Chapter 18

The moment we paid for the clothes and stepped out of the shop, Lycian grabbed my hand again and laced his fingers through mine.

Slung over one shoulder was a large backpack he’d bought at the clothing store.

Inside were several sets of new clothes, two pairs of shoes, and a money pouch.

For the record, we’d parked the cart properly in a back alley the villagers had pointed out.

“Do you really have to hold my hand like this? So tightly?”

“That way I won’t lose you.”

“…You could just hold it normally. This is a bit too—”

“A bit too…what?”

“…….”

I clamped my mouth shut before I could say it felt too clingy.

Lycian seemed to read my thoughts. He gave a faint smile, tugged my hand, and strode ahead like he’d already decided the matter.

“So, clothes and shoes are done. What do we buy next?”

“…Mm. Let’s get something to eat first. I’m really hungry.”

No sooner had I said it than my stomach let out a loud growl. Lycian definitely heard it.

Mortified, I pressed my burning cheeks with both hands.

“What about that, Muriel?”

Lycian pointed in one direction. When I turned my head, a street stall selling delicious-looking chicken skewers came into view.

“That looks good. Want to try it?”

“Yeah….”

Still feeling a little embarrassed, I nodded.

Lycian smiled faintly and led me toward the chicken skewer stall.

As we reached the simple stand, a kindly-looking middle-aged man beamed at us.

“Welcome! Here for some chicken skewers? Ho ho—newlyweds, are you? You look great together~”

“…….”

I froze on the spot, then hurriedly opened my mouth to correct him.

But Lycian was faster.

“Yes, that’s right. Newlyweds.”

“…!”

“Oh my~ Is that so! No wonder you look so lovey-dovey! So, what flavor will you have?”

I shot Lycian a look that screamed have you lost your mind, but he just flashed me a bright smile and asked in a gentle voice,

“What flavor do you want, honey?”

“…….”

Is he actually insane?

I was so stunned I could only open and close my mouth soundlessly.

The stall owner must’ve thought I was deliberating, because he enthusiastically began explaining the characteristics of each of the five flavors.

“This one’s very spicy! If you can’t handle heat, it might be tough. And this one’s mildly spicy, with a drizzle of sweet sauce….”

Normally, I handle spicy food just fine—but I had no idea about Muriel.

And on an empty stomach, it was safer to protect my gut. So I chose the safest option: plain salt.

As for Lycian—

“I’ll take the extra-spicy.”

“…?”

“Well now! A handsome young man with guts!”

The man gave him an approving thumbs-up, then quickly cooked two skewers and handed them to us. Since I was completely out of it, Lycian paid.

“Enjoy, and come again next time~!”

I turned away in a daze, staring down at the skewer in my hand. It felt like a storm had just blown through.

‘Honey,’ seriously, the nerve…

I took a bite of the plump chicken, and juices burst across my tongue. The salt seasoning was perfect.

“Mah ith good….”

I mumbled around the food. Walking beside me, Lycian let out a quiet laugh.

I shot him a sideways glance and asked,

“Isn’t… that too spicy?”

“It’s manageable. Want to try some?”

“…….”

I stared at the bright red seasoning, then shook my head. One wrong move with spicy food and you pay for it later.

After that, we wandered all around the market, sampling all sorts of snacks.

Honey-glazed pancakes, roasted nuts dusted with sugar, warm mulled wine….

Everything was delicious—almost overwhelmingly so for someone who’d been surviving on nothing but potatoes and tomatoes at the farm.

“…Is it really that good?”

When my eyes welled up, Lycian asked, sounding genuinely curious.

I wiped at my tears with the back of my hand and mumbled an explanation.

“I’ve been eating bland potatoes every day. Then suddenly something tasty—so….”

Lycian chuckled softly and said in a warm voice,

“Then let’s come eat like this often. I can come with you.”

I hesitated for a moment, then answered quietly,

“Yeah….”

Once we were full, we bought the things we needed. Salt, sugar, pepper.

Olive oil was a bit pricey, but when we mentioned we’d come from far away, the oil merchant gave us a discount. It really was a generous town.

“Ah—we need flour too.”

We stopped in front of a shop that sold flour, and I counted the money we had left.

Despite all the spending, we still had 171 rubels remaining.

Thanks to Raul being a conscientious lord who didn’t overtax his people, prices were fairly low.

‘Humans really are complicated creatures.’

The irony was that while Raul had treated Muriel so cruelly, as a lord he was upright and decent.

“Hello, ma’am. I’d like to buy some flour.”

As I opened the shop door and spoke, a middle-aged woman sitting behind the counter raised her brows and stood up.

Her eyes widened as she looked between Lycian and me, then she broke into a grin.

“Newlyweds? Oh my, you look wonderful~!”

“…….”

That made it over ten times already….

Why did people automatically assume a young man and woman shopping together were newlyweds? We could just be friends!

Too tired to correct her, I brushed it off and bought a sack of flour, then headed back outside.

Lycian slung the nearly ten-kilogram sack over his shoulder like it weighed nothing, meeting my eyes with an easy expression.

At this point, I was genuinely curious just how strong he actually was.

Ding!

Right then, the familiar notification chime rang out, and a status window appeared.

‘Yes!’

I’d finally cleared the quest!

The reward I’d been most excited about was the Inventory skill. I immediately opened the skill window to check the description.

‘Time stops for items you put in?’

That meant food wouldn’t spoil, ice wouldn’t melt, and everything could be preserved in its original state.

‘This is completely broken….’

I wanted to try it out immediately, but there were too many eyes around.

So instead, I just summoned the inventory window to see how it looked.

‘Hm. Clean and straightforward—easy to check at a glance.’

And capacity seemed to be measured by item count, not volume or weight. That made it even more convenient.

‘Nice. This is an absolute god-tier skill.’

Grinning to myself, I casually dismissed the status window—only to realize Lycian was staring at me with an oddly unreadable expression.

“Ahem!”

I covered my mouth with my fist and cleared my throat for no reason, then spoke as if nothing had happened.

“Ah, I’m tired. We should probably start looking for lodging—”

That was when it happened.

A familiar face entered my field of vision in the distance. In that instant, I froze as if I’d seen a horrific monster.

Thud!

The sensation of my heart plummeting felt alien, like it didn’t belong to me.

Thud, thud, thud….

It was Muriel’s body reacting.

Even if the memories were incomplete, the scars etched into the heart couldn’t be erased.

“…Muriel? What’s wrong?”

Snapping back to myself, I hastily grabbed Lycian’s hand and pulled him along. We ducked into a nearby secluded alley and hid ourselves in the shadows.

The afterimage of the person I’d just seen burned vividly in my mind.

Jet-black hair, blue eyes… a cold face without a trace of warmth.

There was no mistaking him—Raul Winterberg.

“Ha….”

I took a deep breath and leaned against the person in front of me. My whole body began to tremble, as if the winter wind had stolen away my warmth.

Thud.

I heard something heavy hit the ground, and Lycian—having set down the sack of flour—reached out to me.

One arm wrapped around my waist, steadying me, while his other hand rose to cup my cheek, gentle as if I might break.

“Muriel…. Are you okay?”

“…….”

When I slowly lifted my head, I saw a face filled with concern. Having someone genuinely worry about me felt strangely unfamiliar. It was an odd sensation.

Was this Muriel’s influence too?

I buried my face in Lycian’s chest and mumbled,

“…I saw something unpleasant. Let’s hide here for a bit.”

“All right…. You can lean on me as much as you want.”

Even though my sudden behavior must’ve seemed strange, Lycian didn’t pry. He simply held me a little tighter.