I should have seen it coming the moment he started blithely spouting state secrets. Sending someone with zero experience like me as the escort of a royal bound for the imperial capital, of all places, isn't that reckless?
"You're telling me to escort the Duke of Altringen all the way to Vienna?"
"It's not that far a journey. A month should be plenty for the round trip."
A month, my foot. I was planning to hole up in my fief and laze about with Hilda, so what on earth was this? At words even more preposterous than receiving a title, I expressed my reluctance with every fiber of my being.
"I respectfully decline. If it's all right, may I be excused now?"
"It will be an excellent experience for you. I guarantee it."
"You're sending a country bumpkin noble to the imperial capital to make a fool of himself?"
