“You know, Ines.”

The constant sound of water, whether she had immersed herself in it or not, quieted down.

“Yeah?”

“I think I might be a bit happy.”

Anyone listening would think she was crazy. Charlotte had lost her child due to her husband’s violence. Moreover, she had lived as a maid for five years, having been stripped of her noble status for attempting to kill her husband. Nevertheless, Ines could understand her words.

“The fact that anything can happen in the future is exciting. There’s no husband here to hit me. And I like traveling like this. It’s so enjoyable to see new things.”

Whether Charlotte had finished washing or not, she appeared from the water. Under the faint moonlight, only a faint silhouette was visible, and Ines felt relieved. Without a close look, it was almost impossible to distinguish that there was a person.

“I’ll be sitting on that rock. Hurry up and wash. The water is really refreshing.”

Leaving Charlotte behind, Ines crossed a shallow stream and went to a more secluded place. Although the lantern moved away, making it momentarily dark, she soon adapted to the moonlight.

Shadowy reflections appeared as she went further into the transparent flowing water.

As she expected, one side was quite deep. As she dipped herself into the water, it covered her up to her hair.

Gurgling, in a vacuum-like state, no surrounding noise could be heard. Feeling like she was separated from the world, Ines felt a sense of peace.

During that time, Charlotte unexpectedly encountered someone she hadn’t thought about.

“Young Lord?”

Since he came with a brightly lit lantern, even from a distance, his figure could be recognized. Despite being alone, it was easy to distinguish Carson from the crowd as he was the largest.

Charlotte, taken aback, glanced at where Ines was.

“You came to wash here?”

His question seemed so casual that Charlotte nodded in response.

“Have you finished washing?”

“Yes? Yes…”

“Is Ines inside?”

“Yes.”

“Go check first. I’ll stay here and bring her when she’s done.”

“But…”

In response to Charlotte’s reaction, Carson chuckled. Then he loudly shouted into the darkness.

“Ines, I’m here. Charlotte will send you off after washing comfortably.”

A noisy splashing sound was heard from the water. Despite the Lord’s command, Charlotte couldn’t lift her foot and hurriedly fidgeted.

“I’m here because I was worried. There are many wild animals here, and there are too many men.”

However, Charlotte couldn’t bring herself to ask, ‘Aren’t you a man too, my Lord?’ Seeing her expression, he laughed again.

“Don’t worry. I won’t peek. I have knights who want to help, so don’t take the bucket.”
Watching Charlotte leave, Carson took a seat where she had been. It wasn’t his intention to come here like a wanderer from the beginning.

He recalled the recent events at the campsite.

Carson got off the carriage and kept an eye on where Ines was. Even if he couldn’t approach her or express affection, keeping her in sight had become a habit. Normally, he could easily find her, but today, for some reason, she was nowhere to be seen, no matter how much he looked around.

He knew that Ines often carried a bucket of water to help with meal preparation.

Unable to wait any longer, Carson set out to find her.

〈What was that just now? ‘Go and come back.’〉

〈Quiet, Hugh.〉

Approaching where she might be, Carson accidentally overheard two knights having a conversation. Of course, at first, he intended to pass by.

〈It’s not easy for me to use informal language either.〉

〈Yeah, maybe it’s because I’m originally noble; the manners are different.〉

At that point, Carson couldn’t help but stop. He could tell that the topic of their conversation was Ines.

〈She’s really beautiful. When I saw her up close, light was shining from her face. Even if you don’t know, she would turn heads if you dressed her up in a dress.〉

〈I… I’ve seen her.〉

Carson tried hard to see the face of the knight who mentioned seeing her in a dress. It was Glen Medefil. His skills were not outstanding, but he was a quite diligent knight.

〈Really? Where?〉

〈…….〉

〈Well, you’re different from me. The son of a novelist probably attends parties often. How was it? Was she beautiful?〉

〈Like an angel… she seemed.〉

The knight known as Hugh made a playful sound towards Glen.

But even with a teasing response, Glen spoke seriously.

At that moment, that woman was like a star in the sky, and now she’s like a flower blooming by my side.

Carson bit his lower lip.

Like a blooming flower… Rather than such poetic expressions, he thought it would be better to make some low-level jokes about Ines.

〈Still, don’t take it seriously.〉

〈Why?〉

〈Don’t you know why? Just asking? Her nickname is “Attempted Murderer with a Poisonous Needle.”〉

〈I don’t care about that. Ines didn’t kill anyone.〉

〈Will you stay quiet at your house?〉

〈Anyway, your brother will inherit the title, and in a year, Ines will become a noble again. So legally, there’s no problem.〉