I Tried To Be Her Loyal Sword

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Chapter 60

Even after the agreement was reached, I snuck out into the streets, avoiding the biting exchanges between Kal and Aria. As a Swordmaster, I was permitted to roam outside without a guard, but I felt uneasy walking around barefaced, so I disguised myself as Mir and left home.

As I wandered aimlessly through the streets, I ended up at a tavern.

“…Isn’t that Mir?”

“No way, Mir wouldn’t come to a place like this. It must be one of those mercenaries copying him.”

“Still… I heard Mir has been roaming around this area a lot lately.”

“Come on. Haven’t you heard that Mir isn’t accepting commissions and is keeping to himself? There were even rumors of him being dead. There’s no way he’d be drinking here.”

“Guess that’s true…

Well, I’m definitely alive and drinking here.

Ignoring the people who were whispering and sneaking glances at me, I settled in a corner. The bartender, who seemed intent on confirming whether I was the real Mir or not, cautiously approached me.

“What would you like to order?”

“A vodka martini. Don’t shake it, just stir it.”

It was my long-standing fixed menu. A modified version of my voice slipped out with a sigh. The bartender’s pupils twitched, and the surrounding murmurs grew louder.

“If his voice is even altered, it really might be Mir?”

“…Hmm. Well, even that could be mimicked…

I comfortably dismissed the noisy surroundings. Before long, all the commotion around me faded into white noise. With my feet propped up on the bar stool and leaning against the wall, I let out a languid sigh. When my heart felt heavy, it was better to hide among bustling crowds than seek a quiet place.

‘I’m troubled.’

Thoughts spilled out like a broken tap.

The Atara Kingdom’s delegation, the hunting competition, the swordsmanship tournament, war, Alexandros, Alexandros, Alexandros.

‘Damn… Alexandros is the problem.’

With a sigh, I rubbed my forehead. The image of Leo, looking like a resentful cat, and Alexandros’s face, looking satisfied after a feast like a well-fed beast, wouldn’t leave my mind.

‘What if Leo really is Alexandros?’

I remembered the days when I treated Leo like a close younger brother and held my head in my hands.

‘Not eating! I said I don’t want to eat!’

‘You little brat… People die if they don’t eat, you know that, right?’

‘Right! I’ll just wither away! So don’t… Um! I won’t eat!’

‘You think I brought you here to clean up your corpse and treated you out of kindness? I’m doing this because I have my own reasons, so quit your whining.’

‘Clean up. Go away. Drop dead.’

‘Hah… Do you know how expensive the ingredients for this medicine are? Please stop resisting and just…’

‘Then why are you using ingredients that expensive to make my medicine! You could just leave me alone, so why are you helping me! Answer me right now…! Cough!’

‘You think you’re a discarded piece of trash? Just because I don’t like you, I’ll throw you away. Next time you refuse to eat nicely, I’ll feed you myself.’

‘Huh, huff, after making me do this, you think you’ll get away with it!?’

‘You’re so weak, you need to exercise even if it’s by carrying fertilizer bags. We don’t have fertilizer bags at home, what do you want me to do? It’s all for you.’

‘You! I’ll definitely kill you!’

‘You think you could kill me with just a wave of a finger? Once you build your strength and get stronger, I might pretend to be scared when you say that.’

When I was younger, I was much more immature, foul-mouthed, and emotional than I am now. Even though my mental age is around 50, remembering the original and my past life, the actual age I was when I lived those days was 13, and I couldn’t have been the same.

When Leo acted like a snarky cat, I would often react quite immaturely.

‘Damn! What if he really comes to kill me?’

I downed the vodka martini that had been pushed in front of me, hoping that getting drunk would be a good idea, but as soon as I turned 15, I started drinking, and my body had been trained to the point where I rarely got drunk.

With an empty glass before me, I sighed heavily as I caught the inquisitive glance of the bartender.

“Ugh… the strongest vodka, please.”

“Uh, straight up or on the rocks…”

“Just bring the whole bottle. No glass needed.”

The bartender, frozen in shock at my order, looked like someone who’d given up on life as he slowly backed away after bringing the vodka.

‘Damn…’

Slamming the bottle down with a bang, I squeezed my eyes shut.

If Leo was just a prince, I could somehow manage. After all, I was a noble daughter of the Crisys Duke’s family, which held power equal to that of the royal family and temples. In terms of rank, Atara’s prince should have been at a similar level to me.

‘But if he became king, he would be at a higher official rank than me!’

That was the issue. If someone of lower rank than me attacked, I could just deal with them with my sword. However, if Atara’s king came at me, it would lead to a diplomatic situation.

‘At this point, I can only hope Leo is a simple farmer living in a remote valley. No, as long as Leo doesn’t come disguised as Alexandros… As long as he doesn’t recognize me… if he does recognize me… Damn! Why am I having these thoughts about someone whose life I saved?’

Suddenly feeling unjust, I grimaced and gulped down more vodka. Even if he realized I was that same person, there was no guarantee that Leo wouldn’t harm me.

‘You! I’ll really kill you!’

‘You crazy bastard! I’ll definitely kill you!’

‘I’ll make sure to kill you in the most terrifying way possible!’

‘Thinking about how he treated me back then, it wouldn’t be hard to believe that he became king just to kill me!’

In my younger days, I viewed Leo merely as a troublesome brat. Feeling an impulse to strike back at my past self, I buried my face in the bar.

Around the time we finally separated, we had grown quite close, but at the end, he might have been scheming to let down his guard.

And then, my intuition was suddenly pricked by a presence that stirred my thoughts.

‘…Why does this presence exist in a place like this?’

I turned quickly toward the door, a bit startled.

It was probably someone on par with Reiner. However, the aura of the tall figure draped in a black robe was wildly contrasting with Reiner’s composed and orderly energy; it was a chaotic and fierce force approaching the door.

It wasn’t someone I could deal with, but I felt a little tense at the sudden appearance of a strong figure as I placed my hand on my sword.

Ding.

With the sound of a small bell, the door opened.

A tall figure wrapped in a black robe entered the tavern.

‘Hmm…’

I swallowed hard as I gazed at the figure. They were completely covered in robes, their hood pulled down so not even a single strand of hair was visible.

‘Level somewhere near Swordmaster, just shy of Sword Expert. It seems they only have a sword at their waist and a dagger near their thigh…’

I quickly assessed the figure’s battle potential. While they looked fairly suspicious, they weren’t strong enough to be a match for me.

Even if they were somewhat suspicious, it wasn’t an issue if they came to the tavern to drink. The reason I couldn’t take my eyes off the robed figure was something else entirely.

‘…That lemon scent…’

I stared at the figure, a bit dazed. It hadn’t faded even after all this time, but it still lingered in my memory like the bittersweet scent of a boy.

Amidst the foul stench of alcohol wafting from the tavern and the heavy odor of the drunken patrons, that nostalgic fragrance distinctly captured my senses.

‘…Leo?’

Engulfed by the absurd thought, I observed the man bundled in robes from a distance when he turned and locked his gaze on me.

Though all I could see was his lips beneath the hood, I felt as if our eyes met. Despite being concealed by the hood, I distinctly sensed his gaze sweeping me thoroughly. His red lips moved slowly.

A profound smile hung on his lips. It was the smile of a beast that had found its prey. I inexplicably felt a chill run down my spine and quickly turned away.

“Huh.”

Even after turning away, all my senses were fixated on the man who had just entered. I could hear him suppress a chuckle as I took another swig from the vodka. I was thinking of finishing it all quickly and leaving.

Thump.

And then the man who had captured my attention uninvitedly sat right next to me.

‘…Why here?’

I furrowed my brow slightly. This tavern had both a bar and regular dining tables, packed with groups at the tables. There were plenty of stools at the bar available, so there was no need for him to sit right next to me in this corner.

‘He must enjoy… the corner seat.’

Trying hard to ignore the increasingly closer scent of lemon, I attempted to downplay the man’s actions. As I fixed my gaze on the vodka, ready to pull away my focus from him, that was when I heard it.

Creak.

The distance between the seated chairs significantly shrunk. The lemon scent enveloped my senses. The edges of our chairs nearly grazed against each other.

Thump.

He pulled his chair close to mine just before our bodies were about to touch.

‘He’s… trying to pressure me…?’

I blinked hesitantly, feeling the presence just before me. The man turned his body towards mine, resting his chin on his hand, staring intently at my masked face with an expression that felt burdensome. I could feel a cold sweat running down my back.

‘I… must be getting attention because I look so unusual.’

I rationalized, but my heart raced. This wasn’t the thrill of being close to someone; it was an increased heartbeat driven by an instinctive sense of foreboding and unease.

‘Just act like I don’t see him.’

I intuitively felt that ignoring him here was the best option. As I raised the vodka bottle to my lips, pretending to sigh deeply with a fake look of concern, that’s when I heard it.

“Ah.”

A low, sweet voice tickled my ear. The movement slightly revealed the white nape of his neck hidden under the hood, catching my attention.

Even though his hands were obscured by black gloves, a slight curve of beautifully shaped fingers holding the vodka bottle caught my eye. The tips of his fingers brushed lightly against the bottle.

Beneath the deep shadow cast by the hood, a sharp nose and pretty lips blushing red like the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge came into view.

Those red lips drew a subtle line. Whether it was intentional or a habit, the flesh even redder than his lips slowly slipped through the gap.

Feeling the vibrating aroma from the neck that was now in front of me, I suddenly realized.

“If I only drink, I might end up sick.”

The man in front of me emanated a scent that wasn’t like the fresh and youthful scent of the cabin boy, but rather a sensual and sharp fragrance of an adult.

I could feel my pupils dilating even without looking in a mirror. Coming this close made it impossible to ignore his presence.

I understood why he was here.