Chapter 20
20
Stone skillfully tamed the Magic Stone, preventing any further landslides. The red Magic Stone was now a necklace around Maria's neck. Gunther hired more workers from other regions to manage the aftermath of the mine's landslide. The work continued for over a month, and he educated them never to carelessly mine Magic Stones if they found any. Then the day arrived. The day to return to the Helland Royal Palace, but Maria wasn't happy at all.
[We're returning to the palace tomorrow. Say your goodbyes to the people in advance.]
Gunther's curt words from last night lingered in her ears all day. Because she had to leave Ero and Nora, and the people she had worked with. Especially the workers she had just become close to while sorting gold, now she had to say goodbye. She especially wanted to go to the palace with Ero and Nora. Of course, it was still just a decision in her heart.
'Should I tell Gunther?'
That she wanted to take Ero and Nora to the Royal Palace. Maria shook her head, looking at Stone. Although he couldn't speak, she couldn't ask Stone for help with everything. She thought it was right to find a way to convey her opinion, even if she couldn't speak.
'I'll do it. Stone can't replace me forever.'
'Gunther won't understand what Maria is saying.'
'I still have to do it.'
She wouldn't be ashamed even if she looked ugly, stuttering and stammering. Just then, Gunther entered the lodging, and Stone, held by Solskjaer, went outside.
"Are you ready?"
Come to think of it, Gunther was fully armed. It would take several days to get to the palace. Maria's heart grew more anxious at the sight of his attire.
'Huu, how can I express myself so he understands?'
Maria stared intently at Gunther, breathing heavily. She had a nervous expression, like a child about to run a race. With a determined face, she approached Gunther and took both of his hands.
"!?"
Gunther also looked at Maria with a surprised expression.
"Um, Ero... Nora, go... to the palace, go..."
She was ashamed and frustrated that the words didn't come out well, but Maria tried her best to convey her feelings to him. Meanwhile, Gunther didn't take his eyes off Maria for even a second as she spoke. His turquoise eyes were filled with Maria, who was sweating and trying to convey her meaning. The two of them held each other's hands for a while without saying anything. Then Gunther opened his mouth.
"You want to take your friends Ero and Nora to the Royal Palace?"
"!?"
Maria was startled and her eyes widened. She had mumbled in nonsensical sounds, but he understood her meaning. Soon, a thick tear fell from her eye. Was this what they called touching? Maria nodded her head vigorously, crying. Soon, a gentle smile bloomed on Gunther's face. She could rest assured that one thing had become clear.
'I won't try to die anymore. It seems like I have something I want.'
That alone was enough. But anything too easy wasn't fun.
"Maria, there's no such thing as a free lunch in this world."
"Huh?"
"It means you have to pay a proper price when asking for a favor."
Gunther's handsome lips twisted mischievously. Maria understood what he meant at once. But she had nothing to give him. Gunther knew that fact even better. Then, even if it was unlike her, she had to try. Lost in thought, Maria hesitantly raised her hands, cupped Gunther's cheeks, and brought them to her face.
"Kiss!"
Then she gave him a firm kiss on the lips. He stared at Maria blankly for a while.
'Is she kidding me?'
A kiss, like a child, was something you gave to Stone's cheek. He covered Maria's lips at once. Their lips met and twisted, and hot breaths warmed each other's insides. His tongue stirred recklessly in Maria's mouth. A woman who was incredibly sweet. As their tongues intertwined moistly, the size of his desire for Maria reached an uncontrollable level. He wanted to throw off this grand armor right away and make love to Maria. At that moment, Maria suddenly fell away from Gunther's body.
"Heu... Euh?"
Maria, asking if he would allow it with her lips swollen from being bitten, was hateful. Gunther growled in a low voice. His lower body was swollen to the point of bursting.
"I allow it, come here."
Gunther's patience, consumed by a desperate desire, had reached its limit. He snatched Maria's wrist in an instant and laid her on the bed. Without even having time to take off his top, he barely pulled down his bottoms and completely revealed his inner desires.
'Not yet.'
Maria quickly grasped his beastly desire with her hand and comforted him like a baby. Before long, he puffed and panted, Gunther burst white flames on her face. Seeing Maria's face wet with his essence, he trembled with satisfaction and a strange sense of elation. But on the other hand, he also found Maria, who cleverly avoided the core and teased him, to be mischievous. A woman who didn't make it easy and made him more anxious.
"Don't forget my scent."
Gunther said, wiping Maria's wet face with a towel.
"Oh my! Is that really true? I'm going to the palace with Maria?"
Ero shouted in surprise. But Nora, who was next to her, didn't look happy. It seemed she wasn't happy about going to the palace. Maria poked Nora and asked why.
"Maria, I tormented you so much, do you want to take someone like me?"
She should have been a little mean to Maria and Ero at first. Of course, they understood and accepted each other's situations, but she still felt sorry. Then Maria shook her head at Nora. She couldn't express her meaning in words, but she kept pulling Nora's hand and telling her to come with her.
Above all, seeing Nora taking care of the workers' situations one by one was the decisive factor. She thought she was just a territorial, violent, and mean woman, but she took care of her people terribly. In particular, the fact that she didn't hesitate to take risks to save her and Ero was not something anyone could do.
However, her heart wasn't entirely pure. There was one thing she had learned harshly from Nancy's betrayal. She needed someone who had been hardened by harsh trials rather than someone she could trust. Someone who wouldn't hesitate to do rough work and could get their hands dirty for her at any time... That was Ero and Nora. Of course, she would never betray them first.
"Go together."
It was Gunther's one word that ended the controversy. He accurately informed Ero and Nora of Maria's position and told them to go to the palace and take good care of her. It seemed that Maria had regained her will to live because of the two women, and he believed that they would be helpful in the future.
"To think someone like me would work in the palace."
In the end, Nora shed tears of emotion. Maria thanked Gunther. Of course, with her eyes. She thought Gunther was the only person in this world besides Stone who could understand her.
Finally, Maria left the mine and headed to the palace of Helland. Maria rode in a carriage with Ero and Nora, and Gunther, Solskjaer, and the rest of the soldiers all rode horses. Then Nora looked at Ero and asked.
"Who are you going to give it to?"
Come to think of it, Ero had been knitting ever since she got into the carriage. Nora seemed curious about Ero.
"Yes? I... I'm going to do it myself. I heard the Royal Palace is cold in winter."
"Really? Should I knit a thick shawl too?"
Nora's voice was quite excited. But Maria knew very well why Ero was knitting. Ero occasionally smiled, secretly stealing glances at Solskjaer out the carriage window.
'Ero is in love.'
Maria smiled contentedly as she looked at Ero. But her heart felt strange. Ero still had the purity to knit for the person she liked, but she was trying to achieve her goals by using Gunther. The sense of alienation between the two hearts when dealing with men was too great. Maria slightly parted the curtains and looked at Gunther, who was running at the same speed as the carriage.
'I won't do it twice.'
She didn't want to experience the feeling of believing in a man, as well as liking someone, more than once. Moreover, men who were arrogant with power were always surrounded by the seduction of women. She had never seen a powerful man who loved only one woman in the world. Gunther Paisley, that man would be the same. He seemed to like her now, but even that would inevitably change. It could just be satisfaction with something she hadn't had before.
'Maria, you have to be cold.'
After all, Gunther wouldn't want something like love from her either. He didn't seem like a naive man who would care about a hostage. But strangely, she became more and more concerned about Gunther as the days went by. Her heart was still soft, which was a little annoying. She had to be like a cold, hard Stone mass.
Around that time, the speed of the well-running carriage gradually decreased. Seeing the sun setting, it seemed like they would be camping out again today. She could see the soldiers setting up camp. If it were Lastonia, they could stay in a village or a local lord's castle, but Helland was still an underdeveloped kingdom, so camping was essential to get to the palace.
"Let's go out and help."
Nora said, rolling up her sleeves. Soon, the three women got out of the carriage and helped set up the camp. After a while, many camps were set up in the field. Maria, Nora, and Ero went into the camp preparing dinner and helped with the work. Nora stirred a large pot with a ladle, tasted the stew, and made a suspicious expression.
"Ero, go to the carriage and get my bag. All kinds of spices are in there. I think I need to add some dried mushroom powder."
"Okay."
At that moment, Maria stopped Ero. Ero's hands were a mess because she was in the middle of kneading dough. Maria said she would go to the carriage and came out of the camp. Maria went into the carriage that was set up over there and looked for Nora's bag. As she said, there were many spice jars in the large hemp bag.
'I found it. Spice jar.'
Maria was about to take the spice jar and leave. A cold metal touched her neck.