109 Woo woo woo woo
[Heroine Oscar]
In the middle of several fancy wagons, soldiers on horseback lined up in front and behind.
From nob le mt l dot com
Just like when he came to the royal road, Puu was wandering here and there on his own.
I went forward, suddenly turned around and waddled, saw Katrin’s face, and after making a boo-boo sound, ran forward again.
A saddle made for Catherine was carried on Pooh’s back.
It is said that the saddle was loaded onto the cart when they started, and Pooh kept going there, rubbing his body, and sniffing it.
The person in charge of the load laughed, saying that he was so obsessed with the saddle that the cart shook.
Pooh seemed to like the look of himself with the saddle on, and he excitedly ran around holding the horn on the tip of his nose that had begun to point out.
“It would be so much fun riding in a place like this.”
Katrin sighed as she watched Pooh waddle around.
Pooh’s appearance seems to tempt him to play with him.
Well, I think so too.
“It hasn’t been a few days since I got better, Katrin.
I closed the shutters to keep out the wind and pulled Katrin, who was sitting close to the window, into my arms.
When I put my hand on her thin waist, I felt the soft touch.
soft and fluffy
Feeling like I had done something I shouldn’t have done, I untied my arms from her waist and hugged her whole body.
But even so, her body, touching me, was still soft and pliable.
‘The difference between wearing and not wearing a corset is amazing.’
This time, I decided not to wear a corset unless there was a special occasion, as it was during the trip and right after I got sick.
Although he shouldn’t have done that, he seldom went out of the carriage while traveling anyway, and when he was forced to do so, he wore an open-fronted robe like a gown and a fur coat.
It was decided to omit the corset that tightens the body because it is not visible inside the outer garment.
That didn’t mean she didn’t wear a corset at all.
Instead of a stiff corset, she is wearing something made of cloth, but from a woman’s point of view, it’s as if she’s not wearing one.
I thought it was better for my body to take it off, but even Catherine shook her head in disgust at those words.
Anyway, since the stiff corset didn’t block my hands, I had nowhere to touch Katrin’s body.
I had no choice but to wrap the shawl in the corner around her body.
“Oscar, what is this? I’m like a caterpillar.”
Catherine giggles.
Caterpillar, I laughed at the same.
“Even though I’m feeling better, I have to be careful. It’s good to be warm.”
“But I can’t even move my arms.”
“…”
Maybe I was a little taken aback by my soft body.
I tied it tightly so that I couldn’t move without realizing it.
‘We’ve been sleeping well together until now, but why are you here now?’
But it’s strange.
I feel more ashamed now than when she slept with her feet entangled in my body.
She’s fine, just me.
‘Is it because he thought he might lose Catherine?’
Maybe something in me changed then.
I sighed and put my chin on her head.
“If you can’t move, you’ll sleep peacefully, so that’s fine too.”
“I’ve been sleeping so much I can’t even sleep.”
Under her chin, Katrin tilted her head.
“But, why are people following me this time? It’s never happened before.”
“ah.”
I smiled with a bitter face.
What Catherine is talking about are the commoners following the procession.
In this procession, merchants and commoners followed at some distance.
It seems that even before we left the capital, they were waiting for us to leave.
They had been following us ever since we left the capital, but it was only a moment ago that Catherine noticed.
I heard from the butler that there are many demons near the royal capital, so for two days we continued moving without stopping at the inn.
In the meantime, Katrin doesn’t seem to notice because she hasn’t gotten off the carriage at all.
“It’s because of the Witchbeast, Catherine.”
Originally, traveling in this world is dangerous.
The city surrounded by high walls is safe, but it is exposed to the threat of wolves and beasts even if it is only a day away.
Unless someone can hire an escort, it is quite dangerous for a family unit or a small number of people without armed forces to move.
It’s not just animals.
Thieves often appeared on the quiet streets.
Even more so now that the number of monsters has increased, even those who can hire escorts are not free from danger.
For this reason, when news of a procession of aristocrats is heard, recently a small group of merchants and commoners follow them.
It follows them to a place close to their destination, keeping the distance from the procession of nobles.
At first, it was said that only those who happened to be leaving on the right day joined the procession, but these days, it is said that more and more people deliberately wait for nobles with the right destination before departing together.
I heard that there were even people selling information about which nobles were leaving and when.
“Are there that many people like that?”
Catherine’s eyes widened.
Still can’t move the arm.
Tied up in a shawl, with only her eyes wide open, she really looks like a caterpillar.
I smiled and picked her up and put her on my lap.
Tilting her head against my chest, Katrin tilted her head again.
“I think there are over a hundred.”
In reality, there are over two hundred.
According to the person in charge of the convoy, there were close to 300 people, including children.
No matter how far away our procession is and how many people follow us freely, as long as we move together, their actions affect our side.
Be especially careful if you have children among them.
Not only witches but also beasts often targeted groups of humans with children.
For that reason, the person in charge of the convoy had to meticulously care about the affairs of the commoners.
If any of those following are wounded, the escort leader will remove them from the procession before calling for beasts or beasts.
Because of such annoyance, there are nobles who hate it very much when commoners follow them.
Since such aristocrats sometimes kicked out commoners who followed the procession, those who followed the procession of nobles also chose nobles who were as lenient towards them as possible.
That is why so many follow our procession.
It was already known when the Duke of Weiss was tolerant of commoners when they defeated the Witchbeast of Grasshoppers.
It is very rare for aristocrats to serve stew or hand out coins to children who follow them on the street without kicking them out, even if commoners crowd in front of the aristocrat’s mansion.
The person in charge of the convoy, whom I know to be generous with the commoners, seems to have emptied part of the cart and picked up the children of the commoners.
Thanks to seeing us, and even the merchant group putting the children on the wagon, no one has ever dropped out.
It would still be difficult for commoners to follow our procession, but snow slowed the progress of the procession, and most commoners would be able to accompany them to their destination as long as the child did not hold back their ankles.
After such an explanation, Katrin nodded her head.
“It’s a good thing. Yes, it’s a good thing.”
It’s cute that only the head moves like a caterpillar.
I quietly patted Catherine’s tightly wrapped body.
Katrin seems to be only seeing the surface.
‘I can’t help it because I’m still young and inexperienced.’
The reason why the convoy manager or the escort captain left the commoners alone was because they were sure that we were not in danger no matter what monsters attacked us.
If there was even the slightest chance that we would be in danger because of the commoners, they would probably have chased them away without a second thought.
There is no pure and beautiful world like a fairy tale.
Everyone puts their precious things first, and sacrifices anything for that.
The same goes for me, as well as Catherine in the novel, who is not yet in this world.
‘But you don’t have to know all of that now.’
The world is harsh for both women and men, but it would be nice if we could leave it ignorant of reality.
Men in this world somehow tend to protect women in that way, and I liked that.
Recalling the face of my maternal grandfather, the Marquis Hoven, I overlapped him and my future image.
‘I want to be that kind of husband someday.’
I hope we become a couple who protects their wives with their hearts, listen to nagging sometimes, and rely on each other.
And one day, when a child is born, a father who is a bit clumsy but loves his daughter and son…
While patting her with such thoughts, Katrin fell asleep before she knew it.
Will I ever be able to have that kind of relationship with this little kid.
‘I can’t imagine her becoming a mother at all.’
With a small smile, I took off the shawl covering Catherine and laid her on the bed.
When I opened the window a little, the sun was already setting.
Noticing my appearance, the head of the convoy pulled his horse close to the side.
“Today, I think we should stop the procession a little early. According to the guide, this front area is shaded even during the day, so it’s dangerous. It does.”
In winter, guides are hired in each region.
The guide’s advice is especially important as the road is dangerous due to heavy snowfall this year.
“Yes. It’s best to be safe, even if it takes time. Check again to make sure the amount of luggage isn’t too much. If it seems like there’s too much luggage, it doesn’t matter if you throw it away, so give more importance to safety.”
“I understand, Duke.”
The head of the convoy lightly bowed his head.
The carriage stopped, and I came out quietly.
A soldier was running towards a commoner who was following the procession.
They seem to be trying to let you know that today’s camp starts early.
Our cart at the back was littered with children like berries.
Children’s bodies are covered with blankets.
One or two would have been covered by the children’s parents.
But most of them belonged to our soldiers.
It seems to be from a magic bottle.
When the procession stopped, several magicians approached the children, pulled blankets over their heads, and laughed.
The other magic bottle was handing out several pieces of beef jerky to the children.
The kids who used to be taken care of by others are now taking care of the children on their own.
Knowing that the children were safe thanks to the soldiers, the adults started wandering around the neighborhood looking for firewood.
Fallen branches in winter do not catch fire well.
However, commoners who have no other choice but to spend the night with branches that smoke more than fire.
Of course, it wasn’t warm enough to warm the body, and it wouldn’t be easy to cook a proper stew with that.
As I took a small breath, a nearby soldier drew closer.
“Don’t worry too much, Duke. Adults can’t help it, but at night, children crawl into the soldiers’ tents to sleep. They sneak in among the soldiers and eat their fill. It’s quite shameless.”
“…”
“Sometimes there are some shy guys, but those kids are called by the soldiers. All the kids are fine because they just wave and their parents shove them on the back.”
“okay.”
When I laughed, the soldier smiled as well.
The soldier bowed his head to me and went back to his work.
When the sun is not visible, the sky is still bright, but a sharp wind quickly blows and it gets cold.
Occasionally I could hear the small sounds of children sneezing.
As torches were erected around our procession to ward off beasts, some children ran to them and raised their little hands high to warm themselves.
“These guys! I’ve been told several times that it’s dangerous there. You can’t come in here!”
One of the soldiers shouted as if he was booming, and the children screamed and rushed inside.
Our procession uses heating mana stones.
As the magician went around and handed out magic stones filled with mana everywhere, the children flocked to them this time.
A few magic stones with increased firepower are strong enough to cook food.
Water and stew ingredients were added to the pot on top of the mana stone, and after a while it started to boil.
Meals started here and there, and the smell of food spread everywhere.
As the sky, which had been bright a moment ago, turned black in an instant, some of the children had already crawled into the soldiers’ tents.
The owner, the soldiers, hadn’t even entered yet.
Me and Catherine finished eating too.
The place where we camped was dotted with trees.
The same goes for the nearby roads I’ve walked so far.
Although it was not a forest, the sparsely spaced trees continued to the far end of the field of view, and at night, the trees stretched out over the sky as dark shadows.
The moonlight was cloudy today, so I felt even more eerie.
It feels like something is about to happen.
“…”
There is a saying that words become seeds, but maybe it’s true.
As soon as I thought so, a beast’s cry rang out from somewhere.
Woo woo woo!
Whoa!
‘elephant?’
It sounds the same when expressed in writing, but it is completely different from the short pooh of a rhinoceros witch.
The cries that came from afar were like the howls of a herd of elephants running at Tarzan’s call.