Shadowless Night

After Macaron tried macarons, it became very pleased with her name, but that came a little later.

***

The journey was smooth.
There were no assassins or traps to be found, and the weather was good.
The party had frequent battles with various beasts within the territory of Illavenia, but as they entered Balta, they became more relaxed.
They couldn’t even find a single beast, as if someone had already dealt with it.
It was almost boring being so idle in the country where danger supposedly lurked.

On one occasion, small fox-like beasts attacked the barracks, but they were defeated by Macaron, who descended from the sky swiftly.
The knights began to call Macaron ‘Sir Macaron’ in honor, as it proved to be a better guard than them.
Rosaline said that ‘sir’ means knight, and a knight defined as ‘a high-status human who protects the weak, knows honor, and has strong beliefs’.
From then on, whenever the knights called it ‘Sir Macaron’, Macaron looked down at them and smiled.
It was a very overbearing attitude.
But because it was using an animal body, it was not visible.

After a series of bustling movements, in less than half a day, they finally reached the capital city of Balta, Livita.
Balta’s palace looked very different from Illavenia’s pure white appearance.
Colorful and gold patterns were mixed in harmony to cover the palace.

The delegation group entered the outer wall.
Inside the open gate, a large number of guards were standing.
They were men with brown skin like red earth.
Rosaline was amazed that Baltans all had black hair.
They were very different from the people of Illavenia, who had white skin and various hair colors.
They were mainly wearing protective gear made from tanned leather, not armor.
In Balta, which is surrounded by lush forests, swamps, and rugged terrain, having free movement was more important.
Wearing heavy equipment such as armor would slow down one’s movement, and thus it would be easier to die from arrows.

After facing the guards, the atmosphere of the Knights of the White Night became sharper.
The senior knights stood closer to Ricardis’ carriage.
A strange air current circulated between the white and black groups.
But only for a while.
Soon, the Baltan guards split to the sides, and from the center, a fat man dressed in splendorous gold appeared.
Isserion had met him on a visit to Illavenia a few years ago.
It was Balta’s prime minister, Attilak.
Attilak knelt on both knees and greeted them in the Baltic manner.
Many of the guards followed him and politely knelt.

“Oh, it’s an honor to meet the distinguished guests of Illavenia.
I am Attilak, a faithful servant of Hiksala Adon.”

Attilak’s greeting relieved the tension between the people.
Knight Commander Starz, who judged that there was no immediate danger, opened the carriage door.
Ricardis got out of the carriage while arranging his long silver hair with his hand.
As it was a sunny day, the light reflected from his hair was also more dazzling than usual.
Attilak was momentarily at a loss for words at the sight of something like a halo forming behind the 2nd Prince of Illavenia. ‘How divine and beautiful it is to see the sunlight shining brilliantly behind him.’

“It’s been a while, Prime Minister.”

When Ricardis addressed him, the prime minister started chattering, saying that Ricardis had worked hard to come a long way, asking whether he felt hot, whether he was tired, and whether he was hungry.
Some people even thought that he was Ricardis’ servant instead of Hiksala’s, the king of Balta.

The delegation and party were soon led into the palace.
Armed guards moved around the Knights of the White Night.
As the capital of a country, there were many tall and splendid buildings.
The slum was located in the invisible back while the road to the palace was thoroughly polished.
However, not a single one of them paused to appreciate the scenery.
As they had set foot in the country of their sworn enemy, everyone became wary even if it was not immediately dangerous.
Rosaline also drove her horse closer to Ricardis’ carriage, becoming alert of her surroundings.

“Where’s Sir Macaron?” Raymond looked at an alley and asked. 

The disappearance of the giant eagle who always flew close to them left quite an immense void.
Rosaline looked up to the sky for a moment, then looked down at her chest and hesitated.

“It’s close.”

Following her words, Raymond looked up at the vast sky.
After some time, the blue sky was without a single cloud or an eagle.
Soon after, the palace was upon them, and Raymond went on alert once more.

Rosaline, who was looking at Raymond, lowered her eyes.
When she said that Macaron was close, to be exact, it was very close.
It was currently a creature small enough to fit between Rosaline’s uniform and chest armor.
A gray-furred rat was dangling with its paws that were the size of grains of rice.
The reason Macaron had changed was because it was not suitable for large creatures like eagles to be brought into the palace.
Before entering Livita, Macaron pretended to fly high in the sky and immediately turned into a rat and returned to her.
Macaron found her pocket and went in before it squeaked.