Partially corrected MTL Novel
C81
"Oh, my ears are tickling. Who's talking about me?" Lariette put down her suitcase, sat down, and scratched her ears. It wasn't as soft as a carriage sofa, but it was fortunate that the sensation of sitting wasn't too bad because she had to sit for hours.
"Who dares to talk about you, darling?" Doha said, lifting Lariette's luggage and carefully placing it on the shelf.
It was amusing to see one of her eyes furrow. After arranging his coat, he sat across from his companion. It was a seat in front of the coffee table.
"How long are you going to play this joke?"
"Until I grow old and die, darling," Doha whispered harshly, and Lariette shook her head as if she couldn't stop him. Once she pretended to be his partner, and it was she who kept calling him 'darling.' She had certainly grown accustomed to his handsome face. When she sees a cute and clever guy making jokes, it doesn't bother her.
"How many minutes do we have left? Five minutes?"
"Five minutes? Why? Are you nervous?"
"Yes, a little..." Lariette replied honestly.
It was her first time taking a train. First of all, it was because she had rarely left the capital until a few months ago.
The first experience she had was visiting the Blanche estate, and at that time, she was in a carriage, so she wasn't impressed.
"How fast will it move?"
She couldn't imagine it at all. Even when she saw the train approaching before boarding, she opened her mouth in awe of that speed. What would it be like to experience it in person? Her heart jumped with anticipation.
Thump, thump <.
With her eyes wide open, Lariette looked out the window with a smile on her face. Doha thought she was so cute because she was nervous about it.
"It's too fast, so you might get motion sickness. You'll be dizzy and nauseous."
"Really? Is it that bad? What if I vomit?" Lariette was surprised and anxious. And that was just the beginning of the journey.
"Don't worry. You can take motion sickness medication when you feel nauseous," Doha reassured her, so he called the crew to buy a bottle of water and medication. He seemed quite competent.
Lariette asked, admiring his appearance.
"Don't you need anything for yourself?"
"I've been on it, so I'm fine..."
"Well, I see. That's great, Doha."
"Not so much," Doha shrugged and said it was nothing. It was childish even if he thought he was in a good mood for this compliment. "If it's difficult to take medication, I'll cure you, miss."
"Yes, thank you."
Soon, the horn sounded to announce the train's departure. Lariette was nervous and pressed her back against the seat.
"She's cute."
With Doha's thought in mind, the train quickly started moving. The speed increased again and again. In a feverish mood, Lariette tightly closed her eyes.
She waited for a minute. After a while, she opened her eyes and looked out the window—the scenery around her was passing by very quickly. She smiled happily, thinking that she was more accustomed to the train than she thought. Then she turned her gaze to Doha. She was going to show off, but he had his head on the table.
"...Doha?"
"...," Doha didn't respond. He couldn't. He felt so sick that he couldn't open his mouth.
"Doha, are you sick?" However, she couldn't allow her image to be ruined like this. She replied with a cheerful voice.
"No, not at all."
"But why can't you lift your head?"
"It's because I'm sleepy," it was an unconvincing excuse.
An uncomfortable silence hung between them. Lariette handed water and medicine to Doha without saying a word. He had only bought one. In the end, he stopped being stubborn and silently took the medicine. Lariette's shoulders shook as she watched his hesitant gaze.
"...Just laugh out loud."
"Hahaha. You pretended to be cool! Hahaha."
"No, don't laugh, I think you're laughing too much," Doha's face turned red.
"Hahahaha, if you work hard, I'll cure you, sir! Hahaha."
"Don't laugh."
"Hahaha."
Lariette now mocked him without caring about what he said. Doha couldn't bear it anymore and covered her mouth with his own hands, but he couldn't prevent the laughter from escaping through his fingers.
"Hmp! Eu, eu."
Lariette made a sound and indicated for him to release her hand. But Doha squinted his eyes to see if he could trust her. She tried pulling him with her hands, but he didn't budge. He was a man who looked weak but unexpectedly strong.
"Then I'll let him remove it himself."
Lariette looked at Doha mischievously. The moment she raised her eyebrows to see what he was trying to do, something wet and soft touched her hand. He had licked her hand.
"What?! What are you doing?" Doha startled, removed his hands, and bit his lips. Rarely, he made a loud sound.
"I told you to remove them!"
"No matter how much..."
"How can a man lick someone's hand?"
He couldn't even spit it out, it was embarrassing.
"Hahaha. Your face is tomato red!" Lariette mocked his red face, unaware of Doha's thoughts. It was a voice without any shame.
"Miss, are you five years old? Even five-year-olds wouldn't play like this!"
"I won't lie and say I'm not sick even if I'm five years old!"
"...Just shut up," then he realized it was a fight he couldn't win.
It took Lariette a long time to calm down. She was so excited because it was the first time she had seen Doha embarrassed.
She had been depressed in the morning and wrote a letter to Asrahan, but she couldn't believe that after just a few hours, she laughed so much.
"Are you okay...?" Lariette cast a purification spell to completely cure Doha's dizziness. Then he responded with a bitter look.
"No, I'm not okay."
"Still not? You have severe motion sickness," she approached with a worried look on her face.
She wanted to use healing magic again. As soon as her fingers were about to touch his shoulders, Doha took her hand. Then he gently pulled it away and brought it close to his chest. He continued in a soft voice.
"I'm not dizzy, my heart hurts," he didn't miss this opportunity to make a scene. Lariette was surprised by the hard muscles touching the tips of her fingers and clenched her fist. Then she punched his chest without hesitation. "Ouch!"
"Are you still sick?"
"Can you cure me more?" he added kindly. Of course, the treatment he was talking about here was the punch. His face with a gentle and curving smile was quite scary. Doha didn't want any more, so he tried with all his might. "Let's stop joking and make a plan, Rie."
Doha took out a map and a notebook from his luggage and placed them on the table. The notebook was quite worn out because he had been researching the West in advance. Of course, Joshua did it.
"Do you know anything about the West?"
"Actually, I don't."
"Well, I'll explain the most famous places to you," Doha began explaining, pointing at the map with his finger. "There are three famous cities in the West. The coastal city of Fusian, the midland city Alphina, and the desert city Astar."
"Yes."
"This train passes through Fusian and several small towns until it reaches Media. There are many things to see in Fusian, and Media is mainly a natural landscape. Usually, travelers get off at Fusian and explore the city. Both are large cities, so it will take some time to see them all."
Doha thought it wouldn't be bad even if it took a long time because he was with Lariette. No, he thought it would be better. It was like a honeymoon. But she shook her head firmly. It meant that she couldn't go everywhere. Doha bitterly laughed, as if he was expecting this.
"Where do you want to go more? Fusian? Media?"
"I..." Lariette smiled at the map. There was no need to worry for a long time; she had already decided where she wanted to go the most. "Astar."
"...The desert city?"
"Yes, the desert city of Astar," Lariette's eyes sparkled with anticipation. A desert. It was a truly fascinating terrain for her, who was only in the capital.
"I'm also very curious about that place, but... I don't think it's going to be easy."
"Why? Why not?"
"Why? Why not?"
Doha subtly smiled at her insistence. He was more curious to know why she wanted to go there. The desert city of Astar. It was a place famous for its mystical beauty. But more famous than that was the nickname of the desert surrounding the city—it was the "desert of death." The climate there was not easy to adapt to, even for those familiar with the desert. The scorching heat burned the flesh, and sometimes sandstorms carried people away.
Furthermore, there were roaming monsters and venomous scorpions. Did she want to face that danger and go to Astar? It was something crazy. Of course. Doha felt like he was going to die because her madness was quite amusing.
"It's a time of strong sandstorms. If you enter now, the wind will carry you away, and you'll die. Even if you manage to cross the desert and reach Astar, they might not let you in."
"Perhaps I won't be able to enter?"
"Yes, Astar is less accessible from the capital because it falls under the strong power of the Lord. I heard that the city itself is like a small kingdom. Without the Lord's permission, access is quite complicated."
Lariette's expression quickly turned gloomy. She definitely wanted to go there, but if it was so difficult, she thought she had to give up. She couldn't die before returning to Asrahan and apologizing properly.
"I see... then, without regret, let's abandon that idea. I think the coastal city would be very enjoyable too."
"Sure, that's fine. I had some business in that direction."
"Work? What kind?" Lariette tilted her head and asked. She was surprised to think that he followed her without much thought, but he seemed to have something to do. Doha slowly responded with a forced smile.
"I have someone to watch over," when he remembered, he felt bad again. Doha quickly followed up with other questions. "Alright. Now that we've set our course, let me sleep. I'm sleepy."
"Oh, you didn't sleep well because I was sick," Lariette raised her eyebrow pitifully and looked at Doha. She felt bad for causing them trouble. He even thought it was cute to see her looking at him and shrugged his shoulders once. She was very attractive with her playful smile.
"Yes, sweetheart. I couldn't sleep because I was thinking about you."
"Oh! It's that again!"
"Why are you getting excited?"
Doha actually smiled at her with his eyes and curved the corner of his mouth. A man walking down the aisle saw it and grabbed his chest. A woman sitting on the other side of the street drooled. There were a series of victims of excessive appearances. However, Lariette, who was attacked right in front of her, was fine.
"What's exciting? I don't think it's right to sleep with Doha in the same bed," it was a bit exaggerated, but she really felt comfortable now.
He was a friend and a mentor who helped her in any situation. She also aimed to repay his kindness someday.
Doha didn't feel like a man at all to Lariette. Although she had separated from Asrahan, her heart still beat for him. Doha, who had never been with a woman before, glared at Lariette. He wanted to close that mouth that had been teasing him for hours.
"If I block it with something other than my hand, it would be perfect for licking."
When the thought of his tongue touching the palm of his hand came to mind, the forced desire left his head. Doha sighed and ran his hands over his face. He felt guilty for thinking lasciviously with her in front of him. It was a truly inappropriate feeling for him.
"Get some sleep, you must be tired too."
"Yes, I understand. Goodnight, Doha."
"Goodnight, Rie."
After bidding farewell, they slowly closed their eyes. Both of them didn't sleep well during the night, so they quickly fell into a deep sleep.
---------------
Lariette and Doha slept soundly. When they opened their eyes, they had already arrived at the next station in Fusian. They hurriedly bought a one-way train ticket to Fusian, and they were so hungry that they missed a train in front of them while eating bread and boarded the last car. It wasn't until nightfall that they were able to reach Fusian.
"It's so... so difficult..."
It would have been easier to help with agriculture in Utah. She was sitting on a train, but her stamina was worse than she thought. To make matters worse, she couldn't even see a carriage for rent. In other words, they had to search for accommodation where they didn't know where it was and buy it in this big city.
"There must be an inn around the train station. It's too late, so let's stay nearby for a day, even if it's a bit old."
"It's okay if it's old. When I was in Utah, I slept in a warehouse room."
"I'm not going to make you sleep in a place like that."
Doha responded firmly and picked up his luggage. It was he who took the lead and searched for an inn. Contrary to expectations, there weren't many inns around the train station. Only two were left. Unfortunately, there were no available rooms in the first inn. Lariette swallowed her tears and headed to the next inn. However, even there, the woman seemed embarrassed.
"Oh, my God. What do I do? There are no more rooms..."
"No! Tell me it's not true!" Lariette was anxious about it. She couldn't go out again and wander the streets at that moment.
"Please. My lady is very tired. What can I do?"
Doha smiled with a beautiful face and slid the silver coins. In her heart, Lariette cheered him on enthusiastically for his beauty and bribery. After checking the amount, the worker took a silver coin and pocketed it. She then welcomed the guests with a bright smile.
"It's not supposed to be like this, but some of the rooms are empty. Follow me."
"Doha is the best! His face is the best! Money is the best!" Lariette whispered with joy. However, it was a room of a size she never thought she would find, while running like a foal enjoying its sugar cubes. There was a double bed.
"You're lucky there's only this room left. So, rest!" the worker laughed and closed the door, thinking the young couple looked very good together.
Tags:
ITDHL (Novel)