‘What do I do?’
He felt like a herbivore that had hidden itself in a thicket while being chased by a hunter. His palms grew damp with sweat from the extreme tension, and his heart pounded wildly.
What should he do?
Should he confess the truth even now?
“No. You’ll pay me back. I trust you.”
Fortunately, kind Henry seemed satisfied with just his word and didn’t ask him to write an IOU.
Jeri stroked his chest in relief and smiled brightly.
“I’ll pay you back as soon as I start receiving my allowance.”
Here, promise.
He held out his pinky, then suddenly realized something.
‘D-Does this world even have something like this? Hooking pinkies and shaking them?’
The gesture had come out so naturally that he hadn’t even thought about it first.
Jeri glanced at Henry and was just about to pull his hand back when Henry hooked his own finger around his.
“Yes.”
There wasn’t even the slightest trace of doubt in his voice.
It was as though he simply assumed Jeri would naturally pay him back.
Of course Jeri was going to pay him back, but that still made him uneasy.
What was he supposed to do with someone this naive and kind?
Jeri himself wouldn’t do it, but what if some ill-intentioned person took advantage of Henry later?
“Henry.”
“Yes.”
“If someone else asks to borrow money from you, you absolutely cannot lend it to them.”
“…….”
“And if you do lend it, you have to make them write an IOU. Got it?”
“Even you, Lord Jeri?”
Jeri blinked.
Given the context, he should nod.
But if he did that, it would practically amount to confessing that he was a legendary liar who had puffed out his chest and offered to write an IOU despite having neither paper nor pen.
“From now on, make sure you always do that.”
“Mm-hm.”
…What a relief.
Jeri swallowed hard to wet his completely dry mouth.
* * *
“Are you ready?”
“Yeah.”
When Jeri had searched through the wardrobe himself, he definitely hadn’t found a single decent thing to wear.
So why did clothes seem to magically pop out one after another when Henry looked?
Thanks to him, Jeri was able to put on something fairly presentable.
“I’ll lead the way.”
“Thanks.”
At first, he hadn’t been nervous.
If anything, his heart had swelled with anticipation.
But as the gate leading outside gradually drew closer, his palms began to sweat.
The swords hanging from the knights’ waists as they guarded the entrance looked sharp even at a glance.
“…A-Are you going out?”
He must have been so tense that even the knight’s words sounded tangled to him.
Jeri forced up the corners of his mouth and nodded.
He had been worried they might pick at him with questions like, ‘What are you going out for? Why are you leaving? Why is a concubine going outside?’ but thankfully, nothing like that happened.
“Yees.”
The knight barely even looked at the identification plaque Jeri held out with his trembling hand and merely jerked his chin toward the outside.
He didn’t ask the purpose of the outing, the reason for it, or when Jeri would return.
‘Is it really okay for security to be this lax?’
Then wouldn’t it be easy for me to run away too?
A well-founded confidence began swelling inside him.
“Where are you planning to go first?”
“I think we should buy food ingredients first.”
Jeri looked up at Henry, who stood at least a full head taller than everyone around him.
He had thought Henry was impressive-looking from the moment he first saw him, but now that he was standing under the sunlight beside ordinary people, Jeri became convinced that Henry really had been exiled to where he was.
What kind of terrible mistake had a man this outstanding committed to be driven out to an old, abandoned palace stuck on the outskirts?
It felt like he would have been forgiven for anything short of something truly serious.
‘Should I ask?’
But if he asked for no reason and ended up hurting Henry’s feelings, that would be terrible.
Henry might look cold, but judging by the way he took care of Jeri in all these little ways, he was clearly soft-hearted.
“There’s a place I know.”
“Mm-hm. Let’s go.”
Jeri walked beside him, carefully observing different parts of the market as they went.
He thought about what he would need to buy when he eventually ran away.
He also checked the prices carefully.
It would be a disaster if he got ripped off.
“Is there anything else you need besides food ingredients?”
It seemed Henry had mistaken Jeri’s careful inspection of the market for him wanting to buy something.
Jeri quickly shook his head.
There were limits even to shamelessness.
An attendant’s wages couldn’t be much….
He couldn’t keep imposing on Henry any further.
“Nooo, nothing.”
“…If there’s anything you need, please don’t hide it. Tell me everything.”
“Mm-hm.”
How could someone be this kind?
Looking into Henry’s utterly sincere eyes, Jeri resolved that he had to find some way to get money.
Even if it meant risking embarrassment, he would ask when he could start receiving his allowance.
“Before that, there’s somewhere we need to stop for a moment.”
“Where?”
“You’ll know when we get there.”
“Mm-hm.”
So he meant, Be quiet and follow me?
Of course.
Someone who wasn’t paying had no right to comment on the destination.
And the place they arrived at was….
“A boutique?”
It was true that he didn’t have any decent clothes.
Even the outfit he was wearing today was something Henry had managed to dig out from among rows of rags that were barely better than sacks.
“I think you need to buy a coat.”
“For you?”
“…….”
Jeri pressed his lips together after receiving Henry’s look of disbelief.
“For me?”
“Do you think I came here to buy one for myself?”
“W-Well, you could have.”
Henry grumbled as he opened the boutique door for him.
Then he placed a hand against Jeri’s back as though urging him to enter first.
“Go in.”
At Henry’s not-quite-urging, Jeri stepped inside.
The boutique looked luxurious at a glance.
As he looked around, Jeri’s throat bobbed.
“Isn’t this place expensive?”
“It’s fine.”
The fact that Henry had said ‘It’s fine’ rather than ‘No’ made it sound like this really was an expensive shop.
Jeri’s eyes shook as he looked up at him.
“You can just pay me back.”
Jeri was afraid that if he hesitated here, Henry might take it as, ‘I have no intention of paying you back, but thanks for buying me clothes!’
So he quickly nodded up and down.
“You’re right.”
Jeri resolved that when he ran away, he would absolutely take whatever clothes they bought today with him.
He opened his eyes wide and looked around the shop.
He strained his ears too.
But he couldn’t hear any sign of another person.
“But why are there no customers?”
They were right in the middle of the market, and the shop was grand enough to stand out.
It was strange that there wasn’t a single person inside.
Could it be…?
‘Is this place insanely expensive?’
If it was so expensive that ordinary people couldn’t even dream of buying anything here….
That would be a serious problem.
Surely the allowance he was supposed to receive would be enough to afford clothes here…?
He didn’t know exactly how much it would be, but it should be enough to buy clothes and groceries, right?
What if it wasn’t?
Jeri trembled as a terrible thought suddenly came to mind.
‘Or maybe… no one comes here because the owner runs the place however he wants?’
What if the service was unbelievably rude?
Or what if they were obsessed with ripping customers off?
That would be a disaster.
Henry only looked cold and gave off a fierce aura, but he knew nothing about the ways of the world.
And Jeri himself was just as clueless and dull.
Wasn’t this combination practically begging to be scammed?
‘Henry doesn’t look like he’s thinking about anything.’
So at least Jeri had to keep his wits about him.
He clenched his fist in determination.
At that moment, a loud commotion came from farther inside, and a man practically tumbled through a door as he burst into view.
He was dressed in clothes so extravagant they were almost dazzling.
“Y-You’ve arrived.”
“…Yees.”
Despite the cold weather, beads of sweat had gathered across the man’s forehead.
Looking extremely nervous, he clasped both hands together over his chest and spoke in a trembling voice.
“Is-Is there anything you’re looking for? If-If there is anything you need, please, please tell me anything at all.”
“Something suitable for winter.”
Huh?
Informal speech?
Jeri whipped his head toward Henry.
“…We’d like to see.”
Oh.
He had just been thinking about what he wanted to say.
Jeri nodded and stepped slightly in front of Henry, hiding him behind his back.
Not that it helped much, since Henry still towered a full head above him, but at least the man’s gaze shifted from Henry to Jeri.
Now he had to say what needed to be said.
It was a little embarrassing to come to buy clothes and say something like this, but it couldn’t be helped.
Henry’s money was precious.
“Something a little cheaper, please.”
“…Ah, yes!”
Thankfully, the owner seemed to understand exactly what Jeri meant and immediately turned around and ran off.
He really didn’t have to move that urgently….
“He seems very enthusiastic.”
“…Apparently.”
Henry naturally guided Jeri over and sat him down on a sofa.
The soft cushions gently enveloped his body the moment he sat.
It was a comfort he could never experience on the bed back at that old palace.
The shop was warm too, and drowsiness began to creep over him.
Blink.
Blink.
The moment Jeri realized that his eyelids were closing noticeably slower than before, he jolted in alarm and forced his eyes wide open.
He glanced to the side.
Thankfully, Henry didn’t seem to have noticed him dozing off.
“Is there something you wish to say to me?”
“Mm-hm, no. Nothing.”
Jeri opened his eyes as wide as he could.
‘I need to stay alert.’
He had to keep his wits about him….