Chapter 13: My Master, My Pillow, and a Book
Inside the carriage, Valerian was sitting comfortably opposite me while reading a book.
"Hmm, master, where exactly are we going?" I asked, my voice breaking the quiet hum of the wheels on the cobblestone road.
Without lifting his gaze from the pages, he replied, "To the closest teleportation gate."
I sighed inwardly. ’Of course I knew that.’ My fingers tapped lightly against my knee as I tried again, this time keeping my voice calm and level.
"We will be taking the teleportation gate to where?"
Valerian finally raised his eyes from the book, his expression steady and composed.
"To Duke Relawear’s territory," he said, pausing for a moment before adding, "But we are not stopping there. We will leave immediately for the border. It will be a three‑day trip."
His words hung in the air as the carriage rocked gently beneath us, carrying me farther from the familiar walls of my home and deeper into a future I could no longer avoid.
But that future would come in at least three days. Now my mind drifted to the type of dream I would have while sleeping inside a carriage.
I took out one of my pillows from my storage ring and placed it comfortably on the far end of the seat. Thankfully, my body was still small, so I could lie perfectly along the carriage seat.
Valerian watched me with an amused look.
"You brought your pillow with you?"
"Yes, it wanted to travel in comfort too, said it needed a nap-cation," I replied, feeling a small surge of pride at my own joke.
[...]
"..."
I didn’t notice neither the system nor Valerian judging my well‑crafted joke as I sank into my dream world.
***
"Ohh wake up now."
I carefully opened my eyes, but instead of the familiar ceiling of my room, a pair of brown eyes filled my vision. Blinking a few times, I pieced together the fragments of memory and realized where I was.
Slowly, I pushed myself upright from the carriage seat. My arms stretched high, joints popping softly as the world crept back into focus, and I turned to greet the owner of those brown eyes.
"Good morning, Master," I said with a lazy smile.
Valerian’s face twisted into open disbelief.
"I did hear rumours about how lazy you were," he said, his tone a mixture of amusement and exasperation, "but I didn’t believe them when I saw you yesterday. Now, though... you skipped dinner, slept straight through the evening, and, most surprising of all, you haven’t moved a single inch since you lay down yesterday afternoon."
I stifled a yawn, letting my gaze drift out the small window where the rolling landscape glimmered in morning light. The distant rhythm of hooves on stone and the soft sway of the carriage felt like a lullaby.
"Really?" I murmured. "That sounds... productive."
Valerian’s sigh filled the small carriage, but I pretended not to notice as I reached for my pillow, already imagining the next nap that awaited.
"Here, eat your breakfast," Valerian said, placing a simple bowl of steaming soup in front of me, accompanied by a small piece of bread. The aroma was warm and earthy, carrying a faint hint of herbs, though it was far removed from the rich, complex scents of the meals I had grown accustomed to at the estate.
I glanced at it briefly, my silver hair falling across my eyes as I remained silent. A part of me wanted to sigh, to voice the disappointment that tugged at my chest at seeing such plain fare before me. But I didn’t.
Without a word, I accepted the bowl and began to eat, each spoonful passing my lips with quiet resignation. The soup was thin but filling, and the bread, though slightly coarse, was fresh and warm. The flavours were simple, almost humble, a stark contrast to the delicacies I had once taken for granted.
Valerian watched me from across the carriage, his brown eyes calm and slightly amused. It seemed as though he was evaluating me, not for how I ate, but for how I accepted change.
I said nothing. I ate without complaint. After all, this was the first step into a different life, and perhaps this plain meal was the quiet herald of everything I would have to leave behind.
Valerian watched me with a steady gaze as I finished the last spoonful of the plain soup. Without a word, he reached into his own storage ring and withdrew a thick, leather‑bound book. The weight of it seemed to command respect even before he placed it in my hands.
I turned it over, reading the title etched in bold, worn letters across the cover: ’Anatomy of the Human Body.’
My silver brows furrowed slightly, and I glanced up at him. "Anatomy?" I asked, my voice tinged with curiosity, but also the faintest edge of reluctance.
"Yes," he said, his tone calm and definitive. "If you are to become a true healer and master the path of your title, you must first understand the body you are meant to protect. Every muscle, every organ, every vein that carries life through the body, these must become as familiar to you as the lines on your own hand."
I looked back at the book, its pages thick and slightly yellowed. My fingers traced the spine, feeling the subtle ridges in the leather.
"Do I have to memorize all of it?" I asked slowly, already imagining long hours of study replacing my beloved naps.
Valerian’s brown eyes glimmered with faint amusement. "Not memorize. Understand. Knowledge without understanding is like a shield made of paper. It will not hold the weight of your power."
I sighed softly, leaning back against the cushioned seat as the carriage rocked gently under us. The thought of reading while traveling already made my eyelids feel heavier.
’System, can you just put all of this into my head?’ I thought lazily.
[No, Host. Learning requires comprehension. Comprehension requires effort.]
I groaned internally, feeling both betrayed and resigned. Opening the thick book to its first page, I stared at a meticulously detailed sketch of the human skeletal system. The neat lines and labelled bones stared back at me as if mocking the laziness that clung to my soul.
Valerian’s voice was calm but firm as he spoke again. "Start with the bones. They are the foundation of the body and of your knowledge. By the time we arrive at the border, I expect you to at least know the names and positions of every major bone."
I let the book rest on my lap, the scent of old parchment rising faintly in the air. My fingers brushed over the first page, and slowly, reluctantly, I began to read.
’The human body has two hundred and six bones.’
Valerian’s approving nod was the last thing I saw before my eyes drifted toward the window again. The rhythm of the carriage, the soft hum of the road, and the quiet weight of the book in my hands felt like the beginning of a new and exhausting journey, one I could no longer sleep through so easily.