Carriage Company
The carriage company is generally a subsidiary of the big organisation called Beast Hall. The Beast Hall is a conglomerate of independent individuals of different affiliations, such as sects or families, who deal with most things related to beasts.
These include the capture and selling of beasts, pills and medicines for the beast's health and growth, beast taming, goods made from the beast products, beast carriage, etc. As they are of various affiliations, the Beast Hall is generally indiscriminate in its dealings. The carriage company, being its subsidiary, is also supposed to inherit the same.
When we entered the branch of the carriage company in that small city, it was bustling with people. As the carriage company had a wide range of beasts from weak to strong, wealthy commoners such as merchants would also take the services of the carriage company for a little extra expense. We had to wait a few minutes in line for our turn.
When our turn came, I asked the receptionist girl for a fast Blood Beast carriage for two people, preferably one that could be used in snow, too. The girl was listening to the request with an amiable expression, but by the end, she had her brows furrowed a little. She contemplated for a few moments and then said.
"We have many fast Blood Beast carriages, but there is only one that can be used in snow. Two 'Snow Frekins' at the peak of the River Consolidation realm are the ones driving the carriage. Snow Frekin is a wolf-type beast generally found in the cold region of the north. These two were captured from there and were trained by the head of the branch personally. So the cost is very high, and you must get the head's permission. If you want, I will go and inform the branch head about your request."
I had plenty of origin stones with me from the loot in the Turquoise Realm. Thus, I acquiesced to her and waited for the answer of the branch head. While we were waiting for the receptionist to return, a group of yellow-robed men wielding swords on their waists came through the entrance.
A handsome guy was in the lead. He had long blonde hair and auburn eyes. His robes were also yellow coloured with intricate designs of flowers on them. He had a scholarly look and grace in his walk.
His eyes roamed over the reception area. When his eyes were directed at Alice, his eyes stopped for a little while and then continued. After getting a look, he went to another receptionist with the other yellow-robed one, probably his guards, following behind him.
He spoke a few words with the receptionist when the receptionist bowed to him and went to fetch someone. At the midway, she saw a middle-aged man, along with another receptionist, coming towards her. She rushed up to them and said some things to the middle-aged man.
The man moved hurriedly and bowed to the handsome guy. Seeing him act that subserviently, the receptionists were baffled. I looked at the other receptionist and found that she was the one allocated to me. That middle-aged man probably would be the branch head of this carriage company. Then this handsome guy must be a big shot.
The middle-aged man chatted with the blondie for some time and then fell into his thoughts. Then, I looked at my receptionist and said something. The receptionist came to us and said a little dispiritedly.
"Dear customer, we can not help you get the 'Snow Frekin' carriage. The other customer there has asked our branch head about the same carriage, and the deal was finalised. If you want some---"
"Isn't the company supposed to be impartial? Who is that guy?"
Although I was angry at such unprofessionalism, I interrupted her explanation and asked my question without showing much expression outside. The receptionist was slightly jolted by my question but answered immediately with an embarrassed expression for being questioned about the company's impartiality.
"His Royal Highness is the crown prince of the Vangan Empire, Prince Walton."
(Ohhh.. A prince. He certainly didn't have the imposing aura of a prince. Or perhaps he was very good at acting.)
I nodded at her and then started walking towards the middle-aged man, the branch head of the carriage company. I didn't give a single more glance at the crown prince and spoke to the branch head.
"Can we use your Frekins carriage for my travel? We will return them within a month."
My words were direct and with significantly less politeness. So, the face of the man darkened a little. He scrutinised me and Alice and was surprised.
Without a doubt, Alice was beautiful, and with her indifferent and cold attitude, she looked much like a beautiful ice lotus, beautiful but aloof. But I also was not too bad either in the looks department. Our clothing and accessories were also top-notch.
Seeing our appearance and mannerisms, one would think we had some deep background and would not underestimate us. Thus, the man's face softened up.
The handsome guy didn't have any change in expression, but I could sense that all his attention was focused on Alice. Clearly, this prince had some thoughts on her. Alice also felt his gaze but didn't show much change except holding my hands tighter. I reciprocated the hold and asked the middle-aged man again.
"If you have any conditions, you can state them. There is no issue with the origin stones. So can we get the carriage?"
Only after I asked the second time did the branch head reply.
"I am sorry, but this gentleman here has already reserved that particular carriage beforehand. I can only help you by arranging a different carriage for you."
For the first time, I looked at the prince's face to face. He had a slight smile on his face. This smile could be seen as suave and courteous to others, but I felt it was full of complacency and schemes.
The receptionist had clearly mentioned that they had finalised the deal just now, so the words of the branch head were a complete lie. And this prince clearly had no intention of rectifying it.
(Welll... I would have done the same, too, if I were in his shoes.)
I didn't want to argue much about this. Our objective was to reach Ruvendin, but there was no haste. So it would be better to get to another carriage company and change to a beast carriage that can traverse in snow. I nodded my head with a smile to the handsome prince and looked back at the branch head.
"Where could I get another beast carriage of the same specifications?"
The middle-aged man pondered deeply for a moment, and then his eyes lit up. He said that in the northeast, there was a merchant town called Stilpan. The carriage company there had another Frekins carriage with them. They generally use that to transport goods between Stilpan and Ruvendin during the Surplus Festival once a year. The festival was held in spring, so they would not need the carriage now. So we could avail their services.
Alice and I were happy about getting a solution to our current predicament. But the same could not be said for the handsome prince. His facial expressions twitched, and he frowned a little before smoothing his creases once again. I caught his lack of composure but didn't bring it to light.
The branch head then instructed the receptionist to arrange a fast-moving bull-type beast carriage for us. The receptionist went to do her task with a happy expression. Perhaps she was pleased that her customers were not angry at getting his deal snatched, and she could redeem herself by doing an excellent job for them.
After getting the carriage, I thanked the receptionist and gave her a good amount of tip for her professionalism. I let Alice sit inside the carriage while getting myself to take the position at the front of the carriage with the reins in my hand. Before departing, I turned my head back and found the 'suave' and 'gentleman' prince staring at our carriage with an ugly expression. Seeing him such, my lips curled upwards.
(Another young upstart coveting my Alice. Tsk. See if I don't make you meet your predecessor. Callum would also like someone new to play with.)
With such 'rebellious' thoughts about the empire's crown prince, I whipped the reins to make the carriage start moving. According to the branch head with the carriage, it would take about a week to reach the town Stilpan.
Alice and I decided to rotate the turn to drive the carriage daily. And the other one could cultivate or train peacefully inside the carriage. To perhaps compensate for their actions, the carriage company had arranged a quite big carriage.
The interior was well-designed and furnished, and there was sufficient open space for one to do some light training. 3 sturdy bull-like Blood Beasts were pulling the carriage. Even though they were very bulky, the speed of the carriage was no laughing matter. It was as fast as me, even without the metal weights.
The days passed, and by the 8th day in the carriage travel, we reached the merchant town Stilpan by dusk. I was running behind the carriage, just behind the carriage that Alice was driving. On the days when Alice rode the carriage, I put the metal weights on me and tried to run with the carriage.
For the first couple of attempts, I was left far behind after every few hours. But I improved myself, and this time, I was able to finally run toe-to-toe with the carriage.
My body was very exhausted from doing such strenuous exercise for a whole day without any rest or use of stellar energy. By the time we reached our room in the inn, I had taken a quick bath, washed myself clean of dirt and sweat and fell on the bed.
As I was drained, Alice was the one who booked the room and thus only got a double-bed room for us. Even though it was a double bed, I knew she would make the two beds join and cuddle me to sleep. But I had no more energy for such thoughts as my body was fatigued, and I fell fast asleep after only putting my pants on.
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Alice came out of her bath and found that Lucas was fast asleep. He had just put on his pants with the shirt lying in his outstretched hand. Lucas was also sleeping on his stomach with the other hand stuck beneath him.
She had known that he was exhausted. All these days, he hadn't taken a single wink of sleep. He would drive the carriage one day, and the other day, he would strain his physical body to the extreme. He hadn't taken rest for any second.
During the days when he would drive the carriage, he would meditate to get a little breather but then soon would start to cultivate to consolidate his strength. It was no wonder he didn't even have much capacity to sleep properly after these many days.
She changed into her nightgown and went to Lucas. Alice rolled his body to make him sleep properly. When she saw his back, she was surprised. There were many light scars all over his body. After turning him over, she was extra surprised.
There were more scars in the front than in the back. Many were small, but quite a few were very big, indicating the severity of those wounds. Alice had seen Lucas naked many times. They had taken many baths together. But after joining the sect, she had never seen his body again.
And this is the first time since then. Previously, Lucas' body was chiselled, but his skin was smooth and beautiful with no scars on it. But now, his body had many scars; most were on his front and were significant.
Feeling the scars with her fingers, she remembered them. These were the injuries suffered when facing Callum during the duel as well as in the Turquoise Realm. And the reason for that was because Callum was pestering her.
If she could have silently endured him, then her little brother would not have suffered such injuries. Alice felt her eyes turn wet. Tears started streaming down her face. She cried for some time, but then her eyes turned icy. She promised herself that she would become strong.
So strong that there would be none who would try to annoy her. And even if someone pestered her, then she would take care of it herself without pushing Lucas into harm.
After congealing her resolve, Alice lay beside him, caressed his hair, and only stopped when she fell asleep.