Episode 36
Antonio and I climbed onto the back of the large hippogriff together. The smaller hippogriff had stayed behind to care for its young.
For now, we decided to return to the shelter. The residents had probably all gone back to their homes, but the Scorpio knights would still be waiting.
“Hold on tight.”
“Okay!”
I grabbed onto his waist with both hands, but he shook his head disapprovingly. What didn’t he like?
“If you’re going to hold on like that, you might as well just hug me.”
“Wha—!”
The hippogriff suddenly leapt upward with powerful legs. With each flap of its wings, it soared higher at an incredible speed. It felt completely different from earlier, when we’d flown carrying the egg—rough and fast.
I had no choice but to cling to Antonio like a turtle clinging to its shell.
As its wings spread wide and sliced through the air, a cool breeze brushed against my face.
“I-I should’ve sat in front.”
“Yeah. Then I’d be the one holding you.”
He said it quietly. It wasn’t even a special line, but for some reason my face grew hot.
Maybe it was because I’d been falling asleep in his arms and receiving kisses every night lately. Even simple remarks now felt intimate.
“To change the subject before this gets awkward… About that summoning stone you mentioned earlier, how exactly does it work?”
I was curious and also wanted to steer the conversation.
“A summoning stone can seal a magical beast inside it. This hippogriff came from the Demon Continent. Someone sealed it there, brought it here, and then released the seal. Simply put, they put the hippogriff into a stone and transported it.”
“Who… who would even do such a thing?”
“I don’t know yet. It’s not an easy task, so it’s likely someone with power.”
His voice darkened.
“I just hope it wasn’t that man.”
I didn’t catch the last part clearly. The sound of the hippogriff’s wings cutting through the air drowned it out.
I looked around, enjoying the breeze. As we left the forest behind, the plains came back into view. Earlier they had been green, but now they were bathed in golden light from the setting sun. It looked as beautiful as Antonio’s golden eyes.
Maybe that’s why my heart was pounding.
If I stayed with him, would we be able to rescue people from magical beasts without spilling blood? Would we be able to resolve conflicts peacefully?
I hadn’t done much yet, but my heart swelled with hope.
Suddenly, I felt the hard summoning stone in Antonio’s front pocket as I clung to him.
“Why would someone just abandon the summoning stone? Isn’t it valuable if it can seal magical beasts?”
“This one’s single-use. Once used, it can’t seal another beast. If we want to send them back to the Demon Continent, we’ll need new ones.”
“We’ll have to buy more summoning stones?”
“Probably four. Two more were born.”
“Oh, that’ll be expensive.”
“Money’s not the issue. What’s annoying is having to go all the way to Saragoth via the northern coast.”
“Yeah, just sailing there and back would take two months.”
There was no way to send the hippogriffs back immediately. We’d probably have to wait until the chicks were old enough to travel.
Soon we would meet the lord of Cassia. I hoped I could clearly explain what had happened today.
The hippogriffs really hadn’t seemed aggressive toward people at all.
“Antonio, can I ask you one more thing?”
“As many as you want.”
“Those merchants earlier… they said they were going to sell the hippogriff egg in a secret auction. I heard only nobles or the extremely wealthy can join those. Is it really that rare?”
“Hippogriff eggs are rare even on the Demon Continent. The process is difficult, but if raised from a young age, they can be trained to carry riders.”
“I see…”
“Royalty in Saragoth use them instead of horses. They’re intelligent creatures—you can train them to understand commands. It’s also safer than trying to ride a fire-breathing wyvern or a violent dragon.”
“…Makes sense.”
Hearing that, I understood why the egg would be sold in a secret auction. Flying freely like this and looking down at the grand scenery from above—someone might pay a fortune for that.
People must have risked their lives to steal that egg once they learned its value.
“You didn’t even need to tame the hippogriff to ride it. You could communicate with it perfectly. Maybe… maybe you can talk to any creature with a bird’s head.”
“Bird head? Seriously…”
Antonio really had a blunt way of speaking. I’d heard the magic tower was all about intense competition—maybe he was raised in that harsh environment.
To be honest, for a prince, he lacked refinement. I was a little worried if he could properly show courtesy to Lady Theodora, who acted on behalf of the duke of Cassia.
[Get off.]
Once we arrived, the hippogriff urged us to get down.
It didn’t even wait for a farewell and hurried off. Probably couldn’t wait to get back to its adorable chicks.
“You’re here!”
The Scorpio knights who’d been waiting near the destroyed warehouse welcomed us warmly.
There was also a middle-aged man I didn’t recognize. From his glossy navy coat and the emblem on his left chest, he looked like a high-ranking official from Castle Cassia.
“Greetings, Your Highness. I’m Viscount Ramon Videl, here on behalf of Lady Theodora. A dinner has been prepared in your honor—please come with me.”
A viscount… likely a vassal of the ducal house. He guided us toward the main street near the marketplace, where a line of carriages from the castle was waiting.
“Being treated like royalty never gets old! Hehe! I’m curious what a proper imperial banquet is like!”
Kallen rubbed his belly as he spoke.
“Not a drop of blood spilled, and the mission ended cleanly. It’s all thanks to you, Princess—no, Lady Josephine.”
Bartol, who had helped evacuate the townspeople with me, bowed his head.
Not sure how to respond, I just smiled quietly. Then Nathan chimed in.
“Why didn’t you say earlier that you could talk to magical beasts?”
“I didn’t know. Today was the first time I’d ever seen one.”
“I’ve never seen a hippogriff let someone ride it unless they’re its master. How exactly did you win it over?”
“I didn’t. I just gave it the egg it was looking for and promised to protect the nest. What happened to those merchants?”
“Oh, the egg thieves? Officials from the castle took them into custody.”
I let out a sigh of relief. They had endangered the entire territory and deserved to be punished.
Following Viscount Ramon’s lead, Antonio and I got into the front carriage. He sat across from us.
“Ah, but the two of you… are you going like that?”
The viscount looked us up and down, clearly displeased.
We both glanced down at the same time.
From shoulders to feet, we were covered in hippogriff feathers and baby fluff.
We had rushed to fly back and hadn’t considered how we looked.
“Haha, don’t worry. A bath and fresh clothes await you.”
Upon arrival at the castle, servants led us to separate rooms. A warm bath had already been drawn. I washed with a mugwort-scented soap and changed into the cleanest outfit I had packed.
It was a plain, undecorated dress, but I was glad I had brought it.
Then I waited for Antonio in the lobby.
I heard footsteps approaching and quickly turned around.
…It was Antonio. Wearing just riding pants and a loose shirt—just like when we first met, floating in the middle of the lake.
“Are you really going dressed like that?”
“Is there a problem?”
He looked genuinely confused.
“You need a jacket. And wear a cravat.”
“This isn’t the imperial palace. Why bother?”
“We’re going to a formal reception. The lord of Cassia is welcoming and officially thanking you. You should show some decorum.”
“We’re the ones who resolved the problem. They should be the ones showing us respect.”
Antonio clearly hated formality. For someone born royal, he had almost no sense of superiority.
Still, I wanted him to leave a good impression on the nobles.
“Both sides need to show respect.”
“Ah, I forgot. You do like old-fashioned stuff.”
He frowned, clearly annoyed, but I pressed on.
“You’re the face of your knight order. Represent your knights properly. And besides… this is a matchmaking dinner.”
“Matchmaking? Where did that come from?”
Antonio looked truly baffled.
But I remembered. The emperor had clearly said: “Get to know Lady Theodora of Cassia.”
I quickly dragged Antonio back into his room. Luckily, his bags were unpacked and several pieces of clothing lay about. I found a jacket that looked like something a knight might wear.
“Wear this. Do you have a cravat?”
“I don’t carry things like that.”
Sigh. I exhaled deeply and fetched a white scarf from my room. I had packed it to wear on cool summer nights.
Antonio just stood there holding the jacket, unsure.
I stepped up to him and wrapped the scarf around his neck, carefully tying it.
“This’ll pass for a cravat.”
As I looked up at him, he suddenly grabbed my wrist.
“I’ve never thought of this as a matchmaking event. Don’t fool yourself.”
