She lightly ignored his voice, small as an ant crawling into a crack.

“And I don’t mind if people get the wrong idea.”

She’d actually welcome it.

After being hounded by Helga, she was ready to throw her arms open to any misunderstanding that came her way.

If rumors spread that she was fooling around with Aslan, she wouldn’t be linked to Ulfgar anymore. Helga would stop paying attention to her too.

“I’ll just play here for a bit before I leave. I don’t have anything else to do.”

Freya picked up the book from the floor and headed toward the window where he had been sitting.

‘So he wasn’t sitting here to show off that pretty face of his.’

A pleasant breeze drifted through. With warm sunlight and a cool wind, it was the perfect spot for reading.

Without caring whether Aslan knew what to do with himself, she settled against the windowsill.

Just like last time, Aslan couldn’t manage a single word against her stubbornness. He spent a while stealing awkward glances at her before quietly taking a seat.

Freya shot a sideways look at him as he let out a deep sigh, and gave a small snort.

‘Still just as dull as ever.’

Still, things were better than last time. At least there was a book to read.

Maybe it was because Aslan was so quiet. A book she almost never picked up on a normal day read unusually well today.

‘Who knew a story about a princess falling for a pirate could be this entertaining?’

She got so absorbed in it that the sun began to set.

Has it really gotten this late? She lost all track of time.

“It’s already gotten this late. I should head back before it gets dark.”

Freya looked at the fading sun with reluctance and rose from the windowsill. Aslan saw her off with a troubled expression.

They didn’t even have a real conversation, so why was he still fidgeting like that?

As she went down the stairs, a timid question followed at her back.

“……Will I be able to see you again?”

He didn’t say a single word to her all day, so why was he asking to see her again?

Freya, who was about to ignore him and leave just like last time, stopped on the last step.

She turned around with an expression thick with irritation.

Why should I come see you again? You’re just going to be dull about it.

If you were going to be sorry to see me go, you should have said something sooner. What kind of way is that to act at the very end?

Sharp words circled inside her mouth. But what actually came out was.

“That I couldn’t say. If I happen to come to the fortress, maybe.”

She left that vague farewell behind and turned away. Walking out of the estate, Freya smacked her own mouth for saying something she didn’t mean.

“Why did I say something I didn’t even feel?”

She couldn’t make sense of it.

***

Telling herself there was no reason to see Aslan again, Freya visited the secluded estate again and again.

Because she wanted to know how the story of the princess who fell for the pirate ended.

Because Helga kept showing absurd jealousy and turning her stomach.

Because Ulfgar kept spouting nonsense about how she didn’t need to pretend she wasn’t interested in him.

Every time she visited Haakon’s fortress, a new reason to seek out Aslan appeared.

‘Things keep happening that get on my nerves.’

It wasn’t that she was trying to seduce him. It wasn’t that she developed feelings for him.

She simply wanted to find some peace of mind.

His clumsy manner irritated her at times, but it was true that the quiet atmosphere put her at ease.

The estate at the edge of the fortress, overgrown with weeds and vines. Freya made her way to the room at the far end of the second floor as though she owned the place.

“You’re always cooped up in your room every time I come, aren’t you? Why not take a walk or something?”

Behind the windowsill where Aslan sat, a clear blue sky and billowing clouds stretched out. Aslan and the refreshing view fit together like a painting.

‘I feel better already.’

He was a dull man with nothing interesting to say, but he had a way of lifting the spirits of whoever looked at him.

The prickling irritation Ulfgar’s nonsense left behind eased in a strangely quiet way.

Aslan smiled softly and answered. He seemed much more comfortable with her now.

“So that you can find me quickly when you come, Freya.”

“How would you know when I was coming?”

Aslan gave up his spot by the window, and Freya took it without a second thought, like it was hers by right.

The breeze was cool and the sunlight was warm. She felt like she could curl up and take a nap right there.

Aslan approached as her eyelids grew heavy.

“What’s this?”

“I thought you might like this one too.”

“You think I come here to read?”

“Didn’t you say you come here because it helps you concentrate?”

There was a time she said something like that to Aslan, to make sure he didn’t get the wrong idea.

She didn’t have feelings for him. She came because the place was comfortable.

What if the prince of Ingrone, who never even held a woman’s hand, got the wrong idea and started pining in secret? She didn’t want to torment an innocent man.

Freya took the book with a slightly sheepish expression.

“……I suppose that’s true.”

She pouted and checked the cover. The Ashen Bride? What kind of title was that?

Aslan rubbed the back of his neck and watched for her reaction.

“You seemed to enjoy romance novels.”

“I don’t particularly like romance novels. I hate tired old love stories. What’s it about?”

“It’s about a mistreated girl who meets a prince who truly loves her.”

Freya opened the book with a flat expression.

“Doesn’t sound like it’ll be interesting. But I’ll read it out of respect for the recommendation.”

She turned a few pages. Drowsiness rolled in like a tide.

Almost none of the words made it into her head, and the letters seemed to crawl across the page like worms.

She tried to force her eyelids open, but every time she came back to herself, her head was swaying back and forth like a small boat in a storm.

Each time it happened, she straightened up and snapped her eyes wide open, acting like nothing was wrong.

Why was this frustrating girl just sitting there letting her stepmother torment her without saying a word? Did she have no relatives to turn to for help?

The main character is too frustrating, that’s why I’m falling asleep, Freya grumbled to herself.

“Pfft.”

A brief laugh slipped out nearby. She turned to find Aslan covering his lower face with his hand.

Her face flushed hot in an instant, and the drowsiness pressing down on her eyelids fled in a hurry.

“I wasn’t sleeping. The book is just boring.”

“I see.”

“Don’t laugh.”

“If you’re tired, you’re welcome to rest. You don’t have to force yourself to read.”

Right. Why was she forcing herself to read a boring book?

Freya closed the book right away and leaned her back against the windowsill.

Then another odd thought surfaced. If she was tired, she could just go home and sleep.

Closing the book was easy. Getting up was hard. Her body felt heavy as a stone.

“See, now that I’ve closed the book, the sleepiness is gone too.”

“That would be my fault for recommending a boring book.”

Staring blankly out the window, Freya muttered with a sigh.

“It wasn’t that boring. I just couldn’t concentrate because the main character was too frustrating. I can’t stand people who won’t speak up. Books or people, it’s all the same.”

She disliked frustrating people and frustrating situations.

That must be why the people pushing her to get married got on her nerves. No matter how generous a husband she found, she’d have more restrictions on her than she did now.

She wanted to live freely.

Aslan watched her quietly and nodded.

“I thought as much. You seem very free, Freya.”

“Me?”

“Yes. You don’t worry about what others think. Isn’t that freedom?”

She was freer than a prince dragged here as a hostage, at least. But Freya couldn’t be completely free either.

The position of being Bjorn’s daughter, daughter of the warrior of warriors, bound her at times. She couldn’t do anything that would bring shame to her father’s honor.

Like right now, for instance.

“Miss, Bjorn is calling for you.”

There were people watching to make sure she didn’t cross a line.