She took out the ID card and looked at it again.
It was definitely Dale's name.
The profession was the same as the one I saw, and the rank of mercenary was.
'Class B?'
I rubbed my eyes and looked at her again.
[Class B Mercenary]
It was definitely written Class B.
It was a little different from what I knew.
Dale was a Class A mercenary.
I looked at the top of the locker in the warehouse and found three more similar ID cards.
Some are labeled Knight, others are Merchant.
'What is this?'
'This is weird'
Ah.
I have understood.
'It must be Dale's old identities.
It's no big deal.'
I relaxed and let out a big sigh.
I gathered all my ID cards and went to Dale's room.
'It's kind of negligent anyway, what's the point of having such important things in storage?'
Will Dale be happy to know I found it?
'I'll take good care of her for his sake~'
I tried to open the door to Dale's room, but it didn't work.
'Should I lock the door?'
Dale's door was locked.
I tried the handle again, and it was the same thing.
It was definitely locked.
Dale and I are the only ones living here and no one comes into his room.
‘Is he……?’
But that's silly Dale won't close his door because he's wary of me.
Dale is the kind of person who trusts people enough to worry, so I doubted it.
He's naive enough to be my contract husband, and kind enough to do whatever I ask.
'Too bad if only the Emperor trusted me like Dale.'
But the emperor was not like that.
The Emperor was the opposite of Dale.
The Emperor was the opposite of Dale, and he was not deterred by all the rumors that the Princess of Lockhart had contracted the plague, or that she had died and been buried in a coffin, the cause of death unknown.
The fact that I have been on the run for three years and he is still waiting for me without batting an eyelid indicates that he is not a normal person.
That mentally ill?
Or maybe he just doesn't care about me as a person.
After all, I'm Princess Lockhart, right?
'I really don't want to get married.'
I placed the ID cards quietly in front of Dale's door.
Thinking about the Emperor made me feel like Dale was an angel.
'We agreed not to interfere in each other's personal lives, so it's only right that I pretend I don't know anything about this matter.'
I picked up the ID cards back from where I had put them and put them in storage.
But in a clearer place.
'I'm sure Dale will be able to find her if I stay here, right?'
She smiled broadly and stretched.
“Ah-huh-”
Since when did the warehouse become so tight?
It's full and it's time to sort out what needs to go.
It's winter now, and we need to stock up on firewood and other winter equipment.
'I don't want to add to the burden.'
I went back to the living room and sat on the couch.
Palak.
What I'm looking at now is a report on the proceeds from the sale of glow stones.
This amount was definitely enough to cover living expenses, and unless there were particularly large expenses, it was enough money for the two of us to live on.
But I never know when or where a big expense will arise.
Especially since this is a fantasy world.
There is nothing wrong with having a lot of money.
Money is not a disease, and more is always better.
I stared out the window, contemplating seriously.
‘I want to grow more herbs, but……it’s difficult.’
There are some things that money cannot buy.
The empire was advancing brilliantly in trade, military power, and everything, but there was one thing that was lagging behind.
health.
Something Duke Hexagon's sabotage prevented him from developing.
‘Right now, Duke Hexagon was helpless, but the day would come when Duke Hexagon would be released from confinement.’
Duke Hexagon has suffered the indignity of confinement in the palace.
It will take an event of epic proportions to bring him back into the public eye.
An extraordinary event would shake them out of their shell.
“I need a large field that can be secretly used for research.”
I glanced at the settlement statement sent from above.
* * *
Dale had a confused expression on his face.
He furrowed his eyebrows slightly, as if he didn't like this sudden news.
“We need a bigger house, a house with a bigger yard and a shed, so how about we move?”
"……Good."
Dale answered slowly, his eyes fixed on the table.
He clasped his hands together.
“I'm sorry to make you live in this small house.”
Dale bowed his head, his face looking even gloomier.
"That is kind of you."
He clasped his hands together and relaxed his shoulders like a puppy caught in the rain.
Dale couldn't look at me as he was as pale as a sheet.
"What?"
“……I’m sorry, this won’t work.”
"What do you mean?"
I scratched my head.
“I thought we'd go together.”
“We will definitely go together.”
In an instant, Dale's complexion brightened.
“Am I going?”
“Of course, we still have a few months left on our contract.
Did you think I was the only one going?”
Dale nodded unable to smile, his expression grim.
What kind of person am I for Dale to think I'd leave him behind?
I wondered if I had done a lot of wrong things to him.
anyway.
“I'll see if I can find a place for us to move to right away.”
Dale pressed his forehead seriously.
“What kind of house do you like, and what size yard do you want?
Just tell me, even if it’s a house the size of Enya’s family mansion.”
"Dale.
Calm down."
When she took Dale's hand, his eyes widened.
This time Dale stiffened in place.
“I'm only planning to do this because I want to, not because I hate Dale's house, okay?”
“……So you like home.”
“Yes, I love it.”
Dale's eyes twitched.
He looked at me with a mixture of hope and concern.
“Are you sure?”
"Yes."
I marked some places I had in mind on the map and showed them to Dale.
“Firstly, I was thinking of a place not too far from where we are now, but a little closer to Grunwald Castle, where there are a group of houses.”
He examined the map carefully, as if recalling in his mind the circumstances of the Grunwald area.
“So I have an idea.”
* * *
It was a sunny day two weeks later when Dale and I moved into the house.
“Dale, I love this house, come look at it!”
I was the first to jump off the wagon and approach our new home.
It turned out to be a lot quicker and easier than I expected.
When I first decided to move to Grunwald, it took me a long time to find a property, but this time I found a place within a day.
It was so fast that I couldn't believe how easy it was to find a place.
The house was a vacant mansion halfway between our original house and the castle.
“Waaaah……!”
It was a palace.
A stunning home that didn't look old, but was just the right amount of comfort.
It was a very large house, about three times the size of our old house, it was like a palace.
And a huge garden!