Chapter 372: The Best Choice For Calyra

[Calyra’s POV]

’Hmm... I thought that he was going to be mad at me, but he wasn’t.’

That was the thought that had been relentlessly replaying inside Calyra’s head as she waited outside Ruvian’s house.

The carriage that would take them toward the Northern Reach of Averenthia was already waiting by the roadside, its eventual destination being Valcavein, the city governed beneath the noble authority of House Arcanis.

Ruvian was currently inside the house gathering whatever belongings he intended to bring with him, while most likely exchanging a few final words with his parents before leaving.

Calyra stood quietly beneath the shade of a nearby tree, occasionally casting a glance toward the front door as she waited for him to come out.

For some reason, she had become strangely conscious of just how hard her heart was beating inside her chest.

In fact, earlier, before she had even managed to gather enough courage to knock on Ruvian’s door, Calyra had already been unusually apprehensive about the entire situation.

Since when had something as simple as meeting someone else’s parents become this damn intimidating?

Yet somehow, the mere thought of suddenly standing face-to-face with Ruvian’s parents had left her far more unsettled than she would ever care to admit.

Even though, by the end of it, she had somehow found herself sitting at the same table and having lunch together with them.

How unexpected.

Still, the food was good.

And now...

The fact that Ruvian had actually agreed to accompany her all the way back to her family estate, where he would inevitably meet her own parents, made the entire situation feel considerably more daunting.

Just thinking about it made Calyra briefly bite the inside of her cheek.

’Was this really a good idea?’

She found herself silently questioning that once again.

It was not long afterward that Ruvian finally stepped out through the front door, with his family remaining by the entrance as they watched him make his way toward her.

Well, since this had been Ruvian’s idea in the first place...

She decided to simply go along with it and see where it led.

*****

[Ruvian’s POV]

After that, the two of them were currently making their way toward the Arcanis Estate in Valcavein City.

Inside the carriage, Ruvian quietly gazed out through the window at the fading late-afternoon sky. Judging from the considerable distance between Natoris Town and Valcavein City, he estimated that it would already be well into the night by the time they finally arrived.

However, he was planning to make a slight detour once they reached Valcavein City. Perhaps spending one night at an inn before heading toward the Arcanis Estate the following morning would be the more sensible choice.

It would give them some time to recover from the long journey as well, rather than dragging themselves to the estate exhausted in the middle of the night.

And of course, in separate rooms, obviously.

After all, arriving at a noble household so late at night without any prior notice would be rather discourteous, especially when he was technically visiting as Calyra’s guest.

It would be far more appropriate to present himself properly the following morning instead of showing up at their doorstep at some ungodly hour looking worn from the road.

Furthermore, Ruvian planned to purchase a few sets of proper clothing before going there.

Since he was about to set foot inside the estate of one of Averenthia’s prominent noble families, showing up in the same casual clothes he had been wearing throughout the journey hardly seemed fitting for the occasion.

With most of his immediate plans already settled in his mind, there was little else left for him to consider, and the carriage soon lapsed into another stretch of comfortable silence.

Calyra, who was sitting opposite him, was the first to break the silence after quietly enjoying the stillness for a while.

"You said you were going to convince my parents," she said, her expression remaining as composed as ever. "I suppose I’m curious about what exactly you intend to tell them."

Turning toward her, Ruvian paused for a moment before eventually speaking.

"I’ll try to talk it out the old-fashioned way."

Calyra’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"The old-fashioned way?"

Ruvian nodded.

"However, you’ll need to play your part as well. It wouldn’t work if I were the only one doing the talking. After all, it would be far more convincing for the daughter herself to stand before her parents and voice what she actually wants."

Calyra regarded him with her usual aloof expression, raising one eyebrow.

"And what part, exactly, do I need to play?"

Ruvian smiled knowingly.

"Simple. All you have to do is act like a rebellious daughter who has finally grown sick of being restrained by her parents and wants the freedom to decide how she lives her own life."

Seeing that Calyra was still somewhat confused by what he meant, Ruvian began explaining the plan to her in greater detail, carefully laying out what she needed to say and how they were going to approach her parents once the time came.

Once that was settled, however, another question had already begun lingering in Calyra’s mind.

She had already learned a little about what had happened to Ruvian’s family, particularly how they had been threatened by some small local guild. Because of that, she could not help but wonder whether it was truly fine for him to leave them behind by themselves.

After all, Ruvian’s family were ordinary people. None of them were trained fighters, much less magus capable of defending themselves if the guild decided to return with something worse.

Honestly, it would be a lie to say that Ruvian had not been worrying about the same thing.

But...

"It will be fine," Ruvian said. "I already informed Silvena about my circumstances, including the fact that I’m leaving home for a while to accompany you back to your parents. She said she’ll arrange something to keep my family protected."

Furthermore, Morvayne was also staying behind to watch over the house.

And more importantly than that, Ruvian had already used [Foreshadowing] on his family before leaving. The indication it had shown him was clear enough.

For the time being, they were safe.

Because of that, he could at least allow himself to feel somewhat reassured.

*****

Some time passed, and before long, the final traces of evening faded beyond the carriage window as darkness slowly settled over the road.

The path ahead became harder to make out, with only the carriage lamps cutting through the night and revealing what little lay in front of them.

In the quiet, Ruvian could hear the wheels rattling along the road and the steady beat of the horses’ hooves as they traveled deeper into the night.

By now, the inside of the carriage had grown much darker as well.

A small lamp hanging near the wall gave off just enough light for Ruvian to see the person sitting across from him.

Or rather, sleeping across from him.

Calyra slept with her head resting lightly against the side of the carriage.

She held herself even in sleep like someone who had been raised never to appear careless, demure and almost impossibly proper, with both hands folded neatly over her lap and her long white hair slipping over one shoulder.

Her face, usually marked by that distant and aloof expression, had softened considerably now that her guard was down.

The steady rattle of the wheels and the uneven sway of the carriage did little to disturb her, as though she had somehow shut herself away from the rest of the world.

Ruvian watched her for a few moments longer than he intended.

For some reason, seeing Calyra’s sleeping face suddenly dragged that vision back into Ruvian’s mind.

The image of her kneeling in that frozen wasteland, her expression twisted with sorrow as tears streamed down her cheeks, flashed through his thoughts once again.

Ruvian frowned slightly, and after a moment, he closed his eyes.

Even now, he was still trying to understand what that vision had truly been warning him about.

No, perhaps that was not entirely right. He already understood what the vision itself was implying, what he could not understand was why Julian’s mother had deliberately chosen to show it to him.

Was she trying to warn him not to proceed with the dungeon expedition? Was she telling him that something disastrous would happen if he allowed everyone to go?

Or was that vision a premonition of something that would happen regardless, unless he intervened and changed it himself?

If that was the case, then perhaps she had shown it to him because she expected him to prevent that future from ever becoming reality.

Ruvian slowly opened his eyes again, but the answer still remained beyond his grasp. For now, there were simply too many missing pieces for him to form any definite conclusion.

Even so, he could not abandon the expedition yet. He still needed all of them to enter that dungeon, because as dangerous as the situation might become, doing so was still necessary for what he had planned.

More importantly, it was for their own sake as well. Ruvian’s gaze slowly returned to Calyra, who remained quietly asleep across from him, completely unaware of the thoughts running through his mind.

Especially hers.

’Yeah... whatever is waiting inside that dungeon, going there is still...’

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[Chapter 372: The Best Choice For Calyra]

A/N: Sorry for only one Chapter today. I’ve been a bit busy packing things up, so I haven’t had much time to write. My flight is in 3 days.