The Final Journey

I wake with a start to the sound of a horse’s whinny.

Though the time from the Imperial Palace to the city was brief, I must have fallen asleep.

Though it happened only moments ago, I dreamt of something profoundly nostalgic.

Alone in the carriage, I press my hands against my chest, as if wrapped in warmth and tight embrace.

Gently… no, tightly—like the way Your Highness once held me—I clench my own body, repeating the words, “It will be all right,” as if in a spell…

No matter how sacred the duty, fear cannot be absent…

Loneliness cannot be denied…

I wanted to be followed by my family—by the family who loved me, by the family I loved—just once more…

I wanted to be held, to be told, “Go now, safely,” one final time…

The thought of understanding that it would never come to pass—this realization was what frightened me most.

Yet there is no time left.

I look down at the letter I hold against my chest.

I acknowledged it while waiting in audience at the Imperial Palace.

Inside, it is a farewell message, written once more.

At first, I actually believed I would be noticed.

I had thought you would stop me upon realizing I wished to become the Virgin of the Barrier.

I intended to express my resolve alongside gratitude, persuade them, and bid farewell…

And I had thought, without doubt, that they would surely regret parting from me then.

Thus, she left the manor without leaving any written message behind.

But what a wretched reality lies revealed upon opening the lid…

As she drifted in thought, the carriage gradually slowed its pace and finally came to a halt with a soft creak.

Before a large, tall stone building situated at the heart of commerce in the imperial capital.

I realized we had reached our destination and draped the coat lying beside me over my shoulders.

"Miss, we have arrived."

A royal servant approaches and opens the door for her.

Wrapped entirely in a plain-colored cloak, the hood pulled low over my face, no one would recognize me at a glance.

I stepped down from the carriage, careful to keep the white dress hidden from view.

I offered my thanks to the servant, repeating them with sincere gratitude.

As I prepared to depart, the young servant bowed deeply and said, "Please, do your utmost for our empire."

The place I had now arrived at was the central headquarters of the guilds throughout the realm.

Nearly every guild—adventurers, commerce, industry, fashion, textiles, producers, transportation, magic—was gathered within this single building.

Upon entering the entrance hall, I glanced around briefly.

Though it was deep in the night, adventurers moved about in great numbers, likely due to the security arrangements for the Foundation Festival.

In the midst of this, I collided with a single child.

"Where are you looking, anyway! I—me, I've been hurt! Compensation! Give me something!"

She reaches out, but a female adventurer behind her strikes her sharply on the head with a fist, saying, “You brat! How dare you push someone and then speak like that?”

Taken aback, overhearing the conversation, I learned this child had only recently come to the city from the countryside, seeking work.

My dear, it’s late, and you’ve come in haste—forgive me, which guild is it you seek?

Thank you for your concern. I have made reservations at the designated guild, so I shall be fine. Rather, what will become of this child from here on?

Looking at the child, still carrying the innocence of youth.

The female adventurer spoke after a brief pause, saying, yes...

If she’s going to keep being made to do such things here, she’ll have to join some guild and earn her own way, or be taken in by an orphanage… But will she be old enough to be hired? No patron, no letter of introduction to speak of either.

Likely she was taken in by no guild, lost hope, and targeted you because you seemed easy prey.

She might die on the streets of the slums, like this…」

“Yes…”

I felt pity for the child who met only scornful glances from all around, projecting myself onto her despite the vast difference between us—she who had known hardship, I who had lived without want.

Her loneliness, her fear—these stirred within me as if they were my own.

When our eyes met, I asked her:

“Your name? What is your name?”

Her eyes widened. Her mouth opened and closed, uncertain. A gentle smile eased her confusion slightly.

“…Luka…”

“Yes. Luka. And your family? Where are you from?”

“From Noma Village… My father and mother are gone… I lived with my grandmother, but she fell ill, and I couldn’t afford medicine… She told me to find work in the city…”

She lowered her head.

How pitiful… so young, yet burdened with such hardship…

“Luka, is it? Shall I call you that? The village, Nomu, was indeed on the western edge of the Passiv nobleman’s domain. Can you assist with household tasks?”

Perhaps because I had guessed her gender and the name of her village, or perhaps simply startled by the sudden question, she blinked again in surprise.

“Don’t mock me! I can wash dishes, do laundry, even scrub potatoes—properly!”

“How admirable. I cannot do any of those things. If you are capable of such work, might you do me one small favor?”

I reached into my chest and withdrew a letter.

“I need you to deliver this to a certain manor.”

The very house I had been staring at in the carriage just moments before.

I had originally intended to entrust it to a transport guild, but now I wished to give it to her instead.

It was as good as unwritten, in any case. Losing it now would make little difference. If it had reached the manor safely, that would be sufficient, I thought.

“Not free work, you know!”

Lucas snatched the letter from my hands and held up an empty palm toward me.

“Of course. How about this? This is the first necklace I ever designed.”

I took the pendant from the leather pouch at my waist and placed it around her neck.

It was the twin-winged pearl necklace I had designed in my childhood and had once commissioned to be made.

She looked between the unfamiliar piece of jewelry and me, back and forth.

“This is your reward for accepting it. And then, a letter of introduction, with my gratitude.”

I took a sheet of paper from the nearby desk and swiftly completed the document.

One document stated clearly that the necklace had been transferred from me to Luca and was not stolen, including the design concept and the workshop where it was crafted as proof.

On another sheet, I wrote a letter of introduction, nominally in my name, requesting that this child be hired, and prepared two copies for good measure.

“You really are too kind-hearted, aren’t you? Are you sure it’s wise to do such a thing for a stranger? She seems to be a well-bred young lady, from the look of her.”

The adventurer’s sister, who had just stopped Luca, said with a mixture of disbelief and concern directed at me.

“It is acceptable. This, too, is a matter of fate. If you would, might I ask you to sign these documents? I would be grateful if you would serve as witness to my transfer of the necklace to her.”

Spica laughs heartily, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes. “You’re a fool, truly the most trusting soul I’ve ever met! Very well! I’ll witness this transfer of the necklace myself. And I’ll see to the child’s errand to the very end,” she says, signing the documents.

I think it’s perhaps you, Mistress Bannessa, who is the truly kind-hearted one—no reward offered at all.

I asked Luca to deliver a letter to Alyssa, the lady-in-waiting of the Earl of Emmental.

And I instructed him to convey, as a message, that the letter should be placed upon the desk in the chamber last used by the Earl’s youngest daughter.

After the letter had been delivered, I instructed Luca to give the introduction letter to Yaya in the kitchen, and then I parted ways with the two.

This is the final act of kindness I shall perform in this life.

A faint lightness settles in my heart as I turn my steps toward the Mage’s Guild.

Spica would never know, but the letter reached Alyssa safely, and as she had wished, it was placed upon the desk.

Lucas was also hired to work in the kitchen.

And after Lucas’s passing, the necklace she had worn became the only proven relic among the sacred treasures of the great saint, presented to the imperial treasury and immortalized in history.

Named by the emperor, this necklace would be passed down through the ages as the Tear of the Mermaid with Twin Wings.

Of course, this was a tale unknown to Spica.

In the Mage’s Guild, several robed figures awaited me.

Having completed the registration, I placed the small pouch containing gold coins and a Sacred Stone upon the counter.

This is the department specializing in long-distance teleportation within the empire’s wards.

I had experienced short-distance teleportation on several occasions, but this was my first time undergoing long-distance travel.

From here, one can leap directly to the guild located in a city within the empire’s protective barrier.

Yet the cost was exorbitant—equivalent to the price of three gowns I had previously commissioned.

The Sacred Stone had been wrapped, as always, in the gifts received from my elder brothers.

She knew she could serve for a long time if she had it… yet she could not bring herself to use it.

Recalling what Cain Elder had previously told me—that if it were a magic guild, the Sacred Stone could be used as payment—I tried it. In the end, the Sacred Stones were all reclaimed, and a portion of the gold coins was returned to me.

The Sacred Stone appears to hold greater value for the Magic Guild.

Would it be understood if I said the sum is enough for a commoner of the capital to live comfortably for two years…? Even so, I chose to depart swiftly for Emmental, despite the vast sum required.

Local lords and their successors, proxies—they might be somewhat more affordable, but I am currently without noble status, merely an ordinary commoner.

She is nothing more than a young girl, barely come of age.

I had worried, as one might, why such a mere girl would be questioned—but the magicians made no further inquiry, simply proceeding with the preparations.

Since I had made prior arrangements, the preparations concluded swiftly, and I was guided onto the magical circle.

Before I could dwell on the sentiment of parting from the capital city, where I had lived for eighteen years, I stepped toward the center of the阵.

“Then we shall activate the transfer array. I’ve heard you’re a first-timer, so it would be best to sit on the floor. Quite a few people get dizzy and fall over.”

Following the instruction, I knelt upon the ground as one does in prayer at the church.

“That’s right—just like that. You’ll arrive at your destination in ten seconds! Safe journey!”

The magician’s unusually bright voice echoed through the chamber, and then I was enveloped in a faint light, like the one I had once seen in a church.

After a fleeting sensation of floating, I felt the solid ground once more beneath my feet.

The light converged, and I realized the air had changed, as though from moments before.

A familiar scent drifted through the space—like memories long buried.

I understood then: I had returned to Emmental.

With the help of figures in robes of a different hue than those I had expected, I rose and stepped from the chamber, where faces I recognized all too well awaited me.

It was midnight, yet my grandfather and grandmother stood together, greeting me.

“I have returned, former Lord and Lady of Emmental.”

As I began to bow, my grandmother shook her head.

Had I erred again… doubt crept in.

She smiled, arms opening wide.

“You may call us Grandfather and Grandmother. Welcome home, my dear granddaughter.”

And with a smile on the verge of tears, she moved her arms once more, as if saying, “Come here.”

I was startled by her words and gesture… yet deeply happy… warm, so warm, that tears welled up.

“Yes… yes, I’m home, Grandfather, Grandmother!”

Without hesitation, I ran straight into their embrace and fell into their arms.

They gently held me, as if to steady me.

My brief final journey ended quietly, yet tenderly.

Home, at last, my homeland—

and my final resting place.