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Rahan, who had lived as a knight under the Grand Duke for 22 years without taking a single bit of his own share, replied bluntly.
Yvette burst into a hearty laugh.
‘Well, you're an exception. But where are people like you common?’
‘….’
‘She'll undoubtedly start by complaining about being stuck in the countryside. Whether it's the Grand Duchy or the Achen Duchy, she'll want to get out immediately, but stop her for now.’
‘The women I've seen generally don't listen just because they're told to stop.’
A woman who doesn't listen when told to stop—Yvette giggled.
‘Try to handle it somehow with that handsome face of yours.’
‘You call that a plan?’
‘If your face doesn't work, just buy her something from nearby and hand it to her. She'll probably be quiet for a while.’
That was how Yvette had asserted regarding Iris Achen, who had been stuck at the western edge of the Empire for twenty years.
That she would want to escape this countryside immediately. Or, that she would be resentful and want to rush to the Achen Duchy right away to claim her share.
Since the resourceful Yvette said so, Rahan assumed it was true.
But the Iris Achen he actually saw was completely different from Yvette Lacheize's words.
Just looking at her expression as she happily munched on freshly baked white bread proved it. She didn't seem to have any thoughts of escape.
‘Should I take off my clothes?’
‘Please pinch me!’
She said such eccentric things.
‘Would you kiss me?’
‘Because you seem like a good person.’
…She was even bold.
Rahan unconsciously rubbed his lips, then flinched the moment his eyes met Iris's. In the confusion, he ended up picking at a piece of dead skin on his lip.
“Oh my, you're bleeding.”
“It's fine.”
“Fine, my foot. Wipe it with this.”
He had thought that as soon as she sat across from him, she would pour out her frustrations about being stuck in a place like this.
He had been prepared. How hard could it be to listen to a woman's complaints?
But this girl, who was untying her apron to hand it to him, didn't utter a single word of complaint.
‘She might act coy at first. Don't let your guard down.’
Yvette Lacheize's words flashed through his mind.
But at the same time, what entered Rahan's sight were cheeks dusted white with flour. And a nape damp with sweat from sitting in front of the oven all day.
Her top, with a couple of buttons undone because she was hot, was shabby. At a glance, it was certainly the clothes she had worn at the monastery.
Inside, he caught a glimpse of the mark he had left. Rahan suddenly felt the illusion that he was getting hot.
‘I heard that in weddings, the bride and groom kiss. But we….’
The words Iris had said suddenly came back to him. The man dabbed his lips a couple of times with the apron she gave him and then spoke.
“Iris. There's something we need to be aware of.”
“Yes?”
“Do you know that there's only one bed in this house?”
At his words, her green eyes widened. And a moment later, her face was instantly dyed completely pink.
Rahan stood up and handed back the apron across the table, leaning his upper body down to whisper in Iris's ear.
“What should we do about tonight?”
Iris stared at him blankly, then lowered her head in embarrassment. The tips of her ears were now bright red, as if blood were flowing from them.
Rahan looked at the tips of the woman's ears and thought.
Coyness.
If this is coyness, isn't it truly impressive?
At the same time, for some reason, he found those reddened ear tips appealing.
Of course, it didn't actually result in the two of them sleeping in the same bed.
“Um, that….”
Because Rahan also realized that he shouldn't be too mischievous with Iris, who was struggling to speak.
Rahan plopped back down into his chair and lifted his chin.
“It's a joke. I think I'll sleep up in that attic.”
“…Huh?”
Iris's eyes widened. But he was serious.
From the moment he entered this cabin, Rahan had been eyeing a place to sleep.
The priests of the monastery probably hadn't given much thought to where the two would sleep. Or perhaps they thought the farmer's wooden bed was spacious enough for two people to squeeze in.
It wasn't surprising, as the beds in the monastery were extremely narrow and small.
But in Rahan's view, the bed in this cabin was absurd for two people. To be precise, it was far too cramped for Rahan.
Thus, he had picked out the attic.
“I'm fine, though….”
You're a good liar.
Rahan thought so. He didn't know what was "fine" when her ears were still flushed red.
He was likely correct.
Even if she had asked for a kiss and all, there was no woman who would be happy to share a bed on the first day with a man she had only met yesterday.
Whether she knew Rahan's thoughts or not, Iris asked back.
“But there's no bedding?”
“You haven't checked the attic yet, have you?”
The man smirked and pointed to the ladder leading to the attic.
“I don't know if there was more than one farmer, or if workers used to sleep here. There's bedding up there too.”
He had already confirmed that there was bedding filled with well-dried straw in the attic. Of course, it smelled a bit musty, as if it hadn't seen the sun in a while.
But as he had said several times, Rahan was a man who had gone on an expedition to Til Nebe Cedric for six years. What did a little smell in the bedding matter?
“But….”
Even after climbing up to the attic to check for herself following Rahan's words, Iris still didn't seem keen.
After hesitating for a long time, the words she finally let out almost made Rahan burst into laughter.
“It looks too cold and scary up there….”
“Good grief….”
Good grief, young lady. Then would you like it if I shared a bed with you?
That's what he wanted to say. But for some reason, Rahan felt as if his mouth were glued shut.
Because the moment he said that, he felt that Iris would somehow say, ‘That would be fine.’
No, that's not it.
‘But I would like that.’
It felt like she would definitely say something like that….
“Rahan?”
“…Nothing.”
Thus, after a silence, Rahan only said that.
Iris still had a puzzled expression, but she couldn't stop Rahan since he insisted on sleeping in the attic.
To be precise, it was after she saw how he completely filled the bed in the cabin when he lay down.
“I guess it can't be helped.”
Iris said this and sighed. Just when he thought she was finally accepting it.
“I want to try and earn some money starting tomorrow.”
Rahan was flustered by Iris's words as she clenched her fist. Suddenly, money?
“What money?”
“Well, we have to buy a bed.”
“…My bed?”
At Rahan's words, Iris opened her eyes wide as if asking what he meant.
“A bed for the two of us to use.”
“….”
Rahan fell silent for a moment. And Iris, thinking something during his silence, let out a loud “Ah!”
“Oh, that's right. I heard that nobles don't share a bed even if they are married. Is it something like that?”
Then, she placed both hands on her cheeks and suddenly became embarrassed.
“Did I just say something too informal by noble standards?”
In other words, Iris seemed to have understood that Rahan's reason for going to the attic wasn't simply because the bed was too narrow.
Thus, she said with a very pitiful expression.
“Of course, I know that I am the daughter of the Achen Elector's house. And I know that you are a noble. But how could we use different rooms? This is a small cabin.”
“That’s….”
It's not that, he tried to say.
It's not that…. Do you really want to share a bed with me?
But again, the words wouldn't come out.
If he said that, whether the answer was no or yes.
Rahan felt as if he wouldn't be able to handle either answer.
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