Chapter 99
“What Happened at the Wheat Break (2)”
“In Hestonia, if something is useful, people will buy it even secondhand, right? When I went to the market last time, I saw rare materials that are hard to get, so things that are hard to remake—or things used by a famous person—sometimes get more expensive!”
“…”
“What about items with magic in them? Ah—since magic power goes down the more you use it, would the price drop a lot?”
I walked beside Calliere, chattering nonstop while he stayed quiet.
“Mm, even so, selling them is still better, right? Should I tell Zenber now to sell them as soon as possible—like, tomorrow?”
“…”
“Oh! Or, since it’s the Wheat Break and lots of guilds are in the territory, why don’t we use that? If we hold an auction, we could get a better price!”
“You seem happy.”
At Calliere’s slow reply, I stopped forcing down my smile and let it show.
“…Is it that obvious?”
“Hard to pretend I didn’t notice.”
He spoke with a faint smile. Seeing he didn’t seem annoyed, I said with a small laugh:
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh so much, but I keep imagining Your Grace reselling magic-blocking stones… secondhand.”
He chuckled, looking a bit helpless at how my lips kept twitching with another laugh. Then he plucked a leaf off the hood of my robe.
“If it makes you happy, it’s fine.”
His gentle gaze made my face grow hot. I cooled my cheek with the back of my hand, then spoke carefully.
“Um, Your Grace.”
“…?”
“About what you said to Lord Lafer earlier… If you spread the magic-blocking stones because of me, you could just put them around my room.”
“What do you mean?”
“I know I said last time I wouldn’t run away anymore, but I did fool you first. So if you still can’t trust me yet, I don’t have any excuse.”
“…”
“I’ll try not to leave my room. If I need the library or the dining hall, I can ask Mei. It’ll be stuffy, but it’s my fault, so I don’t mind.”
I saw his brows draw together as he looked at me, so I added quietly:
“So you don’t have to lay them around the whole territory. Because of me, the people here—and the visitors to Esperos—might be suffering for no reason…”
“…”
“Your Grace?”
I shared my thoughts carefully, but he didn’t react. When I turned to him, he was looking at me with a slightly stiff face. After a short silence, he answered calmly:
“I’ll order the magic-blocking stones around the territory to be collected as quickly as possible.”
“Huh? Ah, yes, that sounds good. Then just around my room—”
“Of course, I don’t mean I’ll take them up and then put them back around your room.”
“…Sorry?”
I blinked at the unexpected words. Meeting my eyes directly, he said:
“I didn’t cover the whole territory because I was afraid you’d run again. I did it to keep you safe.”
“W-what do you mean…?”
Heidi’s face flashed through my mind.
If Heidi had come to the Grand Duke’s castle with another mage instead of Lafer, planning to kill me—what would have happened?
‘…I would have died.’
Realizing that, I finally understood how lucky I’d been to survive till now. Death felt suddenly close.
“…Ria. Rebellia.”
His voice pulled me back. I looked up, startled, and warmth spread from where his hand held my cold one.
“I promise. From now on, nothing—and no one—will be allowed to threaten you.”
My heart thumped hard at that heavy, meaningful vow. I wondered if he knew something—but before I could speak, he went on in a steady tone:
“And about the stones: even if that wasn’t my intention, if they made you feel I didn’t trust you, then collecting them is the right thing to do.”
“Huh? What do you—”
“This wasn’t your fault.”
“…”
“And even if I choose to throw away those expensive stones I bought, you don’t need to feel responsible for that either.”
I stared at him, dazed. His voice was firm, but his eyes were kinder than sunlight.
“I spread the stones to protect you a little more. I’m collecting them because I don’t want you to misunderstand.”
There was no lie in his face.
He took my hand, bent his head, and pressed a kiss to the back of it.
“So don’t apologize. You have nothing to apologize to me for.”
My heart stirred at his gentle words. I clasped his big hand in both of mine, then, stealing a look at him, asked:
“…Then, if that’s the case, you don’t have to throw them away on the roadside, right?”
He glanced away. Seeing the sulky look on his face, I couldn’t help grinning.
“If I really don’t have to feel guilty like you say, then please sell the stones—even secondhand. I’d feel awful if you wasted money because of me.”
“…”
“If the price is decent, you can buy me something tasty. As a thank-you—for me helping you save money.”
“…I can do that even without selling the stones.”
At last, his crumpled expression eased. With a playful air, he laced his fingers through mine. It wasn’t the first time we’d held hands, but seeing our ten fingers fit together like gears made my throat go dry.
While I fussed over what to do, he spoke lightly:
“So, what’s the plan for today?”
“P-plan? Um, I was going to look around the territory with Mei. She said during the Wheat Break lots of merchants come to sell wheat, so there’d be—”
I turned to ask Mei to agree—but no one was behind us.
Startled by how completely she’d vanished, I looked at him. Calliere said casually:
“If you mean Mei, Leo dragged her off a moment ago.”
“What?”
“Seemed urgent.”
“…Urgent?”
Watching him nod, I asked carefully:
“I might be wrong, so I’m checking… Leo is the red-haired knight who serves Your Grace, right? The one who’s Mei’s childhood friend?”
“Sounds right. There’s only one person with that name in the castle.”
His detached tone—like it was someone else’s business—made a worry crawl through me.
“Could something have happened at her house? If a knight who serves Your Grace came looking for Mei instead of you, that means…”
“Oh, I asked him.”
“…Pardon?”
“I asked him, so he wasn’t looking for me.”
I blinked, not understanding. He grinned playfully.
“I wanted to look around the Wheat Break with you, too.”
“S-so you asked him to… separate Mei from me?”
“Exactly.”
“…Exactly?”
“I bargained with Zenber and earned a free day as payment for working hard.”
I gaped at his bold answer, and his lips curved with satisfaction.
“So stop looking for the ones who aren’t here—and spend the day with me.”
“Because today, I’m your partner.”
