“Ha…, hng, hnnngh…”

The sad cry of a girl showed no signs of stopping. She was wearing plain travel clothes while riding on the back of a shabby horse. But the people who were in front of her and behind her only glanced at her with irritated expressions and said nothing to her.

That was because the pretty-faced girl was the youngest daughter of one of the Empire’s 13 High Lords. Or at least, she was, until yesterday.

A girl of such status was reduced to a mere maid of another territory and riding a crummy pony. She must have felt like the sky was collapsing on her.

But not everyone who was accompanying her was considerate.

“Stop crying. If you keep crying, I’ll throw you in the stream.”

“Hiccup!”

The young man who was at the forefront turned his head and spoke to her with an indifferent look. The girl immediately stopped crying in a fit of surprise.

“Hic! Hic!”

The girl carefully glanced at the young man with fearful eyes as her weeping turned into subdued hiccups.

However, the young man turned his head forward once more and rode his horse disinterestedly.

The trembling girl’s head fell.

‘I, I’m so scared. Sob! Father,...