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Eyes swollen from crying so much, and her upper body full of bruises.
The Empress's ladies-in-waiting had taken her into the room, undressed her, and frowned.
‘You must have had a hard time.’
The fact that Iris had never ridden a horse before also played a part.
The horse the man had stolen from House Achen had only one saddle, and the man had carried her without a second saddle. Naturally, her inner thighs were badly chafed.
Lady Esselheim, touching the reddened thighs, let out a long sigh.
‘Men.’
It was a curse directed at Rahan Norwich for anyone to see. She probably thought he had held Iris roughly.
However, the first-night inspection could not be stopped. Lady Esselheim apologized gently.
‘I am sorry to add a burden to the young lady who must have had a difficult day. But it is the Emperor's command, so there is nothing I can do.’
‘I-it's okay...’
That was all Iris could say. But at those words, Lady Esselheim became stern.
‘I am not the one to say this, but in times like this, you must not say it's okay. Especially as a lady of House Ahen.’
‘...Yes.’
The subsequent confirmation of the first night ended faster than expected.
It was just as Auntie Laura had said—that people cannot distinguish between hitting one's groin on something and the experience of a man.
Combined with the ladies-in-waiting's consideration for the young lady who had gone through too much in one day, the first-night inspection ended just like that.
And so did the marriage of the two.
“Huu.”
Iris lay down on her bed. The moment she lay on the bedding filled with well-dried straw was her favorite time of the day.
But today, she didn't feel like enjoying that moment.
“Divorce...”
If she could, she wanted to ask the three people who were there.
‘Am I getting a divorce?’
But seeing their flustered faces, she felt she shouldn't pry and returned pretending not to know.
Thinking about it now that she was back, it didn't seem like an absurd suggestion.
Both Priest Wilbert and Priest Marid thought it was unfair that she suddenly had to marry a man whose face she didn't even know.
Maybe the priests had asked for something...
...
She was too tired to think further. Let's think about it tomorrow.
Iris closed her eyes. She fell asleep in an instant.
* * *
Philod Ahen and his knights departed at dawn. The Empress's ladies-in-waiting did the same.
In any case, since things had turned out this way, they seemed to judge that there was no point in stalling for time.
“I will certainly protest this matter.”
However, Philod insisted on calling Rahan before departing to say that, glaring fiercely before he left.
He said the same thing yesterday, so why did he want to say it again?
Swallowing those words, Rahan simply gave a nod. Beside him, Riet yawned.
Upon returning, Priest Marid was waiting for him.
“Let us go down to the wheat-field keeper's hut.”
Mornings at the monastery start early.
By the time they finished a simple breakfast, the sun had barely shown its face.
Everyone must have lost sleep, but Priest Marid showed no sign of fatigue. Harris, carrying some mysterious luggage, and Abbot Wilbert were also with them.
“You're going quite far down.”
When Rahan spoke lukewarmly, Abbot Wilbert replied.
“I have something to give you.”
“Wow. This is my first time going there too.”
Iris, with a clean face, popped her head out from behind. Seeing Iris, Rahan held out his hand. It was because she was carrying a quite large luggage sack.
“Give it.”
“Oh, I'm okay.”
It was luggage containing the personal items she had used at the monastery. Rahan twitched an eyebrow.
“Okay, my foot. The sack is as big as you are.”
Then, he snatched the sack from her hand.
“Ah, I'm really okay...”
Iris jumped, but Rahan was faster. He slung the sack over his shoulder and handed her a birdcage.
“Hold this instead.”
“Huh? What is this? A lizard? Oh my, how cute!”
Iris jumped again, but for a different reason.
The pink axolotl inside the cage was certainly a creature that someone who had never gone to the deep sea would likely never have seen.
“Um, so. Are you raising it?”
“You can just call me Rahan.”
Rahan replied with a shrug. He had noticed that Iris had been contemplating what to call him a moment ago and had omitted the title.
But Iris opened her mouth blankly and asked back, looking bewildered.
“Do you have a hobby of giving your own name to your pets?”
Pfft. He could hear Riet and Harris behind him struggling to hold back their laughter. Rahan closed his eyes tight and opened them.
“I meant you can call me that.”
“Ah.”
“And that's not my pet. It just unilaterally sticks to me.”
“Oh my.”
At Rahan's words, Iris looked at the axolotl inside the cage with curious eyes, examining it from this side and that.
To say it just 'sticks' to him, it seems he made a very wonderful cage for it?
Of course, she didn't say that out loud. The axolotl, making eye contact with her, let out a big yawn, curled its body, turned around, and fell asleep.
“It looks really mysterious. Like a rabbit, and like a fish.”
“It is a fish.”
“But it's not in water?”
“Exactly.”
At Rahan's short answer, Iris's face became puzzled.
Meanwhile, Rahan, with the sack on his shoulder, followed Priest Marid with indifferent steps.
Iris also followed behind, clutching the birdcage. Riet let out a "Woo-hoo" whistle from behind, and Harris poked Riet in the side.
“Read the room.”
“Why? They look good together.”
“Aren't you following them?”
Riet grinned.
“I've decided to live at the monastery. Since I'm the overseer, in principle, I should follow.”
Since the justification was that he was Rahan's overseer, he couldn't stay too far away. But then again, living with a newlywed couple was out of the question.
Rahan replied as if that were fine, but Riet refused, saying, "I don't want to!" In the end, it was decided that Riet would occupy the monastery's guest room for the time being.
Regardless of that.
"Be careful of the wind."
Priest Marid shouted as he stepped out of the monastery's great gate and onto the single path leading downward.
Rahan, who had followed him out, widened his eyes. A small forest surrounded the monastery perched atop the cliff. And the early summer wheat fields stretching out below were a magnificent sight.
The morning sun had just risen. As the abundant sunlight illuminated the tall wheat fields, the stalks swayed like waves following the wind.
Clouds drifted leisurely across the sky, and the fields were dyed in golden hues. In the distance, a small forest and a village were visible.
It felt fresh to realize that Vandel, the village where he had stayed, looked incredibly small from the monastery.
The scenery, with red poppies blooming according to the season and scattering along the roadside, was truly peaceful. A summer breeze, thick with the scent of earth, tickled Rahan's cheeks.
"It's pretty, isn't it?"
Iris, standing beside him holding a birdcage, smiled.
"Once the wheat is harvested, this is a sight you won't see for a year, so take it all in."
Ah, did she say it would enter a dormant period?
Rahan looked down at the wheat fields once more. A small cottage built between the paths caught his eye.
Next to it was a fairly large vegetable garden, where things were planted neatly and densely.
"Does this little one eat vegetables well?"
Iris asked, lifting the axolotl to show him. Rahan twisted the corner of his lips in a mocking smirk.
"It'll probably eat the dirt."
"Dirt?!"
Her expression became even more puzzled. Just then, the axolotl turned around and let out a series of squeaks in the cage as if protesting, but Rahan didn't even look its way and continued down the path.
Iris tilted her head and whispered to the axolotl.
"Are you being hated because you're a troublemaker?"
The axolotl did not answer.
As they drew closer, the cottage was larger than Rahan had expected. The exterior walls seemed to have been made from whole fir trees that grew in the area.
The joints fit together perfectly, suggesting the builder had put a great deal of care into it. There was a fireplace attached to one side, and he liked that it was designed to be used as a hearth from the outside as well.
"Wait a moment."
Priest Marid stepped forward to stop Rahan, who was about to open the door. What he pulled from his robes was a small Holy Relic symbolizing Eridrahan.
"May only blessed things occur."
Rahan watched closely as the Holy Relic emitted a faint light. Having finished his prayer, Priest Marid noticed his gaze and grinned.
"Despite how I look, I'm a fellow whom Eridrahan is quite fond of."
"Eridrahan often does things that are completely incomprehensible."
It was Abbot Wilbert who countered Priest Marid's words.
Iris burst into giggles, and Priest Marid got irritated. "Ah, Abbot!" Regardless, the Abbot opened the door to the cottage.
Creak.
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