SALP Chapter 32

Five gleaming coins. Silver coins with "della" engraved on one side.

"Five della, that's right. I received it well."

Lanthe removed the coins and tried to return the empty purse to him.

But Vigo didn't accept the purse and crossed his thick arms in a forced pose.

"I don't need a small change purse."

'Ah, is that so?'

"Then whose is this?"

Perhaps it belonged to the servant who brought the money. Then he should return it to that person himself—was it acceptable to wash his hands of it just because it wasn't his property?

"...You worked hard, miss."

At that moment, Warner sent over unexpectedly emphatic praise.

"You did very well for your first mission."

Receiving grand praise just for running an errand made Lanthe's face turn red.

But the scoffing sound from Vigo that reached her ears then completely dispelled her shyness.

'Mocking me...?'

Lanthe pretended to ignore him and looked only at Warner, sharing an affectionate smile.

"Thank you, it was all thanks to Sir Warner."

'First, let's repay the borrowed money.'

She held out the five gleaming silver coins to him.

"Here, I used it well."

"Thank you. It was an honor to provide even small assistance to you, miss."

"And he actually accepts it."

The ruffian who'd scoffed earlier rudely interrupted again, but this time she also ignored him.

"It was a great help to me. If not for Sir Warner, I would have lost sleep with the angel statue I couldn't buy appearing before my eyes at night, wouldn't I?"

"And he accepts it. When the Knight Commander has such abundant wealth, what would he do with a mere 5 della?"

"......"

Finally, Lanthe whipped her head around and glared at Vigo.

"Why don't you lend money to others and refuse to take any back! And go return this to its owner."

She smacked his forearm as if striking him with the coin purse, foisting it on him.

Vigo gripped the purse tightly without looking at her, glaring at Warner instead.

"Since when have you two become close enough for money transactions?"

Then Warner tidied his previously relaxed expression and looked at his lord.

"It wasn't really an amount impressive enough to call a money transaction."

Then he narrowed his brow slightly and continued in a deliberately serious tone.

"But regardless of the amount, I think it should definitely be repaid. The money Miss Lanthe uses will come from the lord's coffers anyway, and before long, the lord's wealth will soon become Miss Lanthe's..."

Smack—Vigo swung his hand wide with an audible sound, hastily covering Warner's mouth.

Lanthe flinched in surprise at his sudden action, but Warner, whose mouth had been forcibly covered as though struck, merely blinked calmly.

"...Did you eat something wrong this morning, Warner?"

Moreover, the most flustered person seemed to be neither Warner nor Lanthe.

"Are you unaware you're currently spitting out random words like a spitting llama?"

Vigo's eyes glaring at Warner trembled violently. They looked precarious, like a candle flame meeting winter wind.

"Stop it. Why are you tormenting Sir Warner?"

Lanthe grabbed Vigo's forearm and pulled.

"How can he answer if you cover his mouth while asking questions?"

"It means don't say words that are worse than not saying anything."

Slowly, Vigo withdrew his hand with a displeased expression.

"...I misspoke. I apologize, my lord."

Warner bowed his head in apology. Fortunately, judging by his expression, he didn't seem particularly affected.

"Watch your words and actions. Many talented individuals among your young subordinates are eyeing the Knight Commander position."

"I'll be careful. Recently, serving Lady Lanthe seems to have loosened my discipline somewhat. She's such a warm person who puts subordinates' hearts at ease."

His out-of-nowhere praise made Lanthe embarrassed enough to bite her lip and hide her smile.

'What. Calling me someone who puts subordinates' hearts at ease. He's not my subordinate but Vigo's subordinate, yet he speaks as though he were mine. Must be a Penmarkian abbreviated speech pattern.'

"Ho. Anyone listening would think you and Lanthe had spent long periods together as especially close companions."

Vigo's eyes grew even more savage, clearly displeased with his subordinate's smooth apology.

"Well. Does the length of time spent with someone absolutely determine a relationship's value?"

Making matters worse, for some reason, Warner—usually wise in his conduct—unwisely elaborated.

"In this world, there are those born with the innate nature to warmly melt others' hearts, like sunshine—figures of grace. In the past, Saint Marca was such a person, and in cases closer to us, Hermea's former lady was such a figure, and perhaps soon our current lady who will become..."

Thump—Vigo covered Warner's mouth once more. A more dull sound resonated than before.

"I'm giving you leave."

He continued through gritted teeth.

"Your condition looks seriously poor, so rest well for a few days. After observing the results, I'll decide whether to hand your position to Rix or to the stable keeper. How's that?"

Only then did Warner's eyes begin to tremble faintly. Which had been the problem—Rix or the stable keeper? Lanthe quietly observed his reaction, absorbed in deducing the hidden content of the two men's conversation.

"Why that expression? Are your senses returning now?"

At Vigo's sarcasm, Warner nodded.

"My senses have returned, my lord."

"Good. I hope you won't forget the fact that you work as my direct subordinate."

'What. Why does he rebuke his own subordinate who only works well like that? Is it because he treated me—not even his master—kindly? How childish anyway.'

Lanthe lifted her chin high behind Vigo and glared at the back of his head. It was a moment when she missed the days of looking down at Vigo, who'd been shorter than her.

"Then I'll go to my room to work, so tell everyone not to call me today."

Vigo's ears were flushed red as he hurried away. Perhaps even he had been aware of his childishness.

But after walking just a few steps down the corridor, he stopped abruptly.

He turned and strode back toward her, then placed the silk purse he'd been holding onto the crown of her head.

"This is yours."

He spoke bluntly and turned again.

"Hm?"

She lowered the purse from her head and looked at it.

The coin purse, clean as new.

'Mine? Does it mean he'll give me more errands? Anyway, isn't this permission that I can engage in money-earning activities?'

Lanthe's face brightened.

"Thank you, Vigo."

When she greeted him with considerable warmth, a soft sound like wind reached her ears.

Surprisingly, it hadn't been made by Vigo but by Warner.

"Warner..."

Immediately, Vigo turned to look at him with eyes showing pure white.

"My, my apologies, my lord."

Warner quickly erased his smile and apologized with rare fluster, but Vigo was already walking toward him with rapid steps.

"Shall we go to the training grounds to get some air? I'd like to have an in-depth conversation with you for the first time in a while."

"As you know, I'm rather sensitive to cold."

"Stop talking and follow me."

"Um, then I'll go up to my room first?"

"Work's been too easy for you lately, hasn't it, Warner?"

"I handle all duties with sincere devotion, my lord."

"Um, can I go?"

As though her careful voice couldn't even be heard, the two men left the lobby in an instant and disappeared outside the building.

"I'm going in by myself then?"

After futilely seeking permission from the invisible men, she eventually turned around helplessly.

"...Treat your subordinate better, honestly."

As the two strapping Penmarkian knights disappeared, the corridor suddenly felt desolate.

Because the curtains had been thrown wide open at every window now that the sun had emerged, the surroundings appeared even more spacious and empty.

"The weather really improved though."

Lanthe walked the corridor alone, warm sunlight pouring down.

After walking for some time, puzzling over why it felt so unfamiliar, she soon realized this was the first time since arriving in Penmark that she'd wandered around alone without surveillance or protection.

'...What, you idiots. You just left me all alone?'

'What would you do if I slipped down a side path and secretly ran away?'

"Hmm."

Standing by the window, she drew the winter-scented air deep into her lungs. She breathed as though savoring the wind that had crossed the Mediterranean Sea to wrap around her and lie quietly coiled—as if it were the entirety of freedom granted to her.

She felt like a free person.

Rix or Nina would come looking soon, but she no longer felt any sense of constraint from them.

She'd lost much, yet the entity called herself still remained in this world.

The freedom in a strange land she'd vaguely dreamed of on days when she'd swallowed tears and followed her enemies to survive—in this moment, she felt she was tasting even a small portion of it.

In her arms was an object she'd chosen and purchased herself.

Thanks to earning money by doing even trivial work.

She'd also gained a coin purse for earning and storing money going forward.

And now she was leisurely appreciating the surrounding scenery while walking up endlessly long stairs alone with her own feet.

"It doesn't feel real..."

Not this present moment, but the future approaching her.

The future when she'd someday be driven from Hermea and leave, returning to Derek.

Lanthe found the miserable future being forced upon her beginning to feel instead like an unbelievable unreality.

The time spent laughing and chatting while treated like a precious guest felt like a lie—that it was peace within only a limited period. It felt like a lie that the old friend who'd saved her life and granted her this present peace was weighing in his hands whether or not to ultimately send her back to hell.

Thinking this way, even the sensation that she was living somewhere on this land suddenly felt like a dream outside reality.

A dream she couldn't tell was good or bad.