Chapter 26
“…I’m sorry, Lady… Really, it wasn’t intentional…”
Carl was apologizing profusely, as if his hands had become his feet. He felt like his palms were starting to smell from rubbing them together all day. Sian was still carefully touching the back of her head, which was throbbing.
“It’s fine… It was my fault for crossing over to your bed.”
The bump on her head, which was so sore she could barely tie her hair, was growing larger. It was a blessing that she didn’t have a concussion.
Who would have thought she’d be struck by such misfortune while sleeping?
Sian tried to respond to Carl, but her sullen expression wouldn’t ease.
Fortunately, Sian quickly realized that the bed she had rolled off of was different from the one she had claimed before going to sleep. Far from misunderstanding Carl, she immediately acknowledged her own mistake.
While there was no embarrassing misunderstanding, Carl’s sin of mercilessly pushing a woman off the bed was inexcusable.
“Let’s just find the money and leave tonight.”
“That sounds a bit too much like thievery…”
Sian shot Carl a sharp glance as he objected. Guilty as he was, Carl awkwardly smiled, furrowing his brow.
“We can’t keep stalling forever, can we?”
“That’s true. I’ll follow your lead.”
Carl immediately changed his tune. Only then did Sian’s stern gaze soften.
Sian and Carl, disguised as a woman, were standing guard at their assigned post on the castle ramparts. A warm breeze blew peacefully.
“We’ll move in the early dawn. When the servants have retired and only the guards remain. After all, the more people active, the more variables there will be.”
Beyond the ramparts, chimneys from houses outside the inner castle walls lazily puffed smoke. Fields of roseberries, Ivarid’s local specialty, spread out in patches of red and blue.
The incredibly peaceful scenery, as if nothing had happened, contrasted sharply with Sian’s resolute voice, filled with determination. Carl absent-mindedly stared beyond the ramparts, unconsciously pulling the corners of his mouth into a bitter smile.
“It’s peacefully oblivious.”
“…What is?”
Sian’s eyebrow twitched at Carl’s sudden remark.
“The scenery. It’s quiet, like the calm before a storm.”
At those words, Sian finally lifted her gaze to take in the view beyond the ramparts.
Ah, a soft exclamation naturally lingered on Sian’s lips.
“…You’re right.”
Suddenly recalling the scenery from long ago, before Ivarid Castle was properly established, Sian deeply empathized with Carl’s words.
The roseberry fields created through development and the town inside the outer walls formed a vast, neatly arranged region. But the Ivarid that Sian last remembered was an abandoned land, overgrown with vegetation, where hardly anyone lived.
Glancing sideways, Sian saw Carl, now handling the long-haired wig as naturally as if it were his own hair, gazing into the distance.
“Does it feel strange?”
“Hm?”
Carl turned his head to look at Sian at her question.
“The scenery. After all, this is the precious territory you’ve cultivated since childhood. It must feel quite strange to be watching it now, pretending to be a stranger and even dressed as a woman.”
Carl’s eyes widened at Sian’s words before he smiled.
“Well… I’m not sure. It is a peculiar feeling. I don’t think I’ve ever properly viewed the territory from the ramparts like this before.”
“You’ll be able to return as the lord soon, so don’t worry too much.”
Sian unconsciously reached out her hand but withdrew it before touching Carl’s body.
…What was I trying to do?
Sian wrinkled her nose.
“Are you trying to comfort me?”
Carl chuckled. The face Sian had carefully made up before they left was beautiful enough that no one would suspect he was a man. They say there’s only a fine line between handsome and pretty.
Sian confirmed yet another fact that, though not particularly necessary to know, wouldn’t hinder her life in any way. Feeling awkward, she cleared her throat and quickly withdrew her hand that had been awkwardly suspended in mid-air, lest Carl see it.
“Comfort you? My own situation is precarious enough. I just happened to be right next to you, that’s all.”
“That’s too kind for someone who’s not trying to comfort me. Unlike you, Sister.”
“What do you mean? You’re talking as if you’ve known me for a very long time. I’m a woman overflowing with chameleon-like charm, you know.”
Ahahah, Carl burst into a clear laugh at Sian’s words. Although there was no one around except Sian and Carl, due to the open spatial characteristics of the ramparts, the hearty laughter echoed well in all directions.
Carl hurriedly closed his mouth with a “hup.”
“Alright, I’ll admit it. Sister, overflowing with intelligence, beauty, leadership, and charm.”
Carl winked with one eye, not even bothering to deny Sian’s bluff. Despite their appearances looking indistinguishable from the same gender, Sian felt as if her heart was being tightly squeezed.
…What is this? Am I really sick somewhere? Sian unconsciously placed her hand on her chest, feeling a stinging pain she had never experienced before.
After the pain of her heart seemingly being squeezed, only an inexplicable, rough pounding remained. Suddenly, the scent and the warm, firm feeling of the arm she had to experience as soon as she opened her eyes that morning vividly came back to her, as if it had just happened.
Recalling that made her feel like her face might turn red again for no reason.
No matter how tired and intoxicated with sleep she was, she wasn’t a sleepwalker. How could she have crossed over to his bed and burrowed into his arms?
Considering the conversation they had the night before, this was a major incident.
Carl had apologized profusely, but from Sian’s perspective, she was almost grateful that he had unceremoniously thrown her off. It gave her an excuse to sulk and hide her embarrassment and awkwardness.
“…There’s someone down below.”
Just as she was getting anxious that her subtly changing expression might be noticed, voices murmuring below the ramparts rang out with perfect timing.
Carl quickly closed his mouth, which had been speaking in a low voice, and smoothed his hair. He was rapidly becoming accustomed to his female disguise.
“It’s Sullivan.”
Grasping the ends of his long hair slightly, Carl spoke while looking at the person handling the workers below the castle.
Sian soon remembered him. He was the man who had been with Administrator Alfred when she visited the castle asking for work.
“It seems he’s in charge of the castle repairs.”
“He’s in a middle management position. It’s no exaggeration to say that Sullivan handles almost all the practical administration.”
“I see.”
Sian absent-mindedly let Carl’s words slip by with a light nasal sound.
Although they were on castle guard duty, there was no particularly threatening situation, so they were just in a daze. As if they had planned it, both Carl and Sian were staring at Sullivan below.
Sullivan, who had been handling the workers and giving various instructions for repairing the broken inner castle wall, raised his head as if sensing their gaze.
“Oh.”
Sullivan’s eyes widened as he discovered the two figures standing on the ramparts.
“Aren’t you the mercenaries who came by that time?”
Sullivan called out loudly from below. Carl tilted his head at a 45-degree angle and nodded primly. Sian bowed her head politely in greeting.
Sullivan flashed a welcoming smile and quickly gestured to the workers. Then he hurriedly ran off somewhere.
“…He’s not coming to meet us, is he?”
“It seems like he is.”
Carl spoke with an uneasy voice. Unfortunately, Sian couldn’t deny Carl’s hopeful tone. Sullivan was clearly running towards the stairs leading to the ramparts.
“…He must have really missed you. The big, beautiful mercenary lady.”
Sian laughed teasingly. Carl threw a disgruntled look at Sian, suppressing a sigh.
“I’ll stay quiet as much as possible. You handle him.”
Carl said gravely, poking Sian in the side just as Sullivan appeared on the ramparts, out of breath.
“I’m glad to see you again, Lady. I had hoped to meet you once more, and I’m lucky to have the chance.”
“Thank you for your warm welcome, Administrator,” Sian replied, but Administrator Sullivan’s eyes were fixed on Carl.
“I had specifically instructed that you two be treated without any inconvenience… You haven’t had any troubles, have you?”
“We heard about that as well. Thank you for providing us with the maid’s room. We’ve been comfortable without having to encounter other men.”
Thanks to that, they had been able to infiltrate Carlston’s room more easily than expected. Sian deliberately swallowed the latter part of her thoughts.
“But… we’re just mercenaries working for pay after all. I wonder if it’s okay for us to receive such treatment beyond our station.”
“Oh no, not at all. Both the Chief Administrator and I feel particularly fond of you, Lady, especially given your unfortunate condition of excessive growth…”
Sullivan looked at Carl with wistful eyes. It was the kind of gaze that could easily be mistaken for longing for a first love.
Carl grasped the ends of his wig, partially covering his face from Sullivan’s blatant stare. Sian wore a crooked fake smile, feeling an odd sense of being a third wheel.
“How you resemble our Lord so closely… It can only be seen as fate. This is a courtesy we’re offering unilaterally from our side, so please don’t feel burdened.”
As Sullivan spoke, Carl, feeling caught, grasped his hair on both sides.
“Oh my, Karen resembles the Lord? The Lord must be quite handsome then.”
She had thought his eye for detail was completely muddied, but it seems he was at least able to judge a resemblance to the Prince. Sian replied with a forced smile and an awkward intonation, as if reading from a book.
“He’s very handsome indeed. When I first saw him, I thought an angel had descended to earth. He was such a beautiful young man.”
