WDHTMU | CHAPTER 29

Chapter 29

“W-Why are there so many people?”

Even if every one of the ten villages that usually used Sedem Market had gathered, it wouldn’t be this crowded. 

On top of that, quite a few of the well-dressed wealthy class had shown up.

Marsha, stunned and speechless, stood frozen as Claudio muttered beside her.

“These are merchants eager to get noticed by the Duke’s household.”

Word had spread that the Duke of Gloria generously opened his purse to the merchants at Sedem Market.

Traders from other regions had flocked here, hoping to showcase their goods directly before the Duke.

Thanks to this, Sedem Market’s economy was buzzing more than ever. 

Security grew tight, and not only the city guards but even the duke’s knights had to patrol the streets nonstop.

“…The knights have to work even during their supposed vacations.”

“The vacation is because the Duke came, not that the knights get time off.”

Marsha frowned deeply. 

She couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. 

Just because the lord takes a break, it doesn’t mean the servants do? 

Were knights just servants?

Even servants were guaranteed some rest during vacation times.

He’s not a very good person, she thought bitterly.

Though the Duke might be a benevolent lord to the villagers, from the knights’ perspective, he was the worst kind of man.

“…”

Claudio blinked. 

He could tell what Marsha was thinking from the sour expression on her face.

She seems to think the Duke of Gloria is a heartless man.

Marsha likely had this opinion because, like Claudio, he saw things from the knights’ point of view, even though the Duke had put good policies for the peasants into place.

Despite his tough exterior, he genuinely cares.

Claudio felt conflicted. 

He didn’t like that Marsha thought poorly of the Duke, yet he found a strange satisfaction in it, too, knowing that it was partly because of him that she looked down on the Duke.

“Anyway, with so many people, you should be careful.”

Marsha looked up at him seriously.

“…Are you talking to me?”

“Of course I’m talking to you. Who else would it be?”

Claudio scoffed inwardly. 

She looked like she might get swept away by the crowd if she wasn’t cautious.

Just as he was about to tell her to stop worrying about him and watch out for herself, she spoke again.

“If you get separated, it’s okay to grab onto my sleeve.”

She casually brushed the loose sleeve of her dress.

Claudio blinked in surprise. 

Was she joking? 

No, she seemed serious.

Good grief. I never imagined I’d be treated like a child just because I’m injured.

Not even when he was a kid had anyone treated him like this.

“And if we do get separated, let’s meet back here, okay?”

She repeated the question to the slightly startled Claudio, who was still standing silently.

“Got it?”

“…Alright.”

Claudio nodded and pulled the cloth wrapped around him up toward his face.

Patro, who had been lazily yawning while sitting at his shop’s entrance, suddenly sprang to his feet.

“Well, if it isn’t you!”

Startled as if he’d seen a ghost, he shouted toward Marsha.

“I was worried since you hadn’t shown your face in so long!”

“I’m not a child—what’s there to worry about?”

“Oh, so you only worry about kids, huh?”

Patro glared at Marsha with displeasure, but then a dark shadow fell over his head.

He swallowed nervously and looked up at Claudio.

“W-What brings you to our shop…?”

“I’m with her,” Marsha answered for him.

Patro jumped in surprise.

“Huh? With Marsha? That’s a new face… I think?”

He turned to look at Claudio, whose face was partly hidden by the cloth, then whispered uncertainly.

Ha, Marsha—

He swallowed a sigh inwardly.

Patro’s nature was such that he wouldn’t be able to let his curiosity go unresolved.

Originally, Marsha had planned to leave Claudio briefly at a nearby clothing shop and meet Patro alone. 

But the market—and even the streets—was so overwhelmingly crowded that she couldn’t.

Thus, on her way here, Marsha had no choice but to invent a white lie.

“Well, uh… this gentleman is a traveller, and I helped him out a bit. So now he’s helping me with my work.”

“Hm?”

Patro tilted his head, clearly uncertain about the vague explanation.

“What on earth happened that you…”

Just as he was about to press for more details, a sudden chill ran down his spine.

‘Gasp!’

Patro jerked his head up, meeting the sharp, glowing red eyes that pierced from within the worn cloth. 

It was as if a wild beast was staring him down, and the herb merchant broke into a cold sweat, stumbling to give a feeble smile to Marsha.

“W-well, anyway… sounds like it helped a lot!”

“Yes. Thanks to that, we were able to bring this many herbs.”

As Marsha reached to take the heavy sack from Claudio’s hands, he instead rested it on an empty stall.

“Whoa.”

Patro’s eyes widened at the sheer volume, and then again when he inspected the quality of the herbs.

“Oh! These are in great condition.”

“That’s right. I think you could get at least one eling for this.”

What?

Claudio’s eyes went wide. One eling was equivalent to 10,000 cents—a substantial sum for common folk, but not even enough for Claudio to buy new shoelaces.

“I spent every morning gathering herbs and every afternoon carefully sorting them.”

After all those days of hard work, only one eling?

“Um, would you consider settling for 9,500 cents?”

Patro scratched the back of his neck nervously. 

Claudio was dumbfounded. 

One eling was already small—why haggle further?

“Well, if that’s okay…”

Marsha crossed her arms and nodded indifferently. 

Both Claudio and Patro were stunned, though for very different reasons.

“What’s gotten into you? You’re agreeing to everything?!”

“I can tell this place isn’t doing well in business.”

“Oh, uh…”

Patro hung his head in disappointment.

“The irises I bought earlier are almost untouched. I thought the Duke’s household would buy more, but…”

“Well, herbs aren’t like other goods you can just buy easily.”

“Sigh. I used to sell leftover herbs to merchants from other regions, but now that this place is so crowded, I doubt they’ll come by for a while.”

Well-dried herbs could be stored for a long time, but fresh ones always fetched a better price. 

Patro was bound to suffer losses over time.

“Business isn’t always profitable every day! Some days are good, some are bad.”

Perhaps worried Marsha might feel bad, Patro put on a deliberately cheerful tone.

“And the herbs you buy from Marsha never go to waste. Other herb dealers come by and pick them right away.”

Marsha felt embarrassed. 

Even alone, praise made her blush, but with Claudio nearby, she felt a ticklish warmth spread through her mouth.

“Then just give me the money once they’re sold.”

Just as Marsha hurried to leave, Patro reached out his hand toward her.

“Hey, I can pay that much right now—”

But before his hand could even touch her shoulder, Claudio’s moved with lightning speed, knocking Patro’s hand away.

“!”

Patro stared in stunned silence at the burning back of his hand, mouth agape, then slowly lifted his trembling head to meet Claudio’s gaze. 

The same man who had been casually watching him like a stray stone on the roadside now looked down with cold, disapproving eyes.

“N-no, I was just trying to, um, hold your hand…”

Patro muttered a weak excuse, clutching his sore hand with the other while sweat poured down his face.

At that moment, Marsha blinked in confusion.

“What was that just now?”

She hadn’t seen clearly because he’d turned away so suddenly, but—

“You actually struck Patro’s hand?”

“I didn’t strike it—I just gently blocked it.”

Patro’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.

It wasn’t that the deep, beastly intensity of Claudio’s gaze sounded pleasant or that his tone was refined. 

It was the way those same cold eyes, so icy when aimed at Patro, softened into a warm curve when turned toward Marsha.

“You don’t just touch a lady without permission.”

“Oh, come on!”

Marsha shot a fierce glare at Claudio, then turned to Patro with concern.

“Patro, is your hand okay?”

“Huh?”

Patro instinctively glanced at Claudio for a reaction.

Their eyes locked for a moment—the cold, crimson gaze now completely void of any humour—so Patro quickly looked away and forced a smile.

“It’s nothing serious! I guess you got startled because I suddenly tried to grab your hand. Haha!”