0&1 Ch 21.3

Edward wouldn’t stop Alex, so I had to. 

“I think we’ll need some water.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” 

Alex began searching for a water container. However, finding necessary items anytime, anywhere, was a skill unique to Dot. Alex was unable to do so.

“I don’t know where the water container is. Should I stop the carriage and call for Your Highness’s attendant?” Alex asked.

“That’s enough. You’re not very good at serving,“ Edward said. ”You have a good knight, Joffrey. He seems to think highly of you. He was very enthusiastic on the battlefield.“

”… Thank you.”

He thought it was strange as a compliment for a knight. Highly?

What did I do to earn such an evaluation?

Alex was bowing his head next to me. I couldn’t see his expression.

“I didn’t know you were afraid of blood. It’s good that you weren’t the one who went into battle. I’m glad you didn’t go,” Edward muttered.

He didn’t smile or look at me. That’s why it sounded sincere.

My stomach churned.

I know Edward has an ulterior motive. He didn’t mean it kindly.

But Edward wasn’t good at lying.

It didn’t seem like he was lying when he said he would clean the blood because I didn’t like it, or that he was glad I didn’t fight.

Why did he get in this carriage?

Edward stayed silent, staring blankly as if thinking about something.

When I looked at him again a moment later, his eyes were closed.

He was fast asleep.

In the meantime, I found a water bottle in the carriage. I wiped Edward’s face with a handkerchief soaked in water.

Edward slept soundly and did not wake up. He was sleeping so peacefully that it was strange.

Didn’t he say he couldn’t sleep? Was that just a dream?

Alex took the handkerchief, saying he would do it instead. But Edward’s face was already clean.

His long eyelashes sparkled in the sunlight.

I also leaned my head against the backrest and closed my eyes. I heard Alex closing the window. The sunlight that had been piercing my eyelids disappeared.

The carriage was moving slowly.

I was the first to wake up. Edward did not get up until all the carriages had stopped and the soldiers had unloaded the luggage.

Grey, who came looking for Edward, asked in surprise, “He’s sleeping?”

I was wondering how to wake him up. I didn’t think I should wake him because he was sleeping so soundly.

How could he sleep with all that noise outside? He must have been out of it.

“Do you want to wake him up?”

“Yes. Can I come in?”
”Of course.”

Grey slipped into the carriage. He frowned when he saw Edward and quietly called out, “Your Highness, Edward.”

Will he even hear you calling him that?

But then, as if by magic, Edward opened his eyes.

He looked around, wondering where he was. His dazed eyes met mine.

“Joffrey? Why are you here?”

“Because it’s my carriage?”

Edward remained blank even after hearing my words.

“I fell asleep?”

“Yes. You were asleep and didn’t even notice me coming in. You still don’t seem to realize it,” Grey said. Edward seemed to notice Grey for the first time.

Edward blinked in disbelief, then suddenly glared at me with a look of resentment. His delicate eyes were filled with bitterness, as if I had done something terrible.

I asked in confusion, “Why? Should I have woken you up?”

“No. Thank you. I slept well thanks to you,” Edward said with a face that showed he hated me and wanted me dead.

Yeah, you really seem grateful.

What? What did I do?

This time, I really couldn’t figure out why, and I broke out in a cold sweat. Should I not have wiped the blood? I couldn’t even guess what Edward was angry about.

Dot was standing in front of the carriage with my personal belongings. He wondered why everyone was still inside, so he peeked in.

Edward spotted Dot and jumped out of the carriage.

“Your servant is always so diligent. Please tell the Queen that I am grateful. I received the gifts she sent. Joffrey, thank you for seeing me safely to the city.”

Edward spoke to Dot, then turned to me. He didn’t have to say it like that, but I knew he wasn’t grateful.

“Gifts?” 

From the Queen to Edward?

In response to my question, Grey raised his palm.

I thought he was going to say goodbye. But he lowered his hand and said, “See you at the academy. Thank you for the ride,” and left.

There were bloodstains on Grey’s palm.

Ah. Ahh…

Of course! If Edward was attacked, it must have been the Queen’s doing!

There was also an Edward attack event in the main game. When the female protagonist goes out with Edward outside the academy, a masked assassin attacks him. Edward, true to his role as the main character, fights off the assassin and tells the female protagonist, [There are forces who are unhappy that I am the King’s heir.]

The female protagonist feels a sense of kinship toward Edward, who seemed so perfect, thinking, ‘This guy must be going through a lot too….’

That’s a very early event, actually.

It’s basically the default setting of this game that Joffrey’s forces attack Edward whenever they get the chance.

This is bad.

When Edward asked me if I was curious about what happened, what did I say? I said I wasn’t curious.

How did that sound to Edward? Edward was right to use me as a shield by getting into my carriage.

Clever and cold-hearted.

I knew that already, but he didn’t need to smile at me to use me.

To him, I was already a bastard, and now he has one more reason to hate me.

If grudges were like savings, I’d be able to buy a castle.

Can the ending really be changed?

In this state, Edward might give up on love and go for something like an ‘Edward’s Revenge Ending.’

Awesome.

“What should I do, Your Highness? Should I tell the Queen? Why did he say that to me?” Dot asked with a sad expression. I wanted him to stay by my side and not be scared.

“Because you’re my attendant?”
“Oh.”
“Don’t actually tell her.”
“Oh.”

The Academy building was visible beyond the road.

The building, which appeared in the game illustration as a castle shrouded in fog, was actually shrouded in fog.

The sky was clear and blue, and there wasn’t a single trace of fog outside the academy walls. It looked like someone had cut out the academy from a painting and pasted it there.

“There’s fog around the academy building.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Dot responded. 

Alex nodded beside him.

No one thought it was strange.

I guess so.

This game slightly ignored the laws of physics, but it didn’t matter.

Dot found a place for Alex and me to stay until we entered the academy. The inn staff rushed out and carried my luggage upstairs.

I was a little stunned.

It was a downtown area with a completely different atmosphere from the capital.

It was noisy and messy.

The smell was overwhelming. The smell of food from street vendors mixed with the stench of the streets, making my head ache.

What was most distracting were the people.

It was the start of the school year, and the streets around the academy were crowded with students. Everywhere I looked, salesmen were trying to attract customers.

“Two rooms left! If you don’t book now, they’ll be gone!”
“We have stables! Breakfast included!”

I wasn’t the only one who was lost in thought.

A girl was standing in front of me, hesitating. She had soft brown hair and a gentle expression, and she was thin and petite.

She was looking at the peddlers. I wondered if she was scared by the noise. People were walking aggressively, and it seemed like even a slight bump could lead to a fight.

Is she trying to cross the street? It seems dangerous.

But then she shrugged her shoulders and took a deep breath.

“Book a room! Anyone who hasn’t booked a room yet! What are you doing? All the students who stayed here last year passed the academy exam! You want to rest well before the exam! You need a quiet place to sleep! Where else can you find such a place? Only our inn! We welcome exam takers! We welcome exam takers’ families! The inn that has produced the most academy students!”

The street echoed with the sound. Passersby were startled and stopped in their tracks.

What? It’s not like it’s an institute that produces the most academy students, it’s just an inn advertising itself.

Huh?

I looked at her in disbelief. It wasn’t because of her ridiculous sales pitch.

I hadn’t noticed earlier. Every time she moved, the large ribbon tied to her head swayed.

She’s the main character.

No, I knew I’d meet the main character, but…

Now that I’m entering the academy…

But I haven’t even entered the academy yet…

Why is the main character here?