Chapter 15

"Now, let's wait quietly and calmly until Amelia returns with her little sister. I don't feel like talking anymore for now."

No one responded to those words as Arisella lay back and closed her eyes with another sigh.

♦♦♦♦

After various matters were settled and she chatted with her tearful father who had just arrived a few minutes ago, Amelia and her sisters headed to the village gate, where not only the [Farmers] of the Farm were gathered, but also the villagers they had already visited after the lizard fiasco, who were all admiringly looking at their prophetess's carriage.

Emma could understand the reason.

The carriage itself was not something you could call normal, as it was a large, highly ornate carriage.

The carriage frame was painted pure blue with a metallic sheen, its sides and door were adorned with gold and silver decorations in a pattern of beautiful tulips that bloomed beautifully.

The window was covered with crystal-clear glass, where a curtain of blue velvet-like fabric could be seen... Or was it velvet? The Bluen crest, which many had worked hard to design for their mistress's future family, could be seen on the side carriage, as well as the flags fluttering from the top of the carriage.

This carriage was also pulled by four equine animals that were similar in appearance to those of a horse in a two-pair configuration.

That similarity was merely superficial, as they had beautiful gray coats and manes, sharp eyes that denoted strength like scarlet, and dark hooves covered in shining metal.

Furthermore, they were much taller and larger than even the thoroughbred horse used by the Silver Lion Caravan guards that she had once been lucky enough to look upon alongside her father, giving them a more gallant appearance.

To put it simply, it was an extravagant carriage worthy of a royal, at least Emma imagined it to be. One could only wonder how much this carriage cost in thousands of gold coins.

In her shared amazement with Natha, who stared at the carriage with her eyes and mouth open, Amelia could only smile as she dragged them towards the carriage.

I hope my wife doesn't mind.

He thought, about to play.

♦♦♦♦

A soft knock on the door was heard from outside the carriage in the brief silence that followed Arisella's decision to end her relationship with John. Wanting to escape the tense atmosphere, Arisella quickly opened the blue velvet curtains, seeing that the one responsible for the sound was Amelia...along with her two sisters.

“Emma?” Remembering the name of the girl with the same hair color as Natha and her mother, Arisella unconsciously blurted out as she looked at them with open eyes. In response, Amelia just smiled wryly as she answered.

"I'm sorry, my lady, but Emma refused to leave Natha's side after the recent events in which both of their lives were in danger. Even though my mother and I insisted that you only wanted to take Natha..."

“I understand,” the prophetess quickly stopped her from continuing her apology as she smiled in Emma’s direction, “I’m not surprised you don’t want to be separated from your little sister after that incident with that Giant Hard Rock Lizard, so I’m fine with you joining us. There’s enough space for everyone here.”

Hearing those words, Emma's face flushed. Although what Amelia said wasn't a complete lie, it wasn't the whole truth either.

For Emma herself also wanted to accompany her prophetess to Bluen's mansion, which was famous for having been built by almost all the strong men of the village together with architects from the Silver Lion caravan.

Visiting the noble house of the woman who had such a grace with the wind spirits was something he wanted to do at all costs and, when it came down to it, his concern for Natha served as an excuse.

I couldn't help but feel a little ashamed at his selfishness, but I still wanted to go.

As for what the prophetess said about having enough space for everyone, it was absolutely true. There were three pairs of expensive-looking, comfortable cushions, and with their number, there was no problem with space.

“If you’ll excuse me”

The maid had long since removed her strange maid robes designed for combat and had put on her normal uniform again, leading Natha and Emma by the hand. The girl's smile was particularly bright, causing Arisella's heart to calm as she opened the door.

“By the way, My Lady…What’s going on?”

That was the first thing Amelia asked after helping her sisters into the carriage, noticing the looks on John and Alica's faces. She couldn't understand why the kind and cheerful redheaded cleric had a look of concern and anxiety, while the latter seemed rather somber.

Well, the id didn't care about that pathetic excuse for his mistress's lover, to be honest. He was just curious about what was going on with Alica.

The prophetess only smiled bitterly in response and Amelia didn't ask any more questions seeing that it wasn't a matter she wanted to talk about, but (reluctantly wondering why her sisters wanted to be by Arisella's side) sat next to a depressed John with a blank expression (And enough distance as possible) while Arisella picked up Natha and placed her on her lap with an expression that some might say seemed almost maternal.

Of course, the others had yet to notice that as they were caught up in their own thoughts.

♦♦♦♦

“Wow sisters, look at the view!” (Natha)

“Wow, it all happened so fast!” (Emma)

Natha and Emma were excited to see the village scenery passing outside the carriage window while enjoying the soft blue cushions. This was their first time riding in such an elegant carriage, and both sisters were thrilled with the experience.

It was also the first time they observed the world at the fairly rapid speed at which the carriage traveled.

“Thanks for taking us with you!” (Emma)

“That’s right, Lady Bluen! We never thought we’d be riding in such a beautiful carriage!” (Natha)

“Yes! Like a princess or a noble lady from a fairy tale!” (Emma)

Emma and Natha might be expressing their gratitude, but knowing full well that the reason for this trip to their mansion was solely to increase their chances of survival in this novel world, she felt a little guilty.

Especially since, honestly, Emma Runei was just an extra in this...

No, no...that's being too degrading....

"Although I must say, this carriage surprised me."

The sudden comment from Emma brought Arisella out of her complicated thoughts.

“Why?” I ask, making her a little nervous with the sudden question before Amelia can answer for her.

“It must be because the car isn’t moving at all” (Amelia)

“Is this anything particularly unusual?”

Hearing Arisella's question, filled with genuine curiosity, everyone stared at her speechlessly. Originally, she was an orphan living in the church. How could she not know from experience how the carriage general felt?

The answer: Arisella never used them because she could move on her own two feet at great speed using magic. And although she used a carriage that wasn't hers to return to the mansion today, its quality also surpassed those of other villages, even though she thought it was "cheap."

Their ignorance was inevitable. Truly, this town was the odd one out.

“...You may not be familiar with the use of common carriages, Lady Bluen, but long ago I traveled by common carriage with our father on numerous occasions. The carriage my family members used shakes terribly whenever it encounters stones or potholes in the road. But I hardly feel any shaking in this carriage....”

When she thought about it, Arisella immediately agreed with Emma's words.

Emma's father might be nothing more than a farmer by the standards of the Terra Empire, but he was still a member of an influential and wealthy family within the Taylan people, so he owned a carriage that would not be an embarrassment to a Baron if Arisella remembered correctly...although it was now destroyed.

Wait, what about the carriage that brought me to the mansion? There's no way some random driver's carriage could be more luxurious than a Rich Farmer's, right?

"The difference is like heaven and earth"

"..."(with Arisella)

Emma smiled bitterly as Arisella, her thoughts interrupted, looked away.

During the trip, Emma began to talk about how in the past, she and Amelia were taken by their parents to the Taylanes de Mabiar tradition, a party to introduce their children to important members of the village.

Emma remembered how much she hated the dreadful journey, with its horrible rocking and jerking that felt like milk in a can, being shaken to make cheese. Despite that, her father had already fitted the recently destroyed carriage with the latest magical enchantments Alchemist Lucelle had personally designed, and installed a type of chain suspension.

But this Bluen carriage was very comfortable, barely shaking even though it was traveling at a speed greater than any ordinary carriage and on the uneven dirt road of this region full of potholes and stones.

What was the secret?

It was as if the construction of this carriage employed a technique, experience, and skill superior to the carriage available to people like her father, which, as far as she knew, was how most of the relatively expensive carriages in the Empire were built.

Putting aside her feelings of strangeness at hearing another such casual and natural Chinese phrase from the red-haired girl's mouth, Arisella couldn't help but question the carriage matter in silence for a moment.

He certainly had an excessively luxurious carriage, something she'd treated as the most normal thing in the world even after regaining her memories as Amael Parker. But now, having been made aware of the strangeness of it, Arisella couldn't help but wonder why it was that way.

Arisella extended her spiritual senses and briefly sensed the magical enchantments as the others stared at her in confusion at her sudden silence. Unaware of this, the Prophetess carefully analyzed each of the magical enchantments installed on the carriage, drawing on her knowledge of both magic and Author to identify their properties, and took a deep breath.

These are…. high level magic enchantments that only mages of a very high rank could craft!

He couldn't help but be surprised by this discovery. It was simply too unexpected. Or rather, it should have been impossible.

In this carriage in which they travel so peacefully, there were magical enchantments that combined had the power to force the stability of the interior space as opposed to the exterior.

In other words, literally everyone was shaking wildly right now, in the most unpleasant way possible without tipping them over, but they felt like they were stuck in place because the magic was distorting reality inside to make it possible. (And honestly, it was something they should have been aware of, seeing how the outside was shaking like a high-quality image from a camera held by a child…)

Not only that, there were also complex charms that worked together to prevent any discomfort caused by traveling in carriages or any excessive speed employed.

There were even magical enchantments with the ability to convert vibrations, light, and kinetic energy from impacts into extra mana to be stored in what he assumed were mana batteries within the carriage at an extremely low conversion cost.

Making this carriage a semi-perpetual motion vehicle in terms of energy, as long as there is no excess magical energy that its magic circuits could not withstand during production!

Although each of these enchantments seemed simple in function compared to those enchantments that could make a room as large as a coliseum, it was obvious that they weren't something you could dismiss as average.

Not only were they extremely complex to make, but some of them required a deep understanding of physics and biology to design them for their respective purposes. Furthermore, the materials used to make these enchantments were obviously very expensive; though I knew the newest ones were made of Tetran silk, which was very cheap even for an ordinary villager (Lol).

Many of those materials couldn't even be obtained with money alone! Connections, influence, and a certain status were required to get one's hands on these things, plus masters capable of creating enchantments of this kind were rare and far between, let alone hiring them for large sums of money. Some were eccentric types who asked absurd amounts for their services, even from dukes or the Emperor himself!

At least, that's how Arisella set it up for her novel. You certainly can't blame her for being shocked at that absurdity, can you?

How the hell did the Lion Caravan... no, Uncle Ershas, ​​get all this? Even if the Silver Lions have a lot of influence in the empire right now, they still shouldn't be so powerful as to get all these extremely expensive or downright impossible-to-own things and give them away for free to a country bumpkin like me...

Also…this thing was built 5 years ago!

Well…if what I remember from the conversation with Lucelle a month ago was correct…anyway, at that time the Caravan was still accumulating power and wealth, as I configured in the novel….

So what's this? How is it that I have a carriage that only the highest class of nobles would own, and I use it with such fanfare without any prior knowledge of its priceless value?

First of all, how come I didn't care about this before? Or rather, even the horses that carry this thing were too noble for village horses. Wow...

She was understandably confused by all this. She didn't know why, but something strange was happening in this village...which, honestly, was already very strange to begin with, but that's beside the point.

“H-hmm… Lady Bluen… Did I offend you in any way with my words?” Emma’s nervous voice brought her out of those thoughts. The 16-year-old looked at her with eyes that seemed like they were about to cry, as if she was afraid she had put her in a bad mood, while Amelia looked at her in silent reproach.

She quickly denied it.

“Oh no, it’s nothing. I was just thinking about something.”

"But…"

“Calm down. I assure you that you didn’t offend me in any way.” He even stroked her head reassuringly with a smile. Blushing, Emma smiled back.

“Lady Bluen, stroke my head too!”

“Natha!” Amelia scolded her, but the prophetess only told her to calm down with an “It’s okay” while also affectionately caressing little Natha, finding her adorable.

However, he couldn't help but think about the matter again.

The Arisella from before had never considered it carefully or even thought about it, but even if they were currently so rich that they could afford to live in luxuries that a normal villager would never enjoy, where would the Silver Lion Caravan really get the resources to build such a carriage without attracting suspicion due to the flow of goods, and why would her uncle really waste money on this?

It should be known that rings with a subspace are very rare compared to carriages with magically extended interiors (Hard to believe because a certain maiden has one) and a huge group of people could not have more than two individuals with such a magical artifact in their hands.

It was doubtful that under those circumstances, they could afford to conceal that they were carrying the high-quality materials needed to build such a carriage without needlessly crossing terrain filled with dangerous magical beasts while being forced to camp there.

Even with powerful guards, they would suffer losses that could be avoided otherwise, which would obviously lead them to go through territories controlled by the nobles to avoid it, and since their goods would be inspected by law, they would definitely attract unnecessary attention from the aristocrats for the ultra-rare materials they carried.

No... the mere construction of Bluen Mansion is also questionable in the first place. Even if everyone wanted me to come with a beautiful estate, my mansion is too luxurious for the standards of a village like Taylan....

If Arisella had to compare her mansion to anything, it would be the residence of a wealthy and influential noble, perhaps even a Marquis. That was definitely strange, and she had only just realized it.

Why didn't I think of this before? Why did I assume it's natural for me to have such a luxurious mansion?

Even after leaving a restless cleric and a depressed hunter at the village church as she said she would, the prophetess continued to silently ponder this sudden mystery to herself as she chatted and played with the two girls.

One thing that intrigued her was that she felt comfortable holding Natha in her arms, as if it were something natural, despite Emma and Amelia's concerns. The little redhead was adorable, and her excitement about the journey was so endearing that Arisella and Alica were all smiles with the little girl as the carriage finally headed toward the Mansion.

"The clouds are passing so fast right now, it's incredible!"

"That's because we're going fast."

"That's a pink wolf, right!? They're cute!"

"That's not a wolf, it's a Parrian...but don't go near them, they bite too."

"Lady Bluen's breasts are so big and plump!"

"Natha!" (Emma and Amelia)

The girl pointed out interesting things she saw with enthusiasm and her joy warmed the prophetess's heart.

But even in the midst of that, he kept thinking about the mystery of his carriage and mansion that still lingered in the corner of his mind.

♦♦♦♦

The gates of the Bluen estate opened automatically at the arrival of Arisella's carriage, which entered the building quite slowly; a far cry from the speed it had been moving before.

Getting out of the carriage with the help of the coachman, Arisella looked closely at her mansion for a few seconds as she walked a little forward to allow her companions to get off unhindered.

Looking at this beautiful building calmly, she sighed to herself.

It's amazing that I haven't thought about how strange it is to have a luxurious Taj lifestyle until now!

"Welcome back, Lady Bluen." Leonora quickly approached her mistress at some point and bowed with a gentle smile. Snapping out of those currently useless thoughts, Arisella smiled as well and responded accordingly, "I'm back, Leonora."

“If I may ask, do they…?”

Leonora looked at the two girls being gently helped out of the carriage by Arisella's personal maid, Amelia. She seemed confused by the presence of these girls, who were clearly ordinary commoners.

"Oh, these girls are more like Amelia's sisters. After a certain incident at the Runei farm, I decided they'd come and tour the mansion for a while."

“I see…” It was obvious that Leonora wasn’t comfortable with the idea of ​​bringing little girls to her mistress’s mansion. However, the one who made the decisions, after all, was Arisella, and anyone could see the somewhat affectionate look Arisella gave the youngest girl, Natha, openly expressing her amazement and enthusiasm for the beautiful blue mansion.

“Wow, it’s like a fairy tale castle!”

“Yes, it’s my castle,” Arisella said with a smile as, to everyone’s surprise, including the gardeners, she casually took Natha in her arms. Natha was also confused, but a big smile quickly spread across her face.

“Lasy Bluen!?” Emma exclaimed in panic.

“Hmm? What’s up?”

“W-why are you carrying Natha?”

“Oh…” Belatedly realizing her actions, Arisella considered for a moment…before giving up and shrugging, “Just because I wanted to, I guess?”

"And!?"

Emma exclaimed without thinking and covered her mouth, while the others looked at me completely confused.

I'm really behaving differently from my previous life… Arisella realized.

If he were the old Amael Parker, he wouldn't have so casually picked up a girl he barely knew for fear of being treated like a pervert, or something similar. He also wouldn't be able to talk as easily as the others, since, even with his father, he was the kind of person who was more sociable behind a screen than in person.

He also never thought that there would come a day when he would bravely face a giant magical beast, with or without magic, so it could be seen that although they technically have the same soul, the will was different.

She was Arisella Bluen, while Amael Parker was dead. That's a fact. Now, if only that remnant of that man's ego would disappear, everything would be perfect. Right now, Arisella sincerely hoped that the full recovery of her memory would help with that.

With these thoughts in mind, the Prophetess carried little Natha in her arms with a radiant smile into the mansion while the servants looked at each other in uncertainty about their mistress's behavior.

They had never heard that he had a big weakness for children…