Gassain was completely confused. One moment, he was sitting at home, and the next, a title fell from the sky—he had suddenly become a baron. It didn't make any sense. It wasn't supposed to be his, but since both of Jorabo's sons had died, the title had to go to him.
"Alright, Gassain, the Meloway family is now in your hands," said Lewen, stepping forward.
"Huh? Wait... Great-uncle…" Gassain was still in shock, barely able to form coherent sentences.
"So, Your Highness, do you agree to this?" Lewen asked, turning to the princess.
"Hmm…" Princess Yalan thought for a moment, then suddenly pointed to Linton, who was standing beside Gassain. "Alright, if Linton comes along, then I'll agree to go to the capital."
"Huh?" Everyone turned to Linton, utterly confused. Why did the princess want to bring him along?
"Stop it," Linton said, rubbing his forehead. "Why are you dragging me into this?"
"We had an agreement, remember?" Princess Yalan replied. "You promised me... that wedding thing."
"Wedding?" Everyone was stunned. What? A wedding? Were Princess Yalan and Linton getting married? Their first reaction was disbelief.
Linton, however, understood what the princess meant. She was referring to their previous agreement where she had promised to help him with his marriage situation. But it still sounded strange. "That doesn't mean I need to go with you, right?"
"My father will definitely get involved," Princess Yalan said. "He'll summon you eventually."
"That… makes sense." Linton nodded. The emperor, upon hearing that his third daughter had set her sights on Linton, would definitely call him to the capital. There was no way he'd ignore it. Given that, it seemed Linton would have to go to the capital anyway.
After thinking it over, Linton decided it was better to just go now. After all, the assassins he needed to investigate likely had ties to the imperial court, and he wouldn't get any answers here. He was going to end up in the capital sooner or later.
"Alright, I'll go too," Linton said.
Princess Yalan nodded happily. Her reaction made everyone around them feel awkward. The more they looked at her, the more it seemed like she was talking about an actual wedding. Had Princess Yalan really fallen for Linton? Did she lose her mind?
"Hey, nephew, what's going on?" Baron Sethdes pulled Linton aside and asked quietly.
"Oh… it's like this," Linton thought for a moment, deciding to use this opportunity to cancel the arranged marriage with the baron's daughter. "Actually, the princess and I have pledged ourselves to each other, so I can't marry your daughter. Please call off the engagement."
"What? Really?" Baron Sethdes had suspected something was up, but hearing it directly from Linton still left him shocked.
"Of course it's true," Linton said. "Would I joke about something like this?"
"But… but… the engagement has already been announced. You can't just back out now," Baron Sethdes said anxiously. He had already made the engagement public to secure Linton's hand in marriage, and canceling it now would be a huge embarrassment.
"Uh… how about this: I'll talk to the princess and see if she'd be willing to take a secondary wife. I'll tell her that the Sethdes family is unwilling to cancel the engagement."
"No, no, no!" Baron Sethdes was horrified. If he tried that, his entire family might be wiped out. "If it's true, then... there's nothing I can do."
"So, the engagement is off?" Linton asked.
"I… I guess so," Baron Sethdes replied, thinking that the princess had probably recognized Linton's potential and wanted to invest in him. After all, a star-ranked mage at his age was incredibly powerful. He was eager, but it seemed he had missed his chance. "It's just a shame about my daughter…"
"I'm sure your daughter will find someone even better," Linton said, trying to console him. After all, his fiancée hadn't done anything wrong, and now she was getting dumped out of the blue, which would damage her reputation.
"How about this: I'll write a letter. Since you're heading to the capital, you can deliver it to her for me," Baron Sethdes suggested. "She's studying there."
"She's in the capital?" Linton asked.
"Yes, she's a student at St. Sid Royal Academy, currently studying in the capital," Baron Sethdes replied.
"Uh… isn't that a bit awkward? It'll feel like I'm personally going to break off the engagement," Linton said.
He thought for a moment. It seemed like he'd be leaving out the classic breakup lines that people usually say, and he didn't want others thinking he hadn't handled the situation properly.
"Nephew… you do bear some responsibility for this, so please help me out," Baron Sethdes said. "If you can explain things to her face-to-face, it'll be easier for me to manage the situation."
Linton reluctantly agreed. After all, he had caused this mess, so it was only right to resolve it. Baron Sethdes, secretly pleased, hadn't entirely given up hope. His daughter wasn't bad-looking, and maybe once she and Linton met, sparks would fly. He hadn't announced the cancellation of the wedding yet, and he planned to hint at this possibility in the letter.
While Linton was talking to Baron Sethdes, Gassain had been pulled aside by Lewen to discuss family matters. But they didn't want to keep the princess waiting too long, so after a short while, the carriages were ready.
The Meloway family didn't bring many people along—just Gassain and two other family members. Lewen stayed behind to manage things at home, and they brought a small 20-man guard. These guards were more for menial tasks like setting up camp than for actual security, which was mostly handled by the elite Maple Leaf Guard.
In addition, Linton brought along his Uncle Eck and two of his guards, who were all very excited. They had never been to a big city before and were eager to explore. As for Uncle Eck, he saw this as an opportunity to advance his ambitions in the capital.
Linton also took Baron Sethdes' letter, thinking maybe it might trigger some kind of quest from his game-like system, but so far, the system had been completely useless aside from showing statuses.
As the caravan prepared to set off, Linton noticed Gassain looking dejected. The two of them were riding in the carriage, while the others had to ride horses or walk.
"You're a noble now. Why aren't you happy?" Linton asked.
"I didn't expect to become a noble like this," Gassain replied. "My dream was to earn a title through my own achievements in battle… but now this…"
"Have you ever heard the Meloway family's motto?" Linton asked.
"Just tell me," Gassain replied.
"Life is like a box of chocolates—you never know what you're going to get," Linton said. "If good fortune falls into your lap, just enjoy it."
"Uh… what's chocolate?" Gassain asked after thinking for a moment.
"You just love to argue with me, don't you?" Linton said.
"No, I really don't know," Gassain said.
"I… never mind, you're going to drive me crazy." Linton sighed. "I'm going to sleep for a bit. Wake me when we arrive."
"Oh? You might be sleeping for a couple of weeks," Gassain casually remarked.
"What?" Linton was stunned.
"It's at least a ten-day journey to the capital," Gassain explained. "Longer if the weather is bad."
"Ten days?"
"Yeah, if we're lucky," Gassain added. "If it rains or the roads get muddy, it'll take even longer."
"This is such a waste of time… don't they have teleportation arrays or something?" Linton asked, exasperated.
Gassain stared at him, completely confused.
"I get it," Linton nodded. "Alright, I have something to take care of, so I'll leave for now. I'll meet up with you in the capital."
"Huh?" Gassain blinked in surprise.
"My master just sent me a long-distance message. I need to go learn a new skill," Linton said.
"Why does this always happen at the perfect time?" Gassain asked. "And what is this long-distance message magic?"
"That's not important. I'm heading off," Linton said.
"Wait! How will you find us again?" Gassain asked. "You don't even know where the capital is."
"Don't worry. Look at your hand," Linton said, pointing at Gassain's palm.
Gassain raised his hand and noticed a strange mark had appeared. He tried wiping it off, but it wouldn't come off. "What is this? Did you do this?"
"It's a magic mark," Linton explained. "As long as you have that on you, I can track your location and meet up with you. Magic is convenient, isn't it?"
Gassain believed him, since he didn't understand magic. In fact, Linton wasn't lying; it was a real tracking mark called the Flying Thunder God Seal, allowing him to teleport directly to Gassain's location.
Linton didn't plan to waste time traveling to the capital with
the caravan. With the Flying Thunder God ability, he could just teleport there, so he decided to use this time to gather more points.
And with that, the caravan set off on their journey.