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Chapter 05

As if he had been waiting for the door to open, Jes, who had been gazing in my direction, grabbed the edge of the door and gently rose to his feet.

Once upright, Jes brushed off the dust with a few light flicks of his hand. Even so, he never took his eyes off me.

I slowly looked around. Though it was late at night, candles were lit here and there in the hallway, and the butler was there, along with Sylvia, whom I had seen during the day, and several knights.

‘Surely… am I being kicked out now? Without even staying one night?’

My lips went dry. I was debating whether to apologize first or make an excuse when Jes said something unexpected.

“Are you all done crying?”

“…Huh?”

“I asked if you were done crying.”

“…Oh? Uh, yeah…”

I had long since finished crying, and in the remaining time, I had slept and woken up. As I gave an ambiguous nod, a sweet scent drifted to the tip of my nose.

Following the scent as if entranced, I turned my eyes to see Jes holding a plate with glossy brown bread on it.

As soon as I saw the food, my stomach couldn’t help but let out a strange, gurgling noise.

I felt Jes’s gaze shift to me, particularly to my stomach. Jes let out a short, soft groan.

“This won’t do.”

With that, he handed the plate he was holding to the butler. I couldn’t take my eyes off the bread. Was he throwing it away? It looked perfectly fine, why…?

“He won’t throw it away. And it’s not fine. It’s old and hard.”

…Did I say that out loud? As I just blinked, Jes loosened the corners of his mouth.

“We need to go eat.”

“Huh? Ack!”

Jes bent down slightly, slipped his arms behind my legs, and lifted me up. Startled, a strange noise escaped me involuntarily. It wasn’t an embarrassing princess carry, but Jes was holding me. Holding me!

“W-we’re going to eat, so why am I…?”

At that, Jes raised one eyebrow slightly and asked with a puzzled look.

“Didn’t the healer tell you? He said to be careful when you walk.”

“No, it’s not that… Well, he did tell me to be careful.”

I fanned my flushed face, trying not to show it.

“What I mean is, why are you carrying me when you’re going to eat…”

“Oh.”

Jes looked at the air for a moment, then began scanning my face. As his vivid blue eyes traced over me, I found myself tensing up.

“I haven’t had dinner yet, and I don’t want to eat alone. So come with me.”

…So he has no intention of kicking me out? If Jes didn’t want to bring up the broken engagement, I wasn’t about to mention it either.

I discreetly lowered my awkwardly raised arms and rested them on Jes’s shoulders. I was hungry, so of course I was happy. And if I was eating with Jes, they’d definitely serve good food.

Of course, I didn’t forget to ask with concern.

“You haven’t eaten until this hour? Why?”

“…Well. It just ended up that way.”

There was a hint of a sigh in Jes’s voice. He must have had a busy day.

When I stole a glance at his face, he did look tired. Whether from lack of sleep or accumulated stress, there were dark circles under his eyes, and his blue eyes were slightly redder than usual, unlike their normal state.

The people of the North welcome spring, but in truth, spring is a dangerous season. The snow that piled up over winter melts suddenly, causing landslides, and above all, it’s the time when monsters appear everywhere.

Jes, who had to look after not only the knights but the entire North, must have had no rest all day long. For him, I used to use my holy power. I tried my best to ease Jes’s burden, but now I can’t be of any help in that regard. It struck me anew how little I could do.

Lost in thought, I lightly tapped Jes’s shoulder.

“Why?”

“Put me down. I’ll walk.”

I didn’t want to make someone who was already tired in so many ways exert themselves because of me. Besides, seeing the knights and butler following behind made me feel embarrassed.

“It’s fine. They said you shouldn’t walk.”

“It’s not that serious an injury. I just need to be careful.”

But Jes remained silent. I was wondering whether to call him again when my eyes met Sylvia’s, who was following behind. Seeing her greeting me cheerfully, a good idea came to mind.

“Then could I ask one of the knights behind us?”

“What?”

Jes suddenly stopped.

“Ask what?”

“To help support me…?”

The blue eyes that met mine seemed to demand an answer, and my voice rose involuntarily. Jes, with noticeably colder eyes, looked behind us.

“Who?”

“Could I ask Knight Sylvia? Sir Sylvia, would that be possible?”

“Eep! No, actually, I took a hit to the leg from a sword during sparring, and I can’t put any strength on it. I don’t think I can. I’m sorry.”

“Oh my, you’re badly hurt? Are you okay? Shouldn’t you go rest?”

“It’s not serious enough to worry about.”

Sylvia waved both hands, then bowed deeply, apologizing. It didn’t feel right to make an injured person apologize, so I waved my hands too.

“She says no?”

Jes said nonchalantly, watching indifferently.

I turned my eyes to the knight standing blankly beside Sylvia. He looked a head taller and sturdier than Sylvia.

“Then, Sir, perhaps?”

“Of course I can help— cough I was supposed to tidy up the training ground, but I forgot and came up. I’d better go take care of that right away.”

The knight, who had been smiling and about to say something, suddenly gave a quick salute and turned, walking away as if running.

“Tch. Herumon is good at everything, but he has a terrible memory.”

Jes clicked his tongue. I watched the retreating knight’s back, then turned my head to the remaining knight. But before I could ask, Jes spoke first.

“He’s out.”

“Huh? Why won’t you even give him a chance?”

“He’s frail. No.”

The blonde knight looked at Jes with an aggrieved expression, then, noticing my gaze, turned his face toward me.

He wasn’t as beautiful as Jes, of course, but he was handsome enough to be called good-looking anywhere. The blonde knight winked one eye at me and gave a sleazy smile.

“…Huh?”

“Hey, you crazy bastard! What do you think you’re doing to Lady Linea!”

In that instant, Sylvia chopped the blonde knight’s forehead with the edge of her hand. It made an unbelievably loud, dull thud, but seemingly unfazed, the blonde knight started grumbling at Sylvia.

“I was just saying hello, why did you hit me!”

“Who greets someone like that?”

“Then should I scowl while doing it?”

“…Bekel.”

At Jes’s chilly voice, the two knights quickly straightened up.

“Go tidy up the training ground instead of Herumon.”

“Me?”

“If you don’t like it, go run 500 laps around the training ground.”

“Whaaat? 500 laps? I’d die running that much.”

“Die from just 500 laps?”

As Jes retorted, Bekel immediately shut his mouth.

“Ah, yes. Hearing you say that makes me curious. Whether you’ll die or not. You’ll find out by doing it yourself. Come report back after you’ve done all 500 laps.”

“…What are you waiting for? Go.”

“…Yes.”

Bekel looked dejected, saluted, and turned around. I glanced briefly at Bekel, then felt Jes’s sharp gaze and pretended not to have looked. But Jes was more perceptive than I thought.

“Why are you looking at him like that? Do you like him?”

There was no reason for me to care whether I liked him or not since he wasn’t my subordinate. As I mulled over the strangely sharp question, Jes’s reddened blue eyes bothered me.

‘Is he sensitive because he’s tired?’

Jes normally doesn’t show when he’s struggling, so for him to act like this, he must be exhausted. I gently brushed aside his soft black hair and spoke soothingly.

“I was just looking, out of curiosity. And I don’t like him. He’s not my type.”

“What is your type, then?”

“Hmm, I don’t know. Anyway, it’s definitely not him.”

My type has always, and forever, been Jes. But since I didn’t make a habit of confessing “you’re my type” to the person himself, I glossed over it vaguely. Whether or not he was satisfied with my clumsy answer, at any rate, Jes’s sharp edge subsided.

Or maybe he liked having his hair stroked? He really must be tired. I gently ran my fingers through his hair a few more times, pushing it back, and Jes moved his throat and started walking.

I swallowed a sigh of relief and patted Jes’s shoulder once.

Sylvia, following behind, gave me a thumbs up and winked for no apparent reason.

“…”

Suddenly, I had a question. Under the tree earlier, just now, even Bekel had done it. Could it be that Northern knights were all required to know how to wink?

Should I practice and apply to the knighthood? Even if they gave me menial work, I’d be grateful and could live as a knight. Then I could stay in the North for a long time.

I tried to close one eye. Unfortunately, both eyes just closed at the same time. The butler watching quietly let out a small laugh.

“Why?”

Jes looked up sharply, so I quickly shook my head, saying it was nothing. Instead, I quietly asked the question I had been holding back.

“Are you okay? Back there… you didn’t get hurt, did you?”

“I don’t get hurt by things like that. Don’t worry.”

It was a vague, trailing question, but Jes somehow understood and answered. I was relieved. I wrapped my arms around Jes’s neck and leaned more comfortably against him.

Jes hesitated for a moment, then continued walking as if nothing had happened.