The Warmth Hidden in Blunt Words
The sun's morning rays stretched long across the office desk in the mountain stronghold's main building, illuminating a thick stack of documents. Normally, Veronica would have been wielding her quill, meticulously tracking the flow of gold coins. But today, her eyes wandered aimlessly through the air. More precisely, they lingered on that incident from yesterday evening in the dining hall.
"A machine, he says..." Veronica murmured, pressing her hands to her flushed cheeks. The numbers in the ledger before her began transforming, one by one, into slices of meat dripping with vibrant red juices. It was the meat Rodin had tossed her so casually, as if it were the most bothersome thing in the world.
'It's a pain when the money-making machine breaks down.' His voice had been cold, devoid of any emotion—like dry, barren soil. Yet why did that strange warmth buried within his gruff words keep tickling at a corner of her heart?
"He's truly a man with not even a speck of mood. Treating a princess like me as some kind of machine." She grumbled aloud, but a smile kept twitching at the corners of Veronica's lips. Such a thing would have been unimaginable in the imperial palace. Meals there had always been a tense ordeal, constantly on guard against poison, and no one had ever shown her the courtesy of saying something like 'eat well.'
"But why does my face keep burning up like this? This is... yes, it must be because the morning sunlight is too warm. Absolutely, that's it." Veronica fanned herself vigorously, trying to clear her mind. But the tender texture of that meat still lingered on her tongue. It hadn't been mere meat. It felt like a silent declaration that he would treat her as the most precious person in this mountain stronghold.
"No, get a hold of yourself, Veronica! He only needs my administrative skills. You mustn't fall for sweet emotions like love." She gripped her quill with a deliberately solemn expression. But when she noticed that she had unconsciously written 'more meat next time' next to the 'expenses' column in the ledger, she slammed the document shut in horror.
The afternoon sun blazed over the cabbage field as if it would scorch the earth itself. Far in the middle of the field, Rodin was swinging his pickaxe.
Clang!Kwaaang!
The destructive sounds were far too intense for mere weed removal. Every swing of his pickaxe sent faint tremors through the ground, and the clumps of dirt that flew out sliced through the air like shrapnel from a cannon.
Veronica swallowed hard and approached with a cool pitcher of tea.
"R-Rodin, sir. Why don't you take a short break?"
Rodin paused his movements and turned his head. Sweat droplets slid down his solid muscles under the scorching sun. Veronica's gaze kept drifting downward at the overwhelming physique visible through his shirt.
"Water? Yeah, hand it over."
Rodin gulped down the water bottle in one go. As his Adam's apple bobbed dramatically, Veronica unconsciously swallowed dryly.
After finishing the water, Rodin suddenly reached toward her face.
"Hey. What's this on your head? Got a cabbage worm stuck on you or something?"
"What? Oh, where? Ah!"
His rough knuckles brushed past Veronica's cheek. Every spot touched by that scorching heat sent electric jolts through her entire body. At the tip of Rodin's large finger hung a single small leaf.
"You're so clumsy. If you're coming out to the field, at least tie your hair properly. What a bother."
Rodin spat the words and flicked the leaf away. The leaf he flicked whistled through the air and embedded itself into a distant rock.
Veronica was more captivated by the touch of his hand on her hair than by that overwhelming display of power.
"Th-thank you... I was a bit distracted for a moment..."
"Why's your face so red? Heatstroke? Don't go all wobbly—go sit in the shade over there."
There was a hint of concern mixed into Rodin's indifferent tone. At least, that's how it sounded to Veronica's ears.
"Heatstroke... that's right! The sunlight is just too strong! There's absolutely no other reason!"
She practically shouted the reply and fled toward the shade like she was running for her life. From behind came Rodin's muttered "Is she crazy?" but to Veronica right now, it sounded sweeter than any whisper of love.
Late afternoon, when the heat had subsided a little. Two ominous shadows fell over Veronica as she cooled off beneath a tree in the stronghold's courtyard. They were Dagan and Gil, the mountain stronghold's resident mood-makers and masters of loose lips.
"Oho, Sister-in-law! I mean, Chief Administrator! Your face looks just like a perfectly ripened apple?" Dagan said with a sly grin.
Gil, standing beside him, crossed his arms and nodded, taking it even further. "We saw everything earlier. The boss stroking the Chief Administrator's hair! Wow, with those rough hands being so delicate..."
"H-he wasn't stroking it! He was just removing a foreign object! Watch your words with proper respect!"
Veronica jumped in protest, but the two men's eyes were already filled with certainty.
"Aww~ You know what kind of man our boss is. If it was just a bug, he'd have blown it away with his pickaxe. The fact that he used his hand directly? That's love, I tell you, love!"
"Exactly! In the boss's life, you're the first woman to come in besides cabbages, Sister-in-law! I saw the smile spreading across his face when he was drinking that water. It was dripping with honey, I swear!"
"Really... does it look that way? Rodin, sir... sees me as special?"
Veronica's rebuttals grew noticeably weaker. As her eyes began to waver, the two bandits grew even more excited and kept fanning the flames.
"Of course! The boss hates anything bothersome with a passion, yet he takes care of you like it's his own business, doesn't he? This is 100% certain. We'll vouch for it!"
Veronica lowered her head, her cheeks burning. The single phrase 'special' made her heart pound violently.
Evening in the mountain stronghold's office. The peaceful atmosphere froze solid in an instant because of a single letter placed on the desk. It was an invitation from the nearby lord, Count Valder.
The pretext was a social party, but the reality was a blatant threat to secure Veronica's person.
"Rodin, sir, that man is after me. If I go and persuade him properly, we should be able to continue our business."
Veronica suggested it cautiously, worried that the stronghold might suffer any damage. But Rodin's reaction was completely unexpected. He crumpled the invitation as if he would tear it apart and growled in a low voice.
"Are you an idiot? You're going to walk into their den on your own two feet?"
A cold gleam shone in Rodin's eyes. The overwhelming pressure radiating across the desk left Veronica breathless.
"But there's no other way if we want to protect this place. I don't want your precious cabbage field to be ruined..."
"I'll protect the cabbage field. You just stay by my side."
Rodin cut her off bluntly yet firmly. Veronica's heart began to race fiercely once again.
"Rodin, sir..."
"If you leave, who's going to handle the ledgers? Who's going to take care of my meat dishes? Without my permission, you can't take a single step outside the stronghold entrance."
He shook his head as if it were bothersome and added, "Don't make things bothersome by worrying me. Just think about tomorrow's menu. Got it?"
It was an order, but to Veronica, it was a solid promise of protection stronger than any knight's oath. A man who wanted to protect her. For the first time, she felt an intense sense of belonging, and her eyes grew moist.
Deep in the night at the mountain stronghold. When everyone was asleep, rough breathing and groans echoed from beyond the wall of Veronica's bedroom. As if accustomed to it, she rose from her bed and headed to Rodin's room.
"...No. Don't go... Damn it."
Rodin was suffering from a nightmare. The face of the Mercenary King who once commanded the continent was gone; only a man trembling like a wounded beast remained.
Veronica carefully sat beside him and wiped the sweat from his brow.
"It's alright, Rodin, sir. This is the mountain stronghold. It's the peaceful home you built."
Then, in his sleep, Rodin grabbed her hand tightly. The crushing grip brought pain, but she didn't pull away. Instead, she held his hand and felt a deep compassion.
This man is so strong on the outside, yet he's hurting so much inside.
She thought how strangely similar they were—she who had been abandoned by the imperial palace, and this man who had lost his comrades on the battlefield and hidden himself away.
I want to protect him. I don't need the imperial palace's power or gold coins. I just want this man to be able to smile every morning as he looks at his cabbages.
Veronica was certain. This wasn't some simple survival instinct.
If this isn't... love, then what on earth is it?
She gently kissed the back of the sleeping Rodin's hand. In the darkness, her eyes flickered with a resolute light.
A faint bluish dawn began to break outside the window. After staying by Rodin's side all night, Veronica's eyes held a vitality completely different from before. This place was no longer a refuge for her. It was an empire she had to protect at all costs—one where the man who was her everything resided.
"Now I understand clearly. I won't let anyone take you away from me."
Veronica murmured softly. In the gaze she fixed on Rodin, there was a possessiveness that went beyond mere affection.
Whether it's Count Valder or the Empress of the Empire... anyone who tries to interfere with us, I'll crush them all.
She slowly rose and walked to the desk where the ledgers lay. She was no longer simply the administrator who balanced numbers. It was time to become the architect who would eliminate every obstacle blocking Rodin's path.
Rodin, sir, you just focus on planting your cabbages. As for getting your hands dirty... no, I'll handle everything using you.
At the sound of Rodin stirring awake, Veronica quickly smoothed her expression, took his hand again, and closed her eyes, pretending to sleep. A very faint, chilling smile hung at the corners of her lips.
