/
His arms were as stiff as shackles entangling sinners and slaves.
“I…”
Lelia turned slightly to protest, thinking this was not right.
But when she turned her head, Oscar’s face was just around the corner, so she had to look straight again.
“Oscar… I can’t hold the reins properly.”
No sooner had Lelia finished the sentence that Oscar overlapped his hands on the reins.
Her hands were completely hidden, covered in his large hands.
Lelia frowned at the sight.
[I was the captain…]
[When did your hands get so big? They were definitely small.]
In the midst of this, she somehow pushed against Oscar, who was clinging to her back, as her pride stung.
Even though he would ride the horse with her, he didn’t have to cling like this.
Oscar clung to her body as if he were a man obsessed with her body temperature.
Lelia flinched as she tried to find a more comfortable position, but it was very difficult as she had something directly behind her back.
Something felt like it had come out of her pocket and had moved, so she brought her hand back, but as soon as she took it, Oscar grabbed her by the wrist.
“It’s kind of hard not to touch in this situation. As I said, even if you’re a man, I don’t mind.”
“……?”
Lelia grabbed the reins again when Oscar let go of her wrist.
Lelia, who had been absent-minded for a moment, belatedly understood what Oscar meant.
And what she touched.
(PR/N: OH MY.)
[……!!!]
She felt dizzy from shock. It seemed like a bell rang in her head to signal an emergency.
Suddenly, Oscar as a child passed through her mind.
[That cute, nice boy…]
As she had felt before, Lelia felt strange every time she realized that her childhood friends had become ‘adult men.’
When Lelia was silent, Oscar asked in a slightly anxious voice.
“What aren’t you a man?”
His voice sounded a bit angry. Lelia was perplexed.
Oscar noticed that Lelia was Leo, but he didn’t seem to know that she was a woman.
Thanks to Kalix. She didn’t know if she should say this was a relief…
She was afraid of what Oscar would look like if he found out he was fooled again later.
“Oh, no… I mean… It’s too…”
As Lelia evaded answering, Oscar understood in a different direction.
“Oh, is that why you’re surprised? Why are you so surprised? I heard you have one this big too from Kalix.”
“……”
“Do you want me to come back after you figure it out? I don’t think it’ll only happen once or twice.”
“Oh, no.”
Lelia answered quickly and grabbed a bundle tied to the horse and put it on her back.
It was better because it contained extra clothes. Of course, it didn’t work.
Oscar was dumbfounded by the action, but didn’t point it out.
Lelia bit her lips and began to drive the horse.
The horse, which picked up the two, ran through the meadow and into the forest.
***
Auraria Capital City, Imperial Palace.
Ruth paced in the garden of his residence with a sullen look. He was unhappy to hear that Sir Raymond had left the capital.
It was in his mind that he had given him a gift to thank him and then took it back.
‘Did he leave early because he was angry about it?’
He was filled with regret at the thought.
But he couldn’t help it because it was at the request of Princess Julianna.
‘But yet, you left like that without saying a word.’
He thought they built a deep friendship, but it was disappointing.
He wanted to be friends with him for a long time and be like brothers.
In fact, Ruth didn’t have many close friends.
So when he saw Romeo and his friends, he envied them.
Sir Raymond was also close to them, but Ruth believed he was closer.
Because of that, he felt disappointed and upset.
He was seriously thinking about this, but suddenly a servant approached him.
“Well, Sir Ruth. Princess Julianna is looking for you.”
“… I see.”
Ruth fixed his clothes in front of a mirror and headed to the house of Princess Julianna with a throbbing heart.
Recently, he got very close to Princess Julianna.
It was even better after Sir Raymond gave back the holy relic and he gave it to Princess Julianna.
Julianna now smiled broadly whenever she saw him, and the two were slowly discussing revealing the relationship to the Emperor and Empress first.
Ruth went in, imagining the face of Princess Julianna with a big smile.
But what welcomed Ruth was the face of an angry Princess Julianna.
“Sir Ruth! This relic is fake!”
“What?”
At the sudden remark, Ruth only blinked.
Princess Julinna explained as if she too was astonished.
“I heard that a priest from the neutral zone came to visit the Emperor today, so I went to ask him. But the priest said it was fake!”
“Well, that can’t be true…”
Ruth hurriedly took the holy relic from Julianna and examined it closely.
It was exactly what he had before undoubtedly.
“Even the priest said he had never seen such an elaborate replica. At this level, he also said that it was proof that there was an alchemist with really good skills.”
“But this is what I’ve always carried with me! It made my wish come true when I was young. It can’t be fake…”
“Did Sir Raymond replace it?”
“……!!!”
“It’s worth a fortune, Sir Ruth! There must be a lot of people out there trying to buy it for a fortune.”
“Huh, but…”
“I heard Sir Ruth tell that to him, too. It’s really important.”
“…”
“Let’s accuse him together!”
“Accuse?”
“If it was replicated and given to Sir Ruth in such a short time, there might be an alchemist of great ability in this capital. We have to investigate.”
“But, Princess…”
“This is a matter of concern to the security of the empire. An alchemist of that ability could pose a threat!”
“…….”
Julianna’s words were never wrong.
If it’s really a fake, it’s true that there is a great alchemist.
After the war, the temple was again preoccupied with finding the alchemists.
The new official’s visit today was to demand cooperation from the Empire.
‘What’s the probability that it was fake in the first place?’
Ruth struggled, but there was no possibility.
This holy object surely gave off a divine light and made his wish come true.
Besides, it had never been removed from his body since then.
No one knew that Ruth had this, so there was no way someone could have taken it away.
If it was replaced by a fake, it was Sir Raymond for sure.
Ruth couldn’t believe the fact.
“Sir Raymond wouldn’t do this. He couldn’t betray me…”
“Sir Ruth, get your act together! I’ve been telling you all along. He’s a shameless man in a gentleman’s mask.”
“……”
“The priest said that he would thoroughly investigate the capital of Auraria for this relic. My father did not like it.”
Ruth’s expression sank and darkened at her words. He couldn’t believe he was going to be hated by the Emperor.
“Not only that, the temple may lay all the blame on Sir Ruth.”
“But I…”
“I’m sorry, I wouldn’t have done it if I knew it was fake. I just wanted to go to the neutral area to donate it if it was a sacred object.”
“……”
“If the temple greatly appreciated Sir Ruth, my father would be fond of you too. That’s why.” Julianna looked sad as if she were upset about what had happened. Ruth comforted her.
‘Yes, Princess Julianna is right.’
It was better to accuse Sir Raymond of betraying him before he was falsely accused.
But he still couldn’t believe it.
He never thought Sir Raymond would do such a thing since he helped him with his work.
‘He knew about the existence of the holy relic in the first place, and he was being nice to me purposefully?’
The thought gave him goosebumps.
“And I heard he left the city in a hurry. Maybe it’s because he was afraid that you would find out that it’s a replica!”
Ruth closed his eyes tightly to Julianna’s guess.
Yeah, it was obvious. Otherwise, he wouldn’t leave in such a hurry…
“Also, Prince Romeo and his friends left the city today.”
“You mean them, too?”
“Maybe they are on the same team. Isn’t that too suspicious? That can be the only reason they are leaving all of a sudden.”
Julianna was right. Ruth was firmly determined.
“… I’ll report them right away, as the Princess said.”
***
It wasn’t even dinner time yet, but the sky was dark.
It was around the time when they entered the vast forest through the meadow that suddenly, the sky got dark and it poured down.
She ignored it because she thought it was a light shower, but the rain got stronger.
The black sky and raindrops seen through the leaves were unusual.
“We’ll have to avoid this until it stops raining.”
Oscar did not reply to Lelia’s words.
After wandering for a long time, the two found an old house that appeared to be a woodlander’s cabin.
After putting the horse in a small stable, they went inside.
Perhaps it had been a long time since it was used, but it was cold inside.
Lelia approached the old fireplace and sat down.
She needed to start a fire…
Since there was no firewood, she couldn’t make a fire without using alchemy items.
Lelia turned her head to glance at Oscar, and immediately looked straight ahead again.
Oscar took off his top, squeezing out the water.
The sound of water dripping to the floor sounded like an arrow hitting her heart.