It was quiet in the carriage. Neither Minister Schoppe nor the queen said anything. Meia was tense. As she had just heard from Violet, it was probably more dangerous than she had assumed. Violet had also sounded so serious, very different from when she had spoken to her. She had said that it was just a merchant, but that seemed to be just an assumption. Meia wasn't the only one who was worried. Minister Schoppe was evidently tense too. He gripped the armrest tightly, as if he were afraid.

Meia remembered the attack on Kiras. Had the queen been the target and was that why she had been sent away? Could it be that they were being ambushed here? They were alone in the middle of the forest with only Violet and the masked woman to defend them. That wasn't much. Perhaps it would have been better if they had at least taken a few soldiers with them.

When Meia looked at the queen, she was immediately less worried. The queen yawned with her hand over her mouth. It looked as if it was intentional.

In the wake of the look that followed, Meia was sure the yawn was a statement.

The queen was bored. She wanted someone to talk, which brought Meia back to her earlier dilemma. Was she allowed to say something, should she say something, or should she remain silent?

While Meia was still pondering this, the queen now sighed audibly and shook her head in disappointment. Perhaps Meia should ask a question after all?

"Schoppe, we'll still be driving for hours."

"Mhm, yes, that's very likely."

"Yes... and how's the jurisdiction going? Anything new?"

"No, there are currently no developments worth mentioning."

The queen's left eye twitched. Meia saw her anger rising, but then she swallowed it immediately back down and held her grace.

"How nice... Hmm... Oh, yes! Why don't you tell me about Aoka? I've never been to the city before."

"Of course I can do that if you want me to. Where should I start..." Minister Schoppe looked up at the ceiling as if he was sorting out his thoughts. "The city has a very long history, you must know. It's one of the oldest in the country. Unfortunately, I don't know the exact date it was founded. Mrs. Hanazawa might know. I can only give you an approximate date. The city was founded by the Luna clan as a religious center for the beika religion. So it was probably at a time when this religion had its greatest popularity inland, which was about 1300 years ago. The location was well chosen at that time. The forest was cleared, where most of the rivers and lakes were, until there was enough space to build a settlement, including arable land. At the same time, the material could be used to build the initial settlement and a sufficient protective wall. At that time, the development of this area was a special achievement. Many other cities in the south have grown out of Aoka. Aoka is one of the most important cities in this part of the country. Thanks to its excellent location, the settlement grew quickly and non-followers of the religion migrated to it. Wood could be exchanged for stone. The Vitarium was built as a place of faith and refuge. The first city wall was built around the vitarium. This naturally had a strong symbolic effect, as people sought and found protection in this building. The city wall was technically state-of-the-art and the city never fell in its history. All the cities of the beika religion prospered for centuries, but it was probably this success that was their downfall. After the expulsion of the beika religion from Jena around 600 years ago, Aoka was the last free city in Jena to be deprived of its independence. The king had palace built right next to the vitarium, which was taller than the building itself. It was a sign of the end of religious rule in the old areas of the beika religion, which I think is still relevant today."

"Thank you very much, Schoppe. That was very boring."

"I don't understand? What do you mean?"

"You go there every year and the only thing you can give me is a history book entry? Why don't you tell me something with a little more emotion?"

"You mean like a personal experience?"

"Yes, please do."

"I also travel to Aoka every year because it's simultaneously my vacation, which I combine with work in this way. I love painting landscapes and Aoka has a wonderful landscape. The city is interwoven with rivers. There are green meadows with elongated lakes. There are small wooden bridges and old stone houses. The palace is white and towers proudly over the city center. It is a picturesque town. You can see many mills and water wheels. Aoka is also known for its baked goods. Directly behind the vitarium is a deep blue lake with lead willows. Swans are almost always there at this time of year. It's the most beautiful spot in..." Minister Schoppe let his sentence fade out unexpectedly.

"Schoppe, that's a description."

~Huh, but I wanted to hear that.~ Unfortunately, the minister had presumably realized from the look on the queen's face that what he had told her was probably not what she had wanted to hear. On this occasion, it was possibly also worth mentioning that Minister Schoppe seemed to Meia like someone who always drew the same motif.

"Yes, but what else did you expect?"

"Isn't there something about the place that makes me say, "Wow, so that's what it's like.", or something like that? Something that's a bit more exciting. Something that's not found in a book."

"No, I'm sorry, not that I know of. It's a very quiet place. The average age is 56. Many of the residents are retired. A lot of the houses are vacation homes."

"Do you have a house there?"

"Not yet, but I actually wanted to go back with my wife in the winter to choose one for us."

"Do you want to retire already?"

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

"Yes, as soon as the situation is a little less tense. I'd like to spend more time with my grandchildren."

"Hmm..."

The Queen seemed to be thinking. Minister Schoppe simply remained silent. In the meantime, Meia tried to imagine Aoka. She thought of rippling water wheels between half-timbered houses. Aoka must have been beautiful. Meia would be happy if they got there slowly, and also because then she could finally leave this bloody carriage. She would also finally be able to take a bath, eat something warm and sleep in a proper bed again instead of on a wooden plank. While she was thinking, Meia noticed that the carriage had stopped.

While Meia was imagining all the things she could finally do again in the village, she noticed that the carriage had stopped.

"Ah, yes, you meant I should ask the brat if I want to know the founding date. Why would she know that?"

"I think she's a follower of the beika religion, so she might know."

"I'm not aware of that. How did you come to that conclusion?"

"Oh, it's just a guess. When the last coffins came back from New Jena at the beginning of the ceasefire, she was at the funeral service that evening, kneeling in front of the fire with her hand in her lap and her head hanging down. This is a prayer posture from the beika teachings. I don't think she would have done it if she didn't belong to that faith."

"And that bothered you, is that why you memorized it?"

"No, it didn't bother me. It was just very noticeable because all the other soldiers were standing."

"Well, good."

The queen swiveled her gaze away from him and her head turned in a direction Meia didn't like at all.

~Please don't. Please don't. Please don't.~

"So sweetheart, tell me something interesting."

"Um..."

~Som-Somthing interesting?~ The request was far too vague. The only things she knew a bit about were weapons and metals, but she didn't really feel safe in those fields either, and besides, the queen was definitely not interested in anyway. So should she say something about herself? But there was nothing worth mentioning there too.

"I-What would you like to know?"

"Oh, there's a lot-"

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Just a moment later, the door opened without anyone giving permission first.

Violet was standing in the door again. She had taken off her hood. Her black hair was in an updo that looked a little messy. But the messiness was charming in a way. If you were beautiful, you could wear anything. With such a hairstyle, Meia would probably look like a bird had nested on her head.

"My queen, I hope I'm not interrupting anything. I wanted to tell you that it's not a merchant, it's just an idiot."

"What do you mean, it's an idiot?"

"This looks very unfortunate for me, but it's an acquaintance of mine. Falko Wagner."

The way her gaze jumped, Violet was visibly uncomfortable with the situation.

"That name doesn't ring a bell."

The queen looked questioningly at Minister Schoppe.

Minster Schoppe's eyes were more serious than they had been a moment ago.

"Falko Wagner, the information dealer?"

"Yes, unfortunately it's him. It's a coincidence that he's driving this way and I know him."

"A very suspicious coincidence."

"Schoppe, please! She couldn't have told us and let him drive past. - Why didn't you?"

"I want to let him in on it. Falko is a trust... It's safer to pay him to stay with us than to let him drive on knowing about the convoy."

"So it's about more payment." Minister Schoppe stated angrily. "Was it all planned? This is truly disgraceful."

Violet raised her hand dismissively. "No, I really isn't. That wasn't the intention. I have a reputation to lose. I wouldn't do something that cheap. It won't cost the Crown any extra either. I'll pay him myself. I want him to stay with the convoy so he can't tell anyone. That's really all there is to it."

The queen only thought briefly and then she had already made a decision. "Do as you think. I trust you." she explained with a broad smile.

"It will definitely have to be discussed again."

"I understand that. Thank you for your trust. I will intercept him and then we will continue with one more wagon."

The two seemed to agree and Violet wanted to leave again.

It was apparently safe outside. Meia sensed her chance to escape.

"M-M-My queen, would it be permitted to leave the carriage? I don't want to bother you both any further."

"Oh, you don't sweetheart. You are an asset to our conversation."

To Meia's ears, it was mockery. The queen was mocking her. ~No! How do I get out of here?~ There had to be a way. Meia needed something to fall back on. She was thinking so hard that it felt like her head was about to start smoking. The nausea was also getting worse again and she clutched her stomach. Should she say she had to pee? But then she would be expected back straight away. But maybe she could take the opportunity to run into the forest and live with the squirrels. She could certainly feed on berries and build herself a house out of twigs. Anything would be better than staying here. Meia looked down at her hand. She was about to throw up and that's when the idea came to her head. Like a white swallow soaring into the sky towards freedom, the idea flew into her head.

"To-To be honest, I feel a bit nauseous and since there's no danger, I wanted to get some fresh air."

"Oh, in that case." The queen pointed with her foot to an empty wooden bucket under the bench by Minister Schoppe. "You may use that."

A setback. The plan had failed. The queen refused to let her go and gleefully dropped a bucket on the swallow. Meia hadn't seen the bucket before because Minister Schoppe was so big and she hardly dared to lean forward. After all, any movement could draw attention to her. It wasn't over yet. Fortunately, Meia still had a backup plan.

"Can I then... just... um..." It was quite obvious from the way she was sitting where she wanted to go. Needless to say, it was an act.

"Ahhh, yes, of course." the queen nodded understandingly.

The better plan may not have worked out, but at least Meia would be able to go out for a few minutes. It was certainly better than nothing.

Meia wanted to get up, but the queen raised her hand to stop her. "Where are you going?" she asked, as if she couldn't comprehend it at all.

"I thought... I wanted to..."

"Like I said, we have a bucket." This time the queen points to the bucket with her hand. "There it is."

"Huh?"

Meia was unable to respond. At first she thought the queen had misunderstood her, but judging by her smile, which would have liked to be a grin, that was not the case.

It was probably just to torture Meia again, but how far would she take it? Pale and expressionless, Meia leaned back against the bench.

"My queen, would you mind if I kept her outside for the rest of the ride? I would like someone to play the coachman."

"Is that necessary?"

"It wouldn't be a bad idea."

"Hmmm, Well, I will still be able to spend enough time with my maid, so you are welcome to borrow her."

Violet leaned forward once in acknowledgment, then left, leaving the door open.

"..."

"Did you hear, you may go."

"Ah. Thank-Thank you very much."

Meia quickly got up from her seat. She was overcome with joy. Was she really allowed to leave this hellhole? She had already stopped believing it.

As Meia got out, she had to try hard not to grin too much. It had already been stupid of her that she was so thankful, but she had done it without thinking.

When Meia was outside, she closed the door as quickly as she could without being rude, then took several steps away from the carriage. Violet had saved her. Was that on purpose? After all, they had been riding without a coachman the whole time. Did she really need someone to take on that role now? If it was intentional, then Meia would like to thank her, but unfortunately that wasn't possible because it would offend the queen and put Violet in an awkward situation, as she wouldn't be able to accept the thanks.

The carriage was standing on an embankment in the grass at the edge of a path in the middle of the forest. When Meia looked to her left, she saw Yuri coming with the carriage.

~Freedom.~

.../ End BP003