Chapter 138
The hand that had looked slender and smooth turned out to be covered with calluses when she felt it through the gloves. Surprised by the unexpected texture, Jaha lightly brushed his palm with her thumb, and his body flinched.
“Jaha, suddenly touching me like that…”
“Ah, I’m sorry. It wasn’t the feeling I expected, so I unconsciously… Your hands are quite firm.”
Jaha pulled her hand back immediately and smiled awkwardly. Rikanan stared down at his now-empty hand and answered slowly.
“It’s probably from holding a sword.”
“Were you a knight?”
“I haven’t received a knightly title, so strictly speaking, I suppose you could call me a swordsman.”
To have worked so hard that calluses formed like this but still not receive knighthood. He must not have much talent with the sword.
Jaha felt sorry for him. Though, it would be too unfair if he was good at swordsmanship on top of those looks.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked something like that.”
“You can ask me anything, anytime you’re curious. There’s no need to be sorry either.”
Despite his delicate appearance, his personality was refreshingly straightforward. He’s perfect knight material—I really hope he becomes a knight. With pitying feelings, Jaha wished for his future to work out well.
The room she was guided to was spacious enough for a whole family to live in.
The servants had prepared bath water, so Jaha went straight to the bathtub full of warm water and let out a languid sigh, intoxicated by the luxury. The hot water enveloping her skin was soft, and there was a pleasant fragrance as if bath salts had been added.
“Ah, I feel so alive right now.”
The bathtub was large enough to swim in, which was somewhat overwhelming, but it was definitely luxury. Moreover, for some reason, the water didn’t cool down even as time passed.
“Is this magic too?”
I thought it would be inconvenient in many ways compared to Earth, but surprisingly, it seems quite livable.
Jaha leaned against the edge of the bathtub and thought about the man named Rikanan.
He must be an Imperial noble after all. Or if not a noble, then a wealthy person with comparable influence.
Since she knew nothing about this world, she couldn’t get a feel for it. Whether there were classes like gentry that weren’t nobles but belonged to the ruling class, whether the distinction between nobles and commoners was strict or the boundaries had practically collapsed, whether it was a centralized system where all nobles gathered in places like Versailles to curry favor with the king or a feudal system where lords each governed their own territories and collected taxes—with no information, there was no way she could make proper deductions.
“There’s a mountain of things to learn if I want to survive.”
Jaha muttered quietly and was immediately startled.
When she was sitting alone on the living room sofa, she didn’t want to die, but she thought it wouldn’t matter if she did. But since falling into this world, she’d been thinking about how to survive.
Jaha stared down at her palm and thought of Earth.
The empty house and silent living room, the cold air that had lingered around the sofa.
She didn’t particularly miss it, nor did she desperately want to go back.
If someone offered to send her back, she wouldn’t exactly refuse, but she had no intention of struggling desperately or making great efforts to return to Earth.
In fantasy novels, don’t the protagonists usually create tear-jerking epics about returning to Earth? Jaha had no reason to endure such hardships just to go back.
No, actually, maybe she’d wanted to escape from that world. She’d just stayed put because she didn’t know how to run away.
She hadn’t wanted to be alone in that house without her parents. Maybe time would make things better eventually, but she’d had no confidence in getting through each day.
If someone asked why she was in such a state when she wasn’t a child anymore and was old enough to go out and earn money, she’d have nothing to say. But Jaha wasn’t even sure if she was really an adult. Her body had aged, but her mental age seemed about the same as in high school.
She felt like she’d been more adult-like when she’d just entered college. Back then, when she’d been filled with the belief that she had infinite freedom and was an adult who could take responsibility for everything that came with it.
Now Jaha found infinite freedom burdensome, and the responsibility that came with it frightening.
“What a complete mess.”
Jaha smiled bitterly and leaned against the edge of the bathtub.
“Ah, whatever. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll just have to live here.”
It wasn’t that she wasn’t afraid of this strange world. But it was better than the living room sofa with no one around.
“I hate being alone…”
Whether it was because the water was pleasantly warm, or because she’d been losing sleep for days, Jaha dozed off in that position.
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