TRHK Chapter 17

There was the rumor that he'd drunk a whole jug and beaten five men alone. There was the rumor that he'd killed them all and drunk their blood. There was the rumor that the Count had offered to let him establish a second order.

Some of the rumors seemed a bit much, but they had already spread to every corner of the castle and there was nothing to be done about it. A fair number of people had witnessed a perfectly fine knight getting his arm cut off, after all.

As a point of reference: the arm was reattached, apparently. Landale and the others had gotten the knight to the temple quickly enough for that. What exactly temples did in this world that they could reattach a severed arm—that I couldn't understand, but.

"There you are. Maylin."

Joel, whom I had expected to be cowed, was back to loitering around me from the very next day.

"……Young Master Joel."

When he showed up like this, in the Dowager Countess's room, there was nowhere to escape to. He closed the door and approached the way you'd approach a wild animal—carefully, not sure which way she'd bolt.

"You've been so diligent lately. Not like you at all."

He said it as though we were old familiars, teasing. All it did was make me want more distance between us. I bowed my head the way I would to a complete stranger—which he genuinely was—and kept the line as firm as I could.

"If I have been negligent in the past, I apologize. I will work harder going forward."

"Oh, it's not that. Don't apologize."

He was slightly thrown and took a step closer. I wanted to step back by the same distance but the Dowager Countess was behind me and I stayed where I was.

More than anything else, what grated was that he had walked into this room and hadn't so much as gestured toward the Dowager Countess. He seemed to treat her as someone who simply didn't need to be acknowledged.

"Aren't you hungry? I brought some sweets. Would you try them? They're from the capital—quite good. Cost a fair bit, too."

Joel held out a prettily wrapped box toward me. Had the original Maylin actually fallen for talk like that? From the outside, it wouldn't have been easy to resist—she wouldn't have known any better, and here was the lord's son, objectively handsome by any standard, fawning over her like a tongue in her mouth.

Bringing food to win someone's favor. It's exactly what I kept doing to Kahron. For some reason, that pricked a little.

I bowed my head lower, putting on her best imitation of a servant who knew her station.

"How could I dare."

"Don't say things like that. You're very special to me, Maylin. You don't understand that yet, and that's why you're acting this way."

Kept getting turned down, so he started running his mouth. Special enough to look away while your parents had her killed? That's what I wanted to ask.

I kept it to myself.

"Young Master Joel, I have to go. The housekeeper has given me things to do."

I stepped back from the sweet box without quite looking at it and stood.

I did genuinely have things to get to. I turned my back on Joel and went about settling the Dowager Countess to sleep—straightening the bedding, easing her down carefully. I memorized the page before sliding the book I'd been reading back onto the shelf; I'd finish it tomorrow.

"My lady. I'll be back tomorrow."

I gave her a small smile and got out of the room efficiently. Joel had clearly wanted to say more, but I'd walked through without making eye contact and he'd missed his chance. The moment the door shut I ran across the hall and ducked into the opposite room.

Click.

Sure enough, moments later Joel emerged from the Dowager Countess's room and was looking around for me. Through the gap I could see him.

"Where did she go already……."

Goosebumps crawled up the back of my neck. I had no idea what the hell he was playing at. The original work had said he pursued Maylin relentlessly, but I hadn't expected it to be this relentless.

The Count and Countess seemed either unaware of this or uninterested. The Count in particular was said to be absorbed in some new business venture lately.

Was it because I hadn't gone around telling everyone I was going to marry into the Counter family, the way the original Maylin had? If so, it was genuinely a relief—but I couldn't entirely relax. That was the whole reason for the deal with Kahron.

"Put that over there!"

I moved the candlestick as the housekeeper ordered. Barely any time had passed since a small party ended in blood and they'd already started preparing for a larger one. This time, she said, it wasn't just the Count's retainers—nobility from other estates would be invited.

That was the problem. With parties stacked back to back I couldn't find time to see Kahron, much less go into the forest together. I hadn't properly seen his face since the training yard fight.

The anxiety had been making me worry at my lower lip. Eifel had commented on it enough that I knew it showed.

"Ugh, I'm exhausted……."

When the day's work finally ended and Eifel and I had bathed, we collapsed onto our respective beds.

I really needed to rest. I'd been running around constantly, and this body's stamina was still nowhere near adequate. But I hauled myself up like the recently dead and headed for the door. Eifel raised her head, though she'd seemed asleep.

"Maylin, where are you going?"

"Oh……."

Could I say? It was Eifel, so.

"To Kahron's room."

"What?"

Eifel, who had been completely flattened a moment ago, shot upright. I pressed my finger to my lips—she dropped her voice.

"Was that why you asked me earlier?"

Of course I knew where Kahron stayed; it was entirely because of Eifel and Hwirozen. I nodded without any particular expression, and Eifel's mouth fell open.

"To do something that bold……. Anyway—you said you're not lovers?"

"We're not lovers."

"……."

Eifel looked at me for a moment with an expression that was hard to read. Then she started getting up.

"I'm coming too."

"……To Kahron's?"

"Obviously not. I need to see my own person. Looking at you made me realize our flame's gone a bit cold—I can't have that."

I didn't entirely follow her logic, but if Eifel was willing to walk with me to the knights' quarters, that was entirely welcome.

"I've been before, so just stay close."

I nodded with real feeling. Eifel seemed especially admirable tonight.

The castle at night was quiet as a grave, as if everyone but the sentries had fallen into a dead sleep.

We reached the knights' quarters without difficulty, and stopped to confer in low voices.

"My one's that way. You need to go here."

Eifel spoke with the gravity of a general positioning troops. Then her expression shifted—mischief breaking through.

"How surprised do you think he'll be? Can't wait."

……How surprised was she planning to make him? It occurred to me faintly to worry, but Eifel would manage.

"Thank you. Get back safe."

We said goodnight to each other and went our separate ways.

And then I was in front of Kahron's door.

I gulped—one big, audible swallow. Party preparations had been making it feel like I wouldn't see him until the whole thing was over, and so I'd ended up here—but now, standing in front of the closed door, I wondered if this had been too impulsive.

Eifel would already be in Hwirozen's room by now. I hesitated for a long time, then knocked twice, quiet.

"Kahron."

I tried his name too, barely above a whisper. Nothing from inside. He must be asleep. He napped under the tree so often I'd half assumed he didn't sleep at night.

"……."

What I felt was relief, and something wistful at the same time. Maybe I'd only wanted to see his face. Not to talk about the deal, even.

And what would I do with just that. The most urgent thing was still the deal, and here I was. He'd be beautiful, obviously, as always—I'd lose my mind looking at him, obviously—but.

Knock.

I gave the door one more soft tap and let my hand fall. This wasn't going to work. Back to bed, and I'd find a way to catch a moment in the daytime.

That was when I heard it.

"You think taking a drink would get me in trouble with the commander?"

"Obviously. That's why we're going quietly."

Two men—knights, from the sound of it—were talking in low voices and heading this way. My heart dropped somewhere. A place to hide—where——

I grabbed the door handle and turned it. The door gave, and I spilled through. The door shut behind me.

Click.

"Did you hear something just now?"

"No. Didn't catch anything."

The knights went past, apparently none the wiser. When the sound of their footsteps had faded entirely, I let out a long, slow breath of relief.

I thought they'd find me.

"Thought you said you weren't a rat bastard."

"Hk——!"

The low voice came from nowhere. I couldn't turn around. Something solid was behind me, closing me in between itself and the door.

"Not one, right?"

He said it in the same unhurried tone he'd have used about the weather—someone had broken into his room, and he was unruffled. I felt my heart pounding harder than it had when the knights almost caught me. This time, I couldn't find a way to deny the "rat."