90話 男たちの帰還
立勇が海賊退治に同行して、時間がだいぶ経った。
この頃になると雨妹は、いつもいる人間がいなくなると妙に居心地が悪くなるものなのだな、と実感していた。
なにせ百花宮にいる時と違って、ここでは立勇と一緒にいる時間が長い。
それまでの雨妹は基本、個人行動で好きにやっていた。
これが一転して立勇がまるでお目付け役のごとく一緒なのを、ちょっと鬱陶しくも思っていたのだが。
その鬱陶しい存在が無くなると、解放感よりもむしろ喪失感があるとは、人とは不思議なものである。
そしてその喪失感の元である立勇の乗った船が、港に戻って来たと屋敷に連絡が入った。
――立勇様、無事かな?
雨妹とて薄情ではないので、それなりに心配もする。
しかしその心労で眠れない日々が続いたかというと、そうでもなく。
雨妹はいつでもどこでもどんな状況でも、枕が変わっても爆睡できるのが自慢だったりする。
そんなうっすらとした心配でも、いよいよとなれば早く無事な姿を見て安心したくなる。
けれど雨妹は立勇自身から、「自分が戻るまで、決して屋敷の外へ出るな」ときつく言い含められており。
ゆえに立勇を出迎えに港へ行くことはしないでおいて、屋敷で帰りを待つことにした。
そんな雨妹の一方で、ずっとソワソワしているのが潘公主である。
夜もよく眠れないようで、目元に薄い隈ができている。
しかしこの潘公主も安全面への配慮で、港への出迎えはできない。
船が港へ着いたと聞いた時からずっと、玄関前をぐるぐると歩き回って待っている潘公主は、まるで日本の動物園の熊みたいだ。
雨妹もそんな潘公主へ付き合って、玄関前での待機である。
そんな若干の温度差のある二人が待つこと、しばし。
道の向こうに、こちらに向かって歩いて来る一団がようやく見えた。
――お、帰って来たかな?
先頭の方に利民の姿が確かに見えるが、その中に立勇がいるかどうかまで見てとれない。
これまではなんともなかった雨妹だったが、急に不安に襲われた。
――もし、大怪我をしていたらどうしよう?
そうであった場合、あらかじめ用意してある雨妹お手製救急箱を持ってきて、治療現場に突撃だ。
屋敷から出ることになるだろうが、そこは目をつぶってもらうことにして。
万が一、死亡していた場合......きちんと弔いをしてもらい、太子に遺髪を持って帰ろう。
雨妹はそんな予測を脳内で想定していると。
「お帰りなさいませ、利民様!」
潘公主の声が響いて、利民が屋敷の門をくぐったのが見えた。
利民をざっと見たところ、一応着替えたらしく返り血などは見られないけれど、血の匂いが仄かに臭っている。
船の上では体を洗うための水があまり使えなかったのだろう。
それでも屋敷に戻る前に街で整えてもよさそうなものを、帰るのを優先させたのか。
「只今戻りました、成果は上々で......あーくそ、面倒クセぇ!」
利民は丁寧な言葉遣いで挨拶をしようとしたが、興奮のせいか、上手く言葉が出てこなかったらしい。
「喜べ公主さんよ、俺らの勝ちだ!」
地の言葉でそう告げた利民が、潘公主の両脇に手を差し込んで高く上げた。
この乱暴な挨拶の仕方に、潘公主は一瞬驚いたものの。
これから佳の民も安心して過ごせますわね」
にこりと笑みを浮かべてそう応じた。
「......おう」
地の自分に反発が無かったことに、利民は戸惑いつつも嬉しそうだ。
――この夫婦、大丈夫そうかな?
雨妹が微笑ましい気持ちで、二人を眺めていると。
「雨妹よ、お前さっきから見ていると年寄り臭いぞ」
そんな声がいて、横を見ると立勇がいた。
「あ、生きてた」
雨妹の口から思わず零れ出た言葉に、立勇がギロリと睨んでくる。
「なんだ、死んでいてほしかったか?」
「いえいえ、様々な可能性について考察をしていただけですので」
雨妹はそう応じながら、立勇をざっと観察する。
――見たところ、怪我をしていそうではなし。
「立勇様、ちょっとあのあたりまで歩いてください」
雨妹の唐突なお願いに、立勇は眉をひそめる。
「何故だ?」
雨妹が引かないことを感じ取ったのか、立勇は黙って言われた所まで歩いて、また戻って来た。
歩く姿に違和感も感じられず、骨折などもないようで、まずは一安心する。
「どうやら健康体のようですね。
「なるほど、分かりにくいな、お前は」
雨妹がニコリと笑顔でそう告げると、立勇がため息を吐いた。
――分かりにくいとは何事か!
無事を喜ぶ前に、本当に無事なのかを確かめるのは常識ではないか。
けれどそれはともかくとして。
「立勇様、妙に綺麗ですね?」
そう、立勇は多少汗臭くはあるものの、鎧に傷や返り血のようなものが見られない。
――後方支援の係だったとか?
戦いに実際に参加せずとも、やることは色々あるかと思っていると。
「あの程度の相手で血を浴びるなど、新兵ではあるまいに」
立勇がちょっとしかめ面でそう言う。どうやら雨妹の指摘は、立勇的には嫌味ともとれる意見だったようだ。
「それは、失礼しました」
雨妹は素直に謝る。
それにしても、切ったはったをやってこれだけ身綺麗となると、この男はひょっとして、かなり強い部類の武人なのではなかろうか?
――手術でも、腕のいい医師は出血が少ないものだしね。
太子は、そんなエラい人間を雨妹と残してしまって、本当によかったのだろうか?
Chapter 90
A long time passed since Li Yong left to join the pirate extermination.
Yui Mei realized that it could be quite uncomfortable when a person that had been constantly with her was gone.
They spend a lot of time together as compared to when they were in the Hundred Blossom Palace, after all.
Yui Mei had basically done everything the way she wanted to on her own.
That's why when Li Yong entered the picture, she felt a bit irritated because she felt she was being chaperoned.
However, when the irritating existence disappeared, what she felt was a sense of loss rather than a feeling of liberation.
Finally, word came that the boat that carried Li Yong, who was the root of all those feelings, had entered the harbor.
'Lord Li Yong, are you safe?'
Yui Mei was not a cold-hearted person, so of course she was also worried about him.
However, it didn't mean that she spent sleepless nights tossing and turning while thinking of him, though.
One of Yui Mei's pride was her ability to sleep like a log through the night, wherever and whatever situation she might be in.
Still, she thought that it would be better if she saw that he was safe in person, so that this faint uneasiness would also settle, too.
However, Li Yong had explicitly instructed her to 'Never ever leave the mansion until I return'.
Since she could not go to the harbor to meet him, she decided to just wait patiently inside the mansion.
On the other hand, Princess Pan's anxiety levels shot up.
Dark circles surrounded her eyes because she couldn't sleep well at night.
Unfortunately, the princess couldn't go to the harbor for security reasons, regardless of how much she wanted to.
Thus, she had been pacing restlessly at the entrance of the mansion since the news came, and she actually looked like a bear in the zoo.
Yui Mei accompanied her, and she also waited at the same place.
Both of them waited, although their enthusiasm differed for a bit.
They could see a group of people down the road, and they were headed towards the mansion.
'Oh, they're back?'
Li Min's figure was very obvious since he was leading the group, but Yui Mei couldn't confirm whether Li Yong was with them.
She had been relaxed before, but she suddenly felt a rush of uneasiness.
'What will I do if he's severely wounded?'
She already prepared a medical kit beforehand as a precaution, but she decided that she would immediately dash towards him to treat him.
She would leave the mansion in that case, but he just had to turn a blind eye in that case.
And in the worst case scenario, a one-in-a-million chance, that he died.............she would ask for a proper burial, and she would definitely take part of his hair and bring it back to the crown prince.
Such thoughts swirled inside Yui Mei's head.
"Welcome home, Lord Li Min!"
Princess Pan's voice resounded, and Yui Mei saw Li Min as he passed through the entrance.
Li Min didn't have a trace of blood, either from him or splashed from his enemies, so he must have changed his clothes, but the scent of blood faintly wafted.
He probably didn't have enough water to wash his body on the ship.
Still, he prioritized going back to the mansion right away, instead of stopping at the city to fix himself.
"Indeed, I have returned, and we have achieved the fruits of our labor.... Ugh!! So troublesome!!"
Li Min greeted her with formal words, but he was fumbling and the words didn't come out properly, probably due to his excitement.
"Congrats to us, Lady Princess, we won!"
Li Min grabbed Princess Pan's shoulders and he excitedly shouted in his own dialect.
Princess Pan was stupefied for a moment because of the rough greeting. Still --
"How marvelous! All the people of Kai will be able to live in peace."
The princess sweetly smiled.
"...Yeah."
Li Min was also dumbfounded when the princess didn't have any trace of revulsion at his crudeness, but he was very happy.
'Looks like this couple is okay, right?'
Yui Mei felt pleasantly warm as she gazed at the two of them.
"Hey, Yui Mei, I've been watching you for a while now, and you're acting like a geezer."
Yui Mei spun around when she heard that voice, and Li Yong was standing right beside her.
"Ah, you're alive!"
Those words unwittingly spilled from her mouth. Li Yong glared at her.
"What, you wanted me to die?"
"No, no way, I was just thinking about all the possibilities."
Yui Mei retorted, then she promptly inspected him all over.
'He doesn't seem to be injured, judging from his appearance.'
"Lord Li Yong, please walk over there, just to that spot."
Li Yong raised his brow at Yui Mei's abrupt request.
"Why?"
Li Yong sensed that Yui Mei was keeping something from him, so he wordlessly strode towards the place that she pointed out and returned to her side afterward.
She was relieved to see that there were no abnormalities in his gait, and he didn't seem to have broken any bones.
"Great, you seem perfectly healthy to me. Alright, let me do this over again. Welcome back, Lord Li Yong."
"Ahh, I see now. You're so hard to read."
Yui Mei beamed at him, and Li Yong lightly sighed.
'What's so hard about that!?'
Wasn't it common sense to check first if the person in question was truly alright, before congratulating him?
Well, she set that aside for now.
"Li Yong, strange, you look so clean."
Indeed, Li Yong did smell of sweat, but his armour didn't even have any trace of gash or blood.
'Was he part of the logistical support or something?'
There were still a lot of things to do even if he didn't participate in the battle.
"Heh, don't pair me with those noobs who get splashed with blood with that level of enemy."
Li Yong looked a bit offended as he retorted. He probably thought that Yui Mei was being sarcastic when she pointed that out.
"Sorry, that was rude of me."
Yui Mei honestly apologized.
Maybe this guy belonged to the high-caliber, powerful soldiers?
'Like those highly skillful surgeons who can operate with minimal bleeding.'
Was it really okay that the crown prince left such an excellent human behind with her?
Housekeeper of the Hundred Blossom Palace
百花宮のお掃除係～転生した新米宮女、後宮のお悩み解決します。
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/housekeeper-of-the-hundred-blossom-palace/
Fantasy Romance Shoujo Slice of Life
Adapted to Manga Ancient China Complex Family Relationships Different Social Status Female Protagonist Imperial Harem Love Interest Falls in Love First Reincarnated in Another World Royalty
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n4104ev/
黒辺あゆみ