Chapter 42

Why is His Highness Zain here in such a remote countryside?

While hoping it was just a dream or hallucination, I stared at His Highness Zain, and a large number of knights gathered around.

"Your Grace, you were here."

"Yes. Have you finished dealing with the remnants?"

"Yes, all of them have been eliminated."

As they conversed, His Highness Zain gave various instructions to the knights. Eventually, the knights bowed in unison and left the scene, and His Highness Zain turned to face me.

"I'm here on business, but what about you?"

At this terrifying coincidence, I inwardly despaired, thinking how unlucky I could be. I had never imagined something like this would happen.

"I, I... I'm here for a summer retreat..."

"Even though it's already autumn?"

While thinking it was a valid point, I turned to Evan for help, but he was busily pulling the sword out of the sand dune. It clearly wasn't the right time.

"If you're going to travel, I wish you had at least given me a heads-up."

"I'm sorry... I was careless..."

Of course, I had left without saying anything to the sad-looking His Highness Zain, making the situation very awkward. From his perspective, I had been out of contact for over a week and a half.

We had always kept in touch, so it was natural for him to be suspicious and worried. I felt a pang of pain in my heart but tried to convince myself that it couldn't be helped.

"So, when are you planning to return to the capital?"

"Umm, I'll return soon."

"Actually, I was planning to take a vacation soon. I think I'll stay here until you return."

"Wh-What...?"

I really didn't want him to wait. I had planned to stay here for three months and had come to this remote place to escape from His Highness Zain. The idea of spending time with him would ruin everything.

As I hesitated, His Highness Zain approached with a dazzling smile.

"Is there something troubling you? Surely you didn't plan a long trip without telling me?"

"Of course not!"

While trying to cover up with a smile, I couldn't stop sweating. I had the feeling that he had figured out something was wrong.

Over the past six months, I had learned that once His Highness Zain decided on something, he would see it through.

In other words, he wouldn't leave this place until I returned. Even Maria贝尔也在首都等着他，而他比任何人都更忙。在这种地方浪费时间是不合适的。

既然位置已经暴露，计划已经失败，最好还是乖乖撤退。

“其实我明天就打算回去！请一定要和我一起回首都！”

“那太好了。还有，Grace。”

“是？”

“今晚我没有地方住。我已经找过这个村子里的所有住宿，但都被告知已经满了。”

“……”

他暗示想和我们住在一起，我当然明白。

既然已经这样，无论发生什么也无所谓了。我欠了His Highness Zain很多，不可能让他一个人露营。

我决定像往常一样度过接下来的几天。

“如果我们住的小屋可以的话，当然可以。”

“谢谢，这帮大忙了。”

尽管如此，原本打算悄无声息地消失，结果却变成了第一次令人紧张的旅行。这真是个愚蠢的错误。

“啊，公爵大人也要一起。小姐的料理在这里也很美味。”

“那真是太好了。”

Evan拿着满是沙子的剑回来了。

难得他似乎察觉到了气氛，没有多说什么，我松了一口气。

“那我们走吧。也快到中午了。”

“嗯。”

就这样，我的失踪计划以邀请His Highness Zain到小屋并一起回去的惊人发展告终。

◇◇◇

回到小屋时，Yana也刚购物回来。看到His Highness Zain，她那平时扑克脸的脸上也露出了难以置信的表情。

毕竟我费尽心思逃到了这里，现在却和他一起回来了，她的反应也是理所当然的。

“这真的是巧合吗？我简直无法相信。”

“是的。还有其他骑士也在……”

即使我们边做午饭边悄悄解释，Yana还是显得不太相信。

如果这不是巧合，那His Highness Zain一定是彻底调查了我，特意装作巧合来到这个遥远的地方，把我带回去。

我一边笑着一边处理鱼，心想His Highness Zain不可能做这种事。

“回到首都后，我得再找一个失踪的地方。这次一定要找个找不到的地方。”

如果我把一切都告诉Lanhart，他一定会笑得很开心。到那时，他也会帮我出谋划策。

午餐做好后，我们围坐在桌旁。

“真好吃。你真的厨艺高超。”

“谢谢。这里的食材新鲜美味，做起来也很有成就感。”

坐在我旁边的His Highness Zain多次夸奖“真好吃”，让我感到有些痒痒。

“你也吃点吗？”

“噗皮！噗皮！”

“哈哈，痒痒。”

最让我不安的是，Haniwa对His Highness Zain非常亲近，一直黏着他。

“使魔会与主人共享部分意识和记忆，所以喜欢或讨厌的东西也是一样的。”

这让我感觉好像我喜欢His Highness Zain一样，感到很尴尬。His Highness Zain似乎也明白这一点，一直在宠爱Haniwa。

“话说回来，它为什么突然会说话了？真可爱。”

“使魔在主人成长或遇到危机时，会表现出前所未有的力量。这应该是那个原因。”

“也就是说，多亏我把剑放着不管了。”

“这件事我还没原谅你呢。”

不过，现在我能和Haniwa更好地沟通，让我感到很高兴。

我抚摸着靠近的Haniwa，它发出“啪皮！噗皮！”的声音。

虽然现在还不明白它在说什么，但我希望能逐渐理解。

“刚才它似乎比我们更早发现了那个怪物。”

“确实。Haniwa可能真的很厉害。”

在我被绑架时，它也展现了惊人的力量，从远处召唤了His Highness Zain。既可爱又可靠，真是个能干的孩子。

“对了，公爵大人来这里有什么公务？”

“这附近的森林里出现了大量多头蛇，我接到了讨伐的委托。”

在吃饭时，我听着His Highness Zain和Evan的对话。虽然我理解这是公务，但Evan却皱起了眉头。

“这真是个奇怪的故事。多头蛇而已，不至于让公爵大人特意来到这种乡下地方吧？”

“……嗯？”

“即使有委托，我也会拒绝。这种程度的事情，根本不会叫到我。”

听到Evan的话，我困惑地看向His Highness Zain。

难道他真的是为了带我回去，特意来到这里？

“你太高估我了。”

然而，His Highness Zain微笑着，像往常一样抚摸着Haniwa的头。