Chapter: 20
“…No, I was just thinking for a moment about what kind of trashy adult I’ve become….”
Muttering something incomprehensible, Seven stepped out of the room with a noticeably more open attitude.
He blocked the door from closing with his body and asked,
“But do you really have to send that guy back? Just get him a new set of armor and make him your servant. What that bastard Guillermo said isn’t completely wrong. A noble lady needs a knight as an escort.”
“But it doesn’t seem like Sir Max committed a crime big enough to be locked up here forever. I heard he didn’t steal anything and just stood outside.”
“Choosing the wrong lord to serve is a crime too. And if no one makes them reflect on it, when are those muscle-brained fools ever going to start thinking?”
“Three years of unpaid labor sounds like he’s paid for that crime well enough.”
Seven tilted his head doubtfully, as if questioning whether three years was really that long.
Maybe, as Sir Max had said, he regarded three years as if it were three weeks. Whatever the case, it was clear he didn’t place the same weight on that time as they did.
Instead of digging into a gap that couldn’t be bridged with a short conversation, Ivnia quickly changed the subject.
“And there’s one more problem.”
“What is it?”
“Lady Levi has run out of food.”
Seven looked up at her with an expression that clearly said, Why are you telling me that?
“That guy hunts just fine on his own, so don’t worry about pointless things. You saw how he let even his master sleep irresponsibly for ten whole years, right? The fact that he didn’t starve to death during that time says it all. If we were all dropped into some remote wasteland, that crow would probably be the last one standing.”
“It’s related to that. We’re out of food too.”
At Ivnia’s reply, Seven fell abruptly silent.
It seemed he had finally grasped the implication hidden in her suggestion. They needed to deal with the military provisions immediately.
“I heard from Hannah that there aren’t any proper shops nearby, so until now Sir Guillermo has always used magic to travel far and back.”
“Ah, for the record, I can’t use magic.”
“Then what role did you play in the war, Sir Seven?”
Ivnia couldn’t suppress her curiosity.
Surely someone in the body of a child hadn’t been swinging weapons on the battlefield.
If he were some master who transcended physical limitations, maybe—but considering he’d even lost to her, he didn’t seem like the brute-force type.
Perhaps reading the doubt in her eyes, Seven’s voice turned sulky.
“I was a guide. If you’d like, I can let you experience what it feels like to reunite with civilization after a two-week march. Want to try?”
Naturally, Ivnia shook her head.
He seemed to think he’d been dismissed, but she had simply been curious about his position.
After arriving at this castle, she hadn’t seen a single proper professional besides Hannah.
The lord of Rietberg Castle was a sleeping princess, the butler was an impostor, and the guard knight had originally come to invade the place and ended up captured as a prisoner.
They had even brought in a fake mistress of the house.
No matter how she looked at it, nothing here functioned properly.
In truth, that was exactly why Ivnia was starting to like this castle even more.
“It’s fine. Besides Sir Guillermo, there’s one more person here who can use magic.”
“Oh, did you come to me because it’s awkward for you to face that bastard Ram? Want me to go ask him instead?”
“No, it’s just that he always seems busy, so I felt hesitant to go. I was worried I might bother him.”
After being tricked by Guillermo into a fraudulent marriage, Ram had shut himself in the study and hadn’t come out.
He was probably looking for a way to safely break the oath.
Judging by the silence over the past few days, he hadn’t made much progress.
Ivnia bowed politely, apologizing for coming so late at night.
Just as she turned to head upstairs toward the study, Seven raised his voice to stop her.
“Hey. Are you okay?”
For a moment, Ivnia didn’t understand what he meant.
It wasn’t that she had no idea—but several days had already passed since the disastrous banquet, so his words didn’t immediately register.
It seems time flows a little differently for him and me, she thought, and let out an unconscious laugh.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Because I’m happy. You were just worrying about me, weren’t you?”
“I said something unnecessary. You were dragged into a fraudulent marriage, yet you don’t seem bothered at all.”
“I’ve known since I was eight that I’d end up marrying Lord Ram.”
At her mischievous joke, Seven found himself at a loss for words.
He already knew what kind of marriage she had once imagined. He had long since realized she hadn’t come here of her own will, but even he probably couldn’t fully imagine what it meant to live as the fiancée of a monster.
People always view situations from their own standpoint.
To Seven, Ram was not the sort of man who would treat his bride as horribly as outsiders might imagine.
Ivnia continued in a deliberately light tone.
“And besides, there’s nothing to feel bad about. I think it’s rare to find a better husband candidate than Lord Ram.”
“He’s in love with another woman.”
“If we’re being honest, that’s the part I like best.”
“I can’t understand kids these days at all….”
Seven shook his head in disbelief.
Ivnia looked at him as if he were the one being dramatic.
“I’m really fine, so don’t worry about me. Thanks to that fraudulent marriage, I get to act like the lady of this huge castle.”
“The outer walls are all cracked. Cold wind blows straight in during winter….”
Seven crossed his arms and shivered as if imagining the chill.
It was only early autumn; winter was still months away. That wasn’t much of a concern for Ivnia. She would be gone before winter arrived anyway.
When she smiled as if it didn’t matter, Seven waved a hand at her in exasperation.
“Yeah, yeah, I get it. Now hurry off and enjoy playing lady of this crumbling castle. And fire that thief while you’re at it.”
“Yes, sorry for disturbing your rest.”
“Oh, not at all, my lady. Then this humble servant shall retire.”
Speaking in a tone that was anything but respectful, Seven quickly shut the door.
Ivnia resolved not to bother him so late at night again and continued on her way—
Hoping the next person she visited would be nocturnal.
“Lord Ram, are you here? It’s Ivnia. I have something I’d like to ask.”
After climbing the stairs, Ivnia arrived at the study and gently knocked once more.
The response was slightly different this time. Instead of coming out like Seven had, Ram opened the door with magic.
Seeing the doorknob turn on its own, Ivnia didn’t panic.
It had already been five days since she started living in this mysterious castle.
After seeing a person turn into a fish, a self-opening door was hardly surprising.
Or should I think of it the other way around? It was a fish that turned back into a person…?
Musing over the near wordplay as she stepped inside, Ivnia suddenly stopped.
Ram was lying sideways not far from the entrance, flipping through a book.
He waved at her in greeting, but she couldn’t return it.
After all, she had seen a person become a fish—or a fish become a person—she had seen magic that transported someone instantly, and doors that opened on their own.
But this was the first time she had ever seen a person floating in midair.
It felt like stepping straight into a page from a fairy tale she’d read as a child.
