CH 73

Chuckling at my frozen state of embarrassment, Raeyan brushed past me and mounted the horse next to me. As if he never intended to ride with me in the first place. 

As my gaze followed Raeyan ‘s movements, my smile crumbled.

‘I fell for it. I got played.’

I’d tried to tease Raeyan, but instead, I ended up being the one being teased.

Feeling perplexed, I composed myself and called out, “Raeyan. By the way.”

“Yes?”

“Are we going alone?”

Greed, who had been clinging to my arm for dear life, corrected me.

[Three!]

“Just the three of us going?”

“Yes. All the mercenaries have been assigned elsewhere, so this time, I will be the only one accompanying you.”

“Elsewhere?”

I wondered if there was some sort of monster subjugation mission going on.

But if it was a significant operation like that, it would have been reported in the newspaper that I occasionally checked, yet I hadn’t seen any articles about it.

Raeyan kindly responded, as if it wasn’t a confidential mission.

“It’s an escort mission.”

“Oh, an escort. Who is it?”

“The commissioner is Duke Sylvester Perdia, and the subject of the escort is lady Elodie Perdia.”

“Uh, me……?”

I couldn’t believe it. I was the target of a large-scale operation involving all the mercenaries!

Now that I thought about it, I remembered a conversation between Duke Perdia and the duchess during a family meal.

“It’s her first time asking to hang out with a friend. How about granting her request?”

“We still haven’t found who was behind the last ambush.”

“We can tell the mercenaries and have them hire more mercenaries and post them near the house.”

I thought it was just a casual remark, but they actually went ahead and hired mercenaries to be stationed near Urania’s house.

I turned to Raeyan calmly.

“There might be other observers, so let’s be careful not to be noticed and make our escape.”

“Yes.”

Side by side, pressing our hoods tightly, we discreetly slipped away to the back of Urania’s house.

***

The feeling of riding through the autumn breeze was refreshing. It was the time when it was starting to get cold, but as long as you wore a coat, you’d be fine.

[Whoa. Let’s run!]

Greed, who usually complained about the stuffiness of the mansion, could not contain his excitement at being outside at such a fast pace.

It was to the extent that he cheered without even paying attention to Raeyan, of whom he was normally so scared.

How far would we run?

I realized that I had overlooked one important fact.

It was…….

“Are you okay?”

“I’m not okay…….”

It was my stamina.

As a lady of the noble class, I had learned horseback riding as part of my education, and I was quite good at it. However, I hadn’t ridden this long before.

Moreover, my body was weak because I was always stuck in the annex and rarely went outside.

I thought I had become much healthier by eating well and moving around more than before, but it was my misconception.

Regardless of whether I was struggling or not, Greed was comfortably settled on the saddle, spreading out and sleeping.

‘This won’t do. I should exercise when we get back.’

While I was thinking such thoughts and trying to go as fast as possible, feeling sorry for Raeyan who accompanied me, Raeyan, who was running alongside me, gradually slowed down.

“I think it’s better to take breaks occasionally since the horses will get tired.”

He made up an excuse, but there was no way I couldn’t tell it was because of me.

‘He may be reserved, but he is considerate.’

While observing Raeyan, who was slowly reining in the horse, I suddenly turned my head and our eyes met.

“……!”

I was startled as if caught red-handed while stealing a glance. However, Raeyan didn’t seem to care at all and asked me, “It may be intrusive, but may I ask you something?”

“Yeah, it’s fine.”

“Why are you looking for someone named Estelle?”

I was taken aback by the sudden question.

Raeyan had never asked anything about the target from the beginning of the request until gathering information about the target.

The fact that the question was difficult to answer was enough to make me flustered.

“I didn’t expect Raeyan to ask that.”

“I don’t know why you thought that way, but I’m always curious.”

“Huh?”

“About you, Elodie. I’m curious about everything to do with you.”

A subdued voice flowed in with the scent of the forest. It felt strange that Raeyan, who seemed indifferent, was curious about everything regarding me.

There had never been anyone curious about who I am, what I think – not in any moment I could recall while living as Elodie. 

Let alone myself.

“Don’t do that, Raeyan. I’m not as amazing as you think I am.”

“…….”

Raeyan’s gaze, silently staring at me, felt burdensome, so I quickly changed the subject.

“Estelle. We were talking about Estelle, right? I can’t provide you with all the details, but she’s an important person. She can help me resolve most of the problems I’m facing right now.”

Or she could be the cause of all the problems.

I kept the rest to myself. There was no need to reveal too much.

“Well then, what would you do if this person named Estelle turns out to be different from what you expected?”

Despite Raeyan ‘s unexpected question, I immediately responded while tilting my head.

“Well, there’s nothing I can do. It’s my responsibility for making that judgment in the first place.”

“Even if it means paying a price?”

“I’ll pay the price for my responsibility. And then, I’ll go back to square one and start all over again. If it doesn’t work, I’ll keep trying until it does.”

I just spoke my thoughts as they came to mind, but Raeyan remained silent.

Thinking that the conversation had ended, I slowed down and stared straight ahead. It was then that I heard Raeyan ‘s whisper-like voice.

“…as expected.”

“What did you say?”

“Oh, nothing.”

Raeyan casually replied and picked up the pace again. I gazed at his back.

‘Is this your second life, too, Raeyan?’ I asked silently, not expecting nor able to get a response.

***

We had clearly set off in the morning, but when we arrived, it was already midnight, with stars pouring down from the sky.

Most of the houses in the small village within Hebote Territory were already dark.

“Since it’s late at night, it’s better to find accommodation for today and go to the Lord’s estate early in the morning to confirm. After that, we can leave and arrive in Somnia without delay.”

“Sounds good.”

Following Raeyan ‘s plan, we first searched for accommodations.

Greed, who only wanted to catch up on sleep on the way, was sealed up in the Seal Stone.

[We could say I’m a pet.]

“What if it’s a pet-restricted inn?”

[Annoying…….]

Although he was annoyed, Greed didn’t have any further arguments, so he fell silent.

After wandering through the dimly lit village for a while, we finally found a small inn with a light on.

However, what greeted us was shocking news, like a bolt from the blue.

“Oh, luckily there’s one room left. It should be enough for you two as a couple.”

Only one room was available.

I looked at Raeyan in surprise, and he muttered quietly, “A couple…”

It seemed like he was surprised about something different from me, but it was obvious that the innkeeper was mistaken.

I pulled Raeyan ‘s arm, and he seemed to snap out of it, nodding slightly as he looked at me.

“Are there no other available rooms?”

“Yes. This inn doesn’t have many rooms to begin with, haha.”

“We should probably go to another inn.”

Raeyan turned around to leave again, but the innkeeper urgently called out to him.

“Oh, it’s no use, sir!”

“What do you mean?”

“This is the only inn in this village. It’s a village where not many people come, and occasionally monster hunters pass through. Today, of all days, the hunters have gathered here.”

The village turned out to be smaller than expected, with only one inn. With no other choice, we had to stay here.

It seemed that Raeyan had the same thought as he paid the innkeeper in advance and looked back at me.

“Rest. I’ll sleep outside.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll come in the morning.”

“Wait a moment.”

Raeyan acted as if he would really sleep outside. The innkeeper seemed perplexed, perhaps realizing that we weren’t a couple.

“What do you mean sleep outside? Stop talking nonsense and come with me.”

I received the room key from the innkeeper and firmly grabbed Raeyan’s hand, pulling him along.

[Oh, assertive,] Greed exclaimed excitedly.

Raeyan didn’t resist my touch and followed obediently.

After pushing Raeyan into the precious remaining room, I quickly closed the door.

“You might be uncomfortable,” he said quietly.

“As comrades, we can share the same room. What’s the big deal?”

“Hah…….”

Raeyan, who rarely showed any emotions, let out a sigh this time. However, seeing that he didn’t protest about sleeping outside anymore, it seemed he had agreed to my decision.

To arrive in Somnia by the agreed-upon time with Duke Perdia, we would have to ride all day tomorrow.

To endure such a forced march, it was best to get to bed early. I quickly finished my preparations for sleep and returned to the room.

“I’m so tired.”

[Eh? I’m not really tired].

“Well, you only slept, so it’s natural that you’re not tired.”

[Huh? When did I do that?]

As I glanced at the sulking Greed and suddenly felt a sense of discomfort, I was taken aback and asked.

“Where’s Raeyan?”

Raeyan was definitely there until I went into the bathroom to get ready, but when I finished and came out, only Greed was there.

[He went out for a moment to look around.]

“When did he leave?”

[Don’t know! But more importantly, I’ll give you a massage! I used to do it for Ishtar frequently.]

Greed, more energetic than usual after sleeping on a horse, kept urging me to lie down on the bed.

As I laid on the bed for a long time like I couldn’t resist, Greed’s eyes twinkled suspiciously. And then…….

“Ugh!”

He was stomping all over my body. It wasn’t refreshing at all; it was painful! Its tiny paws pressed ruthlessly on my tense muscles.

[Hahaha! Is it refreshing? Is it good?]

This foxlike brat!

“Are you seeking revenge? Did you get upset because I haven’t been paying attention to you lately?”

[No. Resentment. I don’t know.]

“Funny.”

Greed and I engaged in a playful fight for a while. However, despite quite some time passing, Raeyan still hadn’t returned.

‘No way…….’

As soon as a thought crossed my mind, I abruptly stood up from the bed. I gestured for Greed to be quiet with a “shh” and quietly approached the door.

Creak! As soon as I opened the door, I spotted Raeyan standing by the door.

“Raeyan, what are you doing there?”

“…Just taking a breather.”

“You’re taking a breather in the hallway?”

I looked up at Raeyan, narrowing my eyes.

“You weren’t going to come in, were you?”

“…….”

“Come in.”

It seemed like Raeyan had lied about just briefly looking outside and had been guarding the door all along.

I assumed he was outside the door because it was unlikely that a dutiful escort would go far without me.

I nudged Raeyan ‘s back as he entered the room and gave him an order.

“Go wash up quickly. Come on.”

“…….”

After resisting for a moment, Raeyan washed up in the bathroom and returned to the room.

I switched off the light and I forcefully pulled Raeyan, who was standing at a distance, and dropped him on the bed.

“Come on, lie down. Raeyan is like a child.”

“…….”

“Not lying down?”

Reluctantly, Raeyan ended up lying on the bed. I, trying to be considerate of Raeyan’s conservative nature, laid as far away as possible.

I tried not to think about it, but lying next to him made me nervous. I subtly turned my head and met Raeyan ‘s gaze. I wondered what he was thinking.

I wondered what was going on in his head as he looked at me without averting his eyes.

I don’t know how much time passed before I realized I should be averting my eyes.

[I’m in the middle!]

“Ugh!”

Suddenly, Greed jumped high and landed between us, disrupting the subtle atmosphere.