Please Die, Your Highness - Chapter 110

She yawned and massaged the man’s hand with a dazed face. The man’s earlobes, as well as the nape of his neck, flushed a deep red, but Maeve, without realization, meticulously checked to see if she hadn’t crushed the man’s hand bones in her sleep.

Only after confirming they were fortunately safe did she let go of the man’s hand.

“……Why did you wake me.”

A late grumble escaped her. Prince Declan, flustered, quickly spread out the blanket he had brought with his freed hands.

“To cover you with the blanket. Because you looked cold. And to light a fire. Just because.”

He kept adding cumbersome additional explanations to avoid showing how flustered he was. Regardless of that, Maeve was in the middle of closing her eyes after yawning again with a sleepy face.

“Ah, the boss asked if we could use our horse during the work tomorrow.”

“……Yes.”

“I’ll tell him okay. Goodnight, Maeve.”

The final whispered words were so needlessly cautious they were almost ticklish. She had no idea why those trivial words made her wake up completely, but Maeve looked at Prince Declan somewhat irritably with her eyes wide open.

The man had already covered her with the blanket and gone to the fireplace. Maeve lay huddled under the blanket and watched the man crouching in front of the fireplace, struggling to light the fire.

The third, the fourth.

The man succeeded in lighting the fire on his fourth attempt.

He’s improved quite a bit.

After murmuring that to herself, Maeve fell back into the abyss of sleep.

Prince Declan wanted to actively help with the people’s work like in the previous village, but the carpenters politely declined his help. Since Maeve was much more experienced in handling horses, the task of traveling back and forth to the bridge construction site with the carpenters ultimately fell to Maeve.

Prince Declan inevitably remained in the village with Kiaran, who could not work due to his injured arm. Since he felt it was a shame, Prince Declan spent his time helping those who chose not to cooperate with the construction and instead decided to pack their things.

The village children were busy playing as usual, completely unaware of the adults’ circumstances. A child carrying a newborn on their back ran around diligently despite limping, getting lectured by Prince Declan every now and then.

Five days passed in the blink of an eye. With the combination of skilled carpenters, the construction was showing more progress than scheduled, and the water that had filled the road at the back of the village was slowly receding. This was because, although the damp and humid weather continued, fortunately, it did not rain.

Maeve, who had taken on the role of a porter by connecting the horse to the carts the people had made, found it frustrating halfway through and began carrying the wood on her back herself.

As always, she did not forget to control her strength appropriately. She carried the wood and transported it to them diligently, just enough to not seem too excessive, and only to the point of hearing pure admiration like, “You are strong!”

Thanks to Maeve’s rapid procurement of raw materials, the carpenters’ work gained even more speed. Since they were not experienced carpenters for nothing, even Maeve, who had been skeptical at first, reached the point of harboring the thought that perhaps she might see the bridge completed before they left.

The remnants of the old, worn-out bridge were gathered and discarded in a corner, and they processed the wood that had been neglected in the basement to be sturdier. Since they even used tough and solid ropes, once completed this time, it would likely last quite a long while unless someone intentionally ruined it.

Five days.

It was exactly the fifth day.

Maeve was leaning near the cart, engaging in low, trivial conversations with the working carpenters.

The sky was blue, and today’s air was quite dry compared to yesterday.

It was a day that felt moderately cool, though not a single breeze blew.

At that moment, the peak of the bald mountain hanging in the corner began to crumble down little by little.

Before long, a scream rang out, piercing and resonant. It was from the direction of the village.

Maeve and the group did not hear it.

Only the brown horse that came with Maeve, Bebe, heard that sound. The horse pricked up its ears and immediately turned its head as if to check the direction the sound had come from.

Soon, Maeve found it strange and looked at the horse.