Chapter 7
Did I just hear that wrong?
As I blinked, Lothar continued speaking.
âIt seems youâre rather oblivious when it comes to this sort of thing.â
Huh? Seriously?
âWaitâWolfgang likes me?â
âYes.â
âIsnât that a huge misunderstanding?â
âI expected that reaction.â
â???â
Noâwhat do you mean you expected it? This is the first proper conversation weâve even had!
I was still fumbling over where to even begin correcting him when we arrived in front of the inn.
As if nothing had happened, Wolfgang, smiling brightly, went up the stairs first and spoke.
âThe room at the far left on this floor is for the Saintess, and the room on the right is for His Highness the Prince.â
He has ulterior motives toward me? Does someone with ulterior motives usually go around talking about showing their backside to a woman?
The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like Lothar had developed paranoia way too early. Iâd have to figure out how to deal with that later.
Following Wolfgang up the stairs, I asked,
âWhat about the other rooms?â
âAs it happens, there are no other guests, so weâve rented the entire floor. Anyone besides the innkeeper can be treated as a potential threatââ
âWait.â
A low voice cut Wolfgang off. I didnât even need to check who it was.
Why? Why again?!
Lothar stood there with one eyebrow raised, looking at Wolfgang.
âWhy are our rooms separate?â
ââŠPardon?â
Lothar turned his gaze toward me.
âSheâs a wife who went so far as to abduct me for marriage. Isnât it only natural that sheâd want to share a room?â
ââŠ.â
I slowly averted my gaze from Lothar and looked at Wolfgang instead.
Hmm. Is that what my face looks like right now too? It was rare to see him looking so blank.
His lips kept moving as if he wanted to say somethingâbut not because he had nothing to say. More like he was too dumbfounded to speak.
Snapping back to his senses quickly, Wolfgang met my eyes. Not just himâthe surrounding knights were all looking at me too.
âSaintess, what will you do?â
Thatâs what their eyes seemed to be asking.
In truth, most of the Holy Knights already knew that my marriage with Lothar was a complete sham.
Which meant that even if I drew a line here and shoved Lothar into the room on the right, I wouldnât have to worry about suspicion.
However.
ââŠWeâll use the room on the left together. Itâll be easier for protection this way.â
âIf youâre concerned about the knightsâ convenience, thereâs no needââ
âStop talking and go unpack.â
The one I cut off was Wolfgang.
I watched the playfulness completely vanish from his face.
Iâd almost forgotten, seeing him always smiling like thatâhe was actually the cold type.
Feeling a strange sense of guilt, I looked away slightly. Itâs not like I betrayed him or anythingâŠ
There was a reason I sided with Lothar.
âThis man has no one else to rely on here but me.â
A pitiful prince who had lost all his limbsâfiguratively speaking. Now that heâd set himself against Wolfgang, the Holy Knights wouldnât welcome him either.
If I didnât look after him here, who would?
After a brief silence, Wolfgang spoke again, his voice calmer.
âVery well. Iâll take the room next door. If anything happens, call for me.â
âGot it.â
That should be enough.
I immediately grabbed Lotharâs hand. If I didnât separate him from Wolfgang quickly, things would only get more troublesome. Besides, I wanted to get inside and clean up.
But it seemed the difficult customer wasnât done complaining yet.
âYou said youâll be in the room next door.â
Lothar tilted his head and asked.
His body, solid as a boulder, didnât move even a millimeter no matter how much I pulled. Ugh, this is embarrassing.
Looking Wolfgang up and down from head to toe, Lothar continued,
âI wouldnât recommend it. You might hear something unpleasant.â
âWhat do you meanââ
Wolfgangâs question trailed off.
ââŠHa.â
He let out a scoff, his expression turning icy cold.
And me, stuck between them? I wanted to punch Lothar straight in the stomach.
âWhat do you mean, hear something?!â
For someone who got kidnapped, he sure had a lot of nerve.
I pinched the back of his hand to tell him to cut it out, but he didnât budge. Does this guy not feel pain?
In the end, I stepped between them and cut off the conversation.
âHe means you might have trouble sleeping because of marital arguments. Right, Wolfgang? Donât worry about itâgo get some rest.â
Wolfgang stared at me for a moment, then shrugged as if letting it go and turned away.
âAs you wish, Saintess.â
It seemed he understood my silent plea to just drop it and leave. To be fair, I did glare at him a bit.
Only then did the Holy Knights, who had been watching the standoff, disperse to their rooms as if the show was over.
Now thenâwhatâs next?
Lowering my voice, I asked Lothar,
âHey⊠are you insane?â
âNo.â
âDid you hit your head in the imperial dungeon before getting out?â
âNo.â
When I yanked his hand irritably, this time he followed without resistance.
I shoved him into the assigned room and forced him inside. For someone built like an elephant, he sure caused a ridiculous amount of trouble.
I slammed the door shut and turned around to see Lothar standing there blankly.
I poked his chest and demanded,
âThen why do you keep picking fights with the knight commander for no reason? Do you want your stomach pierced by a holy sword?â
âIf I challenge him to a duel, I believe he would accept.â
âNo? Iâll swing a blade at you first. Stop causing unnecessary trouble and stay put. Weâre surrounded by enemies alreadyâdo you really want to increase your chances of getting stabbed?â
âI will keep that in mind.â
Lothar replied calmly. Tch⊠I couldnât read his expression at all.
This bastard is definitely just trying to brush it off. He just wants to get through this without being nagged!
âI thought heâd be easy to handle.â
But he turned out to be far more unpredictable than expected. Shaking my head, I looked around the room.
The condition wasnât bad. A fire already lit in the fireplace. Hot water and towels prepared. A spacious bed.
It seemed theyâd given me the best room in the inn. Wolfgangâhe really did have a good sense for these things.
Praising him inwardly, I took off the robe draped over my dress. I was about to kneel and unpack the luggage that had been brought in ahead of time.
ââŠ.â
Why is it so quiet behind me?
When I turned around, Lothar was staring at the lower part of my dress. Only then did I remember the bloodstains on it.
âWhat? Does it make your heart ache?â
âYes.â
âWhat are you talking about? Itâs your blood.â
Though his blatant gaze bothered me, I continued unpacking. I needed to take out the chemise to sleep in.
âHmm.â
But when I actually picked it up⊠it might be a bit too thin to wear while sharing a room with a large man. It would be rather revealing.
Not that I had any other choice. I couldnât sleep in a dust-covered dress. I fiddled with the sleeve, hesitating.
âElise.â
At the flat call of my name, a shadow fell over me. At the same time, a familiar scent brushed pastâleather and wood.
Before I knew it, Lothar had come up behind me, resting his chin on my shoulder.
âPlease continue what you were saying earlier.â
Wh-what, what, what the hell.
My mind went blank for a moment at the sudden contact. What kind of move is this?
âWhat?â
âThe reason why my chances of defeating Maximilian are close to zero.â
âŠAh, that?
Did he really need to cling to me like this just to ask that?
No matter how I thought about it, this prince must have hit his head in the palace.
Maximilianâthat bastardâhe was planning to kill him anyway, so just how badly did he torture him?
Clicking my tongue inwardly, I pushed Lotharâs cheek away with one hand.
âI want to wash up first.â
âIâll assist you.â
âI can do it myself.â
âIsnât marriage about sharing even the things one can do alone?â
The way he spoke so smoothly was oddly irritating.
His face didnât budge no matter how much I pushed. I could only feel his firm muscles and body heat through my palm.
It became too bothersome to keep refusing, so I nodded.
Fine. Iâll take this chance to have a prince attend to me. Letâs see how well he doesâ
âExcuse me.â
Oh, youâve got to be kidding.
