The carriage was shacking so much that I felt a uncomfortable. But well complaining will do nothing after all this world is still in this age huh? I don't know if it's due to the prescence of magic or it's just that this world is younger than mine I won't know for sure. 

"Uhmm, sire?"

"Yes"

The beautiful duchess said as she looked at me with a shy expression. Truthfully I can only see it as cute.

"Well, I just realized but I still haven't told you my name yet"

That's right, when she appeared I did that stunt and everything but I didn't tell her my name yet and I didn't know hers. Anyway should I really tell her my name? I don't know if I should actually. This world is after all not my original world so I don't understand the naming sense of this world. Well... it's not like I'm not used to hiding behind multiple aliases. 

Then it's decided

"Oh sorry even I haven't told you my name as well, then let me begin. I am Touren Grace, I come from a distant kingdom to the east"

Hearing my words the duchess eyes sparkled and she immediately asked.

"Are you perhaps from the eastern isles?"

Eastern Isles? That name is a complete question mark but when I thought of it that would be like asia in my world. Also seeing her curious expression I could tell that little is known about that place so I'll just say I come from there. If by chance they find out about the people not acting like me that would be a problem later in the future.

"Yes"

"Really!?"

The little girl jumped towards me and her face was so close to my mine that I could very much feel her sweet breath. 

The girl noticed the position we are in and immediately backs away. She straightens her back and fixes her posture like her actions a few moments ago didn't happen. Really this girl... she's trying her best to be someone she's not.

"Anyway I'm Lily Aldus, the 27th duchess of the kingdom of Ardia"

The girls words are filled with pride and in essence the air of a noble. But she didn't release it to make me look down on myself but it's more like something more of, "Trust me and believe in me" rather than "Be obedient or die". Well it's not like all nobles are the same. If there is a noble like her who is a born leader then there must be some that are assholes.

Though something was bothering me for a while now and I decided to ask her.

"You'r a duchess right so does that mean that you have royal blood?"

If I remember correctly dukes or duchess' are the siblings or relatives of the current kings. They use to be prince and princesses but due to the king having children their ranks get lower. If that is the same thing here then this girl would be the 27th sister of the current king and if that's the case... how old is the previous king? No no no the question is how many wives did the previous king have?

But to my question the gilr tilted her head and looked at me weirdly then she suddenly snapped and bowed her head.

"I'm sorry I failed to realize that we are from two entirely different kingdoms"

Oh I see what I said may not be the way they get their titles here in this kingdom. But if that's not how it is then how do they get their titles? 

The girl raised her head then looked at me with a straight face she started explaining.

"Well you see, in Ardia nobles are assigned through the use of a special orb"

"orb?"

"Uhm the orb was created by the person who founded Ardia. The orb would decide a persons fate by looking at their future, with that the orb would decide what is the best route for him. If the person is seen as a powerful warrior he would be assigned as a soldier. If the person would b ecome someone smart he would become a researcher or teacher. The orb decides based on a persons specialties... and to become a noble the person should have the trait of a good leader and also be someone powerful or smart"

She then looked at me with eyes asking, "did you get it?". I nodded but then if the orb decides this then wouldn't fabrication be pretty easy? I asked and it seems that the orbs were created so that besides from the royal family no one else could tamper with the orbs.

Anyway with the flow of our conversation I should start getting some information. First of all I should start with...

"By the way Miss Aldus"

"Call me Lily"

She interrupted me and told me to do so but... with the knights outside I don't think calling her casually would be okay. 

"Are you sure?"

I asked but then she looked at me and urged me.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"Please"

She then pleaded and I could only say yes.

"If you insist... Lily I have to ask but what's the state of the countries in this continent?"

Hearing my question the duchess I mean Lily then stared outside the carriage. She looked at the peaceful landscape and sighed.

"Sir Grace"

"Touren"

I as well asked her to adress me casually. She first stared at me for a second then nodded her head and continued.

"Then Touren, what do you see outside?"

She asked me in response to my question. Truthfully I like this kinds of conversations, especially when the opposite party responds this way. I don't mind talking normally but when the opposite party ask's a question in respons to yours there are only two reasons for such things.

First, when they ask a question they would normally want to bend your thinking towards their own train of thought. In other words this kinds of answers is like making people look into your own eyes then you tell them what they really see. This is something that happens to me during the time I was in my past world. I would usually be tasked to kill the bosses of large underground groups and terrorist.

In one of my missions I remember talking to one of the big bussiness men. An oil tirant, he is what we could call a capitalist and I was hired to assasinate him. I don't regret killing people like him as they are the most despicable people in the world. At that time my name was already known in the whole underworld and countless leaders of countries, corporations and other groups kept track of my name.

At that time I snuck into his office and he was there... wating for me. Of course he knew that he was already targeted it seems everyday since that day he found out about the job order and him being in my list he was always waiting. I stood behind him and pointed my gun towards his head.

Instead of calling security and and trying to keep alive he instead started a conversation with me. He made me look at what he was doing, in front of him is a multitude of screens that were showing different viideo feeds.

"Do you see this?"

He asked me I didn't answer and he continued talking.

"This is everything my family worked hard for 5 generations. This became like this because of more than one death. Slavery, corruption and war generation after generation my family has done everything to cause all this and that was all in the name of money. So now this is karma is it? But you do know that killing me would not result in world peace or anything like that right? So this is it huh do your worst..."

He said that and at the same time almost all of the screens turned black. This happened because I placed bombs in all his other companies and factories, the death of civilians I didn't mind it at that time. He looked at me and said.

"Kill me"

To his plea I answered

"Gladly"

That night the death of one of the biggest business tirants of the world and the colapse of his companies due to bombings occured all in the span of a few hours.

The second would be the passing of ideals, this is normally done simply to tell somebody what you think but it's like brainwashing him. A leader once did this to me.

I was hired to kill a certain country's leader but when we met he smiled and said.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

I didn;t answer again

"The world, with my death a world war will most likely occur and when that happens even you won't survive? Is money that important? Listen my plan it to change this world a world where there are no wars, no hate and no boundaries. A borderless world filled with possibilities and countless opportunities is that not a good place"

He then laughed cazily and looked at me.

"With your skills and my brains and money we could become the rulers of the world protecting the peace and human race from utter extinction!"

He has some good ideas and has accepted the truth of the world and the state it is in. But his way of thought is nothing but crazy, in a world controlled by one person the wars and hate will not disappear it will instead propagate. His rule that should be one that spreads peace and love would spread fear and hatred. He is nothing but an idealistic psychopath and with that I once again pulled my trigger taking the life of an important individual. His death was broadcasted and another suspect was framed I didn't mind after.

Anyway back to Lily, she would either make me sympathize with her or she owuld try to brainwash me into her own ideals. I answered this time.

"All I see is the vast green plains"

We left the forest and are now traveling smoothly on a road in the plains. The wind blew throught the valley making the grass sway and showing the wondrous beauty of nature.

"It's beautiful is it not?"

She asked I answered.

"Yes it is"

Lily looked at me and said.

"What if I told you this was once a battlefield and years ago and after the battle bodies pied up to form mountains of flesh and blood flowed to form rivers dyeing the sky red"

What she told me was something shocking but not something that I would be disgusted at. I am not a sadist or a heartless monster but to me dying is simply losing to someone stronger. But I didn't want to look like a heartless monster so I answered.

"Instead of feeling bad about the past learn from those mistakes and rise up. I this case learn what has caused war and do something to stop it from happening again"

I told her, after all from her words and her atmosphere it is pretty easy to understand that the continent is at odds with each other and war is not that far off. But if there is anything I learned from my past world the past is used to learn mistakes and correct them. That is the reason we record everything that happens in history. Though Lily immediately retorted.

"But even if I want to do something I couldn't I'm just a duchess unlike a prince or the king there is nothing I could do but rule over my land and follow the kings orders, I'm nothing but an insignificant existence in this world"

She really is still too young to be a duchess. She should still be learning or something but then again in my psat world during the middle ages 15 is already a mature age. 

Anyway I look at Lily smiled and preached some words of wisdom. I don't think my advice would be good but I use to be like her and I just can't help but want to reach out a hand.

"Lily, you are not an insignificant existence in this world. If you were then why would you even be alive"

My words seem to have some effect as she looked at me with teary eyes and started to listen to my words.

"In this world there is nothing insignificant, peasants would plow fields and take care of livestock for food, food that is an important commodity in living. A knight could not win a war on his own, he needs his allies and commander. A king is nothing without his subordinates and everyone else is the same. What I want to say is, no man is an island. Lily everyone has their own role and in the keeping of peace in this world you are needed. You will do great things all you need is to trust in others and make them trust you, but before that you must trust yourself. Do you understand?"

She wiped her tears and now looked at me with a bright smile plastered in her face as she answered.

"Yes!"

Well then now that, that's over I need to think of what to do. That weird being told me to keep balance or something but I could also neglect it but I think that I could also fix this world but before doing as crazy as that I first need to understand it. To do that going all around this world learning and taking information I would then make a plan after that.

Well then with this I first need to get to that Academy town and study, an academy town would after all surely have a library.