“Miyako Florence has gone missing.”
Klaus Reinhardt’s eyes flashed with surprise at that report.
The spy in the employ of the Reinhardt family was kneeling before its future head.
“So, what are you saying? That Miyako vanished from Ode the same night I broke off the engagement...?!”
“Yes, my lord.”
“What a... What a turn!”
Klaus’s body was shaking. Shaking from joy.
Miyako Florence. That woman was my fiancée. Me, Klaus Reinhardt, who has always led the perfect life as a higher noble, with bags of money and lifelong popularity. And yet! And yet, not only did that country noble not seem happy when I proposed to her, she actually had the nerve to look vacant and say something like “Oh, cool. Sure... Uh! Sorry, I’m really happy! I really am, for real!!” and then mutter to herself “Is there an easy way to get out of this?”
I thought that was quite rude, but faced with her intelligence, her beauty, and her cleverness I told myself “That was just me mishearing things. Yes, I’m sure that’s it,” and carried on life as her fiancé.
But every time I went to meet her at a time of her choosing, for some reason, bird crap would fall on my head. Every time I went to a meeting place she arranged, for some reason, I would tread in a gigantic pile of horse dung. The worst was when I fell in that hole. Who in the world dug that? But I managed to persevere for several months in spite of all that.
And then, and then! The moment I finally can’t bear it anymore and tell her I’m calling off the engagement, she goes and runs away from the capital...?
“Miyako... So all of that was just you being shy!!!”
“...Huh? Klaus-sama, what did you just say?”
“Miyako ran away from the capital, right?! After I told her I’d broken off the engagement, clearly she couldn’t bear the sadness and shame. So that’s how it is. I always thought her attitude and behavior towards me were odd, but to think it was her hiding her embarrassment, a tsundere testing me out!! Ha ha ha ha!!!”
The spy swallowed back his sudden urge to quit and said, “That is a very novel interpretation, my lord,” and bowed his head even further.
Klaus bellowed with laughter while the spy wondered what he should have for dinner that night.
“We must do something, spy!”
“...Steak.”
“Hm?”
“Oh! Forgive me, Klaus-sama! What were you saying?”
“Right. I want you to ascertain Miyako’s current whereabouts at once.”
“Which means... What? Um, it’s about time for me to call it a day, my lord...”
“Right. You’ll be working overtime.”
“B-But...”
Without even raising an eyebrow, Klaus ruined his spy’s dreams of a lovely steak dinner.
The spy swore to himself, I am so looking for a new job.
Blithely unaware of his subordinate’s thoughts, Klaus looked out the window and whispered to himself, “Miyako... sit tight. I will find you.”
It annoyed the spy that his lord looked mature on the outside, if not the inside, and so looked the part when he said this.
✦ ✦ ✦
Miyako felt a shiver run down her spine.
“Achooo!”
“Are you all right, Miyako?!” asked Fuuka with a yelp.
It was a big sneeze, while they were on their way back from the hot spring.
What was that? thought Miyako. Somehow I felt something really unpleasant from the direction of the capital.
“Uh. Sorry, Fuuka-chan.”
“It really is cold, isn’t it? It wouldn’t be strange to catch a cold, doing this every night,” said Fuuka. The open-air hot spring does feel great, but the warmth wears off before we make it back. “This would all be solved if that cabin just had a shower!”
“Hmm, well, it was never meant for extended stays.”
Miyako thought about an indoor bath. If I had one of those... Might we be able to make one ourselves?
“Well, still.” Miyako breathed in a lungful of the air full of the smell of the earth and wind. She caught up to Fuuka, who was walking a little ahead of her. “This walk home does make me feel quite happy.”
“I’m. Not. Happy!”
“Haha, sure, sure.”
I think tomorrow will be a great day... I hope, thought Miyako.