MPAWD 54

Chapter 54

Except for the very first day, the merchant caravan had to camp out every night.

It was late spring, so the mild weather was at least a blessing.

Lucy shared a small tent each night with Ringo, the only other female mercenary.

This evening again, she was spending her time in a not-quite hide-and-seek with Shan.

Lucy knew she was beautiful, but she had absolutely no idea how to properly attract a man.

After much agonizing thought, she realized one thing:

From the very first day she met Shan, she had always been wearing pants or other comfortable clothing.

So today, she had changed into the prettiest dress she’d brought along and let her long hair down.

But her effort was all in vain—no matter how much she looked around, Shan was nowhere to be seen.

In the end, Lucy had to wander for quite some time looking for him, only to turn back toward her tent empty-handed.

“Where are you coming from at this hour? Off having a good time with that mercenary guy again?”

The man who suddenly blocked Lucy’s path was a young employee who had only recently joined the caravan.

Judging by his tone, he clearly didn’t know that Lucy was the niece of Pablo, the head of the merchant group.

This hour? What nonsense is he spouting!

It was dark, yes, but still only early evening. Anyone could tell he was just looking to pick a fight.

And the “mercenary guy” he mentioned—it didn’t take much to realize he meant Shan.

Only then did Lucy realize how obviously she had been casting glances—flirtatious or otherwise—toward Shan.

She decided to ignore him.

“I don’t know what you mean. I was just coming back from the restroom. Now please step aside.”

With a cold expression, Lucy tried to walk past him.

“Sure, sure, if you say so. Anyway, what about me? I’m actually pretty strong and manly, you know?”

As the man once again blocked her way, Lucy quickly calculated the distance back to camp.

They were at the edge of the forest, quite a distance from where people were busy setting up campfires.

And tonight of all nights, she was wearing a cumbersome skirt and her hair was fully let down.

She had a dagger and smoke bomb in her clothes, but she wasn’t sure if using them would be wise.

What do I do? When it was those thugs in town, I knew I’d never see them again. But this man? I’ll have to keep seeing him until we reach the Kingdom of Collin!

Experience told her that however it played out, this would not end well for her.

“Sorry, but I like tall, dark, and quiet men. So… you’re really not my type.”

Lucy secretly hoped Shan would appear with a dramatic ta-da and rescue her.

After all, this is still a novel’s world!

And just like a scene from a novel, Shan really was striding toward her from behind.

And then…

He walked straight past her.

“W-wait! Hey, Shan!”

Lucy grabbed his arm in desperation.

Shan looked from her face to her hand clutching his arm.

“Honey? Why are you only coming now?”

Lucy screwed her eyes shut and blurted out something similar to what Dino had once said to her.

“What… exactly are you doing right now?”

But, disappointingly, Shan’s reply was nothing like what Lucy had hoped for.

Shouldn’t a normal man at least try to figure out what’s going on in this situation? No… what was I even expecting from him? Sigh…

Lucy let out a deep sigh in her heart and shut her eyes tighter.

The man bothering her chuckled after glancing at Shan.

But Lucy couldn’t give up here.

It was already embarrassing enough.

So she stubbornly clung to Shan’s arm like a cicada.

“Honey, are you embarrassed? Don’t worry, that guy already knows all about us!”

Lucy widened her eyes and tried her best to send Shan a distress signal.

But Shan just kept silently looking between her face and her hands gripping his arm.

So Lucy hastily tugged him away from the man.

Phew, thank goodness it’s dark out!

With the poor lighting and Shan’s tall frame, the other man probably hadn’t gotten a good look at Shan’s expression. Relieved, Lucy patted her chest.

Only once they returned to the campsite where many others were gathered did Lucy let go of his arm.

“I’m sorry. That man was harassing me earlier, so…”

She tilted her face up at him, doing her best to look pitiful.

But whether it was the darkness, or simply that Lucy’s charms had no effect on him, Shan said nothing. He only turned his back and walked away.

What kind of man is like this?!

Never before had a man treated Lucy with such indifference. With her looks, she had always been told even women would turn to stare at her.

Regardless, Lucy’s antics—like squashing bugs right in front of Shan—continued.

To avoid repeating the same mistakes, she even started keeping a list of insects she’d failed to impress him with, all in a desperate attempt to catch his attention.

But the more effort she put in, the more he avoided her.

* * *

“Sorry, but I like tall, dark, and quiet men. So… you’re not my type.”

Lucas, hiding behind a tree, clenched his fist at Lucy’s words before he realized it.

Dark-skinned?

At the very least, that meant she wasn’t talking about him. Lucas glanced bitterly at his pale white arm.

Though he had fought through countless battlefields and endured hardships harsher than most, his skin hardly tanned, nor did it scar easily.

That was because Lucas was no ordinary swordsman—his healing abilities were far beyond human.

But none of that mattered to him now.

Dark-skinned men.

Lucy’s words echoed in his mind.

And look who’s coming now…

Lucas knew very well who fit that description.

Among the mercenaries hired for this caravan, there was one man who stood out.

Thinking Lucy might need his help, Lucas had been ready to intervene, but quietly withdrew instead.

In truth, he had no business being here at all.

“How pathetic…”

By rights, he should already have arrived at the Kingdom of Collin as the official envoy, being treated as an honored guest.

Yet when he heard Lucy would be traveling with the caravan, he found himself tagging along, against his better judgment.

On the last day he’d seen her at Count Rayfort’s estate, her firm words had made him cleanly put away his feelings.

And as time passed, he truly believed he had moved on.

Or so I thought…

Now, disguised and mixed among the caravan, he was enduring unnecessary camping and hardships just to follow her to Collin.

Not even his aide Melvin knew of this secret journey.

But from the very first day, what did he see? Lucy trailing around after some mercenary.

That strange, reasonless hostility toward another man…

It was the first time Lucas had ever felt such a deeply unpleasant emotion.

* * *

The harder Lucy tried to get Shan’s attention, the further he distanced himself.

To him, she was simply a strange woman.

About a week passed like that. Then Shan sensed a group trailing the caravan.

They kept their distance, never approaching, only watching. He couldn’t tell what their intentions were.

But his mission was only to ensure the caravan’s safe arrival at the Kingdom of Collin.

As long as they posed no immediate threat, who they were or what they wanted was none of his concern.

“…”

Shan glanced back. Before he knew it, the caravan had safely reached the Collin border.