ISGJV 58

Chapter 58

I hadn’t meant to, but my words came out stammering on their own. I was that surprised.

“H-however. You’re still too young, and besides, that marriage was something your uncle forced through.”

That was why Edmund hadn’t liked it either.
But hearing Edmund’s words now, there was only one way to interpret them.

‘It means he’s truly accepting me as Edmund’s wife.’

Regardless of my insignificant background, or the fact that his uncle had forced the marriage.

Then Edmund frowned, knelt down in front of me, and asked,

“So, do you dislike it? Cassia?”
“……”

Dislike it?

There was no way I could say yes to that, not even as a joke.
But.
Even so.
No—precisely because of that, my head filled with questions.

‘Is it really okay? Truly?’

The Edmund who, when he first met me, had bristled like a cat with its fur standing on end was nowhere to be seen.
I couldn’t fail to notice the child’s changed attitude and obvious affection.

But could I accept Edmund’s feelings right now?

I couldn’t give an immediate answer to that question.

First of all, I wasn’t the real “Cassia.” Inside, I was Seo Haena, a twenty-year-old Korean.
Asking someone like me to accept the proposal of a fourteen-year-old kid was too much.

And above all, there was one huge problem.

‘What if, after we escape safely, I end up returning to Korea?’

The unknown being who had drawn me into this world had entrusted Edmund to me.
No time limit had been specified.
What if all that power wanted was for Edmund to escape safely?

‘If I suddenly disappear, what will happen to Edmund?’

But I had to put off seriously and heavily pondering that, because Edmund said this shyly.

“No, I’m not asking for your answer right now. Not in a shabby place like this.”

Then his expression shifted, as if he’d convinced himself and made up his mind.

“At the very least, after we enter Lamberto Castle, I’ll say it properly again. Then give me your answer.”

Edmund said that and smiled brightly.
I forced a smile in return and nodded.

“Okay.”

My heart felt unbearably heavy.
And yet, what I couldn’t hide was the fact that Edmund’s words had made me happy.

While the two young boys and girls were having that conversation inside the inn’s bedroom,
the two adults who had slipped outside at some point were pressed tightly against the door.
Both strained their ears, diligently eavesdropping on the children’s conversation.

The nanny shoved Willes aside and complained petulantly.

“Move over there a bit! If you hog the spot, I can’t hear anything!”
“No, I’m already pressed all the way to the edge! Ma’am!”

Even as they bickered, a fairly serious conversation was going on inside.
And finally, when Edmund said those words, the two nearly burst into cheers.

“Of course. You’re my wife, and…….”
“…because I’m your husband.”
“So, do you dislike it? Cassia?”

If they shouted here, it would ruin everything.
With their last shred of reason, the two covered each other’s mouths and protected this crucial moment.

‘Quiet!’
‘I know!’

Even so, they didn’t forget to cheer them on, even if only in whispers.

‘Accept it! Accept it!’
‘Please hurry and say you understand, miss!’

Each of them prioritized their own master more.
But there was one point they agreed on.

Namely—

‘Cassia and Edmund are a match made in heaven!’

—there was no disagreement about that.
The reasons differed slightly, but still.

“Our young lady has suffered and sacrificed so much—if you throw her away just because her family background isn’t good, you’re not even human!”
“Lady Cassia’s abilities are impressive enough that it’s a shame the Academy couldn’t take her in, but beyond that, she’ll surely be outstanding as the Duchess of Cohen as well!”

The conclusion was the same.

‘Edmund and Cassia must become a real married couple.’

As a result, the two worked hard to help once they saw signs of progress between Cassia and Edmund.
That was why, right after Cassia woke up, they had stayed in the room together, but immediately left once the atmosphere started to turn unusual.

‘This kind of thing should be talked about romantically, just between the people involved!’

So the nanny and Willes slipped outside the door without a sound and stuck themselves to the wall like this, eavesdropping.
And finally, when Edmund openly spoke words of proposal, the two were so happy they nearly cheered out loud—
to the point of feeling disappointed that Cassia didn’t answer right away.

They whispered so their meddling wouldn’t be heard inside.

‘If it’s a proposal, he should be more formal about it!’
‘That’s right! At the very least, there should be something shiny! You two haven’t even had a wedding yet!’

Even so, the nanny felt quite pleased that Edmund hadn’t forgotten all the hardships her young lady had gone through.

‘You can’t abandon a wife who’s shared hardship and sacrifice with you, can you?’

Of course, Cassia herself had responded lukewarmly to her talk about not missing out on the future duchess position.

‘It’s because our young lady is too kind.’

In any case, it was fortunate that Edmund’s resolve was firm.
Cassia would have been horrified if she knew, but since she was already overwhelmed just dealing with Edmund, perhaps it was better that she didn’t know about this situation.

We rested one more day at the inn and then departed immediately.

“Are you really okay? Your foot still hasn’t fully healed.”
“Getting to Lamberto territory as soon as possible comes first. We can rest once we’re there.”

We never knew when a pursuit team might latch onto us.
If we were lucky, we might not be discovered at all, but we had to consider the worst-case scenario.
Because I was so stubborn, it was decided that we would rest one more day before leaving.

Fortunately, Willes had scoured the village and brought back quite a lot of medicinal herbs, so my foot could be treated to some extent.
After resting well for three days, my body felt considerably better.

Moreover, in this village, you could pay a small amount of money to ride in a cargo wagon.
A traveling troupe that wandered through the countryside happened to be staying there, and they were set to leave the village around the same time we were.

“From here on, the roads will get more dangerous. Considering there may be bandits or robbers, it’s better to move with as many people as possible.”

The nanny skillfully negotiated with the troupe leader, paid the fare, and arranged for us to travel together as far as the large northern city of Olang.

The troupe leader was a bald man with a cross-shaped scar on his face.
He gave a rather unpleasant first impression, but the evaluations I heard from the troupe members and villagers who’d stayed briefly were fairly good.
With his fierce-looking face, he burst into a hearty laugh and roughly ruffled both my and Edmund’s hair.

“Haha! So you’re the kids who’ll be traveling with us for a bit!”
“Yes, we’ll be in your care!”
“…….”

I responded gently, while Edmund simply kept his mouth shut.
This was something I’d firmly instructed him about beforehand.

“Once we leave the villa, you keep your mouth shut no matter what! Even if something really annoys you, swallow your temper! Don’t ever cause trouble! Got it?”

Compared to the original story, it was better, but Edmund’s personality still wasn’t exactly good.
I could tell he was forcibly restraining himself from wanting to cut off the troupe leader’s hand.

“Haha! You’re both quite pretty! It’s a shame you’re boys!”

After thoroughly messing up my hair, the troupe leader showed particular interest in Edmund.

“And you there—did you say you’re the youngest? You’re so pretty people might get the wrong idea!”

“…….”

This was bad. Edmund’s gaze changed.

‘Aah! No! That’s the face he makes when he’s calculating a kill!’

On top of that, Edmund could use magic.
If he lashed out and ruined everything, we’d be in serious trouble.

I quickly hugged Edmund tightly from behind and shouted,

“Our Eddy is really cute, right? He hears that all the time. Even back home, all the village girls used to trail after Eddy everywhere!”
“Well, he certainly looks the part. Once he grows up, he’ll probably make plenty of women cry.”

I squeezed Edmund’s shoulder tightly and silently signaled him.

‘Stay calm. Calm down! Don’t cause an incident!’

In the end, Edmund let out a sigh and relaxed his shoulders.
I heard his small grumble by my ear.

“It’s annoying, but I’m not stupid enough to cause trouble over something like this.”

At that answer, I beamed.

“Good. That’s our Eddy. Such a good boy. Well done.”

Then I gently brushed through Edmund’s soft hair, neatly fixing what the troupe leader had messed up.
Unlike before, Edmund didn’t avoid my touch or show any sign of disliking it.
He simply stayed still, his face faintly flushed.

Seeing that, the troupe leader burst out laughing as he walked toward his subordinates.

“He’s a kid who listens well to his big brother.”

Edmund clearly looked irritated again.
But he didn’t pick a fight and put us in trouble by blowing up over his own slip of the tongue.
Though, of course, he did grumble quietly.

“Do I really look like your little brother? We’re almost the same height.”

His face looked just like that of an actual fourteen-year-old kid, which made me laugh.

Thanks to riding in the traveling troupe’s wagon, I managed to avoid completely wrecking my foot again.
Of course, my backside hurt, but it was several times better than walking the rough mountain roads myself.

Still, traveling drained your stamina all the same. When we ended up camping out in the mountains, I fell into a light sleep the moment I lay down and closed my eyes.

And then, half asleep, I heard a strange sound.

“Whimper… ngh…….”

It was the pitiful cry of some animal.