Side Story 29. Anemone Smiled Brightly (5)
At my laughter, Doomstone pouted his lips and sulked.
"Why are you laughing like that?! Not starving is really important!"
"Ahahaha! That's right. It's important."
I nodded, wiping away the tears that came out while laughing. He’s really cute.
"Then it seems you don’t have any big goals other than not starving."
Doomstone seemed to be somewhat upset at my words but soon nodded.
I liked that he didn't hide his feelings. When I recalled the memories of dealing with greedy people that hid their dirty feelings in social and political circles, I even felt refreshed. I was going to ask if there was anything he wanted and help him, then ask him to be my escort. But now that it's like this, it seemed it would be okay to just ask him to be my escort.
"Okay. Do you want to go with me? I was just in need of an escort. If you follow me, I’ll make sure you don’t go hungry!” I confidently declared.
Doomstone swallowed dryly and spoke carefully, "Um... And I want to fight as much as I want."
"That's great. I'm currently fighting against the country. There will be a lot of fights that’ll occur.”
At that, Doomstone nodded enthusiastically, his heart pounding and both his cheeks becoming red. "Then I'll follow you!"
His voice was so bright that as if he didn't care at all about me saying that I was fighting the country.
"Doesn't it matter to you at all that I’m fighting the country?”
Doomstone replied with a light shrug, "It's okay. It's not because you did something bad, is it?”
I smirked. "Isn’t it because to some, it was a bad thing, that we are now fighting?"
"Oh... Is that so? But my instincts say it's okay to trust you, so it should be ok."
I burst into laughter once again at his answer. "Ahahaha! That's a very awesome instinct!" I complimented.
Doomstone puffed out his chest as if to show off. "Ahem! Right?"
Doomstone was a really interesting man. I got up from my seat and reached out to him.
"Okay! Let me introduce myself again. My full name is Anemone von Asteria. I'm happy to be with you as an enemy of Asteria Duchy."
When I extended my hand, Doomstone smiled broadly and held my hand.
"My full name is Doomstone Blade. Well, I didn't have a specific position when I was in my hometown, but I'm the eldest son of the Crow Tribe’s chief. I’m also happy to be with you.”
He shook hands with me and smiled pleasantly.
I smiled back and said playfully, "Oh, that's right. Sister Armand told me to tell you two to be prepared for a scolding for fighting at the temple where the children are."
For reference, Sister Armand's nagging was no joke, it was brutal. The scene of the two being scolded would be quite fun to watch. Hu-hu-hu.
-o-
"Miss, wake up. Miss Anemone.”
I was sleeping well but someone called me and shook me awake.
"Huh? What's happening? Is it already morning, Cenecova?”
"I'm not Miss’s maid," said the firm voice.
I rubbed my eyes and relied on the moonlight outside the window to identify the person who woke me up.
"Armand? Ah, I came to the temple yesterday."
"If you're awake, you should get ready, Miss. We have prepared the secret route that you requested."
Looking outside the window, the moonlight was clear, and it was still a long way before dawn. It was too early even considering that the morning was getting later because it was slowly entering winter. But I couldn't complain because I was the one who asked Sister Armand and also inconvenienced her.
"Okay. Ha-am~!"
Still, I couldn't stop myself from yawning.
I woke up slowly from my bed and wore a modest dress prepared by Armand last night. I was planning on wearing men’s clothing to not stand out, but she said it’d make me stand out more and prepared the dress for me.
"I've prepared breakfast in the kitchen. Please come down to eat when you're ready."
Armand should have stayed up all night preparing for a way to avoid the eyes of the imperial secret intelligence department, but she left the room with a lively smile.
After Armand went out, I roughly fixed my hair, removed my eye gunk, and slowly headed towards the kitchen.
Until yesterday, the servants brought drinking and cleaning water to wash my face, but now it was a goodbye to such a life. It would be a lie to say it wasn't a pity, but I didn't have any regrets.
"Good morning."
"Good morning.”
As I entered the kitchen, Glont ahjussi and Doomstone greeted me. It was too early to be morning, so I was still sleepy, but the two looked fine. Is it because they were warriors and worked out early in the morning?
"Ha-am~! Good morning." I yawned and sat at the table. "Glont ahjussi also woke up early. You should sleep more," I said.
Glont ahjussi looked at me seriously. "I was told yesterday that Miss was secretly leaving the Asteria Duchy with Doomstone. As expected, I believe I must follow you."
"You can't." I firmly refused.
"But still, I am worried...”
"But still, you can't. Ahjussi has something to do."
Cutting off Glont ahjussi’s words, I gave him a note briefly stating what he should do in the future.
"Ahjussi will be an important centerpoint of the empire in the future. My entire plan will collapse if we get held up in a place like this.”
After checking the note, Glont ahjussi eyes’ opened wide.
"This is!"
"When you go back to the capital, please meet His Highness the Crown Prince."
"…Miss is a scary person."
The slightly trembling voice was full of excitement rather than fear.
"Oh my, what do you mean a scary person? Just call me King Maker."
I dumped him a few years ago, but he had enough talent to be an emperor. Of course, the crown prince alone was far from enough to plan a rebellion. In addition to the crown prince, my plan required absolute support from politics, business, religion, and the military. In particular, military support was indispensable.
"Glont ahjussi needs to become the head of the imperial army in a short period of time. So prepare for war right away."
First was the control of the army. "My opponent is... Well, the Imperial State should be good?”
Let's set the destination as Enharayton, the capital of the Imperial State. On the way, I planned to stop by the capital and the Holy Land, and on the way back, I planned to pass through the Empire and several neighboring countries.
"U-hu-hu-hu."
Glont ahjussi and Doomstone trembled at my laughter.
"Why are you trembling?” I asked Doomstone, wondering if he knew something.
Doomstone pointed at my face. "I've never seen a person laugh with such an evil expression.”
I pouted my lips. "What? Are you unhappy?” I asked.
"No, that's not it. I'm just a little scared."
Me and Doomstone bickered a little and laughed at the same time.
"Ahahaha! I don't know why but it's fun when we talk,” he said.
I smiled and said, "It'll be more fun in the future, so you can look forward to it."
"That's nice."
After finishing the breakfast that Armand prepared, we got up to ride a very small carriage she prepared. The carriage prepared outside was more of a cart with a drooping tent than a carriage.
"Oho, are we moving as cargo now?"
If the surveillance of the secret intelligence department was still on the lookout, there would be no traces left if we moved as cargo, not humans. Even if they looked for traces later, it would be after we had already escaped past the border. By the way, it seems like my butt will hurt a lot.
Sister Armand smiled as if she had read my mind. "I can't help it. You want to avoid commotion as much as possible."
"That's true."
I smacked my lips and boarded the carriage, followed by Doomstone. It felt cramped when two people were in such a small carriage.
"Doomstone, please take care of Miss Anemone." Glont ahjussi requested.
Doomstone laughed joyfully and nodded. "Ahahaha! Don't worry. I'll keep her safer than anyone else."
The two seemed quite close. Perhaps they had some quite deep conversations while I was sleeping last night.
"Stay healthy, Miss," said Sister Armand.
I smiled and said goodbye to Sister Armand and Glont ahjussi. "Take care, both of you."
Finally, after the goodbyes, a wood partition was placed to prevent the inside from being seen from the outside. It was still a long time before dawn, so it was pitch-dark in the carriage.
"I will start driving now. It'll shake a bit, so please sit on the pile of straws as much as possible." The driver spoke and lit a lamp, and began to drive his horse forward.
Perhaps due to the lighting of the lamp at the driver's seat, a light came through a small hole that connected to the driver's seat and lit the inside softly.
I squatted over the straw. Hmm, it doesn’t cushion as well as I thought. In particular, rough straws stabbed my buttocks through the overlaid fabric.
"Ah!"
Then suddenly, Doomstone lifted my waist and sat me on his lap, and I screamed softly in surprise.
"Sit here. It'll be more comfortable," said Doomstone, turning his head away from me in embarrassment.
Certainly, Doomstone's thighs were much softer and more comfortable than the piles of straws. It was much nicer because it seemed like he was relaxing his hard muscles, which made it feel elastic and not hard.
"Huhuhu! Thank you."
I burst into laughter and sat down, leaning on him.
Doomstone's ears, seen under the light shining inside, were colored red. How cute.
He talked and changed the subject in embarrassment, "I heard it briefly from Glont hyung-ssi. About the reason for going against the emperor and the current situation."
"Oh my, really? Ahjussi is so nosy. I was going to explain everything slowly."
He asked confused, "He was worrying a lot. Wouldn't it have been better to move together? Anemone, you only met me yesterday. Can you trust a person you met yesterday?”
I answered the question, finding it interesting. "That's the same for you. You met me yesterday and decided to move with me."
"But I'm a man."
I lightly touched the tip of his nose with my index finger. "That's very rude. Gender is not a big part in befriending someone. Of course, your status included."
"No, not that," said Doomstone
I smiled softly at the flustered guy. "I know what you mean. I’m small and weak compared to you, Doomstone. But I have an eye for people. Just as you have the instinct that can see through everything."
He nodded in understanding.
"But if you think we don't know each other well, then tell me. About yourself. How you've lived and why you're here from your hometown," I said.
He responded with a smile. "I'm not that good at talking, so I don't know if I’ll be able to tell you about it well, but should I try?”
He began to tell the story of his past.
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