CHAPTER 40………………………….

Episode 40: Sincerity and Truth

The next morning, in the room where Lowell was resting.

“Eh? Really?”

Lowell dropped the bread she had been holding in her mouth and almost shouted.

“Ah! Didn’t your husband tell you?”

Startled as well, Aria nearly dropped the teacup she was holding.

“No, with so many magical knights around, why can’t we just teleport back to the capital?”

Still flustered, Lowell hurriedly continued.

“Large-scale teleportation can leave traces of coordinates, so in times of war, traveling on foot or horseback is the standard. You even came here on horseback yourself, didn’t you?”

“Oh… is that so?”

The unexpected information made Lowell catch her breath sharply. Thoughts of something she wanted to avoid floated in her mind.

‘So that means I’ll have to go alone with Leon… I said I came to the battlefield to see my husband, but if I say I’ll go separately on the way back, that would be strange too.’

Anyone could see she’d have to accompany an angry Leon. Lowell wanted to avoid it as much as possible, especially since this whole situation was her fault.

‘Ah, no… wait.’

And then, as she fretted alone, an idea suddenly flashed in Lowell’s mind.

“Now that I think about it, I’ll travel on foot, right? Leon and you will ride horses… Ah, what a shame. Being a commoner, I have no choice.”

On a battlefield full of noble people, a commoner like herself wouldn’t be riding any of the scarce means of transport.

“Hmm? No? You’ll ride in a carriage with your husband, right? I heard a few carriages were borrowed from the village here.”

“Eh? Why?”

Lowell’s eyes widened again at the unexpected prediction.

“Well, because you’re a hero who saved the Empire?”

Aria said, smiling playfully. The corners of her lips curled up mischievously.

“Ah! Lady!”

At that unfamiliar word, Lowell jumped up as if struck by lightning.

“Haha, okay, I won’t say it again.”

“Hero or whatever, I really can’t get used to it. I don’t understand it at all…”

“Alright, I’ll stop. But it’s true that you’ll be traveling by carriage. Another knight came by last night and gave me a hint.”

Aria, slightly calming her laughter, lifted the teacup she had put down.

“Then it’s almost certain, I guess.”

“Why? Don’t you want to ride the carriage? It’s much more comfortable and convenient.”

“No, the carriage is fine, but…”

“Could it be… that it’s uncomfortable because you’ll be with your husband?”

“……”

Lowell shut her mouth tightly at that question. Aria immediately understood: ‘Something must have happened, that explains why she looks uneasy.’

“I did something wrong.”

“Hmm, I was really surprised when I saw you on the battlefield, but imagine how much your husband was shocked.”

Aria nodded slightly in understanding.

“Haha, yes, that’s true…”

‘I even sold the necklace without permission, so there’s even more I did wrong.’

She couldn’t bring herself to say that part.

“But Lowell, I haven’t experienced true love either, so I don’t really know, but…”

Aria, after a long moment of pondering together with Lowell, suddenly spoke.

“If you talk properly, it will be fine. That’s what being a couple is about. No matter how much you fight, you always return to each other. So, Lowell, speak sincerely.”

“Will he understand if I talk?”

“Hmm… it’s honestly a hard situation to understand. But I think your husband will eventually understand everything.”

Aria gave a faint smile toward Lowell.

“Eh?”

Lowell’s face showed how hard it was to comprehend.

“Really.”

Aria slowly studied Lowell’s downcast face—black hair reminiscent of a pitch-dark night and her unusual purple eyes.

‘Even I, a close friend, see her this way… imagine how much more her husband feels. And above all…’

Aria recalled Leon’s expression on the cliff—his face full of pain and sorrow.

“Lowell. It’ll probably work out.”

Aria could sense that such deep emotions never disappeared easily.

“Thankfully, the capital isn’t too far. We should arrive today.”

Looking out the carriage window, Lowell spoke. Her voice trembled slightly, though it could easily be blamed on the carriage’s movement.

“Yeah.”

Despite the familiar topic, the response from the other side was cold.

“Hmm, I didn’t expect you’d return by carriage. I thought you’d travel by horse since it’s faster, even though carriages are more convenient on the plains.”

Hiding her embarrassment with a hollow laugh, Lowell spoke brightly again.

“Haha, you, a war hero, traveling… who would dare make you walk? Of course, you’d go by carriage. And…”

Leon chuckled lowly. Then, pausing, he cast a slightly bitter glance at Lowell and continued.

“The so-called hero came to the battlefield just to see her husband. Who would think to separate you two? You must be brought together by carriage.”

Leon knew why Lowell had come to the battlefield. His words were clearly sarcastic.

“……”

This time, Lowell could say nothing. She might have wanted to speak, but anything she said now would sound like an excuse.

Clatter.

In the silence left only with the carriage’s movement, Lowell wanted to speak boldly, as she did when she discovered the corruption in his body before. She wanted to apologize for her mistakes and explain why she had no choice.

But this time was different. She had acted recklessly alone while bound by contract.

No matter how she thought about it, it was entirely her fault.

Clatter.

Silence stretched for a long while, until they heard that the capital was near.

“…I’m sorry for selling the mana-suppressing stone. I was in such a rush that I couldn’t think of another way. I didn’t realize selling the necklace might include Leon’s mana within it.”

Lowell spoke, keeping her gaze fixed on the floor.

“But coming to the battlefield was really unavoidable. If not this time, I thought I couldn’t prevent your disappearance…”

“Yeah. Seems so.”

Leon interrupted Lowell’s words with a low voice.

“Y-Yes…”

Lowell hesitated for a moment but then took a deep breath and continued.

“Still, thinking of you, Leon, I shouldn’t have risked my life so recklessly. I didn’t think you’d worry about me.”

“Did I seem like someone who wouldn’t worry about you?”

“Eh? No, not that… just…”

Leon’s words slipped out like a sigh, and Lowell’s eyes widened briefly.

“I just… until now, I always felt like I was walking on thin ice, uneasy. But strangely, since meeting you, Leon, I’ve felt much more at ease. Feeling safe made me act even more recklessly.”

Lowell spoke, staring intently at Leon, her purple eyes shimmering like rippling water.

For a moment, Leon wondered if she understood how his words sounded.

“……”

Like before, he felt a flutter in his heart. He still couldn’t fully understand her.

‘But that’s why I want to…’

He wanted to hold onto the slowly blinking eyelashes and the light in those eyes.

“Alright, I understand.”

“Eh?”

“I understand. I also realized I was too indifferent after saying I’d help you. So in the end, you even risked yourself.”

Leon spoke calmly, and Lowell, having only expected to apologize, was slightly surprised.

“I’ll apologize too. For snapping at you based only on my feelings when you woke up, and not taking care of you properly. You must have been confused. I’m sorry.”

Seeing Lowell’s flustered expression, Leon spoke slowly.

“It’s okay!”

As soon as Leon finished, Lowell raised her voice in reply. She was overjoyed that he accepted her apology and that the awkwardness between them was gone.

“So we’re reconciled, right?”

Lowell said with a relieved smile, her tension melting away.

Leon smiled unconsciously in response. That foolish expression of hers was contagious.

“Then the contract is extended.”

Leon leaned back in the carriage seat, eyes meeting hers briefly.

“Eh?”

“After all, the regression magic ritual failed, right? So we have to plan the next step. You’ll be spending even more time with me than before.”

“Oh, that makes sense.”

“We still have to use each other more.”

Leon said matter-of-factly, leaving Lowell trying to understand his meaning.

“So, the marriage is extended.”

Finishing his words, Leon wore a satisfied smile.