Unexpected encounter is also a chance (part 6)

"Npshh!"

The horse shook its head and dug into the soft ground with its front hoof and neighed, getting the attention away from the shaken teenager.

"Well, I didn't expect to pick up another person either. It changes nothing except the weight of your cargo."

"?!?!"

Medea faced the horse and scoffed back at the animal, making the pale-blond-haired boy's eyes go wide.

"You will not tell me now that you won't be able to carry this beansprout. He weights close to nothing - when I was rushing back here, it felt like I was pulling a kite."

Medea added, lifting the hand he was holding the boy with as if it was proof of some sort.

"Nnhnhhpshh!"

"That's more like it."

The horse kicked the ground once more before throwing its head up and neighing proudly, making the black-haired man nod with approval.

"... you're getting in front..."

"Eh?! Ah! O-okay...!"

Medea approached the animal and pulled the boy along before informing him, which caused the youth to first gasp in shock just to flinch and realize before agreeing.

"..."

Medea raised his brow when the second prince didn't even mention the lack of a proper saddle or the coloration of the horse that looked like a farm animal through and through at first glance.

For a second, it looked like Medea was going to ask about something, but he changed his mind and tapped the horse's sides with his heels.

Once again, the animal proved to be far smarter and aware of the situation than most people and didn't throw itself straight into a gallop but instead moved slowly and carefully all the way to the distance that Medea originally made it slow down.

And then, out of hearing distance for anyone near warehouses...

*THUMP*

"KYAAH!"

"..."

The horse kicked off the ground, accelerating to such ridiculous speed that the pale-blond-haired youth buffeted by the wind pressure let out a high-pitched scream and turned around to grab onto the silent black-haired man.

The added weight did matter after all; the same distance that took the spotted horse twenty minutes with just Medea ended up taking twenty-five minutes with the second passenger – and this time, the animal was visibly tired as the black-haired man led it back to the stable he stole it from.

"Good job... you do know that you didn't have to try to match your earlier speed, though, right?"

"Pshh..."

Medea patted the animal's neck and said while closing the gate to the barn – which earned him an annoyed neigh from the grumpy horse lowering its head towards the bucket with water.

"... it's kind of an odd place to stay for a noble while there is a really famous inn in this village..."

The pale-blond-haired boy walking weirdly because of the pain in his thighs pointed out at the simple village house after trying to wiggle his hand out of Medea's grip – unsuccessfully, of course.

"Indeed. Young lady Zorivia would not stay in this place."

The black-haired man nodded while leading the youth toward the inn they mentioned.

"Wait..."

The boy realized that something was off and looked over his shoulder at the house and barn that was already out of sight.

"But why do you leave your horse there...?"

He asked in confusion, waddling after the slightly inconvenienced man.

"That animal doesn't belong to the Rotteloss family or me, their humble servant."

"...eh...?"

Medea answered with a shrug, shocking the boy.

"But then... you... eh...?"

"..."

The youngster pointed his finger at Medea and then behind towards the direction they came from and asked in disbelief but got no answer at all.

At first, Medea was keeping a brisk pace, but the closer to the inn he was, the slower he was moving. It was not connected to the youth he was pulling along – even though the pale-blond-haired teenager did seem to be barely dragging his feet as the adrenaline level in his blood returned to normal, and the exhaustion hit like a truck.

"...fuck..." *thump*

"Omfh...?!"

All of a sudden, Medea stopped in place, and the dark-blond-haired youth bumped into his shoulder because of his focus slipping.

"Eh? Wh-what's going on? D-don't tell me that the comrades of the thugs you killed are waiting in ambush?!"

The pale-blond-haired youth flinched and shook off the sleepiness that was cloudling his vision before asking, cautiously tensing up.

Medea turned around and leaned towards the boy conspicuously and pulled on his hand so he would get closer.

"We seem to be in big trouble. I need you to do exactly what I will tell you. Understand, Charlotte?"

"Y-yes!"

The black-haired man whispered in a tense voice, causing the supposed second prince to clench their fists and nod while scared to even imagine the potential problem.

It was enough for Medea to piece together the whole story and most likely a few more additional details that the girl dressed up as the second prince didn't think about.

"..."

Medea leaned back, staring into the starry sky. It was getting so late that it could be considered early, but it was still long before dawn.

"Mister? What am I supposed to be... doing..."

The girl stared at him in confusion and spoke up... just for her face to turn pale once she realized what a rookie mistake she made.

"..."

"..."

The two of them stayed in silence for a few minutes – for Medea, that wasn't something particularly unusual, but the pale-blond-haired girl dressed up in the second prince's clothes seemed to be falling into despair.

"...Mister... by any chance, do you know my name because of my older brother...?"

Since she knew she was in deep trouble – possibly life-threatening one – Charlotte seemed to come to a decision that things couldn't get worse for her and asked.

"You and the second prince used the coincidental similarity between the two of you and swapped clothes. In best case scenario... for you, Charlotte... you did that because you agreed that the less important hostage would have an easier time escaping – but things didn't work out like that as both of you were supposed to die from the start."

Medea didn't entertain her question and instead said out loud what he figured out.

"So in that barrel, it was his highness the second prince James Allworths..."

"..."

He sighed while the girl lowered her head biting her lips.