Chapter 139
“If that is Your Highness’s wish.”
Reno stepped back behind me. Only then could I properly face the man.
The man wearing a royal knight’s uniform had an unfamiliar face. I thought this must be my first time seeing him…….
“So you have something to say to me?”
“Yes! I wanted to express my gratitude to Your Highness!”
Uh, what? To me?
Looking at the man in confusion, he opened his mouth.
“Yes! You found my handkerchief, didn’t you! Thank you!”
I did? When……? Could he be talking about this handkerchief that I was just trying to walk past?
While I was blinking in bewilderment, the man pulled out a new handkerchief from his chest and held it out to me with both hands.
“I am Edis Gaudium! It would be my honor if you remembered me!”
The situation was so sudden that I ended up accepting the handkerchief he offered. Only then did the man retreat quickly with a satisfied expression.
His exit was as abrupt as his appearance.
“No…….”
What was that about? He thanks me for finding his handkerchief, then gives me another one and leaves?
He didn’t even pick up the white handkerchief lying on the ground. It was so bizarre that I felt more perplexed than confused.
Similar incidents happened several more times after that. Whenever I tried to avoid something on the path, someone would suddenly appear, pour out a stream of words, hand me a handkerchief, and disappear.
And some would look at me with dazed expressions and say,
“You are beautiful! No, that’s not what I…… Ah, I’m not denying Your Highness’s beauty! It’s just different from what I meant to say……! Anyway, you are beautiful!”
They would stammer like that while praising me, then run away as if being chased.
Not all who acted this way were royal knights. Sometimes royal magicians were mixed in too.
It was enough to make me wonder if this was some kind of April Fool’s prank. That’s how strange these continuous incidents were.
“Your Highness, another one seems to be coming. What should we do?”
“Huh? What’s coming?”
“It’s another royal knight. Perhaps because it’s a precious opportunity to become a royal guardian, they’re all being quite aggressive. Quite forceful too.”
Guardian? Come to think of it, wasn’t it about four days ago that Evgenia announced she would be selecting my guardian?
While I was aware of it being part of the hidden quest, I had unconsciously forgotten about it. The guardian selection wasn’t until my birthday banquet anyway, and lately my attention had been focused on the ‘Trial of Lublin’.
“Your Highness, I’ll ask again. Should I stop them or leave them be?”
“Can you stop them?”
“Of course.”
Just as Reno spoke, from not far away came someone’s cry of “Hey, what’s happening?” followed by another voice saying “I can’t move!”
It seemed he had used spirits just like when he restrained the man affected by ergot poisoning.
‘After passing so many people, there were still more?’
I was starting to feel rather sick of it all.
“We should head back before more come.”
I nodded at Reno’s urging. As we walked, a sudden question made me stop and turn to Reno.
“Did I ever mention that I was selecting a guardian? Because I don’t remember telling you.”
“That’s right. Your Highness never told me.”
“Then how did you know?”
“I heard others talking about it. They said Her Majesty Evgenia announced it.”
So you knew for days and pretended not to know?
“Sorry, I wasn’t trying to hide it. I’ve been so busy lately that I forgot.”
“It’s fine. Choosing a guardian is entirely Your Highness’s decision, and you have no obligation to tell me.”
Reno smiled, saying not to worry about it. Looking at his face, he seemed genuinely fine, but…….
Ding!
[<System> Affection with ‘Reno Harsen’ has slightly decreased.]
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