Chapter 149 "Since you're not worried about being lonely, why..."
When we left the capital, it was late spring and the weather was getting warmer. As we traveled in the carriage, my neck and back would occasionally break out in a sweat.
The sun was blinding, so the carriage curtains were drawn after noon. I would take a nap at this time, and when I woke up in the evening, the heat was still there, and I had to use a fan to cool myself down.
Manberia was usually not in the carriage; he rode with some generals, discussing matters along the way. As dusk fell, we would rest at a roadside inn, and only then would he appear before me, joking and teasing me. I didn't let him share a room with me that night, explaining that I wasn't used to it yet. He didn't force me, but his reason was that he was afraid I might get pregnant on the road, and worried that a child conceived during such a turbulent journey wouldn't be healthy.
I was both angry and amused, so I hit him out with a pillow.
Occasionally I would wake up in the middle of the night and go to the toilet in the room at the end of the corridor. Some inns were very basic, and the rooms didn't have toilets.
As I passed a room, I faintly heard Manberia's voice. I stopped and listened carefully for about ten seconds, but I couldn't make out what he said.
The door suddenly opened, startling me. Manberia, dressed in a silk nightgown, was looking at me with a half-smile.
“I…I was just passing by,” I stammered, “and heard you speaking.”
He simply hummed in agreement.
"Who are you talking to?" I stood on tiptoe, trying to peer over his towering shoulders into the room.
His smile was sweet. "It's just a meeting with two subordinates."
“Oh,” I said deliberately, “I thought you were hiring a prostitute.”
He burst into uncontrollable laughter, "You're overthinking it."
Back in my room, I sat on the bed for a long time, unable to sleep. What was he doing so mysteriously? What was he doing that required opening the door in the middle of the night? The look in his eyes when he first opened the door held a hint of murderous intent, which vanished the moment he saw me. That's why I deliberately made that joke about hiring a prostitute, to make him relax a bit.
Forget it, I won't think about it anymore. It's pointless anyway, so why bother? I yawned, lay down on the bed, and finally felt a little sleepy…
The next day, we continued our journey. I was sitting in the car reading when Manberia, wearing a long, black hooded coat, suddenly popped in. "Did I scare you last night?" he asked, sitting down next to me.
"Huh?" I put down my book. "Why?"
"I saw you were startled by me." He looked pitiful. "Also, I probably looked fierce, so I didn't know it was you."
“I’m not scared by you,” I said insincerely. “Don’t overthink it.”
He just smiled, it was hard to tell if he believed him, and then said, "We'll be entering the Northern Territory in two or three days, so you should wear more layers then."
"That's pretty fast," I said. "It's so hot, it shouldn't get cold so quickly."
“It’s already very slow, because I’m carrying you and don’t want you to suffer too much,” he said gently. “The weather will get cold once we enter the North.”
Two days later, the weather had really turned cold. I shivered as I got off the carriage, whereas just yesterday I was wearing a thin dress.
The maidservants had prepared a thick fox fur cloak for me, but I still felt cold. A vast army was standing in front of my carriage, and at a glance, they were all dressed in thick military uniforms.
Manberia, also wearing a fox fur cloak, smiled and walked to my side, taking my hand. "It won't be so cold once we get on the train."
Yes, I remember you have to take a train to enter the North. Their nobles like to travel by train, perhaps because it's more comfortable and faster.
Manberia led me to an underground train station, which seemed to be a niche station open only to the nobility. The floor was covered with deep red carpets, the walls were covered with beautiful tiles, and huge chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Every few steps, pretty girls would offer hot water, snacks, or towels.
And so I served them all the way to the train. The train started moving, slowly at first, then faster and faster, and the scenery rushed past me.
It started snowing lightly, then slowly turned into heavy snow, followed by a blizzard, making it impossible to see anything outside the car window.
An hour later, the blizzard began to subside and turned into ordinary heavy snow.
Snow-covered forests, frozen lakes, and distant snow-capped mountains came into view through the car window, and I knew I had entered the North.
These scenes are familiar; I saw them several years ago when I traveled to the North by train with Princess Yanni.
The wind started to pick up, lashing wildly against the train and making the carriages sway slightly.
Manberia frowned and hugged me. "I'll take you to a private room to rest."
"It's only just dawn, how can I fall asleep?" I laughed.
The train then crossed the tracks on a huge frozen lake. The lake was very close to the train, and I could see countless fish swimming under the ice.
“I remember this place,” I said excitedly. “I’ve seen these fish before when I was on the train with Princess Yanni.”
Immediately afterwards, the train entered a hole in the ice lake and began to pass through an underwater cave. The silvery icicles and ferns inside the cave emitted a beautiful, soft light. "It's absolutely gorgeous!" I couldn't help but exclaim.
Countless fish of different colors and sizes swam past my car window, captivating my gaze. It was truly amazing; even though it wasn't the first time I'd seen it, I was still stunned.
Suddenly realizing that Manberia hadn't spoken, he looked up at her.
Mamboa was looking at me, lost in thought.
"What's wrong with you? Why are you staring at me like that?" I waved my hand in front of his eyes.
"It's nothing." Mamboya snapped out of her reverie and smiled. "I was just thinking about how I was cold to you on the train many years ago. Were you upset with me back then?"
I chuckled and said, "How could I remember something from so long ago?"
He was indeed very bad to me back then. He flirted with me behind my back, but was extremely cold to me in front of Princess Yani, as if he didn't know me at all.
It turns out he knew all along, and knew how his attitude towards me would affect my feelings.
A deafening roar followed; the train had emerged from the underwater tunnel. I vaguely remembered that this tunnel was an entrance to the Northern Barrier; passing through it meant officially entering the North.
“We’ll be arriving soon, and this outfit might not be enough for you.” Manberia stood up.
"Isn't this thick fur enough?!" I retorted, touching the fox fur cloak.
"Your clothes underneath aren't thick enough."
I chuckled again, "You're meddling too much."
“It’s the dead of winter, and your clothes are too thin. You’ll definitely catch a cold,” he said, and then told someone to go find some clothes.
When I got off the train, I was bundled up like a thick dumpling, and I could barely walk in the thick snow. I looked at Manberia with a hint of reproach, blaming him for forcing me to wear so many thick clothes.
He just smiled at me without saying a word.
"I wasn't wearing this many layers when I came last time," I complained.
"The last time you came it was early winter, now it's deep winter."
The train station was surrounded by a long fence, outside which were parked several beautiful and expensive black carriages. Before getting into the carriage, I saw one towering defensive tower after another in the North, a country with extremely strong defenses.
The carriage soon took flight, carrying us over towering snow-capped mountains and into the true northern territory.
The car was very warm, made of special materials and well-sealed. As soon as I entered, the warmth and drowsiness came over me. After yawning twice, I leaned on Manberia's shoulder and fell asleep.
I slept for a long time, I don't know how long I slept, and I heard Manboya's soft coaxing voice in my ear, "It's time to get up and have dinner, otherwise there won't be any food for you later."
I suddenly woke up with a start, opened my eyes, and was surprised to find myself sleeping in a bed.
She quickly sat up and realized she was in an unfamiliar bedroom.
The room was filled with a soft white carpet, beautiful purple walls, long, dark purple curtains trailing on the floor, and an elegant, large candlestick with hundreds of pink candles, only about ten of which were lit, clearly to keep me from sleeping.
"Where am I?" I asked hurriedly.
“The Northern Palace,” Mamboa replied, blinking.
"How did I end up in the palace? How did I sleep for so long?!" I jumped out of bed and was about to look for slippers when Manberia placed a pair of thick, fluffy slippers in front of me.
"This... I'm sorry to trouble you," I couldn't help but say, thinking that someone as delicate and pampered as him probably hadn't helped anyone with slippers much before.
He glanced at me. "I'll just help you carry it. Also, don't address me as 'you,' or I'll strip you naked like I did in the Western Regions."
I rolled my eyes and ignored him.
After I got dressed and combed my hair, and everything was done, Mamboya was about to take me to the dining room. We walked down the corridor, and large snowflakes rushed towards us. He pulled my fox fur hood tighter. I suddenly remembered years ago, in the wilderness of Benot, when I had become Benot, I had also pulled the hood of the Benot that had become me in the same way.
Now, with the same heavy snowfall and the same cold corridor, the people pulling their hoods up are different.
After passing through the snowy outer corridor, we arrived at the warm inner corridor. The chill from before vanished without a trace. Just as Mamboya took off my fox fur cloak, I suddenly felt something was amiss. Looking ahead, I saw a young woman in a deep blue fishtail dress, with long hair flowing down her shoulders, wearing an exquisite veil and a beautiful ruby forehead ornament, smiling at us.
"Your Highness, you're back! I came as soon as I received the news and have prepared dinner for you." Her voice was exceptionally melodious and pleasant, as charming and captivating as a nightingale's. "This must be Lady Lana. I wonder what your favorite dish is? I hope my preparation will not disappoint you."
I paused for a moment before saying, "It's okay, I'm not a picky eater."
Manberia pursed his lips slightly and smiled, "Thank you for your trouble." He hugged my waist tighter and whispered, "This is my wife's sister, my cousin, on our marriage certificate. My wife's family was worried that my wife wouldn't be able to serve me well, so they sent her cousin over as well."
I sighed softly, "If you're not afraid of loneliness, why do you always make things difficult for me?"
"I'm going to make things difficult for you." He mischievously bit my earlobe, and I stomped on his foot in pain. He jumped away with an exaggerated cry of pain.
Our words and actions might have been considered flirting by my cousin, because her expression changed slightly, but it was so subtle that I probably wouldn't have noticed it if I hadn't been paying close attention to her.
She smiled, very naturally, "By the way, Prince Bernot from the East has arrived. He was planning to wait for you and Lady Lana in the dining room, but I declined."
-----------------------
Author's Note: Lana: What should we do? Will they start fighting?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
