Mally dropped the bag of five scorpions on the counter and dragged up the lizard to rest beside it.

“Oh! You completed the quest!” Mirabel said and clapped her hands together. “Good job!”

“Mmf,” Mally replied and slumped against the counter. “I need a bath.”

“Yes, you do,” Mirabel agreed, and Mally looked down at themself. They were a mess. It was going to be a nightmare to clean their clothes. David, Alyssa, and Michael were presumably still in the dungeon, and they wanted to be far, far away from them. It had taken them two days to complete the quest, and they had a good idea of the layout of the dungeon now. It was serpentine and winding, but they had a good judge of the main routes.

“Alright, I’m gonna head home now,” Mally said as Mirabel counted out their payment.

“Yes, go take a bath, and bathe that wolf,” Mirabel said, and Mally looked down at Tuna. She was looking a little dirty. She had rolled in mud on the way back, and that just did not work for a white coat.

“See ya, Mirabel,” Mally said and headed for the door, but Daisy came rushing out, covered in mud, with twigs in her hair.

“Mally!” she cried. “You were gone so long!”

“Hi, Daisy,” they said and resisted the urge to ruffle her hair. “What have you been up to?”

“I’ve been fighting for my life!” she said dramatically, and Mally lifted their eyebrows.

“Oh?”

“I moved up to rank C, and I’ve been trying to kill goblins for the past two days!” she declared, and Mally stared at her blankly. She was already at rank C? What? She wasn’t supposed to move up to rank C for another two months…

“Oh,” they said, a bit stupidly. “Well, why are you doing that on your own? Wait for me. We can handle it tomorrow.”

“Are you sure?” she asked anxiously, and Mally nodded.

“Yeah, I can help you handle it,” they said, and she nodded a few times.

“Good, because I had to run for my life,” she said, looking supremely unbothered by it, but the after-fight jitters were probably going to kick in soon. Mally was briefly concerned that she was going to follow through on this whole adventuring thing, but then again, she was fifteen. It was fine, right? Yeah, it was fine.

“Well, let’s go tomorrow,” Mally said smoothly, fully expecting her to call it all off and not show.

“Okay!” she said, and Mally walked for the doors. Tuna followed along behind them, and they pushed out onto the street and swung astride Rat. Tuna followed behind them as they spurred Rat out into the road, clattering down the cobblestone, and they stretched out, missing the pop of their back. They had something resembling a spine, but it didn’t pop. With a sigh, they rolled out their neck and slumped against Tuna’s neck. They were tired. It had been a long two days in the dungeon, and they wanted a nap. After their bath, of course.

Rat stopped at an apple stall and sniffed at the apples, and Mally sighed and pulled payment of the apples out of their pocket.

“Here,” they said to the vendor and handed him the coins, and took two apples and pushed Rat’s face away. “Knock it off.”

Rat nickered in annoyance, and Mally spurred him on, walking past the stand as the vendor quietly laughed to herself. Honestly, Rat was such an embarrassment. Always stopping at the apple stands. He knew better, and did it anyway. Tuna was much better behaved, except when she rolled in mud and ruined her coat. They continued on through the crowded marketplace, headed back for their house, and looked up at the sky. The sun shone down on their face, and they sighed quietly.

It was a long way back to the house, and Mally spent the primary portion of the time reading a book on Rat’s back, directing him when it was needed. Tuna was happy to pace alongside them, and their thoughts wandered. How had Daisy even managed to level up so fast, anyway? Was she coming after their pace? They said she was a natural, but they could just be saying that. They needed to sit in on one of her trainings. See for themself what was going on, because this was just unbelievable.

They thumbed through the book, and then they looked up. There was a carriage parked outside of their house, and they stared at the Harwith livery on it blankly before they closed their book with a snap and slid off of Rat’s back, leading him back behind the house.

Actually? They were going to take their sweet time, because what even. They slid off Rat’s tack and slowly began to brush him down as Tuna laid down in the hay, bracing her head on her paws. There was a lot of dust mixed in his hair, they thought with a frown. Had he rolled in dirt while he was at the stable? There was a stable outside of the dungeon that took care of the adventurers’ horses, and really, they had let him roll in dust and not wiped him down after? Annoying.

The door to the small stable creaked open, and they looked over their shoulder. Edwin was standing there, studying them with that same annoyed expression on his face, and they turned back to Rat.

“Not really in a place to accept guests. I need to go grocery shopping,” they said as they crouched down to brush down Rat’s back right leg. He was filthy. Would he need a bath again? Probably.

“You saved the Saint again,” Edwin said, and Mally paused. So. This was the male lead getting possessive of his woman. Noted. At least the plot was proceeding well.

“As I was paid to do,” Mally replied and finished brushing down the leg. “Is that a problem?”

“You need to stay away from her,” Edwin said, sounding frustrated, and Mally sighed.

“Why, worried she’s going to fall for a commoner?” they asked as they moved on to the front right leg. “You don’t have to worry about that.”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m worried about,” Edwin snapped, and Mally brushed down the inside of Rat’s leg.

“She wouldn’t fall for someone like me,” Mally said cryptically, and Edwin strode forward into the stable. Tuna let out a low, warning growl, and Edwin paused. “Ignore her. She won’t bite unless I tell her to.”

“I think you underestimate how attractive you are,” Edwin said, and Mally lifted their brows. They knew they were attractive, but it wasn’t like a short, awkward little adventurer with brown hair and brown eyes would be like catnip to the FL. They had never once seen a ML with their coloring, except in BL, and this wasn’t a BL. They knew the signs of romance, and they and Artesia had none of them.

“Are you complimenting me, Edwin?” they asked mildly, and Edwin flushed.

“You need to be more aware of your position,” he snapped, and Mally straightened up before they moved to go around to Rat’s other side. Edwin seized them, slamming them into the post, and Tuna leapt to her feet, growling lowly with her ears pinned back and hackles on full display.

For a long moment, neither of them said anything, Mally barely breathing, Edwin staring down at them, and then Mally let out a breath.

“I am well aware of my position, my lord,” they said carefully. “The world seems intent on reminding me.”

Translation: were you a commoner, I would have kneed you in the dick.

Edwin seemingly became aware of the fact that he had them pinned and released them immediately, and Mally rubbed their sore arms.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to finish brushing down my horse,” they said and turned back to Rat.

“If Artesia offers you another job, refuse it,” Edwin demanded, and Mally laughed in his face.

“You’re not coming between me and my money,” they said, because they couldn’t really refuse the Saint. “And you don’t refuse the church.”

“The church needs to keep her on a leash,” Edwin snapped, and Mally’s eyebrows lifted.

“Wow,” they drawled, liking him less and less for the FL. “It’s because of men like you that I’m here at all.”

Edwin reared back in shock, his face paling, and Mally stared him down. You could practically feel the electricity crackle between the two of them, and Mally studied him like they wanted to pick him apart. They could tear him down, right here and now, but they bit their tongue. They knew everything about Edwin, but they couldn’t help but think about that book delivery. That was proof enough that they didn’t know everything. No, they would keep their mouth shut, but…

“Artesia is grown,” they said, meaning that in more ways than one. “She’s had her debut. Who she chooses to associate with is frankly none of your concern. If she wants to get rough and rowdy with adventurers, that is her business, not yours. Frankly, you’re coming off as a controlling asshole that won’t take no for an answer. It’s not becoming. Do better.”

Edwin was stepping over so many lines of propriety here. He was doing the absolute most for a girl he wasn’t engaged to. If he were engaged, Mally could excuse this egregious break in protocol, but he had absolutely no claims to Artesia. The fact that he was already in love with her was good, but…

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to finish brushing down my horse and give my wolf a bath,” they said and turned back to Rat, proceeding to start brushing off all the dirt and grime that had accumulated while they were in the dungeon for two days. Edwin was still staring at them, and their skin prickled at the attention.

“You speak like you know things of noble customs,” Edwin said, and Mally paused. “Mind your tongue. You know nothing.”

With that, he turned and exited, and Mally let out a breath. Right. They were a commoner. How many times did they have to remind themself of that? Annoying. This entire interaction was annoying.

….

Mally stepped out of the bath, missing showers something fiercely, because they had to drain and refill the tub three times, and wrapped themself in the bathrobe they had picked up before they left for the dungeon. Tuna’s tail steadily started wagging, and Mally frowned at her. They had given her a bath before they took one, anticipating she would make a mess, and she had. She had shaken herself out so many times. Gotten mud all over the bathroom.

With a sigh, they walked past the wet wolf, who got up to follow them, prancing alongside them in excitement, and they patted her on the head.

“Clingy,” they muttered, and climbed down the stairs, headed for the kitchen. A cup of tea sounded nice right about now. They needed to run down to the butcher shop to get dinner for Tuna, but in the meantime, a nice cup of tea.

They filled the kettle from the sink and set it on the stove, and then they got their canister of black tea down. They only had one pan and a pot and a kettle, but it was fine. They were using their boot knife to chop things. In time, they would have more things, but for right now, they were fine.

Seriously. What was Edwin’s problem? He had never acted like that in the manhwa. But, then again, his competition had previously been a prince, and above his station. Mally paused at the thought. Was Edwin really the type to cower before the prince, but throw his weight around with a commoner? They didn’t think so, but once a noble, always a noble.

The thought stung them, and they looked down at the leaves in the canister. Their lips pursed together, and they sighed quietly to themself.

Right.

They were still noble, deep down, weren’t they? No matter how far they tried to run away from it, they were noble. It was an uncomfortable realization, and they wondered if they would ever stop feeling like a noble. Probably not.

Mally took a deep breath in and let it out. That was annoying. They felt downright melancholy now. How frustrating.