Ever Ever After - Chapter 34

“W-what will happen?”

“You’ll have to pay thirty times the worth of what you stole? If you don’t have the money, you have to work for the knights.”

“Thirty…”

“Most of them are beaten to death for they’re used to vent the knight’s anger.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“And if it’s a woman…” Clint trailed off, keeping his mouth shut; his eyes twinkled.

“If it’s a woman?” Ailea asked with wide open eyes.

Clint turned his head and stopped. He didn’t want to ruin the mood and scare her with any more unnecessary words. It was only them here right now.

Come to think of it…

They were truly the only ones here at the moment.

“Is it just the two of us in the castle?”

“Ah… yes,” Ailea nodded her head.

Clint sighed at her remark and asked, “You’re here with a drunk guy and you’re not scared?”

“Scared?” Ailea asked, confused. She looked naive at the moment not knowing what Clint was talking about. She had long assessed herself as a woman too ugly, too hideous, too disgusting for Clint to hold… just like what Lawrence said.

What would she have to be afraid of when others grow frightened by her mere presence alone?

Even if Clint was an awful person, he wouldn’t dare cover her hideous body. But for Clint, unaware of Ailea’s thoughts, she looked like a dangerous beauty.

“You’re needlessly making such a pretty face,” he spoke as if scolding her.

“You’re like that again, playboy…”

‘You’re about to marry that playboy, my lady.’

Clint clicked his tongue as he stared at Ailea looking back at him. Not breaking their gazes, Clint said, “I have something to tell you. Let’s go inside.”

“What do you want to tell me?”

“Let’s go inside for now.”

Maybe he was drunk. Clint’s mischievous nature had been revealed little by little. It looked chilly, yet Ailea spotted a bit of tenderness. Was it because of his playboy tendencies?

As they walked into the Outer Castle, Clint said, “You can’t steal that horse.”

“Julian?”

“Yeah,” Clint nodded. “It’s Shantee’s horse. It’s used to carrying a heavyweight like Shantee so if Julian carried someone light like you… you’d fly away.”

“Ah… then what about Velvet?”

“It’s my horse. The one in the innermost part of the barn.”

“I see… it looks so strong…”

“Indeed.”

Ailea looked at Clint’s back; he was taking the lead. His shiny dark hair, wide shoulders, and hand placed in the pocket of his seams… the figure of his back was sassy.

His horse, Velvet, was too good for such an owner. Velvet stood upright as if he wasn’t interested if it was not his owner who came into the stable.

“I can’t see the moon,” Ailea said to his back.

“Hmm?” Clint looked back.

“Because you’re so big, I can’t see the moon. You’re covering it.”

Clint laughed. “What insipid talk.”

“It’s true, though.”

“If you want to see the moon, should I put you on my shoulder?”

“You’re staggering. It’d only frighten me.”

Clint grinned at Ailea’s frank bluntness.

The two people walked inside the empty castle.

“Please bring me mint tea,” Clint said as he headed to the office.

“Huh? I’m not a real maid…”

“But you bring it for the other guys.”

“That…”

When Ailea protested, Clint recalled the distant past.

“It seemed like you wanted to steal something a little while ago,” he smirked.

“I’ll bring it to you right away.”

Ailea quickly went and prepared mint tea.

Clint smiled lightly seeing her cute expression as she ran away in a hurry. When she was out of sight, his face became emotionless and blank.

A few minutes later, Ailea opened the door and saw Clint lost in his thoughts while sitting on the chair. The man had many aptitudes; the best among them was his facial features. He lived on the battlefield for two years, yet his skin was as flawless as ever.

Ailea placed the mint tea in front of Clint. He snapped out of his reverie and took a sip of the tea. It had moderate temperature and he woke up a little.

“What do you want to say to me?” Ailea asked gently.

“There’s a doctor among the prisoners of the Khanna Empire. I asked him if he could heal the black spots on my hand,” Clint answered her question.

“…He said he doesn’t know, right?”