Edrick jumped into the carriage without even having time to think and lifted the woman into his arms.
Her body was frighteningly light.
And it was soaked with lukewarm sweat.
He urgently brushed back the golden hair clinging to her face and lightly patted her bloodless cheek.
At that moment, the golden lashes casting long shadows over her cheeks lifted sharply, revealing deep blue eyes.
Without realizing it, he held his breath.
Those blue eyes, like a swamp, seemed to suck in his soul.
As he stared down into those eyes with a dazed face, a burning sensation suddenly spread across his right cheek.
He covered his face with one hand and blinked blankly.
The woman, who had slipped out of his arms in an instant, sent him a look as though she were looking at a shameless villain.
“How dare you lay your filthy hands on me?”
Edrick, whose mouth had been hanging open, raised his voice in resentment.
“I thought Your Highness had lost consciousness...!”
“So you thought I had lost consciousness and planned to do something indecent?”
“What are you talking about...!”
Edrick, who had jumped up with an indignant face, struck the crown of his head against the ceiling of the carriage and crouched back down again.
Tears nearly sprang to his eyes from both the anger caused by the princess’s insulting words and the pain in his head.
He clutched his head and groaned for a long while.
The princess, who watched him as though he were pathetic, rubbed her temple and jerked her chin.
“That’s enough. Stop bothering me and get out.”
“Instead of that, please come outside for a moment and at least get some air. We still have to travel for half a day more, so how long do you intend to stay shut inside this steamer?”
Edrick muttered with a sullen face as he rubbed the crown of his head.
It was a blunt piece of advice he threw out while prepared to be struck once more.
The princess glared at him with an incredulous expression.
She seemed baffled that he could nag so endlessly without getting tired.
Edrick barely held back the urge to snap at her and ask if she thought he was interfering because he enjoyed it.
It was not a task he had chosen of his own will, but in any case, this reckless princess was under his responsibility.
If she collapsed during the journey, dealing with the aftermath would also fall to him.
Ready to drag her out by force if necessary, he looked straight at the woman’s venomous face.
As though fed up with his attitude, the woman finally rose to her feet.
He brightened and stepped down from the carriage first.
Then he held out one hand to escort her, but the princess shut the door right in his face.
Edrick stared at the firmly closed door with a dumbfounded expression, then finally gave up and turned around.
‘Just what is it that she dislikes so much?’
He let out a heavy sigh and trudged toward the lakeside.
Even while he washed his sweat-soaked face with ice-cold water and sat in the shade of a tree to rest, the stubborn princess did not show even the tip of her nose.
Was she being wary in case someone tried to harm her?
The way she was so excessively on edge made him think of a beast caught in a trap.
He looked at the carriage with puzzled eyes, then soon shook his head and brushed away the useless thought.
What need was there to try to understand a woman like that?
If he only endured until this journey ended, he too would be freed from this tiresome duty.
The Second Princess replaced her guard knights constantly, so he too would probably be replaced before long.
He only had to endure until then.
Encouraging himself, Edrick sat with the knights in the shade of the tree.
After taking a short rest while making a simple meal of wine and bread, he climbed back into the saddle.
After noon passed, the air gradually grew cooler.
The pilgrims, who had regained their energy, continued their vigorous march along the Gaisa Mountains, which divided the western and northeastern regions.
Thanks to their diligent travel, by sunset they were able to reach the Sinai Plain, the territory of the old Balto Kingdom.
“We will camp here today.”
Varkas, who had been looking over the procession, gave the order in a low voice.
Edrick looked at him with eyes half full of disbelief.
Even though he had ridden all day, Varkas looked no different from when they had first set out.
His superior, who dismounted with not the slightest disarray, looked around with sharp eyes and said,
“Set up barricades around the campsite and post guards.”
The knights immediately obeyed that order.
Edrick also began working on setting up a fence around the camp.
For a moment, he wondered if it was somewhat excessive, but many monsters inhabited the Sinai Plain.
It was said that attacks on such a large force were rare, but there was no harm in being careful.
He took boards studded with iron spikes from the baggage wagon and fixed them into the ground, then wrapped cords with small bells around them.
After several hours of diligent work, they were able to complete a temporary defensive barrier around the campsite.
He dusted the dirt from his hands and moved toward the place where the campfire had been lit.
While they had been setting up the barricade, the princess’s attendants had finished preparing dinner.
He clutched his hungry stomach and approached the campfire where meat was being grilled.
Then he picked up a small piece of cut bacon and ate it while asking one of the maids a question.
“Has Her Highness the Princess’s meal been prepared?”
The young-faced maid, who had been stirring a large pot with a ladle, looked at him in confusion.
“Well... she said she had no appetite...”
Edrick, who had been wiping the grease from his hands with a towel, furrowed his brow.
She had skipped lunch, and now she was going to skip dinner too?
Irritation surged up at the princess, who behaved like a child at every turn.
He tossed the hand towel carelessly onto the ground and picked up an empty basket.
“Fill this with something suitable to eat.”
The maid immediately packed a large piece of pie, stew with bacon, wine, preserved fruit, and everything else without missing a thing.
He tucked the basket, which was filled with food in an instant, under his arm and headed toward the princess’s little fortress.
He knew there was no need to force food on someone who insisted she did not want to eat.
But when he remembered how unpleasantly light the woman’s body had been, he simply could not stay still.
Cursing his own meddlesome nature, he knocked on the carriage door.
“Your Highness, I brought dinner.”
“I said I’m not eating.”
“You have practically starved all day. How do you intend to endure this difficult journey without eating properly? Please try to eat even if you have no appetite.”
“I said I’m fine, so get lost!”
Edrick grimaced.
Even a hedgehog would not raise its spines this much.
Gathering his patience, he tried to speak calmly.
“Then I will leave it here, so if you change your mind...”
Edrick, who had been bending down to set the basket down, flinched and stepped back.
The door had suddenly been flung open without warning, and a white face hardened fiercely filled his vision.
He swallowed dryly as he faced those blue eyes, shining vividly even in the sunset light.
I low-key ship her with Edrick🌝