CH 23

Encounter (1)

Three hours have passed since I left the Portu village.

The place I’m aiming for now is a town called Meil.

It is the largest port town in the Principality of Agreable.

It’s a place I have wanted to visit since I was still a Duke’s daughter. I plan to enjoy it to the fullest when I arrive.

I have been thinking about what I’m going to do when I get to Meil, and as I was walking through the forest, I saw an object that looked like a person lying on the ground ahead of me.

“Ami, stop.”

The black horse I had received from Lord Gwenael was a female, so I named her Ami.

When I pulled on the reins with a little strength, Ami lifted her forelimbs in the air while letting out a loud neigh, and stopped.

“Wait for a moment, okay?”

I quickly jumped down and tied Ami to a nearby tree.

As I approached, I confirmed that the human-like object was indeed a person.

The gender was male. From the way he was dressed, he was either an adventurer or a traveler.

Since he was lying face down, I couldn’t see his face.

Just as I was about to look into his face to see if he was alive or dead, the man looked up at me with great force.

“Who is it!”

I was so startled by his sudden movement that I fell on my buttocks.

The man looked around, and when he saw me, he looked surprised for a moment. Even though I was the one who was surprised first.

“You are…?”

“I should be asking that…”

I returned his words with a frown on my face.

As I stood up and shook the dirt off my culottes, the man staggered to sit up and leaned against a nearby tree.

I wonder if he’s sick.

“I’m Jed. And you?”

“I’m Elle.”

This young man with jade eyes and long black hair that hadn’t been cut in a while, tied back in a bun, seemed to be named Jed.

He seems to be around twenty-five years old.

He has a sturdy physique so he must have been working out quite a bit, and despite his stern face, he was quite good-looking. I bet he’s popular among women.

However, I feel like I have seen this guy somewhere before…

I tried to remember, but it was impossible.

“Elle, huh…”

“Are you bothered by my name?”

“No, not at all.”

The name Elle is fairly common.

I wonder if it reminded him of an acquaintance with the same name.

Oh well, that doesn’t concern me.

“How did you end up collapsing here, Mr. Jed.”

“Ah~…”

When I asked the most important question of the moment, Jed scratched his head and looked uncomfortable saying it.

Is it something he doesn’t want to answer?

If so, I have done a bad thing.

“Actually…”

“Yes?”

“I’m starving so much I can’t move.”

That was the answer I needed to get my feelings of guilt returned to me.

I was stunned, wondering why he wasn’t carrying food with him.

“Elle, do you have anything to eat?”

Jed asked me as I gave him a dumbfounded look.

“I do…”

I have a lot of cream buns that I got from Auntie Anna at the bakery.

When I answered, Jed put his hands together and asked me for a favor.

“Please, share with me! I will thank you properly!”

I wasn’t surprised, as I had expected this from the moment I heard that he had been unable to move due to hunger.

I was getting hungry too, and it was impossible for me to eat the amount of food that was given to me by myself.

I couldn’t let the gift go bad and I couldn’t leave someone in trouble when I can help.

“I only have cream buns on me if you are alright with that.”

“Yeah, I have a sweet tooth, so I will gladly take it.”

I sat down next to Jed who showed me his teeth and laughed.

I took a paper bag of cream buns out of my bag and tilted it toward him.

“You can have as much as you like.”

“Eh? You are saying I can eat it all?”

“I will not share with someone who has the energy to say stupid things.”

When I glared at Mr. Jed who asked jokingly, he immediately apologized.