Chapter 44: To receive help
We had set up a camp and slept outside in the wild the previous night. During the day, everyone rode on the back of the horses to arrive at a village. It took a few hours and was really exhausting traveling with a bunch of people cuddled on a horseback. In addition to these two, Alaric had been stressed out that whole night and apparently didn't sleep at all. And on top of everything else, our horses were tired from the trip and had to rest.
All of these led to Ranger deciding that we could stay at the village and rest for a little bit more. The next village was not too far away, so we could arrive there even if we set out after lunch.
It was after we had all eaten our breakfast and were lazing around that a knock on the door of Alaric's room was heard. Following Alaric's response, Ralph, who was playing outside with the village kids, poked his head inside and said with a little bit of nervousness.
"Y-young master, t-the young lord wants to meet you!"
As soon as those words were spoken, Alaric flinched and sat up straight.
"Young lord? Young lord Blicra?"
Panicked, he looked around at Ranger and then at me before turning to Ralph again.
"Why does he want to meet me? Is something wrong?"
While he was speaking with Ralph, Ranger was running around the room, tidying the place and pushing anything extra to a corner in the room. Liam, who was sitting beside the door and was busy cleaning his sword, shot to his feet and puffed his chest, standing next to the half-open door like a sturdy statue.
Rubbing my sleepy eyes, I stood up from the sofa and walked to Alaric's seat to stand behind him like a proper attendant.
All of this happened in less than 10 seconds. By then, Ralph had given Alaric's answer.
"I don't know. The young lord's butler came to me and only said that his master wished to have a conversation with you. What should I do, young master? How shall I respond?"
Alaric glanced at the rest of us once more and was surprised to see so much change happening in the span of a few seconds. He blinked a few times as he stuttered.
"That... That... Tell them that I'm sick-"
"Invite them inside!"
Alaric's voice was drawn by Ranger's unusually loud words. The young man flinched once again under the cold dark-blue eyes of the old butler and swallowed his saliva before nodding his head to Ralph with a forced smile.
"Invite them inside..."
Ralph shot a sympathetic glance at his master, which made Alaric's expression crumble a little bit, and then rushed out of the door.
A few minutes later, a man with slightly long dark-brown hair and green eyes was standing by the door and was shaking hands with a nervous and stiff Alaric.
"Ah, please take a seat!" Alaric pointed at the sofa inside the room. "I'm ashamed to be serving you in such a shady place."
The place we were staying at was basically an empty house in the village. The whole place was not built fancy at all and the structure, as well as the furniture, were old and shady. It wasn't a place that nobles would like and enjoy staying at.
"Not at all, young master Alaric. The place doesn't matter, it's the host that is important!"
The edges of Alaric's smiling lips twitched a little bit.
"That's nice of you."
Alaric guided Barnett Blicra to the sofa and sat down across from him. After Ranger brought some desserts and I placed two cups of tea in front of them, Alaric asked in a polite yet curious matter.
"I'm sorry for not paying a visit to you yesterday. I planned to come over and greet the young lord before we departed, however, you came sooner than me. It's surprising. What brings you here?"
I guess he has learned from his previous experience and thus he didn't beat around the bush this time and went straight to the topic.
'And he is not really bad at making things up!'
Barnett Blicra took a sip of his black tea and placed the cup down.
"Yesterday, when we were coming to this village, we saw two burnt and destroyed carriages. I saw the mark of Poqlen county on the burnt one and thought something might've happened to you. I heard what happened to you on your way here and came to check on your condition. Are you alright, young master Alaric? You aren't injured, are you?"
Alaric was visibly and clearly taken aback. He closed his mouth instantly and his eyes widened. After one second, beads of sweat formed on his forehead and his face flushed a little bit red. He lowered his head a little bit then shook it gently.
"No. I wasn't injured. Thank you for your worry."
Barnett Blicra's worried expression eased at that moment and he heaved a sigh of relief.
'Shame on you, Alaric! Look, you've been avoiding this kind-hearted man! He was worried about you but you wanted to shoo him away! Shame on you!'
I clicked my tongue inwardly and cast my gaze on the back of Alaric's head.
'Wait a minute, since when was Barnett Blicra so kind and caring about the others? Wasn't he the silent and knowledgable son of the duke who gave a scholarly vibe and was silent most of the time?'
To think that such a man was worried about our young master... I guess being Barnett's only 'novel friend' makes Alaric really important to him...
'I wish I had a 'regressing friend'... How nice would it be if I could regress with someone... Just knowing that I'm not the only one suffering from this curse would make me happy... No, I'm not evil, it's just that it feels good not being alone... Argh, my life is so lonely and miserable I want a friend whom I can die with!'
"But I saw your carriages were destroyed, how are you going to continue the travel?"
It wasn't hard for Alaric to answer this question, as it was the same thing he had asked Ranger before. The young master just smiled and repeated the things that Ranger had told him. Listening to those words, Barnett went into deep thought for a few seconds.
"Why don't you travel with us?"
"Pardon?"
All eyes turned to Barnett as they rounded and blinked from shock.
"We have quite a lot of empty space so you can come with us if you want. I don't want to disrespect the count or anything like that, what I mean is to offer help. It won't be easy to travel all the way to the next city with just a bunch of horses, and that isn't even suitable for a noble of your position."
Alaric flinched once again, making me wonder why he flinched for every single thing, then opened his mouth in a hurry.
"No thanks-"
His rash and rude words came to an abrupt end as soon a pair of dark-blue hair drilled a gaze on his back. Alaric swallowed his saliva and changed his word.
"-Th-thank you for your kind offer but... I can't really accept it as I would be... Troubling you greatly if that happened... and I... don't want such a thing to happen..."
In between his words, Alaric kept glancing at Ranger to see if he was doing fine or not. The old man's expression didn't change, meaning that he could keep on his bullshit.
"I am really grateful for your offer though. I won't forget your kindness-"
"I am being serious though. Come with us."
"...."
Alaric shut his mouth.
"There is a jungle up ahead and there is no way you can pass it easily with those horses and without any supplies. And it's only the two of us and our people here. No one will ever know that I've helped you. I don't want anything in return, but if you are not comfortable with it, I can reserve a request in the future as my payment, how is that?"
"...."
Completely like a lost, clueless child who was being offered candy by a stranger, Alaric raised his head and looked at his elder butler. His gaze showed how tempted he was to accept the offer and also his nervousness that it might not be a good choice. He was looking at Ranger, asking for an answer.
The old man knitted his brows a little bit and heaved a sigh. He thought for a second before giving a slight nod. As he was standing beside the door, Barnett had no way of seeing what he did. Receiving a positive response, Alaric smiled and beamed with happiness.
"If that's the case, then I have to trouble you, young lord. I hope it is really not much of a trouble for you and your group."
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