“But why are you hiding in this wagon?”

Jeffrey suddenly asked me.

It was something I really wanted to ask.

Why is this man, who will receive the title of Mercenary King in the not-so-distant future, hiding in a wagon?

Unlike girls, boys, no matter how young they were, were often hired as errand boys in labor places.

So, wandering around with no money was a bit inconsistent in my opinion.

“I had to go to the capital, but I didn’t have money, so I rode here. But why are you hiding here?”

I didn’t say another reason, but on the contrary, I asked Jeffrey.

Jeffrey rolled his eyes and was reluctant to answer, then shrugged.

“I’m being chased by the guards.”

“What?”

I almost asked back loudly.

Jeffrey smiled casually.

“It just happened.”

“Why is a kid like you being chased by the guards?”

I couldn’t understand and asked Jeffery, who complained of dissatisfaction.

“Little girl, you look younger than me.”

That was right.

In fact, I knew Jeffrey was two years older than me.

At a young age, he grew up day by day, so it was natural for Jeffrey, who lived two years longer than me, to be taller than me.

But my mind was 24, so being taller than me didn’t make me look like a child.

“I’ll take back what I said, little boy.”

I was curious about Jeffrey’s story, so I politely admitted it and withdrew.

Jeffrey smiled innocently and said, 

“Yeah.”

“What happened anyway?”

“Well…”

Instead of answering, Jeffrey kept his mouth shut for a while, making a groaning noise.

It was a face contemplating whether to tell me or not.

I waited quietly for his answer.

If he didn’t tell me after thinking so much, it was right not to pry about it anymore because it was his private life.

“It’s nothing.”

Just as I was about to nod my head, wondering if this is a hard story to tell, Jeffrey continued.

“There is a guy named Gaiman in the Chern estate. My parents borrowed money from him, and because they couldn’t pay it back, my parents were beaten to death by him.”

For a story that was brought up lightly, the seriousness of the story was heavy.

“I reported him to the guard, but the guard said it was their fault.”

“…”

“That’s why I killed him.”

It was a calm voice.

However, I couldn’t bear to guess what kind of emotion was in it.

However, I couldn’t bear to guess what kind of emotion was in it.

“Sorry.”

It must have been a story he didn’t want to think about, but I pricked the sore spot for no reason.

“What about you?”

Jeffrey suddenly asked.

I looked at Jeffrey speaking in a bright voice and smiled.

“There’s someone I have to meet in the capital. He’s my mom’s father, but she and he can’t meet because of circumstances.”

“Mom’s father? Isn’t he your grandfather?”

I shut my lips tightly at the calm words.

Jeffrey being my mother’s father meant becoming a grandfather to me.

However, growing up without a grandfather, it was difficult for me to easily accept the Grand Duke of Crichton as my grandfather.

Perhaps even if my mom meets the Grand Duke Crichton, it would be hard for me to regard him as my grandfather.

“That’s right. Grandfather.”

“Then are you going to meet your grandfather? Did you get permission from your mom?”

“No, I ran away.”

“You can’t do that!”

Jeffrey looked at me with stern eyes.

The way he scolded me was cute, so I burst into laughter with a small sound as I looked at Him.

“What? Why are you laughing?”

Jeffrey pouted his lips as if he didn’t like me, bursting into laughter.

I managed to hold back the laughter that was about to escape.

“Just because you’re cute.”

“What?”

Jeffrey paused for a moment when I talked about how I felt.

Then he looked at me with a serious face.

“I mean, you came out without your mother’s permission. You should go home immediately. How much would your mother worry about you if you suddenly disappeared?”

I turned my head for a moment at Jeffrey’s words and looked at the gap in the tent where the light came in.

The sun seemed to be rising already.

“A lot of…. She will be worried.”

She must have woken up by now.

Then you would have checked the letter I left behind, and you would have found out that I had disappeared.

Then you will definitely be shocked.

I didn’t want to hurt my mom like this.

But if I don’t do this, my mother will die a year later.

I will lose my mother right in front of my eyes.

I knew everything, so I can’t let it happen again.

If it were Grand Duke Crichton, he might be able to find a way to save my mother because he has the power and wealth recognized by this empire.

It was an inevitable choice to prevent the death of my mother.

“But I can’t go back. I have to meet my grandfather.”

Jeffrey frowned as I laughed bitterly.

“Is it important?”

“Yes. It’s the most important thing for me.”

Saving my mom.

It is more important than me.

Jeffrey looked at me with a complicated face and then nodded.

“Then there’s nothing we can do.”

Jeffrey quickly agreed without thinking long.

Of course, just because he stopped me didn’t mean I would go back, but I was relieved a little because there was nothing good about making a fuss.

“Thank you for understanding.”

“No, what… What did I do?”

Jeffrey scratched his cheek in surprise.

It was then.

Growl

There was the sound of a stomach growling from somewhere.

Only me or Jeffrey could make this sound in this wagon.

But the sound didn’t come from me.

Naturally, she raised her head to look at Jeffrey and saw him hiding his red-stained face between the luggage.

Come to think of it, Jeffrey said that he had avenged the enemy who killed his parents and was being pursued the whole time.

He must have been busy running away from the guards, so he probably couldn’t even get a proper meal.

Maybe he starved for a few days.

I fell into a deep conflict in a short time.

I had something to eat, even though it was a little.

In my experience, it will take three days to go from the town of Delphia to the capital, so I brought three steamed potatoes to eat in the meantime.

It was a small amount, but it was enough to survive by eating one a day.

It was too small to share with Jeffrey during the three days of traveling in the wagon.

But…

Growl

Once again, he bowed his head for a while at the sound.

Jeffrey had not been able to say anything since the sound of his growling stomach came out.

He looked embarrassed.

Actually, this isn’t something to be embarrassed about.

After a short deliberation, she made her decision and got up from her seat, and walked towards Jeffrey.

Jeffrey shrugged in bewilderment as he saw me approaching.

“What’s that?”

Like a cat wary of people, Jeffrey pointed at me.

I held out a potato that I had brought to Jeffrey.

“Would you like to eat this?”

“…”

Jeffrey looked at the potato I gave him without saying a word.

It was a well-steamed potato.

“.… What about you?”

These were the words of Jeffrey, who had been silent for a while.

“I brought three potatoes when I left the house. I’ll give you one.”

Jeffrey’s gaze went back and forth between my eyes and the potatoes.

I was proud of Jeffrey for worrying about me, even though he must be hungry.

I took a seat next to him and forced the potato into Jeffrey’s hand.

Jeffrey took the steamed potato and looked at it with a lot of thought.

“Eat it. There’s a long way to go.”

In the future, there were days that I wasn’t able to sleep and eat properly because I had to run away from the guards.

Still, according to the future, I know Jeffrey will surely succeed as a mercenary.

At that time, he didn’t have to worry about this.

So, until then, it would be better to eat and sleep when you can.

“… Thank you.”

Jeffrey spoke in a small voice and took a bite of the potato.

He didn’t even peel off the skin.

“… Ugh.”

Then she turned her head to the groan-like sound and checked Jeffrey.

What I thought was moaning was a sobbing sound.

Jeffrey was crying.

Even though his throat was choked from crying, Jeffrey took a bite of a potato.

I turned my head to look the other way so as not to disturb Jeffrey.

After ignoring the sound and staying still, my sense of touch and hearing became extremely sensitive.

The wagon caught on the stone beak rattled loudly. Her body shook greatly due to the movement.

In addition, I heard people talking from beyond the wagon. Jeffrey’s crying was buried a little by the sound.

“Thank you.”

A long time passed after Jeffrey ate one potato. He stopped crying and thanked me.

Only then did I look back at Jeffrey, and his face was as red as when I heard his stomach boiling?

“I, I’ll pay you back for this potato later.”

“It’s just a potato. Don’t worry too much.”

“… No, let me pay you back.”

It was an exceptionally solemn voice.

Is it because he starved a lot?

Since my mother passed away, I have lived here and there, so I know how desperate and miserable starving makes people feel.

That is why she knew very well how grateful he was to the person who distributed the food.

But the words he heard from Jeffrey were unexpected.

“Do you know why my parents borrowed money from Gaiman?”

I looked at Jeffrey, unable to understand what he was saying.

I didn’t understand the logic of suddenly talking about it.

“Why are you talking about that all of a sudden?”

I also experienced losing my parents at a young age, so I knew how hard it was to talk about it.

Jeffrey smiled awkwardly at the color of his face that has returned a little now.

“Because I was whining that I was hungry. We didn’t have money at home, so we had nothing to eat.”

“…”

“So having a debt for food is worse for me than dying.”

Jeffrey took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

His breathing seemed to contain his agony and anguish.

“But if it wasn’t for you, I might have really died.”

His voice was heavily hoarse at the calmly spoken words.

“It was the first time I owned food. So let me pay it back.”

If I refuse more than this, the conversation will repeat over and over again.

Potatoes will not cost much anyway, and I didn’t want to quarrel with Jeffrey over this, so I roughly nodded.

“Then when you grow up, pay me back with two potatoes.”

If you become the mercenary king, two potatoes won’t even feel like food, so it’ll be fine.

When I finished talking, Jeffrey smiled.

“Okay, I’ll pay you back twice.”