I Became a Childhood Friend With the Villainous Saintess

2 – Shabby Hut (2)

It was a very old and shabby hut. There was no other way to describe it.

It was so old that cobwebs were stuck to the edges of the roof.

The traces of age were heavily embedded in the probably once deep brown wood, and the stairs in front of the door creaked.

In modern times, it might be thought of as an old log cabin.

Since I was of low social status, it didn’t seem particularly small, even if it was old and worn out.

It could be seen that some effort had been put into making it. At least it gave the impression of a place where people could live.

But that was my perspective.

For the prince and princess of the Ellensia Royal Family, the story was different.

As expected, the siblings were standing a few steps away with stiff expressions.

“Uncle, where is this place?”

“Hmm. I guess you could call it a hideout. It’s a place that hardly anyone knows about even within the family.”

These were children who would one day sit on powerful positions if they just grew up safely.

Their lives were extravagant, with dozens of servants involved in a simple meal, and the cost of a single party outfit equivalent to the price of a house.

To their eyes, this shack might not have been much different from a pigsty.

Even the servants’ quarters at the royal mansion were much more luxurious than this shack.

It was an awful place to be after a long journey of fleeing.

While they hadn’t voiced their concerns yet, it was evident that they would have to stay here for a while.

The only lady of Ellensia seemed to be on the verge of tears at any moment.

“Uncle, I don’t like it here. It smells weird and looks dirty.”

“I’m sorry, Sirienn. There’s no other choice. Can’t you bear with it for a little while?”

“Really? We really can’t go anywhere else? It has to be here?”

“I’m sorry.”

It was a voice mixed with a sob. Nevertheless, Count Roksen didn’t budge.

When recalling what it meant for Sirienn to cry in the royal house, it was an incredible thing.

The daughter who the Duke of Ellensia cherished like a treasure.

The child who received the most love in the royal house.

When Sirienn cried, all the servants were in uproar.

Whenever it happened, my family or I had to go and comfort her. But how could mere servants move the royal family’s decisions?

In the end, I was the only one the servants could rely on.

Although I had not yet received a title, I had always gotten along well with the servants.

The bribes I had accepted in the form of treats had been quite sweet.

Half of them ended up back in Sirienn’s mouth anyway.

But, every time her crying was heard, I was called upon, and Sirienn seemed to be used to me as well.

I felt the faint presence of a little girl behind me.

It seemed that the strange dampness on the back of my shirt was her attempt to hide her tears.

Since she was much younger, Sirien never cried forcibly.

Probably, she must have sensed that she wouldn’t be able to persuade Count Locksen. She seemed to realize that there was nothing that would change even if she cried.

So she tried to bear it.

All I had to do was pretend not to notice so that her effort wouldn’t go to waste.

“I also want to hide you in a better place, but for now, this is the safest place.”

“Didn’t we already come quite far away because of Eligros?”

“Yes, we’ve come far. This place is quite far from the Great Duke.”

Fortunately, or so to say, Sirien’s tears were not completely useless.

As if Count Locksen also felt guilty, the nobleman, who had been keeping his mouth shut, began to speak.

“As you may have guessed, the situation isn’t good. Because of the surprise attacks on the gates…”

His words were long, but the point was simple.

The war situation was seriously unfavorable. The place where the Great Duke of Ellencia was would naturally be targeted first, and Eligros’ special forces were scouring the Great Duke’s territory.

Even worse, the Great Duke and Count Locksen were suspicious that there was a traitor inside.

Otherwise, such fast and precise surprise attacks couldn’t have been carried out.

“If something happens to you two at a time like this, there’s no turning back.”

So, I have to hide you two.

In a place where nobody knows, where nobody can find, the safest place.

That’s what Count Locksen said.

In the end, the siblings had no choice but to agree.

“Is it certain that this place is safe?”

“Absolutely. Although it looks like this, it’s a place that has never been discovered. Even your ancestors have survived danger here several times.”

“What about the animals living in the forest? What if they come here?”

“That’s right. I should tell you about that too. Well, look around.”

Count Locksen gestured to their surroundings.

Snow-covered fields spread around the hut, which had a rather elaborate appearance.

It looked like a painting with the roundly spread snowfield, and the coniferous forest surrounding the snowfield held its breath quietly.

The snowfield and the hut seemed to have appeared in the middle of the vast forest.

“This round circle will be your home for ten days. Think of it as an old magic protecting this open field. So never leave this circle or enter the forest.”

“Ten days, huh?”

“Yes. I can’t keep you in a place like this any longer.”

Count Roxen smiled.

He seemed to have tried to reassure the siblings in his own way, but it was clearly a wasted effort.

The siblings’ expressions had already darkened.

Count Roxen awkwardly returned to his serious expression.

‘Ten days.’

It was a time that felt both long and short.

However, the siblings would not want to spend even a single day here. It was bound to feel long.

Still, Siren was not the type of person to throw a tantrum by nature.

Even though her face was full of dissatisfaction and feelings of injustice, she said something different.

“Alright, but you’ll be back soon, right?”

“Of course. I’ll sort out the situation and return within ten days.”

“Ten days… Sigh. Okay.”

Siren nodded with a tearful expression.

A watery red hue rose on her fair skin.

Soon, Count Roxen left.

We stared at the departing figure of Count Roxen for quite some time.

It was as if we were hoping that perhaps he would turn around and take us with him again.

Of course, he never looked back until he was out of our sight.

That’s how our cabin life began.

* * *

Fortunately, the inside of the cabin was not in bad shape.

If we clean well just for today, there would be no special problem for ten days.

In other words, it meant that there were no leaks or any parts breaking.

Still, the interior was more spacious and pleasant than it appeared from the outside.

For the Ellencia siblings, Terion and Siren.

It was a large enough space for the four of us, including myself, the trainee knight, and Henna, the servant.

Though old, all the basic furniture was in place.

The first floor was decorated for everyone to use together like a living room in a house, and the second floor was an attic connected to the roof.

There were four beds in the attic, and it seemed that they would inevitably be sleeping there.

Lastly, there was a basement. It wasn’t damp, but there was an unusual amount of dust. It looked like a storage room, containing various preserved foods, seemingly prepared at some point.

After checking out the entire basement, Hena came out of the kitchen.

It seemed that she had looked around the kitchen most carefully, as, naturally, she would be the one in charge of cooking.

“Good news. Most of the cooking tools are usable. Lazen, do you happen to have a whetstone?”

“In my backpack. Should I take it out now?”

“No, later. Can I just take it out and use it myself? I’m planning to clean first.”

“Alright.”

Hena rolled up her sleeves with enthusiasm.

As the sleeves of her maid’s outfit rolled up, her slender but toned arms were revealed.

Hena was the most reliable person in such situations.

She had been a maid attending to Teron since a very young age. Other than me, Hena was the only person whom the siblings could treat like a friend.

So, no wonder Count Locksen trusted Hena enough to bring her here.

In this world, all the servants were specialists of household chores.

With mediocre skills, it was impossible to meet the standards of fastidious nobles.

Especially when it came to a ‘female attendant,’ it was needless to mention their expertise.

‘But I can’t have her clean up this huge place by herself.’

No matter how good Hena was at her job, there had to be a limit.

It was unlikely for me, a bona fide nobleman, to ask the well-bred prince and princess to help with floor cleaning, and it would be difficult for Hena to ask for assistance from me.

So, I had no choice but to volunteer to help her.

“I’ll help you.”

“What? No, it’s fine. It’s my job.”

“It’s alright. I just want to finish as quickly as possible so we can rest. We can’t sleep well in a place like this.”

“Then… I have a favor to ask. I think I saw a well outside earlier; can you fetch some water from it?”

“Ah, I think I saw it too. I’ll be right back.”

The well, which had been standing alone in the vast snowfield, came to mind.

With nothing nearby, it stood out.

As I went to fetch water from the well, footsteps followed me.

It was Sirien.

“You don’t have to follow me.”

“I’m just going out because it’s stuffy. My throat is dry.”

“Is it cold outside?”

“It’s fine. Hena found some fur gloves earlier. I’ll follow.”

All right, then.