After settling the situation, I boarded the carriage for the return trip. There was a lot going on and I felt tired. As she changed into light clothes and sat down in the carriage seat, a sense of comfort came over her, as if she had arrived at home. She smiled at the thought that it was a good idea to spend money on remodeling the carriage. I left my post with a resounding finish. Preparations for departure will be completed soon. I had had a lot of strange things happen in my life. I thought I knew the future and tried to change it, but in the end, the future I knew was just a future that had already passed. What was coming to me was reality, not the future. So, it would be like being called to the imperial palace and having the experience of being seen in the courtroom. I had an argument with the crown prince, and I laughed at the thought that in some ways, my life was more eventful than my past.
“Are you ready?”
I quietly watched Ian open the carriage door and gently push his face into it. Not that bad?
“Why do you look at me like that?”
“No. I was thinking about something else.”
“It’s bland.”
He gently pushed up the corner of his mouth. I liked his cool, curved smile.
“What are you going to do Ian?”
“For now, let’s withdraw the knights and monitor the situation. It’s over, but there’s still work to be done, right?”
“But…”
Since I was almost accused of counterfeit currency, I had no choice but to submit the data I had collected as evidence. Perhaps Beralt, who was involved in this matter, could review the materials and hasten the work. I don’t know what the purpose or intention was, but it didn’t seem like it would produce very good results for me or Ian.
“Ian.”
“Huh?”
Ian, who had been looking inside the carriage, looked at me again. He met his eyes and smiled.
“Do you want to ride?”
He tapped the carriage seat with his palm. Ian smiled without saying anything, entered the carriage, sat down, and widened his eyes as if surprised.
“Why?”
“No, it’s softer than I thought and it’s very spacious.”
“Is that so? I spent a lot of money on this. I originally remodeled it for my grandfather to use, but he doesn’t use it much. He always uses horses. I’m a little worried, but he hasn’t corrected it yet. It’s the same, so I’m writing it.”
“Well, I’m sure Viscount Ajstain will do well. He’s always been thorough with self-management.”
“Yes?”
No matter what happens, his grandfather has always quietly maintained his position. It seemed like he had more secrets than I thought and there were a lot of things he didn’t teach me, but I had to ask him sometime. Before returning to the past, the anniversary of his grandfather’s death would approach as summer passed and autumn began to appear. So he still had time and was thoroughly prepared. Because his grandfather’s personality seemed like he would be frustrated if he had an escort, he contacted the Assassin’s Guild separately and asked them to provide intensive escort for his father. When he asked the Assassin’s Guild, which kills people, to provide protection, they laughed at the contradiction. However, I bowed my head in front of the huge payment. Looking at it, he once again felt that money was the best. Thanks to this, top-class assassins who were good at moving without being seen were hired to follow his grandfather and protect him intensively. Unless you are a knight or mercenary with exceptional skills, you will not be able to threaten your grandfather.
“Does Ian have any plans?”
“What plan?”
Ian’s facial expression as he tilted his head was cute. Even though he’s twice as big as me, he’s still cute. Was there something wrong with my eyes? I laughed and opened my mouth again.
“Are you going to go home like this?”
“No. I’m going to follow you.”
“Why?”
“Something like that happened at the castle, and you never know what the crown prince might do again, right? No matter how many guard knights are by your side, it’s safer if I’m with you. Isn’t that right?”
The smiling face looked confident, as if he had found the justification for his actions.
“Well, that’s right. So, are you going to ride a horse? Wouldn’t it be better to take a carriage ride with me?”
“Let’s ride together?”
“Yes, it’s spacious so it doesn’t seem like there will be any problem with a few people riding on it, right?”
“That’s true, but…”
I could tell what he was worried about and worried about. He is a strange and stubborn man. He leaned back, leaning his upper body back with his arms crossed. There were some people who believed that if two people rode together in the same carriage, secret activities would take place there. Of course, that won’t happen. Because strange behavior can occur at any time and in any closed space. But there was no way Ian and I would do something like that here, and we had something to talk about. Ian scratched his cheek with an embarrassed look on his face and then changed the subject.
“…”
“Miss, I’m ready, but let’s go… Oh?”
Yuli opened the door and opened her mouth when she saw Ian and her eyes widened. She covered her mouth, laughed ‘ho ho’, bowed her head and said have a good time before disappearing.
“…”
“…”
There’s a small thing I picked up somewhere. I shouldn’t listen to such nonsense.
“Haha… Should I go and say it’s a misunderstanding?
I looked at Ian, who was smiling awkwardly. I looked at his embarrassed expression and turned his head as if it was no big deal.
“Never mind.”
“Huh?”
“Never mind.”
I met his gaze and tugged at the corners of her mouth.
“Because I don’t care about you and those rumors.”
”…”
“Is Ian sensitive to rumors? I thought he wasn’t, but it wasn’t long ago that he was rumored to be a sodomite. Rather than that, it seems better for him to be rumored to be like me.”
“Well… that’s right, Lawrence. Are you okay?”
Me? Is there anything that wouldn’t be okay? His embarrassed expression was so funny that I burst into laughter. He covered his mouth and laughed, but belatedly managed his facial expression and opened his mouth.
“If the rumors are true, it doesn’t really matter.”
“What is it… huh?”
I glanced at him and then turned my head.
“I care about false rumors, but if they’re not, I don’t really care.”
“That means…”
I faced his face with shaking eyes and lifted my chin.
“Think for yourself.”
The carriage, ready to depart, moved slowly. Ian quickly looked around him with an urgent expression. I’m sure he won’t run away. Watching him do things was fun and not boring. Ah, I shouldn’t be like this, but it was strange and I felt like I had opened my eyes.
“Surprise, well… well, then that’s what it is, right?”
I thought he was cute with his clumsy smile and set the mood, so I patted the seat next to him. Then he came quickly, stomping his feet like a light squirrel, and smiled at the sight of him sitting down. I looked at him silently. As I always felt, he had an unlikable face. Although he was not the kind of handsome man born once a century, his strong eyes and deep nose were enough to make my heart stop. I grabbed his chin with both hands and lifted his upper body. Ian gently put his hand around my back and hugged me, giving me strength to move comfortably. Warmth came over me from his light kiss. He closed his eyes, fully enjoying the sensation. Ian’s hand hugged my back like it was crumbling. It felt like it would hurt from the pressure, but even that felt good, so I wrapped my arms around his neck. As his body shifted due to discomfort in his posture, Ian easily lifted my body and sat me on his lap. The area of his body being touched increased. The movement of his hands that followed made me laugh. I held his hand as he wanted to move somewhere. I parted my lips and smiled at his hot gaze looking at me.
“Should we get married right after this is over? We don’t need much preparation. I think it’ll just be me and Ian.”
“That’s not bad.”
As we giggled, Ian covered our lips again, never once thinking about what it meant to make love and entrust our bodies to each other. Because I thought something like that would never happen to me. But Ian always looked at me with sincere eyes. On the other hand, even though I had feelings for him, I was in a hurry to deny it. But time passed and I was able to pull Laurencia out of the past. I placed my hands on his broad shoulders and tried to push away. A combination of unfamiliar textures and awkward emotions raised my heart. But Ian held me tight and exploded his emotions even more violently, as if he didn’t want to let me go.
“…I was nervous. I ran away like crazy, as if I was being chased by someone, and believed that people’s relationships could be divided according to interests and pros and cons. Maybe my relationship with Ian started like that. But you gave me your hand without any conditions.”
I bit my lip and slowly came back.
“I was a woman without humanity. A cold person with no charm, who could not find anything attractive as a person. But you were not. You looked at me as if you saw something I could not see. Your eyes. What did you see? What side of me did you see? Why do you keep saving me?”
After taking a break, I slowly opened my mouth.
“…Do you love me?”
Ian expressed his feelings to me without saying he loved me. I could feel it all in his words, actions, and the way he looked at me. This man cares about me, which was the answer I knew without even having to ask. So what do I want to check? Do I want to hear confirmation? Do I want to ask for confirmation, or do you just want to hear it? I couldn’t figure it out. It may seem like a child longing for love from his parents. It may be a matter of throwing away the pride I have maintained. But what does that matter? I didn’t need pride to love Ian. All it took to want him was one thing: courage.
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
If you like my work please support me with Ko-fi or Patreon. Next post will be released on February, 19.
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