A Bed for the Maid
The Duke clicked his tongue in open disapproval.
“If your sense of space is this bad, how the hell am I supposed to trust you with march formations and column alignment? If we ever run into cliffs on both sides, the entire wing will plunge to their deaths.”
“That… that won’t happen, Your Grace. It won’t come to that.”
“Won’t? Why wouldn’t it?”
Nyx pinched Louis’s temple with enough force to suggest he was about to jab a finger into the man’s eye for talking back.
“In my opinion, we should widen those tiny eyes of yours a little more so you can actually see. What do you think? Hm?”
“Ow, ow, that hurts…!”
The Duke had been harassing his subordinate with his usual lack of refinement when he suddenly became aware of Tichite’s presence. She was still curled up inside the jar like a trapped fairy, looking miserably cramped.
Setting aside how childish and nasty he must have appeared, the first priority was to get her out of there.
The woman looked up at Nyx with a face streaked by dried tears. The man flinched and averted his gaze. Then, as if that had been his intention from the start, he casually scanned their surroundings.
In that moment, he began considering where to let her sleep tonight and where to put her tomorrow. The camp was crawling with untrustworthy bastards, and she looked so fragile that a mere brush against her collar might knock her over. His shaggy subordinates seemed especially suspicious and lecherous today.
Nyx grew anxious.
“C-come out.”
It didn’t seem to occur to him that she had legs and could walk out on her own. He rubbed his gloved hands roughly against his thighs as if to clean them, then lifted her bodily. He slid both hands under her armpits like someone capturing a newborn kitten, then stretched his arms straight forward so she wouldn’t touch his body. Tichite dangled humiliatingly in midair as he carried her.
Her dress hung straight down from her waist to her ankles like the pelt of a limp marten, or perhaps like a man hauling a dripping wet rag while trying not to get dirty. Either way, it was an utterly ridiculous sight to anyone watching.
The only saving grace was that there weren’t many witnesses.
Nyx carried Tichite to the nearest suitable spot. Compared to the rest of the campsite, this area was remarkably quiet and secluded. It almost looked like a space reserved for special treatment. The place in question was none other than Desidero’s carriage.
“What is this?”
“There’s nowhere else to put her to sleep.”
Unlike the supply wagons trailing behind, the lead carriage appeared designed to carry people. It was incomparably spacious, comfortable, and even lined with thick, plush blankets.
Nyx carefully lowered Tichite into it, as if gently pressing dough into a bread mold.
“And?”
The young man asked in disbelief.
“Let her sleep here tonight.”
At those words, even Tichite’s eyes widened in shock.
Desidero stared at the sweat-soaked, filthy Tichite. His expression suggested someone had just dumped a piglet fresh from rolling in the mud onto his bed.
“Have you lost your mind? Why should I?”
Watching his brother recoil in disgust, Nyx spoke in a coaxing tone, as if urging him to be reasonable.
“We can’t make a girl sleep on the bare ground. I’ll sleep outside instead. The place is crawling with men. How could she possibly sleep soundly when she’s terrified?”
“…Would you please, for the love of God, refrain from calling her ‘girl’ right in front of her?”
When Desidero pointed it out, the Duke of Farrow smacked his lips in embarrassment and tried to scrape the crude habit from the roof of his mouth.
He knew that knight and gentleman were not synonymous, but apparently not every noble spoke like a gentleman either.
“Where are you planning to sleep, brother?”
“I’ll sleep outside.”
“So you want the two of us to sleep alone in here?”
Desidero looked utterly appalled.
The Duke pondered for about three seconds, as though he genuinely hadn’t considered that angle. But he soon offered a clear solution.
“No, you’ll have to come out too.”
“What? No!”
The Duke’s target had now shifted to Desidero. Just as he had done with Tichite, he hoisted the young man up. Since there was no discomfort in touching his own brother, he pulled him into a tight embrace.
“Never mind. I changed my mind. I’ll sleep with her here. Come to think of it, there’s plenty of room and it should be fine. Do you want to stay here too, brother?”
Desidero had no legs to kick with. He wrapped his arms around Nyx’s neck and looked down at the distant ground from his elevated position.
Sleeping on the bare earth might actually be worse than sharing a bed with a dirty commoner girl. However, the idea of a young man and woman sharing sleeping quarters was something that could never happen in Nyx Farrow’s world.
“Ridiculous.”
“Don’t you trust me? What could I possibly do to her? If there’s any man in this world safer than me, it’s myself. As you know, I’m a cripple. My full name is Impotent, and people also call me Eunuch.”
Desidero continued his fierce verbal resistance, but it was futile thrashing. The Duke carried out the separation with firm resolve.
“Shut up. I’ll give you a blanket, so sleep on the floor.”
“That one’s too thin. No, give me that one instead.”
Supporting his brother’s backside with one arm, the Duke rummaged through the stack of bedding with the other. He pulled out the item Desidero had chosen and flung it open onto the floor.
After tossing his own bedding down as well, the Duke kindly closed the carriage door. Everything happened in the blink of an eye. When Tichite came to her senses, she was alone inside the carriage. She was still sniffling with her wet nose. She swallowed hard past her tight throat and looked around.
The interior of the large carriage felt like a mansion by comparison. At least when measured against the supply wagon where she had spent the entire day curled up and enduring.
She didn’t know where the other knights would sleep, but there was no doubt this was the most comfortable spot in the entire campsite.
‘He gave a space like this… to me.’
Tichite thought with complicated feelings.
‘Why? Because I’m a woman? Is that the only reason?’
Tichite tugged at the blanket that barely covered her toes. She carefully pulled it over her knees, then drew it all the way up to her chest.
Her kind master had even vacated his spot so she could rest deeply, yet sleep was the last thing on her mind. She couldn’t even bring herself to lie down.
She remembered Kanne saying that the Duke hated women terribly. She also clearly recalled how he had made a fuss about refusing to let a female doctor touch him.
The Duke of Farrow certainly said a lot of things about women. But when she considered all his actions today, it felt less like he hated women and more like he was showing them favoritism.
He had punished the pimp who struck a woman and arranged a comfortable place for her to sleep so she wouldn’t be inconvenienced. In short, he seemed to view women as weak beings who needed protection and was determined to keep them safe.
‘I’m grateful, but…’
It was only natural to feel thankful when someone took care of you.
But if that kindness was offered simply because she was a woman…
She couldn’t accept it with pure joy. Every woman knew the unpleasant aftertaste that came with such favors.
Tichite knew all too well how men who saw women as weak—and therefore beneath them—looked down on and disregarded her. She also knew how they would suddenly turn resentful when a young woman failed to meet their expectations of femininity.
‘Get a grip, Tichite. Don’t like men too much. Don’t trust them either. The bigger the trust, the bigger the disappointment…’
But that was easier said than done.
Tichite trusted men who approached her with kindness far too easily. She fell for them quickly and grew dependent just as fast. She had been forced to harden herself because of Nirgi, but at her core she was still a fragile, spoiled girl who shrank from violence.
‘Still… His Grace might be… just a tiny bit of a decent man…’
Although there was plenty of space inside the carriage, Tichite lay down hugging the corner. For some reason, it felt safer that way. The moment her body sank into the soft bedding, a sweet sigh escaped her lips.
‘He’s tall… and strong…’
And she liked his voice too. It was low and deep, the kind of voice that made her curious about the face behind the mask.
Outside the carriage, the two brothers were still bickering noisily. The chirping of insects flickered between their voices like twinkling stars.
A faint smile bloomed on Tichite’s lips. It seemed she might finally be able to fall asleep.