Children of the Holy Emperor

CH 41

Enrique, or rather, the man who called himself No. 21, had already finished preparations for the group to pass through the Cartago gate.

He had hidden a small cart in the bushes a little distance from the rendezvous point, filled with various trade goods and provisions commonly carried by peddlers. Outfits for the group to change into, as well as official identification badges issued in Asein, were ready.

And, creepily enough, a coffin was placed in one corner of the cart.

As Aslan and old Max fumbled to change their clothes, No. 21 gestured silently towards the coffin for Bart, who was standing blankly.

"...Is that meant to be my place?"

"Do you think you can pass through a regular gate with the stigma of a devil worshiper, Your Majesty?"

Nathaniel: If you have a complaint, just say it. Why is everyone, Justin or you, acting like this lately?

Enrique: Aren't you good at pretending to be a corpse? Just hold your breath for a few hours.

The two squabbled for a while, but eventually Bart surrendered to No. 21, who was grinding his teeth and saying, 'wouldn't it have been nice if you had given me more time to prepare?'

Clickety-clack, clickety-clack. With a well-groomed mustache and the unique bread-shaped hat of Asein merchants, No. 21 began to drive the cart.

Aslan and old Max sat comfortably in the cargo hold of the cart, eating dried fruit and seasoned jerky from their bags, easing the fatigue of their long forced march. Only Bart, crouched silently within the open coffin, was gloomy, and for a while, the journey continued peacefully.

The change came when they were almost at the Cartago gate.

"...Something's wrong, Enrique."

Bart, who had been sitting quietly for a while, suddenly opened his mouth. He was still staring blankly into space, his chin resting on his knees, and at the sight of the eerie glow in his eyes, Aslan got up from his seat in alarm.

No. 21 must have noticed the strange gleam, too, because without a word of protest, this time from No. 21 himself, he halted the carriage.

"Turn the cart around."

No. 21's eyebrows raised slightly.

"We'll run into the pursuit team."

"I don't think they're likely to be too suspicious of us heading in the opposite direction, so I suggest we turn back and continue on our way to the gateway to Asein."

"......."

There was silence for a moment at his words. If taken literally, it was suggesting they turn back along the road nearly all the way back to Flower Village. It would take a whole day.

Just over that hill was the gate to Carthago. How did we get this far......

"We are close to our destination, Your Majesty."

But Bart dismissed his opinion with one sentence.

"I have a bad feeling."

"......."

No. 21 chewed his lips for a moment, but soon obediently drove the cart onto a forest path beside the highway. It seemed he was trying to turn around on the narrow road by making a detour.

"Wait, what the hell is..."

Old Max, who didn't understand, tried to say something, but Aslan quickly silenced him. Judging from their experiences so far, he didn't think Bart would act unnecessarily. They soon left the rough forest path and returned to the highway. They began retracing the exact path they had come.