-16-

A moment of suffocating silence descended.

Roan, holding a sword, stood in a peculiar standoff with us, who were holding things completely mismatched to his demeanor—like fireworks or a cake.

The quiet, which didn’t quite fit a birthday party, was broken when Roan spoke up shortly afterward.

“What is this?”

“It’s your birthday today!”

He seemed like someone who had never heard the word “birthday” in his life.

“Ha.”

He let out a brief chuckle.

“I thought something had happened.”

Saying that, he looked around at us.

I approached him, holding a birthday cake that felt as if the head chef had poured his soul into making it. The cake had two big candles and one small candle.

“Roan, blow out the candles and make a wish!”

He stood there, still gripping the sword tightly, as if he hadn’t yet shaken off his bewilderment.

Watching this new side of him made me feel like laughing for some reason. It seemed I wasn’t the only one, as the maids and servants were also trying hard to suppress their smiles.

“Hurry, the candles will melt.”

At my urging, he hesitated for a moment, then bent over and blew out the candles with a huff.

“Make a wish, make a wish!”

He closed his eyes gently for a few seconds, then opened them.

“Wow!”

Clap clap clap. As I started clapping, the servants also cheered and applauded him.

Roan looked around at us again. After a long, unreadable silence, he spoke.

“…Thank you.”

Roan’s response was short and blunt, but I could tell those words carried a lot of meaning.

The plan was a success. I felt a sense of pride.

After the surprise was over, everyone went back to their rooms to sleep. Since it was night, we decided to eat the birthday cake in the morning. Oh, I almost forgot.

“Roan.”

I took out the wrapped gloves I had hidden in my pocket and handed them to him.

Giving the gift made me feel shy all of a sudden.

“I bought this to give you as a birthday present when we went out last time. I originally wanted to give it to you with the sword… well, it’s nothing much.”

“You’re giving this to me.”

Roan slowly took the gloves. He then fixed his gaze on the gift. Do you like it or not? I was getting nervous. Staring intently at the gift, Roan softly called my name.

“Duchess.”

“Yes?”

“Thank you.”

His eyes widened. His words seemed sincere, making me smile brightly.

“Fortunately, this wasn’t taken.”

“Ah, the pickpocket who stole your jewelry. We’ve caught him.”

Roan said as if he just remembered.

“What? How?”

I asked, genuinely surprised. He gave me a faint smile.

“Don’t underestimate the Duke’s investigation network.”

“Really? So what happened to him?”

“He was punished appropriately.”

I had no idea what Roan’s “appropriate” level was.

“If appropriately means… you didn’t,”

Just as I was about to ask if he had killed him.

“I didn’t kill him.”

“Whew.”

I sighed in relief. Even though I had nearly died because of that boy, I wouldn’t have felt at ease if he had actually died.

Roan escorted me to my bedroom door. I turned back to look at him before entering.

Roan was still looking at me.

“Tomorrow, or rather today. Don’t forget we’re going to the Dwarf Forest after we wake up, right?”

“Of course. So you should get some rest tonight as well.”

“You should sleep early too, Roan. And happy birthday again!”

Roan quietly looked at me after hearing that. Hmm?

The mansion was silent. After a moment of looking at me, he spoke.

“…Duchess.”

“Yes?”

“…It’s nothing.”

What does he mean by that? I was really curious, but it didn’t seem like Roan would tell me, so I kept quiet.

“Goodnight, Roan.”

“Goodnight to you too, Duchess.”

The air was cool since it was nighttime, but the atmosphere felt warm somehow. It was a really good night.

***

I slept soundly as Roan had suggested. The morning air is so fresh and invigorating! It’s a perfect day for a trip.

Yes, today is the day I finally get to go on a ‘trip’ with Roan to get a sword. Hmph.

We decided to take only minimal guards with us. Shadow guards, that is. So it’s practically just the two of us going on a trip!

It’s no wonder because Roan doesn’t really need much protection. He’s already incredibly strong.

“Hmm hmm.”

I hummed a tune as I prepared to go to the Dwarf Forest.

First, I put the red hair given by the dwarf into a small pouch.

The maids said they would prepare simple clothes for the trip, and as for other items… Hmm, come to think of it, the maids handle everything.

I once again felt the convenience of being a duchess as I unfolded the map the dwarf had drawn for us, just in case.

The Dwarf Forest was located in the ‘Campos’ Mountains, a bit away from the capital, a place almost forgotten by people due to the lack of human traffic. There were a few villages around the mountain, but not many people lived there. It was practically isolated from the human world.

The dwarves’ residence was deep in the valleys of the Campos Mountains. We had to trek through steep mountains to reach it.

Roan and I ate a hearty breakfast and left the mansion.

“Have a safe trip.”

“We’ll be back.”

We departed, receiving farewells from the servants. Finally, we were off!

“It will take two days to get there.”

Even by carriage, it would take two days, so it was quite a distance.

“Yes.”

Despite the long journey, I was pleased. This was a perfect chance to spend more time with him and close the distance between us!

Hehe. I grinned slyly. Roan seemed to find my expression a bit odd.

I felt his gaze but couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.

“Roan, it’s your birthday today. Is there anything you want to do?”

Roan replied without much thought.

“Not particularly.”

It seemed he had never really thought about it.

“Come on, think about it. There must be something!”

He hesitated for a moment before saying,

“…Still, nothing comes to mind.”

…I see. It might have been a difficult question for Roan. I quickly adapted and changed the question.

“Then, Roan, since we can’t reach the destination today, why don’t we explore the market streets around the inn we’ll stay at?”

In fact, I had always wanted to wander around the streets with Roan.

It was hard to imagine going on a common street date with him—holding hands and laughing while exploring.

…Although, I wasn’t sure if Roan would hold my hand if we were out on the street.

“Let’s do that.”

Surprisingly, Roan agreed readily, looking at me. This was significant progress.

Not long ago, he wouldn’t even meet my eyes when we were in the same carriage. Now, he was making eye contact and talking to me. I was touched.

The carriage was almost out of the capital.

“A bit further, and we’ll reach a fairly large village called ‘Pargor’. How about staying there for the night?”

“Sounds good!”

I felt stiff from sitting in the carriage for so long.

“There happens to be a festival going on there.”

“A festival? Now?”

“Yes. They have a festival every year on the first weekend of May.”

The festival’s exact name was ‘San Carja’. It was named after a person; a war hero named San Carja died in this village centuries ago. To honor him and recreate the historic battle, Pargor held a festival every year around this time.

A festival sounded fun! I felt lucky. Soon, the carriage stopped, and the coachman announced our arrival. We stepped out of the carriage. The village, while not as bustling as the capital, felt quite lively.

The streets were crowded with people due to the festival. We decided to explore the village.

“Roan, look at this!”

I pointed to a stall selling various masks.

It was said that San Carja wore an iron mask in battle. So, there were many simple iron masks, as well as masks shaped like animals and human expressions.

No wonder I saw many people wearing masks on the way.

“Roan, why don’t we try wearing them?”

It looked fun. I looked at him with eyes pleading for a yes.

He laughed lightly at my expression and chose a silver iron mask.

“I’ll take this one.”

The iron mask covered Roan’s eyes and nose.

Even with most of his face covered, he still looked incredibly handsome. It almost made me want to take the mask off to see his full face.

I chose a mask shaped like a white cat. It also covered my eyes and nose.

Looking in the mirror, the mask suited Delis well. She had a good face too.

“Roan, that mask suits you.”

I said, looking at him while wearing my mask. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly beneath the mask.

“You look good in yours too.”

We wandered around the marketplace, looking at various things. Honestly, I lost track of time. The festival was lively and enjoyable. Suddenly, we heard cheers from a distance. What’s that?

“Wow!!”

As we approached, we saw people engaged in a mock battle. This must also be part of the festival to commemorate San Carja’s battles.

In a large circle surrounded by people, two men stood facing each other, each wielding a weapon. Suddenly, the man with the ax swung it at the man with the dagger. A direct hit would surely be fatal.

What was astonishing was how naturally the man with the dagger dodged the ax and immediately counterattacked. After evading the ax, his dagger struck the back of the ax-wielder’s hand. Ouch, that must hurt.

The man with the ax let out a cry and dropped his weapon, blood flowing from his hand.

The outcome was clear. Another cheer erupted from the crowd.

Wow, I couldn’t help but exclaim.

“Wow!! Shubi! Shubi!”

It seemed Shubi was the name of the man with the dagger. I turned to Roan.

“That man looks really strong, doesn’t he?”

Roan would probably have a better sense of it. To me, who knew nothing about swordsmanship, he just looked incredibly powerful.

At that moment, Roan spoke.

“I am stronger.”

Roan’s face was calm, but his eyes were still intensely focused on the man called Shubi.