Chapter 8
“So what did you say?”
“What did I say? I told him we'd talk about it later, then slipped away.”
“Aww….”
A small room about half the size of my study.
There, Ruby and I lay on our stomachs on the bed while I told her what had just happened.
“Why are you so disappointed? How could I answer something that important on the spot?”
“That's true. But who would've thought Sir Heter was so much more romantic than expected!”
Ruby, clutching the cute doll she had made herself in both hands, said with sparkling eyes.
‘Romantic, my ass.’
She was reacting that way because it was someone else's story; if she actually put herself in my shoes, she wouldn't think it was romantic at all.
Having someone openly display possessiveness toward you was an incredibly awkward situation, after all.
It was driving me even crazier because I wasn't in a position to reject him outright, either.
“Are you really that troubled by Sir Heter's proposal?”
“Of course!”
I want to make you mine.
It was a line often found in romance-fantasy novels, but it carried a very different weight in real life.
On top of that, he'd said he wouldn't become a knight of the Fortune family if it wasn't me.
There was no more effective threat than that as far as I was concerned.
If he didn't become a knight of the Fortune family, I would not only have to abandon my family and become a nobleman's concubine, but would also become an ungrateful person who failed to appreciate the favor of having my territory saved twice.
“What if I accept his proposal, and he suddenly changes and treats me like a slave or bullies the territory's people?”
“Aww, do you really think Sir Heter would do that? You're worrying too much, Alice.”
“It's not an excessive worry, Ruby!”
There's an old saying: save a drowning person, and they'll demand your bundle in return.
It's originally meant to describe an ungrateful person, but I also think it shows how easily people can change when their circumstances do.
Even after hearing me out, Ruby still looked sullen, unable to empathize.
“But from what I can tell, Sir Heter doesn't seem like the type to change as easily as you said. Isn't that why you were planning to give him 100 gold a month?”
“That's true, but….”
Yes, I knew that too.
I knew he wouldn't suddenly change and torment me and the territory's people.
‘But that was when I thought Heter didn't like me!’
He likes me now. Enough to give up the chance to receive 150 gold a month!
“And I'm the one he's dealing with… the woman who has made countless men pine for her.”
“Wow~. It's true, but aren't you embarrassed saying that yourself?”
“A little….”
No, now that I'd said it aloud, I was very embarrassed.
“What if he does something weird to me….”
“Right, that's what you're most worried about in the end, isn't it?”
At Ruby's question, I finally nodded obediently.
Him liking me? That didn't matter.
It was simply that accepting Heter's proposal would inevitably mean physical contact.
I found that uncomfortable.
Although I'd lived in Alice's body until adulthood, I was still partly the sturdy Korean soldier I'd once been.
Maybe I could accept it if a little more time passed, but it was impossible right now.
“But that's surprising. I thought you liked Sir Heter.”
“…What?”
What kind of utter nonsense was that?
“What on earth are you basing that outrageous claim on?”
“But I bet everyone in town thinks the same way I do.”
“What?!”
Not just Ruby, but all the territory's people thought that?
“What made you think I liked Sir Heter?”
“Good grief, you really don't know? Then let's go over it again.”
Seeing how startled I was, Ruby sighed and began folding down her fingers one by one.
“First, you risked your life by going inside the magical beast's body to save Sir Heter, didn't you?”
“I didn't risk my life. The magical beast was already dead, and I had a rope tied around my waist.”
“Even so, you went to save him yourself instead of leaving it to someone else, right?”
“Well… that's true.”
Ruby was right, but I hadn't had any choice at the time.
Who else could have gone inside the Snow Wyrm besides me?
An ordinary territory resident?
Sir Gold with one injured arm?
“It's not as though I could send a civilian or an injured person.”
Besides, he was a benefactor who had fought for the territory.
As the head of the Fortune family, it was my duty to repay his kindness, so I had no choice but to step forward.
“Now, moving on, when the villagers pulled you out, Sir Heter's arm was inside your clothes, right?”
“I already explained that!”
I clearly remembered telling her that it had been unavoidable because he was slippery with bodily fluids and blood, and I had needed to hold on to him tightly.
If we'd had more time or the rope's knot had been even a little looser, I wouldn't have done that.
“Even so, who would let a man she didn't even like touch her bare skin to save him? Especially a noblewoman.”
“Hmm….”
Good grief, she had a point.
After thinking it over, I nodded.
I had expected this could be misunderstood too, after all.
But I had explained it, and that alone should hardly have been enough for you to conclude that I liked him, right?
“Lastly, the biggest thing was that your kiss brought dead Sir Heter back to life. There were even rumors that God pitied you for losing the person you loved and brought him back to life.”
“Huh?”
I gaped stupidly at Ruby's words.
Unlike the earlier points, which had at least sounded somewhat plausible, this was utterly preposterous.
“What kind of crazy nonsense is that?!”
It was the sort of rumor that could get me arrested for blasphemy if it happened to reach a clergyman's ears.
“Dogs eat grass too, Alice. But… it is true, isn't it? Otherwise, how could a dead person come back to life just because you kissed him?”
“Ah….”
Seeing Ruby say it so confidently, I smacked my forehead.
Right. Unlike me, who had memories of my previous life, the people here would assume that anyone who stopped breathing was unquestionably dead.
This was the rural backwater of the North, after all, not a city.
To make matters worse, they didn't even know what cardiopulmonary resuscitation was.
From the perspective of the people in the territory, it really could have looked as though a dead person had come back to life because I'd kissed him.
“The village kids said that a dead princess coming back to life from the prince's kiss in fairy tales was actually possible.”
“Haa….”
Of course, I'd performed chest compressions before kissing him, and on closer inspection, artificial respiration would have looked far too strange to be mistaken for a kiss, but who would bother with such details?
To them, all that mattered was that it was exciting and entertaining.
“All the territory's people know this rumor, right?”
“Of course. It was the last day of the Snow Wyrm's dismantling, so everyone in the village had gathered at the mansion. Almost all of them probably know.”
“Haa….”
I buried my face in Ruby's bed and let out another sigh.
If I rejected Heter's proposal, there would be no reason for him to remain in Fortune territory.
If he left, the territory's people would abandon me and consider him a piece of trash, and if word of Heter's proposal reached the villagers, they would obviously think I was a crazy woman for rejecting him.
“Ruby, my stomach hurts so badly I feel like I'm going to die….”
“Shall I heat up some wine?”
“Please….”
Slurp.
“Haa….”
After drinking the wine Ruby had warmed with spices, I felt calmer.
“Now that things have come to this, just accept it.”
“I guess I should, right?”
“Yes. And try to think positively.”
“How?”
Sitting on the edge of the bed and swinging her legs as she drank wine, Ruby patted me on the back.
“Like you said, you're pretty, so even if you had married a noble, things would probably have been worse, not better. But Sir Heter likes you, so he probably won't treat you too harshly, right? Besides, you can protect your family.”
“That's true. You're right.”
Hearing Ruby's logic, which was similar to what I'd heard from Sir Gold before, I readily agreed.
What worried me was his affection.
That look in his eyes—not mere fondness, but a look that said he truly wanted me.
Could I really accept that much passion?
‘No, it's not a question of whether I can accept it.’
I have to accept it.
Because that's the way I can save the territory and repay Heter.
“Ruby.”
“Yes?”
I drained the wine in my glass and met Ruby's eyes.
“I have a favor to ask. Could you do it for me?”
“I'm a maid, so of course I can. What is it?”
“Please do my makeup tomorrow morning.”
“Really?!”
Ruby was startled by what I said.
If you're wondering why she was so surprised about makeup, it's because I'd never put on makeup before.
The superficial reason was that I was beautiful without makeup, while the real reason was that my memories from when I was a man made me reluctant to wear it.
But now, I thought it was time I started accepting it.
That I… was a woman, not a man.
“Yes! I'll make you the most beautiful woman in the world!”
Ruby looked at me with sparkling eyes, huffing excitedly.
“Didn't you say that I was the most beautiful person in the world even without makeup?”
“Then I'll make you a beauty the likes of which history has never seen!”
“Haha, all right. We've had wine, so let's go to bed.”
“Yes! Going to bed early will make your skin look better!”
***
Knock, knock.
“Yes.”
The next day.
When I knocked on the study door, Heter's voice came from inside, as though he had already been awake.
“It's me, Sir Heter. May I come in?”
“Of course, my lady.”
When I opened the door and entered, I saw Heter with his head bowed and one knee on the floor.
“Thanks to you, I was able to sleep soundly. Thank you. And I'm sorry. Yesterday, because of me….”
“It's all right. So please raise your head.”
“Yes.”
Eventually, Heter slowly raised his head, and his jade-green eyes widened as though they had seen something astonishing.
“M-My lady?”
Heter was so flustered that he even stammered.
I smiled wryly and placed my hand against his cheek.
“You said you wanted me as compensation if you became a knight of the Fortune family, right?”
“That's right.”
“Please become a knight of the Fortune family, Sir Heter.”
“Are you serious?”
In response to his question, I forced myself to keep smiling and nodded.
….”
Heter slowly rose from his seat and looked down at me.
“My lady.”
“Yes.”
He removed the hand I had placed against his cheek, and his face slowly drew closer.
I had already steeled myself.
Just as I ignored my pounding heart, closed my eyes, and slightly parted my lips.
Smack.
“?”
He kissed the tip of my finger, not my lips.
“That's all for today.”
“Pardon?”
“It's difficult to hold back right now, so I'll explain the details later.”
“W-Wait a moment?”
Leaving those words behind, Heter shot out of the room.
Left alone in the study, I stared at the door he'd fled through and muttered without realizing it.
“Seriously, what the hell is wrong with that crazy bastard?”