The two noblemen agreed to depart the next day, early in the morning. Alaric sent a letter to his father, telling him that there was no need for a new carriage, that he would buy it from a nearby city, and without waiting for the reply, he prepared for departure.
Carriages were lined up in a row with knights on their horses and foot soldiers surrounding them from all sides. The forces of the two nobles were mixed and got significantly bigger. The servants were busy loading the bags and the inn's staff were helping them out.
Using the excuse of being injured, Ian was allowed to sleep more than the others and wear less formal clothes, so he was not adjusting his loose white shirt in front of the mirror.
'I hope Alaric won't mess things up.'
The two noblemen could be seen out the window, discussing.
'Things can be a lot better if he manages to create a friendship with Barnett.'
It has been long since the last time he cared about what would happen in the future, but this round felt different. Ian was starting to feel anxious about what would come next.
Shaking the unnecessary thoughts off his head, Ian walked to the carriages. He couldn't help but think about Alaric's actions again once he saw the man's expression, which was a mixture of uneasiness and embarrassment. Of the various guesses and theories in his mind, and of the uncountable scenarios he'd built up over the past few days, Ian was sure of one single thought.
'Alaric has lost a portion of his memories.'
He didn't know how and why or where, but it was clear that Alaric couldn't remember some specific things. His behavior has also changed and so has his tone of speech and characteristics. There could be many reasons for that but Ian chose not to be bold. He decided to stick with the safest and most probable one for now and find out the truth little by little.
"Ah, Ian!" Seeing him approach, Alaric waved his hand and called him over, not caring about the kind of surprised expression that Barnett was making. He didn't seem bothered by the fact that yesterday's conversation ended abruptly and his servant didn't show his face to him the whole day.
"Good morning, young master, good morning, lord Blicra!"
Barnett shifted his gaze between the servant and the master who stood next to each other.
"You seem to be quite close to your attendant, young master Alaric."
"Young master is too gentle to us. He has a soft heart," Instead of Alaric, it was Ian who answered.
"Ah!" Barnett's brows arched. "It seems that the rumors betrayed your true nature."
"Rumors?"
The second child of Count Poqlen was known for having a serious and cold demeanor, that kind of workaholic who didn't care about anything but his job. He'd bury himself in his work, books, and the state's documents. However, if you interrupted his work, he'd make sure you get punished accordingly.
Rumors always were exaggerated no matter the subject. It was true for Alaric too. Talks about how nasty his personality was spread throughout the country, yet Alaric didn't care about them.
"That's right. I never thought they would twist things so much," Barnett chuckled with a pleased face.
'I know right? He feels like a whole other person. Maybe he really is another person.'
Ian pushed the thought to the back of his head. He didn't want to dwell on something with such a small possibility and so little evidence. There could be many reasons for this. One could even say that Alaric has woken up someday and due to a horrifying nightmare, decided to change himself and enjoy his life more. That was probably what the servants were thinking.
"I-I see!" Alaric rubbed his neck, giving a half-sincere smile to the man, before looking up at the carriage in the front. "Back to the topic, as I said just now, I can't accept such an offer."
"You are so persistent, young master Alaric."
"It's not persistence, it's the offer that is too much for me."
Ian looked between his master and the other nobleman.
'What's going on?'
"We had an agreement yesterday."
"I agreed to be under your care for a while, but giving me your carriage is a bit too much."
"I can't gift anything with lower quality than that to my guest."
'So that's it...' Ian stealthily peeked at the carriage. It had a similar coat of arms on it as the other carriages, a symbol of wheat and gold mixed together. The dukedom of Blicra was the land of wheat, a wealthy and powerful state that produced a large portion of the country's supplies.
"I can't take the host's vehicle no matter how much you insist."
"You aren't taking anything, I'm the one giving it."
Ian shook his head from side to side. If left alone, these two would argue about this matter for hours.
With a smile plastered to his face, the blue-haired servant stood by his master's side and spoke under his breath, "Why don't the two masters share the same carriage?"
As the two men turned to him, Ian shifted his gaze to the ground as if ashamed. "Wouldn't it be more comfortable that way? The servants can also work easier..."
"Hmmm...?" Barnett touched his chin, contemplating, "That's not a bad idea."
"Wait!" Alaric's eyes went wide. "That, it's a little bit-"
"I'm sure you'll enjoy the young lord's company a lot, master!" Ian smiled at his master while putting a hand on his back, patting him in reassurance before pushing him towards the carriage. The golden-haired noble opened his mouth but was unable to say anything once he saw the kind of smile his attendant had. Through Ian's navy eyes that bore to his soul, Alaric could understand his inner words.
-Don't forget what I told you last night.
"....."
The young man was helplessly thrown into the carriage.
'Wait, he isn't leaving me alone is he?' By the time he turned back, the blue-haired boy had run to where the other servants were standing.
"...."
Alaric swallowed his saliva and curled up in a corner of the seat.
"I feel like I'm being manipulated by some devil..." he mumbled in a low voice.
. . . . . . . . .
Despite the atmosphere being awkward and somehow uncomfortable, the ride wasn't that bad. It'd been a few hours since they sat out, but not many words were exchanged between the two nobles. It was better this way, Alaric thought, as he didn't need to wrack his brain in search of proper responses. Leaning on one side, Alaric stared outside the window with a bored face.
Flip flip
After a while, the sound of flipping pages entered his ears. Despite his wanting to act indifferent, his curiosity took over him and he peeked at the other man sitting inside the carriage. The brown-haired young man with tender green eyes was staring at the pages of a book, reading through the contents with a smile on his lips. His posture and actions screamed elegance, hurting Alaric's eyes.
"Eh? You also read that book?"
The words slipped out of his tongue before he noticed. He never intended to say anything but couldn't control himself when he saw a familiar title in the book.
"This book? Well, yeah. It's a best-selling novel by a famous author, do you know about it?"
"I've read about half of it." Alaric's response came quickly and honestly.
"Really? Why half?"
"Uhh... Something unexpected happened and the book got kinda... damaged."
He would never pick up and read the bloodied book that his blue-haired friend used as a weapon against the assassins.
"...I can lend you mine if you want."
"Really?"
"Why not?" Barnett closed the book and handed it to Alaric without any hesitation. "I didn't know you were interested in this kind of book. I thought young master Alaric would only read financial records and the state's documents."
"Haha! I-I've grown an interest in novels lately."
The green-eyed young man's eyes beamed with excitement.
"Lately? Then you haven't read much yet, right? Let me introduce some good books to you! I can lend them to you as well if you want."
"Uh? For real?"
"Yeah!" Barnett picked up a bag and pulled out book after book. "So few nobles are interested in such subjects, so I'm quite excited right now. Here, you must try it first. It's the best book ever written by that famous author, Lili!"
- - - - - -
Ian was treated exceptionally well by the other servants and especially the head butler, Ranger. He was given the most comfortable seat, delicious food, plenty of time to rest, and a lot of affection. This would be a dream life for any other servant, and even for Ian if it were any other day, and he'd enjoy this chance to the fullest, however, he couldn't feel relaxed today.
'Why are they following us??'
Grabbing a bundle of his navy hair, Ian ruthlessly yanked them off one by one while staring out the window, with his gaze fixed on the due who were also taking the same path as them. The black-haired swordsman and his doctor friend were riding their horses, following the group from behind. Anyone else would say that they were close by as their destinations were the same, but after yesterday's conversation, Ian doubted this was the truth.
'Why is he following me if he recognizes who I am? Shouldn't he reveal my identity, capture me, or use my identity as a tool or something? Plus, did he see me using my power? Then he should find people from the church to come after me...'
There were a lot of beneficial things to do instead of chasing him around in an obvious way.
'Does he want to kill me? Why? What have I done to you, bro? I don't even remember your face!'
A wrinkled hand grabbed his arm at that moment.
"Don't pull your hair like that! What's wrong?"
Looking at his hand, Ian noticed a cluster of navy-blue strands of hair in various sizes covering his palms and also scattered on his clothes. He clasped his hands to stop himself from subconsciously repeating this habit of his and shifted his gaze away from the window.
Overworrying wouldn't help him at this moment. It wasn't like he could fight or force the swordsman to change his course, and he was too scared of having a direct conversation with him. His curiosity was eating away his insides, but he had to endure it for now. Ian didn't want to die yet, so he avoided any unnecessary risk; talking to that man was one of them.
'Really, this is such a unique life!'
Alaric's change in behavior surprised everyone, giving the doctor a chance to pull his plans closer. He used another method to murder him, but he failed, thus, he contacted some bandits and asked them to kill Alaric on the way to The Empire. He probably knew the bandits since he bought something from them.
The bandits changed their route and attacked Alaric. The mercenaries that were chasing after them found the bandits in the middle of the assassination attempt and took care of them, and that's when this mister Raven saw a familiar blue-haired dude struggling to survive...
Things made more sense after organizing them like that, only a few questions remained unanswered.
After driving for a few hours, the carriage slowed down and stopped to take a rest and prepare for lunch. Ian approached the carriage that his master rode, waiting for Alaric to come out.
Soon, two young men came out, wearing happy smiles and conversing with each other. The young man with lake-like green eyes had his arm wrapped around the other's shoulder, grinning widely like an idiot.
"Alright then, let's talk about the rest after we eat."
"Sure!"
"I guess your servants are waiting for you, my friend, hurry up and go."
With a slight tap, Barnett pushed Alaric toward his group. The golden-haired young noble strolled over to where his servants were waiting with a fresh expression.
'Friend...?' Ian clearly heard what Barnett said just now. His eyes, which had gone wide, locked with Alaric's at that moment.
'Young master I am...' Ian covered his mouth with a hand. 'I'm so proud of you!'
He really managed to form a friendship in such a short time!
"....."
Alaric's face twisted for a second before turning back to normal. He gave Ian an empty smile before walking past him. The blue-haired servant promptly turned around and assisted the others in preparing lunch, ignoring the unwavering, piercing stare of the black-haired man.
Their trip was smooth for the next few days. The nearest city where Alaric could finally purchase a carriage for himself was on the other side of the jungle, and all they encountered on their path were small villages. After two days, they finally reached the jungle, where they decided to take a rest before entering the slightly dangerous path.
"Your injury has mostly healed. You were also poisoned, right? I can't find any problems regarding that either. Your body seems quite healthy!"
The female doctor, whose name was Eleen, grinned with satisfaction while checking Ian's injury. She didn't stop attending to a servant's wound even when she wasn't being paid.
In the past few days, Eleen and her friend, these two mercenaries, joined the noblemen in their journey. Barnett and Alaric didn't mind the due tagging along as they received both a doctor and a strong swordsman; they were rather happy with it. The only nervous person was Ian who was growing holes in his back due to a certain person's continued gazes and was gradually going bald because of all the hair he'd yank out when anxious.
"By the way, don't you it's time you talked things out with Raven?"
"Huh?"
Eleen pulled her soft and long hair behind her ear before picking up a clean and new wrap of bandages.
"Aren't the two of you friends? We will be going to another path from your group tomorrow, to see our client, so I thought it would be better if you talked with Raven before that. Aren't the two of you friends? You seem to know each other."
'Friends? I think he is planning my murder!'
While the woman was carefully cleaning and bandaging the wound, Ian thought of a proper answer, "Thank you for our concern, but we are not friends."
"Eh?" Eleen tilted her head with surprise, "Well, do however you like. It's not my place to butt in. I don't even know that guy fully well."
Done with tending to the wound, the woman stood up and packed her tools.
"Take care of yourself from now on as I won't be seeing you again."
"Sure, thank you for everything."
Bowing his head, Ian bid farewell to the woman and watched her leave before exiting the tent.
The chilly night breeze, blended with the scent of the jungle, brought a refreshing sensation, and the silence of the night was relaxing enough to pull anyone into a deep comfortable slumber.
Ian strolled around the camp with his hands in his pockets while everyone was gradually preparing to sleep. Disregarding the others, Ian raised his head, staring at the distance sky, at a shining single star was twinkling gently.
'It's really him.'
Ian took a deep breath as he closed his eyes. A familiar presence could be felt from the jungle.