Chapter 358

A flustered Rieta stumbled over her words. Noel, noticing every little action, became even louder.

“Don’t lie! You used to lecture me about how men should take care of their skin since they need a pretty face to take the leading male lead role!”

“That…”

That’s because for Noel to take the leading male lead role, his face has to be pretty.

Rieta swallowed the words to the back of her throat.

Thanks to Rieta’s nagging, Noel’s skin remained smooth and flawless, despite being slightly sun-kissed and looking a bit tired at the moment.

“Anyway.”

Noel, with his eyes fiercely narrowed, looked directly at Rieta.

“Not that guy.”

“…Uh.”

Perhaps because Rieta’s response was a little hesitant, he snarled.

“I’m saying that just because the Princess is sometimes foolish and dull, it doesn’t mean you should be okay with just any guy.”

“…”

That ultimately seemed like he didn’t want Rieta to marry someone else. It was unclear why he was being so difficult and speaking in circles. Well, that was just like Noel.

Unconsciously, Rieta smiled.

“What’s wrong, why are you not answering?”

Seeing her expression, Noel began urging for an answer with a somewhat anxious face.

“No, no way, did your heart really skip a beat when you heard that he’s handsome? …No, right?”

She had never felt her heart skip a beat, but seeing Noel ask like this, she felt a desire to tease him.

Rieta didn’t say anything in response.

“…Why was this Princess acting so uneasy earlier? Look at me, hmm?”

After Noel had pestered her with the same question five times, Rieta finally responded, “I’ve never had any interest in him.”

Maybe it was because she teased him too much. Somehow, Noel didn’t seem to believe Rieta’s words.

***

Meanwhile, the mercenaries, perhaps annoyed by the complicated situation, managed to catch quite a few animals in the mountains.

Since they couldn’t eat it all, most of the hide and meat were given to the villagers, but the response wasn’t as positive as they had hoped.

Some of the slash-and-burn villagers even jeered, “Do you think we’ll forgive you just because you gave us this?” Thankfully, the mercenaries didn’t take the provocation.

Rieta was grateful that the mercenaries didn’t cause any more trouble.

“I don’t want to waste my energy and spirit on fights that don’t pay. Besides, they probably don’t even understand the language.”

Then one day, a middle-aged woman handed the mercenaries some freshly baked bread. The mercenaries, who had been tearing at tough meat, eagerly devoured the warm, soft bread.

“Thank you. Winter is approaching, so we needed some warm leather. Eat this at least. It’ll be delicious. I made it myself.”

The mercenaries probably didn’t fully understand what she said, but even as they enjoyed the bread, they didn’t compromise their pride.

Rieta chuckled at their grumbling about ‘giving meat and receiving bread, what a loss’.

After the woman had left, the mercenaries noticed some children carrying heavy buckets nearby, fetching water from the nearby stream.

“Isn’t there a single decent guy around here?”

The mercenaries ended up carrying the buckets to the children’s homes instead. The children quickly grew fond of the kind-hearted mercenaries and clung to their arms and legs persistently.

“Mister! Is this a real sword?”

“What’s in this pocket?”

They had only seen children who were frightened of them, so it was the first time the mercenaries had children running up to them like this. They were taken aback and shouted loudly in response.

“Go away! Where are this kid’s parents?!”

“I told you not to touch! What do you think this is?!”

Of course, their enthusiastic response only amused the children more.

Finally, after the parents of the children arrived and whisked them away to their tents, the mercenaries could barely return to their original positions.

Consequently, during the three-day grace period, there were no unnecessary conflicts between the slash-and-burn villagers and the mercenaries.

They may have understood that neither of tem in a dignified situation.

Of course, there were still some among the villagers who didn’t particularly like the mercenaries.

Well, since there had been times when the mercenaries had started the quarrels, it couldn’t be said that their opinions was entirely unfounded.

The promised three days had passed. Rieta decided to hurry up and leave the village first, leaving the persuasion with the mercenaries for later.

She didn’t want to cause any more trouble here.

“Thank you for helping treat my body. I won’t tell anyone about what happened here.”

Rieta conveyed her thanks and promises to the villagers before mounting her horse. Since she hadn’t fully recovered enough to ride alone, she went up with Elisha.

A few of the villagers came out to wave their hands, including some of the young children who had received help from the mercenaries. However, the mercenaries simply stared at the little children for a moment before turning their heads away.

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