Princess Sherry’s Tale - Chapter 10.2
“Madam Heris, how are you feeling?”
The bartender waiting downstairs asked in a worried voice. Of course, it might have meant “Are you fully sober?” but Sherri, who had caused the accident in a different sense, closed her eyes tightly.
“I’m fine. But, uh…”
“Yes?”
“Nevermind.”
She headed in the direction of the exit, shaking her head. Thankfully the bartender didn’t seem to notice what she and the owner had done. She was worried that the man named Master might appear again, and it seemed that quite a long time had passed, so she quickly picked up the pace and left through the door.
From the looks of the moon high in the pitch-black sky, it looked like it was already well past midnight.
This time I left without saying a word to the house owner. I wasn’t caught, right?
Sherri rushed to the castle feeling nervous and worried. The door to the secret passage that led to her room closed behind her, and when she took off the robe and her magic ring, her red hair fluttering in the dark was revealed.
Through the grace of God, it looked like no one knew that she’d been gone out of her room for an extended period. If someone knew, no way the castle would be so quiet like this. Sherri sternly promised to herself again not to over-drink outside again. After a while when she carefully opened the door, which had been locked, perhaps someone had been leaning against the door, she could see a large figure rising in the dark.
“Madam Kasheira!”
“Oh! You scared me. What are you doing here, Tol?”
On second thought, she kicked him out coldly and locked the door. So many things had happened that she’d completely forgotten about what had happened earlier in the morning
Sherri felt a bit sorry for Tol’s worried face calling her in a slightly raspy voice as if he had been dozing off against the door. Did I really just kick this innocent man to the cold floor after having a one-night stand with another man, she thought.
Of course, she had been angry because of him, but those feelings had already disappeared, and she didn’t hate him now as much as she did then.
“You didn’t come out of your room… so I was worried.”
“That’s enough. I’m not mad anymore.”
Sherri gestured for him to come in when he shook his head with a sad look in his eyes. Well, his residence had become her small room in the living room. He hadn’t been able to enter because she hadn’t unlocked the door, so he’d probably been scrunched up against the door all night. She sucked her teeth, thinking she had done something much nastier than she thought.
Sherri thought he would enter the room right away, but Tol, who followed her to the living room, stood staring at her.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“Oh, I, uh… umm, I.”
When she stared at him, stuttering and fumbling his words, the blushing man handed something to her.
“Um, so this… Thank you for letting me use these. Oh, although I did use them, I wash and dried them right away. The sun was nice and bright today, so they dried well.”
It was the towel and a freshly cleaned water jug that he’d gotten from a maid earlier. Sherri didn’t know why he was giving it to her, so she made a strange expression at the thought that came to her mind while her forehead became wrinkled. Tol probably thought that the towel and water jug the maid had given him had been sent by Sherri.
Sherri didn’t know if the maid had really made an excuse or if Tol was mistaken. However it turned out, the important thing was that the embarrassing smile he had shown earlier was not directed at the woman. This thought made Sherri feel as if her whole body was covered in cold water.
If so, had her anger so far become pointless? She tasted bitterness in her mouth at the fact that she had gone out drinking and had a needless one-night stand with another guy.
Anyways, this was unexpected. Tol, whom she’d cold-heartedly pushed away, simply had accepted what he thought was a favor and responded like this… It was a bit unfortunate for the maid, who had obvious feelings for Tol, but this escort knight may be destined to be Sherri’s as well.
How could he have washed the water jug and the towel on the same day? Just imagining Tol squatting, and washing a towel made him seem so, so cute. On top of that, she couldn’t stand the excitement of the idea of him drying it himself in a sunny place.
Feeling sympathetic for Tol’s sudden innocence, and relieved from the tightness of her chest, Sherri smiled gently. Tol, who had never seen such a smile on her before, lowered his eyes gently at the gloomy mood, and Sherri slowly opened her mouth with a charming face.
“I’m thinking of taking a bath now, and maybe it’s because I drank, but I feel a little drowsy, so if I don’t come out for a long time you have to come and save me, okay?”