32. A Reaction Unworthy of Stirring
The next morning was anything but refreshing.
LeoFrick’s words had lingered in my ears all night, and the rise and fall of his chest right before my eyes made me feel very uneasy.
I only managed to fall asleep around dawn, getting a few hours of rest, and woke up again when I sensed LeoFrick leaving early in the morning.
The moment I opened my eyes, I felt the weight of my eyelids sink heavily.
My body was heavy, but I had to move.
Dragging myself up, I quickly tidied the blanket.
There wasn’t much time, so I had to get ready quickly.
I needed to talk to Hailey once we got to the capital, and I had to figure out how Lloyd managed to show up in Waynes, without passing through any known village…
With the blanket in my arms, I opened the door.
“Oh? You’re already up?”
As I stepped out, Betty, who was packing up, widened her eyes in surprise.
Apparently, she hadn’t expected me to be up this early. Seeing her surprised face, I placed the bundle of blankets on the table.
“We need to leave early.”
“Still… His Highness told me to let you sleep a bit longer.”
“I’m already up. It’s fine. Where is he?”
Betty quickly finished tidying up and reached for the blanket I had placed down.
“He’s outside talking with the knights. They seem to be discussing today’s plan.”
“Really?”
Discussing today’s schedule?
All we had to do was ride quickly and get to the next town or the traveler’s inn—was there really something to discuss?
While helping Betty fold the blankets, I tilted my head.
“Is there a plan we don’t know about?”
“I don’t think so? As far as I know, the only plan is to reach the capital as soon as possible.”
She shook her head.
There had been no new messages, and nothing had happened that warranted a route change. What were they discussing, then?
With curiosity creeping in, I stepped outside.
I had only meant to quietly eavesdrop to find out what was going on—but as soon as I got close to the door, I could hear them talking.
“So, you’re saying this route isn’t ideal?”
“That’s right. Rather than heading straight, it’s better to make a slight detour through the next village.”
“But then we’ll have to camp outdoors again tomorrow.”
“If we move quickly, we should be able to reach the next town before sunset.”
As I listened intently, Betty quietly approached beside me.
“They’re going around? Why?”
She mouthed the words silently.
But if even Betty, who’d gotten up earlier, didn’t know, then I couldn’t know either.
If the one who should’ve known first didn’t, there was no way I would.
I simply shook my head lightly and turned my ear back to the conversation.
“I hope this won’t be too much strain on the two of them.”
“I’m doing my best to be mindful. As you know, both of them are excellent riders. This much should be fine—”
“I don’t think that’s your decision to make.”
No sooner had someone spoken than LeoFrick’s cold voice cut in.
As soon as he spoke, all sounds from outside stopped.
I didn’t even need to open the door to know—the knights outside had all gone silent.
It wasn’t anything serious, so why did he speak so harshly?
I clicked my tongue inwardly, when the conversation resumed.
“I misspoke. It’s just that both of them have handled the schedule so effortlessly…”
“Whether it was effortless or not is something only those two can judge. And even if it was, is that a reason for us to neglect considering their well-being?”
“You’re right. I was careless.”
It was a remark that didn’t need to be so sharp, but he clearly thought differently.
Listening to his strict tone, I felt both grateful and a bit uncomfortable.
Neither Betty nor I were so fragile as to need that much consideration.
Still, reactions to the same situation vary, and clearly Betty’s opinion differed from mine.
“Isn’t His Highness just so cool?”
Betty whispered, her face uncharacteristically excited.
I couldn’t understand what there was to be excited about, or what was “cool” in that.
I looked at her in disbelief and let out a short laugh.
Then, without replying, I focused again on the voices outside.
“If this route change was made without any consideration for them…”
“No, no, that’s not the case!”
The knight sounded panicked under LeoFrick’s still-cold tone.
And by this point, even I was getting curious.
Why the sudden route change?
And why was LeoFrick putting so much emphasis on consideration for me and Betty?
Almost like answering my question, the knight continued.
“L-Like I said, this path is… better…”
“If the only reason is that the path is better—”
“….”
“Then I’m not sure why we’d deliberately take a less efficient route.”
LeoFrick cut the knight off sharply.
Exactly. That’s what I was wondering too.
Now that the real conversation had begun, I held my breath and listened even more closely.
“T-The thing is, um…”
“So you’re suggesting an inefficient method with no justifiable reason?”
“No! There is a reason, but it’s…”
The knight kept stammering, unable to finish his sentence.
What was it, a bad dream or something?
That’s when the answer came.
“Last night, we saw Viscount Alois riding ahead of us on the road we were supposed to take.”
That one line explained everything—and might even be a very valid reason.
Lloyd Alois.
Now that I think of it, I had received a report that he’d suddenly appeared in Waynes.
Back then, I didn’t have time to think deeply about it, so I hadn’t checked how he just showed up out of nowhere.
And now, apparently, he passed us last night.
“We thought nothing good would come from crossing paths with him, so we quickly changed our route.”
Even though the knights weren’t well-versed in society’s affairs, surely they had heard of Lloyd’s scandalous past with me.
And they likely assumed I still had feelings for him.
“Forgive us if we overstepped. But we couldn’t stay silent after realizing he was headed the same way we were.”
“So you do know you overstepped.”
“…”
They must’ve made that decision out of loyalty.
Even if I was getting along fine with LeoFrick now, no one knew how I’d react if I met an old lover again.
Still—they had overstepped.
I let out a small sigh as LeoFrick’s voice turned even colder.
“I understand your intentions, but did you not consider how this might be disloyal to your master?”
“No, Your Highness! We only had your interests in mind—”
“Surely I’m not the only ‘Reinhardt’ you serve?”
His words left a deep silence in their wake.
And I agreed with him.
These knights belonged to the royal household.
More precisely, they served the House of Reinhardt.
And I, having married LeoFrick, was now also a Reinhardt.
But right now, they were acting on baseless rumors.
What they did, essentially, was demean me based on the fact that I had a past relationship before marrying LeoFrick.
They assumed that if I saw Lloyd again, I’d get swept up in old emotions.
“You seem to have forgotten even the most basic respect for the masters you serve.”
“…”
“I’ll deal with this matter when we return. It seems I’ve overestimated you all.”
His voice was icy—colder than I’d ever heard.
I could feel Betty glancing at me nervously.
She knew. If we weren’t eavesdropping, I would’ve had every right to walk out there and tell LeoFrick that I was upset.
After a while, I quietly turned around and returned to where we were packing.
“…I’m sure the knights didn’t mean any harm.”
Betty followed me and spoke cautiously, trying to gauge my mood.
I understood what she meant.
They probably thought they were being considerate, afraid that I still harbored feelings for Lloyd.
They thought it was the best way to protect me—and LeoFrick.
But all of that only holds true if I hadn’t heard what they said.
“I know, Betty. If we hadn’t been listening, I would’ve had every right to confront them.”
“I know. I’m not really trying to defend them either. It’s just…”
Can’t you try to understand them?
Her unspoken words hung in the air.
After all, we had a long journey ahead together. It wouldn’t help anyone to cause a rift now.
“I know… It’s not like they said it to my face, anyway.”
I didn’t want to make the mistake of ignoring the most important point.
They hadn’t said those things to hurt me. And LeoFrick wouldn’t have let me hear them if he had known.
So I needed to swallow my feelings and act like nothing had happened when I faced them later.
Just as Betty said—this wasn’t worth stirring up unnecessary trouble.
“Don’t worry. Nothing will happen that you need to be concerned about.”
So now, I just needed to prepare myself for the possibility of meeting Lloyd during this journey—
—and figure out how to respond in a way that wouldn’t shake LeoFrick.
