county, Ian had seen it with his own eyes, so this outcome was pretty unacceptable for him.
He wouldn't have been so worked up if it was any other round, but this life of his was different from the others. He was experiencing new events and seeing changes for the first time so he didn't want anything to go in the wrong direction.
It was at that moment,
Nieeeghhhh
SHATTER
Like the ringing of several alarms, the neigh of the horses tore the silence, and the sound of glass shattering resounded in the carriage the next second.
Without looking to his side to see what exactly happened, Ian threw himself towards Alaric and dragged him down to the floor.
Tak
Something passed above their heads and thrust into the wall. It was an arrow that had entered through the broken glass.
'One broke the glass, one aimed at his neck, and one-'
Tak
As if reading his thought, another arrow entered through the window and landed at the center of the carriage. Before anyone could notice it, the wooden floor of the carriage caught on fire.
"F-fire!"
Ian grabbed Alaric's collar and got up.
"Get out!"