Chapter 11 — “Chapter 2. The Appearance I Desire (4)” — :
[11] Chapter 2. The Appearance I Desire (4)
While Fernciana sat at the edge of another wagon’s cargo bed, swinging her feet, Ilias appeared. It seemed he had just finished talking with the merchant leader, Stihan.
Soon, the people finished organizing the luggage, cleared away the burnt items to one side, and set the wagons back in motion. The pace picked up, likely because they wanted to reach a nearby village before sunset.
Once Ilias settled properly into the wagon bed, Fernciana handed him the pouch the merchant had just given her.
“They said it’s the last of the Erasil. Since it’s just a small amount, too little to be of real use, he told me to take it like motion sickness medicine.”
“Ah, saved. I thought I’d have to suffer all the way to the village again.”
Ilias quickly swallowed the Erasil with water. After chewing it thoroughly and capping the water bottle, he set it aside and pulled something from inside his clothes—a small paper box.
“Huh?”
“Being a merchant group, they had all sorts of small things. They said they had a few extras, so I bought some.”
“What is it?”
“Open it and see.”
Curious, Fernciana tilted her head and carefully opened the paper box. The moment she lifted the lid, a sweet-and-sour scent wafted out. Inside were translucent glass bead-like objects coated in fine white powder. Still puzzled, she looked up at Ilias.
“Beads?”
“No, take one out.”
She tried to pick one out with her fingers, but her hands were still bandaged, making it difficult. Ilias quickly took the box from her and pulled one out himself—a semi-transparent yellow bead.
“Open your mouth.”
“Huh?”
Fernciana blinked in confusion. Ilias urged her again. Though skeptical, she slightly opened her mouth, and he popped the bead inside.
Startled, she tried to spit it out, but Ilias panicked and covered her mouth.
“Ah, seriously! It’s edible! It’s something you eat!”
“!”
Once he removed his hand, Fernciana wrapped both hands around her throat in dismay.
“I swallowed it…”
“I’m going crazy…”
“What was that?”
“Candy. It’s made by melting sugar and letting it harden.”
“Why go through all that trouble?”
“…Because it’s easier to eat that way. Powder spills.”
Ilias mumbled with a gloomy look on his face—enough to stir Fernciana’s guilt, though she didn’t know exactly why she should feel bad.
“…Ah, um. It’s tasty, actually. I’d like to try another one.”
“….”
Though his shoulders were still slumped, Ilias pulled out another candy and offered it to her. Fernciana, feeling the lingering sensation of the previous candy still stuck in her throat, took the new one. This one tasted like roses.
“So why the sudden candy gift?”
With that final question, Fernciana completely sank Ilias.
She only got the full story about the candy after coaxing a flustered and indignant Ilias for quite a while. He nearly sounded like he was on the verge of tears.
“I’m human too, you know. I felt bad for making you cry like that…”
“Oh, so it was a candy to say sorry?”
“…It’s a thank-you candy, you brat!”
Eventually, Ilias let out a deep sigh and muttered, and Fernciana blinked with a blank expression. Leaning against the wagon wall, Ilias sighed again, lamenting the fact that he had to explain every little thing.
“I don’t specialize in swordsmanship or martial arts, so I figured I’d only get in the way if I stepped in…”
There was a bitter tone in his voice. Fernciana blinked. Somehow, the expression on his sighing face was unreadable.
“…Didn’t even realize you were hurt like that.”
“Considering the number of enemies, the fact that I only ended up with a few scratches means I was lucky.”
“And who was it that bawled their eyes out because the medicine stung?”
“That’s only because that medicine really stings!”
I’ve lived this long and barely cried, Fernciana was about to say, but then she recalled how she burst into tears recently just from hearing the name “Feirun.”
She couldn’t bring herself to say more. While she pressed her lips together, Ilias suddenly reached out and tousled her hair until it was a mess.
“Come to think of it, Feirun’s a crybaby!”
“I am not!”
“That’s why this big bro got you some candy, sweetie~!”
“I said I’m not!”
She shoved him hard, and Ilias’s head smacked right into the wagon wall with a loud thunk. The coachman turned around, startled by the noise, but the one who offered an explanation wasn’t Ilias—now clutching the back of his head—but Fernciana, who still had candy in her mouth.
“I said I’m sorry~!”
“….”
“Did it hurt a lot, Ilias? Was it that painful?”
As Fernciana tried to gently console him, Ilias suddenly ducked and grabbed her hand, placing it against the bump on the back of his head. Feeling the warmth and round shape under her fingers, Fernciana barely held back a laugh. No wonder it had sounded so loud—he had gotten a lump.
“I might have lost a few memories…”
Ilias let go of her hand and slumped his shoulders, muttering dramatically. He didn’t seem genuinely hurt anymore—it was mostly an act. Fernciana casually popped the candy he gave her into her mouth.
Thanks to their earlier haste, the merchant group quickly arrived at a small province near the capital called Maroila. Perhaps because Hakan had sent a messenger ahead explaining what had happened, they were warmly welcomed the moment they were spotted. The city had even arranged accommodations in advance, surprising and delighting the weary travelers.
“Huh, so they’re pro-Imperial.”
“Hm?”
Their lodging was a high-end hotel. Fernciana felt nothing particular about being assigned the same room as Ilias. While she unpacked, Ilias was peeking through the curtain and muttered as he looked out the window. Fernciana looked up curiously, and Ilias answered while drawing the curtain shut.
“The city mayor is a sworn brother to Empress Arhid. That explains the warm welcome and why they accepted the merchant group so easily. It means they’re on the same side.”
“So Hakan, too?”
Fernciana rolled a lemon-flavored candy in her mouth as she asked. Hakan and the merchant leader, Stihan, didn’t seem like people with a casual relationship. Plus, Hakan seemed to know why Stihan was transporting the Erasil. The fact that he even acted to help when the Erasil was lost meant it wasn’t just a passing acquaintance.
“Looks like it… I didn’t expect him to be working with the Imperial family…”
Ilias murmured in a quiet voice. Fernciana glanced at him, then kicked off her shoes one by one. When her shoes clattered, Ilias seemed to snap out of it and looked up, letting out a laugh.
“Geez, you’d win gold in a shoe-throwing contest.”
“I was going to put them away!”
Fernciana yelled, but Ilias just chuckled and bent over to pick up and neatly arrange her shoes. Then he tousled her hair again. It was a fond gesture, like that of an older brother.
Fernciana glared at him while clutching her now-messy hair. Ilias quickly clutched the back of his own head and backed away in mock fear.
“Are you going to hit me again!?”
“I won’t!”
After a few more playful squabbles, Ilias handed her a towel.
“I’m going to go get us some food. You go wash up first.”
“Uh, okay…”
Ilias left the room naturally. The door closed gently behind him, even without needing to be pushed. Fernciana blinked, staring at the closed hotel room door.
Did he leave on purpose to let me bathe alone? Did he figure out I’m a girl?
Even if he had realized, it wouldn’t be all that surprising. It was almost more surprising that people still mistook her for a boy, considering how little effort she had put into pretending. With Ilias’s famed information network—not that she’d seen it in action—and his supposedly sharp intuition—also unconfirmed—it wouldn’t be strange if he had figured it out.
His behavior has been kind of… gentle, too…
Feeling a little embarrassed, Fernciana sheepishly touched her hair, then headed to the bathroom. Pretending not to be a girl in front of someone who had probably already figured it out suddenly felt a bit awkward.
