Sorry, I got distracted by your looks

After riding nonstop for two days, Millie was utterly exhausted.

Due to that Millie was snoring, I gave up on sleeping more and stepped out of the tent. Though dawn had broken and it was bright outside, the area around the tent was still quiet.

A little away from the tent, William was kindling a fire to boil some water.

“You’re up early, Sir William.”

“Did you sleep well?”

William handed me a cup of warm tea. As I sat down in front of the fire with the warm cup in my hands, he passed me a blanket. Wrapped tightly in the blanket, I sipped the warm tea.

Feeling more relaxed, I asked something I had been curious about.

“Why does His Majesty Mikrok want to return to Pritan so quickly?”

“Well, actually…”

Sir William hesitated for a moment before continuing.

“In the vicinity of the Kingdom of Pritan, there live demons called the Maon tribe. They used to raid the villages near the border at the end of every summer.”

Demons. I had only heard about them gathering in the cold north, but I had never seen one.

“There are also many monsters targeted for subjugation. Normally, we should be setting out for a cautionary subjugation in about two months, but this year the schedule has been moved up.”

“Why is that?”

“Because of Grand Duke Jake of the Harlan Empire.”

Ah, I recalled the King Mikrok saying that Grand Duke Jake had tampered with the national treasure of Pritan.

“Two months ago, he tried to secretly log the ‘Golden Pine,’ a special protective tree of the Kingdom of Pritan, using the Maon tribe. It’s foolish to be exploited like that.”

I felt that Grand Duke Jake was even more foolish. How dare he meddle with Pritan!

“There has been a long-standing secret agreement concerning the Golden Pine between Pritan and the Maon tribe. Even though they raided every year, they were only warned and otherwise overlooked.”

“Since they betrayed first, they must pay a heavy price.”

William nodded indifferently.

“The King had Grand Duke Jake’s arm cut off and returned, and expedited the monster subjugation plan. For the Maon tribe, it’s no longer a warning but annihilation…”

William suddenly stopped talking and bit his lip, looking regretful as if he had said too much.

“Don’t worry, I won’t spill any secrets. Actually, I don’t really know any Maon tribe.”

I joked with a playful smile, and William smiled faintly too, then continued.

“The frightened Emperor Harlan has sent a proposal of marriage drafted by Marquis Uzcal to His Majesty Mikrok. His Majesty does not wish to postpone the subjugation even if he marries. Thanks to Lady Leah, he is very happy to be able to set out as planned.”

William smiled faintly as he threw dried vegetables into the boiling water to make soup.

“Sir, your entire attention seems to be on His Majesty alone.”

“It’s only natural for a guard knight.”

“It’s not so obvious. There are plenty of horrible knights. Millie would shudder at the thought of knights, but she respects you, Sir William.”

At the mention of Millie, he seemed a bit flustered.

“That’s unexpected. Unless she cursed me all night…”

I chuckled lightly and sipped more of the warm tea.

“When I become the Queen of Pritan, will I also receive such honorable loyalty from you?”

I asked lightly, but suddenly his expression hardened. I laughed awkwardly, feeling a bit embarrassed.

“Why? Is your loyalty exclusively to His Majesty Mikrok?”

“Please become His Majesty’s most precious person. Then my life will be dedicated to you and His Majesty.”

He slowly spoke. Although it was not a direct answer, I understood his meaning right away.

“If I become a queen in name only, I won’t be able to earn your loyalty.”

“Hmm… Honestly, I am not very worried.”

As I looked up in wonder at his slight smile, why not worry a little?

Just then, with a fluttering sound, King Mikrok came out of the tent and approached us.

“Your Majesty, did you sleep well?”

William respectfully offered him a cup of warm tea. King Mikrok seemed displeased about something, but he had just woken up and still looked remarkably handsome despite his disheveled state.

‘Why does this man look so handsome from the morning?’

Before I got distracted by his face and caused a scene, I quickly stood up, bowed, and was about to return to the tent until his deep voice stopped me.

“Is it cold?”

“Yes? Yes… Although it’s summer, it’s quite chilly in the forest in the mornings and evenings.”

His words sounded like he was saying I was not suitable to be the Queen of Pritan because I was too sensitive to the cold.

I had just been worrying about becoming a queen in name only during my conversation with William, and now I had to hear this!

I grumbled in excuse.

“I was in the valley water for too long last night…”

Crap! Such a fool!! To bring up the valley story I wanted to forget from my memory!! Shocked, I glanced at him and noticed his eyebrows twitching very subtly.

“…I should wake Millie up quickly.”

Before my mouth could cause more trouble, I quickly returned to the tent. Millie was still sound asleep at that time.

“Millie, wake up. Sir William said we’re about to leave.”

As soon as his name came up, Millie who was deep in sleep sprang up. Then, with precise and quick movements, she folded the blanket and changed her clothes.

“Miss, let’s go out!”

Seeing the transformed Millie, I couldn’t help but laugh.

As I packed up and came out, William had quickly dismantled the tent as if he had been waiting. At the campfire, breakfast for me and Millie was prepared.

“We will meet a carriage coming from Pritan around lunchtime. If we ride it, it will be much more comfortable, so please bear with it for a bit.”

William quietly informed us as we awkwardly ate our meal.

Oh~ The luxurious carriage from the Kingdom of Pritan!! Millie and I exchanged looks and rejoiced.

After finishing the meal, we cleared any traces of our stay in the forest and loaded our luggage onto the horses.

Thinking about getting on the horse again made my hips ache, but King Mikrok grabbed my waist and hoisted me up onto the horse in one swift motion.

His sturdy body pressed firmly against my back. Feeling nervous and awkward, I turned my gaze away, and saw William and Millie also mounting a horse named Bibi.

Suddenly, I became curious about the name of the horse I was riding.

“What’s the name of this horse?”

“Name? It doesn’t have one.”

“While William’s horse has a pretty name like Bibi, why doesn’t this one have a name because it lacks something?”

King Mikrok looked at me as if I was speaking nonsense.

“A horse just needs to run fast, why does it need a name?”

“Even a mute animal has what’s called rapport. If you call it by a gentle name, it becomes closer to its owner.”

“Then you name it.”

Unexpectedly, it really didn’t have a name! Faced with the sudden task of naming, I racked my brain. I had to come up with a really cool name that wouldn’t lose to William’s horse Bibi!

“Your nickname is ‘Blood Demon Crazy for War,’ right? Since it’s your horse, how about something suitable like ‘Fierce’ or ‘Savage’? It’s intense, isn’t it?”

“What?”

His expression changed suddenly.

Seeing his face scrunch up, it seemed he really didn’t like it. Huh, then he would like this?

“How about ‘Blood Wind’ in the sense of a blood storm? Blood Demon’s Blood Wind! Wow, the rhythm matches and it sounds great! Blood Wind, you like it too, right?”

I thought it was a really innovative name, but the horse that had been standing quietly suddenly lifted its front legs and started thrashing around as if having a fit.

“Aack!”

As my body was suddenly thrown backwards, I instinctively clung to his arms.

“How could you even come up with a name that even the beast despises?”

He raised his neat eyebrows as if he was really curious.

“It’s not despised. There’s no way Blood Wind would react like that. It’s just a coincidence…”

Heeheeheeheeng~!!!

The damned horse thrashed its front legs again. Startled again, as my heart finally calmed down, I glared relentlessly at the back of the horse’s head.

“I get it, I won’t call you that! Just be ‘Horse’ for the rest of your life. Humph!”

Listening to my grumbling, King Mikrok shook his head and patted the horse’s neck to calm it down. Then he said.

“It’s best if you don’t name anything else from now on.”

He forcefully kicked the horse’s side. The troublesome horse dashed forward like the wind, and he added one last word.

“And our kids won’t work either!”

“Our kids? Our kids?! What kind of nonsense is that!”

The words that burst out of my mouth were something I had never imagined saying. My indignation flared, and I protested incoherently.

But all my objections were thoroughly ignored.