"Of course. You even got a nosebleed by yourself the day you gave me a massage last time."
Carcel's lips, caught red-handed, merely twitched.
Asha looked at Carcel seriously and said.
"I'm a little worried that if I start doing something properly, you might spit out a nosebleed like a baby angel in a fountain."
"That will never, absolutely never happen. Not even if the world splits in two."
And the baby angel is not a nosebleed...
Carcel spoke even more resolutely, wondering if the image of himself in Asha's mind was really that ugly.
"I will take extreme care of my health until the wedding so that nothing for Asha to worry about will happen."
And so, from that day on, the protein in Carcel's diet doubled.
***
And that evening.
"Princess!"
Having received an invitation, I headed to the inner palace and waved my hand at Princess Amira, who was already waiting to greet me.
To think that I had no choice but to come even in the evening because her cat injured her eye! It was something I couldn't help but worry about.
Princess Amira welcomed me from the entrance along with the other ladies-in-waiting.
"You came early, Little Marchioness."
"After all, the longer you drag it out, the slower a wound heals. However, this treatment method is a bit unusual..."
"It's okay."
She approached expressionlessly and gently took my hand.
Since I rarely have to hold a woman's hand, I was surprised for a moment.
“Come in.”
Thanks to her, who lured me into the palace in an instant, I was able to look around the front hall, which was decorated completely differently from the Empire.
An exotic scent wafted from the palace assigned to Princess Amira.
"Wow."
I was filled with admiration.
Colorfully woven carpets were laid out without a single gap, and colorful glass lamps were placed here and there.
Not only that, but all the furniture inside had been removed, and there were soft floor cushions placed inside.
“Take off your shoes.”
“That’s nice.”
As a Korean, I was secretly uncomfortable wearing shoes indoors.
But that was then.
"Huh? No, you don't have to do that, uh, uh?"
Princess Amira's ladies-in-waiting suddenly approached, grabbed my shoes, and skillfully took them off.
Then the women looked up at me.
The Princess spoke to me, who was bewildered by the ladies-in-waiting who were saying nothing.
"These children can neither speak nor write."
"Ah..."
"They aren't children I brought. They are children Safiya personally selected."
For a moment, it seemed as though pity had flickered in Princess Amira's eyes, but her expression remained blank, making it difficult to read her emotions.
"Did the little Marchioness eat?"
“Oh. Not yet!”
I originally planned to eat with my family, but time was tighter than I thought, so I just came back.
“Let’s eat together.”
"Can I treat the cat first before eating?"
"Yeah, it's healed a lot, but she gets scared whenever she sees a man."
It's a relief that I didn't bring Carcel on purpose.
The Princess opened one of the closed doors and cautiously peeked inside.
"Eve."
At the low call of that name, a cute crying sound came from inside.
"Maw."
"I brought a friend."
"Myaang."
At the sound of that crying welcoming me, the corners of my mouth softened.
"Shhh."
Amira put her index finger to her lips and gave me a warning.
I nodded.
What was seen beyond the opened door was.
"It's an Abyssinian?"
“How do you know?”
"Uh... I saw it in a book."
It was a lovely cat with somewhat noble yellowish-brown fur and bright, sparkling eyes.
Just as she said, it seemed to be almost fully healed, with only a slight redness remaining around her eyes.
"Mya... ak"
At first, she approached with her ears and tail perked up as if welcoming her mom. But when Eve saw me, she instantly flattened.
The pupils of the golden eyes widened.
I held back my laughter and my breath at the cat's face, which clearly showed its bewilderment.
However, Amira let go of my hand and casually grabbed Eve and lifted her up.
She kneaded the cat like dough and then forced a kiss on the mouth.
"Marchioness."
Amira spoke as she held the frail, coy Eve back in her arms.
“Give me your hand.”
I slowly reached out my hand to Eve.
Eve, who had been looking at me with wary eyes, sniffed repeatedly and let out warm breaths.
I bit my lip tightly every time that breath touched me.
"You're really cute."
"Yeah, Eve, your fur is soft."
The Princess stroked Eve's fur vigorously without hesitation.
"But seeing that he has peanuts, he's a boy, so why is his name Eve?"
"Eve is heart in Cerbeto."
"Ah. Is he a child like the Princess's heart?"
The Princess, nodding her head, looked somewhat lonely.
'So, the cat didn't call me because it was hurt in the first place.'
Upon closer inspection, Eve's wounds have almost completely healed, so it seems slhe won't need treatment from a non-professional like me.
Perhaps...
Holding Eve tightly in her arms and resting her cheek against the little cat's head, she might have needed a friend.
It was such a beloved cat that it even wore a necklace made of gold and rubies around its neck.
"You can pet him now."
At those words, I carefully scratched Eve's cheek.
Eve's expression, which at first looked like he was wondering why this stranger was touching him, softened a little.
"It purrs."
"Eve only likes women."
“You’re cute.”
Eve's face also looked somewhat plump, as if he were satisfied.
Gathering courage at the sight, I even scratched Eve's chin and received a snack from Amira to feed him.
“You can do it now.”
"Do you happen to have any matches?"
Amira had a face that showed no strangeness even when I took out the apricot feather I had carefully brought from inside the pouch.
I had Amira hold the feather, worried that Eve might be startled.
"This is a feather from a mysterious monster. It heals if you burn it."
"If you don't understand what you're saying, will Eve be fixed?"
"You can roughly assume that is the case."
I lit a match and set the tip of the feather on fire.
Then, as the feather burned, shattered star-like particles fell onto Eve's eyes like snowflakes, just like back then.
Amira's eyes widened at the sight.
“It’s fascinating.”
Amira checked Eve's eyes with an innocent, childlike face.
"It's all fixed!"
“It’s clean now.”
The red skin around my eyes has completely healed.
It was the moment I cautiously reached out my hand to Eve.
"Huh?"
The Princess tried to subtly lean her head in, as if thinking I was touching her.
I couldn't bring myself to say that I tried to touch Eve, so I held back my laughter.
"It's... soft."
I had no choice but to stroke the Princess's hair.
After I stroked her for a moment, Amira seemed satisfied and lifted her head up to me, speaking shyly.
"Thank you, Little Marchioness. From now on, you are my benefactor."
“A benefactor?”
"Yes."
Amira nodded vigorously.
I smiled softly because she was cute like that.
"And you can call me Asha."
“Asha.”
Amira repeated the name Asha a few times in her mouth and spat it out.
"Asha is life in Cerberto."
“It’s fascinating.”
"Little Asha, let's eat."
She put Eve down again, and this time opened the door wide and came out.
Then Eve followed closely behind us.
“Sister?”
It was when Amira opened the door and came out, heading toward the drawing room she had seen earlier.
Princess Safiya, who had just come down from upstairs, called out to Amira.
Amira glanced up at her younger sibling and just nodded once.
"Sister, who is that person next to you?"
"Friend."
"Hello."
As Carcel said, Safiya's way of speaking was almost like that of an Imperial citizen.
I also greeted Safiya with a nod.
Soon, she continued speaking the Imperial language fluently.
"I'm going to see my friends. See you later."
"Yes."
Unlike how long she had spoken to me earlier, Amira just nodded half-heartedly and pulled my hand.
"Hungry."
I saw Safiya's back.
"Please take good care of Hephet."
Saying that, Safiya handed one of the maids a lizard the size of a forearm that she had carried down.
"Princess, does Princess Safiya raise lizards?"
"Yeah. Precious animals, raised only in the royal family."
I nodded and stared intriguedly at the grayish-white lizard.
'Amira is wearing the attire of the Kingdom of Cerberto, but Safiya looks like she was practically born and raised in the Empire.'
“I’m going.”
After saying just that, Safiya left the palace cheerfully.
And I took a deep breath in the drawing room, where I was led by Amira's hand.
"Gasp, how are you going to eat all of this?"
"In the desert, you have to give guests a lot of food and drink and leave some behind."
“I’ve heard of it.”
I actually asked Carcel before I left.
- People of the desert express their emotions through eye contact and physical touch instead of smiles, and they are very generous in their hospitality.
- So, if someone offers to treat me, refusing is considered impolite, right?
- We might have to get Asha new clothes made.
I should have known when he left those meaningful words!
Foods made with exotic spices commonly eaten in the desert, along with things like dates and figs, were laid out in such abundance that they filled an entire carpet.
I was sweating profusely.
However, the moment Amira tilted her head and looked at me with a blank expression, as if puzzled.
"Thank you for this food."
I had no more options.
Previous Next
Support Novellate!
Comments
Post a Comment