Chapter 60
“Our child is quite extraordinary, isn’t she?”
“That’s not a compliment! Well, in a sense it is, but… ugh…”
Theodora lamented that all that incredible athleticism was being used for mischief.
We’d only been on the road for a day, but it took Theodora less than an hour to gauge Aslan’s level of unpredictability.
I put my hand on Theodora’s shoulder and offered some less-than-comforting words:
“Give up. It’s easier if you give up.”
“Give up? But she’s Your Highness’s daughter!”
“She’s actually quite human now compared to before.”
There had been so many incidents to get her to this point.
Seeing my wistful expression, Theodora seemed to understand how much trouble Aslan must have given me and teared up.
“Ugh… why did you leave and go through such hardship alone…”
“It wasn’t particularly hard.”
It wasn’t a lie since the real hardship started when Aslan became human.
Anyway, if we delayed any longer here, we’d arrive in the village after sunset.
If this were a leisurely trip, it wouldn’t matter, but we needed to reach a safe place as quickly as possible.
We’d rested enough, so I approached Aslan with open arms.
“Aslan, that’s enough, come down now. Let’s ride in the carriage with Mom.”
“But I want to ride the horse…”
“When we arrive, I’ll let you ride all you want. I’ll even teach you horseback riding.”
“Really?”
As if she hadn’t just been throwing a tantrum, Aslan quickly gave in and obediently came into my arms, dismounting from the horse.
She didn’t forget to pat the horse’s head, thanking it for the ride.
“Hehe, it tickles.”
Snort.
The horse made a small noise of protest and licked Aslan’s cheek.
Come to think of it, I heard horses and cats can unexpectedly become good friends.
‘I should look into getting a pony or something once we reach Grand Duke Eckhart’s domain.’
Teaching Aslan horseback riding seemed essential, even for emergencies.
I seated Aslan in the carriage first and asked:
“Do you like horses? Should I buy you one?”
“Really?”
“Of course, really. What color horse do you like?”
Aslan answered without a moment’s hesitation:
“I like golden horses!”
“Golden?”
“Shiny golden like Mom!”
Aslan’s eyes sparkled.
Golden… There was one horse that came to mind.
My beloved horse I left at the Imperial Palace.
Given my expelled status, I couldn’t bring a military horse with me, so I’m not sure what happened to it now.
I stroked Aslan’s head and promised:
“Okay, I’ll try to find you a golden horse.”
* * *
Thanks to Aslan being more obedient than expected, we were able to enter the village before sunset.
Although it was away from the capital, it was a fairly large village, so fortunately it didn’t look out of place for us to have an escort of several strong knights.
We rented out an entire inn and first unpacked our belongings.
“Aslan, are you hungry?”
“I’m starving.”
“Alright, let’s go eat. Oh, wait a moment.”
I almost forgot.
I picked up the long sword I had temporarily received from Theodora.
‘It’s been so long, I’m not used to this.’
How do I wear this again?
While my head was full of question marks, somehow my body remembered and skillfully fastened the sword at my waist.
Finally, I put on my hood and looked up, when Aslan suddenly asked:
“Hey, Mom.”
“Yes?”
“I wonder if everyone is doing okay.”
Aslan’s face was full of worry and anxiety.
Aslan also knew what I had fastened at my waist because of last night’s incident.
Our employees were heading to Grand Duke Eckhart’s domain by a different route.
They were all good fighters, but I was still worried and assigned a few knights to them. It seemed Aslan was still concerned about this.
‘Come to think of it, she’s been staring into the distance all day.’
I thought she was just missing home.
I was worried about them too, but as a mother, I couldn’t show it.
I knelt down to face Aslan, stroking her soft cheeks and smiled.
“Of course. They might even arrive first and be waiting for us.”
“What? Already?”
“It’s possible.”
“Then won’t their necks get tired from waiting for us? We should hurry!”
Where did she learn to say things like that?
I burst out laughing and ruffled Aslan’s hair vigorously.
“Alright, alright. Let’s eat and then work hard to catch up with Luisa and the others tomorrow. Okay?”
“Yeah! I’m going to eat a lot!”
As if making a declaration of war, Aslan clenched both fists and dragged me by the hand, running to the dining room.
Arriving at the dining room, hunched over as if being pulled by Aslan, I saw the knights were already gathered.
“Ah, madam.”
Since entering the village, we’ve been careful with titles, so Theodora called me that.
Looking at the still empty table, I asked:
“Has everyone ordered what they want?”
“They’re short-staffed, so it might take a while.”
“Ah, right.”
When we rented this inn, we set one condition.
We said we’d pay triple the peak season rate if they could minimize the staff as much as possible.
As a result, it seemed only the cook and the innkeeper remained.
Aslan looked at the menu the knights showed her and tugged at my clothes, saying:
“Mom, I want to eat this.”
“Roast chicken?”
“What would you like, madam?”
“I’ll have the same.”
Nothing particularly appealed to me, so I ordered the same as Aslan.
It’s not like Aslan could eat a whole roast chicken by herself anyway.
Theodora spoke to the innkeeper who was waiting for our order:
“Innkeeper. Please prepare these two meals first.”
“Yes, yes. I’ll prepare them right away.”
Our orders for Aslan and me were sent to the kitchen first, and some simple snacks like peanuts were brought out.
Of course, no one here was drinking alcohol.
Aslan sniffed at the unidentified foods in the small dish, then picked up one and ate it, waving her arms excitedly.
“Mom, this is delicious!”
“You like the peanuts?”
“Yeah. It’s very… um…”
“Nutty?”
“Yeah! The peanuts are nutty.”
Aslan nodded as if that’s what she wanted to say, but I wondered if she really knew what “nutty” meant.
Still, it was cute to see her enjoying her food.
The knights discreetly pushed their dishes towards Aslan.
“Wow, are you giving these to me?”
“Please let us know if you need more.”
“That’s enough, don’t give her any more. She won’t be able to eat her meal.”
“No, Mom. I can eat it all.”
I’ve never once starved her, so I wonder who she takes after to be so greedy.
Captivated by the nuttiness of the nuts she was tasting for the first time, Aslan stuffed her mouth full like a hamster and chewed.
I was surprised and took the dish away.
“No. You should eat just a little at a time.”
“Why?”
“So you can eat more of the meat you like.”
“But I want to eat a lot of peanuts too.”
Aslan looked dejected, but we couldn’t risk her getting sick here, away from home.
“Just eat one at a time for now. Here, say ah~”
“Ah~…”
Although disappointed, Aslan ate obediently as I fed her.
While waiting for our meal, I unconsciously looked out the window.
And I saw a sky full of clouds.
“The sky looks quite cloudy.”
“It might rain in the middle of the night.”
“I hope it stops before we have to leave.”
Even if it stops before we leave, it won’t be easy to drive the carriage through muddy water.
For example, the carriage wheels might get stuck in the mud, or the horses might slip on the wet road.
Just imagining it was giving me a headache.
Boom! Crash!
“Ahhh!”
Startled by the loud thunder, Aslan jumped and burrowed into my arms.
Theodora spoke in a troubled voice, watching my reaction:
“…It’s raining.”
“Sigh.”
I let out a deep sigh.
How could even this move not go according to plan?
Moreover, it was a tremendous downpour, matching its dramatic start.
It would be troublesome if we got stuck in this village.
It seemed I wasn’t the only one troubled, as there was a commotion outside too.
It looked like guests seeking shelter from the rain were continually eyeing our inn.
The counter and dining room of this inn were separate.
I thought they would turn away other guests as we had asked, but…
“Isn’t there any way? All the inns in the village are full, and we have nowhere to stay.”
“But we already have guests who rented out the entire place…”
…The sound insulation isn’t great in this wooden building.
No, maybe that person just has an unusually loud voice.
The voice sounded quite troubled, but it would be inconvenient for us to meet other people too.
However, they were so persistent that the innkeeper came out from behind the counter to ask for our help.
“Um, guests. The person outside would like to speak with you.”
