Chapter 81 – Kang Ha-Eun

In mid-June, the warm sunlight was covered by clouds and a cool breeze blew through Kang Ha-eun’s hair.

“I’m late, but I’ve arrived.”

“You worked hard to take care of me.”

I arrived in the city much later than expected because I was watching the grass and small animals swaying in the wind.
The sun had already set, and there stood a gatekeeper who maintained the security of the city and guarded the boundary from the outside.

“Please show me a certificate or plaque that can prove your identity.”

It was a well-policed ​​city, not a rural village, and the gatekeeper asked for my ID.

“Here you are.”

“I checked the mercenary plaque. Who is the woman with you?”

It was inconvenient to show the Grand Duke’s seal whenever he passed through the city, so he made a fake ID.

“Are you okay?”

“It must have been the same mercenary. You can go in.”

Ha-eun Kang, who was holding her breath when she tricked the gatekeeper into entering the city, asked a question mixed with concern.

“Duke-nim, is it okay if I pass through the lie…?”

“Originally, this shouldn’t be the case. But there are a lot of troublesome things to do when you take out the seal of the Grand Duke. Don’t worry and eat first.”

Even after skipping breakfast and lunch and late at night, Kang Ha-eun, on an empty stomach, quietly followed her to the restaurant.
She left her horse at the horse shed next door and entered the dining room, filled with the noise of bustling people.

– Hey! If you can’t drink, do you pay for the alcohol?

– It made me curse…

As the people who gathered to get drunk were having a small talk, Kang Ha-eun was soaked in memories of her on Earth.

“What shall I order for food?”

“I’ll have pork stir-fry with rice.”

I liked Haeun more and more because she didn’t say that anything was fine, but she said exactly what she wanted.

“Then I make stir-fried seafood and share it.”

“Yes, I like it.”

I called the clerk, and Kang Ha-eun looked at the food on the table around her, adding curiosity to her innocent laugh.

“By the way… Archduke, it’s amazing.”

“Yes? What’s interesting?”

“Would you like to order, sir?”

“Ah! Mr. Haeun, I’ll start with the order. I’d like some rice for stir-fried pork and stir-fried seafood.”

The conversation with Kang Ha-eun, which had been paused because of the young female clerk, continued immediately after the clerk took the order and disappeared.

“It was amazing because the Grand Duke is familiar with places and food like this.”

“Because when she goes on an adventure, she goes to all kinds of places. Ha-eun often experienced this kind of atmosphere in college, right?”

“Do you know of a college bar…?”

“I know because Yuna sang. I don’t know the details, but isn’t it a crowded atmosphere?”

With the memories I recalled at one point of her possession and the memories I already have, I was able to fully sympathize with her memories of Ha-eun.

“Yeah, it was mostly like this, although the age group isn’t as diverse as here.”

“Shall we have a drink too? To relieve stress.”

In order to have a drink with a woman who has been dating for two days, it was possible only when complex factors came together.
And those complex elements fit perfectly between Kang Ha-eun and me today.

“Is that so? Today was a little… Difficult, and that’s it.”

Kang Ha-eun ended her bad relationship with Gail and left her village and gladly accepted her suggestion to relieve her stress.

“Guest, the stir-fried pork and seafood you ordered came out!”

Kang Ha-eun talked about how she had been on Earth and what she would do in the grand duke’s family, and so on, and food came out.

“Two cold beers, please. This is a tip.”

“Yes! I’ll bring it to you ASAP!”

Even with a small tip, the young clerk who brought me the food set aside my previous order and went to get the beer I asked for.

“Haeun, why aren’t you eating?”

“If you start with the Grand Duke, I’ll eat too…”

“Don’t argue about that in front of me. It’s rather uncomfortable.”

Kang Ha-eun’s character, which does not like to cause trouble to others, was used in reverse.
When I felt uncomfortable with her formality, Kang Ha-eun forked the pork before I could even eat it.

“Hurry up, Grand Duke. It’s delicious!”

“It looks much nicer.”

“Guest! The beer you ordered is here!!”

The beer arrived at just the right moment, and I put the glass in Kang Ha-eun’s hand.

“Wow… It’s cold…!”

“Beer tastes best when it’s cool. It’s salty.”

– With Char…!

There was the sound of beer glasses clinking and ice moving. Kang Ha-eun and my voice permeated into the hustle and bustle, and the food and beer decreased.

“Haa… All the beers I drank on Earth were bitter and strange, but this one is sweet and delicious…”

“Yes. The beer in this house is exceptionally sweet.”

“Grand Duke, shall we have one more drink…?”

“Yes, I wanted to drink too.”

After stir-fried pork and seafood, I ordered chicken skewers as a snack and ordered beer. A full beer glass was brought back to the table where there were already four empty ones.

“Whoa! Grand Duke, the chicken skewers are delicious, so why don’t you eat them…? Try them!”

As the drunkenness rose, Kang Ha-eun’s tension continued to rise, and I matched it to Kang Ha-eun, who was smiling flawlessly.

“Oh! Is this delicious?”

“Isn’t it? It’s delicious… Eat a lot!”

Kang Ha-eun’s tension, which went up without knowing the end while eating chicken skewers and beer, reached its peak with a game board played nearby.

“Grand Duke! Let’s try that too!”

“It’s a card game. Um… Shall we make a bet?”

Whether you win or lose, just placing a bet on the card game adds one more connection to Kang Ha-eun.

“What are you going to bet on?”

“That’s what the person who won the game decides, and here it is!”

“Yeah!! Did you call?!”

Every time a young lady clerk called to see if we were supposed to take charge of our table, she came up to the table with the same kid.

“You know, bring me one card pack quickly, right?”

“Of course! I’ll bring it right away!”

I secretly inserted a tip into the price of the gut pack, and the clerk brought the card pack within a minute. Empty beer glasses and bowls were removed, leaving only full beer glasses, snack snacks, and cards on the table.

“If the only thing you know how to do is catch thieves and play poker, should we start with catching thieves?”

“Yes, I’m good at catching thieves! Ah! Grand Duke, you can’t use magic!”

“Don’t you believe me?”

“No! I believe, but I believe… I hate losing!”

Even though she was full of innocence, Kang Ha-eun’s fighting spirit was second to none, and her card hand shuffled, taking 10 cards each.

“One game of thief, one game of poker, if we don’t win, I’ll play another game of thief.”

“Hehe… Okay! Let’s do it!”

From the 10 cards Kang Ha-eun took, three pairs of the same card came out, and four cards remained in the hand at once.
It was the first thief catch that I couldn’t figure out until the end, but Seung returned to Kang Ha-eun.

“That’s a triple!”

“I’m a spade flush?”

“Ugh… I only had one spade in my open hand… Catch the thief again!”

After drinking alcohol and playing card games with friends on Earth, Kang Ha-eun’s secret was revealed.
Her bright smile and high-pitched voice were the unique charms of a 20-year-old woman.

“Ha-eun, I’m actually pretty good at catching thieves.”

“Whoa… When the Archduke took a card other than the Joker, I thought she would choke to death…!”

In the last thief catching with Kang Ha-eun, I saw the match with pure expression and luck, and I brought victory.

“It’s a waste… Archduke, what will you do as a reward for victory?”

“Ha-eun, if something difficult happens at the Grand Duke’s house, I want you to tell me right away.”

“… Yes! If there is something difficult, I will definitely tell you!”

I naturally said her wish, and Kang Ha-eun paused her words for a moment before answering with a big nod of her head.

“Okay. Then, stop drinking at this point, Ha-eun, won’t you get drunk?”

From now on, Kang Ha-eun should be able to handle her distraught and flirting, but it was a pity to end her position.

“I did get drunk… But did the Archduke get drunk too?”

“Yes, I’m back, so I’ll take a break.”

She took the cards away and slowly ate the remaining snacks, and Kang Ha-eun’s drunkenness went away to some extent.

“Would it happen now?”

“Haa… The food and beer were so good I ate too much…”

“It looks like I ate too much for the first time in a while. Shall we go for a walk so that we can find an inn and digest our food?”

“Yes! By the way. It takes a long walk to digest everything!”

At the counter, we paid for the food and beer we ate, and the clerk who helped us pay the bill was the same kid until the end.

“Guest, that’s a total of 7 silver coins!!”

7 silver coins, or about 70,000 won in terms of the globe, it was a moderate price for six beers and three snacks, but it was a bit expensive.

“The rest is a tip. Get along.”

“Thank you!! Come again!!”

As she took the tip, she patted the delighted little girl on the head and left her bar.

“Does the Grand Duke like children?”

“Yeah, even though she’s young, she’s so cute that she works hard, so I started taking care of her.”

Giving tips to the clerk at her bar was all a means to increase Kang Ha-eun’s liking.
[Kang Ha-eun’s heart: I’m glad the Grand Duke is a kind person…]

I made a good first impression of Kang Ha-eun, and it didn’t change with just a few words or actions.

“There are a lot of people, so let’s move hand in hand so we don’t lose them.”

“Ah…! Yes, Archduke…”

“Ha-eun, it didn’t matter because the bar was crowded, but from now on, we’ll call it Der.”

“Yeah…?! What do you mean by that?”

“You came in hiding your identity. If Ha-eun needs to call me by my first name, I’ll let you know.”

As she walked down a street full of drunk people and dark but illuminated by streetlights, they looked like a college-age couple.

“Do you have a room?”

“Ew… You’re late. I’m sorry I just left the room.”

It was already the second inn, even though I like walking the streets hand in hand as a college student couple. Perhaps it was because she had been spending too much time at the bar, the inn rooms were all sold out and there were no more available.

“I’m sure it’ll be digested by walking. Aren’t you tired?”

“No. The Grand Duke, who is riding the horse, is more tired than me.”

“Yes, actually, I’m a little tired, so I want to quickly find a room and rest.”

“Grand Duke! There’s another inn over there!”

When I looked tired, Kang Ha-eun moved her eyes busily and found an inn.

“Do you have a room available?”

“Yes, there is. Which room would you like?”

A middle-aged woman was looking at the counter of the inn I found earlier, but a man was watching this inn.
Without Kang Ha-eun’s knowledge, I exchanged glances with the middle-aged man and put a silver coin on her counter.

“Ha-eun, would you like to go to the counter together?”

“What are you doing? Great… Eup!”

“I’m sorry to shut your mouth. Call me by my name from now on.”

“Paha! I see… Der… Mr. Le”

I walked to the counter with Kang Ha-eun and the middle-aged man with whom she exchanged glances said what I wanted.

“I have some problems.”

“Which…”

“It’s only one room, so I have to ask the lady’s opinion… I just corrected it when I did.”

Kang Ha-eun couldn’t even ask if there was really only one room at the man’s high-level acting.

“Haeun, are you okay?”

“Yes…! Der-sama is tired… Go inside quickly!”

The results of steadily increasing her likeability and trust appeared, and Kang Ha-eun decided to spend the night in the same room.