Chapter 05
When I arrived at the blacksmith’s shop, the long swords hanging on the wall immediately caught my eye.
I doubt they sell kitchen knives here, but…
I decided to look around and ask anyway.
And then—
“Oh.”
I spotted him.
“That mercenary from before?”
The man with dark red hair hanging loose, lazily polishing a sword.
“Excuse me.”
It was finally time to collect the apple money.
Up close, the mercenary looked like a painting.
Long hair still covered his eyes.
A tall, sharply defined nose.
Beads of sweat glistening in the warm sunlight.
Even the way he polished his sword with those large hands.
Judging by his smooth, flawless face alone, he looked like someone who had never suffered a day in his life.
But his hands were a mess of scars.
And the thick arms visible beneath his rolled-up sleeves were covered in them too.
Why did he have to roll up his sleeves and soften my heart like this?
Of course a mercenary would be covered in scars.
I almost felt sorry enough to discount the apple money.
Sorry, but I’m barely scraping by myself.
At least mercenaries make decent money.
If I can’t start a business right now, I might starve.
Clang. Clang.
I raised my voice again over the blacksmith’s hammering.
“Excuse me.”
Whether I approached or not, he stayed focused on polishing his sword.
It looked old. What made it so precious?
“Sir, polishing the sword over there.”
I put more force into my voice.
At this point, was he pretending not to hear me?
Step.
Sorry, but I stepped on his boot.
Since he’d been looking down, he must have seen it.
“…What is it?”
He spoke in a rough, cracked voice.
Finally, he looked up.
“You remember me, right?”
I was going to make him pay even if he didn’t.
But he gave a small nod.
“…Good. I’m glad you remember.”
He really did?
Caught off guard, I still held out my hand.
A question mark appeared on his face.
“Money.”
“Do I owe you something?”
“You could call it a debt.”
The apples he ruined.
The ones I paid for.
“So it’s not actually a debt.”
Excuse me?
“This is a debt!”
I was about to argue when he stood up.
He was so tall that his face ended up far above my head.
“W-Why are you standing up like that?”
You think I’ll back down just because you’re big?
I may look like a young, delicate, pretty woman on the outside.
But inside me lives a daughter-in-law tough enough to make three thousand heads of kimchi alone in midwinter.
Don’t underestimate me.
“Why did you step on my foot?”
“Oh, sorry. You kept ignoring me, so I thought you might look if I did that. If you want to step on something, step on my foot.”
I slid my foot forward toward him.
Halara’s hands and feet were small, just like her body.
Placed next to his thick military boot, they looked almost half the size.
“You’re really telling me to step on it?”
“Yes. If I offended you.”
“You won’t have a foot left.”
He said it seriously.
Normally, people would just say, “It’s fine,” and move on.
But this man looked like he was genuinely ready to step on it.
“You’re really going to step on it?!”
“You told me to.”
“What I meant was! Usually when people say that, you just pretend to step or say it’s okay!”
“…Usually?”
“Of course.”
As I answered, slightly flustered, he tilted his head.
“Who decides what ‘usual’ is?”
“What?”
“Some people might actually want to be stepped on. The world is full of different kinds of people.”
Does this man have zero social skills?
That might be it.
Judging by how deep and numerous his scars were, he’d probably lived as a mercenary for a long time.
Constant battle would ruin anyone’s social skills.
And that almost made me soften again.
“…If you don’t really want to step on it, please don’t say things like that.”
I carefully hid my foot beneath the hem of my long dress.
“More importantly, you know you owe me two silver, right?”
“Two silver?”
“Yes. The cost of the two apples you took at the vegetable stall.”
“What kind of trick is this?”
His language turned rough. He must be sensitive about money.
“Don’t you remember? You ran off with the apples last time. I told you the one you picked was bad and recommended a good one.”
As I explained the incident in detail, realization finally dawned on him.
“Now you remember. So pay me back. Two silver. That’s a lot of money for the vegetable seller. He wouldn’t even make that much profit in a full day.”
“Then shouldn’t the one I owe be the merchant, not you?”
“I paid for it instead.”
“You paid?”
He tilted his head. His hair shifted slightly, revealing his eyes for a moment before hiding them again.
“Why?”
“Because the man lives hand to mouth. And if I hadn’t commented on the apple’s condition, you wouldn’t have crushed it.”
“…Ah.”
What was that supposed to mean?
Yes or no?
But now that I looked closer, his clothes were in pretty bad shape.
“Wait… two silver is a lot of money for you too, isn’t it?”
“…”
No answer.
It looks like his pride wouldn’t let him respond.
“Then pay me back with labor instead.”
“…Labor?”
The corner of his mouth twitched.
I grinned in response.
“You’ll help me out until you’ve worked off two silver.”
It felt awkward to just take the money anyway.
Even if he had crushed the apples thoughtlessly.
So I decided to make use of his far superior physical strength instead.
“It’s a really simple job.”
I held out the potatoes in my basket.
Compared to mercenary work, this would be nothing.
***
While Halara was meeting the unfamiliar mercenary, Head Butler Carlos had been gripping Michelle’s arm and working his lips nervously for several minutes.
He’d grabbed her without thinking, afraid of missing his chance.
But now he had no idea how to start the conversation.
What if he probed too carelessly and she refused to cooperate?
As he hesitated, Michelle, growing impatient, shot him a suspicious glare.
“What is it?”
“J-Just a moment. One minute.”
“You said one minute earlier. It’s been at least ten.”
Michelle shook off his hand.
Her arm, hardened by years of chopping wood, sent Carlos tumbling helplessly to the ground.
“If you’ve got nothing to say, I’m leaving.”
At that, Carlos popped back up like a toy.
“I have something to ask about the person next door!”
Finally, he spoke.
“The neighbor? You mean Halara?”
“Yes!”
At his loud answer, Michelle crossed her arms and examined him.
First, she noticed his polished shoes and fairly expensive-looking clothes.
At a glance, he looked like someone from a well-off family or a high-ranking servant from a noble house.
“So what do you want to know?”
“About… Halara.”
Carlos hesitated, then used her name.
If he called her “that woman” or “the woman next door,” Michelle might not answer properly.
“Halara? Sounds like you’re pretty close.”
“Ah, somewhat…”
“What kind of relationship?”
“It’s… complicated.”
Unable to lie outright, Carlos scratched his head.
He didn’t know how close Michelle and Halara were. Claiming to be a distant relative might raise suspicion.
“Oh?”
Michelle’s eyes narrowed.
Full of doubt.
So Carlos quickly changed the subject.
“Um… what is that sign?”
Let’s start with that!
“You mean what you’re looking at? I even drew pictures so idiots like me could understand. Don’t tell me you can’t.”
“No, I can read! I just meant what it means.”
Michelle’s attitude bruised his pride, but Carlos endured it.
“I told you. It means exactly what it says. You know how pretty Halara is. It’s a warning telling the men who show up every day to stop coming.”
“Then why all of a sudden?”
Carlos’s voice rose.
Michelle frowned, and he immediately shrank back.
“N-No… I mean, why now? She never stopped men from coming and going before.”
Hmm.
Michelle looked him over again.
Looks like another one of Halara’s admirers.
Decent clothes.
An anxious voice every time he spoke.
A desperate attitude, trying to get answers no matter how coldly she responded.
The conclusion was obvious.
He looks old too. How did he end up falling for Halara?
In truth, Michelle had seen men like this many times.
Men who loitered around Halara’s house all had the same look.
Normally, she would have ignored him.
But she’d grown close to Halara lately, so this felt personal.
I’ve been eating her food nonstop lately. I should at least return the favor.
She’d just bragged loudly to Halara earlier. Now was the time to deliver results.
“Halara isn’t seeing men anymore.”
“What? Why? Does she have a lover now?”
“Mm, not that.”
Michelle shook her head.
A lie about a lover would be exposed quickly.
“Just know this.”
“…Yes? W-What is it?”
“Halara is pregnant.”
She applied a very effective deterrent.
