The Camellia Tattoo - Chapter 20

Then, only after she persistently called him, Igmeyer slowly opened his mouth.

“If you ask me, I should be there right now.”

“…”

“But my body is already here, so what can I do?”

In truth, Jean had been standing there at the entrance of the dining room with a restless look since a while ago. Igmeyer twisted his body, Ignoring it completely, and even turning his back towards the entrance.

An expression of disbelief appeared on Amber’s face, but Igmeyer remained unabashedly confident.

Of course, Fenrir would be the one he had to deal with. While other knights might struggle to find Fenrir, who could be hiding somewhere, they wouldn’t be able to kill it without leaving a scratch on the expensive fur.

A perforated hide could only fetch half its value, so dealing with expensive monsters was more practical for Igmeyer. Perhaps it was due to the habits ingrained from his life as a mercenary, even though he had become the lord of a vast territory. It might be difficult to give up money-making opportunities.

According to Igmeyer’s usual philosophy, there’s nothing better than money in this world.

‘Oh, but it seems like there is one’

What does she eat to have such fair skin?

Her wrists are so slender; she probably can’t even slice a turtle dove.

Swallowing such thoughts, Igmeyer stared intensely into the pinkish eyes of the princess.

They resembled a flower he might have seen somewhere.

He didn’t know the name. Since it wasn’t something he could eat, there was no reason to remember it.

But now, he was curious about the name of that flower.

Being from Shadroch, she would probably like flowers. Would she like it if he picked one for her?

Or would she lament that, instead of having anything and everything, she received such wildflowers in this place?

Until he tried giving her a gift, he couldn’t know, but for some reason, he didn’t think she would be sad.

In fact, compared to the luxurious cuisine of Shadroch, the meal wasn’t much, yet she enjoyed it.

That was truly an unexpected occurrence.

“You said you would give me Fenrir’s hide. To do that, do you have to return to the military camp, right?”

“Well, I do need to… but.”

He didn’t understand why he felt so reluctant to move.

Why was he displeased for not being able to see this woman?

‘Yet I’m not taking her to the place where Fenrir is.’

Why did he run back to the castle without resting, worrying so much about her?

Now, looking back at it with a clear mind, it was a ridiculous situation.

The princess’s expression showed the same.

‘I must be crazy.’

The princess was right in front of him, perfectly fine without any injuries, yet he hesitated to leave her alone.

After a lot of contemplation, Igmeyer decided to give up on understanding this sudden separation anxiety.

The feeling that he had to keep an eye on her seemed to be just an illusion. It was a hallucination of an ungrounded fear.

The sensation that, if he left her alone, she might disappear one day like sand slipping through his fingers, was just another illusion.

Igmeyer lectured himself in this manner.

However, the feeling wouldn’t stop.

“I haven’t guided you around the castle yet”

“At a time like this, going back to the military camp…”

“I realized that it might be a good opportunity to showcase the skills of my proud knights. Don’t worry; I’ll return soon enough. I do want to catch Fenrir for you.”

In the face of Igmeyer’s insistence, Amber eventually closed her mouth.

Despite a couple more attempts to persuade him, he seemed absolutely unwilling to leave the castle. If anything, the more she tried to push him, the more determined he appeared to sit firmly within the castle walls. Amber decided it was better to say nothing.

After all, she knew nothing about combat. Even though she wasn’t a child, he would surely handle stopping Fenrir on his own.

With that judgment, Amber stood up first and extended her hand. He took it and pressed his lips to the back of her hand.

“Ah, at times like this, should I express my gratitude for being escorted?” Igmeyer playfully remarked.

Feeling very, very unfamiliar, Amber strolled through the castle with him.

Igmeyer left the castle about two hours later.

The report from the butler Huvern, who had sent Mariam out of the castle, came around evening.

The next day, Amber selected all the girls who would become resident maids. She chose one more girl to be her personal maid for receiving a reputation for being tight-lipped. Her name was Betty.

Although Amber could have up to five personal maids, she only selected two—Nora and Betty.

This was because she had to leave some vacancies, as the maids were constantly vying for these positions and engaging in subtle competitions with each other.

More than anything, there was a need for a hierarchy among the personal maids, even among those who entered first and those who came later.

‘This is tiring.’

In a moment, Amber, who had taken control of the castle, glanced at the accumulating snow and briefly thought of Igmeyer. The cloak was still with her. Perhaps he was getting buried under the falling snow in that vast snowy field.

It might be unnecessary worry, but it bothered her nonetheless.