I Became a Barbarian's Bride - Chapter 7
Nisha and Mary, who had slipped out through the side door, arrived at the usual meeting place where their collaborators, Knight Rad and Stable-hand Mesh, always joined them.
“Greetings, Princess.”
“Oh, thank you for your hard work today.”
“Rad, Mesh. It’s been a while. I’m glad to see you’re healthy. Where’s the carriage?”
The two men, clad in dark robes to avoid being noticed, quickly approached and greeted Nisha.
Mesh, a diligent seventeen-year-old stablehand, and Rad, one of the newly appointed knights of the imperial palace.
“It’s in the back.”
At Rad’s words, she looked behind and saw a shabby, old carriage and two horses.
In truth, calling it a carriage was generous; it was closer to a simple cart.
Of the two horses, one was hitched to the cart, and the other was equipped with only a bridle and saddle.
Mesh, the stablehand, had secretly raised these horses, weak foals taken out and treated outside.
“Then let’s go.”
“Yes.”
“Ah, wait a moment, Princess.”
Just as she was about to mount the horse, Mary’s voice stopped her. Nisha widened her eyes in surprise.
“What is it?”
“It’s chilly outside. You’re not in good health… Please wrap yourself in this.”
Mary held something out. It was a cape made of cheap animal hide.
Nisha chuckled softly at the distinctive musty smell of the animal fur.
Although it wasn’t of the best quality, it still wouldn’t have been cheap, being made of animal fur. She wondered where Mary had gotten the money for it.
“I bought it cheaply. It didn’t even cost me a day’s wages, you know?”
Mary said quickly, perhaps reading Nisha’s thoughts or seeing her lips part as if to speak, her freckled cheeks twitching slightly as she explained.
Nisha had no more words to say.
“Thank you. But let’s first send off the food and supplies,” Nisha said, draping the cape Mary had given her over her shoulders.
“D-don’t worry about this, P-Princess,”
Mesh stuttered, he had developed a stutter because of an old accident, while Rad nodded in agreement.
“Yes, we’ll take care of it”
Mesh and Mary, who couldn’t ride a horse, climbed into the carriage, while Rad and Nisha mounted the other horse.
The four of them quickly headed towards the capital along the hidden forest path, staying out of sight.
***
“Ah, the liquor here isn’t bad at all Kag-, no… Brother,” said a figure wrapped in a robe, his face the only part visible, as they lifted a glass in a restaurant that stayed open until dawn.
The mountain of empty glasses beside them testified to their drinking prowess.
The man’s tan skin and fiercely upturned eyes were so foreign that it was obvious he was not a citizen of Roshan.
At the center of the group sat a man who seemed uninterested in the boisterous banter of the others, silently taking out a cigarette and placing it between his lips.
His golden eyes, which were framed by his silver hair, lazily scanned his surroundings.
“Interesting.”
He lit the cigarette and observed the restaurant’s atmosphere, speaking with a hint of intrigue.
Despite his quiet demeanor, it was clear he was the leader among them.
He had an inexplicable, commanding presence, and his relaxed posture was reminiscent of a well-fed predator.
“What’s interesting?” one of the men asked.
“I remember today being a particularly avoided day in Roshan,” he replied.
“Ah…”
Unlike the tan-skinned men around the table, the man with exceptionally pale skin and calm, tied-back long blonde hair nodded silently in response.
He blinked his green eyes once and adjusted his glasses.
“It used to be, but it seems the rumors are true.”
“What rumors?” came the gruff question, to which the blonde man responded with a brief chuckle.
“Yes, a saintess who has appeared only on the Red Night in recent years…”
The man with the cigarette raised his hand slightly, and the blonde man instinctively fell silent
