Reborn Financier-Chapter 23: The Tour begins

"Oh, my god, can this carriage stop wobbling continuously?" Princess Elizabeth said, whining throughout the trip. "I can even take a nap in this kind of condition. Can’t we have gone for at least a better-looking and more comfortable carriage than this?"

"Elizabeth, must you always complain about everything?" the queen said, with a serious look on her face. One could tell she was not pleased with her daughter. "Can’t you see that everyone here is also experiencing what you are feeling? Or do you want me to tell the knights to take you back to the castle?"

"I’m sorry, Mom. I didn’t mean it like that," Elizabeth responded in a sweet and soothing tone. "Because of the stress of the carriage, I’m not thinking and just acting up. You know I’m always a good girl."

Kaidën’s face, which was emotionless, changed immediately. He had only seen the arrogant side of Elizabeth, so this was quite a surprise. "Wow, at least she knows how to be kind, even though it might be fake," Kaidën said unexpectedly, speaking out his thoughts.

"Mom, you can see, this kid is making mockery of me and calling me rude," Elizabeth said, tears falling from her eyes. "I didn’t even do anything to him. I was just stressed." One could immediately tell it was fake, but for a mother, seeing a child cry wasn’t something she would like.

"I’m sorry, I didn’t mean so," Kaidën said before the matter could be prolonged. Elizabeth sent out a smirk towards Kaidën, as if victory was hers.

As expected from the mature gentleman who was in a child’s body, he didn’t think too much about it and waved it off as a child’s tantrums.

****

"My queen, we have arrived at the inn," the coachman said as the carriage came to a stop at a beautiful but normal-looking inn. It was an inn common to commoners, even though it was frequently visited by them. It was in great condition and of a better class than many other inns.

Although the inn might be considered expensive for some average commoners, when compared to the cheapest noble inns, it was considerably large. "Finally, I can rest at last," Elizabeth said as she stepped out of the carriage, stretching so much that one might have misunderstood her to be doing yoga.

The rest of the family made their way out of the carriage, and all but the coachman entered the inn. The coachman still had to take care of the horses and some other things in preparation for their long journey scheduled for the next day.

The rooms were all processed, and three rooms were chosen. Kaidën and Prince David were to share one, the princess, Elizabeth, and the queen were to share the other, and as for the last room, it was shared by Steven and the two other knights. The coachman stayed in the carriage, watching the horses.

Later that night, in the room of Kaidën and the prince, a conversation was being held. It started with the prince— "Hey, Kaidën, how do you see the castle? You’re always quiet and mostly in your room. You’re more introverted than I expected," David asked, curious to see if there was more to meet the eye than just a young boy.

"Nothing much. I pretty much just lay on the bed all day, and if I’m not doing that, I rather just read some books to pass the time. And what I think about the castle... hmmm, I can only say one thing: the next 10 years won’t be easy," Kaidën said, the tone he used almost as if he could determine the future.

"Wait, wait, Kaidën, what do you mean by that? What do you mean by the next 10 years won’t be easy? Please explain better," David said, his curiosity was at its peak. He feared for the state of his people and the country, but all those questions were to no avail as Kaidën had fallen into a deep sleep.

****

Morning came quickly, as preparations were already beginning to surface. "Prince David, good morning," Kaidën said, still exhausted as he yawned while speaking.

"Yeah, yeah, good morning, Kaidën," David responded. Compared to Kaidën, who seemed to have had a peaceful sleep, David didn’t even get a wink of sleep, as his mind was preoccupied with the statement Kaidën made. Dark shadows could be observed under his eyes.

"Let’s prepare quickly. We have a long day ahead of us," Kaidën said.

"Kaidën, good morning. Hope you’re ready for today," the queen said with a big smile on her face.

"Ha, I’m sure he would be. He probably hasn’t seen a city like this ever in his life," Elizabeth said, sounding arrogant as ever, smirking continuously.

Kaidën responded, "Still arrogant as ever, Princess Elizabeth. You know, if you started using your brain more than your mouth, maybe you’d be better." This broke loose in Elizabeth’s heart; the pain of Kaidën’s insult made her shut up and enter the carriage first.

"Hahahahaha, nice one, Kaidën. It’s not every day that someone enters Elizabeth like this. That was dope, man," David said, laughing uncontrollably.

"But I wasn’t even joking," Kaidën responded.

Everyone entered the carriage, with the knights following them on horses at a safe distance to avoid getting discovered.

"Okay, then, let’s move out," the coachman said.

****

"Coachman, where are you going, and why are you taking the wrong turn?" the queen asked as the carriage’s speed began to increase. The atmosphere changed, moving from a calm, soothing atmosphere to a rigorous and intense one.

"Don’t worry, my queen. Just calm down and relax. We’re taking another turn because the road ahead is congested," the coachman responded, trying to calm the atmosphere.

"Wait, your voice sounds different. Where is the original coachman? Who are you?" the queen asked, her voice filled with nervousness.

"That was quick. How did you discover so quickly? I didn’t see this coming. But anyways, the plan doesn’t change... just sit down and enjoy the ride, hahahahaha," the coachman responded. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

The knights who were following them steadily at a safe distance were knocked out by a dent to their necks.

The carriage continuously moved farther and faster until it faded into the background and was nowhere to be seen.

"Mom, what’s going to happen? Are we safe? Are we going to die?" Elizabeth said, a cute side of her appeared as she was nervous.

"Don’t worry, my child. Mommy is here, and nothing is going to happen to you or any of us. Just don’t worry too much," Queen Charlotte responded, pulling the kids, including Kaidën, who didn’t even show any form of emotions, together.

****

At the night of that same day, after hours and hours of continuously moving without even a stop, the carriage finally came to a stop. The queen, along with the kids, found themselves at a house in the middle of nowhere. They were literally in the middle of nowhere; the place they were in didn’t exist on the country and continental map.

It was as if they had found themselves in another continent, but that was not the case. They didn’t pass through any magic portal, nor did they ride the carriage for so long that they could leave the western continent so quickly.

"Hey, Paul, how are things? Hope you weren’t followed when coming here," a tall, scarred man asked the man who was riding the carriage. His face was scary-looking, and he was so well-built that it seemed like he was made of muscles rather than fat.

"Follow me? Hahaha, it’s like you don’t know who you’re talking about. I’m the best thief in the south. Kidnapping some kids and the queen of a small kingdom is nothing for me. Talk less about following me; they probably wonder what’s happening," Paul responded.

The name Paul, the best in the south, rang a bell in Queen Elizabeth’s head. She recalled the thief who had literally kidnapped the daughter of the emperor from the royal castle. It was a blow to the confidence of the mighty emperor, the strongest on the continent, who was a martial grandmaster.

The queen thought to herself, knowing they were in trouble, but didn’t know how to even express it. She tried remaining calm in order not to frighten the kids around her.

"Okay, okay, I trust you and your work. Let’s just move them from the carriage into the house..." the scar-faced man said. "...Remember, nothing must happen to them, as instructed by the boss. If you don’t want to lose your life."

"Don’t worry, Mr. Boss, this boss that, I’m not new to the job," Paul responded, his voice mixed with mockery and annoyance, as he proceeded to move the queen and kids.

"Hey, my queen, and my little cuties, how about you head inside quietly, in order to avoid any problems? As you can see, I’m the only person nice enough to care for you, so please behave well, so we can continue to remain friends," Paul said with a creepy smile, frightening the kids, at least all but one.

To be continued...