I hadn’t thought of any excuse, so I meant for him to handle it.
And as if agreeing with my intent, the knights’ eyes also focused on him.
Klen lightly brushed the dust from his clothes.
“We were cleaning.”
“Cleaning… sir?”
And he casually uttered something that would shock anyone.
As expected, the knights’ heads quickly turned this way, their faces pale and their eyes wide.
Their faces, as if they had encountered a ghost, looked pitiful.
But I could only nod slightly.
[Do you know how clean it became~]
Since we cleared away the scattered spell formations, calling it cleaning was not wrong.
“Was it, was it that dirty?!”
“We apologize. We didn’t notice at all…”
“We will be more careful during patrols.”
But the knights, who didn’t know what kind of cleaning it was, bowed their heads as if they were about to kneel right there.
[Tsk tsk. What would those without magic power know? Show some compassion~]
“It was just a bit messy, and since we’ve mostly cleaned it up, you don’t need to worry about it.”
Perhaps influenced by the bird’s words without realizing it, a generous tone, as if forgiving their sins, slipped out of my mouth.
And as if they had received salvation even though they hadn’t committed a sin, the knights’ eyes sparkled brightly.
If this situation and composition were painted, it would be sacred enough to be hung in a temple.
“We will handle what’s left.”
“Lady Adrian looks tired, please rest.”
“It’s fine…”
“I was just about to go back because my wife seemed tired. As you know, I don’t want to be the subject of unnecessary gossip just because I personally cleaned the forest. Do not reveal what we did to anyone.”
Klen, who stepped forward and spoke, interrupting my words, had a light tone and a beaming smile on his face.
Yet, the words that flowed from his mouth were extremely heavy.
“Yes!”
The knights, who had been staring blankly, hurriedly replied.
“I will be watching to see how discreet the mouths of the knights guarding the forest are.”
“……”
“……”
And when I felt a sense of bewilderment at their quick, non-verbal blinking response, one knight couldn’t hold back and let out a small laugh.
“S-sorry! I just thought you two are truly a married couple.”
“That’s right! Lady Adrian said something similar when you first arrived.”
“Ah…”
When the knight next to him nudged his side, the face of the knight who had already spoken stiffened.
He had definitely said those words when I first came here.
But that wasn’t when I visited with Klen, was it?
It should have been a secret even from Klen.
I offered a bright smile to the knights who were about to become tense again.
“I know well how discreet their mouths are. It’s just…”
And I added a chill to my smile.
“There is only one saying: to keep a secret, take it to the grave.”
“S-sorry!”
“We will bear that in mind.”
At that, the color drained from their faces.
They quickly bowed their backs with pale expressions.
My intention was for them to keep the secret until they died.
However, they seemed to have interpreted it as a warning to keep quiet if they didn’t want to go to the grave right now.
“I apologize. My wife is a little scary when she’s angry.”
[Scary, so scary~]
“I am not angry.”
As soon as Klen’s words fell, the knights flinched.
What was he saying to these already terrified people?
In addition, one more unnecessary sound was added that only I could hear.
‘Should I show them what real scary is?’
As I gripped Levatein tightly, I felt a hand wrapping around my shoulder.
The bird, which had hopped up to my head, avoiding the hand slowly moving over my shoulder, sat there, and only then did Klen, who firmly gripped my shoulder, pull me toward him.
And as if to portray an affectionate couple, he leaned his head toward mine and smiled.
“Well then, we’ll be heading back now, so keep up the good patrol.”
“Understood!”
Cheep, cheep!
The atmosphere instantly lightened as if nothing had happened.
The beautiful chirping, like that of an ordinary bird, added a soft touch.
It was a peaceful scene, except for the fact that all of this was an act.
Since we were discovered by the knights and dusk was settling in, we ultimately had to go back.
But even on the galloping horse, my mind was fully focused on my hand.
The sensation of breaking the spell formations still seemed to linger in my palm.
It felt like breaking a thin glass pane, and it was strangely stress-relieving.
‘This is quite good, isn’t it?’
That place was definitely a spot where spell formations accumulated due to various mages, even if they weren’t spies.
Wouldn’t it be nice to go and “clean” it occasionally?
Of course, it wasn’t something I could do alone, so Klen would have to accompany me.
It was already night when we arrived at the castle and returned the horses to the stable.
It was too late to stop anywhere else, and since we were tired, we headed straight for our room.
“Klen. ……Are you not tired?”
The words “because you used too much magic” were omitted because I was conscious of anyone listening, but he seemed to understand and smiled.
“I’m fine. Aren’t you the one who’s exhausted? If you’re tired, I’ll carry you.”
“I’d rather carry you.”
Swinging the sword to that extent was closer to a warm-up for me.
My body, which had sweated for the first time in a while, now felt like its muscles were loosened and desired more intense exercise.
Something like a spar, for example.
But at this late hour, the training grounds would be empty, and even if someone were there, I couldn’t spar.
I smacked my lips regretfully.
‘Oh? Come to think of it…’
My head, which had turned toward the training grounds, naturally turned toward Klen.
This person shouldn’t have been this free recently.
“Why were you at the library today? What about your training? Was it okay for you to spend the entire day with me like this?”
“It was Elder Brother Fabian’s day off, so it was fine.”
“So he does have a proper day off.”
Elder Brother Fabian, like the healer, had a strong image of working non-stop, so I was newly surprised that he had a set day off.
Or was it only a “day off” in name, just like her?
Klen smiled vaguely and opened his mouth.
“He doesn’t usually take the whole day off. He seemed exhausted from hosting the ball.”
“Ah…”
The person currently most in the spotlight at this castle couldn’t be anyone other than the Count’s firstborn and still-unmarried Elder Brother Fabian.
Did he perhaps dance, surrounded by people, throughout the ball?
But thanks to him, we were able to figure out something important today.
People definitely needed days off.
And when we arrived in front of the room, Linda greeted us with a smile all over her face upon seeing us.
“You’ve returned?”
“……?”
Surprised by the unusually enthusiastic welcome, Klen and I stopped at the same time.
But Linda, who seemed not to notice, smiled brightly, and her gaze shifted from us to the bird on my shoulder.
She naturally led us toward the door.
“What’s going on?”
“Look.”
