Chapter 14
From behind a tree, Lucius was secretly watching Archer and Freya.
‘I’ll uncover your secret myself.’
He narrowed his eyes, trying to find anything suspicious about this strange woman.
But after watching for a long time, he found nothing but mystery.
There was no trace of magic or anything that looked secretive.
‘What is she doing?’
While the man grumbled and bent over, the girl poured water on him.
The man yelled, and the girl laughed as if it were hilarious.
‘What’s so upsetting about that?’
That was why he had stepped in himself, yet he still couldn’t understand why she had laughed.
Lucius shook his head to get rid of the water, then spoke slowly.
“Is this revenge for what happened earlier?”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Just spare me!”
Freya shook her head vigorously while clutching the bucket, her cheeks flushed red.
‘A happy ending is what matters most.’
Why had she made such a fatal mistake here? The sound of her teeth chattering in fear echoed through the forest.
Lucius looked at the trembling Freya and smiled.
“When someone speaks to you, you should look them in the eye—especially when that someone is me.”
Hearing what sounded like a threat, Freya raised her head and opened her mouth in shock.
He was terrifying, yet at the same time she was instantly captivated by Lucius’s face.
‘Wow… he’s beautiful.’
With water droplets rolling down, his face looked like a statue.
When he roughly ran his large hand across his forehead, her heart skipped a beat.
‘I hadn’t noticed before, but he’s incredibly handsome.’
His elegant movements didn’t remind her of the horrifying rumors at all.
‘And on top of that, he’s completely different from Archer.’
Her eyes were drawn to the perfectly balanced muscles in his arms, shoulders, and chest.
‘Have I gone mad? I splashed the crown prince with water and now I’m ogling his body!’
She was now awaiting his judgment.
Realizing it too late, she quickly lowered her head again.
Lucius put his shirt back on quickly, cleared his throat, and spoke.
“Now that we’ve each attacked once, doesn’t that make it even?”
“What…?”
Leaving those cryptic words behind, Lucius calmly walked away from her.
‘What does he mean by “attacked”? And what’s even?’
Freya stood frozen for a long time, clutching the small bucket.
She felt as though a ghost had appeared in broad daylight and cast a spell on her.
A little later, while gathering the remaining laundry, she remembered His Highness and shivered.
“He’s far stranger than the rumors say.”
* * *
Because of the crown prince’s interference, her work had been delayed terribly.
By the time she returned exhausted, dusk had already fallen.
“Nobles really are useless to my life.”
From sheer fatigue, she could barely lift her arms. She struggled to lift the tent flap when something small flew toward her forehead.
“Archer, why are you angry again?”
Freya quickly caught a small cloth pouch.
“Why are you so late?”
“…”
She was already exhausted, and Archer’s anger only made her more irritated.
She almost shouted, but when she saw his moist eyes, she couldn’t.
‘What is this huge man doing curled up on the bed? Was he worried about me?’
Unable to handle the strange feeling, she spoke with difficulty.
“I was… washing…”
She hesitated to tell the truth—that Prince Lucius had asked her to wash his back, and that she had committed an outrage by splashing water on his clothes.
‘If Archer, His Highness’s loyal servant, found out, he’d be furious.’
While she deliberately stalled, Archer suddenly yelled.
“You bathed out there?”
“In this weather? I’d die!”
Freya wondered what on earth Archer thought of her.
Even if she was poorly educated, she wasn’t stupid enough to do something like that in a place full of men. She puffed out her chest and teased.
“You weren’t worried about me, were you?”
“Have you lost your mind? Do I look like the type?”
Archer jumped off the bed, and a meat bone fell to the floor.
Seeing his usual face, Freya felt relieved.
“I was just asking.”
“You were so late. I was starving.”
“Right, it looks like you need to chew fodder like a cow all day to maintain that massive body.”
Freya teased him and began preparing what she had brought.
She sat by the brazier, warmed the porridge a little, and grilled the meat.
Feeling touched, her eyes grew moist.
As she wiped her eyes with her sleeve, Archer suddenly took off his shirt.
Freya frowned while turning the meat skewer.
“Can’t you see I’m cooking? Dust will fly everywhere.”
“Look—my whole body is pure muscle!”
It seemed her cow comparison had upset him.
‘What a simple man…’
The huge man’s body had not an ounce of fat.
The scars on his back and chest told stories of his past.
Each scar carried painful memories.
Feeling gloomy, she raised her voice, pretending to be disgusted.
“Archer! Put your clothes back on right now—my eyes hurt.”
“Why? Because I’m too handsome?”
Good heavens, how was eye pain a compliment? And besides, she had just seen a man with an irresistible body.
Freya shook her head and spoke.
“Archer, be honest—have you ever actually talked to a woman?”
Archer burst into loud laughter as if he’d heard something hilarious.
“What kind of question is that? I’m extremely popular!”
“What kind of conversations did you have?”
Archer recalled proudly.
“They asked if I wanted more wine, and if I’d eat more bread.”
“Well…”
As expected.
Archer was only good at being strong.
Freya decided not to tell him the truth.
* * *
Tiny cracks began appearing in Freya’s daily life ever since her encounter with Prince Lucius. She felt someone watching her—whether she was coming and going from the tent, hanging laundry, or stretching.
‘A bad feeling that makes the hair on my head stand up.’
While cleaning up breakfast leftovers, she spoke without thinking.
“Archer, what if someone has a crush on me and is following me?”
Archer dropped the cloth he was using to clean his helmet.
“Freya, did you smoke weed?”
There were quite a few people here who secretly used it.
They said it eased fear and pain on the battlefield.
“I told you not to—it’s harmful.”
Archer said he had seen many lives ruined by weed addiction. Freya had no intention of giving in before fulfilling her promise to Lottie.
“By the way, that’s an annoying thing to say, you know?”
“What do you mean?”
Freya glared while holding a meat skewer, and Archer’s shoulders shrank.
“Is it really impossible for someone to like me?”
Archer suddenly shouted.
“Did someone try to flirt with you?”
His brows furrowed—he was the one who had introduced her as his distant cousin’s daughter.
Most of the men here were rough types.
‘Freya would suit a kind, gentle man.’
Feeling the sudden responsibility of playing the father role, Archer wanted to take good care of her and find her a proper partner. But Freya, unaware of his feelings, replied coldly.
“Well, when would they even have time to flirt?”
She had never felt that way toward anyone and wasn’t interested in romance. Yet, for a girl born alone, she sometimes envied seeing everyone else with families or lovers.
The tents were full of rough men.
That didn’t mean love was absent. While running errands, she often witnessed embarrassing scenes in broad daylight.
‘My love, I want to tear open my chest with a dagger and show you my burning heart.’
That was enough to spark the curiosity of Freya, who had only just come of age.
“What’s this? You look disappointed.”
Archer spoke mockingly, so Freya snapped back.
“I’m not disappointed.”
“Why are you so harsh to me?”
Archer rubbed his beard and made a dissatisfied sound. Still, he preferred this over seeing her down.
‘She’s gained some weight and looks more human now…’
Archer smiled as he put on his chainmail jacket.
“Freya, clean these inside the tent today.”
“When will I ever finish cleaning all this?”
She sighed, looking at a basket full of small arrows, daggers, and weapons.
“Don’t complain—just do what you’re told.”
“Fine, no problem.”
Freya muttered as she rolled up her sleeves.
She gathered the burnt wood ashes into a basket.
In the midst of her busy life, she sometimes forgot she was living in wartime, but seeing Archer clean his weapons made her uneasy.
“I’ll go throw this out.”
“Always be careful.”
Unlike his worry, Freya smiled lightly.
