Chapter: 18
The sounds of Hanna and Sir Max cleaning up the tables came from the dining hall, but she couldn’t bring herself to go out and help.
Evnia only managed to turn her head, looking at the plate where she had moved Guillermo.
Fortunately, his new dwelling didn’t seem too bad; he was swimming leisurely inside the now more spacious vessel. Though she wasn’t sure if swimming was quite the grand term for going in endless circles.
Just as she was pondering what size bowl he might need to be comfortable, Evnia suddenly spoke.
“Sir Guillermo, this is just in case, a very remote possibility, but I have to ask…”
“…”
“If my sister… I mean, if Miss Nina comes to this castle, could you kill me?”
At Evnia’s question, Guillermo stopped moving and lifted his head above the water. She didn’t know if he was capable of answering, but it seemed clear he understood her.
Evnia blinked slowly, her voice faint.
“No matter how I think about it, that’s the only answer. But everyone here is so kind, I don’t think Sir Ram or Sir Seven would listen to me.”
“…”
“Ah, not that Sir Guillermo is a bad person. I truly wouldn’t mind if it happened that way… If it’s okay with you and okay with me, then no one’s really at fault, right? Isn’t that so?”
Evnia met Guillermo’s eyes, seeking his agreement.
She thought he might at least be able to nod or shake his head, but strangely, he didn’t move an inch, just stared intently at her.
“I don’t mind other things, but I hate pain. If it could end like falling asleep, without suffering, I was hoping you might do it that way…”
As she spoke, Evnia carefully slipped her finger into the water where Guillermo was.
It was to draw some kind of response from him.
Should she ask him to touch her index finger for ‘yes’ and her middle finger for ‘no’?
Just as Evnia was pondering the most efficient way to communicate, Guillermo suddenly bit her thumb.
“Ouch!”
Startled by the sharp pain, Evnia quickly pulled her hand from the bowl.
For some reason, Guillermo’s eyes looking up at her seemed fiercer than before.
Could this be a declaration that he would kill her, by biting her like this?
Evnia protested, puzzled.
“This hurts, and it doesn’t seem like it would get it done in one go either.”
Or perhaps his true form was far more majestic than this.
If he used his real power, maybe the outcome would be a little different from this.
Once Ram’s anger subsided and Guillermo returned to his previous state, she would probably get a clear answer to her question.
Evnia slowly rested her head back on her arm.
“Still, I think I’m quite lucky. When I came here, no one cried for me. But now, there are people who would be sad thinking of me. Isn’t that enough for a good death?”
Again, no particularly positive response came.
As soon as Evnia finished speaking, Guillermo, as if expressing displeasure, slapped his tail down and started splashing water everywhere.
I guess not, Evnia muttered inwardly, so he couldn’t hear. I suppose I can’t die smiling after all.
Still, she probably hadn’t spoken complete nonsense.
She had only raised a hypothetical, yet seeing even Guillermo react so strongly, it seemed those with softer hearts would surely weep for her.
It was a somewhat contradictory thought for a decision supposedly made for everyone’s happiness, but it probably didn’t matter.
After all, she wouldn’t be worth that many tears anyway.
Though she had become terminally ill again just as she started dreaming of a new life, Evnia wasn’t particularly disappointed.
Having a short-term goal instead of a bleak, uncertain future actually brought much more vitality to her daily life.
Knowing one’s own end meant she could live without any fear until that day arrived.
Even Hanna, who had initially watched her with anxious eyes, gradually returned to her usual self as Evnia consistently maintained her calm demeanor.
Seven’s worried scolding also seemed to be based on the belief that Evnia had abandoned any dark thoughts.
Evnia didn’t go out of her way to disturb many people by revealing the uncomfortable truth.
In fact, that was what Evnia was best at.
“How about this? Is this edible?”
At Evnia’s question, Guillermo quickly shook his head back and forth.
Because Ram hadn’t lifted the spell he’d placed on Guillermo, Evnia still faced immense difficulty communicating with him.
If the other could speak, she could find out what he wanted in an instant, but in this state, all she could do was show him something and get a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer.
“I thought since you ate meat as a human, jerky might be okay…”
Come to think of it, she didn’t recall ever seeing him eat anything.
Was that why his cooking skills were so terrible?
Satisfied with her own reasoning, Evnia put the pouch she was holding back on the table.
Looking down at the bowl containing Guillermo, she said,
“Wait a moment. There should be some leftover oat scraps in the storage.”
They had run out of grain and were trying to stretch things with other ingredients, but at this rate, he might starve.
Leaving behind Guillermo, who looked much thinner than before, Evnia hurried towards the storage.
Since no one else paid any attention to Guillermo in his fish form, caring for him had naturally become Evnia’s responsibility.
Somehow, I feel like I wasn’t hired as a bride, but as a zookeeper.
It wasn’t just Guillermo.
Ram’s pet, Levi, had also been coming to her every day since the banquet, demanding food.
Since she didn’t have any specific duties assigned, taking care of their meals wasn’t difficult, but the problem was…
“…This castle might actually be incredibly poor.”
Evnia stared into the empty food storage, muttering in dismay.
It had already been three days since they started stretching the remnants of the first day’s banquet like boiling the same soup bones. The storehouse of Rietberg Castle was suffering from a truly severe food shortage.
Was I too careless with food management?
She hadn’t even tried to ration, thinking, ‘How many people live here? What could possibly happen?’
But now, scraping the bottom of the nearly empty supplies, a realistic sense of crisis was beginning to set in.
As Evnia tried to calm her anxiety and rummaged through grain sacks looking for the last few oats, she suddenly sensed someone’s presence from deeper inside.
Could there be another guest?
Puzzled, Evnia walked towards the direction of the sound.
If it were Ram, Seven, or even Levi, they wouldn’t have bothered to hide their presence, but the person in question was crouched in the darkness, even holding their breath.
Just like a thief sneaking into someone else’s home.
“…Sir Max?”
As soon as Evnia called out the name of the prime suspect, the large back flinched visibly.
Then, as the person slowly raised their head and she confirmed the face, Evnia let out a low sigh.
The intruder’s identity was exactly as she had guessed.
“And here I thought you were a good person, Sir…”
“No, Miss! Of course, I understand this looks bad, but—well, actually, it is bad, but I’m absolutely not the irredeemable kind of person you’re thinking of!”
Sir Max bowed his head deeply towards Evnia and exclaimed.
Evnia instinctively took a step back.
It was a small mercy he wasn’t wearing his damaged armor. If he had been, she would have needed to take two steps back.
“Miss, I beg of you! Could you please, just this once, turn a blind eye! My elderly mother, over eighty, is waiting for me back home, she’s been waiting so desperately!”
Only then did she notice the object in his hand.
What Sir Max had been trying to steal was a small pouch of dried provisions. Not some rare treasure someone had hidden away in the storage.
It seemed he had come to grab some food for the journey, one last time before fleeing this castle.
