Chapter 11

He had arrived earlier than her and was already working.

“Commander! Good morning!”

“Yes.”

His monotonous response was deflating compared to her energetic greeting, but Anasha remained in high spirits.

“Well then, do your best today. I’ll be going now!”

“Wait a moment.”

Rihirt stopped her as she was about to climb up to the ceiling.

“Would you like to have lunch together today?”

“You mean a meal……”

This was the conclusion she drew from combining “lunch” and “eat together.” He nodded slightly, confirming that he indeed meant lunch.

“Of course I’d love to!”

“Then I’ll instruct them to prepare a separate meal for you as well.”

“Yes!”

Anasha nodded vigorously and quickly climbed up to the ceiling. A small humming sound could be heard from beyond the ceiling, but Rihirt deliberately pretended not to hear it.

Lunch time arrived about three hours later. The imperial chef, who had received instructions in advance, brought two trays. Since the desk could only accommodate one person, the tableware was placed on a guest reception table. Having waited for this moment, Anasha picked up a spoon and fork simultaneously with an excited expression.

A woman dressed in black from neck to toe and a well-dressed, aristocratic-looking handsome man. The sight of them sitting across from each other was truly a peculiar combination.

“Let’s eat!”

Anasha reached for the abundant meal as if she would devour everything, but in reality, only a small portion the size of a baby’s fist was served on her plate. Due to her profession, eating small portions at a time had become second nature to her.

Rihirt, who had been watching her eat intently, broke the silence.

“Is that enough?”

“Pardon?”

“I was thinking you might be eating too little compared to your activity level. Physical strength is important for a knight.”

“It’s fine. This amount is just right for me. As a spy, agility is my lifeline. Weight management has become such a habit that I eat even delicious food in small amounts.”

A light laugh followed, but his face remained serious. Though her clothes weren’t particularly revealing, her arms and legs appeared thin at a glance. Even a small, nimble herbivore wouldn’t be this thin.

“Eating one or two more delicious things won’t diminish your agility.”

He pushed a plate of meat dish with brown sauce toward her as he spoke. Anasha looked back and forth between him and the plate before quietly picking up a piece of meat. It felt like she was overeating compared to usual, but she felt good about it.

After the meal, the two naturally moved on to tea for dessert. While she blew on the hot tea before drinking it, Rihirt simply sat watching her. Though his eyes showed no emotion, he was deep in contemplation.

“What are you thinking about?”

Anasha, with her senses twice as keen as others, naturally read this. Tilting her head as she looked at him, Rihirt finally began to speak slowly.

“I was thinking about giving affection. To be honest…, I’m quite inept at social relationships. I’m not sure how to become closer to you.”

It was an unexpectedly adorable concern to have while sitting across from someone. Anasha had to press her lips together to suppress a laugh that threatened to escape.

“So, would you teach me?”

“Is that why you asked me to have a meal? To give me affection as promised?”

“Yes. Was it different from what you wanted?”

“No, not at all! Honestly, I’m extremely happy. I didn’t expect you to worry so much about keeping your promise.”

Anasha transformed the smile that was slowly creeping out into a bright expression.

“But have you really never given affection to anyone before? It seems like you’ve lived without any emotional attachment.”

Her mouth, which had no intention of speaking indirectly, was blunt. With curious eyes, Anasha even directly looked him up and down.

“Even if you haven’t given it, many people must have approached you, right?”

“Why do you think so?”

“Because the commander is a good person. You’re not particularly mean-spirited or anything, are you? People like that always have others around them.”

Rihirt silently wondered, ‘Like you?’ She seemed to find him curious, but he found her even more intriguing.

“Some people have approached me. But they all left before long.”

“Oh! Such a story…… That’s too sad.”

“They didn’t die. I meant they left of their own accord.”

“Ah, if that’s the case, then whatever.”

Anasha took a sip of tea with a composed face, as if she had never shown sad eyes. The tea must have been to her liking, as bright emotions appeared on her face. Rihirt watched her, seeming to engrave each of her moment-by-moment emotional changes in his mind.

Belatedly, Anasha put down the teacup she had been holding.

“Then was there never anyone you wanted to keep around?”

“No.”

Rihirt thought that even if there had been someone, he probably wouldn’t have been able to maintain that relationship for long.

He became the head of the family at fourteen, following his father who died in battle. He spent most of his childhood managing the territory and family affairs, and after coming of age, he went directly to the border to fight. That had been the path of his entire life.

“Most of my days were too busy to have the energy to care for someone or even the time to have deep conversations with anyone.”

“That must have been hard.”

“I’ve never thought of it as hard.”

It was such a sharp answer that silence wouldn’t have been strange. But surprisingly, Rihirt was the first to speak again.

“Do you find it difficult when you don’t meet other people for a long time?”

“Me? Hmm… I’ve never really thought about it, but I’d definitely find it hard because my mouth would get itchy. By the way, I’ve been wanting to ask you something. You’ve forgotten my name, haven’t you? You’ve been calling me ‘you’ all this time……”

“I have no intention of hiding it.”

He had forgotten. Anasha looked at him with an expression that said “I knew it!”

“It was only a few days ago, and the introduction was so sudden that I didn’t have the presence of mind to commit it to memory. If you tell me again, I’ll make sure to remember it.”

With those words, one couldn’t help but wonder how many noble ladies had passed him by. A name represented interest in that person. In social circles, forgetting someone’s name was considered a great discourtesy. It meant you weren’t interested.

But Rihirt had only learned social etiquette theoretically and didn’t know these common practices of noble society.

Being far from the capital, he rarely participated in social events unless they were major imperial functions, nor did he have the leisure to do so. If he were to count the number of social events he had personally attended, he could probably count them on five fingers, let alone ten.

Of course, he now understood that it was a grave discourtesy, and had already added his own excuse.

“That’s a relief, because I forgot too.”

And there was someone even more ignorant than him. Anasha stroked her chest and wore a bright expression.

“I forgot the commander’s name and didn’t know how to ask again. I was thinking of secretly asking someone else, but since you’ve forgotten my name too, I feel better.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“Yes! Phew~ I wasn’t the only one worrying after all.”

Rihirt also didn’t feel any displeasure or resentment. He simply believed that if something was forgotten, it could be memorized again.

At that moment, Anasha suddenly stood up. Rihirt remained calm and composed even when she thrust her face in front of his.

“It’s Asha. Don’t forget it, okay? I’ll ask you again next time.”

“I’ll remember it clearly this time. My name is Rihi……”

“Ah! Let me guess. I feel like I can get it right!”

“……”

“Rihirut! Rihirat? No! Rihirit, it’s Rihirit, right?”

And Anasha ultimately failed to guess it correctly.

⁕⁕⁕

Anasha, self-proclaimed as the “favored subordinate,” was around him every day. With no specific missions assigned, her main activity became chatting with the commander.

In contrast to his typically brief, strictly business-related conversations with others, Rihirt mainly discussed everyday matters when with her.

The conversations were trivial enough to be considered meaningless. As one topic led to another, they often strayed far from the original subject. While most of the content lacked substance, strangely, he didn’t dislike these conversation times.

Rather, he was beginning to discover the subtle joy of chatting.

“What?! Really?”

Of course, it helped that his conversation partner was exceptionally receptive, but it was certain that Anasha was becoming the catalyst for awakening his appreciation for the charm of casual conversation.

“Seriously? You’ve never once gone sightseeing in the capital since coming here?”

“No.”

“There was a holiday recently too. You’ve come all the way to the capital but haven’t looked around! There are so many fun places.”

While she expressed disappointment with more enthusiasm than him, Rihirt simply asked calmly.

“Which places are fun?”

“Well, first the large stream area in the west is fun. There are many things to see around there. And there’s a place called Elenium Square where bands occasionally come to perform. Oh, and the market is fun too!”

Anasha moved her tongue dazzlingly, almost like a tourism operator trying to lure travelers for profit.

“But will you go alone?”

“Yes. You’ve spoken so highly of these places that I feel like visiting them.”

“That’s a great idea!”

She nodded, saying it was a good thought. Then she rested her chin on her hand with a solemn expression and fell into thought.