THSMW 42

chapter 42

We had arrived in the village before we even realized it. We decided to rent out the largest inn in the village entirely.

Originally, we were supposed to leave after staying just one day, but because some knights were seriously injured, we decided to take things a bit slower.

As soon as we entered the outskirts of the village, Siegfried dismounted from his horse.

After riding for hours in the wind, his hair was a mess. And his face was still red. It made me want to tease him, but I held back.

“First, let’s head to the inn, unpack, and wash up. Then we can have a meal and talk about what to do next.”

Abussion slightly turned his body to look at us as he spoke. Siegfried, who had been keeping his eyes down the whole time, seemed to come to his senses and raised his head.

“I’ll pay for everything. This all happened because of me.”

“You don’t have to go that far…”

“Bill me for your brother and the knights’ treatment, too. Make sure they’re treated by the best priest available.”

Siegfried grabbed the reins and walked ahead, not giving Abussion a chance to refuse. Thanks to that, I ended up following after him too.

As we approached the inn, staff came rushing out to take the horses to the stable. I went inside with Siegfried. The innkeeper came out from behind the counter to greet us.

“Are you a married couple? You look quite young… Oh! Please forgive me for the assumption.”

“…We’d like to rent out the entire inn for a few days.”

Siegfried said, trying to hide the upward twitch of his lips. Wait, why does this man look pleased? Does he not realize that being seen as my husband means he looks old?

To be fair, Siegfried didn’t look fifteen. Because of his height and build, he could pass for eighteen.

Well, among nobles, people sometimes marry around that age, so it wasn’t weird for the innkeeper to think we were married.

Still, Siegfried looked way too happy about it, which made my eyes narrow.

“You’re renting the entire place? Do you have a large group?”

“Ariel, how many of us are there again?”

“Twenty knights, twelve squires, Abussion, Milliard, me, and His Highness.”

“Thirty-six.”

“H-His Highness?!”

The innkeeper asked in shock. When Siegfried quietly looked at him, he panicked and dropped to his knees.

“M-My deepest respects to the noble prince!”

“…I’m not a prince. You said it wrong, Ariel. You should’ve said Siegfried.”

“Siegfried is the prince’s given name, though…!”

“Oh, Lasien.”

Fortunately, it seemed the innkeeper didn’t know Siegfried’s full name. He blinked blankly, then quickly stood up.

Come to think of it, Siegfried didn’t like being recognized as a prince before either.

Understandably so—if word spread that a prince had appeared in a small village, the whole town would come rushing over.

“Haha, so you’re a southern noble, huh? I almost mistook you for the prince.”

“Oh, no. He really is the prince.”

I pointed at Siegfried and smiled sweetly. If it annoyed him, all the more reason to do it.

“It’s obvious, right? Black hair and violet eyes—that’s rare. Plus, he’s got a beauty mark under his eye. Any citizen of the empire would recognize the prince’s portrait.”

“Ariel…”

I poked his beauty mark and spilled all sorts of unnecessary info. Siegfried narrowed his eyes and glared at me. I avoided his gaze with a sly smile.

“You thought I didn’t realize you wanted me to start calling you by your name?”

“…Ugh.”

He made a strangled sound like I’d hit a nerve. I turned to the flustered innkeeper, who looked like he was wondering if he should kneel again.

“Anyway, just tell us if we can rent the whole inn or not. If not, we’ll look somewhere else.”

“O-Of course! Please, come in. Are the others arriving soon?”

“They’ll be here shortly. First, give me the key to my room. And send up hot bath water.”

Siegfried had to stay downstairs to handle the payment, so I headed upstairs first. I’d skipped breakfast, I was starving, and I just wanted to collapse on a real bed instead of dirt.

“Yes, ma’am. Will you and His Highness be sharing a room?”

Siegfried burst out laughing. He clearly saw the look on my face as I slowly opened my mouth in disbelief.

“I’m not married, okay? Call me Miss.”

I might never get married thanks to Siegfried, so I couldn’t forgive this jab at a sore spot. I gave the innkeeper a sharp look and turned my head away.

“But I thought you were husband and wife…”

“We’re not. His Highness just stopped eating baby food recently, you know?”

“…How young do you think I am?”

“Close enough!”

I stuck my tongue out at Siegfried and ran up the stairs. He shouted something indignantly from downstairs, but I ignored it.

✧ ✧ ✧

“So we’re staying here for another three days?”

I asked while poking at my pasta. Abussion ran his hand through his still-damp golden hair and replied,

“Milliard should be fully recovered in two days. But the knights are in worse shape.”

“Well, three days isn’t bad. Good thing we’ve got a priest with strong divine power.”

“There might be more assassins on the way back, so it’s better to travel together.”

I agreed with him. You never knew when Aesa might try something again.

Honestly, I doubted she’d give up until Siegfried returned to the capital. Even knowing he was getting stronger by the day, she’d probably keep sending assassins to kill him.

In that sense, Siegfried was kind of pitiful. Even if they were only half-siblings, having your life constantly threatened by your own family…

Still, I couldn’t forgive him for ruining my marriage prospects. If he shows up five years from now and says, “Ariel, I want to marry this woman,” I swear I’ll show him what a real disaster looks like.

Since that’s actually pretty likely with him, I should probably start planning how to stop him now.

“…Why are you looking at me like that, like I’ve committed a crime?”

Siegfried appeared, freshly washed and looking radiant. Shame. If he just didn’t open his mouth, he’d be perfect.

“I was just wondering what we’ll do for three days in this village.”

I shrugged.

Maybe the innkeeper’s wife plays cards. Shopping wouldn’t be bad either.

It’s a small village, so not as fancy as Elifritz, but they might have some famous local specialties.

It’s forested up top, but by the sea below—walking along the beach might be nice.

“Surprisingly, there’s a lot to see. There’s even a puppet show tomorrow afternoon. How’s Milliard, by the way?”

Siegfried asked Abussion across from him.

As Abussion began explaining Milliard’s condition, I was lost in thought. A puppet show, really? Siegfried might be built like an adult, but he was definitely still a kid at heart.

Then again, I’d heard southern puppet shows were wild enough to entertain adults. Parents would bring their kids but end up just as hooked themselves.

I had a strong feeling that Siegfried would insist on taking me to that puppet show tomorrow. There’s no way Killian or Abussion would want to go. And I’d already seen a puppet show with him at a festival once.

And, just as expected, once Siegfried had heard all about the knights’ and Milliard’s recovery, he turned to me.

“Are you free tomorrow?”

“And if I’m not?”

“I’d really like it if you could make time.”

He gave me one of those sweet eye-smiles. That should be illegal.

“Oh no, I’ve got so much free time I don’t know what to do with myself.”

It was obviously about the puppet show! I knew it! And still! I caved. The words came out before I could stop them. I wiped my face in shame. Ugh, male leads really get to do whatever they want, huh?

“That’s a relief. I’ve never gotten to explore a village like this before. It’s my first time.”

Well, the last time he came south, he’d been poisoned. So that made sense.

Even though I had my own problems, I found myself looking at him with pity and saying, “Oh, I see.” Just what he wanted. And I knew it too.

“They say if you walk down from the inn a bit, you can see the sea. A stroll along the beach could be nice.”

Siegfried pointed out the seaside view from the window. Right, this wasn’t a man who would stop at just a puppet show.

“Sure. Let’s do that. After all, you’ll be leaving for the eastern front soon.”

Now that I’d said it, I couldn’t take it back. So I nodded.

Siegfried froze, then looked at me strangely.

“I’m going to the eastern front? How did you know that?”