“Put it on.”
Veronica stared at the black robe that was unceremoniously dropped before her.
When she just glared at it with her lips tightly sealed, Leon, who was loading the sleeping bag onto the horse, tilted his head slightly.
“Want me to dress you?”
She didn’t answer. She picked up the garment with her pale hands only because she thought he might actually do it. For now, she decided to just endure it.
I need to stay alive to have any chance of escaping.
The hooded black robe, presumably belonging to the man, was enormous, dragging along the ground past her feet. Only after putting it on did she realize how freezing cold she’d been. Her hands and feet felt like ice.
As she stood there awkwardly, Leon casually asked, “Ever ridden a horse before?”
“…No.”
“Any experience holding a sword?”
“None of that either.”
“Thinking of running away?”
Her responses came to an abrupt halt. She shot him an incredulous look, and Leon returned her gaze with amusement. Within his arrogantly shaped eyes, pupils as deep as an abyss seemed to draw her in.
When the man approached with a swift stride and reached out his hand, she shut her eyes tightly by reflex. She thought he might hit her. Her nape still stung.
But the sensation that followed was unexpectedly gentle. Feeling the weight of heavy fabric on her head, she cautiously opened her eyes to find his expressionless face looking back at her. He had pulled the hood down deeply over her head to shield her face from the cold wind. That was all.
Her daze didn’t last long. Soon after, she let out a high-pitched scream as he casually lifted her by the waist. Leon completely ignored her cry and placed her on the black warhorse. At the suddenly elevated perspective, she hastily grabbed the horse’s mane, and he swiftly mounted behind her, pulling her slender body against him. The touch of his rigid armor automatically made her body stiffen.
The city of Bayern, huddled in the snowy field, resembled a young beast that had died before it could grow. Originally famous for its sunrises, the city in the far east had turned into a melancholy remnant of that once vibrant land.
The horse turned in a small circle with a clacking of hooves, then began galloping in the opposite direction. There was no turning back now. Veronica knew it instinctively the moment she turned her back on her hometown.
✦ ✦ ✦
She had spent her entire life in Bayern, which meant that just half a day’s ride had brought her to unfamiliar landscapes.
Outside the city, snow-covered farms and low houses were scattered across the plains, and beyond them was a forest of tall fir trees dressed in white. Leon pulled the reins at the last farm that stood just before the forest began.
“We’ll rest here for a bit,” he said as he helped her down first.
Veronica’s legs trembled, nearly causing her to fall. After glancing at the eerie forest, she quickly walked toward the reddish-brown house.
“Is anyone home?”
She knocked vigorously, hoping to find someone who might help her. Her hands, raw from tightly gripping the horse’s mane, throbbed with pain.
“It’s probably better if no one is home,” Leon commented.
“…What do you mean?”
Leon, who was drawing water from a well for the horse, looked toward the back of the house instead of answering. Veronica walked a few steps forward with suspicion and curiosity, then gasped.
A fallen human—or rather, a hunk of flesh that was once human—lay there headless. Only then did she notice the large footprints in the snow, which sent chills down her spine.
A Bahamut had passed through here.
“At least those humans had it better than the animals that died without even a chance to escape,” Leon said.
He passed by her frozen form and approached the stable behind the house. Seeing a horse torn apart with its entrails spilling out, Veronica covered her mouth and swallowed back the bile. The wall near its hind legs was nearly destroyed, suggesting the animal had struggled in terror. She was shocked by Leon’s indifference as he fed hay to his own horse there.
Would his horse even have an appetite, with one of its own kind lying dead nearby?
She’d heard that horses were among the more intelligent animals, and that their memory was supposedly exceptional. A horse that followed a man like Leon probably had a memory filled with Bahamuts.
Looking down, she saw that she too was standing on large footprints beneath her black robe. She remained frozen, as if her ankles were being held, until the sound of the house door opening made her snap her head up. Veronica immediately followed Leon inside.
“What are you doing?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
Leon rummaged through the kitchen and pantry, finding three chunks of cheese, twenty-two potatoes, and a bottle of wine. She watched as if he were some barbarian as he casually uncorked the wine and drank straight from the bottle.
“That’s someone else’s food.”
“Never said it was mine,” Leon answered nonchalantly, sitting sprawled at the kitchen table. He licked the wine from his lips while quietly observing her, then asked, “Aren’t you thirsty? Go get some water.”
“I don’t need it.”
This was the second time she’d refused to eat or drink something he’d offered, since she had also refused the jerky he gave her that morning. He tilted his head curiously, then grabbed her wrist, causing her sleeve to slide down and reveal her thin arm.
“You’re extremely skinny.”
“My weight’s average.”
“Were you a dancer or something?”
It was probably just a casual remark. She knew that—a common prejudice toward southern dancers, which was irrelevant here in the east anyway. Yet she still flinched like an idiot, as if pricked by a sharp needle.
She yanked her hand away and snapped, “Why does it matter whether I skip a few meals or not? As long as I’m alive, that’s all that matters, right?”
She turned abruptly and left the house.
Her throat burned as if she’d swallowed hot water. The reality she’d forgotten while her thighs chafed and ached on the horse came rushing back. Everything irritated her; the horse raising its head from the feed trough with its ears perked, and herself, sitting at the doorway with her head buried in her hands.
A moment later, Leon walked out with the food and supplies. This time, he didn’t offer her anything.
✦ ✦ ✦
They set off again, passing through the forest path. After traveling through the woods buzzing with insects and birds, they cleared away some snow to light a campfire once the sun set.
I’m so tired. I feel like I’ll die from exhaustion.
Honestly, she was on the verge of collapse. Not only did her entire body ache as if she’d been beaten, but her stomach was so empty that it felt like it had begun eating itself.
As she sat listlessly before the fire, Leon whittled some branches into thin, sharp skewers and began roasting the potatoes and cheese he’d acquired earlier. The savory aroma tickled her nose. The scent of the potatoes turning golden in the winter night and the fragrance of sizzling, melting cheese assaulted her senses.
Though her mouth watered, her pride kept her eyes fixed only on the fire. But then Leon examined one of the skewers and abruptly held it out to her.
“It’s done. Eat.”
The potato looked so magnificent that Veronica could only blink in disbelief. Leon didn’t wait long.
“If you don’t want it, fine.”
“Wait a moment.”
She desperately grabbed his hand as he started to withdraw it. Holding his rough, elongated hand made their size difference even more pronounced. Unable to meet his eyes, she stared at his hand as if it were salvation, then dropped her head low.
“…Can’t you offer it one more time?”
A mortifying silence followed. She felt the heat rising to the tips of their joined hands. But she was hungry and wanted to eat. As she kept her eyes tightly shut, she heard a chuckle from above.
When she raised her face, now red as an apple from embarrassment, she saw him looking at her like she was a child. Leon, staring at her intently, slowly opened his mouth.
“Since I prepared this food with such care, I would be honored if you would take just one bite.”
His clearly mocking tone made her face flush even redder. After handing her the skewer, Leon also placed a canteen of clear water beside her.
After awkwardly chewing her lips for a while, Veronica was soon distracted by the steaming potato before her. She blew gently on the fluffy potato and bit into its surface, covered with thinly melted cheese.
The simple food was, with only slight exaggeration, the most delicious thing she had ever tasted. She kept saying, “just one more, just one more,” until she realized she had already consumed five.
After the meal, Leon gave up his sleeping bag to her and sat leaning against a tree trunk. Even though he was a holy knight, spending the night alone with a man kept Veronica on edge. She resolved to stay alert to any movement, but when she opened her tired eyes again at the sound of birds, the sky was already bright blue with daylight.