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Chapter 23

His brows were furrowed so tightly it was more than just an uncomfortable expression.

He hates being that close to me.

It wasn't news, so it didn't particularly hurt her feelings.

"You're right."

As Angelina stepped back, his twisted face finally returned to normal.

"I want to wash up soon. And I'm hungry."

"What now? Do you have a plan?"

"My plan is… to stick to you."

Angelina grinned. Then she pulled a five-Bath coin from her pocket and showed it.

"I'll be in your debt, Your Highness the Crown Prince."

"Then why did you buy my clothes…"

"A bribe."

Angelina smiled again. At that smile, Alexei was at a loss for words. Did she have a plan or not? It seemed there one moment and vanished the next, yet it also felt like it was always there.

"Don't call it a bribe—call it a gift."

"No, it's a bribe. Because I gave it expecting something in return."

"Still, it's a gift. Between us."

Between us, what?

Angelina looked up at his face, as dry as ever, and was puzzled.

A husband, but still feeling like a stranger?

Not close, but not distant either?

"Father and Mother often exchanged gifts. Even when it wasn't a state event or an anniversary."

It seemed to be in the same vein, yet she didn't quite understand. So what was Alexei trying to say?

"Just that."

"……"

"Let's go."

Watching him turn away coldly, Angelina was dumbfounded.

Have I been seeing Alexei only intermittently?

Just when she thought, He's always like that—he would suddenly react in a way that defied expectation.

"Angel, you really don't know anything."

Suddenly, Alexei's words echoed in her ear.

"What is it?"

"Go—I'm going."

At his brusque tone, Angelina quickly dismissed her thoughts.

The two wandered the streets again. Searching the alleyways away from the main roads, they stopped in front of a building.

The Red Moon Inn.

"Shouldn't we find a restaurant first?"

"It's an inn, but it serves food too."

Angelina pointed to a small sign at the entrance that read Meals Available.

There had been a few taverns offering lodging, but she had passed them by. An inn with few comings and goings seemed safer.

Besides—Red Moon. It had a nice ring to it.

"Do you have a room?"

"What kind of room would you like?"

"The cheapest one."

"This way, please."

The innkeeper led them to a dormitory-style room.

As soon as the door opened, a foul odor hit them. A half-naked man on one of the tightly packed bunk beds blinked drowsily and grinned.

"Welcome."

Angelina fled faster than light.

"To a slightly less cheap room."

The situation there was similar. The beds were just spaced a little further apart.

"…To an expensive room."

"I don't think we have a room to suit your taste here. There's a hotel about fifteen minutes away."

The innkeeper's gaze fixed on Alexei's glittering vest.

"It's not about taste—we just need a private room."

"Oh… I was being dense. That makes sense."

What does?

The innkeeper's eyes grew sly as she looked at the two of them.

"There's exactly one room that fits your needs."

Upstairs, the innkeeper opened the door with a flourish.

Dust and hair were visible in the corners, but Angelina smiled calmly.

"Perfect. I like it."

"We'll take this room."

The issues were the questionable cleanliness and the exorbitant price.

"How much?"

"Fifty Bath."

"Fifty Bath for one night?"

"This is our best room, you know. Having an attached bathroom is a huge plus. It's in high demand, which is why it's so expensive."

Angelina walked to the window. The air in the room was stuffy and stank. Any normal traveler would have tried to open the window. But the sill was piled high with dust—no sign that anyone had touched it.

High demand? What a lie.

"I'm particular about cleanliness. Fifty Bath, on the condition that you clean it immediately."

"We don't have the staff for that right now."

"Then skip the cleaning and give it to me for thirty."

"Oh, that won't do."

"Then forget it. I saw a cleaner room for forty."

As Angelina tugged at Alexei's sleeve, the innkeeper called out.

"Thirty Bath!"

"One more thing."

"?"

"Meals are included, right?"

Angelina grinned.

"Of course. Our inn's meals are on par with a hotel's. You'd never get that for thirty Bath."

The innkeeper showed her teeth.

"Prepare it right away. So we can eat in the room."

"It'll be ready whenever you come. Whether you eat in your room or in the dining hall is up to you."

The innkeeper didn't catch the hint to bring it to the room.

"What I mean is—"

"We'll eat in the dining hall."

Angelina cut in.

"Pay the fee, and I'll give you the key."

"Do you accept Herks?"

"Of course."

It was a hassle to exchange currency, but foreign money had the advantage of being easier to skim from the books.

When Alexei paid thirty Herks, the innkeeper handed over the key.

"I'll show you to the dining hall."

Keeping a distance from the innkeeper, the two followed. Angelina whispered.

"There are no maids here. That's why the cleaning is in this state, and why they can't bring meals to the room."

"……"

"Let's eat in the dining hall for now. We might be able to pick up some local information."

But the dining hall was empty, and the meal consisted of wine and hard baguettes. No different from what they'd looted from the pirate's hold.

Even if this is market food, is this supposed to be hotel-worthy?

Angelina wanted to hurl the baguette at the back of the innkeeper's head for lying so shamelessly.

"Still, this looks a bit different? There's white cream on it."

"White cream?"

Angelina snatched Alexei's piece and examined the surface.

"This is… mold."

"Mold? Can you eat it?"

"No. Eating it would be dangerous. We have no medicine and can't go to a hospital. So look carefully, tear off the moldy parts like this, and eat the rest."

Angelina neatly tore away the moldy section.

"Let's ask for proper ones."

"They probably gave us the best they had."

Judging by how blatantly they'd served it without even trying to hide it, all the bread they had was probably in the same condition.

"Poor people can't afford to pick and choose. As long as it fills their stomach, it's fine."

Angelina turned her bread this way and that, tearing off the white mold. Then she soaked it in wine.

"That's what we are now. So just eat it."

Since escaping the pirate ship, Alexei had barely eaten. Even though he must have been hungry—accustomed as he was to the rich table of the palace.

Angelina guessed it was due to his innate sensitivity and pride.

"Have you ever read The Prince and the Pauper?"

"No."

Of course. A real author's book in a fictional world wouldn't exist.

"In that story, a prince and a pauper switch places and go on an adventure… No, rather than that, think of it as a lesson for a future emperor."

"Does this count as an imperial lesson?"

"A lesson to learn about the real world—what you won't find in your library or the palace. Call it experiencing the people's lives."

"What about you?"

"Where the president goes, the first lady follows."

"President? First lady?"

"I mean I'm fine. I'm more used to this than you."

Putting on a composed smile, Angelina bit into the wine-soaked baguette.

As if she were eating chocolate cake.

Alexei forgot his hunger and stared at her.

He had often felt a sense of unfamiliarity these past few days—something he hadn't felt even when he'd seen Angelina for the first time in seven years.

Though not as privileged as himself, she had lived as a marquis's daughter without wanting for anything. Yet all of this seemed genuinely okay to her.

How? Why?

To Alexei, it was utterly incomprehensible.

"What should we do after we finish eating? It's still bright out."

"You stay in the room. I'll go out and check the ship schedules."

"There are no ships to Latria. And the captain said we need travel permits."

"Travel permits are only required for foreigners."

"So you're going to pretend to be a local?"

"I'll try. I'll also see if there's any other way."

"Let me go with you."

"There might be pirates and soldiers roaming around."

"I can protect myself."

"No guns."

Startled at being found out, Angelina flinched.

"It'll complicate things. Absolutely no causing trouble."

Alexei left half his baguette and stood up. He suppressed the nausea rising at the thought of mold. He'd staved off his hunger—that was enough.

"Already?"

"I've had enough."

Angelina looked at the remaining bread on the plate.

Humans are creatures of habit, but they can't change overnight.

He's already made an effort by eating that much.

Angelina brought the remaining bread to her plate.

Eat while you can.

Better to store up strength than sit in the room worrying uselessly.

"Be careful."

Angelina stayed in the dining hall until the look in his eyes—as if he were watching a curious creature—finally faded from sight.

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