As Santiago said, the horse, running swiftly, slowed its pace in less than an hour. Rain poured over the cloak, but Yulania, warmed in her husband’s arms, regained her composure.
“Whoa, whoa—”
He spoke in a low voice, and the sound of hooves subsided. Yulania slightly lifted her face from his chest where she had been leaning.
Perhaps sensing the movement, Santiago flinched. His firm chest seemed to soften slightly as he lowered his head to look at her.
“We’re here. I’ll find an inn, so stay still for a moment.”
At his words, she obediently rested her cheek against him again.
Before long, Santiago found the only inn in the village, stopped the horse completely, and then lifted Yulania down. He shielded her from the rain as he led her under the roof first.
Then, he tethered the horse outside and strode inside with Yulania. The innkeeper, recognizing the unusual breed of horse, immediately rushed out, bowing deeply.
“Welcome, sir.”
Santiago glanced at him and tossed a gold coin from his pocket. The innkeeper’s eyes widened at the sight of the gold.
“The best room. She is a precious guest.”
At his words, the innkeeper glanced at Yulania, hidden beneath the large cloak, and quickly accepted the gold coin. He seemed curious about her identity, but wisely averted his gaze.
“Yes, yes. I’ll prepare it right away. Please wait a moment.”
Santiago instructed the innkeeper to feed the horse and then turned his attention to Yulania. Though she didn’t show it, she had been subtly convulsing the entire way.
“Are you feeling any better?”
“Yes, much better. Thank you for your concern.”
As expected, she hid her expression, speaking calmly as if nothing were wrong. However, Santiago’s sensitive senses clearly detected the slight tremor in her voice. He didn’t add anything, just frowned.
Soon, the innkeeper returned and led them up the stairs to a room on the top floor. It wasn’t luxurious, but it was a clean room with a separate living room and bedroom.
Santiago first took off Yulania’s soaked cloak and sat her on the bed. Then, he took out tea from the luggage he had brought and handed it to her.
“Even if you can’t drink it, just hold it. You’re cold.”
“…Yes.”
Yulania obediently accepted the cup. The warmth spread through her palms and gradually throughout her body. She hadn’t realized it, but her fingertips had been trembling. She felt the trembling stop as she held the cup.
After letting her rest, Santiago took off his wet clothes, dried his hair with a towel, and stood before her. Seeing him standing so close while she was sitting, Yulania was struck anew by his size. Then, a question full of complaints fell.
“What’s the matter? Do you have some kind of illness I don’t know about?”
“I don’t know either. It’s the first time I’ve ever gotten this carsick.”
Yulania sighed softly as she replied. She was also surprised by the unexpected situation. Santiago already had a tight schedule and now he had even more to worry about.
He roughly dried his hair with a displeased look. Then, he sighed deeply and said,
“Rest today.”
Yulania nodded, put down the teacup, and slowly lay down. Perhaps she had been tensed without realizing it, because lying on the soft bed made her feel like she was sinking to the floor.
Soon, Santiago got into the bed next to her, and the bed swayed. He lay down quietly without any greeting and tried to fall asleep.
It had been a long time since they had slept in the same bed. Even though they weren’t touching, the heat emanating from his large body was transmitted to Yulania. Feeling awkward, she deliberately fixed her gaze on the opposite side. She tossed and turned for a long time, bothered by Santiago lying next to her like a corpse, but eventually succumbed to fatigue and fell into a deep sleep.
Thus, the precarious first day of their journey came to an end.
“…Nia, Yulania.”
“Umm…”
It felt like her body was sinking into water. Yulania barely lifted her heavy eyelids at Santiago’s touch.
“Wake up.”
“Ah…”
Yulania fully woke up at the warmth on her shoulder. When she opened her eyes, Santiago was already dressed in his outdoor clothes, sitting on the edge of the bed.
“We have to go now. Are you not feeling well?”
He asked, looking her up and down with a stern face.
“I’m fine. I’m sorry that the schedule has been delayed because of me.”
Yulania propped herself up on the bed and groggily got up. She still didn’t have much strength, but she couldn’t be a burden any longer.
She absentmindedly reached for the bell to call Vanessa, then realized she wasn’t there.
“Wait here.”
Seeing this, Santiago immediately got up and dashed off somewhere. And before long, he returned with a steaming white towel.
Sitting next to Yulania again, he gently wiped her face with the warm towel. It was the first time he had ever waited on her like this.
Yulania felt the gentle touch and thought it was unexpected. Santiago moved carefully and opened his mouth.
“Can you ride the carriage again?”
“…I’m not confident.”
Just then, his touch stopped, and Yulania replied. She didn’t want to be foolish and pretend to be okay, only to repeat the same thing. Her stomach still churned at the thought of the carriage’s swaying.
However, apart from that, she felt uncomfortable that her condition was holding up the group. Seeing Santiago narrow his brow as if troubled, she continued.
“Is the situation very urgent? I’ll go slowly, so you take the knights and go ahead.”
Then he looked at her with a pathetic look, as if he had heard something absurd, and refused.
“When would you arrive? Escorting you would be difficult. I can’t leave you alone in this remote place.”
“Then—”
“We’ll leave first instead. You’re okay with riding a horse, right?”
Santiago’s words were unexpected. Yulania widened her eyes for a moment and then nodded. Then, suddenly, one thing she was worried about came to mind, and she asked.
“Can the horse keep carrying the weight of two people?”
Santiago scoffed at her sincere concern.
“It won’t make a difference if I put another paper doll like you on it.”
With that, they quickly finished preparing to leave and went out into the dark, gloomy weather. While Yulania was resting, the knights who had followed had arrived in Sorvil.
Santiago strode out into the rain and gave the knights various instructions. It seemed he was telling them to travel with her on horseback.
And just like yesterday, Santiago wrapped Yulania in a cloak and blanket and mounted the horse. The knights, who had finished preparing to depart together, each mounted their own horses and waited for orders.
Santiago, sitting in the highest position, glanced at the knights and winked at two of them.
“Haron, Vihan. You will follow me. The rest will follow Diego’s orders.”
“Yes, Commander.”
The two young knights who had been designated bowed and approached, and Diego stood facing Santiago.
“Be careful!”
And with his cheerful greeting behind them, they set off again into the darkness where the rain was still raging. Yulania held onto Santiago’s firm waist, which swayed rhythmically. It was a much more comfortable position than yesterday.
With Santiago’s horse in the lead, Haron and Vihan followed behind, each carrying luggage bags.
After that, the journey was not much different. The group rode with all their might during the day and found a village before sunset. Each time, Santiago threw down gold coins and slept in the same bed with Yulania without anything happening, and in the morning, she woke up to her husband’s touch.
As the same thing was repeated over and over, and Yulania became so comfortable that she even dozed off on horseback, the temperature dropped sharply. Goosebumps began to rise on her neck, but thanks to Santiago, who had a high body temperature, she was able to move without any further problems.
After running like that for ten days in a row, they finally set foot in the Makari Territory.
