“Mr. El, actually, there’s one more thing I’d like to trouble you with.”
As dinner was winding down, Meira turned to El with a request.
“What is it?” El chuckled. “If it’s something too troublesome, I might not be able to help.”
“Could we stay here a few more days? Nia’s injured, and I want her to rest properly before we leave.”
Meira’s words left Nia somewhat dazed.
If she hadn’t already eaten her fill, Nia would have thought she was hallucinating from hunger.
She put down the skewer in her hand and was about to stand up to argue when Meira looked over.
“Nia.” Her voice was firm, leaving no room for denial. “Don’t forget what you promised me this afternoon!”
“You only have two options now: either quietly listen to me, or we part ways right here.”
The four words “part ways” made Nia panic; her expression instantly fell.
Having “persuaded” the knight, Meira turned her head back and continued.
“As for payment, I don’t have anything valuable to offer right now, so I can only verbally promise you, Mr. El, that during my stay here, I will agree to any request you make.”
“M-Miss…!”
If Nia could still compromise earlier, she absolutely could not accept Meira’s current words.
“Nia, this was something you agreed to with Mr. El before you woke up.”
“What?!”
Hearing this, Nia immediately glared at El, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword.
“I need to explain this,” El said, feeling a bit guilty as he rubbed his nose. “I just said it casually at the time—I didn’t expect her to take it seriously.”
“But don’t worry. Whether she agreed or not, I would have gone to rescue you anyway, that much I can guarantee.”
“As for your request to stay a few more days, I don’t mind. It’s kind of boring eating alone, and having more people around is livelier.”
“Thank you so much, Mr. El.” Meira thanked him sincerely.
“You’re welcome. But…” El changed the subject, “since you mentioned I could make requests, I actually do have something I want to ask of you.”
“Please, Mr. El, go ahead.”
Ignoring the murderous glare from Nia, El spoke seriously.
“Nia should have told you—I’m from another continent. This place is completely unfamiliar to me. There are many things I don’t understand, and I hope Miss Meira and Miss Nia can guide me.”
“Of course, it’s our honor.”
“But you just said any request—aren’t you afraid I’ll ask for something unreasonable?” El paused and joked, “Look at my house—it’s quite big, but it’s missing a lady of the house…”
El didn’t finish the sentence.
Not because he didn’t want to, but because Nia had already drawn her sword halfway out.
If he kept talking, this woman might just cut him down.
“My intuition tells me Mr. El is a good person,” Meira explained with a smile. “Besides, you risked your life to save Nia, so whatever you ask, I can accept.”
“Miss Meira must be mistaken—I’m not a good person,” El waved his hand and glanced behind Meira. “I’m a thoroughly wicked villain.”
Meira took it as a joke and didn’t take it seriously.
Nia, however, noticed the look he gave her and suddenly felt a chill down her spine.
…
Despite every reluctance, Nia stayed in El’s house with the princess.
Since they were indoors, sleeping was naturally very different from roughing it outdoors.
Unfortunately, the room El gave them had only one bed.
According to Princess Meira, this was the only bed in El’s house, specially offered to them.
“Nia.”
Startled by Meira’s voice, Nia tried to keep calm as she looked at her.
“Your Highness?”
“Aren’t you going to rest yet?”
“I am.”
“Then why are you still just standing there? Come here.”
Meira scooted slightly to the other side of the bed and patted the mattress lightly.
Nia immediately understood and hurried to refuse.
“Your Highness, this bed seems too small for two. I’ll just sleep outside.”
“Why? This bed can fit two people. When you were unconscious, I slept beside you to take care of you.”
“Well, someone has to keep watch, right? If there’s any danger, it’s better to find it outside early,” Nia dodged the question.
“You don’t need to worry about that,” Meira said. “I used Ancient Tree Magic on the nearby plants. If anything unusual happens, I’ll know immediately. You can sleep peacefully.”
“Your Highness can use magic now?” Nia asked, pleasantly surprised.
“Mm.” Meira smiled back. “The curse has loosened quite a bit. I can already use some simple magic.”
That was truly exciting news.
If she could already use simple magic, that meant the princess’s curse was recoverable.
Maybe they wouldn’t even have to search for that legendary thing after all.
“Although the recovery is slow, it still takes too long,” Meira shook her head, probably sensing Nia’s thoughts. “We have time, but not that much.”
“But compared to that vague legend, this at least gives us hope, right?” Nia said. “Yudia will protect us.”
“Yes.” Meira’s gaze hardened. “Yudia will protect us.”
“All right, enough talk. The injured need proper rest.” Meira beckoned to Nia. “Heal your wounds quickly so we can set out soon.”
Nia stood still.
“Nia, you’re not shy, are you?” Meira studied her carefully before teasing, “I’m not a man—I’m not going to eat you.”
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