Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 22: A Confession Beneath the Stars
Our wagon left the village and traveled along a road beneath the night sky.
I had been entrusted with driving until morning.
On a long journey like this, the horses generally followed the road themselves while the driver held the reins and watched for trouble. I had little experience with horses, but I took the plunge and volunteered.
I was told that the wagon and harness contained several safety mechanisms in case of an accident. Perhaps that mysterious magic had been worked into them.
After everyone had labored all day to finish the wagon, I was determined to protect their sleep. However…
“Gilbert, you should rest as well.”
Gilbert had spent the entire day cutting timber and watching the children. With a battlefield ahead of him, he needed to conserve his strength.
“No. It would be dangerous to leave a woman alone on the driver’s bench throughout the night.”
He spoke with complete seriousness, then suddenly began behaving strangely. He slapped both cheeks as though to clear his head and sat on the far edge of the bench.
“Ah, well, don’t worry. I don’t have any improper intentions!”
“…! O-of course I know that!”
Somehow understanding his concern, I quietly moved to the opposite edge.
The driver’s bench seated two, but it was surprisingly narrow. Sitting side by side brought us very close. Perhaps it was improper for an unmarried man and woman with no romantic relationship to sit so intimately together at night. My face grew hot.
While I wrestled with that thought, a small window opened in the wall behind us. It connected the driver’s bench to the upper bunk inside, and lamplight spilled through to soften the darkness.
“What are you guys doing? It’s dangerous to sit on the edge like that.”
Barbara rested her cheek against the window frame and looked from one of us to the other.
“I was merely trying to reassure Flora…”
“And I… thought sitting too close might be disrespectful to the person Gilbert loves…”
As we hurriedly offered our explanations at the same time, Barbara laughed.
“The person he loves…?”
“I thought you were single, Gilbert. I’ve known you for years, but I’ve never heard you mention a sweetheart.”
“Ah…”
Gilbert gave a strained smile, then buried his face in his hands.
“You’re handsome enough and have a fine character, so it’s odd that you’ve remained single this long. Don’t you agree, Flora?”
Barbara smiled meaningfully from the window. Gilbert looked up at her with an uneasy smile, then turned to me.
“I have a good reason… There’s a problem with my birth. I’m the illegitimate son of a distinguished noble family.”
“What?! Are you an illegitimate prince?!”
Dolph peered through the little window beside Barbara.
“What? How did you arrive at that? You know who the old man is. He’s a fairly famous aristocrat. You hear stories like mine from time to time. I don’t know whether the former head of the family was drunk or senile, but he made a mistake—and I was born.”
Gilbert began telling me about his life.
“His wife was deeply compassionate. She said the head of the family was at fault, not my mother or me, so she found us and provided for us. Her eldest son—my half brother, who’s much older—especially cared for me. Considering my birth, I think my childhood was remarkably fortunate.”
As he spoke, Gilbert gazed at the stars, his expression gentle as he recalled treasured memories.
“But prominent noble families are troublesome, and some people try to exploit someone born as I was.”
In sharp contrast to his earlier warmth, he sighed at length in irritation.
“I didn’t want to cause my brother trouble. I avoided every frivolous rumor I could, but before I knew it… I had reached this age…”
Sounding deadly serious, Gilbert clutched his head.
“Here, eat this and cheer yourself up…”
“…Would you like to drink some of my treasured wine?”
To cheer him, Barbara produced a small jar of sweets from somewhere while Dolph offered a treasured bottle of liquor. Gilbert looked ready to flee.
“Gilbert, if you can tell all that to someone you’ve known only briefly, why can’t you start calling him ‘brother’?”
Dolph grinned meaningfully while Gilbert’s gaze darted about.
“…Lionel has always complained about that. Perhaps it’s the age difference, or perhaps there’s some other reason, but he says he can never persuade me to call him my brother.”
At those words, all the pieces came together, and I found myself studying Gilbert’s face.
He was behaving strangely again. His usual troubled smile was gone, and his ears were red. He appeared to be hiding his embarrassment.
Just as warmth filled me, the wagon struck something with a great crash and shook so violently that I nearly fell from the bench.
“Flora! That was close!”
Gilbert swiftly caught my arm and pulled me into an embrace, saving me. The moment I recovered from the shock, however, awareness of our position sent heat rushing through me again.
“Oh—sorry…”
“No, no, thank you.”
We hastily separated and straightened ourselves. Now I was behaving strangely as well.
“See, I told you, if you don’t sit properly it’s dangerous.”
“We must have run over a stone. Perhaps I should have installed… safety belts.”
With those words, Dolph and Barbara withdrew.
Once the lively pair had gone to sleep, the night abruptly grew quiet. Only the wagon wheels, the horses’ hoofbeats, and the distant calls of birds and insects accompanied us along the road.
The night breeze felt pleasant against cheeks still burning after the unexpected incident.
“The old woman maneuvered me into telling such an embarrassing story…”
Gilbert muttered awkwardly.
“I’m glad I now understand why you’re going to such lengths to help, Gilbert.”
Gilbert replied with the same smile that seemed to conceal his embarrassment.