MMLC 58

Chapter 58

A sulky voice came from across from me.

“Why on earth am I riding in this carriage?”

There was only one person who could speak to me in such a sulky tone.

Dazar Ciaster.

I looked up to see Dazar glaring down at me, his eyebrows sharply furrowed.

“What about it? What’s your problem?”

“Look at this. Look how cramped it is.”

He stretched out his long index finger and repeatedly pointed at the distance between himself and me. The two of us were sitting face-to-face inside an extremely small carriage.

The carriage hadn’t even departed yet.

When I glanced at the gap he was indicating, I had to admit it really was narrow—so narrow that not even a fist could fit between us. Still, I pretended not to notice and turned my head back toward the window.

“It’s not that cramped.”

“You call this ‘not cramped’?”

Dazar let out a scoffing laugh and folded his arms. Once he crossed them, the space felt even tighter.

“Stay still. You’re making the carriage shake.”

“That’s my fault? Isn’t this the fault of whoever suggested riding this tiny carriage?”

“And who would that be?”

“Are you seriously asking because you don’t know?”

Dazar kept laughing in disbelief, and with each puff of air from his nose, my hair fluttered.

Seriously. Have some manners.

“It’s not too late. Just admit it.”

“Admit what?”

“What else? That insisting this tiny carriage could take us all the way to the capital was a mistake.”

“…We got in just fine, didn’t we? And we’ll get there just fine.”

Dazar narrowed his eyes as if to say Well, would you look at that. Then he snorted and shut his mouth tightly.

“Fine. So that’s how you want to play it?”

With that, he relaxed the legs he’d been stiffly pressed against the seat. His knee bumped lightly into mine.

Ugh.

When I made my displeasure obvious, Dazar’s expression turned relaxed instead.

“What? We’re riding just fine, aren’t we?”

Grrr.

This bastard, seriously.

To understand why the two of us were having such a childish argument, you’d have to rewind to when we were leaving the Ciaster estate.

‘What? You really plan to go together? To the Field of Repose? And with that kid, too?’

‘Of course. Why wouldn’t you come if I’m going? I told Vanilla we’re family, remember? You stayed silent like you agreed.’

‘That’s because someone forcibly kept my mouth shut.’

‘Hmph.’

After telling Vanilla that, there was no way we couldn’t go together. Dazar had tacitly agreed too. But there was a problem.

To enter the imperial palace, you needed prior approval—and only two carriages had been approved.

And one of them was very small.

According to Dazar, that carriage had originally been meant for Vanilla to ride alone.

Vanilla riding alone?

At that moment, I felt the long-dormant Confucian-girl mindset inside me awaken.

“No matter what, that’s not right. Vanilla riding alone? You were planning to put such a young child in a carriage by herself?”

“…And?”

“Wow. Just… wow.”

What kind of awful person does that?

After the puppy incident, I thought their relationship had improved quite a bit. Apparently, they still had a long way to go.

Seeing my half-lidded glare, Dazar grumbled.

“That’s how nobles are. We’re strictly separated from a young age. It builds independence. Nobles aren’t allowed to be spoiled—especially in the Ciaster family.”

“……”

Whether he said something or not, I turned my gaze toward the window.

Since the carriage hadn’t departed yet, I could see Vanilla, Kal, and Axion waiting up front.

Vanilla was spinning around excitedly, clutching her skirt. She seemed to be proudly showing off her small dress to Kal, who was holding Axion. Her little lips moved nonstop, adorably chattering away.

You were going to put that tiny, precious child in a carriage alone?

The Confucian girl inside me screamed that this was absolutely unacceptable.

So before boarding the carriage, I proposed this:

Vanilla and Dazar would ride in the small carriage, while I, Kal, and Axion would ride in the larger one. That would make the numbers work out perfectly.

But Dazar objected again.

Going on about Ciaster independence and such, he insisted that children and adults should ride separately—Kal being the sole exception.

Considering the worldview of this place, his argument did reflect local culture to some degree. But that didn’t mean I felt any urge to respect it.

So I bluntly said—

“Then you and I will ride in the small carriage together. There are three people there and only two here. That works, doesn’t it?”

Yes. I admit it.

It was a ridiculous battle of pride.

Damn it. I thought if I pushed that far, he’d back down with something like, Ah, I see. I was mistaken. I’ll ride nicely with Vanilla.

Instead, his eyes lit up.

“Fine! Let’s do it!”

And that’s how I ended up riding in this tiny carriage with him.

Sigh.

Clop-clop—two well-groomed horses moved in perfect rhythm. It seemed the carriage had begun moving.

I stuck my face out the small window and looked around.

Trees turned brown zipped past on either side. When the wind blew, leaves fluttered down in showers. Winter was approaching.

I sniffed lightly at the familiar winter scent filling the air.

That was when—

“Ah, my shoulders are stiff.”

Dazar stretched both arms upward like he was yawning.

Thanks to that, I nearly got uppercut by his massive fist. Without realizing it, I clenched my teeth.

“Hah. Hah. You’re right. I wonder why my shoulders hurt so much too. Maybe because someone stupid dragged out this tiny carriage.”

Take that.

Just like Dazar, I quickly stretched both arms upward.

My fist narrowly grazed under his chin before shooting up into the air.

“…You.”

“Oh wow, my shoulders hurt. They really hurt.”

Dazar was grinding his teeth and glaring at me when—

Bump!

The carriage jolted violently, as if it had run over a rock.

“…!”

“Wah—!”

If it had just shaken, my iron arms and iron legs would’ve been enough to steady myself.

But—

Neighhh!

The horses, startled mid-run, stopped abruptly, causing the carriage to come to a sudden halt.

So… yeah.

“Whoa—!”

“Ugh!”

With my center of gravity thrown forward, my body flew helplessly toward Dazar.

Like a rocket, I crashed straight onto him.

“…”
“…”

His golden eyes, now suddenly far too close, trembled slightly.

As if acting on instinct, his hands—just moments ago raised high—were now tightly wrapped around me.

So tightly that it was hard to breathe.

But I was so shocked that I forgot I was even suffocating.

Oh. My. God.

My posture aside, the real problem was my hands.

Thrown forward by momentum, my hands instinctively searched for something to grab to steady myself.

Mom, no—

And unfortunately, that something turned out to be Dazar’s head.

Because I was gripping his head for dear life, my… my, my upper body was hovering just a breath away from his face.

Which meant—

Yes.

That place.

It touched, didn’t it? It did, right?

God, Buddha, Allah—

Please punish these hands of mine. No, punish my entire body for flying forward like that. No—punish me for stubbornly insisting on riding alone with him in this carriage—

Waaah.

“A-are you okay?”

Dazar hurriedly released me, raising both hands lightly as if surrendering, and began rambling.

“I didn’t do anything. I swear. The only thing I’m guilty of is staying still. And can you even call that a crime? No, wait, that’s not what I meant—”

“……”

Damn it. He was right. In this situation, Dazar wasn’t at fault at all. Blaming him would’ve been unfair.

I quietly loosened my grip and sat back properly in my seat, as if nothing had happened.

Then, staring dreamily out the window, I muttered—

“Who said anything?”

An awkward silence followed.

After that, we kept our mouths firmly shut, doing our best not to look at each other as the carriage headed toward the capital.

Catching a glimpse of Dazar’s faintly reddened cheek, I thought to myself—

What is this? Something that only happens to romance-fantasy protagonists…?

I was supposed to be surviving inside a grim, trashy farming novel disguised as something else.

Resting one hand against my forehead as I gazed out the window, the carriage continued on, finally arriving at the imperial palace.

“Welcome. Please disembark this way.”