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Chapter 23
The way he even tightened the muscles between his brows showed just how uncomfortable he was.
So he hated being in contact with me that much.
It wasn’t exactly news, so it didn’t particularly hurt her feelings.
“Nope.”
When Angelina stepped back, his distorted expression finally relaxed.
“I want to wash up already. I’m hungry too.”
“So what now? Got a plan?”
“My plan is… to mooch off you.”
Angelina grinned and pulled out a five-baht coin from her pocket.
“Please take care of me, Your Imperial Highness.”
“Seriously, why did you buy my clothes…?”
“It’s a bribe.”
Angelina laughed again. Alekséi found himself speechless at that smile.
Did she actually think things through or not? Sometimes she seemed thoughtful, other times completely reckless.
“You shouldn’t call it a bribe. It’s a gift.”
“It is a bribe. I gave it expecting something in return.”
“It’s still a gift. Between us.”
Between us?
Angelina looked up at him with her usual dry expression, puzzled.
They were husband and wife, yet still felt like strangers. Not close, but not exactly distant either.
“My father and mother exchanged gifts often. Even when it wasn’t for national events or anniversaries.”
It sounded related to what he meant, yet she still didn’t quite understand.
“So what are you trying to say?”
“Nothing.”
“……”
“Let’s go.”
Watching Alekséi turn away coldly, Angelina blinked in confusion.
Have I been misunderstanding Alec all this time?
Just when she thought, He’s exactly the kind of guy I expected, he would suddenly react in ways she never anticipated.
‘Angel really doesn’t know anything.’
Suddenly, his earlier words echoed in her ears.
“What are you doing?”
“I-I’m coming.”
At his blunt tone, Angelina quickly pushed the thought aside.
The two wandered the streets again. After exploring alleys away from the main road, they stopped in front of a building.
Red Moon Inn.
“Shouldn’t we find a restaurant first?”
“It’s an inn and a restaurant.”
Angelina pointed at the small sign near the entrance that read: Meals Provided.
There were several taverns offering lodging, but she had passed them by. An inn with fewer customers would be safer.
Besides, Red Moon sounded kind of cool.
“Do you have rooms?”
“What kind of room would you like?”
“The cheapest one.”
“Please come this way.”
The innkeeper led them to a communal sleeping room.
The moment the door opened, a foul smell hit them. From one of the tightly packed bunk beds, a half-naked man lazily opened his eyes and grinned.
“Welcome.”
Angelina bolted out faster than light.
“A slightly less cheap room, please.”
That one wasn’t much better. The beds were merely spaced farther apart.
“…An expensive room.”
“I don’t think we have anything that suits your tastes. There’s a hotel about fifteen minutes away.”
The innkeeper’s gaze lingered on Alekséi’s flashy vest.
“It’s not about our tastes. We just need a room the two of us can use alone.”
“Ah… my mistake. That makes sense.”
What does?
The innkeeper looked at them with a sly expression.
“There happens to be exactly one room that meets your conditions.”
Second floor.
The innkeeper proudly opened the door.
Dust and strands of hair littered the corners, but Angelina smiled calmly.
“It’s perfect. I love it.”
“We’ll take this room.”
The problem was that the outrageous price didn’t match the filthy condition.
“How much did you say?”
“Fifty baht.”
“Fifty baht for one night?”
“This is the pride of our inn. Having its own bathroom is a huge advantage. Lots of people ask for it, which is why it’s expensive.”
Angelina walked over to the window. The air inside was stale and smelled awful. Any normal traveler would’ve tried opening the window immediately. But thick dust coated the frame. It looked untouched for ages.
Lots of people ask for it? What a lie.
“I’m very sensitive about cleanliness. Fifty baht if you clean it immediately.”
“We don’t have enough staff to clean it right now.”
“Then skip the cleaning and give it to us for thirty.”
“Ah, that’s difficult.”
“Forget it then. We already saw a cleaner room for forty.”
As Angelina tugged on Alekséi’s clothes, the innkeeper shouted:
“Thirty baht!”
“One more thing.”
“?”
“The meals are included for free, right?”
Angelina smiled brightly.
“Of course! The meals at our inn are practically hotel quality. Thirty baht would never cover it otherwise.”
The innkeeper added bitterly.
“Prepare it right away. We’ll eat in the room.”
“You can come whenever you like. Whether you eat in the room or the dining hall is up to you.”
The innkeeper completely missed the implication behind her request.
“What I mean is—”
“We’ll eat in the dining hall.”
Angelina interrupted.
“Once you pay, I’ll give you the key.”
“Do you accept herk?”
“Of course.”
Exchanging currency was troublesome, but foreign money also made it easier to hide profits from records.
When Alekséi handed over thirty herk, the innkeeper passed him the key.
“I’ll guide you to the dining hall.”
The two followed behind him at a distance. Angelina whispered quietly:
“There are no maids in this inn. That’s why the cleaning’s this awful, and why they can’t bring meals to the room.”
“……”
“Let’s just eat in the dining hall first. We might learn some local information.”
But the dining hall was empty, and the meal consisted only of wine and hard baguettes. It wasn’t much different from what they had looted from the pirate warehouse.
No matter how hungry you were, this was supposed to rival hotel food?
Angelina wanted to throw the baguette at the lying innkeeper’s head.
“Still, this one looks a bit different. There’s white cream on it.”
“White cream?”
Angelina snatched his bread and inspected the surface.
“This is mold.”
“Mold? People eat mold?”
“No. If you eat it, you’re in trouble. We don’t have medicine or access to a hospital. So you inspect it carefully and tear these parts off.”
She neatly removed the moldy sections.
“Let’s ask for a proper one instead.”
“This is probably the best-looking bread they have.”
The fact they served it without even trying to hide the mold meant all their bread was probably like this.
“Poor people can’t afford to be picky. As long as it fills their stomachs, they eat it.”
Angelina turned the bread around, picking off the white mold. Then she soaked it thoroughly in wine.
“Right now, that’s us too. So just eat.”
Ever since escaping the pirate ship, Alekséi had barely eaten. There was no way someone raised on the rich meals of the imperial palace wasn’t hungry.
Angelina guessed it was because of his innate sensitivity and pride.
“Haven’t you ever read The Prince and the Pauper?”
“No.”
Right. There was no way a real-world author’s book would exist in this fantasy world.
“In it, a prince and a pauper switch places and the prince goes through all kinds of adventures… Actually, it’s better to think of this as training to become the next emperor.”
“This is emperor training?”
“It’s learning what the real world looks like. The parts not found in your library or the imperial palace. A lesson in the lives of ordinary people.”
“Then what about you?”
“Where the president goes, the first lady goes too.”
“President? First lady?”
“I mean I’m fine. I’m more used to this than you.”
Angelina smiled resolutely and bit into the wine-soaked baguette.
As though she were eating chocolate cake.
Alekséi stared at her, forgetting even his hunger.
During the seven years she had been gone, he hadn’t felt this strange sense of unfamiliarity upon seeing Angelina again. Yet over the past few days, he had felt it constantly.
She was still the daughter of a marquis, someone who had lived without wanting for anything. And yet she genuinely seemed fine with all of this.
How? Why?
Alekséi couldn’t understand it at all.
“What should we do after eating? It’s still bright outside.”
“Stay in the room, Angel. I’ll go check for ships.”
“There aren’t any ships going to Latria. And the captain said they need travel permits.”
“Travel permits are only required for foreigners.”
“So you’re pretending to be a local?”
“I’ll try. And see if there are any other options.”
“I’m coming too.”
“The pirates and soldiers could still be around.”
“I can protect myself.”
“No guns.”
Angelina flinched, caught red-handed.
“That’ll complicate things. Absolutely no causing a scene.”
Alekséi stood after leaving half the baguette untouched. He forced himself to suppress the nausea rising at the thought of mold. He had eased his hunger enough. That was sufficient.
“You’re done already?”
“I ate enough.”
Angelina looked at the bread left on his plate.
Humans adapted to their environments, but not overnight.
The fact he ate that much at all probably meant he was trying.
She pulled the remaining bread onto her own plate.
Eat while you can.
It was better to store up strength than sit in the room worrying uselessly.
“Be careful.”
