Chapter 1: Carriage of Complaints.
The soft creaking of polished wood echoed faintly in the air, a rhythm almost too calm to match the intensity of what was unfolding inside the sleek, obsidian-trimmed Aoi family carriage. The interior was lavish—cushioned seats of deep violet velvet, small gold-framed windows offering fleeting glimpses of blurred horizons, and in the center, a tiny silver table inlaid with a rose crest. It was a space built for nobility, a moving throne room riding through the world with grace and speed.
And yet…
Hitoshi sat with arms tightly crossed, cheeks puffed up in exasperation, his short legs swinging irritably above the polished carriage floor. His brows furrowed in deep thought as he glared across the cabin at the icy-eyed girl who returned his stare with the ferocity of a cornered beast.
' Mean girl...., she definitely told Eri-Onee-san about that. Now she's making me accompany this spoiled demon princess to her fancy-pants school as punishment.' Hitoshi felt like crying. Thinking to himself that Eri Onee-san must've been mad that he annoyed Aiko when he went to clean her room previously.
He narrowed his eyes, glaring at Aiko who sat perfectly poised, her arms delicately folded in her lap, chin slightly raised in a manner that screamed I'm better than you.
Her long, silken raven-black hair framed her face like an obsidian waterfall, and her scarlet eyes—sharp, frigid, always watching—looked like they could cut steel. Her exquisite black dress highlighted her noble bearing. Meanwhile Hitoshi was wearing a fashionable black suit with red edges that hinted at his vassal standing.
As for his luggage, Eri Onee-san had gone ahead and helped him pack everything he needed or in his case, everything the countess had already prepared before hand before storing everything away in his spacial pouch.
Nevertheless, here they were, two children thrown into a carriage together, the temperature inside slowly freezing over from their silent mutual disdain.
Aiko sniffed, tossing her hair over her shoulder with a slight scoff, and glared harder.
"Why are you staring, peasant?" she muttered, voice flat but icy.
"I'm not!" Hitoshi snapped, cheeks turning red. "You were staring first, you scary eyebrow goblin!"
"I beg your pardon?!"
The air turned stiff, and poor Eri Onee-san—who sat right beside Aiko—slowly placed a hand to her temple and sighed. Her usual poker face remained intact, the calm mask of a head maid who had seen far worse, but her crimson eyes betrayed a whisper of weariness.
"Could you two please stop bickering..…" she said gently, though her voice carried the crisp authority of a seasoned knight. "We've only been in this carriage together for less than an hour. Surely we can survive a bit more without war erupting, yes?"
They both grumbled in response. Hitoshi looked away, sticking his tongue out when Aiko wasn't looking. Aiko, meanwhile, huffed and turned her face to the side, refusing to give Hitoshi the satisfaction of a proper insult.
Outside the carriage, the scenery zipped past in a blur—an endless stretch of vast, wind-tossed plains painted with golden grass and shadowed under a blanket of scattered clouds. The only sound was the faint roar of wind and the thunderous rhythm of galloping hooves.
The four beasts pulling the carriage were no ordinary horses. They were Death Steeds—massive, black-flame skeletal creatures with glowing violet eyes and long flowing manes like smoke. Their hooves barely touched the ground, their pace unnatural, tireless, fueled by the mana radiating from their bones. Each time their hooves struck the earth, it cracked like thunder—but not a single tremor reached the passengers inside.
Then, without warning, the world around them slowed.
' Why did we stop?' Hitoshi felt the shift first, his weight subtly tilting forward.
The carriage came to a smooth, sudden stop, as silent as the falling dusk.
Eri Onee-san looked up with perfect posture and gave a courteous nod. "We've arrived."
Aiko scoffed, her voice laced with practiced disdain. "Tch. About time."
"What—wait, wait, WAIT!" Hitoshi shot up in his seat, nearly bumping his head on the carriage ceiling. "We only just got in like… like twenty minutes ago! You said the school was all the way in the heart of the kingdom!"
He turned toward Eri with wide, pleading eyes, pointing dramatically toward the nearest window. "We didn't even eat snacks yet! What sort of shortcut was that?!"
" Of course a meer peasant such as yourself wouldn't–" Aiko opened her mouth to continue her scoffing, clearly annoyed at being interrupted, but.
"Onee-san, was it magic!' Hitoshi's voice had already steamrolled over hers. Her eye twitched. Visibly irritated even more.
Eri brought a finger to her chin, tilting her head with a rare glimmer of amusement in her eyes.
"Hmm…it's a family secret," she said with a soft smile.
'A family secret?' Hitoshi blinked. 'So cool!'
What she didn't say aloud—though she thought it with a wry chuckle—was that they had used a high-tier transportation spell mid-ride, shifting the entire carriage hundreds of kilometers forward in an instant. A risky maneuver if one weren't experienced in spatial magic, but for Eri Onee-san, A mere trifle.
' This damned Slave!, doesn't he know that I'm basically his master!' Aiko's glare turned positively venomous. She wasn't used to being ignored mid-sentence, much less by someone like him. She leaned slightly forward, lips pressed thin, her gaze burning a hole in the boy's forehead.
But Hitoshi didn't even notice. He had already spun around, bouncing excitedly in his seat, hands clapped together as he stared at Eri in awe.
"Eri Onee-san! You're so amazing! You always do cool stuff like this. " Hitoshi praised with shimmering eyes. " Onee-san is so mysterious and smart!"
Eri blinked. The corners of her lips twitched as she gently raised a hand to her chest and gave a courteous nod.
" Ahem...I see, well I appreciate the flattery but we best get off, we can't have you two being the last ones to enter the school now would we." She meant the words—formally—but inside, her heart softened just a little.
' He's still as cute and sweet as ever' she thought, stealing a glance at Aiko. ' But that sweetness… better not be drained by someone too stubborn to recognize it.'
Aiko, who looked like she was one insult away from throwing Hitoshi out the carriage window, kept glaring. She hated how easily he could steal attention. How casually he spoke. How dumb he sounded when he got all excited like that.
And yet, part of her—a very, very small part, couldn't look away from him.
"Tch," she muttered under her breath.
Hitoshi looked over at her, his cheeks puffing up again.
"What's with the 'tch'? I wasn't even talking to you, y'know."
"I noticed," she said coolly, crossing her arms. "And yet, you still managed to irritate me."
"Good," he shot back. "Maybe that'll stop you from glaring at me like I'm your breakfast!"
"I don't eat pests."
"Well, I'm not a pest, Your Meanness!"
The moment stretched, heated by a silent war of glares and childish rage.
Eri Onee-san sighed again and quietly reached for the carriage door handle, her face remaining expressionless as always.
' Truly… this is going to be a long day....'