Chapter 32

“Wow! You’re doing amazing, Lady Florence!”

“Mari, aren’t you a little too generous with the praise?”

“Sir Keith, please be quiet.”

“Why do you treat me so roughly…?”

Keith’s grumbling sounded like it was coming from far away. Sweat poured from me like rain.

“Shut up, Keith…”

“Why do both of you always gang up on me?”

If you feel wronged, try being more like Mari. My trembling legs felt like they were shackled with iron weights. I squeezed my eyes shut and took the final step. When I reached out my hand, it touched Mari’s shoulder. I leaned my body, barely half my height, against her slight frame and let out a long sigh.

“Ugh, my legs hurt. I’m tired. And I’m all sticky from sweat…”

“You did great. You really worked hard.”

“It’s because you cheered me on…”

I said it shyly, lowering my gaze. Mari beamed, delighted. But in the same frame, Keith looked like he’d just drunk rotten soup.

“Sir Keith, are you feeling unwell?”

Kind-hearted Mari even worried about grumpy Keith. He let out a short huff, as if speechless, then shook his head.

“What could I possibly say to you two? Anyway, Mari, how’s the prosthetic arm? Does it hurt?”

“Nope. There’s barely any pain now.”

Mari smiled brightly and raised both her hands. On the left—where there should’ve been nothing—was a prosthetic arm made from sturdy wood. Keith had crafted it.

“Just to be safe, don’t take off your gloves in front of anyone.”

“…Okay.”

Mari nodded seriously. Keith turned to me.

“You didn’t step out of the room, did you?”

“As you can see, I couldn’t even if I wanted to.”

I’d made a promise to myself not to leave the room until I could walk twenty steps on my own. Technically, “couldn’t leave” was more accurate than “wouldn’t.”

As soon as daylight broke, we left the forest and moved to a city near the border called Karen. I had asked whether it wouldn’t be better to hide in a small village, but they treated me like an idiot. The fewer people there are in a village, the more noticeable outsiders become. Thinking it over twice, they were right. I was just too stupid to know something so obvious.

Keith booked a room at a busy inn and teleported me inside. Then Mari confidently walked in, holding his hand.

A young man walking around with a skinny little girl wouldn’t normally leave a good impression—but it was surprisingly common. Since there was rarely a good reason for bringing a child to a rural city like this, Keith’s veiled face didn’t seem out of place.

Once I finished my walking practice, Keith unwrapped the cloth covering his face and neck and lazily tossed it over a chair. Letting out a groan of exhaustion, he sprawled dramatically across the bed.

“Every part of my body hurts!”

“If you’re tired, why don’t you rest too?”

“I’d rather stay exhausted than watch you two being all mushy with each other all day.”

That got on my nerves a little.

“Stop being so petty. How long are you going to sulk?”

“Who’s sulking?”

Keith scoffed and turned his head sharply. Was he seven years old or something?

“Some of us were running around like mad while others were—”

“Sir Keith! Please mind your words!”

Mari cut him off sharply. Keith’s face twisted in even more annoyance.

“Now I’m being scolded by a child for not being polite in front of adults…”

“Lady Florence doesn’t even know how to curse properly. She only says ‘damn’ at most.”

I do know what counts as swearing. I just don’t want to use those words in front of Mari.

“You should teach her some, then.”

“Sir Keith.”

Mari squinted at him like he was the most worthless scumbag on earth. Keith opened and closed his mouth in protest, but he could only pat his chest in frustration. After all, both Mari and I were in no condition to argue.

“They’re really getting along these days.”

“We’ve always gotten along!”

Mari proudly declared it, and I nodded in satisfaction.

“I shouldn’t have let you two bond…”

Keith grumbled and shook his head. But there was nothing he could’ve done. Mari had just gotten her prosthetic arm the night before and was still adjusting. He couldn’t exactly take her out. And I couldn’t walk either. Not to mention, we’d entered the city together, and now couldn’t exactly pretend we hadn’t. Keith was the only one who could do anything right now. Or more precisely—the only useful one.

“So? Did you find anything?”

“Excuse you—I’m actually quite capable.”

Keith puffed his chest out proudly. Mari and I exchanged looks, then clapped with exaggerated enthusiasm.

“Wow, amazing!”

“You’re so cool, Sir Keith!”

Clap, clap, clap!

Each time the applause rang out, Keith tilted his chin back, chest puffed like a rooster, as if he were about to toss his hair dramatically.

“More praise! More admiration!”

“Tone it down.”

“You’re so childish.”

And just like that, his inflated pride popped. He sulked, and Mari and I both burst out laughing. After faking a pout for a bit, Keith eventually joined us with a chuckle.

He set the food supplies he’d brought on a low table. Mari tried to help me up, but I waved her off. I wanted to be useful as soon as possible. First step—fix my legs. If I couldn’t move, I’d only be a burden.

The small inn room was so compact that a few steps would get you from one end to the other. I passed by the beds and reached the table. Mari, waiting there, took my hand firmly.

My heart fluttered strangely. I blinked and bit my lip. When my eyes met Keith’s, he was grinning like a troll. I sat next to Mari, and my legs, which had been so stiff with tension, flopped limply beneath me.

Keith said the reason I couldn’t move my legs was because one of my spinal bones had been hit during a beating. Thankfully, he was both a mage and a physician. Even without a license, anyone who treats patients is a doctor in my book. I was starting to be influenced by him.

Keith had realigned my bones and restored my nerves, but he still couldn’t say for sure when I’d be able to walk again.

“He really is the knight commander. The Azure Dawn Knights are under the royal family, so they didn’t move officially—but five of his closest men all requested leave at once, and the commander himself is now on extended vacation.”

“…To catch me?”

“To catch us.”

Keith corrected firmly. I forced myself not to drop my gaze.

“There’s a nationwide wanted poster for the ‘kidnapped’ Marchioness of Baldwin. Here. Yesterday’s newspaper.”

“Oh wow… Lady Florence, you look beautiful.”

The blurry photo felt unfamiliar. The ‘me’ smiling brightly in Linus’s arms looked genuinely happy. I accepted the paper. The bold headline seemed urgent, but none of it registered.

“This isn’t me.”

“R-right. Of course it’s not…”

Mari slapped her own lips in embarrassment.

“Now that I look again, it’s not even that pretty!”

“But that’s still me, you know?”

“E-even if people look the same, expressions completely change the vibe…”

She was practically sweating as she made up excuses. It was so cute I couldn’t help laughing.

Even I could tell—I’d been laughing a lot since yesterday. Probably way too much.