Please Die, Your Highness - Chapter 103

Maeve is not curious about their background.

She is truly not curious about how they came to be here, for what reason they were forced to settle on this impoverished land and live in poverty, or how they reached the point of extorting money from passersby under the guise of a toll because they could not overcome that poverty.

This destitute village was merely a land to stay in for a while and leave quickly, no different from the places they had passed through before. Since they were people she would never see again, she could threaten them first with certainty and act without hesitation.

However, Prince Declan’s thoughts were different. He had already gone beyond becoming familiar with the people here; he was curious about their background and prying into this and that.

She thought it was a truly stupid thing to do, considering his position as a fugitive. Despite being given sufficient warning before parting with Harold, it was clear he had not listened at all.

By her standards, the information that they were originally a group of carpenters was enough. It was enough to know that, far from being professional bandits, they merely took great pride in their original trade and, though a bit rough, were not a group of real criminals.

But Prince Declan was not like that.

Billy shouted as if indignant at Prince Declan’s story, then became despondent, and soon turned his back and went somewhere without even finishing his farewell to them.

Prince Declan, seemingly quite concerned about Billy, kept looking back in that direction, but Maeve urged him to ignore it and just go on their way.

Because another child came toddling after them from behind to try and talk to the donkey, Maeve pushed both Prince Declan and even the donkey’s rump toward the path at the back of the village.

“It is useless to go, Maeve. He said the road is entirely submerged.”

“It won’t be too late to decide after checking for ourselves. If it is at a level where we can cross by swimming, we must cross even if we have to do that.”

“Is there a need to go to such extremes?”

“……Are those words coming from the person who needs to go to the West more urgently than anyone?”

Maeve asked, truly flabbergasted, and Prince Declan, left with nothing to say, shut his mouth.

The Prince quickly lost his spirit and said, “You are right.”

The Prince is acting fickle once again. He was tender last night, grumbled as if sulking in the morning, and now he is despondent again.

Instead of comforting him, Maeve mounted the horse first and held out her hand to him. Soon, he reluctantly took the hand she offered and climbed on behind her.

The path behind the village continued straight across a gentle plain. Only thick grass grew here and there. Come to think of it, hadn’t they seen tree stumps that had all been cut down before arriving at this village?

Maeve, solving one more thing she had been curious about, drove the horse slowly to match the donkey’s speed. Since a bout of heavy rain had poured down until two days ago, the road was muddy. Maeve stroked the head of the horse walking patiently and turned her head. She saw the mountains, no, the hills surrounding the village and this nearby land.

It felt like they should just be called hills now. It was because they looked almost like bald mountains, as if the trees had all been sliced away just like in this vicinity.

“Maeve.”

Just then, Prince Declan called her from behind. Maeve turned her head straight forward according to his voice. The sound of water could be heard. From very close by.

It was right in front of them. The road was snapped clean off due to the swollen water. The path that was originally a thoroughfare was filled with water as if it had been a river from the beginning.

Regrettably, the road ahead seemed to be a place where the terrain was consistently low. It was filled with water as far as the eye could see. There was no need to even attempt to gauge how high the water had risen. In the distance, one of the few precious trees remaining could be seen with only its very top peeking out. Even at a glance, it did not look like driftwood.

“……I thought about carrying you across, but that seems impossible,” Maeve said with an expressionless face, looking across the expanse. Prince Declan, who had followed her gaze toward the endless stretch of water, asked.

“Carrying? What?”