Chapter 10

　　Etienne flinched and turned. A middle-aged woman with a troubled expression was scurrying toward them from an inner room, a bundle of dry cloth clutched in her arms.

　　“Oh, my heavens. My apologies, sirs. Our young lady… Here, please use these to dry yourselves.”

　　A young lady bringing home two strange young men at dusk—no servant would be pleased. But Ezekiel accepted the cloth graciously.

　　“You have nothing to apologize for, madam. Thank you.”

　　“I should have stopped her when she said she was going alone…” The woman introduced herself as Mrs. Babin, Iris’s former wet nurse and current housekeeper. She watched the boys with an expression of acute embarrassment before turning away. “How did you two end up here at this hour?”

　　“Well…”

　　The brothers exchanged a glance. Their identities would be revealed as soon as the knights arrived, but until then, they had to be careful. They were princes, heirs to the Murenas Empire. Any scandal would be disastrous. Fortunately, Etienne excelled at this sort of thing.

　　“We are squires in service to Lady Felicia of the Ducal House of Arbois.”

　　“Oh my! You are from the Arbois Duchy?” Mrs. Babin’s eyes widened.

　　Etienne explained that they had been scouting ahead during an inspection of the territory when they were separated from their party in the storm. It was a common enough story, and Mrs. Babin nodded, though she did not look entirely convinced. The world was full of bandits who impersonated knights.

　　“Might I see your identification tokens?”

　　The princes were in a bind. They had tokens, but they were imperial ones.

　　Just then, the door opened. “It is alright.”

　　It was Iris. She had changed out of her wet clothes and was casually toweling her still-damp silver hair. “I saw their horses. They were magnificent animals, the kind bandits could never afford. I am sure they are knights.”

　　Ezekiel’s eyes narrowed. It was true that thanks to her, they had been able to secure their horses on the riverbank before crossing. But to have noticed such a detail in the dark… she was unusually observant.

　　Mrs. Babin, however, was no longer concerned with their identities. Her attention had shifted to Iris’s state of dress. “Young Lady! How many times have I told you not to appear before others looking like that!”

　　Indeed, Iris’s appearance was unconventional for the daughter of a baron. She wore a simple tunic and trousers fit for a commoner. To appear before men with her hair wet and unbound was something no proper noble lady would ever dream of doing. At fifteen or sixteen, most girls of her station were expected to be demure and withdrawn. But Iris Quillucsia was utterly uninhibited.

　　“They have already seen me at my worst,” she said breezily. “It is fine. More importantly, where is Father?”

　　“Father?” Etienne asked.

　　“Ah, I went out to meet him earlier,” Iris explained, her blue eyes sparkling.

　　Mrs. Babin sighed. “Baron Quillucsia is the master of this castle. He has been away on business… We expected him back this morning, but with the storm…”

　　The baron was in a neighboring territory and had been due to return, but the storm had clearly delayed him.

　　“Then the village bridge collapsed,” Mrs. Babin continued. “We were so worried he might try to cross it recklessly…”

　　At her words, Ezekiel frowned. “Speaking of which, the young lady seemed to be crossing quite recklessly herself just a short while ago.”

　　“Hey!” Iris cried out.

　　Mrs. Babin whirled on her, horrified. “Young Lady! No wonder you were soaked! You did not just get caught in the rain, but you crossed the river?!”

　　“You know the place, Nanny! The crossing downstream! All the villagers use it when they are in a hurry!”

　　“That is for the villagers! Ahh, you drive me insane!” Mrs. Babin clutched her head.

　　Iris shrank under her gaze, then shot a glare at Ezekiel. Apparently, her river-crossing had been a secret. She should have told me to keep my mouth shut, then, Ezekiel thought, staring back at her impassively. She is the one who did something dangerous. What does she expect?

　　Etienne snickered. “It seems the Baron of Quillucsia’s daughter is quite the tomboy.”

　　“You be quiet as well,” Ezekiel told his brother.

　　Thanks to Iris’s diversion, Mrs. Babin seemed to have forgotten all about their identification tokens. “With the Baron away, what would happen to Master Henry if you were hurt?”

　　“Alright, I know! I am sorry!”

　　“You always say you are sorry, and then you go looking for trouble!”

　　The scolding continued for some time. When it was finally over, a crestfallen Iris and an exasperated Mrs. Babin turned back to the boys. “Well, it seems you gentlemen will have to stay the night! You will need to change. Young Lady, please fetch our master’s clothes from the storage room for our guests!”

　　They only realized who ‘our master’ was when they were handed the clothes: the Baron of Quillucsia’s old garments. They were surcoats and tunics decades out of style.

　　Iris blushed. “Our family… we were not always nobles. And we are not wealthy.”

　　“Nonsense. This is more than enough,” Etienne said with an easy smile, straightening his borrowed tunic. He was not the type to complain in such situations.

　　Ezekiel nodded in agreement. “We will compensate you fully when our party arrives. If not, we have money with us…”

　　But the girl shook her head. “That is not necessary. I did not help you for money.”

　　“But…”

　　“Forget it.” She suddenly thrust her face close to Ezekiel’s, her deep blue eyes boring into his. “Just do not say anything unnecessary to Mrs. Babin.”

　　“Unnecessary?”

　　“Like what you said before.”

　　Oh.

　　She meant his comment about her dangerous river crossing. Ezekiel was incredulous. There was a limit to her recklessness.

　　“My apologies, Young Lady, but if you are referring to your crossing the river for our sake, I must tell you that I would have informed Mrs. Babin even if you had asked me not to. Your actions were incredibly dangerous.”

　　“What?”

　　“I did not have the chance to say this earlier, but…”

　　He was, after all, a prince, and he was extremely sensitive to such reckless behavior.

　　Unfortunately for him, Etienne had always been the type of young man who enjoyed a dangerous hobby now and then. Whenever his antics went too far, Ezekiel would step in to deliver the scolding that the servants never could. This girl, he mused, was cut from the same cloth.

　　“That path isn’t dangerous,” she insisted. “The villagers use it all the time when the river overflows! I’ve done it before. Besides, you both made it across safely, didn’t you?”

　　“That was only possible because there were three of us,” Ezekiel countered, his tone adamant. When they had made their way back across the treacherous path, they had lashed themselves together with thick vines to keep from being swept away by the current, their hands locked in a desperate grip. The force of the water had been staggering; he could barely contain the urge to lecture her for having braved it alone.

　　“In any case, it’s over and done with, isn’t it?”

　　“It is not. If a similar situation were to arise, you would cross that—”

　　“Alright, that’s enough.” Etienne stepped between them, halting the argument. He shot Iris a conspiratorial wink before blocking his younger brother’s view. “Ez, the young lady helped us, after all. And Miss, please don’t be too hard on my brother. He’s a bit stubborn and old-fashioned, but he means well.”

　　At nineteen, Etienne at least had the sense to mediate a squabble between a fifteen-year-old girl and an eighteen-year-old boy.