The straight road ever so slightly curved like a brush being run across a piece of paper. The fields on each side were barren of crops, likely because of the season, and instead there was a thin layer of snow on top.
Trails of open soil set its sight on the upcoming spring, but the wind stroking my cheeks was still frosty, turning my breath white before it quickly disappeared.
As I squinted to find the end of this narrow road, I finally saw a village built upon a gentle slope.
Many trees lined up around the houses, probably planted to act as a shield against the wind. Behind the village was a small forest, and further still were hills blanketed in pure white.
It took about five hours to reach here from the fort by horse. Finally, I’ve arrived at the first village.
Haaah, I unintentionally let out a sigh.
I was careless, but when I noticed that Sir Leonhard was watching me, I hurriedly held my mouth with my hands.
“Thank you for your hard work. For now, let us take a break.”
He said with a smile. I felt so guilty from the bottom of my heart.
But that’s because I didn’t even do anything. I didn’t know the way here like Sir Leonhard, nor did I hold the horse’s reins. All I did was sway about uselessly on top of it.
“It’s fine-”
“Princess?“
‘It’s fine, so let’s begin the investigation!’
Was what I tried to say when his voice interrupted me. Despite a smile on his face, right now he was really scary.
‘Didn’t I just say that you shouldn’t overdo it?’ I could hear him say, or was this my hallucination running wild again?
“We should take a break, right?”
“Yes…”
I couldn’t possibly compete with that destructive smile of his and eventually obediently nodded.
Sir Leonhard, with his narrowed gaze, looked at me softly, but the sweetness was that of a teacher looking at their poor student, or a pet owner looking at a pet that doesn’t remember them… Something like that. I felt happy, but at the same time, mixed feelings swirled within my heart.
The horse advanced, its hooves making light noises.
As we rode down the road, I noticed a flock of sheep inside the fences. Baaaa, the sheep cried out, and mixed in with all the bleating was a Woof! Before I knew it, I found a dog barking at me. Rather than being hostile, though, its feather-like tail swung wildly. I think it was a sheep dog, but the amount of friendliness it was showing had me worried whether it was doing its job properly.
An elderly man working nearby followed the dog’s line of sight to us. His wrinkled, light brown eyes widened, before immediately squinting.
When our eyes met, he took his hat off and bowed, looking slightly confused.
Sir Leonhard got off the horse, pulled on its bridle, and approached the fence.
“Greetings.”
“Oh, hello… Are you perhaps passing travellers?”
Just by looking at his body language and voice alone, you could tell he was wary.
Are travellers that rare? Or do neither of us look like one?
“Indeed. In fact, we have just finished our visit with an acquaintance stationed at the border fort.”
“Oh, a border guard!”
The old man was visibly relieved.
The border guards must have been a very comforting existence for the people living in the surrounding villages.
“Are you a knight too?”
“Yes, something along those lines.”
“Well, you’re well-dressed, and I’ve never seen you in these parts before.”
Sir Leonhard gave a wry smile as he was scanned from head to toe.
I wouldn’t say you’re just ‘something along those lines.’ If you’re not a knight, then who is?
The old man’s gaze, now without a worry, caught a glimpse of me.
When he smiled at me, I returned the favour.
“Who’s your companion then? She looks like quite the beauty, ain’t she?”
“Ah, that child is…”
“Don’t tell me, is she your wife?”
“Wif-!?”
A bomb was thrown towards Sir Leonhard before he could reply.
He didn’t expect the conversation to go this way and was having a hard time responding. My eyes were also wide open. The surprise hit me so hard that my brain couldn’t keep up with the development.
We were going to decide our relationship after we saw how the villagers react. If our age gap was too wide, then perhaps I would’ve posed as his niece or daughter. Not that I mind. I really wouldn’t have minded it.
But I never thought that we would be seen as a married couple of all things.
I feel a little… No, that’s not quite true; I’m extremely happy. I might not be able to do anything about our age gap, but maybe, at least in the eyes of others, I’ve begun to look like I belong by his side, little by little?
“…She’s my sister.”
After clearing his throat, Sir Leonhard gave a reply. Is that red I see on his cheeks, or am I being hopeful here?
“Ah, I see. My bad. There are plenty of couples around here with wider age gaps than you two, you see.”
“Please don’t mind it. We’re not that similar, and with how our age is, it’s a given we don’t look like siblings at first glance.”
“With the age difference, not to mention she’s quite the pretty one. I guess it couldn’t be helped with such a cute lass.”
Sir Leonhard nodded shyly, rubbing the back of his head.
“Yes, well… They get sweeter all the time, don’t they?”
I wanna scream.
I wanna run around while screaming my head off.
I wondered if Sir Leonhard was actually being bashful when talking about me, because on my part, I was embarrassed, happy, and smiling like an idiot.
But in reality, I knew he wasn’t talking about me, the princess, but instead his fictional sister. It was only something we were playing out for now. Really, it doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t mean anything at all.
Sir Leonhard turned to me and extended his hand.
“Come here.”
“!!”
I thought I stopped breathing for a second there.
To think that I would get to hear Sir Leonhard say one of his top ten phrases here, of all places…!!
I tried my hardest to remain calm. It was at the point that if I lost focus, my composure would definitely collapse.
B-But isn’t ‘Come here’ totally unfair? It’s absolutely cheating, right!?
“…T-Thank you, Brother.”
Taking care to not act suspiciously, I got off the horse with Sir Leonhard’s help.
I bowed my head to the old man who watched over me with a smile.
“Hello.”
“Hello there. Are you travelling with your handsome brother today?”
“Yes. Brother said he wanted to go see his friends, so I asked him to bring me along as a favour. Brother is always so busy with work that we rarely see each other, so I really wanted to spend some time together.”
I wanted to come off as a sister who’s close with her brother, but I’m not sure where the line between pretending and reality was anymore.
When I glanced up, Sir Leonhard was stroking my head with a shy smile. Precious.
I have no more regrets in my life. The world could end today for all I care…
“If you don’t mind dawdling about the empty countryside, then feel free to take your time.”
“Thank you, sir.”
While worshipping Sir Leonhard in my heart, I thanked the man with a cat-like smile.
“By the way, uncle. We love looking at old buildings… I heard that there was an old temple around here, do you know where we could find it?”
“A temple, you say?”
The uncle answered with a blink.
And for some reason, a mellow expression followed.
“Well, there is a place, I guess…”
The uncle replied while smiling bitterly.
Without knowing the reason behind his forlorn smile, Sir Leonhard and I looked towards where the man’s gaze was fixed at.
A building could be seen at the outskirts of the village on the other side of the fence.
The structure was made entirely out of limestone. But, if I’m not wrong, isn’t it still in the middle of construction?
It certainly looked like a temple, though.
But wait a minute. What I was looking for was an old temple lying in the outskirts of a village.
Don’t tell me…
With a sense of foreboding, I looked back at the old man.
“There sure was an old temple there before, but it was rundown and dangerous, so we had it rebuilt. I’m sorry, little girl.”
At my stunned expression, the troubled man laughed apologetically as he scratched his grey hair.
The straight road ever so slightly curved like a brush being run across a piece of paper. The fields on each side were barren of crops, likely because of the season, and instead there was a thin layer of snow on top.
Trails of open soil set its sight on the upcoming spring, but the wind stroking my cheeks was still frosty, turning my breath white before it quickly disappeared.
As I squinted to find the end of this narrow road, I finally saw a village built upon a gentle slope.
Many trees lined up around the houses, probably planted to act as a shield against the wind. Behind the village was a small forest, and further still were hills blanketed in pure white.
It took about five hours to reach here from the fort by horse. Finally, I’ve arrived at the first village.
Haaah, I unintentionally let out a sigh.
I was careless, but when I noticed that Sir Leonhard was watching me, I hurriedly held my mouth with my hands.
“Thank you for your hard work. For now, let us take a break.”
He said with a smile. I felt so guilty from the bottom of my heart.
But that’s because I didn’t even do anything. I didn’t know the way here like Sir Leonhard, nor did I hold the horse’s reins. All I did was sway about uselessly on top of it.
“It’s fine-”
“Princess?“
‘It’s fine, so let’s begin the investigation!’
Was what I tried to say when his voice interrupted me. Despite a smile on his face, right now he was really scary.
‘Didn’t I just say that you shouldn’t overdo it?’ I could hear him say, or was this my hallucination running wild again?
“We should take a break, right?”
“Yes…”
I couldn’t possibly compete with that destructive smile of his and eventually obediently nodded.
Sir Leonhard, with his narrowed gaze, looked at me softly, but the sweetness was that of a teacher looking at their poor student, or a pet owner looking at a pet that doesn’t remember them… Something like that. I felt happy, but at the same time, mixed feelings swirled within my heart.
The horse advanced, its hooves making light noises.
As we rode down the road, I noticed a flock of sheep inside the fences. Baaaa, the sheep cried out, and mixed in with all the bleating was a Woof! Before I knew it, I found a dog barking at me. Rather than being hostile, though, its feather-like tail swung wildly. I think it was a sheep dog, but the amount of friendliness it was showing had me worried whether it was doing its job properly.
An elderly man working nearby followed the dog’s line of sight to us. His wrinkled, light brown eyes widened, before immediately squinting.
When our eyes met, he took his hat off and bowed, looking slightly confused.
Sir Leonhard got off the horse, pulled on its bridle, and approached the fence.
“Greetings.”
“Oh, hello… Are you perhaps passing travellers?”
Just by looking at his body language and voice alone, you could tell he was wary.
Are travellers that rare? Or do neither of us look like one?
“Indeed. In fact, we have just finished our visit with an acquaintance stationed at the border fort.”
“Oh, a border guard!”
The old man was visibly relieved.
The border guards must have been a very comforting existence for the people living in the surrounding villages.
“Are you a knight too?”
“Yes, something along those lines.”
“Well, you’re well-dressed, and I’ve never seen you in these parts before.”
Sir Leonhard gave a wry smile as he was scanned from head to toe.
I wouldn’t say you’re just ‘something along those lines.’ If you’re not a knight, then who is?
The old man’s gaze, now without a worry, caught a glimpse of me.
When he smiled at me, I returned the favour.
“Who’s your companion then? She looks like quite the beauty, ain’t she?”
“Ah, that child is…”
“Don’t tell me, is she your wife?”
“Wif-!?”
A bomb was thrown towards Sir Leonhard before he could reply.
He didn’t expect the conversation to go this way and was having a hard time responding. My eyes were also wide open. The surprise hit me so hard that my brain couldn’t keep up with the development.
We were going to decide our relationship after we saw how the villagers react. If our age gap was too wide, then perhaps I would’ve posed as his niece or daughter. Not that I mind. I really wouldn’t have minded it.
But I never thought that we would be seen as a married couple of all things.
I feel a little… No, that’s not quite true; I’m extremely happy. I might not be able to do anything about our age gap, but maybe, at least in the eyes of others, I’ve begun to look like I belong by his side, little by little?
“…She’s my sister.”
After clearing his throat, Sir Leonhard gave a reply. Is that red I see on his cheeks, or am I being hopeful here?
“Ah, I see. My bad. There are plenty of couples around here with wider age gaps than you two, you see.”
“Please don’t mind it. We’re not that similar, and with how our age is, it’s a given we don’t look like siblings at first glance.”
“With the age difference, not to mention she’s quite the pretty one. I guess it couldn’t be helped with such a cute lass.”
Sir Leonhard nodded shyly, rubbing the back of his head.
“Yes, well… They get sweeter all the time, don’t they?”
I wanna scream.
I wanna run around while screaming my head off.
I wondered if Sir Leonhard was actually being bashful when talking about me, because on my part, I was embarrassed, happy, and smiling like an idiot.
But in reality, I knew he wasn’t talking about me, the princess, but instead his fictional sister. It was only something we were playing out for now. Really, it doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t mean anything at all.
Sir Leonhard turned to me and extended his hand.
“Come here.”
“!!”
I thought I stopped breathing for a second there.
To think that I would get to hear Sir Leonhard say one of his top ten phrases here, of all places…!!
I tried my hardest to remain calm. It was at the point that if I lost focus, my composure would definitely collapse.
B-But isn’t ‘Come here’ totally unfair? It’s absolutely cheating, right!?
“…T-Thank you, Brother.”
Taking care to not act suspiciously, I got off the horse with Sir Leonhard’s help.
I bowed my head to the old man who watched over me with a smile.
“Hello.”
“Hello there. Are you travelling with your handsome brother today?”
“Yes. Brother said he wanted to go see his friends, so I asked him to bring me along as a favour. Brother is always so busy with work that we rarely see each other, so I really wanted to spend some time together.”
I wanted to come off as a sister who’s close with her brother, but I’m not sure where the line between pretending and reality was anymore.
When I glanced up, Sir Leonhard was stroking my head with a shy smile. Precious.
I have no more regrets in my life. The world could end today for all I care…
“If you don’t mind dawdling about the empty countryside, then feel free to take your time.”
“Thank you, sir.”
While worshipping Sir Leonhard in my heart, I thanked the man with a cat-like smile.
“By the way, uncle. We love looking at old buildings… I heard that there was an old temple around here, do you know where we could find it?”
“A temple, you say?”
The uncle answered with a blink.
And for some reason, a mellow expression followed.
“Well, there is a place, I guess…”
The uncle replied while smiling bitterly.
Without knowing the reason behind his forlorn smile, Sir Leonhard and I looked towards where the man’s gaze was fixed at.
A building could be seen at the outskirts of the village on the other side of the fence.
The structure was made entirely out of limestone. But, if I’m not wrong, isn’t it still in the middle of construction?
It certainly looked like a temple, though.
But wait a minute. What I was looking for was an old temple lying in the outskirts of a village.
Don’t tell me…
With a sense of foreboding, I looked back at the old man.
“There sure was an old temple there before, but it was rundown and dangerous, so we had it rebuilt. I’m sorry, little girl.”
At my stunned expression, the troubled man laughed apologetically as he scratched his grey hair.
