26 — Anneliese's Supplies

"Thank you for not letting Empress Agatha choose me to babysit you again." He says, and then keeps going.

"Wait!" Joezand says, and Pult stops again. He looks back at the prince. "About what I said at the end of the duel... I was too into the moment and was kind of rude. I apologize."

"It's fine. I've done my fair share of provoking in the past." Pult shrugs. "I broke my promise, too. It's only fair. I guess you were right, I really held more resentment towards you than I thought."

"And what about now?"

"Who cares at this point?" Pult sighs. "I'm not about to blame someone who doesn't even remember what they did. Even if I predict you will still cause me trouble in the future."

"That's mostly Empress Agatha's fault, though..." Joezand argues. "She's the one who keeps choosing you to deal with me."

"Think about it in her perspective." Pult says. "I'm her most trusted and capable asset. She cares for you, but doesn't think you can do anything on your own." Ouch. "So in her mind, if I'm there you won't get into trouble and everything will be fine. This vigillance probably had more than nothing to do with you running away in the first place."

"I can see it." Joezand says. "But don't worry. I'll make sure the bumbling incompetent fool image stays in the past. I'm a new person now."

"I'd like to see that." The corners of his mouth twitch upwards into a smile. "If you think I'm hard to deal with, good luck with Duchess Agnes. She's a handful."

"Oh, I could tell." Joezand sighs. "I've no clue how I'll handle her."

"Just brace yourself and try not to snap at her. She'll get even worse if she can tell she's getting under your skin. A deeply insufferable person, in my opinion."

"I noticed that too." Joezand grumbles. "How's your wound?"

"It's fine." Pult replies, raising his shirt to reveal the bandages at his side. "It's not bleeding too much. It hurts when I move my arm, but that'll pass sooner rather than later."

"Glad to know I didn't give you an infection or whatever." Joezand says. "Alright, Pult. I'll see you around."

Pult nods and starts going back to his room.

Joezand too, starts walking towards his private little hallway. He sees the painting of himself in front of his door once more.

It doesn't feel as weird looking at it, unlike before.

His facial features are still the same than the eight year old Joezand that's depicted. And he's finally starting to feel like the real deal now.

The relationships around him are slowly morphing. They're starting to forget the previous Joezand. The supposed bumbling fool, the weak failure, whoever that was is in the past now.

Obviously, that's an exaggeration from the people that disliked him. No chance the previous Joezand was that bad.

Even so... It feels incredible knowing that people are gaining respect for him now. Not because of his status as the prince, but because of his own actions.

He goes inside of his room, and he walks halfway to his bed until he hears knocks on his door.

"Joz. Can I come in?"

He hears a voice.

Cecilia's voice.

His spine turns to ice.

"Don't worry." She sighs. "I'm not going to do anything."

"F-Fine. You can enter." Joezand replies, turning back to look at the door.

"Hey." She says, wearing the same dress she always wore instead of her pajamas. That's a good sign. "So... you're really going away, huh?"

"I am. I need to go to Kivul for business."

"I-It's because of me, right?" She says, her voice wavering. "I was so g-gross to you that you want to run away from me as far as you can."

"No, that's not it—"

"Y-You don't need to pretend for my sake." She sniffles as tears prick the corner of my eyes. "You hate me now, it's fine. I should've expected that you would run away—"

"Wha— Huh— What?"

"You can convince yourself that you're unlovable or whatever it is, but don't put words in my mouth." Joezand rolls his eyes. "I never said I hated you. Not even once! Who do you think you are to affirm what I'm feeling?"

"B-But you hesitated! You couldn't tell me that you loved me!"

"Because I lost my memories! Are you so dense that you can't understand that?" Joezand grumbles. "I basically forgot about anyone, including you. How could I love or hate someone who I don't even know?"

"T-Then let me!" Cecilia says, getting closer. "Let me show you my love and make you love me again!"

"I don't know. Do what other people do. Bake me a cake or something. Figure it out yourself what clicks and what doesn't." He says. "Are we done here? I need to rest for tomorrow."

"A-Alright, Prince Joezand. Have a good night." Cecilia says before leaving, a determined look on her face. 

Sigh. Hope that didn't make things worse.

He changes into his sleeping attire and falls down on his bed, sleeping instantly.

"Five?" Joezand asks. "I know we have one party crasher, but why five?"

"Oh, that's because-"

"We're here." A masculine voice says. Joezand looks to the side and sees Agnes side by side with her serious-looking butler, who accompanied her here. He's carrying a bunch of luggage. "It's nice to meet you, Prince Joezand." He bows. "My name is Iaomai."

"Let's get going already." Agnes says, limping towards the carriage with both of her crutches. Her feet slide uselessly against the ground, being only used as leverage. Even for someone with such a grating personality, it's hard not to feel a little bit of pity for the way she is physically. Maybe that's the reason she grew so bitter?

"I hope I'm not intruding." Iaomai says to Joezand. "I need to be with Duchess Agnes at all times. I'm not only her servant, but also her personal physician. She really needs the medical attention."

"Don't worry. You seem fine." Joezand sighs. "She is the problem, anyway. But not much I can do about that."

"Understood." Iaomai says. "I still apologize for any trouble I may cause. I will try to make Agnes comfortable inside the carriage." He leaves for the carriage. Hm. He's nice.

"Alright, now we're just missing Lorelai, right?"

About twenty cakes inside glass pots, all stacked atop of each other. She walks forward with surprising skill in carrying them, as she stays side to side by Joezand.

"Hiii! So, you told me to bake a cake for you, right?!" She says, excitedly. "I've never done it before, I always got a maid to do it. But since it was to show my love, I tried my hardest!"

"I didn't mean it literally..." He sighs. "Oh, that's fine. Thank you, Cecilia."

"You're welcome!" She says. Opposed to how sad she was the past few days, she's suddenly all smiles now. Those mood swings really hit her hard, huh? Cecilia goes to the back of the carriage, stacking the cakes there.

"Hey!" Anneliese says. "That space is reserved for important things!"

"This is important! I need to make sure Joz knows how much I love him."

"I need your help with something, Empress Agatha."

"What would that be, Prince Joezand?" She replies, seeming to be in a decent enough mood.

"Please take care of Cecilia." Joezand says. "She might seem happy now, but you and I both know she's still a bit of a mess inside. She needs her mother right now."

"I... see. Don't worry, I'll take good care of her while you're gone." Agatha says, and then looks around. Lorelai seemed to walk on ahead, so no one is looking at them right now. "A-And, I need to tell you..." She says, her pale face growing pink. She puts her hand on his head, ruffling his hair. "I'm proud of you, Prince Joezand."

"Oh." He says blankly, trying to find words to react. He never expected her to do that. "T-Thank you, Empress Agatha. I'll try to keep making you proud."

"I sure would hope so." She smiles kindly at him, but quickly takes her hand off of his head when she sees Cecilia coming back. "Alright, you should go now. Have a safe trip, and don't forget to write a letter once you arrive safely!"

"Alright, see you!"

He waves at them and they wave back. He sees Lorelai sitting at the front to guide the horses.

"Doing this again, huh? I always get the awful jobs. You better find someone to take turns with me." Lorelai grumbles.

"Alright, I'll try to convince them." He chuckles, and enters the carriage.

He sees Agnes and Iaomai side by side, and sits next to Anneliese.

"Alright, we're all ready." Joezand says. "Let's get this show on the road!"

And so, the carriage departs.