Chapter 185: Amelia Claris Orsia (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 185: Amelia Claris Orsia (3)
Sometimes, a statement that shatters all expectations and common sense is the best way to fluster someone.
‘...What did that woman just say?’
That was exactly my situation right now.
“Th-that's not what I meant!”
Sensing my gaze, Amelia shot up from her seat.
Her eyes, which had looked so desperate just moments ago, were now trembling as if an earthquake had struck.
Stammering, Amelia tried desperately to take back what she’d said.
“I-It's not what you're thinking, Sir Hyun-woo! I was merely offering compensation... Ah! An engagement! As a reward for escorting me safely to my destination, how about we get engaged with the promise of marriage?”
Watching Amelia ramble so incoherently, the word ‘desperate’ seemed to fit her perfectly. I almost let out a hollow laugh.
“...Isn't that the same thing?”
I couldn't believe it, but this woman was offering herself as a bargaining chip.
It wasn't the kind of proposal one would expect from the princess of a duchy.
I thought that being a princess, she'd be more like Cheon Yeo-hwa or Sylvia, but now I see she's the very picture of a sheltered noble lady who knows nothing of the world.
‘Then again, even Sylvia...’
She's usually fine, but her personality turns rather prickly whenever there are other people, especially men, around.
Her expression sours, too.
The last time some men stared at her with lecherous eyes, their eyeballs were gouged out. I was planning to do it myself, but Sylvia's incredible reaction speed beat me to it.
After that, Sylvia never went outside without her hood on.
‘This doesn't make sense. She didn't seem thoughtless enough to offer herself up, talking about engagement and all that.’
After all, being ignorant of the world and making rash statements are two different things.
It seems my telling her we would part ways early tomorrow morning was the cause of this.
From Amelia's perspective, she must have felt she was running out of time, which made her anxious.
“Hoo... An engagement with some random adventurer who could have crawled out of a ditch for all you know. Are you sure about that?”
I knew she was the princess of a duchy, but she knew nothing about me.
At best, that I was a knight capable of producing Sword Qi.
Of course, for a penniless girl like her, there was no better escort to get her back to her duchy safely. But for the princess of a duchy to offer an engagement as a reward to a mere knight—who, by this world's standards, is treated as a quasi-noble at best?
Even unfair trades have their limits.
“Since you seem to be a noble, allow me to say this: you shouldn't make such promises lightly. If you don't have any money on you, you can use your family name as collateral at the Adventurer's Guild. You should be able to hire an adventurer without a down payment.”
“...I can't do that.”
Seeing her stubbornness, I had no choice but to change my approach.
At this rate, we would just talk past each other.
“I'll be blunt, Your Highness.”
At the title, Amelia’s eyes widened in surprise as she stared at me.
“I don't have the luxury of escorting you to the duchy.”
“...So you knew.”
Amelia quietly swept her hair back.
The grayish-blue hair and blue eyes must have been the trademark features of the Orsia Grand Ducal family.
‘If she had pressed me on how I knew, I was just going to make something up.’
I guess it's true that a man should just go for it and worry about the consequences later.
“I need to get to the Santala Kingdom as quickly as possible, so I can't travel with a princess the Orsian rebels are hunting for with bloodshot eyes. Forget crossing the border; a pursuit team of knights will be on our tail.”
If the border guards were cooperating with the rebels, crossing would be even more difficult.
“So, you should hire a high-ranking adventurer from the guild...”
“What if!”
“?”
Thump. Amelia suddenly shot up from her seat.
I glanced over and saw a bright smile on her lips.
She looked like a negotiator who had just found a solution.
“What if I have a way to cross the Sutra Desert quickly?”
Amelia's blue eyes were shining with the same intelligence as when I first met her in the alley.
*
The next morning.
Retainers from noble families came to see me first thing in the morning.
“Sir Knight! If you join our family, we guarantee you wealth and honor!”
“Hmph! Are you trying to buy the knight's honor with mere riches? Sir Knight! We will offer you our family's treasured sword, passed down for generations, and our secret mana cultivation method!”
“Sir Knight, what about marriage?! Our family's Miss Celly is a beauty so great that there is no one in this area who doesn't know of her! And what's more, she is only fifteen this year!”
The men gathered in the room were shouting over each other, spitting everywhere. It was a madhouse.
Worst of all, there was an assassin mixed in among them.
‘Fifteen? That bastard is trying to turn me into a child predator.’
It was annoying, but I couldn't treat the nobles' representatives rudely.
I managed to coax and placate them before sending them away.
There was one guy who kept whining until the end, but a little leak of killing intent sent him scrambling away.
With that business more or less settled, we boarded a carriage to head to the Partal County.
With a lurch, the carriage set off down the main road. We passed through the city gates in an instant.
After a brief glance out the window, I turned my head toward the corner of the carriage.
Sylvia was there, staring out the other side with a sullen expression.
“What's wrong?”
I moved to sit next to her.
The moment I spoke, Sylvia shot me a murderous glare.
“...Why did that woman join us?”
“Amelia?”
Sylvia's gaze was fixed on where Amelia was sitting.
She was chatting happily with Iris. They both looked like they were having fun.
“She's clearly a noble, and a woman with complicated circumstances at that. Are you out of your mind, letting someone like her travel with us when we're in such a hurry?”
“Oh, is that all?”
Early yesterday morning, after discussing it with Iris, I decided to travel with Amelia.
Her proposal was just that appealing.
Of course, I had tried to discuss it with Sylvia, but she was still avoiding me even at dawn, so I had no choice.
“You don't really think I let her join without any thought, do you?”
“Who knows? You have a weakness for pretty women.”
Sharp.
“That's why I have such a weakness for you.”
“?!”
Smack! The moment I tried to take her hand as usual, Sylvia slapped it away.
She hadn't refused to hold my hand recently, so I was wondering if she was just in a bad mood when...
“...?”
I glanced over and saw Sylvia's face was beet red, as if it were about to explode.
More than anything, her eyes, trembling like there was an earthquake, showed just how flustered she was.
Our eyes met, and Sylvia's lips parted and closed several times before she finally turned her head away.
Usually, she would have scolded me for saying something so vulgar.
‘What's this?’
Seeing Sylvia react in a way I never had before made me feel awkward as well.
I changed the subject to clear the air.
“She said she can shorten the time it takes to cross the Sutra Desert.”
“...What?”
The Sutra Desert.
It was the most difficult obstacle on our journey.
The border? If it came down to it, I could just force my way through.
A pursuit team? If they sent anyone too strong, I could just go to another world, get stronger, and come back to kill them.
But for the Sutra Desert, I couldn't think of a good solution.
Its vast, subtropical climate, the powerful monsters that preyed on travelers, and the curse that lay over the entire desert.
According to what the butler told me last time, it was considered a great barrier dividing the southern part of the continent until the founding king of Santala established the sea trade routes.
‘But the sea route takes way too much time to be a viable option.’
At a rough estimate, it would take at least three months. If we missed the trade ship, it could take close to a year.
We weren't on a cruise vacation; we couldn't afford to invest that much time.
In the end, crossing the desert was our only real option.
“Proof?”
“There is none.”
“...Are you insane?”
“Hey now!”
Squeeze! I grabbed a handful of the cheeky Sylvia's ass, which was getting more and more out of line.
“Eek?!”
Sylvia let out a sharp shriek.
Iris and Amelia's gazes focused on her.
“Sylvia? Is something wrong?”
“N-nothing's wrong.”
Sylvia sat back down as if nothing had happened.
Of course, my hand was still gripping her butt. I caressed and kneaded her firm ass as if I were touching a breast.
“You've been getting pretty uppity lately, haven't you?”
“You bastard...”
Sylvia glared at me, her eyes full of killing intent.
“Are you sure about that? I have a recording of you acting all cute that one time.”
“...A recording?”
As I mentioned her embarrassing past, the color drained from Sylvia's face.
She might not have known what a ‘recording’ was, but it was enough information to make her anxious.
I showed her my phone.
“A recording is when you save a scene or movement exactly as it's happening. You can take it out and watch it again later. And this is a kind of magic tool that lets you do that.”
As she listened to my explanation, Sylvia's expression changed by the second.
Her face grew paler and paler, until finally, her hands began to tremble in horror.
“Let's play nice before I show this recording to everyone, shall we?”
“...”
“Your answer?”
“...Yes.”
Deciding this was the time to back down, Sylvia finally lowered her head.
But I had no intention of stopping there.
“That's not right. Strictly speaking, we're talking privately, so shouldn't your title for me change too?”
Hearing this, Sylvia bit her lip.
Her face, flushed bright red, was too vivid to hide.
“...D-darling.”
Satisfied by the shy word that finally slipped past her lips, I gave her ass a couple of pats.
While Sylvia looked like she was about to die of embarrassment, a smile spread across my face.
It was a long way to the Santala Kingdom, but at least I knew I wouldn't be bored.