112 – Birth of a family (2)
The warrior liked the color and atmosphere of the market.
I felt that a unique melody, like the unique rough rhythm heard on the battlefield, was subtly spreading throughout the market. The sound of a cart hitting stones. High voices of touts and customers bargaining for goods. Bards who induce money by singing, and beggars who fall to the ground and demand red line.
When these voices, which seemed to play separately when they were heard one by one, merged into one boisterous music, they realized the market even with their eyes closed. Lena and the hero stood at the center of it, scanning people. As rumors spread that the war was at an end, there was a lot of energy here and there.
A man who had lost a leg limped through the market, and a man who had lost an arm was pulling a cart. The hero, who was laughing at the splendor and variety, turned his head without knowing it when he met their eyes.
“How much is this?”
The old woman, who could not speak, spread her palms out to reveal the amount. Lena paid and picked up the goods. It was a doll whose limbs moved freely when pulled by hand. Lena showed the doll to the hero and said.
“how. Is not it cute?”
As a hero, the doll was a bit gross, but Lena petted it and liked it. Lena, who had been caressing and comforting the doll like a pet dog for a long time, put the doll in her pocket and said,
“That old lady. My son and grandson all went to war and died.”
The warrior shut his mouth. She hated talking about tragedy the most. Because the tragedies she faces are the stories she will have to take responsibility for someday. Lena tapped the doll in her bag with her finger and continued.
“So it seems that no one makes money at home.”
“So you bought a doll?”
“No, I really like the doll, so I bought it. Why. You’re cute.”
Lena took out the doll again and waved it in front of the hero. The way he swayed his legs seemed to hypnotize the hero. The hero shook his head and took his gaze away from the doll. The sprawling limbs limp like a hanged corpse, then snap back together at the push of a button by Lena.
“Shall we go this way this time?”
The hero turned his head at Lena’s words. A dark alleyway in the middle of a bustling market. The light doesn’t come in well, and there are puddles and moss. And where the nasty people who smoke hookah are sitting huddled together. The hero said to Lena.
“Why over there?”
“just?”
Lena didn’t tell me why. When the hero showed signs of dissuading her, she stepped into the alley. The man sitting on the floor has a large scar on his face and a lot of tattoos on his body. He wore a dagger at his waist, and as soon as Lena entered, he ran over his body and whistled as if appraising a commodity.
“Hey, what is it? Do you run business during the day?”
Lena smiled at those words and flicked her wrist lightly. The man twisted his body lightly with a smile and looked at Lena with a funny look. Then he put his hand on his waist and said.
“I-I don’t know what year you’re doing.”
The man’s hand floundered in the air. I could see my fingers moving wildly, flustered at not being able to pick up the dagger.
Clink.
The belt was cut along with the dagger, and the man’s pants slid down. said Lena.
“I have something to say here, can you move away for a moment?”
The man belonged to the quick-witted axis. This woman, who had cut off both her belt and dagger sheath without realizing it, could have killed herself if she wanted to. After thinking about it, the man raised his pants and shouted.
“Yes! Good job then!”
“What, what?”
“Brother, why are you like that? It’s just going, Hanahunti.”
The man kicked the buttocks of his colleagues who had not yet grasped the situation and pushed them aside.
“Shut up you bastards. Run fast.”
As the men disappeared, Lena leaned against the wall and looked at the hero. The hero cautiously walked forward and stood leaning against the opposite wall. Standing against a poorly maintained wall, I could feel the dampness and smell seeping into my clothes.
said Lena.
“I mean When I was young, I liked sitting with my back leaning like this in the neighborhood alley. It felt good to see the cold air coming from the wall and soaking my back.”
The hero looked at Lena. I couldn’t figure out what the hell she wanted to say, bringing her to such an obscure place. Lena tapped her small handbag and continued.
“Everyone who grew up in an alley like this said ah, and sympathized with me when I talked about this. Although the hero is different.”
“…Because I’m from the countryside.”
The hero thought he would say this for the first time in a while. It was because I was busy with work for a while and didn’t have time to talk about my hometown. Lena raised an eyebrow at the hero’s words. Laughing like a slob, she shook her head and said.
“Liar.”
“yes?”
“You are a princess. our warrior. Not from the countryside.”
The warrior hardened his face. In fact, I thought he would have noticed to some extent, but hearing it so bluntly, there was an eerie feeling in my heart. Lena took out a needle and started trimming. The tips of the shiny needles shone sharply following the sunlight entering the alley.
The question of how you knew is meaningless.
the warrior asked.
“….therefore?”
The hero thought this question sounded somewhat cold, but Lena didn’t say much about the nuance. Rather, she asked as if she had been waiting for this question.
“Hero, what are you going to do after our mission is over?”
“…Nothing has been decided yet.”
The hero desperately turned his horse. But Lena said with a smile on her face.
“But I wouldn’t have thought that everyone would die. huh? Did you really not have a plan?”
The warrior shut his mouth. As Lena said, even the hero had a plan. To be precise, this was not the hero’s plan, but the palace’s plan. She will inherit the throne when the time is right, and make public the fact that she was a warrior.
And I will do my best to rule the country, and I will have to choose the right man and marry him.
The man will be a member of a high family for the future of the kingdom or one of the generals who made great contributions in this war, and by giving birth to children like that, the future generations will lead the future of the kingdom.
The warrior bowed his head. said Lena.
“Hey. I think our party is really close, and I don’t think it’s going to be very different even after this operation is over?”
Her words had bones. The hero knew what Lena was trying to say even though she had only uttered the first words. Lena ignored the hero’s light shake of the head and continued talking.
“By the way, warrior. If you know that the world you live in is different, and you can’t connect to each other anyway, that… … . I was wondering if I was acting too selfishly.”
I knew what selfish behavior she was talking about. It refers to the past days that clung to the porter.
said Lena.
“Hero, you can have it all.”
The hero raised his head again at those words and looked at Lena. Lena was a little depressed and had a sad expression. Then, when he met the hero’s gaze, he forcibly raised the corners of his mouth and smiled. And pretending to be relaxed, pretending to be nothing.
“Because the hero lives in a different world. It doesn’t end with a few puns like we did. Now you’re going to be a king, and you can choose a nice guy to marry, right? By the way, the porter man… … . Even though he is handsome, he is a prostitute who attacks widows, has a bad mouth, and is from the Empire, so the kingdom won’t welcome him.”
The warrior did not answer. Away from Lena’s eyes asking for an answer, I squeezed my hand against the wall. The old walls were dotted with pimple-like parts that popped out randomly, so I reached out and caught something.
said Lena.
“Me too, Ashuria too. I mumbled with the feeling that it had to be this person, but he wasn’t the hero. The hero can do anything without the uncle. Because you are a princess.”
The hero looked at Lena again. Lena was looking at the hero with a strange expression as if she was laughing or crying. said Lena.
“Concede to us. just one.”
The hero looked at Lena.
If she retreated from here, the same life was still waiting for her. I wanted to marry someone I wanted. If possible, I wanted to share love with someone who could support me by my side and showed me a reliable side of me.
There was only one such person.
said the warrior.
“Sorry.”
She couldn’t make out her own expression, but it seemed that she had something similar to Lena’s.
The mouth is smiling, but the eyes are a mysterious expression.
“I can’t do it unless I’m an uncle.”
The two looked at each other and laughed, then shook their heads and walked out of the alley.
Lena wiped her eyes and said to the hero.
“Selfish jerk.”
The warrior just laughed without speaking.
