Home/I ended up having a surprise marriage with the male lead/ch 6

Chapter 6

Emilia took a public carriage and arrived at the neighboring territory.

It was the only place in the area with a train station.

Standing in front of the ticket booth, Emilia swallowed nervously.

So expensive...

She had only ever seen Cedric off from the platform before; she'd never ridden the train herself, so she hadn't known.

Then again, trains here ran on magic stones, so the cost was bound to be high.

"Excuse me, miss?"

At the clerk's call, Emilia smiled awkwardly.

"Oh, could I get the fastest ticket still available?"

"Certainly. Just a moment, please."

A short while later, Emilia received her ticket and listened to the clerk's instructions before leaving the booth.

She looked up at the large clock tower in the center of the square.

Not much time left before departure.

She entered the waiting room inside the station and sat down on a long bench.

She planned to rest a little until the train arrived.

But the waiting room was thick with an odd, cloying atmosphere.

What is it?

Emilia naturally shifted her gaze.

"Mmm... sweetheart, stooop~"

There, in the far corner, was a couple clinging to each other.

"What if people see us~"

The woman pretended to push the man away, acting shy.

"Aw, who cares."

But the man didn't budge; instead, he pressed closer and tried to escalate their display of affection.

Emilia quickly looked away, embarrassed.

How shameless, carrying on like that in public.

Smack, smack.

The embarrassing sounds made her cheeks feel hot.

They looked like they'd do even more if no one were around.

"Ahem, ahem!"

Just then, a middle-aged man sitting nearby made a loud, pointed cough.

But the couple's resolve was stronger.

"Tch, honestly. Young people these days..."

In the end, the middle-aged man gave up and left the waiting room.

But as he passed Emilia, he even shot her a sidelong glance.

Hey—why me...

Emilia felt wronged at being lumped in with them.

Meanwhile, the couple's amorous antics only grew more intense.

Emilia decided she'd had enough and quickly stepped outside.

She shook her head to erase the scene from her mind.

---

Ding-ding-ding-ding—

Thankfully, the train arrival signal sounded soon after.

People were already lined up in a long queue on the platform. Emilia joined the back of the line.

As she waited for the crowd to thin, she heard murmuring from the front.

What's going on?

Emilia craned her neck to the side.

The source of the commotion was quite far ahead.

A child had grabbed hold of a man.

But the child's appearance was rather striking.

A robe so large it obscured the face, and a hem caked with dirt and dust, as if it had been rolling around somewhere.

Perhaps for that reason, the man glared at the child with displeasure.

"What are you even saying? If you want to beg, go do it over there! Everyone here is busy!"

The man waved his hand dismissively, shooing the child away.

The child looked around and then reached out to another passerby.

But no one paid any attention.

Given the earlier scene, everyone assumed the child was just begging.

Emilia watched the child's actions closely.

It doesn't feel like simple begging... Did they lose their parent or something?

She stepped out of the line and walked forward.

And soon she realized.

The child was desperately trying to say something.

"[Please help me!]"

But the language the child was speaking wasn't Imperial.

This is...

Amid the jumble of languages in her mind, Emilia quickly found the answer.

It's Hyprian.

The Holy Kingdom of Hypria, located at the edge of the continent.

Due to its reclusive nature, it had almost no exchange with the Empire.

That was why no one could understand the child.

Emilia, however, had taken an interest in Hyprian several years ago.

I learned it while figuring out how to help Cedric memorize legal terminology more easily.

In the past, the Holy Kingdom of Hypria had dominated its neighbors and exerted considerable influence.

Because of that, traces of Hyprian remained—such as its being the origin of many legal terms.

Emilia approached the child and spoke.

"[What's wrong]?"

However, she hadn't studied Hyprian properly, so she wasn't fluent.

Hearing a familiar language, the child's teary eyes went wide.

The child quickly turned to look up at the woman who had spoken, then asked with hopeful eyes.

"[You can understand me right now?]"

"Understand, language."

She caught the general meaning.

Emilia quickly nodded.

The child's face lit up.

Excited, the child began to pour out words.

"W-wait!"

Emilia bent down and stopped the child.

"Slow down, I can't—ah, [slowly, slowly]."

Fortunately, the child seemed to understand and nodded quickly.

After thinking for a moment, the child spat out several words instead of full sentences.

"[Medicine! Remedy! Wound!]"

At the same time, the child pressed both hands to its stomach and grimaced.

Ah, so they have a stomachache and need medicine?

"[You? Sick?]"

But the child shook its head vigorously.

Then what?

Frustrated, the child stomped its feet.

After a moment of deliberation—hmm—the child pointed to itself, then crossed its arms in an X shape.

Ah.

So it wasn't the child itself.

It seemed a companion was sick and needed help.

"[Someone, with you, sick?]"

"[Yes yes!]"

The child clung to Emilia's sleeve as if it were a lifeline.

In truth, before losing consciousness, the child's companion had said this:

There's a dangerous person on the train. Stay hidden and don't move no matter what.

But the child was too worried that the companion might die.

So after much agonizing, the child had snuck out when the train stopped.

To find someone—anyone—who could help.

But the people outside the train couldn't understand the child's words, and worse, they were all cold and indifferent.

Among so many people, not a single one had listened.

Then, like a miracle, this woman's voice had reached them.

"First, calm down a little..."

Emilia held the child's damp, nervous hand and lowered herself to knee level.

Just then, the child's head moved, and the hood fluttered.

Wait, those eye colors.

At the glimpse of the eyes beneath, Emilia paused.

A suspicion arose in an instant.

"...Excuse me for a moment."

She carefully let go of the child's hand and gently lifted the hood.

"Ah."

Confirming the eye color, Emilia let out a soft gasp.

Golden eyes, almost yellow in hue.

Such eye color was rare in the Empire.

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