CLWE 11

Chapter 11

“……”

With his two younger sisters each saying something different, he had no idea what to do.

In any case, Kamin was used to people coming to him for help.

But then, out of nowhere, a strange woman had appeared.

With arms that look like they’d snap if you squeezed them too hard, what kind of digging does she think she can do?

Yet the way she kept her mouth firmly shut seemed to shout with her whole body that she wasn’t lying.

An ice cave, of all things.

Everything that poured out of her small lips in a rapid chatter was something he had never heard before.

After visiting the home of the woman who possessed the Ego Sword, the emperor remained silent. Feeling something was off, the guard knight bowed his head and asked,

“What is the matter, Your Majesty?”

Had she once again humiliated the emperor in some outlandish way? Recalling the moment when she had rejected his proposal, the guard knight ground his teeth.

If she knew who the person standing in front of her really is, she’d faint from shock.

To the guard knight, the emperor seemed far too soft. Even if they had secretly entered the kingdom’s territory, making one ordinary woman disappear wouldn’t be something that couldn’t be covered up.

Once she loses her master, the Ego Sword will have no choice but to return to the royal family.

If His Majesty gave the order, he would go at once and seize the sword. Just as the guard knight was making and remaking this vow in his heart—

What came from Kamin’s lips was something completely different.

“Do you know how ice is stored?”

“Pardon?”

Ice?

Was it so hot that His Majesty was craving ice? It was that kind of heat. The guard knight answered hesitantly.

“Well, isn’t it usually kept in a freezer?”

“Yes, normally.”

Kamin nodded. To someone born and raised in the imperial palace, a freezer was as familiar as breathing.

That was why he hadn’t thought about it—how commoners lived without one.

“Then how much does that freezer cost?”

“Wouldn’t it be impossible to buy, even with money? It only works if a mage from the Magic Tower maintains the spell.”

“Then how do ordinary people eat ice?”

“Well… I’m not sure.”

And the guard knight didn’t know either. At that answer, the furrows on Kamin’s brow only deepened.

Everyone around me is ignorant of the people’s lives.

Then can the country really be ruled well?

Don’t I need someone who can give me more practical advice?

For example, a girl who digs a hole in her own yard just because she wants to eat ice.

What am I even thinking?

Kamin shook his head sharply from side to side.

The guard knight, who had been watching the unusually odd-looking emperor with a tilted head, pointed to the emperor’s arm and asked,

“That aside, why is your skin so red today? Did that insolent commoner make Your Majesty stand outside?”

“No. I simply helped with some work. The Ego Sword makes for an excellent pair of scissors.”

“That is…”

The guard knight was left speechless. He couldn’t tell whether he should point out the fact that the emperor had helped a common woman with her housework, or the reality that the sacred Ego Sword was being used as scissors.

Ignoring the guard knight’s confusion, Kamin murmured in a small voice,

“She’s a curious woman. She knows a lot.”

It was an extraordinary compliment, unbelievable coming from the mouth of an emperor known for his fairness and cold detachment.

“Wait, you came again?”

“……”

At my question, Kamin’s handsome face just stiffened. I pressed my palm to my forehead and shook my head.

After how happily he slurped down that pumpkin knife-cut noodles and omija tea yesterday, he’s clearly fallen for my cooking.

What am I supposed to do with this insane charm of mine? At this rate, if he tastes the peaches or apples I grew myself, he might make a fuss about living here for the rest of his life.

Is this my karma?

He keeps asking for Rui back, but if it’s not that—if he’s really clinging to me because he likes me—then my heart can’t help but soften.

“Even so, I’m a busy woman, so I’ll only have one child, whether it’s a son or a daughter.”

“…What on earth are you talking about?”

Oops, my inner thoughts slipped out again.

Anyway, after sending this man off yesterday, I’d found myself worrying about him too. I tugged on Kamin’s sleeve.

“Come here.”

“Yes?”

“Lie down here.”

When I tapped the wooden bench and told him to lie down, Kamin looked at me as if he were witnessing something deeply blasphemous.

Anyone would think I was about to eat him.

Cooling someone’s goodwill so easily, even when I was trying to be nice, was a talent in itself.

Still, letting this man’s skin get damaged would be like defacing a national treasure.

I swallowed my irritation, made my eyes sparkle, and put on an expression of trustworthiness. After sulking for a long while, Kamin hesitantly lay down on the bench.

“Stay still. Don’t raise your hands or get in the way for no reason.”

I lightly placed my fingers on Kamin’s arm. A hot heat rushed up beneath my skin, and I clicked my tongue.

“Oh dear, you stood out in the blazing sun yesterday without wearing anything. You’ve got a burn, after all.”

“This sort of thing heals quickly with a recovery potion…”

“Don’t talk. Just lie still.”

A recovery potion, my foot. Ever since I possessed this body, I’d never even seen one. From what I’d heard, even royalty might only use one or two a year.

And besides, there’s a far better natural remedy right here.

I pressed something I’d cut in advance and chilled against his arm. Kamin, who had tensed up thinking I was putting something suspicious on him, widened his eyes when the coolness spread across his skin.

“What is this?”

“Aloe. I planted it in the backyard for times like this.”

For burns, aloe, cucumbers, and grapes were the best, weren’t they?

When I finished his arm and moved up to his face, Kamin murmured in an entranced tone,

“It’s sticky, but very cool.”

“I told you, it’s for moments like this.”

As I rubbed the aloe over him, I tilted my head.

Ah, come to think of it, there was agave in the lord grandmother’s greenhouse.

Once, Grandma had asked if I knew much about agave, so I’d gone to take a look. Since agave was a rare crop back in Korea, I didn’t know much either and couldn’t be much help.

This guy probably doesn’t know what agave is either.

In the first place, it was strange that such a plant even existed in a rural grandmother’s greenhouse. It didn’t seem to suit this climate at all.

Showing Kamin the aloe beside me, I said,

“There’s a plant that looks similar growing in the lord grandmother’s greenhouse. If your skin still stings after you go back, you can just cut a bit and apply it like this.”

“How do you know so much?”

At Kamin’s question, asked in genuine amazement, I shrugged. As he stared at me quietly while I smiled as if it were nothing, he murmured,

“Is this… the wisdom of commoners?”

I snorted.

“You must be someone pretty high up, judging by how you talk.”

I wasn’t laughing to mock him.

How many people in this country are higher than me, anyway?

Riena Pond was the daughter of a duke—someone who had even been destined to become the crown princess.

And now, after just a few years, I’m lecturing a noble about commoners’ life wisdom. Even if it’s thanks to memories from my past life.

Since he didn’t look familiar, he was probably a lower-ranking noble than me. The reversal of circumstances was amusing, and so was this man who spoke without knowing anything.

Not sure how he interpreted my laughter, Kamin lightly furrowed his brows and asked in a slightly sulky tone,

“Did your parents teach you these things?”

“I don’t have parents.”

“……”

I answered casually while carefully spreading the aloe, and Kamin’s mouth snapped shut. Realizing I’d unintentionally shut down the conversation, I gave an awkward smile.

“No, I said that in a misleading way. I do have them.”

“Ah, well…”

“But they abandoned me.”

“……”

At the more precise explanation, Kamin’s mouth clamped shut again, like a giant clam that would never open.

Moments like this make him seem like a good person.

I burst into laughter, then stretched out my legs and sat comfortably beside him as I added,

“I was dishonorably dumped from an engagement when I was young. So they decided I was useless and threw me away. I didn’t think I’d be discarded so easily either. Still, it’s not so bad. Living alone is nice, too.”

It wasn’t a lie. That was why I could talk about my broken engagement to Kamin in such a light, joking tone.

I like my life now.

Living as the duke’s daughter hadn’t been bad, but I liked my current life more, where I could freely do whatever I wanted.

Even though I spoke cheerfully enough, I could feel Kamin subtly watching my reaction. I gave a small laugh and asked,

“Why? Curious about my circumstances?”

“No.”

As if. His face was practically screaming that he was dying of curiosity.

Without thinking, I patted Kamin’s golden hair and praised him,

“You’re kind.”

At my words, Kamin’s face crumpled instantly. Startled myself, I quickly pulled my hand back, my cheeks flushing.

“I haven’t allowed you into my heart or anything! I’m not giving Rui back!”

“…I didn’t say anything.”

Then why aren’t you saying anything? You’re making this so embarrassing!

Breaking out in a cold sweat, I hurriedly changed the subject. In times like this, food was best.

“Do you like grapes? Want some? They’re at their sweetest right now.”

I’d offered it with the generous warmth of the countryside in mind, but Kamin answered with a serious face,

“If I eat them, won’t you have nothing left to sell?”

Oh, look at this guy. Did he think I was the type to give away my liver and gallbladder to others? I nudged him lightly, meaning haven’t I done business before, and said,

“Come on, of course I set aside what I’m going to sell. What I’m giving you are rejects—ones with lower market value.”

“……”

At my reply, Kamin puffed out his cheeks. I laughed loudly and sat down with the basket of grapes.

“Why make such a sulky face? Just because they’re less marketable doesn’t mean they don’t taste good.”

Do you have any idea how sweet the grapes I grew are?

To raise the sugar content, I used plenty of fertilizer, worried about pests, worried about the fruit getting damaged—I wrapped and cared for them so carefully.

This sweet scent. It really is the best.

A rich sweetness filled the air, as if I were holding lumps of sugar. As I rubbed a grape between my fingers, Kamin glanced sideways and asked,

“It’s hard to eat while lying down like this. May I get up now?”

“If it looks like it’s all absorbed, you can get up, but…”

The arm I’d applied it to first seemed to have already absorbed the aloe, but his face—where I’d piled it on extra thick at the end—wasn’t quite there yet. I shrugged.

“Just open your mouth. I’ll put it in for you.”