Chapter 33
“Hang in there, Brother.”
“That’s right. Honestly, none of us have ever been hit like that by Sister. If you think of it as a process everyone goes through, it’ll be easier on your mind.”
Bill and Dr. Zivago sat on either side of Carl, patting his back. Sitting across from them, Sian still couldn’t control her flushed face and buried her nose in her wine glass.
Although Bill wasn’t particularly careful about making his presence known as he crossed the hallway, both Sian and Carl were so distracted that they didn’t notice anything until the door burst open.
Startled by the door suddenly opening without warning, her habitual reaction had unconsciously come out… Sian thought as she raised her eyes to look at Carl across from her.
Carl was still groaning in pain, unable to straighten his side where he had been hit.
“Have a drink. It’ll hurt less when you’re drunk,” Dr. Zivago said, sounding very much like a quack doctor as he held out a drink in front of Carl.
“…Why is no one asking why I was hit?”
Carl asked. Although his words were directed at the male mercenaries surrounding him, Carl’s sharp gaze was fixed on Sian sitting across from him.
Sian quickly lowered her eyes at the teal gaze that felt like needles pricking her crown, and buried her nose in her wine glass again. It’s said that the guilty should speak sparingly.
“Well, does one need a reason to be hit? If you’re hit, you’re hit…”
“That’s right.”
Dr. Zivago said with a kind face, laughing heartily. On the opposite side, Bill nodded up and down, agreeing that Dr. Zivago’s words were very reasonable.
Carl laughed in disbelief. Whether it was strict hierarchy or they were accustomed to violence, the members’ unwillingness to question even their leader’s mistake was eerily similar to the discipline of the imperial knights.
“Well, aren’t you all loyal subjects…”
Carl grumbled dissatisfied and looked at Sian. Sian noticeably avoided his gaze and just sipped her drink.
“Let’s call it even with that time you pushed me. Then it’ll be completely fair.”
Although she wasn’t entirely without guilt, well, who told him to come so close? Sian tried to be brazenly nonchalant as she changed her attitude.
“Huh? Who pushed whom? Brother pushed Sister?”
“Why?”
As soon as the words left her mouth, Sian inwardly cursed at the mercenaries’ reactions, their eyes sparkling with interest.
To explain the situation in detail, she would have to bring up sharing a room and how she had burrowed into Carl’s arms while asleep.
“Did Sister do something to Brother?”
Skull blurted out, and they all burst into laughter.
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t entirely wrong. Although it had been while half-asleep, it was Sian who had moved to someone else’s bed to sleep.
But of course, it wasn’t something she could admit outright.
Sian narrowed her eyes at the men laughing with Skull.
“You should speak like a person, why are you barking? What nonsense is that?”
“Sister should communicate with words too, why are you beating people up?”
“Hey, you think I wanted to do that? When a person is too shocked…”
“Oh? Wait, Lady Sian. That statement just now.”
One-against-many arguments were indeed difficult. Max raised a finger, latching onto the casually dropped words.
“So you were doing something shocking alone together in the room just now…?”
“Huh?”
The gazes of the men gathered around the round table all focused intensely on Carl and Sian.
“What’s this all about?”
“My, my, it seems something big happened while we were away for a moment?”
Sian was terribly flustered once again.
“Nothing big happened…”
If she showed a red face or suspicious behavior here, it would be the end. Sian Roosevelt having a romantic atmosphere with a prince fleeing under false accusations? It would undoubtedly be fodder for teasing for at least the next 10 years.
But what excuse could she make? Her usually sharp mind seemed to have stopped functioning due to the shock.
“I proposed a re-contract. The lady seemed surprised that I would go that far with my proposal.”
“A re-contract?”
Help came from an unexpected source. Sian looked at Carl, who had spoken up. The gazes of the men gathered around the table now turned towards Carl.
“But why is that so shocking, Sister? Now that we’ve come this far, we should see it through to the end.”
The men’s gazes darted busily around the table. Sian frowned as the attention returned to her once again.
“What are you talking about? We only agreed to help recover the escape funds.”
“That’s why I’m saying we should make a new contract. To help until I completely clear my name and return to Ivarid. I even offered to add a generous bonus to the compensation.”
“Oh my, how can you say such things, Brother? People have loyalty. Forget about compensation, now that we’ve come this far, of course we should help you all the way. I’ll help.”
Skull clenched his fists, taking Carl’s side. To anyone looking, Skull appeared considerably older than Carl, but somehow the prince had become his social “big brother.”
“I agree too. Your Highness… no, if the charges against Carl are false, I’m willing to help to the end without compensation.”
“Me too.”
Max and Dr. Zivago jumped in before Sian could say anything. Sian’s expression grew even colder.
“Are you crazy? Or do you just lack a sense of reality? This is a political struggle involving dragons, a political struggle. We’re not investigating a case of abandoned neighborhood dogs. One wrong move and our heads could roll.”
“…Aren’t you being too blunt, considering the person involved is right here…”
Carl, at the center of the political struggle, added with an embarrassed face.
“It’s the truth, isn’t it? If by any chance you fail to clear your name, who will take responsibility for our lives?”
“That won’t happen.”
Carl answered firmly, his face turning serious in response to Sian’s sharp rebuttal. Sian let out a snort of laughter.
“Have you forgotten that you would have died without a doubt if we hadn’t found you? How can someone who couldn’t even protect their own life take responsibility for others?”
Sian’s tone was icy. The previously jovial atmosphere at the table instantly sank, freezing over.
Someone among the mercenaries let out a confused “Uh.”
Everyone knew about Sian’s rough temperament despite her appearance, but she was being unusually negative and sensitive about actively helping Carl.
Even Max, who had known Sian the longest, felt the awkwardness of her sensitive reaction and could only observe the frozen atmosphere, at a loss for words.
“Lady Sian, I understand your concerns, but your words are too…”
“Even if I die, I will protect you.”
Just as Max, unable to bear it any longer, opened his mouth to mediate the sunken atmosphere, Carl, his face now a heavy mask of impassivity, spoke up, looking directly at Sian.
It was only natural that the already frozen table atmosphere became even more frigid.
“…Excuse me?”
Max looked at Carl, and Dr. Zivago rubbed his ear, thinking he must have misheard. Skull gaped at Carl blankly before quietly covering Bill’s ears with both hands.
It was too provocative a line for a young boy to hear. “Why? Why?” Bill, still unable to grasp the situation, blinked his innocent eyes.
“There are things in this world that cannot be overcome by will alone.”
Ignoring Carl’s bombshell statement that had thrown the mercenaries into confusion, Sian sharply retorted to Carl.
“I’m not speaking thoughtlessly. Even if things go wrong, you can claim you were just hired without knowing anything, and that will be taken into consideration. That’s why I’m proposing a re-contract.”
“What if the Crown Prince doesn’t believe that?”
“That won’t be possible. We’ll have the contract notarized at the temple. My brother, the master of dragons, can’t ignore something notarized by the Dragon Temple based on personal opinion.”
“If you respect the temple so much, why did you attack Ivarid without a warrant?”
Sian sneered again. Carl’s face began to sink as Sian maintained her pointedly sharp tone and expression.
“There must have been some miscommunication. I’ll know the details when I contact my brother.”
“You’re being reckless. Nothing is certain yet. What if the Crown Prince is really behind this?”
“I’m certain he’s not. But your point is valid. If that’s the case, let’s adjust the contract terms. The help, or rather, the accompaniment due to employment, will only be until we reach the Dragon Temple. Then we can decide there whether to extend or terminate it based on the situation.”
Carl took a step back. It was hard to firmly refuse that far. Sian, her face full of discontent, pressed her lips together stubbornly.
The mercenaries, who could only listen to the conversation between the two, thought the deal was already settled. Given that the rest of the mercenaries had expressed their opinion in favor of helping Carl, Sian couldn’t unilaterally ignore even the last proposal.
“Your answer?”
Carl urged Sian, who maintained her silence despite having no more grounds for refusal.
Sian just stared at Carl with narrowed eyes full of discontent.
The atmosphere was subtle. The mercenaries, confused by Sian’s uncharacteristically sensitive demeanor and Carl’s dialogue that seemed straight out of a third-rate minstrel’s play, could only look back and forth between Sian and Carl.
After waiting a moment for an answer, Carl let out a light, derisive laugh.
“It seems you have no reason to refuse anymore, but are you still displeased because you hoped our relationship would end here?”
“Don’t speak so meaningfully. What relationship? What relationship do we have?”
The mercenaries, who had all fallen silent, expected the tense atmosphere between the young man and woman to subside soon. But the second round began without warning.
“Come to think of it.”
