Chapter 140: Chapter 140 Don’t come to the Raney Forest (5)

Schroder, who had been so anxious after she went missing, joined the search shortly after he was briefed that their search efforts didn’t succeed. It was around dawn when he joined them. The emperor let him continue the search efforts.

“We searched the whole forest for you. Since you were hiding in a place like this, how could we find you easily?” Lard said, looking up at the entrance to the cave.

“I know you’re not blaming me… You finally found us!”

“… I will never let you go again. I won’t lose you or have you taken away.”

“Well, can you search for me if I go into hiding on purpose? You realize how difficult it was today. ”

She responded mischievously when he vowed seriously.

After he got on the horse, he hugged her with both arms, as if he would never lose her. All the accompanying knights of the Schroder family cast a glance at him dubiously.

“Even if my whole body is scratched by thorny grass, even if I have to jump off the edge of a cliff, or fly on a single spore, I will surely find you when you get lost. ”

She smiled bashfully at that. Her old memories warmly came to her mind like the rising sun.

“It’s not just any spore. It’s a dandelion spore growing only in the Wesraya region… If you wish, I’ll give you one more chance to fly in the air on dandelion spores,” she said jokingly to cheer him up. Only then did he ease his hardened expression and smile. He thought that if she wanted, he would fly on the dandelion spores anytime.

They quickly rode out of the woods. It was a good thing that they didn’t encounter Duke Engre’s soldiers along the way, but even if they did, they were ready to fight. However, he felt it was good not to waste any time fighting with the chasers because Wendy and the two knights spent the night in the woods.

When she soaked her feet in the hot tub, Wendy felt a tingling feeling in her body. She wiggled her toes and soaked them into the water. Hot steam wrapped around her body warmly, and she quickly felt tired.

Knock, knock!

While she was feeling drowsy, she was surprised by the knocking sound in the spacious bathroom, so she hid herself a little deeper into the bathtub. The sloshing water hit the tip of her chin.

“I’m coming in,” the imperial maid, who asked for her permission with a pleasant voice, entered the bathroom. She put comfortable pajamas woven from Amasa on a marble table. “Please tell me if there is anything lacking. I will be waiting outside,” she said, stepping back.

Earlier, she refused the maids’ offer to help, so she raised her upper body only after the door was closed.

Even when she was living in the Hazlet’s family as a nominal daughter, she had never been served by the maids when she took a bath. So, the situation was more strange and awkward to her. Besides, she was a commoner now. How ridiculous it is that a commoner woman is served by an imperial maid!

When the water cooled, she got out of the bathtub and went out wearing the pajamas the maid left behind. Thanks to the rose oil mixed with the bath water, her body smelled good even after she wiped it all off.

Even though it was sunny outside, the imperial room where she stayed was moderately dark.

They created an environment in which she could sleep comfortably through the day.

She climbed into the spacious bed and lay down. It was a cozy bed that could not be compared to her bedroom. It wasn’t easy for a vigilant woman like her to spend overnight outside her house, but she felt comfortable enough when she thought that Lard was somewhere in the Imperial Palace. Above all, she found it hard to overcome the fatigue that filled her whole body.

Her eyes closed quickly while she was looking at the carefully carved patterns on the ceiling. She soon fell asleep deeply.

How much time passed? She felt something warm touching her forehead. She was trying to open her eyes a bit, but only her heavy eyelashes trembled and she fell asleep again. His sweet and affectionate hands touched her neat eyebrows and disappeared.

After that, she had a dream. It was a dream in which she spent endless time at the base of a silver poplar that was so large that she could not reach the branches even if she held her hands out.

She touched the grain of the wood, put her cheeks and forehead on it. When she touched the hard grain, it was soft and warm.

‘Man, trees have warmth!’

She was surprised by the warmth of the tree, something she could not understand it rationally at all, and touched it here and there. The leaves of the grass waved in the wind, and the clouds floated away, but she didn’t feel lonely at all. Even if she sat alone under a tree, she didn’t feel lonely.

There was nothing like emptiness or loneliness that broke her heart.

So far, her solitude could only make her whole, but now she experienced some awkward feelings of loneliness.

The sun was setting in the distance. The desolate sunset quickly disappeared, leaving only a fragment of light on her forehead. A dark night came, but she was still neither lonely nor scared because she knew when the light faded it would come back. She knew well that the night would never last.

She touched the bark of the tree again, feeling more relaxed and peaceful.

She slightly opened her eyes, searching for light. She got up, looking at the white light faintly beaming through the curtains.

How long had she slept? She felt thirsty, so she hurriedly poured some water into a cup at the bedside and gulped it down.

She got out of the bed and stood on the floor, revealing her calf that seemed to have become thinner overnight. She put on fluffy slippers, and walked to the window with faltering steps.

As she opened the curtains, dazzling light poured into the room. She turned her head away from the dazzling light. Shortly afterwards a maid, who noticed she woke up, came in and told her that she would bring a meal.

“How long did I sleep?”

“You slept all day long.”

Wendy assumed she had several hours of sleep, so she was stunned at the maid’s unexpected reply. Hearing that she had slept for a whole day, she suddenly felt hungry.

Sir Dowain visited her room, as if on cue, when she finished her meal and put on the prepared dress.

“Miss Wendy.” Thanks to the healing effects of the Bajazman fruits, he was holding his broken arm lightly with only a bandage. The two inquired after each other briefly and chuckled awkwardly. They felt their tense moments at the Raney Forest was like a dream.

“… Is Sir Schroder working at the office now? “She asked, drinking water.

She continuously felt thirsty perhaps because she slept all day long.

“He is at the gate of Aluso right now.”

He was referring to one of the gateways to the capital, the Aluso gate.

When she heard that, she put down the half-empty cup with a gloomy face.

“… It looks like they arrived at the capital.”

The uprising peasants were already camping outside the capital. Although the central government stopped them from coming into the capital by blocking all the gateways to it, it was only a short term solution. No appeasement or intimidation could allay the agitated peasants. The closed gateways rather stirred up their anger. It looked as if they were ready to storm the gates in armed revolt.

“The situation is worse than we think. Commoners in the capital are also agitated.”

“I think their pent-up dissatisfaction and frustration erupted into this kind of uprising… But the timing of their uprising is very strange. Wouldn’t it be too naive to think that Duke Engre is not related to their uprising?”

“I felt he must have been deeply involved in it. But the thing is that the Montrapi prompted their uprising from the beginning. So, we’re at a loss how to deal with them.”

The Montrapi blight and damages by insects caused more repercussions than any other event. Montrapi bread was the main food of the Bennyahan empire, and the farmers who cultivated the crops accounted for over 60% of the total farmers. The central government discussed measures like compensation and tax cuts for the affected farmers, but it could not offer any practical alternatives because of the extreme opposition by the Duke Engre faction.

They obstructed the government’s swift measures by offering vague measures that did not directly help the affected farmers.

When the two were seriously talking about it, a messenger sent by the emperor came to Wendy, telling her the emperor wanted to meet her.