RETL 07

Chapter 7

First-floor hall of the inn.

The knights were whispering as they criticized Kaiden, who was crouching in a corner.

“…I heard she was crazy?”

“And didn’t you say she was extremely ugly, too?”

“Didn’t you say her personality was terrible as well?”

But the princess was completely different from everything Kaiden had been saying.

And above all else.

“Wasn’t she… quite favorable toward our Grand Duke?”

She had been friendly toward them.

In truth, Kaiden had simply been especially obvious about it, but the others were also very dissatisfied with this marriage.

However, seeing the princess, who was completely different from the rumors and even acknowledged the Grand Duchy, they could not help but have their hearts shaken a little.

“What do you think, Your Highness?”

Brian asked with an expectant look.

“…Stop talking nonsense and drink your beer.”

Axid awkwardly changed the subject.

Wasn’t she interested in him?

It was an embarrassing question to answer, and even to think about.

Besides, Brian was the only person who knew that Axid intended to let the princess go when the time came.

When ‘that day’ came, he was the one who had watched Axid become filthy, like a beast in heat, for his entire life.

What kind of expectation was he having now, when he had seen Axid’s suffering closer than anyone else?

At that moment, Kaiden, who had unusually been quiet, spoke in an anxious voice.

“…Shouldn’t we place people around the building?”

“What are you planning to do?”

At Brian’s question, Kaiden glanced toward the stairs leading upstairs.

“The princess might secretly run away during the night.”

“What kind of nonsense is that…”

Everyone looked at him as if they were fed up with his pathetic behavior, like someone suffering from terminal paranoia.

“No, think about it. We’re going on a long journey, so leaving aside the fact that her luggage is so light, does it make sense that she doesn’t have even a single personal attendant?”

It was obvious that she was trying to get rid of anything cumbersome so that she could move more easily.

And what about that bright expression on her face, even though she was about to enter a marriage everyone else was desperately trying to avoid?

“This won’t do. To prepare for any possible situation, we should place people around the area to watch her—”

Brian gave Kaiden a satisfying smack on the back of the head with his palm.

Smack!

“Enough. Just drink your beer.”

“Damn…”

Kaiden rubbed his sore head and grumbled indignantly.

Then, suddenly, he felt someone’s gaze and turned his head.

The princess was standing halfway down the stairs, covering her lips as she laughed.

“P-Princess!”

The knights jumped up from their seats in a hurry.

Axid also stood up and looked at her with a flustered expression.

“I’m sorry. I only came down because I wanted to wet my throat. I had no intention of eavesdropping on your conversation.”

“That, that is…”

“It’s all right. To be honest, I would have had the same suspicion if I were you.”

Kaiden stood awkwardly, sweating nervously.

No matter how much he disliked the princess, treating her like a criminal was a great discourtesy.

“Your Highness, please, have a seat first…”

“It’s all right. I don’t intend to stay long anyway.”

She gently declined.

She had no desire to awkwardly intrude on a gathering of men.

But she should clear up the misunderstanding before leaving.

“The reason my luggage is so light is because I can’t get clothes suitable for the North here.”

Clothes she would not even be able to wear in such a cold place.

Even if she packed them all, they would only become extra baggage.

“…Also, this may be embarrassing for you to hear, but I have no trustworthy attendants I can take with me.”

Her attendants were only the maids of the Imperial Princess’s Palace.

She was already sick of them, so why would she bring them all the way to the North?

“I couldn’t live like a human being here for even a single day. So you can stop suspecting that I will run away.”

She deliberately gave a bitter smile.

Kaiden blushed awkwardly and avoided her gaze.

“Anyway, I’m sorry for interrupting your time together for no reason.”

“N-No, Your Highness! What do you mean, interrupting?”

Brian nudged Kaiden in the side.

Kaiden hesitated for a moment before lowering his head.

“…I apologize for being rude to Your Highness.”

Lumiere nodded, telling him it was all right, then turned her gaze.

Axid was looking at her with unsettled eyes.

“Grand Duke, then I’ll go back upstairs.”

If she stayed any longer, she felt like the atmosphere would become too heavy.

After going upstairs to return to her room, she suddenly heard the heavy sound of footsteps behind her and turned around.

Axid was standing there with a stiff expression.

“I will not make excuses.”

“…”

“But something like what happened today will never happen again.”

At his words, Lumiere looked at his tightly closed lips and smiled faintly.

“Don’t worry about it too much. I actually think it was fortunate that I was able to learn what my companions really thought of me so early.”

They needed to have an honest conversation at least once anyway.

Kaiden had merely given her that opportunity.

She was neither hurt nor angry about it.

If anything, she was grateful.

Besides, Kaiden was treated like a mad dog in the Grand Duchy because of his reckless words and actions.

His temper was fiery and he was prickly, but in truth, he had quite a lot of affection hidden inside him, and his heart was soft.

Now that she had made him feel indebted to her, he would probably be useful someday.

“Then I’ll go to bed now. Don’t drink too much, and get some rest early.”

She lightly brushed down his arm before entering her room.

Click.

“…”

Axid stared at the firmly closed door.

Downstairs, he had silently listened to everything.

She did not look like someone who would run away, but he could not understand her either.

Even in a situation that should have made her angry, she had simply laughed it off.

She had also casually brushed his arm in a friendly manner.

And above all.

“…Rather, I’ve been waiting for it.”

She had said she had been waiting for the marriage everyone else wanted to avoid.

Nothing was going as he had expected.

With a complicated expression, he rubbed the place on his arm where her touch had lingered for a long time.

The next day.

Before leaving the capital, they went to a busy shopping district lined with stores because there were some things she needed to buy.

“Please wait here for a little while. I’ll be back quickly.”

Lumiere asked Axid for his understanding with a clear, innocent expression.

It was a boutique filled with various cosmetics and colorful things to see.

There was no reason a man could not enter, but she felt that if he came inside with her, his stiff face would probably become even stiffer.

“It’s fine. Take your time looking around. I will wait here.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he looked around.

Seeing him naturally keeping watch over the surroundings made her feel reassured.

Why had she been so afraid of this man in her previous life?

“…Do you have something to say?”

Had she been staring at him too much?

Unlike his stiffly set lips, his black eyes were trembling slightly.

His troubled expression made her laugh for no reason.

Well.

He had spent his entire life receiving gazes filled with either awe or fear.

She was probably the first person to openly stare at him like this, so of course he would be flustered.

“It’s nothing. I’ll be going now.”

She turned around lightly and entered the boutique.

Jingle!

After the clear sound of the doorbell rang out, the knights’ voices could faintly be heard through the slowly closing door.

“…Vice Commander, aren’t you going after her?”

“Shut up!”

“Why? Yesterday, you said we should keep an eye on Her Highness.”

“Should we go instead?”

“Enough, you bastards…!”

A small laugh escaped her.

Just moments ago, they had been carefully keeping watch over their surroundings.

Now, seeing them teasing and bickering with one another was pleasant.

In her previous life, she had been so afraid of them that she had fainted, and even after that, she had only trembled inside the carriage…

They were ordinary people, too.

The thought that her behavior in her previous life might have hurt them made her feel bitter.

“Welcome. It is an honor to have Your valuable presence at our boutique. How may we assist you?”

The employee’s polite greeting brought her out of her thoughts, and she spoke.

“I’d like to purchase some moisturizer suitable for use in a cold place. I’m thinking of buying the entire stock. How much do you have?”

Most moisturizers in the North were made from animal fat, so they had a strong unpleasant smell.

In contrast, the Empire’s products had a pleasant fragrance and spread smoothly.

Since they were difficult to obtain in the North, they would be useful in many ways.

She intended to take as much as possible.

“Fortunately, a new shipment arrived this morning, so I believe we can provide as much as you want. Please, take a look.”

She followed the employee into a small storage room.

“This should be enough.”

Wooden boxes filled with the products she wanted were stacked one on top of another across the floor.

She held out her money pouch.

“I’ll purchase all of it. Will this be enough to cover the cost?”

“Yes. Where would you like us to send the goods?”

“I’ll load them onto the carriage, so please bring them out right away—”

At that moment, a woman who had been glancing at her uncertainly for a while approached.

“My goodness. I had my suspicions, but you really are Her Highness the Princess.”

“…What is it?”

She naturally became wary.

There was no good reason for anyone here to approach her, and more than anything, that insolent face looked strangely familiar.

“I don’t know why Her Highness the Princess, who was said to have left for the Grand Duchy, is here alone, but surely you didn’t come after Lady Clora Edvard, did you?”

The woman smiled as if she had found something entertaining to watch and stepped aside.

The person standing behind her was revealed naturally.

“…”

Hair that sparkled as if golden powder had been scattered over it.

Eyes as blue as a lake.

It was Clora Edvard, her rival from her previous life.