Nation of Maevia (3)
I was on the way to the market in a carriage.
I saw a stray cat taking a nap in the sun, and I opened my mouth.
âI heard the cat of Cyclamen Castle talking earlier.â
Aedis didnât treat my words as nonsense.
âIt is no ordinary beast. Tolymann doesnât know.â
I didnât even know until just now! Why didnât you tell me until now!
I pursed my lips.
Aedis, noticing that I had pouted, tilted his head.
âAre they bothering the wife?â
âNo.â
I denied it immediately.
Aedis seemed to speculate for a moment, then opened his arms.
âDo you want to sit on my lap?â
No!
âAre there any other Cyclamen castle secrets you havenât told me? Like the castle is inhabited by ghosts, or there are a few more secret passages I donât know about.â
When I grumbled, Aedis only then realized the reason.
âI didnât hide it on purpose. I didnât really care.â
â⦠..â
Knowing that it wasnât a lie made it an even more absurd explanation.
Aedisâ hearing was better than the average personâs, but it included a filter that blocked out most sounds that didnât concern him.
He would have completely ignored the cats right next to him even if they cursed at him. Yes.
âThere are no ghosts in the castle, and you know all the secret passages. So please donât hate me too much.â
Aedis smiled and stroked my hair gently. Wow, thatâs cheating.
I straightened my lips, pretending to be invincible, and recalled the [Collection of Northern Fairy Tales] that I once saw in Regenâs room.
There was a story of an orphan boy who was revived as a monster, a giant spirit that seduces people with gold and burns them to death, and a story of cats that transform into monsters on a full moon night.
At the time, it was not a big deal, but it turned out that it was no exaggeration to say that Raven and Paimonâs past was transcribed in it.
So what about the cats?
âDo those cats turn into monsters on a full moon? Do they bite and kill people?â
âThey donât bite people anymore. They just grow to the size of Tolymann, but sometimes they drool.â
â¦..For some reason, it seems that even if Tolymann knew this, he would not be able to abandon his love for cats. He might offer his own fingers as a special meal? It would be a good thing if not.
The sun was setting when we arrived at the market.
Regen was not there at all, perhaps he had already returned.
âI didnât know it would be so hard to see my sonâs face.â
I added while eating the cotton candy Aedis bought me.
âStill, thanks to you, I had a rare experience.â
Merchants shouting to sell even one more fresh ingredient shut their mouths like clams when they looked at me. Leaves rustled in the wind.
Also, when I stomped my foot, the miracle of Moses occurred and the passers-by parted left and right.
Do they think they will be killed if they come within ten meters of me?
If it wasnât for Aedisâ deceptive beauty, I might have looked like a wanted criminal.
I thought positively of the 19-year-old Aedis.
âDonât be discouraged by people avoiding you like this, Aedis. Compared to when you were 19, your impression is much milder now? In another 500 years no one will be afraid of Aedis.â
â⦠500 years. It should be really soon.â
âOf course. Iâll be by your side.â
ââ¦..â
Aedis paused.
Discovering the spicy skewered dish, I pulled at Aedisâ clothes.
âAedis, I want to eat that next time. If you eat something sweet, you have to eat something spicy and salty, too.ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Aedis obediently went to buy a skewer and got a bunch of bonuses for some reason.
Aedis timidly explained the reason.
âHe said that if that dark-haired man is threatening me, give a signal by shaking the skewer and heâll send a rescue.â
I shrugged my shoulders because it was a phrase I heard often.
âHeâs a brave man. The security here is ruthless. Did you mention weâre a couple?â
Aedis blinked.
âNo. Iâll tell him right away.â
Aedis returned to the store.
That⦠I wanted to see him getting more excited, which is rare. But it will only look suspicious that I ordered it! It seems like you are moving under orders from the kidnapper!
It was just before being reported to the police. I was contemplating whether I should follow him and reveal my identity, but Aedisâ excellent hearing picked up the sound of their conversation.
âA married couple? Did you get married under an agreement? Then Iâm glad you didnât get scammed, right? The Grand Duchess also has pink hair like the young lady, so Iâm worried.â
âNo. My husband and I are in love.â
Aedis cleared his throat and said.
The tips of his ears were a little red.
⦠crazy! so cute! Switching bodies is the best!
I turned my back because I thought I might break something if I watched any longer. Soon after, Aedis returned with a proud face.
âThe misunderstanding has been resolved. Wife. Instead, he doubted whether I was the real Grand Duchess or not, but I passed this over well.â
I tried my best to ignore the shop owner, who had turned to stone. I donât think he passed this well. It seemed that he had turned doubt into certainty.
âWe came out after a long time, so letâs take a look at other places.â
I took Aedis and walked away from the shop. Please donât let that person scream that the Grand Duchess is here.
It was around the time we reached the other side of the market while finishing the skewer dishes. Suddenly, I heard the sound of something falling, and my head turned by itself.
A goon pushed and knocked over an old man passing by. All I heard was the sound of the old manâs belongings falling.
âF***, keep your eyes open!â
Look at him blaming others when he crashed into the old man.
He even tried to kick, so I blocked the way while clicking my tongue.
âWhat are you doing?â
Iâll admit it. I had fun mimicking Aedisâ tone.
The goon frowned.
âWho are you to interrupt me? Get lost.â
Hey, you donât run away even after seeing this face, you have guts.
When I laughed, he got angry.
âIs this punk laughing?â
He reached out. As my body moved, I lightly dodged and punched. There was a wham sound.
What is this cool hitting feeling? Itâs no joke
It was so intense that my fingertips tingled.
Opening my eyes to a new world, I clenched my fists again.
âGet hit one more time⦠Huh? Did you pass out?â
I tapped the goon that laid flat like a piece of paper with my foot and pressed him hard. There was no sign of him waking up.
âWas this guy alone? There might be another goon nearby, so shall we go on patrol?â
The original purpose of having come to the market to find Regen had been completely forgotten.
âWeâ¦wellâ¦thank yâ¦â
Where is the bad guy! Come out human scum!
Aedis answered, raising the old man to his feet instead of me, who flashed my eyes and looked around.
âIt seems that you want to catch and beat a few guys for a suitable excuse, but if the wife wants it.â
But the same luck didnât happen twice. Even the thugs whose entire body was covered with tattoos ran away when I made eye contact with them.
âTsk, what a shame.â
I was going to dedicate myself to maintaining peace in the North.
Aedis smiled.
âIf I had known that the wife would enjoy it this much, I would have changed my body a long time ago.â
âAedis, isnât there anything you want to do with my body? You can get revenge on your father-in-law now.â
It was just around this time last year. We visited the Morgana mansion with Regen, but Aedis was slightly hurt by my parents.
â You can speak comfortably.
â Itâs hard to do that regardless of status or age.
â â¦â¦
At Fatherâs cold rejection, Mother could not hold back her laughter, and I was in trouble.
I told them many times that Aedis was softer than he looked, but I didnât expect them to listen at all.
Attacked by my glare, Mother tried to fix it.
â Iâm sorry. Actually, Richard wanted Maevia to disregard the marriage contract and get married very late. If you do wrong, he can get rid of you.
â When I disappoint you and Eve, I will try to be properly banished.
Iâve told Aedis over 100 times not to even dream of trying to do something like that.
Aedis declined, holding out the candy he had received as a bonus from the shopkeeper.
âItâs okay because the wife avenged it for me.â
âHuh? Me?â
As I chewed on the candy, Aedis smiled like an arrogant victor.
âYou didnât leave my side for an hour to comfort me that day. The Marquis regretted it so much.â
â¦..Can a person be this cute? Seeing my husband satisfied with such a small revenge, I looked back at myself, who had been frantic to defeat someone just before.
âWife, there are guys out there who want to steal money from children.â
âLetâs go now!â
Of course, I didnât get to reflect on myself.