After choosing to leave, they regretted it.

What attracted Heidi's attention was the guests.

Previously, the female half-breed who had been staring at him in the slave camp was sitting in a seat near the store door, chatting and laughing with the clerk.

The other party obviously noticed her and gave her a look that was mixed with surprise and unfriendliness.

Then, he waved his hand slightly provocatively, probably asking Heidi to come over.

Heidi - with her brain almost frozen - didn't think much about it, and almost subconsciously walked over and sat down opposite her.

The mixed-race woman, Hecate, looked at Heidi, whose face was as pale as death, and said:

"I was wondering where you went last night. Turns out you got to Tafea first. So, is this the end point of your hitchhiking trip?"

"……Um."

Heidi nodded blankly like a broken puppet.

Hecate frowned in confusion, picked up the wine glass in his hand and took a big gulp, then showed a mocking expression.

"Tsk tsk, what's going on? Are things not going well? Where did that arrogance go?"

After saying that, he picked up the wine glass again and wanted to drink.

Anna, a black-haired mixed-race girl clerk beside her, quickly held down her hand.

"No! Sister, aren't you still not fully recovered? You can't drink like this, it's not good for your health!"

"Don't say that. I've been locked up for over a month without a drop of alcohol. I'm almost going crazy. I was finally released and you're not letting me drink to my heart's content. That's bad for my health!"

After saying that, he gently pushed Anna away, raised the cup and drank it all, then slammed the cup on the table with a look of enjoyment.

"Great—have another one!"

"No! You've already had 10 cups. If you drink any more, something serious will happen!"

The black-haired girl was speechless, while Hecate sighed helplessly.

"Really? There are actually hotels in this world that won't sell drinks to customers who ask for them. It's really troublesome~"

After that, he looked at Heidi again:

"What about you? What's wrong with you?"

"I...I don't know how to put it, but...I want to come to Tafia to ask for help, but...I don't even know if I should ask for help."

Heidi shook her head and said this in a voice so low that it was almost inaudible.

In theory, Heidi had no reason to tell the truth to this stranger who had made her extremely uncomfortable in the past few days.

However, now that she was extremely annoyed, she couldn't help but want to say something.

As for who the target is, it doesn’t matter.

As for Heidi's narration, Hecate just smiled contemptuously.

"What a mess! If you need help, just ask for it. There's no such thing as right or wrong."

"No...but, I...this matter was caused by me. I could actually...give up. I could just give up without asking him for help, but...no, I...don't want to give up, but...no, I don't know..."

It was a disjointed speech, the voice so low that it was almost inaudible, more like a soliloquy.

It looks a bit pitiful.

But Hecate just smiled contemptuously again.

"What a mess! You nobles are such a nuisance."

(I have something to discuss with everyone. Currently, this book still owes a lot of monthly tickets for additional chapters, but since the new book period has come, the number of recommendations has decreased. Adding more chapters will cause the average subscription to drop, and I won’t get recommendations, which will eventually lead to chronic death. So I have come up with a solution.

For monthly pass bonuses, I won't increase the number of updates, just the word count. The word count for each chapter will be doubled to 6000, so it won't affect the average subscription. I'm just not sure if 6000 words per chapter will be boring or too long. Could you share your thoughts? I'm so sorry T_T)

Chapter 43: A Glimmer of Light Remains

"……ha?"

The unexpected remarks left Heidi, whose mind was already a little confused, stuck.

Such a reaction naturally provoked Hecate's contemptuous sneer.

"What? Is there any need to be so surprised? You don't really think your identity has been exposed?"

As he spoke, the half-blood mercenary sat up straight, put on an artificially proper demeanor, grabbed a handful of air with his hand, and put it to his mouth, pretending to chew it slowly.

Then, his mocking expression returned:

"If you weren't a noble lord, how could you be so out of place when you've been eating food worse than pig food for the past few days? It makes my stomach ache just looking at it."

"Woo..."

Heidi was speechless.

As a member of the royal family, even if nothing happened to her family, socializing and etiquette were things she had to master.

Under the almost pathologically strict discipline of her family and attendants, Heidi's education was perfect, and even habitual conditioned reflexes had been formed.

I didn't expect that something would go wrong in a place like this.

Although... since I've already arrived in Tafia, revealing my identity doesn't seem to be a big problem?

But even if there was nothing wrong rationally, emotionally, being seen through without reservation by such a guy made Her Royal Highness the princess more and more angry.

But there is nothing to say.

While she was stunned, Hecate had already stood up from her seat and stretched out her body.

"Hmm~ It's a bit of a shame that I didn't get drunk, but I'm going to sleep anyway, so this seems to be okay."

Hecate came back at the same time as Aize and others.

Because it was agreed that she would be allowed to see Tafia's condition, unlike other rescued half-breeds, Aize specially arranged for her to stay in a hotel in the town.

I also gave some money to facilitate free activities.

Who would have thought that this guy was so drunk that he didn't even enter the hotel and ran straight to the street.

Of course, these had nothing to do with Heidi.

Hecate put down his hand and walked out of the store, but stopped again when he passed Heidi.

After a moment's thought, he said:

"Regarding what you just said, I don't understand what's so tangled up about it? If you don't want to give up, it's just because you're unwilling to give up. If you're unwilling to give up, then just keep going. Why all the nonsense?"

Heidi clenched her fists.

Although it seemed a bit unkind to get angry when she had said it first, such a nonchalant statement did make her very annoyed.

This guy clearly doesn't understand anything.

She clearly had no idea of what she had shouldered, experienced, and endured. How could she dare to—

"Moreover."

Hecate smiled lightly, raised his right hand and pressed his left shoulder, moving it slightly.

The bones, which had not been stretched for a long time, made a crackling sound with this movement.

"Isn't it irresponsible to just give up when I'm the one who caused this? At a time like this, whether it's relying on others or fighting tooth and nail, solving the problem first is the most important thing, right?"

"……well?"

Heidi's expression twitched, and her mind went completely blank again.

And Hecate didn't waste any more time on her and left without looking back.

After all, she also had things to decide.

You have to take time to rest.

With her departure, the store became empty in an instant at this time which was already past mealtime, with only Heidi left.

And she was still staring at the empty table in a daze.

Unwilling?

Is this feeling of unwillingness on my part?

do not know.

Heidi had already abandoned similar emotions the moment she took over the throne five years ago.

There is also the so-called irresponsibility.

If I give up the throne now, would that be considered irresponsible?

do not know.

My brain finally became a little clearer, but it became a mess again.

Just when my brain was heating up and felt like it was about to explode, with a slight crisp sound, a small wooden cup was placed in front of me.

Inside is some yellow solid substance.

Heidi looked up in surprise and found that the mixed-race shop assistant girl who had just been there had returned at some point and brought her something she had never seen before.

"……This is?"

"Hmm... I think it's called pudding. An acquaintance suggested the idea and asked me to help improve it. Anyway, it's a dessert. Why don't you try it first, sister?"

Heidi blinked:

"No, I don't have any money..."

He got out of bed and slipped straight into the street without even a decent coat, let alone money.

However, the black-haired mixed-race girl shook her head and said with a smile:

"Don't worry, it's free!"

"well?"

"This is a trial product. It's not ready to be served to customers yet. If you don't mind, could you help me taste it?"

Heidi's eyes moved back and forth between Anna and the small wooden cup.

What I just said, about trial works and the like, is most likely just an excuse.

In fact, I just saw that I was frowning, so I took the opportunity to find something sweet for myself to eat.

But then again, most of the mixed-race people Heidi knew were considered to have problems and strange personalities that made them difficult to get along with. Could there really be mixed-race children who were so well-behaved?

Maybe it was actually poisoned...

Heidi shook her head, trying hard to dispel these dark thoughts. She picked up the spoon, carefully scooped up a piece and put it into her mouth.

When your brain is overly entangled or even about to explode, it would be great to find something to divert your attention and relieve stress.

If it is really poisonous, then so be it. It won't work on the hero's protection anyway.

perhaps.

I carefully put the thing into my mouth, and a sweet taste spread.

"How about it?"

The little girl asked expectantly, her eyes almost sparkling.

And to be honest, the taste is not that great.

The materials are ordinary, the process is rough, and the skills are not comparable to those of the chefs in the palace.

But at this critical moment, this even somewhat cloying sweetness did indeed ease Heidi's irritability a little.

"……Thanks."

Her Royal Highness the Princess did not answer directly, but raised the corners of her mouth slightly and said this in a low voice.

And Anna smiled back:

"You're welcome~"

"but why?"

"Um?"

"Although I don't quite understand the specifics, but... it shouldn't be easy for a half-blood to open a shop, right? I don't think the business will be very good. Why..."