“Why didn’t I notice these earlier?”
The clothes were in fairly good condition. No, in fact, it was hard to understand why clothes this decent were even here. They were a little big, but not so much that he couldn’t wear them. Jedrier stood in front of the mirror and pretended not to notice that the sleeves fell far enough to cover the backs of his hands as he rolled them up.
After folding them about four times, they fit perfectly.
And the coat….
“…Is this right?”
Jedrier was relieved that the hem of the coat didn’t drag along the ground. If the coat had been any larger, or if he had been any shorter, he probably would have swept the floor with it wherever he went.
“This would fit Henry perfectly.”
With those broad, sturdy shoulders and long arms, the shirt whose sleeves Jedrier had needed to roll up four times would probably fit him exactly.
“He’s about a head taller than me.”
The coat that covered Jedrier all the way down to his ankles would probably only reach Henry’s calves.
‘I should tell Henry to try it on when he comes back.’
Jedrier stared quietly at the figure reflected in the mirror.
No matter how he looked at himself, he had the sort of face that seemed easy to push around.
Maybe the pink hair made him look even more like that.
And it was fluffy on top of that.
He was pretty-looking, sure….
But if you were a man, you ought to look like Henry.
“What is Henry doing right now?”
What was he doing without him again?
Why did people keep calling Henry away and making him work?
Honestly, their child was far too kind to refuse.
Jedrier worried that maybe he was being bullied somewhere.
When you lived in this world, you needed to know how to say unpleasant things to people sometimes….
Still worrying about Henry, Jedrier let out a deep sigh and started walking.
‘Who am I to worry about anyone?’
The person he needed to be most worried about right now was Jedrier himself.
The thought that Henry’s future and fate were resting on his shoulders made his whole body droop.
Then, just as he opened the door and stepped into the garden—
“Wait!”
A chipped axe lay abandoned in the middle of the garden.
He had walked through the garden with Henry countless times, going back and forth, so why had it never occurred to him to put that away?
“…….”
He could vividly imagine a black figure in extravagant clothes saying, ‘Why is there an axe lying here? Makes me want to swing it.’
Jedrier quickly bent down and picked up the axe.
It was heavier than it looked.
“I think I should hide this.”
Throwing it into the bushes was far too dangerous.
What if that existence whose name was difficult to even utter happened to pick ‘that’ up?
Wouldn’t he storm into the nearest palace in order to vent his desire to swing it around?
The horrifying thought made Jedrier shudder.
“Where am I supposed to hide this axe?”
He couldn’t think of anywhere suitable.
After agonizing over it, Jedrier hid the chipped axe in the food storage room.
The storage room wasn’t overflowing with supplies, but it was still fairly well stocked, and looking at it filled Jedrier from head to toe with the determination that he absolutely had to make this work.
‘For Henry!’
Jedrier clenched his fist once more and steeled himself.
“Now I’m really going!”
* * *
His prediction that he would easily be able to find the Commander of the Knights as soon as he went out and met someone proved correct.
Jedrier stopped a man who was walking past.
Fortunately, the man stopped without any trouble.
“Excuse me, do you know where the training grounds are?”
At first, Jedrier had thought he might be ignored, but fortunately, the first person he met was extremely kind.
The man smiled brightly and nodded.
“You must be unfamiliar with the area.”
“Ah, yes.”
He really was unfamiliar with it.
Jedrier awkwardly bobbed his head and forced the corners of his lips upward.
The kind man, apparently eager to help, began asking him various questions.
“What brings you to the training grounds?”
“Ah, well….”
Could he tell him the truth?
That he was going to meet the Commander of the Knights?
But he couldn’t just tell something like that to a complete stranger.
So Jedrier gave an awkward, sheepish smile.
It was a silent way of saying that he couldn’t answer.
Fortunately, the man didn’t ask any further questions.
Instead of taking offense, he made an even kinder offer.
“Would you like me to escort you there?”
‘Go straight ahead, then turn left. When you reach the fork, take the right path. Keep walking for quite a while, and eventually the path will split between a side with thick bushes and a side without them. You absolutely must take the side with the thick bushes. If you go toward the side without them…. something truly horrible may happen to you.’
Jedrier quickly nodded.
The man had already explained how to get to the training grounds, but the directions were so complicated that Jedrier had been worrying whether he would remember all of them.
It hadn’t even been long since he heard them, yet he was already confused about whether he was supposed to go left or right.
“Thank you so much!”
“Think nothing of it. I was heading that way myself.”
He was going to the training grounds?
Then that meant….
He probably knew the Commander of the Knights.
And there was a good chance he knew Henry too.
Jedrier’s throat bobbed heavily with nervousness.
“Are you a knight?”
“Do I look like one?”
Jedrier asked cautiously.
He saw the man’s cheeks turn red.
Apparently, being called ‘Sir Knight’ had pleased him.
Good!
Jedrier cheered inwardly.
He felt relieved, thinking he had managed to make a good first impression.
“Yes. You look exactly like a knight.”
“That’s right. Haha. It’s only been a year since I officially became one.”
A year?
Only a year?
Then there was a high chance that he knew Henry.
Jedrier gulped.
Should he ask the knight in front of him what kind of person the Commander of the Knights was?
Or should he subtly try to ask about Henry?
“There’s something I’d like to ask you.”
“Yes, I’ll answer anything.”
He probably wouldn’t openly tell a complete stranger what his superior was like.
Especially someone who didn’t even know the way to the training grounds.
So Jedrier slowly blinked as he stared at the knight in front of him.
“If you had hated someone for a long time, but then realized it had actually all been a misunderstanding, what do you think you would do?”
“Pardon?”
The man repeated the question as though he had heard something completely unexpected.
Jedrier widened his eyes as if he were only asking out of simple curiosity.
For the first time, he was grateful for his harmless-looking face.
If he had looked sharp and intimidating, the man probably would have immediately responded, ‘Are you trying to pick a fight with me?’
“I’m just curious what you would do if you were in that situation, Sir Knight.”
When Jedrier urged him once more, the knight obediently opened his mouth.
“Ah, if it were me….”
“You’d obviously apologize and ask to get along from now on, right?”
Say yes.
Hurry up!
* * *
The rookie who had only joined the Knights a year ago honestly had no idea what the beautiful person in front of him was talking about.
He had been captivated by his appearance, and then captivated all over again by his soft, gentle voice.
How could a person possibly look that pretty?
It was the dead of winter, yet in this very moment, it felt as though warm spring had arrived.
A foolish grin kept creeping onto his face.
‘They said everyone in the palace is handsome and beautiful….’
When he first heard that rumor, he had thought it was nonsense.
After all, he had met plenty of people who proudly claimed to be good-looking, yet most of them had been nothing special.
And they were all so absurdly prideful that there had been countless times he had wanted to quit because of them.
That was why he had assumed those rumors were just bullshit spread by some group desperate to lure young people into joining the Knights.
He had been absolutely certain of it….
“Yes, that’s right.”
Smooth, pale skin without a single blemish.
Fresh green eyes that resembled spring leaves.
Even dimples that appeared whenever he smiled.
The pink hair fluttering in the breeze made the rookie’s heart pound helplessly.
His face grew hot and red.
His mouth kept going dry, forcing him to swallow.
“So that’s what you think, Sir Knight?”
“Yes.”
He nodded as though bewitched.
“That’s a relief.”
“Is it?”
Trying desperately to come up with an appropriate response, the rookie hurriedly scooped up the parts of the conversation that had gone in one ear.
Someone had been misunderstood, and then the misunderstanding was cleared up….
Something like that?
Honestly, he had planned to agree no matter what the beautiful person said.
Looking at that face and voicing the opposite opinion was simply not something a human being should do.
“I believe you’ll act that way, Sir Knight.”
“Just trust me.”
Would they ever meet again?
He hoped so.
For the first time in his life, the rookie wished the road to the training grounds would never end.
But as always, any road with a destination eventually came to an end.
‘Can I ask his name?’
Probably not.
It might seem like he was trying to hit on him.
Besides, there was no way someone with a face like that didn’t have a lover.
Of course he did.
Hitting on someone who was already taken was not the sort of thing a knight should do.
But….
‘They could always break up.’
So maybe there was nothing wrong with at least learning his name.
Opportunities came to those with courage, after all!