TCPETBL 58

Chapter 58………………………………………………..

“Who are you?”

“Ah….”

Ruth froze with a blank expression.

Shimmering red eyes were staring straight at him.

Evelina, who had tilted her head in curiosity, lowered her gaze to the tray he was holding.

“Oh! It’s a meal. Thank you.”

“N-no, no….”

Ruth’s face flushed bright red.

Just then, a low voice came from inside.

“Evelina?”

Arsen soon walked over to her side.

Ruth reflexively turned his gaze toward Arsen.

The moment their eyes met—blue eyes—goosebumps rippled over his skin.

“Looks like it’s a meal.”

“Ah, y-yes.”

Ruth’s voice trembled on its own.

He bowed his head deeply and handed over the tray.

Only after the door closed could he finally release the breath he’d been holding.

Arsen clicked his tongue briefly, clearly displeased.

If he followed his true feelings, he wanted to gouge out the eyes that had been staring at Evelina earlier.

But he knew she would recoil in disgust and end up hating him if he did that, so he forced himself to endure it.

“It smells really delicious.”

Evelina sniffed the air.

Unaware of what Arsen was thinking, she simply smiled brightly.

Arsen let out a quiet chuckle.

Right. The one who’s with her right now is me.

There was no need to be impatient.

Arsen leaned down and briefly kissed Evelina on the forehead.

Startled by the sudden kiss, she blinked, then her cheeks faintly reddened.

Even though they had kissed several times already, the fact that she still got shy over something like this made her adorable and lovely.

After finishing a simple meal and chatting about this and that, it was soon time to sleep.

The bed was wide enough for two people to lie down comfortably.

As Evelina lay on the bed, she asked Arsen,

“How long does it take to get to the capital from here?”

“It’s not very far. We just need to pass through two villages… about two days, I’d say.”

Evelina nodded and turned her head to look out the window.

The window was right next to the bed, so she could see the night sky.

Because the room felt stuffy, they had left the window open, and the many stars embroidered across the sky were clearly visible.

After staring at the stars for a while, Evelina spoke softly.

“I thought… I’d spend my entire life in the attic.”

“……”

“There was a small window in the attic, and you could see the stars really well from there too.”

“…I see.”

Arsen wrapped his arms around Evelina from behind.

His broad chest enveloped her.

“The attic was the end of my world… Who would’ve thought I’d make it all the way to the Kingdom of Astina?”

“…Next time, we should visit other places too.”

“Yeah. I’ve only ever seen other places in books, so I’m curious.”

Arsen was already planning to travel the world with her.

He wanted to show her how vast the world really was.

As Evelina softly talked about her life in the attic, her speech gradually slowed.

Soon, her eyes closed, and only her faint breathing could be heard.

Arsen closed his eyes and buried his face in the curve of Evelina’s shoulder.

“…I love you.”

The one he confessed to was already asleep and couldn’t hear him, but it didn’t really matter.

After tightening his hold so she couldn’t slip away, Arsen closed his eyes as well.

When morning came, Evelina and Arsen set off for the capital early.

She looked bright the entire time, as if she weren’t tired at all.

After riding along the well-maintained forest road and passing through two villages, they finally arrived at the capital.

“It feels even more crowded than the harbor!”

“Be careful not to fall.”

If she wasn’t careful, she could easily get pushed over by the crowd.

Arsen firmly wrapped an arm around Evelina’s shoulders as she busily looked around.

They hurried to an inn first to drop off their luggage.

Entering what looked like the largest inn, Arsen immediately placed a gold coin on the counter.

“Please come this way.”

The staff promptly guided them to the best room.

Perhaps because it was the capital, the room was wider and cleaner than the one near the harbor.

From the window, they could look straight down onto the street below.

Evelina enjoyed the bustling noise drifting in through the open window.

“Should we rest first, or go out right away?”

“Let’s go out right away.”

They couldn’t afford to waste time.

Arsen followed her words without complaint.

“The sunlight is strong outside. It would be best to wear a hat.”

Arsen personally took a hat out of the bag, placed it on her head, and tied the strings under her chin into a ribbon.

“Does it… look strange?”

“You look very pretty.”

At his sincere words, Evelina smiled shyly.

Once outside, they wandered around here and there without even noticing the fatigue.

Most of the time, Evelina would say she wanted to go somewhere, and Arsen would simply follow along without objection.

Everything looked new and amazing to her.

“Arsen, look at this bird. It’s so cute.”

Evelina gently slipped her finger between the bars of the cage.

The bird, with its mysterious reddish hue, tilted its head, came closer, and pecked at her finger lightly.

Tickled, she laughed softly and curled her finger.

As if waiting for that, the bird rubbed its head against her finger.

At the friendly gesture, Evelina’s eyes widened.

“When we return to the north, you can raise a bird if you like.”

“Huh? No, it’s okay.”

She shook her head and straightened her bent back.

The bird was cute and caught her attention, but she didn’t feel confident about raising one.

Evelina moved a little farther inside.

Wandering around and picking up bits and pieces of conversation, she learned that a night market would open in the evening.

“Let’s come out again tonight! There’s a night market—I’m so excited.”

“I’m looking forward to it as well.”

After finishing their sightseeing for the time being, Evelina and Arsen returned to the inn.

“Should we have dinner at the night market? I’m sure they sell lots of delicious things.”

“Sounds good! They probably sell things a little different from the Empire, right? I’m curious what they’ll have.”

Evelina eagerly waited for nightfall.

As the sun set, colorful lanterns lit up.

Food stalls lined the streets in a long row.

In front of the popular stalls, people were already lining up.

After peeking around, Evelina pointed to one spot.

“Arsen, look at this. They say it’s an extremely spicy meat skewer.”

“…I see.”

Arsen’s pupils trembled slightly.

Seeing the long line, it seemed to be a popular item.

“Let’s try one.”

“…All right.”

Arsen nodded slowly.

Humming softly, Evelina waited for the line to shorten.

The line moved quickly, and before long, a meat skewer emitting a spicy aroma was placed in her hand.

The scent alone made her mouth water.

“Arsen, try some.”

Evelina held out the skewer, her eyes sparkling.

After hesitating briefly, he carefully took a bite.

“How is it? Is it good?”

“…Yes, it’s good.”

For some reason, the corners of his eyes looked a little red.

Thinking it was just the red lighting nearby, Evelina didn’t suspect he was crying.

She carefully took a bite herself.

“…!”

Evelina’s eyes widened.

It was tasty—but above all, it was very spicy.

Thinking she couldn’t eat the skewer by itself, she turned to Arsen to suggest buying a drink.

“Arsen, it’s really spicy, so maybe we should get a drink—Arsen?”

She blinked.

Tears were welling up in his blue eyes.

Then, finally, a single tear rolled down his cheek.

Panicking, Evelina flustered.

“Arsen, what’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“……”

“It’s okay, tell me. Did I do something wrong?”

Arsen shook his head.

After a moment of silence, he avoided her gaze and spoke.

“I… can’t handle spicy food very well.”

“Ah….”

So the conclusion was that he cried because it was spicy.

Evelina stared blankly while Arsen sniffed and wiped away his tears.

Holding back her laughter, she hurriedly said,

“Then let’s get a drink. I didn’t realize it would be this spicy either.”

Arsen silently nodded.

To soothe his stomach, they bought some cold watermelon juice.

Sitting on a nearby bench, Arsen took a sip.

“How is it? Are you feeling better now?”

“…Yes.”

“If you can’t eat spicy food, you should say so next time. Then we could’ve eaten something else.”

“Because you wanted to eat it.”

Evelina cleared her throat softly and drank some watermelon juice.

The sweet flavor slid smoothly down her throat.

“Anyway, next time, if you can’t eat something, please say so. Okay?”

“Yes, I understand.”

Since Arsen couldn’t handle spicy food, Evelina ate the rest of the meat skewer herself.

After buying and eating a few more things, Evelina finally turned her attention away from food.

“This looks really interesting.”

“Hm… how should I put it… It looks like a doll that would give you nightmares if you put it by your bedside.”

At his blunt comment, Evelina’s eyes widened.

She worried for a moment that the shop owner might have heard, but thankfully it was too noisy around them.

Taking advantage of that, Evelina quickly pulled Arsen away.

The night market was so large that even walking around all day wouldn’t be enough to see everything.

After so much walking, her legs started to ache, so they decided to rest for a bit.

Just then, they spotted an empty bench in front of a fountain, and Evelina quickly sat down.

Arsen, who had been staring off somewhere, asked her,

“Shall we have some sherbet while we rest?”

“Sherbet?”

“Yes.”

Arsen pointed to a spot.

There was a standing sign with the menu written on it, so they could see what was available even from a distance.

After scanning the text, she spoke.

“I’ll have peach sherbet, please.”

“Very well. Don’t go anywhere—wait here.”

“Okay. I’ll stay right here, so take your time.”

Evelina smiled softly.

The stall was close enough that once Arsen turned around, he could see everything she was doing.

As he went to buy the sherbet, Evelina absentmindedly listened to the sound of water splashing from the fountain.

Then, she noticed a woman walking briskly who dropped something.

The woman seemed unaware and kept walking, and Evelina reflexively sprang to her feet, quickly picked up the item, and hurried after her.