My Contract Husband is Going Crazy Because of My Iron Wall - Chapter 42.2
Chapter 42.2
Leaving them behind, Reinhardt came out of the soldiers’ barracks. This completed all the inspections.
He dragged his tired body and entered the barracks where he and Irovel were staying. His face clearly showed his worry that she might be shivering from the cold. Reinhardt had wrapped his sleeping bag with his own blanket and placed the only magic stone lamp there, but he didn’t know how she would feel.
“Irovel.”
However, she wasn’t inside.
Did she leave? He went outside the barracks and looked around.
A faint light could be seen from the barracks where the food was stored.
Her parents often starved her. In order to survive, she would sneak into the kitchen while her family was asleep and steal potatoes to eat.
At that moment, a passage from a contract marriage novel that he had skimmed through came to mind. As he looked at her, he realized that Irovel’s family background was quite similar to that of the novel’s protagonist.
It was possible that the habit of secretly eating that she had developed in the Hoover Duchy had lingered until now and that she had been unable to bring herself to speak up even though she had not had enough of the food that had just been distributed.
Thinking this far, he hurriedly silenced his footsteps and headed towards the barracks where the food was stored.
As expected, Irovel’s back was visible.
“Sniff…”
Of course.
She was holding a basket full of food and sniffing. Just like that scene in the novel!
“D*mn it.”
Anger surged through him. The Hoovers, how much did they think those few pieces of food were worth that they starved people?
“What are you doing right now?!”
He grabbed Irovel’s arm and turned her around roughly. It wasn’t Irovel he was angry at, though his voice betrayed his anger.
‘No, I can’t. Irovel will be surprised.’
Reinhardt, who had hastily loosened his grip on her arm, spoke in a soft voice as best he could.
“No one will say anything if you eat a little more. So, please don’t eat like this in secret anymore…”
As he spoke, he looked at the basket in Irovel’s hand.
But what was in the basket—
‘Onions…?’
He had thought she would be eating something like potatoes, but why onions?
“…Do you like raw onions?”
Perhaps because he was flustered, a strange question came out of his mouth. And Irovel replied with an equally strange answer.
“No? I hate onions?”
“…You hate them, so why are you eating them?”
“I didn’t eat them.”
“Then, why were you here?”
“I was making food to give to Larboris.”
“Does Larboris like onions, too?”
“No. It likes this.”
Irovel blinked and wiped away her tears with her index finger. The tears that had been clear just a moment ago had turned into pink-colored gemstones.
“….”
So, Irovel’s words seemed to mean that…
She had been looking at the onions on purpose… to give her tears to Larboris. Not that she had been eating tear-soaked potatoes or anything like that.
* * *
“Wow… so this is Tahita.”
Finally arriving at Erestein’s territory, Tahita, I couldn’t help but be impressed.
The sight of trees boasting tenacious vitality filling the vast mountains, even in this cold climate, was truly breathtaking. The people of the territory seemed full of life, and the tall buildings had a restrained beauty to them, unlike the South, where it was fashionable to build them as extravagantly as possible.
“Wow… the fox’s fur is white? It’s cute! Oh, it’s a polar bear! Since it’s with people, I guess that bear doesn’t tear people apart?”
As I watched the people of the territory mingle with the animals of nature, I couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration. Reinhardt looked at me with interest.
“Is it that amazing?”
“Yes! It’s hard to see animals in the South except for dogs and cats. Come to think of it, are there cats in the north, too?”
“Yes, there are. They’re a bit bigger and have thicker fur than in the South.”
“So, is Reinhardt’s kitty a southern cat or a northern cat?”
“….”
Reinhardt suddenly closed his mouth tightly and pointed to the distance.
“Look, there’s a sparrow…!”
“Oh! A sparrow! …But don’t sparrows exist in the South as well?”
Even their appearance is the same. As I narrowed my eyes in confusion, Reinhardt avoided my gaze and trailed off.
“Yes…”
As we exchanged trivial chatter, we finally arrived at the main mansion and dismounted from our horses to enter.
‘So this is Erestein’s main mansion!’
Unlike the concisely built mansion in the capital, this one was much larger and more magnificent. Of course, there were no annexes.
“I greet His Excellency, the Grand Duke of Erestein, the great overlord of the north.”
An old man dressed as a butler greeted Reinhardt.
Huh? But for some reason, he reminds me of someone…
‘Ah! So he’s Arthur Mute, Jade’s father.’
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Grand Duchess. I am Arthur Mute, the head butler of this mansion.”
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m sure you were surprised by my sudden appearance, who wasn’t in the plans, but I’d appreciate it if you could take care of me for the time being.”
“Oh, so this is the Grand Duchess I’ve only heard rumors about!”
As I was exchanging greetings with Arthur, a large man with a huge scar on his face came running towards me.
“Whoa—Now, I know why His Excellency the Grand Duke was always smiling to himself. You’re such a beauty! Oh, I’m John Eclipse, the commander of the northern Tatar defense line.”
Ah, so this is John Eclipse, who will be on trial with Reinhardt this time.
…But what did he say?
Reinhardt smiled to himself when he thought of me?
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