Ch.39The Principled One (3)

I was stunned into silence by Judy’s words. They were too sudden.

Marriage.

Of course I knew such a method existed. As Grandmother Riana had said, marriage was one of the fastest ways to form a strong alliance.

It wasn’t uncommon for children from hostile families to marry as proof of reconciliation.

If I were to marry Judy, the Ice Family wouldn’t think I approached them with impure intentions.

What madman would go as far as marriage just to spy? While such madmen might exist somewhere, it certainly wasn’t common.

Besides, family bonds are tough. Even if someone approached with ulterior motives, the affection that blooms through a political marriage couldn’t be ignored. When children are born later, there’s no reason to betray them and harm the Ice Family.

In the end, the moment you marry, it creates a kind of guarantee that you truly wanted to belong to the family.

“…..”

Judy seemed to misinterpret my silence, and after waiting briefly for my reaction, she started making excuses.

“…I… I didn’t suggest it, my sister did. Don’t misunderstand. You… you probably know I’ve never seen you that way? I just thought of you as a g-good friend, never once considered marriage. Oh, of c-course since you’re my only friend, you might read something into it, but it’s really not like that, just so you know.”

She spoke in a monotone voice, as if trying to appear unflustered.

But she spoke too quickly. She was just as embarrassed as I was stunned.

Regretting bringing it up, she muttered “Damn it…” while biting her lip slightly and squeezing her eyes shut.

Of course, I wouldn’t have misunderstood even without her explanation.

As Judy said, I had never seen her that way either, so I was just surprised by the possibility, not thinking that Judy was proposing to me or bringing this up dishonestly.

“…Say something. I told you it’s not like that. You’re misunderstanding right now.”

But it was too fun to just let it go by saying I didn’t misunderstand. I couldn’t help but laugh at Judy’s fidgeting.

Maybe because I hadn’t had much to laugh about lately, I felt an itch to seek amusement.

Back at the Praester territory, I used to play a lot of pranks. Kirsy’s playfulness probably came from taking after me a bit.

When I first met Judy, I played many pranks on her too. I remember constantly teasing her because it was so fun. About formal speech, about age…

So I couldn’t miss this opportunity that came after so long.

I deliberately twisted my expression into an awkward smile and said:

“….Wow…Judy, you..”

She was startled by my expression.

“What?? Caden, what are you saying?”

“Well… I was just trying to be friends with you… this is getting awkward.”

Judy’s face turned bright red. She frowned and relaxed different parts of her face, expressing her embarrassment with her whole body.

“Hey, I told you it’s not like that! Why would I want to m-marry you and say such things…!”

“So that’s why you said you’d send a letter to your father about taking me in as a retainer? And here I was, not knowing…”

“Do you really want to die? I said it’s not like that!”

“How far did you imagine? Have you already named our children that I don’t know about?”

“Hey!”

Finally unable to hold back, Judy shouted loudly, and I burst out laughing.

My laughter might be heard by the political science students, but I didn’t have the luxury to care about that. Judy still hadn’t realized this was my prank, and continued making excuses with a crumpled expression.

“…I…I sent a letter home because I felt sorry for you…! And you’re making weird misunderstandings…! If I knew this would happen, I wouldn’t have sent it!”

I was laughing so hard I had to hold onto Judy’s shoulder to steady myself. My reaction seemed to irritate her more and more. In truth, I was laughing harder because she was getting annoyed. The more I laughed, the more I could enjoy her amusing expressions.

Judy’s face kept getting redder and redder. Even this new side of her was enjoyable.

It seems right that when times are tough, you should try to create laughter like this. After a good laugh, the gloominess I’d been hiding started to dissipate.

Before Judy could explode, I put an end to the joke.

Wiping the tears from my eyes and calming my laughter, I said:

“I’m joking, just joking. I know, of course. I just thought your reaction was funny.”

Her flustered face froze for a moment. Then she let out a long sigh.

“……Phew.”

Like someone feeling suffocated, she pounded her chest and exhaled through her nose. Judging by her reaction, she must have been really flustered.

After continuing to pound her chest, Judy glanced at me. I just smiled back.

Now that she knew it was a joke, she would understand why I did it. The awkwardness from when we first brought up the topic had disappeared because of my prank.

I didn’t want us to become distant by starting to feel awkward around each other. Even without the joke, we probably wouldn’t have grown apart… but we might have been walking on eggshells around each other for a day or two.

I think it’s better that I dispelled all that with a joke.

Judy seemed to understand this too, as she didn’t say anything more to me.

She just cooled her face with a hand fan.

After the playful atmosphere had passed, I stroked my chin and spoke again.

“Ha… but. Hmm. I guess your family would feel more at ease that way.”

“….”

When Judy shot me a glare, I added:

“No, I’m not suggesting we do it. I’m just realizing the gap between our families again. They would need that level of commitment to accept me comfortably.”

“…You’re the strange one for not worrying about it. I’ve told you many times. We’re enemy families. Even up to our grandfathers’ generation, we were at war.”

“Yes. But isn’t it nice that we get along well despite that, just like I said?”

“…..”

Judy didn’t respond and looked ahead. She seemed to be avoiding affectionate answers for fear of being teased again.

I stretched and walked toward the window in the hallway.

It was a beautiful day.

Birds were chirping, and I could see the fountain creating a rainbow. It was so peaceful that it was hard to believe I had fought with the twins this morning.

“…Alright. Let’s talk about that another time. Anyway, thank you, Judy. You did all that for me.”

Judy came over and stood beside me. She leaned her arms on the windowsill and, like me, looked outside with a sigh.

“I understand how you feel.”

“…..”

I looked at Judy’s profile.

Blue-tinged gray hair.

Height similar to mine.

A straight nose.

A balanced figure.

A beauty comparable to Asena and Kirsy.

On her shoulder, the Ice Family’s emblem, a bear’s paw.

She spoke.

“…Like you said, the underdogs of the families should stick together.”

Thinking about it now, I’ve grown quite close to Judy. We’ve become close enough that she can naturally say such things.

I wonder why I wanted to be friends with Judy so badly at first. Was it because of our families’ relationship? Or was I drawn to her without reason? Or did I instinctively foresee this comfortable future? Did I want a friend in a similar situation to mine?

Suddenly, I became curious about Judy’s childhood.

“Were you also having a hard time?”

Judy looked up at me. Seeing her complex expression, I added the subject.

“In your family.”

“…..”

She seemed lost in thought for a moment, staring at distant clouds before slowly nodding.

“…It was hard.”

“….”

And then she closed her mouth.

I had somewhat expected her to share her story. It was my gesture of goodwill, wanting to lighten her burden as much as she had helped me.

But Judy kept her story hidden beyond saying it was hard. Perhaps she still felt burdened to open up to me. Or maybe she’s just not the type to talk about such things.

Even so, I wanted to hear it someday. What happened that made her empathize with me and help me so much?

She doesn’t seem like it, but she has a straightforward nature.

“Judy.”

I called her.

She looked at me without any particular reaction.

“….If you ever have a hard time because of Asena, tell me.”

“I’m already having a hard time.”

I chuckled at her response. Well, that’s true.

“I mean, in the future. If she does something else, tell me.”

“What will you do about it?”

“What wouldn’t I do?”

“…….”

A thought suddenly crossed my mind. It was a worry that had grown as Asena increasingly revealed her malice.

“Ah, I have one favor to ask.”

“Another one?”

“I’ll buy you a really delicious meal. And actually, it’s not just for me.”

“…Let me hear it first.”

I removed my smile and made the request with sincerity. Through Judy’s actions, we might be able to prevent major incidents that could happen in the future.

I had seen what kind of villainess Asena became in the book. She was someone who treated human lives as trivial.

Of course, that was in the book, and this is reality. I don’t believe Asena will become that evil. No matter how aggressive she’s been lately, it’s nothing compared to her actions in the book.

That said, there’s no reason not to be prepared.

I said:

“Please keep an eye on Asena from now on.”

“….In what sense?”

She asked, reading my intention. I explained in more detail.

“She’s been going off track lately. I think we need to be cautious.”

“……”

The atmosphere around us became serious in an instant, matching my tone.

“If she does anything unusual… or goes to unusual places… let me know.”

Judy stared at me intently for a moment. Then, blinking, she turned her head. She seemed to be contemplating in her own way.

“…Caden. I understand, but…”

“……”

She furrowed her brows and remained silent for a long time. She seemed to be feeling conflicted. Just when I was wondering if she had ignored me, Judy spoke again.

“…..It sounds like a simple favor… but why do I feel so reluctant?”

“Huh?”

“….No… as much as I dislike Asena… I’m temporarily serving her… is it right for me to talk about such things?”

I nodded slightly, inwardly impressed. Thinking about it, that makes sense. It would go against her inner code of chivalry.

She continued:

“…You know this too. As a knight.”

“Judy, I’m not asking this as a knight. I’m asking as a friend.”

“…Still.”

Seeing her hesitate to answer, I decided to give up. Yes, forcing unwanted favors isn’t what friends do.

“…Alright. Never mind, Judy. I’m sorry. I was being thoughtless.”

“……Is there something you’re worried about?”

Of course there is. Just one of the things she did in the book would be a major incident. But I can’t tell her that.

“No. Forget it, Judy. It’s okay. Thank you. It was definitely a thoughtless request.”

“……”

Judy seemed conflicted too and didn’t press further. Looking at her, I felt truly grateful.

“….Judy. Thank you for considering it anyway. I’ll make you one promise. Whenever you need me, I’ll help you with anything. If you need help, make sure to tell me. Okay?”

“….I’ll just accept your sentiment.”

She rejected my offer with a small smile.

But my goal was to let her know my feelings. I genuinely felt I would grant almost any request she made.

It might be reassuring for her to know this.

As we were wrapping up our conversation, we heard the political science classroom becoming noisy. The class seemed to be over. Time to resume escort duty.

“Looks like it’s over.”

“…Yeah.”

“Hang in there.”

“You too.”

We returned to our positions and firmly adjusted our posture.