TRVLT 08

Ariletti first gave a small bow of her head.

“Thank you for the food and the rest.”

Since I saved Sir Dunken, let’s consider the debt from my previous life repaid.

“From the looks of it, you seem to have quite the talent for scampering off and running away.”

Glenn Hezeit walked lazily beside her, matching her stride.

Ariletti steeled herself.

No matter what he said to persuade her, she absolutely would not be swayed.

“How far are you going? Want me to escort you?”

Her ears perked up involuntarily.

She had, in fact, been worrying about how on earth she would make it all the way to the distant White Forest.

But the road to the White Forest was unknown to outsiders. Only the sages knew the exact route, and revealing it to others was strictly forbidden. Ariletti herself had only become aware of the path after awakening her powers as a sage.

The only exception was for those permitted by the Forest itself—and ordinary humans did not qualify.

In the end, it’s a road I have to carve out alone. I can’t keep giving in to temptations like this.

Glenn glanced down at Ariletti, who had her lips tightly pressed together, and made another offer.

“It’s cold outside. If you don’t want to say your destination, I can at least take you partway. What do you think?”

Now that she looked closely, he was a young man who had only just shed the last traces of boyhood. His smiling eyes and lips were bright and refreshingly handsome.

But then again, those damned princes were good-looking too.

“I’ll just accept the thought.”

Ariletti trotted briskly out past the castle gate—only to be swept by the wind and blown straight back inside.

“Ah!”

“Whoa there. Told you—it’s cold outside.”

Glenn caught her neatly in midair and teased her playfully.

Ariletti’s vision spun as she somersaulted through the air. Her cheeks stung as if she’d been slapped by a gale.

“Ughhh…”

What—she can’t even leave?

“At this time of year, it’s like this every day. Snowstorms whip through two or three times a day. In this kind of cold, no one can go beyond the walls. I don’t know where you’re trying to go, but taking my help would be better for you too. Only the locals know when the blizzards let up.”

“Th-Then just halfway—”

Before Ariletti could protest properly, Glenn strode off decisively. The main gate grew distant in an instant.

“Ariletti. I’m pretty good at reading people, you know?”

Did he mean he had a good eye for character?

Considering she’d rejected both the greedy First Prince and the vile Second Prince, that wasn’t entirely wrong. But given that she’d chosen the Third Prince and destroyed herself, her credibility took a serious hit.

Glenn slung the bag he’d taken from her over his shoulder and said cheerfully,

“I think you’re some kind of rare benefactor. Definitely not an ordinary child.”

“I am, though…”

“Still, you’re only five for now. If you’re going on a long journey, you need to eat properly. Don’t you think you should grow at least three handspans taller first?”

Ariletti was dumbfounded.

You barely have enough bread for yourselves, and you’re telling me to grow three handspans? Why are you giving everything away like this? Are you a fool?

No.

The Hezeit household were not fools—they were cunning foxes.

As proof, Ariletti found herself confined in the lord’s castle that very day.

“Little miss, how are you feeling today? Your throat doesn’t hurt, does it? Hmm?”

“It doesn’t hurt today. I can go out now.”

“Little Sage, even if you feel stuffy, bear with it just a bit longer. The physician says you mustn’t run around yet. Once you’re better, let’s go riding again with uncle, okay?”

Why on earth had they started calling her Little Sage?!

Tanesa bathed Ariletti in warm water, dressed her in fluffy cotton clothes, and carefully looked after her while rationing out food.

Among the knights, Dunken in particular visited often.

Ariletti clung to Dunken—the one she felt most familiar with—and poured on desperate charm.

“Uncle, I wanna go out. Please let me go.”

“No can do, Little Sage. It’s too cold outside. Brrr. So cold.”

“I’m not cold. I wanna go home. I have a home too…”

Dunken’s eyes suddenly welled up.

Ariletti realized her mistake too late.

Oh right. My family was purged.

To others, Ariletti was merely an orphan who had lost her parents weeks—or perhaps months—ago and had been abandoned in the snow.

Everyone knew she had nowhere to return to.

Not just Dunken—even Tanesa and the knights peeking in from outside the door began sniffling together.

There was no need to go that far…

They’re definitely not going to just let me leave.

A bleak premonition settled over her.

Honestly, if she were in their place and saw a five-year-old child setting off alone across the snowfields with nothing but a small bag, she would drag the kid back immediately too.

After wiping his damp eyes, Dunken covered his mouth with his hand and whispered,

“You know, Little Sage, we know you saved us.”

“…!”

“I remember everything you said that day.”

“I didn’t say anything!”

Cold sweat ran down her back, but Ariletti stubbornly denied it.

Dunken, who resembled a simple, good-natured potato, grinned and pinched her cheek.

“Thank you, Ariletti. I didn’t get to say it before.”

“Say what…?”

“If you hadn’t been there, we would’ve been wiped out at Gringyen Church. As for me, I’ve no family, so if I die, that’s the end of it—but Roel has three children. Tanesa lives with her grandmother.”

“…”

“Thank you for saving us. I’ll repay this debt, I swear.”

Ariletti’s claim that she had done nothing was lightly ignored.

And yet—it didn’t feel bad at all.

Someone who had never once survived this far in her past lives now stood alive and well, offering thanks.

I’m not someone who deserves gratitude. If anything, it’s the opposite…

Her chest prickled strangely. Hot. Sharp.

“Take care of us from now on too, Little Sage!”

W-Wait, this isn’t how it’s supposed to go…

This is bad. My emotional debt keeps piling up.

Ariletti glared seriously at the pane on the table.

If I keep adding to the debt like this, it’ll be troublesome. But…

Ever since Dunken thanked her, strange thoughts surfaced whenever she looked at these people.

The others weren’t any different from him.

Only the timing of their tragedies differed. In both previous lives, House Hezeit had been annihilated.

By the Bertel imperial family she had served.

In the end—by her.

Then that means I’m the only one who can change that future.

Was there anyone who knew both the First Prince’s faction and the Second Prince’s faction as thoroughly as she did?

Ariletti’s expression darkened.

But I… I don’t want to get involved in the succession struggle anymore.

It had never ended well. And she still wasn’t sure she could trust these people.

Just then, an irresistibly savory scent rose from the pane.

A child’s body was terribly inefficient. Ariletti sniffed instinctively.

It smells so good…

It looked delicious.

The inside of a horizontally sliced rye loaf had been hollowed out and filled with thick, creamy pasta. The scooped-out bread had been cut neatly and placed on a plate for dipping in the sauce.

“You’re just going to stare at it instead of eating?”

A voice holding back laughter. Glenn Hezeit.

“You’re drooling, kid. Hurry up and eat. That way you’ll have the strength to scamper off and run again.”

Sure enough, drool was streaming down Ariletti’s mouth. After exhausting herself and being bedridden for days, the mere sight of warm bread and soup made saliva pool automatically under her tongue.

But regardless of how appetizing it looked, the bread itself wasn’t in great condition. The same went for Glenn’s portion.

No matter how you look at it, you can’t call this high-quality food.

Usually, bread that had gone stale and hard after being baked some time ago was used like this as a bowl—since soaking it in sauce would soften it.

They probably thawed it from storage.

In other words, it was the best dish they could manage with insufficient ingredients.

They were scraping the bottom of a nearly empty granary. Her own situation was pitiful enough, but the territory’s financial state was even more appalling.

Before they’re crushed by the princes, they’ll either starve to death or freeze to death. It’s one or the other.