Homecoming (2)

The lands of the Empire were mostly flat. There were few mountains, and the roads were well maintained, making it easy for people and carriages to travel. Relay stations had been built at intervals so horses could be exchanged, and all the villages were large enough to provide a good place to rest.

I watched Dideric hand over a pouch of gold coins and rent out the entire inn. Before, I would have fainted just from seeing such a sum, but after spending two months in the Grand Ducal House, that amount no longer stirred much of a reaction in me.

Victor, who had dozed throughout the journey, remained silent.

“Please go upstairs first. I’ll bring some food up.”

“Leave that to someone else…… Let us go up together.”

Victor tightly gripped my wrist.

Perhaps because he was sleepy, he had become somewhat more needy. It felt strange to use such a word for someone who was always so elegant, but pain made people weak.

I gently told him,

“I’ll be there soon. Please rest, even if only for a little while.”

He silently watched me before finally nodding.

Listening to his heavy footsteps, I asked the innkeeper to prepare bathwater and dinner.

Kaltz, who was leaning against the counter, let out a sigh.

“This is truly a serious problem. The monsters are troublesome enough, and now His Highness is in that state as well.”

“Did you find out why there are so many monsters?”

“I asked people all along the way, but no one knew. Even the guards here have no idea.”

A huge knight carrying an axe abruptly joined the conversation.

“Well, could it not simply be mating season?”

“Sir Raul.”

Raul, the axe-wielding knight, grinned broadly. A charming little ponytail bobbed behind his thick neck.

“Monsters are the greatest nuisance in summer. They make a racket because of mating, their numbers increase, and if you kill them, they rot before you can even bury them. I truly cannot stand it.”

“There is a lady present. Mind your words, Raul.”

He laughed heartily at Leonard’s stiff rebuke.

“You are far too rigid! Our lady has probably skinned more monsters than any of us, so what does it matter?”

“Raul!”

“If our lady had led a mercenary company, I would have joined it without a second thought.”

I smiled awkwardly.

I had heard that Sir Raul had originally been a mercenary. He was supposedly the illegitimate son of a baron who left home and became a mercenary. His earnings had not been bad, but he had wanted to fight beneath someone as strong as the Grand Duke of Death, so he became a knight of Mort.

Kaltz had once said this about him.

‘Why would he have changed professions if the pay was good? He must have been mediocre, so he changed.’

That same Kaltz spoke as though consoling me.

“In any case, please do not worry too much. Honestly, is His Highness not the greatest problem of all?”

“That is true. The day His Highness accidentally dozes off, we will all be headed straight to the underworld.”

I lowered my head gloomily.

They were right. I might be able to manage, but the unexpectedly frail knights of Mort would find it difficult to handle Victor if he suddenly awakened from sleep.

Even so, for them to regard Victor as though he were some frightening monster…….

Perhaps reading my expression, Kaltz clicked his tongue.

“My lady, we do not wish to speak of our lord this way either. But for us, it is a matter of survival.”

“Even on the battlefield, more than ten men stood guard outside his tent. It was painful for both His Highness and the knights. We thought he had almost completely recovered now, but…….”

Leonard trailed off. The knights exchanged pained looks. They wore the expressions of men grieving for their suffering lord and comrade.

Just then, the innkeeper placed a tray containing bread, soup, and roasted pork before us. Feeling depressed, I carried the tray upstairs.

When I carefully opened the door, Victor was drying his hair with a towel. Wet skin showed through the gaps in his thin clothing.

I quickly lowered my head and set down the tray.

“Please eat something, Victor.”

“I have no appetite.”

“You still need to eat.”

His hollow gaze turned toward me. After seeing how disheveled I must have become over the past few days, his expression darkened.

“You are suffering too.”

“I am fine. I have been sleeping from time to time in the carriage.”

“I never intended to put you through this.”

Victor’s eyes suddenly darkened. I hurriedly shook my head.

“This is not your fault, Victor. Do not apologize for something you could not choose.”

“……”

“I only want you to be able to rest properly. I am here beside you.”

When I forced myself to say it despite my embarrassment, his hardened expression finally softened. Victor smiled as though he were melting and pulled me into his arms.

“My Marion.”

The clean scent of soap came from the side of his neck.

How could I be paying attention to something like that at a time like this? Trying to calm my rapidly reddening face, I attempted to focus beyond Victor’s shoulder.

His shoulder and neck. His neck…….

Suddenly, an idea crossed my mind.

Honestly, I truly did not want to do it, but if it was for Victor and everyone else…….

I cautiously opened my mouth.

“Um, Victor. Are you not going to eat, then?”

“Mm……? No…… I simply want to lie down while holding you.”

He lazily mumbled as he rubbed his cheek against my shoulder. I forced myself to sound cheerful.

“I have something to give you. Could you turn around for a moment?”

“Mm? Certainly.”

He raised his head and obediently turned around. Before he had even stopped moving, my sword struck the back of his neck.

“How could you do such a thing?”

Victor still looked utterly bewildered even while eating breakfast the next morning. I silently swallowed the hot meat stew and pretended not to notice. The knights were laughing so hard they were nearly in tears.

“Why? You slept soundly thanks to me.”

“If that can be called sleep.”

“You lost consciousness, that is what happened.”

Victor sharply glared at the snickering Kaltz. I rubbed my nose as it reddened with embarrassment.

Victor, who had fallen asleep through my sleep-inducing…… method, had supposedly awakened about five hours later. Fortunately, he had slept soundly without waking even once…… apparently.

After leaving the night watch to the knights and getting some sleep, I had awakened to their gazes as though they were about to die laughing.

“I never dreamed such a method existed.”

“Do not even think about it. Only our lady can do that. One wrong move and your neck would break.”

“Do you feel somewhat better?”

When I asked while trying to ignore them, Victor nodded.

“I do feel better. Only my heart aches.”

He tilted his beautiful almond-shaped eyes pitifully.

“You promised me a gift, only to swing a sword at me. Could there be a more heartless wife?”

“Sleep is the most precious gift I can give you.”

“Was it not closer to being knocked unconscious than sleeping?”

This time, I glared at Sir Kaltz as well. Kaltz abruptly shut his teasing mouth.

Sir Kaltz had once said this too.

‘Someday, my mouth will be the death of me.’

In any case, seeing Victor even slightly improved put my mind at ease. Until yesterday, he had been too exhausted even to joke or smile, so the fact that he now had enough energy to tease me showed that he truly had recovered somewhat.

Of course, it was still not a proper solution…….

I silently dipped my bread into the soup.

Whether I liked it or not, what mattered was Victor. If his illness threatened his own safety and that of others, then whoever could do something had to act. That was my chivalry.

I watched Victor continue exchanging jokes with the knights, a smile on my face.

Our journey continued with Victor feeling a little better.

He still could not fall into a deep sleep, but he replenished his strength by dozing in the carriage with me or falling asleep with my assistance. Whenever he drifted even lightly into sleep, I chewed dried meat while watching for any sign that he might awaken.

Aside from that, nothing unusual happened. No monsters appeared after the firewolves, and the scorching weather grew cooler the farther north we traveled. The knights wrapped cloaks over their leather armor and rode into the wind.

The discomfort of traveling was also less severe than I had expected. Compared to the arduous, freezing journeys of my homeland, it almost felt comfortable.

Dideric, the only noncombatant in our group and the person responsible for managing our supplies, was even an excellent cook. Whenever we camped, he combined dried meat, spices, and vegetables to create a perfectly savory beef stew. I ate three bowls by myself in admiration and had to endure the knights’ complaints.

The knights of Mort were good people. They had served beside Victor for as long as ten years or more, and every one of them was loyal. There was even a sense of reverence in the way they spoke about Victor.

“I have traveled across the entire continent, but I have never seen anyone stronger than His Highness.”

“Did you know that during the conquest of the Eastern Kingdom, he cut down two hundred knights by himself?”

“Near the end of the war, the enemies fled at the mere mention of his name.”

“Even the lords of our allied nations were so frightened that they would not come anywhere near our encampment.”

I nodded proudly. Hearing Victor praised somehow made me feel as though I were being praised myself. Honestly, it seemed slightly exaggerated, but these knights were weaker than I had expected…….

At that moment, Victor, who had been discussing our next destination, suddenly strode over. Then, with a perfectly composed expression, he lay down with his head on my lap.

“Victor?”

I looked down at him in near horror.

Victor settled himself against my thigh and shamelessly closed his eyes as though this were a natural duty between husband and wife.

When I raised my head, the knights’ incredulous expressions came into view all at once. My face burned like charcoal. I had only just become comfortable speaking with the knights, but if they saw me in such an embarrassing position, how would I ever meet their eyes again?

“Victor.”

I shook his arm. Unlike me, who was flustered, he remained perfectly calm.

“I believe I may be able to sleep like this.”

“……”

“You said you would help me sleep. Did you not? Marion.”

He slowly closed and opened his eyes. The gaze flickering in the firelight smiled at me with an allure that was almost absurd.

Why did my judgment always become clouded whenever I looked at Victor’s face? I nearly told him to go ahead, but managed to swallow the words when Sir Kaltz’s indifferent voice spoke.

“You truly stop at nothing to get what you want. As expected of my lord.”