"What?!"
"He said ride in the carriage together. Didn’t you hear?"
"What? Luman! Why do I have to ride with the lady?"
"If we’re not going to abandon someone as bait, then it’s better to stay together in one carriage for cover."
"...Fine."
Luman was being polite, but he looked irritated. That just made it scarier that he was still smiling. Ugh.
"Ah!"
"Ren?"
I hurried back to the carriage I’d been riding in. I yanked the door open and... it wasn’t there!
The bundle I left on the seat! My medicine! My medicine was gone!
"W-where’d it go? My bundle!"
It wasn’t under the seat either! Did I drop it? Did I load it somewhere else? I was hopping around in a panic when Lady Coco jabbed me in the back.
"What?!"
"You looking for this?"
"What? Give it back! Why do you have that?"
"Hmph. Get in first."
"Hey! Why the hell are you touching other people’s stuff without—"
"Ren."
"......"
Lady Coco slipped into the carriage.
Brother gave me a hard look for yelling, and my cheek stung under it.
What, were you thinking about slapping the other side too, Brother?
Dragging my feet, I climbed into the carriage clutching the bundle I’d snatched back from the lady.
As soon as I got in, Luman shut the door for me.
Maybe it was because Lady Coco was a noble, but the inside of the carriage was wide and cozy as hell. The cushions were so thick my ass probably wouldn’t even hurt. The windows were wide too, and the whole carriage felt solid and heavy. Like if something came flying at us, it could block it.
The carriage started moving slowly, then gradually picked up speed.
"......"
"......"
I was too tired and annoyed to fight anymore. My stomach hurt too. I was sleepy. It even felt like the fever was coming back.
It wasn’t this bad the first day.
Why was this happening? Was I getting sicker? Panic started creeping up on me.
Was it almost time for one of my attacks again? No! Going by the usual timing, there was still more than a month left.... Even if I do collapse... not now. I can’t do it now. If I’m going to go down, it has to be after we reach the capital and after I’m separated from Brother!
I fidgeted with the bundle.
Once Lady Coco fell asleep, I’d take the medicine.
The old man had prepared it so it’d be easy to drink as tea, but... I haven’t had a chance to sit down and drink tea! I’d have to chew it straight....
When the hell was she going to sleep?
Lady Coco sat there with her back straight and... stared right at me.
Our eyes met head-on.
It felt like I should say something. But I didn’t really have anything to say....
Her purple eyes narrowed, like she was sizing me up. The hell was that? Creepy.
By then I was glaring back too, and finally her mouth opened.
"You."
After dragging it out, the lady spoke with total certainty.
"You’re sick, aren’t you?"
"...What?"
"That bundle obviously has medicine in it. That’s why you were shaking and freaking out trying to find it, right?"
"......"
"And from the looks of it, your so-called brother and Luman don’t know, so you’re hiding it? Is it some kind of serious illness? I learned medicine as part of my education, so I know enough. I can take a look—"
Lady Coco reached for the bundle in my arms.
How the hell could she act like she knew anything—something inside me surged up hard.
Even Brother didn’t know, so how could you, after only seeing me for three days, act like you did?
Swallowing down the sourness rising in my throat, I glared at her.
"Shut up."
Coco, who’d been talking nonstop, snapped her mouth shut. Her hand froze in midair too.
"...What?"
Like she thought she’d heard wrong, Coco frowned.
Those vivid purple eyes looked at me like they were demanding an explanation.
"I said shut up! What the hell do you know?!"
"Why are you getting mad all of a sudden?? What did I even do?!"
"How would you know! You’ve only known me for three damn days, what the hell do you know about me that makes you think you can just say whatever—"
Why do I always start tearing up at times like this? Fucking humiliating.... These weren’t tears because I was sad or hurt. They were tears because I was pissed. Pissed at myself for not hiding it better!
But Coco’s face turned bright red too.
Without taking back the hand hanging in the air, she suddenly grabbed my bundle with a fast, stubborn yank!
I pulled back, trying not to let her take it, but I wasn’t strong enough.
The knot, clumsily tied in a rush, came loose—and I toppled straight onto the floor of the carriage.
Thud!!
The bundle came open, and the green herbs disguised as tea leaves scattered through the air.
Then spilled all over the floor.
Lady Coco’s eyes shook, suddenly lost.
"I—"
She looked at my face and couldn’t finish.
But I couldn’t even see Lady Coco anymore.
"What happened?!"
"Ren. What’s wrong?"
Outside the carriage, I heard Luman and Dell.
The carriage, which had been racing along, was starting to slow.
My body throbbed where I’d slammed into things.
But more than my aching arms and legs... seeing the herbs the old apothecary had prepared for me scattered across the carriage floor was so humiliating, so pathetic.... My whole life felt exactly like those tea leaves strewn across the floor, and that hurt worse.
For some reason, the whole world felt cruel.
Why can’t I hide even something this small properly?
What was Brother going to say if he saw?
I was scared of him finding out. I didn’t even know how I’d explain it.
But... the thing I hated most was—
Bang!
"My lady. What exactly do you think you’re doing?"
"What are you doing, Lord Luman?!"
"Ren."
"No! I was the one at fault, stop it, Dell! Put your sword away!!"
The thing I hated most of all...
...was that Lady Coco had noticed in three days something Brother had never noticed all this time, and I could feel resentment toward him for that.
I sat there frozen, staring blankly like I was looking at a shattered bowl.
The herb leaves tangled in dirt and dust on the carriage floor looked like shards of broken glass.
"Lady Coco! I asked what you did."
"Lord Luman, how dare you insult my lady like this!"
"Dell!! Dell Belkerman!"
At the lady’s sharp, commanding voice, Dell ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) closed his mouth.
"I said lower your sword."
"My lady!"
"Lower it."
"......"
The sound of the sword sliding back into its sheath rang out coldly.
"I made a mistake."
I rolled my dazed eyes toward the lady.
Her cheeks were stiff as she slowly opened her mouth.
D-don’t say it... please.
Not like this... I....
The words in my head wouldn’t come together. I had definitely slept, but it felt like I’d stayed up all night anyway, like my mind and body had split apart, like I was still dreaming.
I worked my unmoving mouth, trying to force something out. Anything. But all that effort was pointless—my throat felt locked shut, and no sound came out.
And in that gap, Coco’s small lips moved.
"...I hit him!"
"...What did you say?"
...?
She hit me?
I blinked and stared at Lady Coco.
Maybe she felt me looking, because she whipped her head toward me and jabbed a finger in my direction.
"This brat was acting like such a little shit! He wouldn’t back down a single inch!! He kept bitching about how disgusting the tea tasted, so I told him off, and then he started demanding I apologize because it was from some precious old man or whatever, some old guy or old grandpa or old lady, who even knows, just some precious person of his, okay?? Hah! Do you really think I, Coco Gannion, would apologize to some peasant runt?? I got pissed and tossed his bundle a little, and now everyone’s acting like this! Is this really such a huge deal?!"
Coco was huffing angrily.
She was pointing at me so hard it felt like her finger was going to punch a hole in my face!
"My lady. Even so...."
Luman’s voice softened a little.
"You hit him."
Disgust flashed through Luman’s eyes.
His hand was still resting on his sword.
Brother was... looking at me with a grave expression.
"I only shoved him a little! Hah... we were struggling over it and I got mad, that’s all."
That "Hah..."—I think she had almost said "medicine."
It felt like the swallowed word was buzzing in my ears. But Coco let it dissolve naturally into a sigh and planted her hands on her hips.
She was doing it perfectly, playing the role of the awful little noble lady.
"Tch!"
Coco even clicked her tongue, then glared at me.
The raised brows, the fierce eyes, the accusing finger—perfect three-hit combo. But... I could see her stiff cheeks, and the way her eyelashes were trembling. In the cracks under the expression she’d hidden so well, I thought I could see a little guilt too.
Hearing Coco’s voice, loud like she was hammering on something, made my frozen thoughts start moving again.
And then I realized that me sitting there stupidly on the floor of the carriage was only making things worse—and that Lady Coco had decided to protect the secret I’d rather die than let out.
The lady had finished her act, so now it was my turn!
I blinked fast until the tears gathered in my eyes spilled, then jerked my head up.
"I’ve never seen a girl as nasty and vicious as you!! Why the hell are you so strong?! You hit way harder than a normal person!!"
"You think you can compare some peasant like yourself to me? I was raised right, fed well, everything! Hah! Clean up your cheap tea leaves!!"
We glared at each other like we were about to claw each other apart... but in each other’s eyes, I could also see the quiet wash of relief.
Shhk.
At last, Luman’s sword slid quietly back into its sheath too.
Wow, Coco... that girl’s got insane nerve, doesn’t she? That sword had been pointed at her the whole time! Realizing it only now, I stared at Luman in shock.
