Chapter 13
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: How the Young Lord's First Love Became a Married Woman lol
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Kairun gripped the terrace railing and leaned forward, his eyes trembling.
The only splash of color in the gray streets.
A woman.
The people beside her entered his view next.
"...Huh?"
Kairun furrowed his brow.
A middle-aged gentleman leading the way in front of the woman.
He looked familiar.
A neat gray suit.
Stern-looking but elegant silver-rimmed glasses.
"Isn't that... the Eisen Baron?"
The vassal who oversaw the administration of the Northguard Grand Duchy, and his father's former right-hand man.
He was also the one who had planted the seed of "Northern Romance" in young Kairun's heart.
"Young master, beyond that wall live warriors like monsters that the empire's people couldn't even imagine."
In his childhood, after finishing reports, the Eisen Baron would often sit young Kairun on his knee and tell stories of the borderlands.
Especially the one he praised endlessly: Gorgon, chieftain of the Winter Claw Tribe.
"That man Gorgon? Haha, I can say with certainty that no knight in the empire could defeat him."
"No way, that's a lie. My dad's knight commander is the strongest."
"No, no. His power, which even wild frost bears fear... it's on a different level. If he had just a bit more ambition, he might have become the Khan, king of the legendary barbarians, threatening the continent by now."
Warriors so highly praised by the stern Eisen Baron, famous for never flattering.
Those stories ignited a fire in young Kairun's chest and became the decisive reason he insisted on inspecting this remote borderland before entering the academy.
"Father did say the Eisen Baron had recently stepped back from the front lines..."
For such a heavyweight—the very mentor who had stirred his romantic dreams—to be personally guiding her.
Calculations raced through Kairun's mind.
"If the Eisen Baron is escorting her so deferentially... a hidden relative of the Eisen family? Or a noble lady from the capital?"
Either way, it didn't matter.
What was important was that she was likely a noble of solid standing.
Approaching her wouldn't be a problem for him.
But.
"What's that guy behind her?"
Kairun's gaze shifted to the hulking man walking right beside the woman.
A beast-like bulk shrouded in a drab, sackcloth hood.
"Just a big dumb bodyguard, I guess."
But his attitude was grating.
Not content with walking abreast of his lady superior, he kept leaning in to whisper in her ear.
To Kairun's eyes, it didn't look like lovers flirting—it looked like a clueless servant reporting to his master.
"An ignorant brute who doesn't know manners. How dare he bring his mouth to a lady's ear."
Kairun clicked his tongue.
What if he stepped in, gave that rude bodyguard a proper lesson, and rescued her?
"Kyaa! Kairun, you're so cool!"
The perfect first-encounter scenario.
"Let's go."
Kairun set down his teacup and shot to his feet.
"Follow them."
Meanwhile, our oblivious group followed the Eisen Baron down an alley.
"Baron, is the restaurant this way? It's getting... kinda creepy."
Kara glanced around warily as she asked.
We had left the flashy main street for a back alley lined with rundown taverns.
The ground was spit-stained by drunks, but at least the cold weather kept the musty stench away.
"Don't worry. The best spots are always hidden."
The Eisen Baron strode ahead confidently.
He stopped in front of a shabby wooden building.
A creaky wooden sign faintly read "Shelter Between Winter and Spring."
"Here we are."
"......Here?"
Kara and I eyed the place suspiciously.
The windows were grimy with grease, and raucous laughter mixed with thick meaty aroma wafted from the entrance.
"It may not look like much, but it's the best eatery in the borderlands. Back when I was the youngest in the delegation 25 years ago, I'd soothe my weary soul with their stew after grueling work."
The Eisen Baron smacked his lips, lost in nostalgia.
"Not imperial fine dining, but rough and hearty... yes, a 'man's flavor.'"
He was so insistent, we couldn't refuse.
Besides, the smell was irresistible.
"Alright. Let's head in."
We stepped inside without hesitation.
And moments later.
Thud, thud.
Another group arrived at the restaurant entrance.
Escort knights in gleaming silver armor, and in their midst, a boy in splendid attire.
It was Kairun.
"Y-Young master!"
The knight commander panicked and blocked his path.
"This is a place for common soldiers and mercenaries! The hygiene is unverified, and for someone of your station to enter such a dive..."
The knight commander was right.
This was where border guards and mercenaries filled their bellies cheaply—not a spot for the grand duke's heir.
But Kairun's stubbornness couldn't be swayed.
"Quiet."
Kairun's eyes gleamed as he spoke.
"A true commander must understand his soldiers' joys and sorrows. I'll experience firsthand what they eat and talk about."
"B-But..."
"Step aside. That's an order."
'I couldn't care less about that.'
Only one thought filled his mind.
To see that "blue-eyed Valkyrie" who'd just entered up close.
Coming to a dump like this proved she valued substance over flash—bold and straightforward.
Perfectly matching his ideal type.
Creeeak—
Kairun brushed off his retainers' pleas and boldly...
hesitated slightly at the greasy door handle before pushing open the worn restaurant door.
The inside was rowdy.
"Two more beers over here!"
"Those new recruits this time? Total pushovers..."
Rough soldiers sat around battered wooden tables, digging into stew and beer.
Thick with tobacco smoke, curses and laughter mingling—a classic soldiers' respite.
"Auntie! Three special stews, a whole roast, and... barley tea!"
The Eisen Baron ordered familiarly.
He glanced at Kara and swapped beer for cooled barley tea.
His usual prim noble speech was gone, replaced by a thick local drawl.
But I couldn't just relax.
"Um, Baron. The tobacco smell here's pretty strong..."
As I subtly pointed it out, the Eisen Baron flinched and looked around.
Clouds of cigarette haze.
Only then did he realize his mistake, paling as he bowed his head.
"My apologies, Barg. I lost myself there."
He fidgeted, glancing at Kara.
"I got lost in memories and forgot the most important thing. Even if early-term, with Miss Kara expecting... to bring her to a smoky place like this... We should leave at once."
"No, it's fine."
Kara waved it off, but the Eisen Baron's self-reproach continued.
Clearly, after retiring from the front lines, he'd taken it upon himself to personally sponsor our trip as a nostalgia tour.
This being his first posting, the sentiments ran deep.
Drunk on 25-year-old passion and memories, his sense of reality had dulled momentarily.
Understanding his feelings, Kara rummaged in her pouch.
"This'll do."
She pulled out a crude filter mask woven from dried herbs.
"Baba the Elder gave it to me."
"Imperial lazybones' stink is bad for the baby—wear it everywhere!"
A mask given with a touch of regional bias.
Kara tied the herbal filter over her nose and mouth.
The beak-like protrusion looked a bit comical.
But to me, her mumbling cutely behind it was just adorable.
"How's it look? Weird?"
"Nah, cute. Like a forest fairy."
"Liar."
We settled at a wide corner table.
I considered doffing the borrowed hood but decided against it.
Already drawing stares for my size—baring my torso would give me indigestion.
I pulled the hood up just to my jaw and sipped water.
That was when.
Ding-a-ling—!
The door opened, and an incongruous air flowed in.
"......?"
The boisterous restaurant fell silent as if doused with cold water.
Soldiers' gazes locked on the entrance.
There stood beings utterly out of place.
Elite knights in shining armor.
And entering under their guard: a black-haired boy in the finest velvet coat.
Overwhelming nobility.
Anyone could tell it was someone important.
Soldiers gaped, spoons frozen midway.
I paused mid-sip too.
"...Huh?"
A familiar face.
Black hair, red eyes—just like the novel cover illustration from my past life memories.
Arrogant eyes hinting at some inner lack.
"Kairun von Northguard...? Already?"
The protagonist of the original story stood before me.
"But... he's smaller than I thought."
I observed him with interest.
The illustrated Kairun was a tall hunk over 185cm, but this one was still a growing boy.
Shorter than Kara, narrow shoulders.
"Right. In the setting, he shoots up after enrollment."
At 16, three years younger than Kara.
But that small frame held immense talent.
Early academy admission at that young age, later claiming the empire's youngest swordmaster title—a monster.
In the original, his deficiencies twisted him into a trollish mess, but his skill was real.
"Why's he here, though?"
Not the type for a dive like this.
As I puzzled, Kairun's gaze shifted.
His eyes ignored the scenery and soldiers, locking straight onto our table.
Precisely, on Kara beside me.
Blazing.
Like lasers about to shoot from the boy's eyes.
"......Ah."
I grasped the situation instantly.
That look.
The primal, instinctual gaze of a male eyeing a female.
"Destiny's still in effect, huh."
Even with the story derailed, the pull between hero and heroine remained.
Though one was now a married woman.
With fruit in her belly.
"Surprisingly, not really."
I'd expected reflexive hostility upon seeing him.
But his baby-faced youth snuffed out the rising animosity.
"Fair enough."
I'd hated him for his childish pettiness despite his size.
Pathetically cringeworthy, triggering a visceral male revulsion.
But before me now was just a green kid.
I chuckled, propping my chin.
"Go ahead, kid. Give it a shot."
That was when.
"Here, dear. Ahh~."
Kara blew on a heaping spoonful of stew and brought it to my lips.
A perfectly natural newlywed routine.
"Ahhn."
I opened wide casually and took it.
Warm, savory stew filled my mouth.
"Good?"
"Yeah. Tastes better 'cause you fed it to me."
As we exchanged syrupy glances.
Crack.
Something snapped at the entrance.
Kairun stood frozen like a statue, hand on the doorknob.
His eyes shook violently, as if struck by an earthquake.