Translator: Nox
(37) Star Festival and Gray Wolf (9)
Roxana greeted Floyd politely, but Floyd didn't respond for a very long time. He just stared intently at Roxana without even blinking.
Roxana found his gaze uncomfortable and embarrassing.
'Did I dress something wrong?'
Since she didn't know Torkan fashion, Roxana had let the maids and Petria dress her. The maids had braided her hair and chosen her accessories, but it occurred to her that it might not be an appropriate outfit to accompany the Monarch of Torkan.
'Well, they're all maids who do cleaning and laundry, so they might not know much about this kind of thing. Or...'
Roxana looked down at the area around her collarbone, which was exposed above her dress. The slave mark there had been carefully covered by Petria with makeup, so it wasn't very visible, but it might be noticeable to others.
Or she might be completely wrong.
Maybe he didn't mean to watch the circus together, but to have her follow him as a slave to serve him, and he was embarrassed by her dressed up appearance.
Thinking that she had to fix it either way, she was about to open her mouth, but Floyd spoke first.
"It suits you well."
"Did I make a mistake?"
"A mistake?"
"I should be serving you..."
"You're talking nonsense again. I'm going to throw frogs at you every time you say the word 'serve', so keep that in mind."
"...How did you know I hate frogs?"
"You look like you'd hate them."
At his blunt words, Roxana quickly touched her face.
'Does my face look like I hate frogs? Is there such a face?'
Floyd, who was watching her, laughed heartily.
"You're really something else, Princess."
"Yes?"
Roxana couldn't figure out what part of her he thought was strange. He smiled and held out his hand to Roxana.
Not knowing what he wanted her to do, she just looked down at it, and Floyd said.
"Are you going to embarrass me?"
"Yes?"
"Escort."
"Ah."
Of course, Roxana knew how to be escorted. But usually, you would offer your arm with the back of your hand facing up and lightly place your hand on the forearm, but she had never seen anyone offer their palm upwards as if asking you to hold their hand like this.
Roxana hardly had any memories of holding hands and walking affectionately with her fiancé, Lucas.
'Is this Torkan etiquette?'
Roxana hesitated, then gently placed her hand on his hand to avoid embarrassing him further. Despite Roxana's cautious attitude, he grabbed her hand tightly and grinned.
"You have small hands."
"That's the first time I've heard that."
Roxana was tall, so her hands and feet were larger than those of other women. Lucas, who was of similar height, would laugh whenever he saw Roxana's hands, saying, "I'd fly away if I got hit by that hand."
"Really? They're this small."
Being held by him, they really did look small. His hands were large, long, with thick, hard knuckles.
Seeing his large hand covering hers so that her own hand was not visible, she felt strange. Her hand, which fit perfectly into his, felt very delicate. Like Elise's small, lovely hands.
She didn't know why Lucas and Elise kept coming to mind after she decided to live. She also didn't know why the words and actions that she had casually dismissed back then were now making her chest feel stuffy.
She didn't want to think about them. She had many other problems to think about right now, and she just wanted to focus on retrieving her family's bodies.
Floyd pulled her hand, and Roxana snapped out of her thoughts. He was holding her hand and walking like a young boy, so Roxana was a little embarrassed and looked down at their shaking hands.
A carriage was waiting in front of the Lily Palace. It was an ordinary-sized carriage with no crest, but the interior was wider, cleaner, and more luxurious than it looked from the outside.
Floyd, who had helped Roxana into the carriage first, ordered the coachman.
"Drive slowly. So it doesn't shake."
Floyd sat across from Roxana. His long legs slightly brushed Roxana's knees. The carriage wasn't small, but it felt cramped for him, who was large.
He moved around as if he was uncomfortable because it had been a while since he had ridden in a carriage, then said to Roxana, who was staring at him.
"Am I acting too childish?"
"Yes?"
"You're looking at me with those eyes."
"No."
She thought he was acting without dignity, but she didn't think he was acting childish. But Roxana didn't add anything more because she didn't dislike his behavior, which didn't adhere to etiquette.
He looked at Roxana's face and shrugged.
"Please understand even if I do something that goes against your etiquette, Princess. I haven't learned anything."
"I'm not in a position to demand the etiquette of an owner anymore."
"There you go again. If you keep doing that, I'm really going to act like an owner?"
She was curious about how he, the owner of the slave, would act, but Roxana didn't answer and lowered her gaze.
Floyd stared at Roxana's long eyelashes, chuckled, and crossed his legs. Even though he was careful, the tips of his long legs brushed against the hem of Roxana's skirt.
"Ah, I'm sorry."
"You don't have to apologize to me, Monarch."
Floyd, who was about to protest, closed his mouth at her prim expression.
'Was she joking just now? But looking at that expressionless face, it doesn't seem like a joke... Is it a joke? Or not?'
Roxana rarely showed any expression except when she was surprised or when she protested because of the title 'Princess'. Even when she was angry, there was so little change that it was hard to tell if she was really angry, so it was very difficult to figure out how she was feeling.
Maybe that's why.
That's why he felt especially anxious when he was with Roxana.
While Floyd was pondering whether Roxana's reply was a joke or not, the carriage passed through the main gate of the Grand Duke's residence. And a knight on horseback followed the carriage.
Floyd, who quickly noticed this, opened the window and looked out, asking.
"Hexter, what are you doing?"
"Escorting."
"Escorting? The carriage I'm in?"
"No. The carriage the Princess is in. As you know, I swore to protect the Princess, didn't I? So I have to protect her."
"When I'm here?"
"The more people protecting her, the better. The festival is crowded, so you never know where danger might come from. There are always one or two guys aiming for the Monarch during times like this. I'm just worried that the Princess might get caught in the crossfire."
Hexter's words were not wrong.
As Floyd achieved rapid growth at a young age, his popularity increased, and so did those who envied him. There were more than a few who sent assassins to break Floyd's momentum, which did not bow down.
Floyd could protect himself, but Roxana needed protection. Hexter's judgment was right, but he couldn't figure out why he felt displeased.
'It must be because I don't like that grinning face of his.'
Hexter had been grinning since earlier, and he didn't like that expression. He was usually a smiling guy, but why did that smile seem so meaningful today?
Floyd narrowed his eyes and glared at Hexter before closing the window.
While a subtle battle of nerves was going on between Floyd and Hexter, Roxana slightly pulled back the curtain on the opposite window and took in the scenery outside.
After leaving the Grand Duke's residence and driving for a while, a street lit up as if starlight had fallen came into view. Even though the sky was already dark, the street was as bright as day.
"Magic stones."
Floyd said.
"Among the magic stones that come out when you kill monsters, the ones that are less valuable are used in Torkan instead of being sold. If you decorate them with magic stones containing light magic during the festival, it looks pretty good."
"It's not just pretty good, it's really beautiful."
Roxana knew that even magic stones of low value were traded at a considerable price. She could feel the extent of Torkan's wealth, which used so many expensive magic stones just for the festival.
As they entered the downtown area, there were more and more people.
Merchants soliciting customers, people singing and dancing, bands and dancers performing, people watching acrobats, storytellers shouting loudly with beer cups in their hands, and employees running around with drinks.
The lively scenery poured in incessantly, making it hard to come to her senses.
The circus was located in a large open space a little away from the downtown area.
"The competition to rent this open space is fierce during the festival. Last year it was a theater troupe, but this time the circus troupe succeeded in winning it."
Stakes were driven along the open space, and ropes were tied along the stakes to mark the area. The carriage stopped before entering the stakes.
Roxana took Floyd's outstretched hand and got out of the carriage. This time, it felt quite natural to hold his hand and walk.
Next to the colorful circus tent were several cages made of iron bars. And inside were various kinds of beasts.
Wolves, rabbits, cats and birds, lions, and other beasts.
When Roxana stopped walking after seeing them, Hexter, who was following behind, explained.
"They're the ones who perform tricks in the circus. This circus troupe is especially spectacular with its animal tricks."
Roxana looked around at the beasts trapped in the cages, listlessly. Their appearance overlapped with her own appearance when she was trapped in a cage.
She felt sorry for them, but she didn't show it and bit her lower lip because she knew she couldn't take responsibility for everyone.
At that moment, a wolf cage caught her eye.
In the wolf cage containing two brown adult wolves, there were small things wriggling around. On closer inspection, they were wolf cubs.
