Traveling with unexpected people - Part 2

It was hard to tell how much travel time had passed. At one point, the pink-haired girl brimmed with boredom in her eyes and with each sigh. She then looked at Lince, already smiling as if she saw an interesting opportunity, and asked: "Did you say your name is Lince Elliot, right?"

Lince turned his face in her direction before replying: "Yes. But you can just call me Lince if you prefer..."

Only a few people called his father Elliot when they wanted to be more formal. Lince wasn't used to this kind of treatment and preferred to be called by the name his mother gave him at birth.

"I've never heard of this family until now."

The girl scrutinized him with a thoughtful look. She didn't need to say any more words; her expression alone made Lince imagine what was going on in her thoughts. Even though she was wearing expensive clothes, he still looked far from a complete noble in the eyes of other nobles.

"Well... my family is just..."

Suddenly, the young man in white interrupted the conversation: "Since we'll be traveling together for a while, why don't we make this more interesting?"

He introduced himself first, saying his name was Anjiro Betzaema, the bodyguard of the dark-haired girl. However, he didn't seem like just an ordinary bodyguard, and she didn't seem like someone who wanted one either. Then, in the middle of his introduction, the girl next to Lince interrupted by pointing a finger at herself and leaning toward him before saying:

"I'm Ran, the person who saved your life... there!"

The girl was interrupted as the young man in white leaned forward and lightly tapped her head. Then, she showed a displeased expression toward him but didn't say anything more.

"Well, you can call me Jiro" The young man continued the introduction, returning to his normal seat in the carriage. "That meddlesome girl next to you is Rania, you can ignore her if you want. And the girl on my side is our highness, Naige Zaema."

"I could introduce myself, you know?" murmured the pink-haired girl, making a forced expression as if she were upset. She looked at Lince and continued: "You can just call me Ran. I prefer it that way" she smiled.

But the brown-haired boy wasn't paying attention to her. After all, he was so surprised by the introduction of the dark-haired girl that he ignored everything he heard after that.

"Highness? Does that mean she's..."

"A princess?" asked the pink-haired girl. "Yes, Miss Naige is the daughter of Duke Zaema, so she is a princess. And her highness as well."

For a while, the bewildered expression shown by the brown-haired boy amused the other occupants of the carriage. He was so surprised after this revelation that when he tried to express himself in front of royalty, both his voice and movements became slow, and he froze like a rusty machine.

Lince glanced briefly at the girl in question. Although her beauty was undeniable, she didn't look like the princesses he was used to hearing about. She didn't wear extravagant dresses or expensive jewelry, and even her behavior was not much different from anyone else inside the carriage.

There was a saying in his village that went: "Don't insult a noble if you want to have a long life." So, he imagined what would happen if he insulted the daughter of a duke. He quickly shook his head to dispel such thoughts.

However, the girl stared at him as if she were reading his thoughts but didn't say anything and turned her eyes to the outside of the carriage. Finally, Lince let out a long sigh. Dealing with this kind of person was really difficult for him, he pondered.

He knew a little about the nobility of the kingdom. Lord Micaelo had tried to teach him about it more than once, although he didn't pay much attention to the lessons and sometimes only did them to please Lord Micaelo. As far as he remembered, the title of Highness was only given to a noble who held the position of a duke.

The kingdom of Asterl was divided into four large areas, so there were four dukes, who had great influence over their territories and possessed powerful armies. That was why they were known as "kings without crowns."

"Is it okay to tell him this?" asked the pink-haired girl to the young man in white.

"He'll find out eventually" replied the young man. Then, looking at how the brown-haired boy was getting nervous, he added: "We'll be future academy colleagues traveling together, so let's just act that way. Then, you can stop making that face every time you look at us."

Lince nodded twice before releasing another deep sigh. He then shrugged and slumped into his seat, attempting to ease his nerves and relax, which wasn't easily achieved.

Meanwhile, the other occupants of the carriage were waiting for flattering speeches and disguised conversations about themselves, trying to attract the princess's attention for some advantage in this situation. But the boy did none of that. Either he had no greed or he was one of those fools, they thought. Either way, they were grateful for him being that way.

"You said you're heading to Camellia, right?"

The girl who preferred to be called Ran asked, with a curious look in his direction. She was trying to bring up a new topic inside the carriage, which was starting to grow silent again. Lince looked at her before replying:

"Yes. I was on my way there when… well, you found me…"

"Hmm, so you really got lucky… we don't usually pass through that road."

Lince agreed with what she said. Not only because they saved his life, but also because they were heading to the same place. It was indeed a fortunate coincidence, he pondered.

The pink-haired girl continued: "But you don't look anything like an academy student. You don't seem like a noble either… and you're not a mage. Where are you from? By the way, why were you walking alone on that dangerous road?"

"Ran!" said the young man in white, and his voice sounded like a scolding to the girl.

Ran was the most communicative of all. She had no fear of asking questions or acting impertinently. Lince liked her because her presence made the journey less boring. As for her questions, he didn't intend to answer them all. In fact, being found unconscious in the middle of a road wasn't something expected from a noble's son, and he didn't want to pretend to be one.

"I come from the lands of Lord Micaelo Aspriel…" Lince paused to choose his words carefully. After all, now that he knew who they were, he needed to be very cautious in his actions, as he didn't want to be disrespectful or say anything that might insult them. After a while, he finally continued: "But some things happened during my journey… that's why I ended up in the state you found me…

Lince lowered his head to avoid looking at any of them. He had no confidence in what he was saying and was afraid that the young people would distrust his words. He even felt a little anger toward what Rude did to him, but he preferred not to mention being kicked out of the carriage. He intended to keep that a secret from everyone, so as not to cause any trouble for his former friend, let alone Lord Micaelo.

Although the brown-haired boy revealed a smile in the end, it was apathetic and only served to give everyone the impression that he was hiding something. Ran wanted to ask more questions, but she gave up the idea after thinking twice. Showing no further interest in the subject, she only commented with a grimace:

"Ah, the Aspriel family…"

Lince wondered if she had something against Lord's family but didn't dare to ask.

"Don't make that face just because you don't like some of them" said the young man in white. "Unlike the ones you know, Micaelo is very well-liked in the Duke Zaema's lands. He also has a son who studies in Camellia." He looked at Lince and his hair before continuing: "However, it's the first time I've heard of a younger son."

"Oh, you're mistaken... I'm not the lord's son." Lince quickly clarified the misunderstanding. Then, he realized that everyone was looking in his direction at the same time, even the princess. Feeling a bit uncomfortable, he continued: "For some reason, the lord insisted that I attend that academy... that's why I'm going there..."

The three young people continued to stare at Lince, now in an even more indiscreet manner. But they didn't have a chance to say more as the carriage suddenly stopped abruptly, and its interior shook. Then, they heard the frightened neighing of the horses and the coachman's commands.

After a while, the horses calmed down, and the inside of the carriage finally stabilized. However, it was clear that something unexpected had happened outside.

"What was that? Are we being attacked?" The pink-haired girl was the first to ask.

Not only her, but everyone's first thought was that they had fallen into a bandit ambush.

"We're under attack! It's an ambush!" The coachman's voice conveyed a certain desperation.