The Sleeping Devil

The blank festival was livelier than last year, and in the blink of an eye, the new year had begun.

Part of the reason was the preparations for the journey, but also because of the increased number of people we met after the baptism. It's also significant that Julius started having meals with us every day.

Even though the garden in front of me and the towering castle behind it hadn't changed since I arrived here, they now felt completely different.

"It's about time to depart. Are you ready?"

I hastily responded to Sergio's voice. Finally, my first journey was about to begin.

When Sergio, Didier, and I got into the large carriage, Noah rushed in with a trot. After inspecting the inside of the carriage inquisitively, he settled down next to me with proper manners.

"Noah, welcome back. Did you get a chance to rest?"

"Noah〜."

It seemed he had somewhat recovered his magical power in the spirit world, but I couldn't tell the difference. Didier also seemed interested, inspecting Noah as if checking something.

"Hmm, when he looks like this, he just seems like an ordinary cat. If it's someone with low magical sensitivity, they might not notice."

"Is that so?"

As the carriage started to move with a rattle, Noah suddenly jumped up. Perhaps because of his light body, he bounced lightly in response to the motion. It was a bit more stable on my lap, and it seemed Noah had found his designated seat.

"Is Grandfather in a different carriage?"

"Father said that long journeys are tough, so he's going ahead with a Beast Demon."

"It's a bit lonely, but I guess it can't be helped."

On the way, we were planning to make inspections and visits to cities and villages, so the journey was scheduled to take about two weeks one way. Griffins could fly slowly for about a day to get there, so carriage travel must be tough once you were accustomed to that.

This was my second time in a carriage, and while it swayed a bit, a high-quality cushion filled with feathers was laid out for me, so it didn't seem too bad.

"Look, we're passing through the city walls. From here, it's the noble district."

Outside the window that Didier pointed to, there were beautifully maintained stone mansions. They had gardens, and while they were separated by roads from neighboring mansions, they seemed to be laid out in a checkerboard pattern.

"Do all nobles live here?"

"In reality, most of the residents here are the ones who work in the castle. The original homes of nobles who live in the royal capital, as well as the secondary residences of nobles who manage towns and villages, are also numerous. Some nobles have vacation homes in other territories they are friendly with."

"There are many nobles, aren't there?"

There were hardly any people on the main street where our carriage was traveling. Occasionally, when someone passed by, they would all stop and bow towards us. While I continued to peek out in a hidden manner, a large wall and gate came into view.

"From here, it's the commoner's town. Please make sure not to show your face. It could get very complicated."

With that advice, the curtain was quickly drawn closed. Didier and Sergio didn't attempt to look outside and instead closed their eyes as if enduring something. I wondered if they were disliked by the commoners. Maybe they would get pelted with eggs if they were seen.

I wasn't exactly curious, but since this was my first chance to properly see this world, I decided to create a small gap and peek outside, hiding discreetly.

"Kyaaa!"

"It's the Marquis! The Marquis's carriage!"

I gasped and instinctively closed the curtain, moving my face away from the window. The screams seemed to be getting louder, as if contagious. But I was a member of the Beriard family, and I needed to accept it properly. I steeled myself with that thought, opened the curtain again, and peeked outside. I couldn't fully open it because of Didier and Sergio. I wasn't scared at all. Absolutely not.

When I slowly opened my eyes, many people were waving at us. Not just waving but also shaking various things they had with them. I thought they might throw something, so I tensed up a bit, but the expressions on their faces were all bright and shining.

"Huh?"

"Our subjects are a bit strange, you see. They seem to be expressing respect and affection for us with that. Well, the unveiling of Sheriel hasn't happened yet, so should we show our faces a bit?"

"Is my hair okay?"

"Well, commoners probably won't mind."

Originally, there was supposed to be a balcony-like place on top of the big wall that separated the commoner's town from the noble district. After the baptism, it seems they planned to unveil me from there during a ceremony, but it hadn't happened yet due to various reasons.

Didier sighed and quickly put on a perfect smile.

"Sheriel, smile gently and wave your hand."

When Sergio said that and opened the curtain, a particularly loud scream could be heard. Were they welcoming us?

I straightened my fingers as instructed, lightly waved my hand from side to side at the wrist, and the people who had been waving something around next to the carriage suddenly prostrated themselves on the ground, synchronizing with the carriage's speed, creating a large wave.

After the carriage passed, they all stood up one by one and started chasing after the carriage. Didier and Sergio looked accustomed to it, and they elegantly waved their hands from the window, reminding everyone that they were the lord's family.

"Um, the Beriard family is feared as a demon family, aren't they?"

"For commoners, we are a generous presence that protects them from magical beasts and monsters. Does it really matter if it's a demon or something else?"

"Hehe, it seems like the people from other territories despise demon worship, but only people with strong spirits can survive in the Beriard territory."

"Is that so?"

I thought it was a good thing that we were popular among the commoners, but their enthusiasm was overwhelming. Where did my resolution from earlier go?

It seemed my existence was already a topic of conversation, and since I had shown my face, I was supposed to greet the people a bit. With a crowd of people and a large wave following us, we stopped the carriage in a big square.

When I opened the door, there were already guard knights and soldiers stationed outside, and a blue carpet led to the platform in the square. I felt a bit overwhelmed by the situation, but I put on a good girl smile as Didier instructed. Then, following Sergio, I got off the carriage.

"Screaaaaam! Marquis Beriard!"

"It's Didier-sama! What a splendid figure!"

"Is that girl the new princess?"

"What a great start to the new year!"

Amidst the screams mixed with cheers, I responded with a smile while waving to the people. There were so many people gathered in the square in such a short time that it surprised me. Since I wasn't supposed to give a speech, I simply waved my hand while looking around at the people surrounding me one by one.

"Sheriel-sama!"

"How divine! Has a demon lord given birth to an angel?"

"Um... to casually call us demons like that..."

I wondered what the people here thought of demons. We announced that there would be an unveiling ceremony later, and we returned to the carriage. We were told that the people would follow us until we left the town, so for a while, we continued to wave from the carriage with smiles on our faces.

"Phew, that was tiring. It's a problem that the commoners lack education. Even lower-ranking nobles wouldn't approach us."

As soon as we passed through the main gate, Didier's expression crumbled, and his tense posture relaxed.

"Is such a passionate welcome unique to Beriard's territory?"

"It's a unique culture of the Beriard territory. If other nobles tried that, they'd be killed on the spot. But it's also an attempt to improve the image of the Beriard family."

In the past, during a time when the Beriard family hadn't established their current educational methods, it seemed that both other nobles and the commoners had a kind of fear, like a fear of demons. As the Beriards gradually acquired ethics and reason and started reevaluating their relationship with their subjects, one lord actively appeared before the commoners.

"He tried various things like hosting festivals and giving speeches."

"Is he the one who created the Spirit Festival and the Summer Festival? I vaguely remember learning about that."

"Yes, that lord. After trying various things like hosting festivals and giving speeches, the lord is said to have actively appeared before the commoners. The lord was apparently very sentimental and shed tears when he saw the commoners waving their hands. Since then, the commoners started expressing respect to please the lord, and that's how it all started."

"I see, there's a history behind everything."

Rather than improving their image, it seemed more like it was due to concerns about safety. When I thought about the history I had learned, it must have been challenging to erase the bad impression of the Beriard family from the past. In fact, it was amazing that we were now receiving smiles and waves from the people.

It was an unexpected detour, but it allowed me to experience the relationship with the subjects firsthand, something I couldn't learn from books. I was looking forward to gaining significant insights on this journey.

By the way, I didn't get a chance to leisurely observe the town's surroundings. The only thing in my memory was the sight of those crazy people waving something around like mad.