Chapter: 16
“…But why are you getting up?”
“I’m just going to check on something.”
“What? You just nodded and agreed! Forget empty words—what’s with an empty nod?!”
Harold grabbed his superior by the shoulder as Kaiden looked ready to walk right out the door.
“Absolutely not!”
Unfortunately, Harold was nothing more than a frail aide.
If Kaiden decided to leave by force, there was no way he could stop him.
Hadn’t he already learned that lesson earlier?
His master had leaped out of a moving carriage as if making an emergency escape—
And all Harold could do was watch in miserable disbelief.
Just as Kaiden’s broad shoulder was about to slip from his grasp—
“Your Grace? Where are you going?”
A cautious voice came from the doorway.
It was Baron Hariben, carrying a stack of contract documents.
Thinking Kaiden might be canceling the agreement and leaving, the baron’s eyes trembled with anxiety.
Seeing that, Harold firmly pressed down on Kaiden’s rock-like shoulder.
Smiling casually, he said,
“Not at all. His Grace was just feeling a little stiff and decided to stretch for a moment. Right, Your Grace?”
At the same time, he whispered through gritted teeth so only Kaiden could hear.
“Pleeease sit down.”
“…That’s correct.”
Although he wore an uncomfortable expression, Kaiden had no choice but to sit back down.
A short while later, Emilia returned to the vacant lot behind the plaza.
The familiar sight of rows of tents came into view.
Hmm.
She looked around, searching for someone.
Then—
“Oh my, miss!”
“Why are you back?”
People happily hurried over the moment they spotted her.
“Isn’t that the young lady who lived up the hill?”
“Mrs. Morgan, come over here! You said you wanted to see what she looked like!”
They were the women she had been living alongside in the camp.
In an instant, they surrounded Emilia like a human barricade.
“So, miss, who exactly was that man from earlier?”
“Huh?”
Emilia blinked in confusion.
“Your husband, maybe?”
“Of course he was! Didn’t you see him carrying all your luggage with that furious look on his face? Oh, I’m so jealous.”
“He looked like some noble lord. Come on, tell us what family he belongs to. Just between us?”
Seeing the young woman who had been living among them suddenly leave with a handsome young nobleman was incredibly romantic.
For people hungry for gossip, it was the perfect topic.
Everyone looked at her with sparkling eyes full of anticipation, and Emilia awkwardly smiled before speaking.
“Haha… We just happened to meet, so it’s a little difficult to explain…”
“Oh, don’t be so stingy!”
“Exactly! Let me guess—you secretly ran away from home and lived as a commoner, and your husband finally came to take you back.”
What…?
The absurdly detailed story left Emilia speechless for a moment.
…How on earth had the rumor escalated to that?
She desperately wanted to deny it.
But if she tried correcting every misunderstanding one by one, the sun would probably set before she finished.
“Um, excuse me. Do any of you know where Mr. Duncan is?”
“Why are you looking for Duncan all of a sudden?”
“I wanted to talk to him about the building collapse.”
“Oh?”
At Emilia’s words, the excited atmosphere around them cooled slightly.
Duncan was the one who had filed the official report on behalf of the victims.
He said he had connections at the government office.
If she could pass along the information from the original story to him…
“I don’t think Duncan’s here right now.”
“Oh… I see.”
Emilia answered with visible disappointment.
“Then why not tell that young man instead?”
“That young man?”
Puzzled, Emilia looked toward where one of the women was pointing.
There stood a red-haired man, just like Emilia, surrounded by people.
His vivid hair color and towering height made him stand out even in the crowd.
“That young knight said he came to investigate the cause of the building collapse.”
“Really?”
Emilia found that odd.
The building collapsed quite a while ago. Why are they only investigating now?
Just then, as if sensing her gaze, the man turned to look at her.
He soon made his way through the crowd toward Emilia.
“Hello.”
He greeted her with a slight smile.
“Oh my.”
The women let out quiet sighs of admiration at the man’s charming smile.
“Forgive me, but I happened to overhear your conversation.”
“Huh?”
“You mentioned that you had something to say regarding the building collapse, didn’t you?”
He looked directly at Emilia.
Ah.
Even though he had been standing quite far away, he had apparently heard everything.
Emilia glanced at the knight’s uniform he was wearing.
Is his hearing that good because he’s a knight?
After hesitating briefly, she spoke.
“I saw what looked like a huge pit in the forest nearby. I thought it might have something to do with the collapse.”
In the original story, there had been an episode where Reina had trouble walking because of the rubble from the collapsed building.
It had only been a small scene where Kaiden caught her as she stumbled—
But thinking about it now, it was obviously connected to the current building collapse.
The original story had called it a “mana sinkhole,” but she couldn’t say that outright, so Emilia explained it indirectly.
“Is that so?”
He raised an eyebrow with interest.
“Where exactly is it?”
“It’s in the forest to the north. The one that was used as a hunting ground when the late Emperor first ascended the throne.”
A strange light flickered in his eyes.
Rubbing his chin, he said,
“Hm… I’m not entirely sure where that is. Would you mind coming with me?”
“Huh?”
Emilia was caught off guard by the sudden proposal.
“Oh, of course I’m not forcing you.”
He shrugged casually before continuing.
“Though it would certainly make the investigation go much faster if you helped.”
At those words, the women immediately urged Emilia on.
“Go show him!”
“That’s right. We’re counting on you.”
After all, they wouldn’t receive compensation unless the exact cause was determined.
It probably is better to tell them while they’re conducting the investigation in person…
Even if she told Duncan, there was no guarantee the officials would respond appropriately.
After a moment of thought, Emilia nodded at the man.
“All right.”
Emilia left the vacant lot together with the man.
As he walked toward a horse tied nearby, Emilia suddenly stopped.
“Ah… The thing is, I don’t know how to ride a horse.”
“Is that so? Is it close enough to walk?”
“No. It’s actually quite far.”
The man smiled and stepped closer.
What is he doing?
Before she even had time to react—
He wrapped an arm around her waist.
“Huh?”
The next thing she knew, she was sitting on top of the horse.
Startled by the sudden change in height, her body wobbled.
“Whoa there.”
The man effortlessly climbed up behind her and lightly steadied her shoulder.
Thanks to that, she didn’t fall off the horse—
But she wasn’t exactly grateful for his thoughtfulness.
Her eyes widened in shock as she exclaimed,
“Excuse me! I told you I can’t ride a horse!”
“But I can. Doesn’t that solve the problem?”
The man replied in a perfectly calm voice, smiling as if nothing were wrong.
Snort.
Holding the reins, he urged the horse forward.
