Chapter 38: Vivian Escort – 5

I approached my unit.

Fifty pairs of eyes followed Vivian as she trailed behind me.

The stares began to feel unsettling, so I said.

“Stop gawking. You’re creeping her out.”

Vivian jumped, grabbing my arm in protest.

“I-I never said that…!”

But it seemed everyone sensed the stares were a bit much, and one by one, the young soldiers awkwardly turned away.

Valon, who was on friendlier terms with me, stepped up to voice the group’s curiosity.

“So… Kailo, is it true? Is Lady Vivian really… staying with us tonight?”

“Where else is she supposed to sleep?”

“Well, yeah, but….”

Valon caught Vivian’s gaze behind me, panicked, and took a step back with a clumsy salute and nervous scratching of his head.

I understood his reaction; this was probably the first time any of them had seen the noble Lady of Loctana this close.

Despite living in the same castle, Valon and Viviam Rondor hardly ever crossed paths.

None of them really had.

Knowing this, I called out to everyone.

“Look, we’re going to be together for ten days. Stop acting so awkward. If you keep this up, the whole expedition will be exhausting.”

Everyone perked up and then tried to act casual.

Valon moved first, stepping forward and reaching out his hand in a hesitant greeting.

“I-I’m Valon. I’ll… serve you well.”

Smack!

I slapped his hand away in irritation.

Valon looked at me, crestfallen, before glancing at Vivian, waiting for her response.

She, in turn, shrank back a bit, replying with a soft, uncertain voice.

“I-I’m Vivian Rondor….”

“Who doesn’t know that?”

I couldn’t help but scold her awkward introduction.

She cringed, realizing her mistake.

Watching Valon, Wallace dashed forward.

“I-I’m Wallace.”

“Oh, um… Nice to meet you.”

Vivian’s genuine reaction seemed to stun everyone momentarily.

The only treatment they’d known from nobles was usually disdain or contempt, so her sincerity felt strange to them.

Before long, they couldn’t contain themselves; fifty young soldiers swarmed around her, eager to introduce themselves.

“I-I’m Martin.”

“Lady Vivianne! I’m Duran…!”

“And me!”

“Me too…!”

Vivian answered each one with a polite.

“Oh, I see… Yes, nice to meet you.”

As they continued, I left them behind and walked toward the central fire in the camp.

But once again, someone grabbed the hem of my clothes.

Sure enough, Vivian was trying to follow me.

Her efforts to stay calm clearly weren’t holding up well under all the attention.

Having always been surrounded by the same people, it was understandably overwhelming for her to be thrown into a new group.

I brushed her hand away.

“Relax. The punishment unit may be rough around the edges and a bit mischievous, but they’re not so far gone as to target you.”

“Yes… I see… Right…”

Even as she responded to the soldiers with a polite nod or short words, she clung to the hem of my coat, unwilling to be left alone.

I whispered to her with a smirk.

“…After all those insults, you’re okay with tagging along now?”

She muttered back quietly, almost as if practicing ventriloquism.

“…Just shut up. This is all your fault anyway.”

With a resigned sigh, I let her tag along.

The campsite was divided into four areas, each overseen by a different squad leader.

It was a spread-out arrangement, primarily for one reason: dragons.

While sightings were extremely rare, if a dragon breathed fire over the camp, close quarters would mean everyone perished at once.

We were better off spread apart.

In any case, we needed to prepare food for fifty people.

Approaching the cauldron over the central fire, I declared,

“No one touches this pot. I’m cooking today.”

The punishment unit members all reacted differently.

“Whoa, what’s gotten into him?”

“Hey, fine by us! Just make it taste good.”

While most seemed pleased, a few shot me suspicious looks.

“…He’s just trying to impress Lady Vivian, isn’t he?”

I scoffed and gestured toward her.

“What’s there to impress? If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t even be here with you all.”

“…Guess you’ve got a point.”

Vivian didn’t respond, knowing full well why I was doing this.

It wasn’t likely, but just to be safe, I preferred that no one tampered with her food.

Martin and some others brought out the provisions: potatoes, carrots, onions, and a bit of meat with a faint smell.

I checked each ingredient, tossing anything questionable and putting the rest into the boiling pot in order.

Squatting beside me, Vivian watched and asked.

“…You can cook?”

“Sometimes you have to, in the punishment unit.”

“You did that too?”

“See how much easier your life is compared to mine?”

Her light question seemed to touch a nerve.

A little annoyed, she grabbed a potato, sniffed it like I had, and then, in a mocking tone, said.

“It’s not that hard. I could do it too.”

She then tilted the basket, ready to dump all the potatoes into the pot.

“Wait, no! Don’t—!”

Splash!

Realizing her mistake too late, she glanced at me in shock.

Every nearby soldier watched, their mouths agape.

The camp fell silent, and Vivian shrank back, mumbling.

“I… I thought everyone liked potatoes….”

I explained.

“They do. When that’s all they have. Those were our ten-day supply of potatoes. Better start scooping them out.”

“S-sorry…”

Flustered, she started fishing out the potatoes one by one with a ladle.

Halfway through, I said.

“Leave the rest. They’re already cooking; they’ll go bad if we take them out.”

She looked around guiltily, glancing at the soldiers and me.

Trying to lighten the mood, Wallace laughed.

“It’s fine, Lady Vivian! Really, anything from Rondor’s stores is good enough for us…!”

Duran chimed in.

“Exactly…! I love potatoes! Guess we’re eating well tonight!”

I dampened their enthusiasm.

“Yeah, and tomorrow we’ll be stuck with just carrots.”

Valon nudged me, muttering.

“Man… could you just let it go for once…?”

Vivian looked even more dejected, and I couldn’t hold back a chuckle.

Soon enough, the soldiers joined in, and Vivian’s face grew as red as her hair.

She seemed relieved that they weren’t truly upset with her, though.

Someone broke the mood with a joke.

“Well, looks like tonight’s feast is boiled potatoes!”

“Lady Vivian, your down-to-earth nature is a charm all on its own!”

“Her future husband is going to be lucky.”

Vivian, her cheeks flushed, murmured.

“P-please, enough…”

Her lips, however, were curved into a faint smile.

With the meal finally ready, the soldiers loudly praised the taste, hoping she could hear.

Vivian quietly ate, still red-faced but seemingly content.

At least she didn’t wear the gloomy expression she usually had back in Rondor Castle.

“How’s the food?”

I asked, and she nodded shyly.

She almost seemed proud of herself for contributing.

As we were eating, Vergor approached.

“Enjoying your meal? Lady Vivian, I hope it’s to your liking.”

“Yes, it’s fine.”

He peered into the pot, puzzled.

“What the…? Who put in so many potatoes? Are we planning to survive on onions for the rest of the—”

Martin smirked.

“Lady Vivian cooked it.”

Vergor froze.

That Rondor’s lady would cook for a bunch of soldiers was simply unimaginable.

Vivian ducked her head between her knees.

The soldiers exchanged glances and snickered at Vergor’s reaction.

Regaining his composure, he cleared his throat and covered up.

“Well… it actually looks quite good. It shows Lady Vivian’s thoughtfulness, really…”

The boys snickered about how desperate he sounded.

When we finished eating, I dusted off a spot and set up my bedroll on the ground, prompting Vivian’s alarm.

“This is… how we’re sleeping?”

She seemed shocked by the open sky instead of a roof overhead.

The boys found their spots, clearing away stones before laying out their bedrolls.

Some, tired from guard duty, were already snoring.

“We don’t have tents, so get used to it. Just lie down and sleep; the snoring will keep you up if you wait too long.”

I told her, tossing her a bedroll and clearing stones for my own spot.

After walking all day, I felt the fatigue set in.

Eventually, Vivian cleared a spot and lay down next to me, close enough that our shoulders almost touched.

I couldn’t understand why she stayed so close.

Was it nerves, or something else?

In a whisper only we could hear, she murmured.

“So… this is it? It’s a little c-cold.”

“…I think it’s nice.”

“That’s because you’re a northerner. And a bit uncivilized.”

I chuckled, too tired to muster a comeback.

As she turned away, she felt a bit more at ease.

“Stop whining and just sleep. We’ll be busy tomorrow.”

“…You said the battle starts tomorrow, right?”

“…Yeah.”

“I hope… everyone stays safe.”

I wondered if, when she mentioned “everyone,” she included me as well.

Once, she had wished I would die during an expedition.

But I didn’t ask her this, choosing instead to close my eyes and gather my thoughts.

***

It’s cold, Vivian thought.

She didn’t feel clear-headed enough to fully realize just how cold she was.

Half asleep, she curled up instinctively, trying to find some warmth against the chilly air.

Her body shifted, almost as if searching for a blanket, for whatever warmth it could find.

She sneezed lightly, perhaps catching a cold, and sniffled as she tried to fall asleep.

Then—shhhh.

At that moment, something warm draped over her back.

Feeling the warmth settle around her, she began to drift back to sleep… but a nagging sense that something wasn’t right forced her eyes open.

Laying on her side, she took in the faint blue hues cast by the dawn.

And, at the same time, realized something heavy was pressing down on her.

There was an arm on her arm, and a leg over her leg.

Without realizing it, she had moved close to someone.

Feeling the warmth on her back, she knew she had been embraced.

It was Kailo.

Looking at the hand, she was certain it was Kailo.

He was the only one who had slept next to her.

Kailo, who had drawn her close when she shivered from the cold, took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, his breath tickling the nape of her neck and sending shivers down her spine.

Vivian couldn’t move, even though she knew she should.

Her curiosity about one thing held her in place.

Was Kailo awake, or was he still asleep?

Did he hold her unconsciously, or did he know he was holding her?

She didn’t understand why she was curious or why she was frozen… she simply stood there, absorbing all of his warmth.

She knew that later, when the day brightened and her mind cleared, she would regret her choice to remain in his arms like this.

It would be shameful to remember that she had stayed still, embraced by Kailo Alan, who still annoyed her so much.

But despite knowing this, she couldn’t move.

Thump… thump… thump…!

Her heartbeat pounded louder and faster than ever before.

Vivian couldn’t overcome the strange curiosity within her.

Slowly, she shifted in his arms, inching closer to satisfy her curiosity.

She had to know if this was intentional or just coincidence.

Feigning a sleepy stir, she soon found herself facing him.

It was neither the musty smell of dust nor the scent of blood she was accustomed to.

Instead, she noticed the smell of grass and fire.

The scent of Kailo, strangely, was easy to remember.

She melted into the warmth he provided, gathering her courage, and finally looked up at him.

Kailo was lying there, calmly looking at her with open eyes.

Even though he had caught her movement, he showed no hint of embarrassment.

Without changing his posture, he just kept gazing at her, his lips close enough to graze her forehead.

-BANG!!!

Unable to contain her wildly beating heart, Vivian finally pushed Kailo away.

The once-chilly air suddenly felt hot.

“Haa… haa… you… you… really…”

She took heavy breaths, unable to confront Kailo with any questions.

After all, she had moved in his arms while fully awake, too.

And instead of pushing him away immediately, she had strangely hesitated.

If she questioned him on why he held her, he would undoubtedly ask why she didn’t push him away.

In that moment, Vivian had no answer to give.

“Ugh…”

Kailo seemed uninterested in clarifying the situation.

Scratching his head, he got up, stretching as he yawned.

“…Yawn.”

He grabbed his twin swords, which had been lying next to him, and sighed as he walked over to the cooking pot set up at the campsite, starting to prepare breakfast.