Chapter 64
Sika swallowed hard. Now he was in the crisis of a lifetime. Even when he was alone, hiding in the camp of the Katans and acting as a spy, he hadn’t been this cornered.
[What are you going to do now, huh?]
Benny threw her fist at Sika as she led him to the corner of the stable. Sika quickly shouted before the fist landed.
[Wait a minute, listen to me. Hasn’t their relationship improved?]
It was true that they had fought badly in the square, but when they went to the watermill together, things seemed to be back to normal. Didn’t they even talk to each other?
[Surely, they were fine afterwards, I swear. Really– Ouch!]
While Sika worried about the top of his head, Benny kicked his knee.
[They weren’t fine, you just wanted to believe they were fine!]
Sika cursed under his breath, fighting back the tears that threatened to fall. Ferocious girl. An ignorant strong girl!
[They don’t even make eye contact anymore, what are you going to do about it!]
After the outing to the town, their relationship became even colder. Whereas before, they would at least pretend to talk whenever they saw each other, this time they avoided each other altogether.
Rosetta was completely disoriented. She was in a daze for most of the day, and would occasionally startle. Rashid wasn’t doing well either. He hadn’t made a single mistake in his life, but he had already made two. Once he showed up late, not realizing it was training time, and the other time he signed the wrong document.
[Ahem. What could possibly go wrong with two love interests butting heads?]
Despite their seriousness, Mark has been giggling ever since. Benny barely restrained herself from shouting, “What does this old man know!”
[Have you finished running errands for Rigaina?]
[Of course!]
Sika rummaged through the pocket on his horse, glad that Benny’s interrogation was over. He had been harassed by Benny as soon as he returned from the town, so the item was still in the pocket.
[Look, what do you think?] Sika held out a teddy bear with ribbons and lace.
Benny looked at it with narrowed eyes, then nodded. [It’s very tacky, but that’s okay, kids usually like tacky things more.]
Handing Benny the teddy bear, Sika said, [You know what? This whole thing has gotten around town.]
[Really?]
Sika nodded. [Yeah. Everyone’s talking about it, that Riga and Rigaina saved the poor woman.]
When Sika went down to the town today, everyone was talking about one thing: the black horse that had been galloping through the square the day before had belonged to Riga, and not only had Riga personally uncovered the man’s guilt and handed him over to the magistrate, but Rigaina had taken the poor woman to the castle.
Up until now, when Sika had gone down to the town, the stories he had heard about Rigaina had been mostly scandalous. The daughter of a heinous man, a shameless woman who had taken the position of Rigaina without a conscience. It was usually something like that, and Sika had to resist the urge to draw his sword countless times.
He already knew what a good person Rigaina was, but he figured it couldn’t be helped since the rest of the world had no way of knowing, though he would sneakily trip anyone who said anything too harsh, or throw a rock from a distance and hit them in the forehead.
People seemed to have new ideas about Rigaina now. It wasn’t a complete change of attitude, like a flip of the palm, but it made them think, “Maybe she’s a decent person, unlike her father.”
[Hmm, that’s good to know.]
Mark pulled out the liquor he’d been hiding under the straw. It was a wonder that no matter how many times Thelma confiscated his liquor, it kept coming out like fireworks.
[Old man, you need to cut back on the booze or you’ll die young.]
Mark chuckled as Sika grumbled when he saw him downing the entire bottle.
[Someone’s gonna think you’re worried about me. Dude, when you and Benny are done with your love affair, go out and have some fun instead of lecturing me.]
[Lo- love affair? Are you out of your mind?]
[Have you developed dementia already?]
Sika and Benny looked at each other, shook their heads, and then ran out of the stable like they were competing with each other.
[They’re like puppies. How cute.]
Mark wiped the corner of his mouth and chuckled. For all his pride and refusal to lose, Benny was the only woman Sika had ever gotten along with. Benny, too, would do anything to be with him. It’s funny how they’re so interested in other people’s relationships.
[Don’t get in an accident, you two.]
***
Benny walked down the street with a grunt. That old man must have gotten really stupid. No matter how you slice it, there’s no way I’m gonna go out with Sika. What’s the point of going out with that dull, mindless foreigner? No, of all the men out there, why him!
Then, suddenly, Benny had a moment of realization. Actually, Sika’s looks weren’t so bad. His skin, hair, and eyes were light-colored and not very masculine, but he was still quite handsome. It was also true that he didn’t use his brain much, but he was an excellent swordsman. At the age of seventeen, he’s that good, so when he’s older, he’ll be a fighter that no one will dare to mess with.
Yes, at that level, there is no problem in living life even if you don’t use your brain much.
Because of his background as a foreigner and his young age, he was looked down upon. But currently, Sika was acting as Riga’s left-hand man. He had already made a name for himself.
That’s not too bad for a husband…
[Ugh, what am I thinking now!]
Benny shook her head quickly. She must have lost her mind for a moment. While muttering to herself, a long shadow suddenly appeared in front of her.
[…Riga?]
Rashid was standing in front of her, looking down at her.
Benny swallowed hard. Rashid was a very difficult and frightening person for her, and while she respected him greatly, respect and fear were two different things. In fact, the only time she’d ever spoken to him directly was during the last fireplace incident, when Rashid had pointed a sword at her.
[If you’re looking for Sika, he’s over there…] Benny pointed her finger in the other direction.
But Rashid shook his head. [I have something to ask you.]
Benny took a small breath. Have I done something wrong? Is he going to scold me for not serving Rigaina well?
[W- What is that?]
Benny’s voice quavered like a goat’s. She wished she could call out to Rigaina right now; she would stop him from saying anything.
[Does Rigaina have a scar on her back from an arrow?]
Benny’s eyes widened at the unexpected question.
[Yes, but Rigaina said it wasn’t from an arrow.]
[She said it wasn’t from an arrow?]
[Yes. I think it’s definitely from an arrow, but she said it’s just a scar from a childhood accident…]
Hearing that, Rashid furrowed his brow. He thought about something for a moment, then turned and walked away.
As Benny resumed her walk, scratching her head, she suddenly realized something strange.
Why hadn’t Riga noticed the scar on Rigaina’s back?
***
Rosetta looked out the window in a daze. It was a very sunny day. Unlike in her mind. For her mind was filled with dark clouds.
“…How, how could you react like that?”
Rosetta bit her lip hard, the events of two days ago still didn’t make sense to her, no matter how much she thought about it. She had been terribly embarrassed to show him her naked body, but she had forced herself to convince herself that it was okay.
I’d only shown him my back, not my front. That much bare skin is usually exposed when you wear a revealing dress.
What made Rosetta not happy was Rashid’s reaction.
“You are in the bath. I’m sorry. I’ll come back later.”
Rosetta mimicked his tone of voice and soon found herself giggling. How could he be so nonchalant about a woman taking a bath? Shouldn’t he at least be flustered?
What does he think I am, a piece of wood, a child, just a human being?
Strangely enough, the more Rosetta thought about it, the more her pride was hurt. But she wasn’t sure why she was offended, and it wasn’t because she wanted an apology. He didn’t do that intentionally, after all.
No. Let’s find out what he did wrong that resulted in this situation. There must be something he did wrong, and I could use that to argue with him.
But Rosetta quickly shook her head. No matter how she thought about it, he hadn’t done anything wrong; he had knocked, and she was the one who let him in. Besides, he had apologized, albeit briefly, and left.
“Hah…”
Rosetta sighed heavily and remained on the windowsill. Just then, there was a knock on the door.
“Rigaina, I’ve got a doll for you from Sika.”
It was Benny who opened the door. Rosetta accepted the doll from Benny. She was a little worried that Sika would get her something weird, but luckily it was a teddy bear that fit the child’s style.
“You have a teddy bear here too.” Rosetta smiled as she touched both of the bear’s ears. Apparently, making dolls in the shape of bears was common in both countries.
“Benny, what do you say bear in your language?”
“Oh, bear is ‘usu’.”
“Usu. Then, ‘este o usu.’”
Rosetta combined this with the grammar she had already learned to form the sentence “This is a bear.”
Benny clapped her hands. “Perfect!”
“Good. Then let’s go to Ethel now!”
Rosetta sprang to her feet, but instead of following her, Benny looked at her with a look that said she wanted to ask her something.
“Benny, do you have something to ask me?” Rosetta asked gently.
Benny shook her head with a very sad face. “It’s nothing, uh, I didn’t even realize how much you’ve been suffering…”
And with that, Benny ran out of the room. Rosetta couldn’t understand why Benny suddenly acted like that.