Chapter 61
From the moment the mysterious guest boasted his loud voice, I had my suspicions, but it seems he really was stubborn.
The shrill voice was somehow extremely irritating, so I signaled to Theodora with my eyes. It meant to refuse and quickly send him away.
“Leave it to me,” Theodora nodded confidently and went out, gripping her sword.
However, Theodora, who had gone to drive away the guest, returned shortly after. Before I could ask what happened, she whispered something to me with a serious face.
“…What?”
I jumped up from my seat as soon as she finished speaking.
Damn, no wonder that voice was annoyingly familiar.
I could immediately tell that I now had a face that looked like I could kill someone.
Aslan, who had been watching me constantly, clung to me with an anxious face.
“Mom, your face is scary.”
“…Hide among the knights for a moment, Aslan.”
I tried my best to relax my expression, but it didn’t work well. Aslan’s drooping eyebrows told me so.
However, there was something more urgent now than reassuring Aslan.
I grabbed my sword and headed to the counter with Theodora.
I decided to observe the situation in hiding first, and Theodora continued the conversation with that suspicious guest.
“As requested, I asked the owner, but she said no. Please leave immediately.”
“Isn’t there any way? I can pay as much as you want!”
“It’s not about money, but for safety reasons.”
“But still, how…”
Peeking out secretly, I saw the man pleading pitifully, looking like a drowned rat.
On the surface, at least.
At this point, he might tuck his tail and leave, but knowing he wasn’t an ordinary guy, I kept watching closely.
And sure enough.
“Ugh!”
“How dare you!”
The man pushed past Theodora and forced his way into the inn.
Despite initiating the physical confrontation, he was easily subdued.
It was to be expected, as he wasn’t particularly skilled in combat to begin with.
Theodora bound his arms and pinned him to the floor in an instant.
“Ow ow ow! Let, let me go!”
“How dare you!”
Even though he must be in pain from being properly pinned to the floor, the man didn’t know when to give up.
I had hoped to avoid confronting him if possible, but this guy was persistent and didn’t know how to quit.
In the end, I had no choice but to step in myself.
I revealed myself directly in front of him and pointed my sword at his neck.
“I said no.”
It was a frosty voice that even I couldn’t believe came from my mouth.
However, this voice seemed much more familiar to him, as he met my eyes through his fallen hood.
“…Miner…”
Swish.
Instead of a warning not to utter that name, I thrust the sword deeper into his neck.
We were in a position where even a slight wrong move would draw blood from his neck.
He didn’t seem to expect me to go this far, and frantically tried to appeal his harmlessness.
“W-wait! It’s me! Archibald! Your playmate!”
“You think I’m doing this because I don’t know who you are?”
Archibald Bright.
The troublemaker of the Bright Count family.
And Mars’s playmate.
* * *
“Ugh!”
Thud!
Archibald was thrown into the alley, still held by the neck by Minerva.
Even though his clothes were soaked in dirty water, Archibald seemed more concerned about his shoulder that hit the ground as he grumbled.
“Isn’t that too harsh for an old friend you haven’t seen in a while?”
“Friend? Who? You?”
Minerva let out a derisive laugh.
“Don’t be ridiculous. When were you ever my playmate?”
To begin with, Archibald wasn’t even Minerva’s playmate.
He was Mars’s playmate.
And that was only valid until Minerva and Mars were twelve years old.
Archibald smiled bitterly, apparently not expecting such a clear line to be drawn.
“It hurts when you take it that way…”
As Archibald subtly tried to get up, two swords were again pointed at him.
Unarmed, Archibald raised both hands with a flustered face.
“Hey, don’t do that. I’m unarmed. This goes against chivalry.”
“And you, were you ever honorable?”
Implying that she wasn’t just talking about this incident, Minerva’s words had a sharp edge. Archibald laughed awkwardly.
Just then, the rain started to fall steadily, and thunder rumbled loudly.
It was perfect weather for washing away bloodstains and muffling screams.
There was something Archibald had wanted to ask Minerva, but asking in this situation might get him killed right here.
However, since both of them were thinking of the same person, it was inevitable that her story would come up.
“Did Gabriel send you?”
“What are you talking about! Are you two still not on good terms?”
Grip.
Minerva’s hand holding the sword tightened more than before.
It was because it was such an unpleasant sound.
Archibald Bright, this idiot whose head was filled with flowers, was under the serious misconception that Minerva had been confined because she had offended Gabriel.
‘This Gabriel fanboy.’
Even though Minerva was giving him a warning look to stop, Archibald, who had never been good at reading the room, kept running his mouth freely.
“I mean, I still honestly don’t understand! You two got along well when Gabriel was your playmate, so why did it suddenly become like this…!”
Swish.
In an instant, Archibald’s cheek was lightly cut, and a thin line of red blood slowly formed.
The blood that trickled down his cheek was being washed away by the rain as soon as it appeared.
She really cut him.
But more frightening than that fact was Minerva’s gaze.
Those green eyes that might remind some of lush greenery looked like swirling poison to Archibald.
Archibald hurriedly knelt down.
“S-sorry. I’ll stop. But please believe me. I really wasn’t sent by Gabriel.”
“I’ve never believed a word you say since the old days. With that face that looks like it couldn’t tell a lie, you’d lie even in front of the Empress if it was for Gabriel.”
Archibald couldn’t bring himself to refute that statement.
“Whether Gabriel sent you, or you voluntarily came out for Gabriel’s sake, the truth doesn’t matter either way. You’ve never been useful for anything since the old days, so this time too, you’ll go back without gaining anything worthwhile.”
Minerva mercilessly jabbed at his sore spots.
To Archibald, who had become much quieter, Minerva issued a warning.
“If I see you again tomorrow, you’d better be prepared, Young Lord Bright.”
Splash.
Minerva turned around, kicking a puddle hard.
Archibald, who had been frozen and unable to respond for a while, called out to her one last time before she completely disappeared.
“…Minerva.”
Minerva only turned her head to glance at Archibald.
Archibald kept his head down for a long time, then finally raised it and said:
“Can’t you really just give me one spare room? I’m getting too cold from all this rain.”
Minerva, who had been inwardly tense, felt all her energy drain at that foolish face.
It was a waste of time spent on such an idiot.
“Freeze to death for all I care.”
Minerva threw a glance at him as if looking at trash and left the place.
Finally free from the murderous atmosphere, Archibald’s tension completely drained away and he collapsed onto the wet ground, sitting as if he’d fallen.
“Hah. Still as cold as ever.”
Archibald sighed deeply and felt around his neck area.
It was still properly attached.
His scratched cheek stung, but this much was within expectations.
‘Knowing I’d get hurt somewhere by opening my mouth, Minerva actually held back a lot.’
If it had been Mars, he would have cut off my head already.
Archibald forcibly raised his weakened legs and trembled while holding onto the wall.
‘I can’t believe she really won’t let me in.’
Unlike earlier when he was just getting rained on, now his whole body smelled from being dunked in dirty water.
Archibald heaved a big sigh.
He thought she would let him in for old times’ sake.
Above all, Minerva had always been the type to keep things that could be dangerous to her close by.
To keep a close eye on her enemies, or something like that.
‘But she’s letting me go?’
No matter how much she hates the sight of me, this doesn’t make sense.
What could be the reason?
It can’t be that she’s afraid of what might be behind Archibald.
Minerva knows that Archibald has no talent for physical work.
An unarmed Minerva is stronger than an armed Archibald.
‘Besides, with Lady Theodora there, it’s absurd to be afraid of an incompetent like me.’
It would make more sense if she avoided me because she was afraid she might lose control and kill me.
But in Minerva’s current situation, she can’t kill him, so there was only one possibility left.
‘Minerva has something she wants to hide right now.’
Five years ago, even though it was clearly a trap to anyone who saw it, Minerva didn’t fight back at all.
She just accepted the confinement.
But now she says she’ll receive the Emperor’s protection.
Archibald looked up at the inn Minerva had entered with a meaningful gaze.
A curious smile appeared on his lips at that moment.
“Shall we take a look?”
“Ugh…!”
Just as a large shadow seemed to speak to him, Archibald reflexively turned his head and felt a dull pain in the back of his head.
Archibald collapsed without even being able to scream, his eyes rolling back.
The pair of large men confirmed that he was completely unconscious and exchanged looks.
Soon after, Archibald was picked up by them and moved somewhere.
