Chapter 17
As their eyes met, Yurian widened his eyes and let out a quiet sound. Sian and Carl were both startled, neither first nor last.
They hadn’t even thought that a low-ranking knight Carl couldn’t remember would recognize his female disguise when even his closest confidant, who had been with him for over 10 years, couldn’t recognize him.
“Your Highness?”
The mercenary frowned, looking alternately at Yurian and Carl, to whom Yurian’s gaze was directed, on behalf of Sian and Carl who were trying hard to suppress the feeling of cold sweat.
“W-what do you mean…”
Carl stammered, avoiding Yurian’s gaze suspiciously late. Yurian tilted his head, frowning seriously at the unidentifiable voice that leaked from between Carl’s lips.
“It can’t be… But they look so alike…”
“By Your Highness, do you mean Prince Carlston Klaus?”
Sian finally stepped in. As Sian blocked Yurian’s view with a pretend-ignorant smile, Yurian shook his head tightly, closing his eyes as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have.
“No, it’s not. There’s no way His Highness would dress as a woman, given his personality…”
Even as he said this, Yurian stared intently at Karen, who looked uncannily like the prince, as if he couldn’t believe it.
‘Given his personality.’
Sian was more concerned about Carl’s character, known to be close to a pushover saint, than the fact that Yurian was suspecting Carl.
She had roughly guessed that he wasn’t just the kind-hearted saint he was known to be, but with the thug-like attitude from earlier, and now his subordinate saying “given his personality,” what could it mean?
“I’ve heard that His Highness is handsome, but I never imagined he’d look like my sworn sister. It’s interesting, isn’t it, Karen?”
“Y-yeah…”
“Ah, so you two are the female mercenaries the Lord Regent mentioned. I heard you lead a mercenary group together as sworn sisters.”
Yurian belatedly let go of his suspicion about Carl and faced Sian. Sian nodded hastily, looking pleased. Carl took the opportunity to hide his body, which couldn’t be hidden behind Sian, by covering his face with his hair.
“Did the Lord Regent mention us?”
It seemed that making a proper impression earlier had indeed been helpful.
“Yes, of course.”
Yurian smiled proudly.
“The mercenaries hired this time will be mainly assigned to the castle’s security and defense reinforcement. It’s not a particularly difficult job, but I’ve been instructed to look after you well, as there might be some discomfort among the men.”
“Oh my…”
Sian widened her eyes and let out a soft exclamation as if she were touched.
“We just asked to be hired, we didn’t request special treatment.”
“Ah, no, that’s not what I meant.”
But Sian wasn’t touched. Rather, she was very displeased with the intention to treat them differently because they were women, and her eyes sharpened. Yurian hastily waved both hands at Sian’s rapidly cooling gaze.
“The work will be distributed equally, of course. But we can’t make everything exactly the same, can we? There might be provocations, and there might be men with improper thoughts about such beauties.”
“…Well, it’s not like we came unprepared for that much.”
Sian’s expression softened a bit at Yurian’s explanatory excuse. Mingling with men wasn’t anything special for Sian. She had been getting along well as the only woman in Dragon’s Claw until now.
But the problem was, of course, Carl, the not-really-a-woman “woman.”
Sian glanced sideways at Carl, who was hiding tightly behind her back. No matter how much he hunched his back, there was no way a man’s height and build could be hidden behind a woman’s small back, but Carl, who had been badly burned once by Yurian, clung to Sian’s back as if it were some kind of spiritual sanctuary.
…Yurian’s words about “given his personality” really bothered her.
Sian was confident she could get along well with the men, but it was obvious that Karen, Carl’s female version, wouldn’t have it so easy.
“Setting aside other issues, I don’t think you can share quarters with the men, so we’re planning to give you one of the maid’s rooms.”
Sian’s eyes lit up at Yurian’s words.
“If it’s the maid’s quarters… it’s inside the castle, right?”
“That’s right. Of course, there’s the disadvantage of the gathering place being far and the route being complicated since the main work takes place on the outskirts of the castle, but…”
“Thank you sooooo much!”
Sian clasped her hands together and expressed great gratitude before Yurian could even finish speaking.
He hadn’t expected them to dislike it, but he also hadn’t expected them to be so grateful, so Yurian could only nod with a slightly dumbfounded expression.
“Wait. It’s a single room, of course, right?”
At that moment, Carl pulled Sian’s hair and asked quietly in her ear. It was a very small voice that wouldn’t reach Yurian standing across from them.
What single room?
Sian swallowed the words that were about to escape unconsciously, thinking that this prince still seemed to think he was the praised saint of Ivarid.
It was the next moment that she realized that if it wasn’t a single room, she would have to share a room with Carl in his female disguise. Sian’s expression turned as pale as Carl’s, who was crouched behind her back.
“By any chance… how many people usually share a maid’s room?”
…We’re doomed. This was an unexpected development.
“Usually about six people share a room, but don’t worry.”
Yurian grinned again.
“To avoid any discomfort from mixing with other maids, we plan to give you two a room of your own.”
Despite hoping against the confident smile, it was as she feared. Still, it was something to be grateful for that they wouldn’t be mixed with other maids.
Sian smiled awkwardly.
“A single room… would be difficult, right? Karen snores pretty badly, so it’s hard to sleep together.”
Carl poked Sian in the side as if protesting her lie.
“That would be a bit…”
Yurian’s smiling face showed the meaning of ‘Isn’t it a thief’s mindset to expect a single room?’ Sian couldn’t deny it outright and just nodded sheepishly with an awkward smile.
“You should have insisted more strongly!”
“No, it’s already more than we could ask for to be given a maid’s room, how could we demand single rooms on top of that?”
“Then?! Then how are we going to resolve this situation where you and I have to share a room?! Huh? What are we going to do?!”
“Is that my fault now?!”
As soon as they entered the maid’s room they were assigned and closed the door, Carl and Sian started arguing fiercely in low voices.
After listening to Carl’s complaints, which were no different from a child’s tantrum, Sian finally raised her voice, and Carl seemed to run out of things to say, closing his mouth with a groan.
“These damn people, they have rooms to spare and they treat people like this?”
Growling and snarling, Carl gnashed his teeth and now turned his anger towards the castle’s administrators who had shown kindness without knowing the situation. Watching Carl throw a fit, Sian clicked her tongue, saying, “Oh, come on.”
“What do you mean, mistreatment? It’s not like you’re bragging about being raised preciously… Remember that right now, you’re not His Highness the Prince, but a mercenary who’s sworn sisterhood with me. It’s hard to receive such considerate treatment anywhere, giving separate quarters just because we’re female mercenaries.”
Carl looked at Sian with a sharp frown at her disgruntled comment.
“You’ve been rational all along, why has your personality suddenly changed here? It was the same when you were provoked earlier… This isn’t how the saintly Prince who offers his right cheek when slapped on the left should act.”
Sian sharply retorted to Carl, who had lost his words. At Sian’s expression, glaring with fierce eyes while crossing her arms, Carl furrowed his brow and distorted his lips.
“It’s fake, that rumor. If you offer your right cheek after being slapped on the left, that’s being a pushover, not a saint.”
Carl clicked his tongue.
“It was a false rumor I spread on purpose to look like a pushover, but it flowed in a strange direction.”
“You mean you personally embellished rumors about yourself like that?”
Oh my, how shameless. Sian added with a look of disgust. Carl narrowed his eyes in displeasure.
“I’m telling you, it wasn’t a rumor I spread to embellish myself.”
Saying that, Carl sighed long and brushed back his long hair, which was a wig.
“Were you trying to catch the Crown Prince’s eye? By deliberately spreading rumors that you’re a pushover?”
“That’s right. Even if it’s an abandoned land like a wasteland, if I build a new power base here, it could be perceived as a threat to my brother. Wouldn’t my brother feel at ease only if I appeared to be a pushover or a fool, thinking of nothing but establishing my own place to live?”
“Ah-ha…?”
Sian twitched her eyebrow, making a sound that even she didn’t know was a sigh or an exclamation.
So he spread false rumors to appear foolish and extremely gentle, but the public sentiment, moved by the diligent image of the prince who built castle walls and a castle in the wasteland and steadily laid the foundation, unexpectedly transformed the story not into a fool, but a saint.
And that, in turn, led to a conclusion that made the Crown Prince sensitive rather than reassuring him.
…That’s how it turned out, right?
“Okay. Let’s say that’s how it is. But you went too far with that ugly person earlier. We’re already standing out as the only two women, what good is there in drawing more attention? It will only create restrictions on moving around the castle.”
“Haa…
Carl sighed deeply and pulled his hair to both sides as if adjusting a hat. He seemed to have really gotten into playing with the very long hair.
“Who knew that a low-ranking knight I don’t even remember would recognize me. Of course, I admit I was reckless.”
“I’m stressed,” Carl muttered quietly, staring into space.
Sian shrugged. Come to think of it, he was the master of Idelin who had left the capital when he was just over ten years old, having been granted the wasteland of Ivarid. Though his outward appearance was that of a full-grown adult, he was actually younger than Sian herself.
At times like this, he’s just like any ordinary, hot-blooded young man of that age.
Thinking this, Sian continued her barrage of nagging.
“Just because you’re stressed, does that mean you can butt heads with anyone? You know you were reckless, that’s enough. Be careful from now on. Since things have come to this, we can’t help it…”
She was in the middle of speaking when Carl, who had let out a deep sigh, suddenly started unbuttoning his shirt. As his long, white neck and collarbone were revealed, Sian’s mouth fell open.
“W-what, what are you doing?!”
midori
thanks! the semblance has been noticed, but—-