Chapter 20: Chapter 19 – Rebound I

Loud and thumping footsteps reverberate in the long hallway. Bright light illuminates the walls through the tall french windows on the side, double-glazed and with thickened pine frames, capable of withstanding the Wilderness winters.

Rosaria is walking down the corridor with a solemn expression and pursed lips. She's wearing a simple, light sundress that barely covers her asscheeks, exposing her white underwear at each step.

With matching pink slippers on her feet, she walks with focused steps while carrying a woven straw basket of laundry. As she marches towards the large door at the end of the hallway, she bites her lip and grumbles every now and then.

Having burst the door open, she finds Xal lightly snoring in bed with an open book over his face. With his plain flaxen shirt and shin-length black trousers, he reminds Rosaria of a poor wheat trader she saw in one of Kingdom's inner towns.

She glares at him in disbelief for a moment before flipping the basket and spilling its contents all over the room.

「Do your laundry yourself, you slouch!」 she shouts.

She then drops the basket on the floor and adds, 「And stop sleeping like that, it's bad manners!」 before turning on her heels and walking out the room while fuming.

The door closes with a loud bang causing the whole room to vibrate and startle Xal awake. The book covering his face falls to the side and reveals his tiredness. With drowsy eyes, he scans the room, noticing the disordered state, and sighs.

「Always such a headache, lousy princess,」 he mumbles as he gets up and starts collecting the clothes back into the basket, finishing up quickly so he can catch up with her outside the door.

「Listen, are you going to stay like this forever? It has been one week!」 Xal exclaims when he finds her rearranging the decorations on the wall inside the common room.

「Don't speak to me,」 Rosaria responds, her voice ice cold.

Xal shakes his head and sighs, 「I already apologized, or is this about the horse she stole?」

He walks closer to her and leans while rubbing his hands with a conciliatory smile, 「Come one, Rosa, we can just buy you a new one...」 he attempts.

「As if you care about that. She never struck me as someone who could do that. How could you let her do it!?」

「Like I said, it's not a problem, you can just find a new one, both horse and woman,」 he says, raising his smile a notch, but it twitches when Rosaria scoffs and strides away from him. At the exit, she turns and glares at him with puffed-up cheeks.

「Do you know how much I had to endure being in that disgusting backwater of a place just to find her? I was even abducted, for goddess' sake, in broad daylight! And even managed to attract someone who is now out to kill me! Are you telling me all of that was for naught!?」

「How is it my fault? I just gave her a choice, and she—」

「Shut up, I don't wanna hear it, you goddamned plebian!」 she declares before exiting the room with heavy steps.

「You can't run away. You know we've got bigger things to worry about,」 Xal shoots back. He waits in the room for a few moments pass before Rosaria's head pops back in the doorway. Her face is fuming red, and her delicate eyebrows are broken into a scowl while she shoots daggers at him.

「Don't you even dare,」 she says, emphasizing each word with a low and gritty voice. 「You're the fool who has been running away ever since we dissolved the party!」

「What!?」

Xal shows her a confused face, his eyebrow and mouth also twitching as if holding back from bursting out.

「There's no way that's true,」 he says while chewing his own words for a moment.

Rosaria's expression turns into one of disbelief before shouting, 「Then what exactly are we doing now?! How long do you think we can keep running away from Hero?! What exactly are we accomplishing right now?!」

Xal approaches her with slow steps while gritting his teeth. He raises his voice and says in a stern tone,

「Hey, if it's the Kingdom you're missing then you're free to go back. The issue with Hero is my problem, not yours. You chose to follow me on your own. If you plan on staying here any longer, you need to start listening to me. You can't—」

Xal pauses when noticing his tone cause Rosaria to wince. He puts on a sullen face and is about to say his apologies but the princess disappears from the doorway before he can do so, with sounds of rushed steps coming from the corridor.

He follows her, exiting the room and turning right, whereupon he spots her standing a few meters away with her fists clutching the hems of her short sundress, back turned against him. Her shoulders are occasionally trembling.

「Wait, Rosa... I didn't mean that. I... I just need more time. You should know how nigh-invincible he is with the protection from the goddess with him. It's not exactly something I can overcome in a short amount of time. I just need you to trust me.」

Rosaria's silence makes Xal take a concerned step, however, after a moment she turns around, revealing a face on the verge of tears. Her voice breaks, and she lets out a single sob.

「Trust you...? How can I when you never tell me anything! I've had enough of it! Of you! Of living in these conditions! Exactly how much time do you require?!」

Xal takes another step, one that is slower and more careful, as if afraid to step into a trap.

「Rosa... just relax, it's the elf you're angry about, right? I know you're tired of this, but-」

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「But what?!」 Rosaria shouts and embraces herself before repeating, 「But what, Xalvari?! You're going to make it up to me? How? I'm a princess you know, I deserve more than this!」

She bites her lip and looks him straight into his eyes, her expression challenging him to come up with a solution to everything, even as he approaches her with a steadfast gaze and attempts to wrap his arms around her waist. She grabs them and squeezes them with enough strength that she could be mistaken for wanting to crush them.

They stare at each other in silence for a few moments, their eyes non-wavering and the bright light revealing their emotions.

「Trust me... I will... but listen... right now, we've got bigger things to take care of,」 Xal declares, accentuating every syllable.

An inaudible gasp escapes Rosaria and thinking he finally got through to her, Xal continues, 「We both know that Nightslayer is still alive. When she decides to come back, we're screwed. There's too much we both don't know. We've got to figure out how to deal with her, and you're going to help me.」

He grabs her shoulders with both hands, and Rosaria, having turned limp, offers no resistance, maintaining the same expression of disbelief while barely standing. She opens and closes her mouth repeatedly unsure of whether she should scream at him or not.

「I really can't believe this...」 finally settling on a soft sobbing voice after a few moments, she looks him in the eye with a despondent face and says 「This... you always do this Xal... I hate it...」

「What? What are you saying? 」 Xal asks with a puzzled face.

Rosaria turns around in silence as if to hide from him.

「 Didn't you just want to be let in on my plans?」 Xal lets out, still confused about her behavior.

The princess' shoulders tremble again and with a crack in her voice, she replies, 「That's not what I meant... Why won't you realize it?」

「What?」he asks again and pauses, 「Did I say something wrong?」

The grandfather clock, many paces down the hallway, strikes half-hour, its bell echoing throughout the mansion. A flock of birds flies past the window, chirping loudly.

When Xal shuffles, the sound of the fabric of his clothes swiping against hers fills the otherwise silent room.

「Rosa... talk to me...」 he pleads close to her cheek, and hugs her from behind.

With a silent sniffle, the princess exhales and relaxes her shoulders before turning around to reveal her face bearing a resolute expression, surprising and confusing Xal even more.

「You're right... We do need to find a way to deal with... Xlara,」 Rosaria admits.

Having given up on trying to understand the woman, Xal lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

「Then—」

「But,」Rosaria leans in closer to him, close enough for her breasts to be squished flat on his chest. 「I want you to let me deal with it on my own, or I will never forgive you.」

「What?!」 Xal blurts out. 「But you almost got killed! What the hell can y—」

「Xal!」

Rosaria hits him on his chest with a stern look. Her eyes are slightly red, remnants of tears in their corners. She stares him down, causing him to flinch.

「Do I need to repeat myself? I said I will only forgive you for letting Percibell go if you let me handle this on my own,」 she declares, accentuating every single word.

Xal rakes his hand through his hair and sighs resignedly.

「Fine, but-」

She puts a finger on his mouth, 「No buts. It's also your turn to trust me」

Another sigh.

「Fine,」 he spits out, slightly annoyed and his hand kneading his forehead as if experiencing a headache.

He closes his eyes but a sudden a warmth overcomes him, together with a sweet smell of expensive hair soap, making him snap them back open.

Peering down, he notices the fine pattern making the crown of Rosaria's blonde hair — she has wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug.

「I'll let... you go... with this...」 she incoherently mutters into his chest.

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