Chapter 16

~*~

After a while, the two left the store.

“What happened?”

Lakshan asked Elrose while fiddling with the pouch containing 200 drachma coins.

Obviously, the store owner, who initially called for fifteen per gold coin, increased the number the more he talked with Elrose.

What’s more, he even returned two gold coins.

He said that the first coin he returned was to give to Elrose to cherish, and the second gold coin returned was a gift to Lakshan for having a good wife.

She exchanged eight gold coins for 200 drachma coins.

Usually 160 was the normal exchange rate, and if he got lucky, it was about 180 at the most.

If you did the math, the owner just exchanged the coins with little profit.

“Huh? What?”

“Like I said a while ago, how did the owner…”

“Oh, that.”

Elrose continued as if it were nothing.

“When I looked inside the store, I saw a painting of white daffodils and an envelope with the recipient’s mother written on it. Seeing it set aside like that on the wall, the owner was probably a son who cared for his mother very much. And if she were still alive, wouldn’t he have let that go? So I thought she was dead.”

Elrose flipped the gold coin the owner had returned with her finger.

“So, just in case, I just told a story that brought tears to my eyes. Besides, the owner gave you a ridiculous price in the first place.”

“How did you know that?”

“When the owner talked about the amount, you paused a bit. So, I thought you would bargain, but you didn’t. Then, I decided to do that.”

“You… You thought of all that in a short moment?”

“Where was your mind? You’re supposed to bargain with your soul. My mother told me that over and over again when I was a child.”

Elrose recalled memories of her mother and the words she especially emphasized.

“Elrose, the most unbelievable saying in the world is that merchants sell at a loss.”

Elrose, who remembered her mother’s words, turned around and looked at Lakshan as if she had just realized something.

“Oh, I’m sorry for suddenly calling you honey and holding your hand a while ago. Were you very surprised?”

“I was surprised, but…”

It wasn’t something she needed to apologize for.

There was no problem with Elrose calling him honey because they were a formal couple on paper.

Lakshan somehow didn’t like her apology.

While walking and talking, the two entered the alley where the inns were gathered.

The road was very noisy as the guests shouted at each inn.

“Come to our inn, we will serve you five drachmas overnight!”

“Our inn offers four drachmas and breakfast!”

“Our inn provides unlimited meals!”

Elrose listened carefully to each of the shouting.

Lakshan then memorized the cost for each place.

As he looked at her, even this seemed to be a pleasant thing for Elrose.

From there, Lakshan realized he needed to show Elrose as much as possible before they got to his hometown. Thinking about it, he went into the inn with the most reasonable price and clean place.

As they stepped inside, the innkeeper greeted the two.

“Please come in. How many nights are you staying?”

“One night with breakfast please. And…”

Lakshan glanced around at the guests sitting on the ground floor and said.

“We only need one room.”

At Lakshan’s words, Elrose’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Lakshan?”

“My wife seems very tired, so please give me the key first.”

Then the innkeeper nodded as if he knew.

“Oh my god. You are newlyweds. Come on, here’s the key. Our inn’s restaurant is open until late at night. Don’t worry, delivery is also available to your room. We will also give you a special room.”

Seeing the innkeeper’s eyes which were full of such meaning, Lakshan turned his gaze away and hurriedly dragged Elrose who had a surprised expression and walked up.

~*~

Squeak.

The wooden door closed, and the appearance of the room caught Elrose’s eyes.

In the middle of the room, there was a large heart-shaped bed with a red sheet.

She could tell right away without anyone explaining to her why it was decorated that way.

Elrose turned her stiff neck and looked at Lakshan.

‘You said all men are wolves.’

She never thought Lakshan would do anything.

He hastily waved his hand as Elrose looked at him with a distraught face.

“Now, let me explain!”

Then, Lakshan looked at the bed as if it was the most hideous thing in the world.

With his hood off, Elrose was stunned for a moment by his appearance.

Even though she had seen him many times, somehow, he looked more handsome under the lamp light in the dark room.

Elrose rubbed her eyes with her hands.

‘Well, he’s got an appearance that’ll cause trouble if he takes off his hood.’

If Lakshan had walked down the street with his face exposed, women would have already lined up behind him.

Maybe men would too.

In other words, if he said that he wanted to spend the night with someone, he’d have no problem finding a partner.

Elrose took off the hood she was wearing and looked at herself in the mirror behind the door.

The aftermath of motion sickness remained in her messy hair which was scattered here and there, and her face was still a little pale.

Elrose sighed and shook her head.

There’s no way he’d do that.

She felt ashamed of herself for being mistaken when he asked for one room. It was then Lakshan spoke.

“Remember the guy sitting in the lobby in front of the entrance? There was a man sitting on the sofa.”

At first glance, he looked like a regular guest staying at an inn.

But he didn’t come to rest.

‘That tattoo on his wrist.’

It was Lakshan who looked around everywhere the moment they entered the inn.

It was his old habit. It was also a habit that he had to get used to in order to live long as a mercenary.

Thanks to this, he noticed that the man who was sitting on the sofa had a long-legged spider tattoo on his wrist.

Lakshan knew well who made the tattoo.

‘He’s a professional thief.’

He remembered a former mercenary he met on the battlefield who showed him a tattoo on his wrist and boasted that he could open any door.

A tattoo like that was obvious.

Lakshan even saw him listening to the conversation as he and Elrose were talking to the innkeeper.

‘If I said to use a separate room…’

That man would definitely visit Elrose’s room at night.

‘Anyways, it seems like there will be no problems today.’

When he asked for one room, he heard the man with the tattoo click his tongue.

He was short, and it must have been because of Lakshan’s size that he decided not to do something.

So, Lakshan explained everything he knew to Elrose.

“I suppose.”

After the long explanation, Elrose nodded her head as if she understood.

She then fell silently into her thoughts.

When he saw Elrose’s appearance, Lakshan regretted it a little.

‘Did I tell too many scary stories?’

She must have just felt safe after leaving the capital.

But anyone who heard that someone might enter their room tonight would be terrified.

In addition, he was worried that the mercenaries instilled a bad perception in her mind.

Elrose probably wouldn’t like them.

The only mercenaries she had met so far had been those hired by Camilla to target her.

Besides, there was also another one who tried to rob her room, so her perception could get even worse.

Lakshan felt sorry for that.

His father was also a mercenary, and he has been living as a mercenary ever since he grew up.

The title, mercenary king, inherited from his father, weighed heavily on him.

But he never hated it.

Lakshan had pride in his career.

However, as this happened, he was worried that Elrose might see himself as a mercenary with vigilant eyes.

At that time, Elrose asked a question.

“Is there anything else beside the spider?”

“Huh?”

“The mercenary tattoos. On the way, I saw some people who had tattoos that were dragons and others who had lions. They were also in different places on their bodies, so do their tattoos all represent something?”

Instead, Elrose’s voice was full of anticipation, like a child listening to an exciting story, rather than being frightened.