The Hero is Standing in My Way - Chapter 31

Chapter 31

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I went up to my room after repeatedly thanking the Count. A staff of the inn showed up with a wooden bathtub full of steaming water after taking off my uniform and waiting for a while. I leisurely took a bath with the bath supplies they brought, then I went down to the dining when I felt hungry.

I was probably the first one to finish washing, so the dining was quiet. I ordered my share of food then got a glass of wine and drank it. As I was enjoying myself, Siegfried appeared just as I had expected him to come. But the daring Siegfried that fixed my hair earlier was nowhere to be found.

He seemed to have come back to his senses after being slapped in the face. His hands was on the pole of the stairs leading to the dining and looking down at me cautiously. But he didn’t talk to me and was just intensely staring at me that I felt like the back of my head was hurting.

I thought that he was slightly doing the ‘doing something else concept’. I decided not to be fooled by him any longer when he pretended to  cry. Hell, he had already gone the antenatal car  when he was young, so can’t he just cry because of me? I should’ve known that from the beginning. Siegfried was now treating me half a crush, and half resentment towards me for trying to cut off the buds before his liking towards me deepens more.

“What are you doing, Your Highness?”

“Don’t talk to me. I’m busy.”

What on earth are you busy doing? Staring intensely at the back of my head? 

Siegfried didn’t even care about Abbysion when he asked him while coming down. It wasn’t that long time, but there was a period of time that Abbysion and Siegfried get to know each other in their own way. so Abbysion didn’t seem to think that it was strange of Siegfried to do that.

I saw Abbysion’s shadow shrugging his shoulders as I turned my back. As he came down from the stairs, a creak filled the quiet space for a moment. He ordered food then pulled out a chair next to me and sat down.

“Iyah, our Ariel’s very cool today. I saw it. You were smiling as you slapped the Crown Prince’s (cheek) – ”

“You said you’re thirsty? Okay, drink it all.”

… how did you see it? I made sure that I did it when no one was around to Siegfried. I grabbed Abbysion by the nape of his neck and shoved his nose to the wine glass while laughing at him.

“Are you the only one who saw it? Or does other people know it too?”

“I wah de only wan dat saw it. Des no odeh pehson.” (I was the only one that saw it. There’s no other person. )

Fortunately, the only witness was Abbysion. In that case, it seems that I only need to deal with him. I gave him the wine and sighed.

In fact, if it wasn’t for the d**n thing that Siegfried likes me, I’d already be on the other side of the world. Imagine if it was Prince Eisa I slapped on the cheek and not Siegfried, I would’ve been climbing up the guillotine by now. That’s because Eisa was naturally vicious. He would punish me without regards to my noble status if I offended him even a little.

This happened once.

In terms of appearance, Eisa was as beautiful as Siegfried – ah of course, Siegfried was more handsome and prettier – and a Young Lady fell in love with his appearance. Growing up like a flower in a greenhouse, she mistakenly thought that Eisa had an angelic personality as much as his angelic appearance. If she had just listened a little and heard anecdotes about him, she would’ve never think of doing that. Tsk, tsk. 

In any case, that Young Lady bumped into Eisa who was passing by and cast the classic flirting, in which she ‘accidentally’ sprained her feet and fell on the ground. She sat in front of Eisa and looked up at him with anticipation.

Eisa’s reaction was quite surprising. Without a blink of an eye, he stepped on the Young Lady and passed her by. The Young Lady wouldn’t ask Eisa to ask her if she was fine, or would ask him to extend his hand. But she couldn’t have imagined that he would walk right through her  wrist.

The Young Lady’s wrist was completely broken as he had stepped on it with so much force. The Young Lady was so shocked by the pain she had never experienced before that she lost her mind, but Eisa didn’t look back.

I thought that at that time, Eisa wasn’t that crazy. I know that Eisa in the novel wasn’t even that harsh towards Ariel. No, I think that he liked her quite a bit. But that doesn’t justify his violent tendencies. Eisa might have revealed his true nature to Ariel if he was still alive. I wasn’t there but I heard about it.

……Just a second. When did I ever hear such a story? This is a part of the novel that hasn’t yet happened in the reality. So that means, I read it on the novel…?

But at that time that happened, Siegfried was away from the Imperial Palace for a very long time because he had gone to a war. I could only roughly imagine Eisa’s face in that age. The novel only showed Siegfried’s point of view – of course, because he was the main character.

But, did I know of Eisa’s anecdote when Siegfried was away from the Imperial Palace? It wasn’t even mentioned in the novel. – What? How? Or am I distorting my memory when it was actually mentioned? Why do I feel like I  am already drunk when I haven’t had a glass of wine yet? I pounded my head.

I read that novel 20 years ago, so I think I must be confused enough. Maybe it wasn’t  Siegfried’s point of view, but a side story of Eisa.

“What are you doing?”

As I continued to tap my head, Siegfried came up to me and took my hand. Looks like he decided to stop spying on me by the pole on the stairs.

“It’s nothing.”

I shook my head. My confused mind quickly cleared. As Abbysion was sitting next to me, Siegfried turned to the other side and sat down. He then looked at me after ordering dinner to from the approaching innkeeper.

“D-do you have anything to say?”

I stuttered.

Eisa breaks wrist when one was rude, but I don’t know what will Siegfried do. Of course, I already had a precedent for the many disrespectful acts towards Siegfried. But hitting him on the cheek was something else.

He was also a royalty, no matter how dire the situation was. I had nothing to say if Siegfried was angry.

Siegfried gulped down the water on his parched throat, then he licked his lips while trying to call me from time to time.

“About what happened today.”

He finally squeezed out a voice after waiting for a long time. He’s finally talking about it. I must’ve slapped on his cheek too hard. I nervously stared at his lips.

“Wahaha! It was wonderful today, Your Highness!”

As soon as he opened his mouth, the party rushed down to the dining room. Siegfried pursed his lips into a straight line again. It seemed like he was thinking that he was about to say wasn’t something he could talk about amongst people.

“Sir Abbysion was also nervous, aren’t you?”

“I am relieved as long as His Highness is not hurt.”

Abbysion smiled lightly and rebuked him.

As one of the nobles sat down along with the sound of the chair being dragged, the food began to arrive one by one. I grabbed my fork and stared at Siegfried. He was tapping on the table with his long fingertips, with his eyes lowered down nervously. At the same time, I couldn’t help but feel nervous with him.

What? In this state, it seems that you do not know whether food enters the nose or the mouth?

I was so nervous because I have done something to him, but why Siegfried like that? I suddenly wondered. He didn’t even heal the red scratches on his white cheeks. Are you trying to threatening me to leave me alone here…?

There was no possibility of that. If it were Siegfried that I had personally experienced so far, it would be more than enough.

If he tells me to take responsibility for hurting his face, what do I do?! I’ll have to run right away and call the priest.