Chapter 50
It was the moment Colm was about to press for an answer again. Maeve replied calmly, without even glancing at him.
“Knocked out? Knocked out means…”
“It means he lost consciousness.”
“Do you think I don’t know that’s what it means when I ask!”
Colm raised his voice at the answer that seemed to be mocking him, then belatedly rolled his eyes, looking cautious.
He recalled the Prince Declan’s attendant who had cursed the maidservant with fingers that were blue with bruises and swollen to double their size.
“What if he regains consciousness and follows us?”
That was only for a moment, Colm quickly asked, recalling that ominous possibility.
“He won’t be able to follow.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because I did the exact same thing to him as he did to Rory.”
“…”
“You can relax.”
Colm said nothing for a moment. He stared at her with his mouth open, then turned his body to face the wall and began muttering something ominous.
What a truly unpleasant fellow, Maeve thought, and continued wiping the sword.
It wasn’t for nothing that Rory told him not to get close to that coachman. Rory, being a mercenary, must have experienced countless strange guys and bizarre sudden situations.
“You, you’re an accomplice of that guy?”
Colm, who had been muttering something for a long time, finally asked with conviction, as if he had reached a conclusion.
“Who?”
“That brown-haired guy.”
“Rory?”
Colm nodded. Maeve didn’t feel it was worth answering and said nothing.
That seemed to be an answer sufficient for Colm in its own way. He looked at the maidservant who was staring at him with a chillingly cold face, feeling awkwardness and humiliation simultaneously.
“Then… what happens to us now?”
“I don’t know. The Prince Declan will decide.”
The Prince Declan would somehow insist on continuing west. Although it was clearly predictable, Maeve answered that way for now.
“We’re already doomed. There are only three of us. What are three people going to do? Who, who is going to catch meat and who will stand guard? And what if we encounter a band of robbers?”
“Then, you persuade the Prince Declan yourself to return to the castle.”
Colm suddenly became speechless. He stared blankly into the air, as if he had lost his mind.
“…Return…?”
Then, he muttered that towards the air. Colm slumped back down in his seat. Next, he bent his body and muttered something again, staring only at his toes.
Just then, the sound of water boiling over was heard from the pot. Maeve walked towards the stone oven, holding the greatsword dangling like a large toothpick.
“How much did you get…?”
Colm mumbled and asked, still looking only at his toes.
Maeve was lifting the pot and moving it to a cold spot. She didn’t seem to hear his words.
“Can’t you… hear me…?”
Colm mumbled again. This time, he suddenly lifted his head, his eyes having gone crazy in a different way.
Maeve, holding the large greatsword, was right beside him, staring at him. He didn’t know when she had arrived.
“Why are you speaking so softly?”
The maidservant asked, looking at him.
The small woman who barely reached his chin was holding a sword as big as her torso.
Staring intently at him with an expressionless face.
“Put that away.”
“You speak well. Why are you so inconsistent? Why do you act subservient one moment and disrespectful the next? It’s confusing.”
The coachman’s deflected anger melted away like snow as soon as he saw the coldly shining blade of the sword.
Maeve recalled Rory’s advisory words, where he pointed at Colm and told her not to treat him casually and not to become too close with him either.
Maeve agreed with Rory’s words. However, if she had to constantly clash with a fellow like that, she just needed to keep putting him down and never turn her back on him.
“…When did I?”
Colm asked, pretending not to know, and when Maeve didn’t reply, he apologetically changed his attitude, saying, “I’m sorry,” with a conscience-stricken look.
“Let’s wait until the Prince Declan wakes up. And we’ll go with his decision.”
“…Alright. Is he going to keep sleeping…?”
“Yes. He’s very tired from the incident with Fionechta. Don’t hang around near his room, though, unlikely as that may be.”
“You don’t have to worry. I can’t even talk to him. I can’t even look at him.”
What a truly ridiculous man, Maeve thought.
Whether Maeve thought so or not, Colm asked clearly, rolling his eyes with a noticeably more respectful posture.
“But what if the villagers ask about Fionechta? What will you tell them?”
“I’ll give a suitable excuse. Should I make up an explanation for you?”
“No, I’m fine. People don’t talk to me. You just be careful.”
“…Alright.”
After a subtle silence, when Maeve replied, the conversation abruptly ended there.
“…I, I want to go lie down too.”
“Go lie down.”
Colm jumped up as if he had been waiting for the permission and went into his room.
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