Rejected by Daughter’s Second Male Lead Chapter 86

For this many people, other ordinary inns would debate whether or not to even charge 2 gold, yet this inn, with the worst facilities imaginable, was charging twice that. The Knight Commander was incensed, as if he had been insulted. In fact, it was an insult. How dare they try to rip off people from Duke Blake.

“Oh, my, my, what is the matter, sir. This is our inn’s original lodging fee. One of the principles my late husband established was to never lower the price of a room…”

I had a feeling that her supposedly dead husband must have been no ordinary person either. Gillen laughed out loud and slapped the Knight Commander’s back.

“It’s fine, it’s fine! Pay the 4 gold. She must be more excited since it’s been a while since she’s had guests. Let’s not raise our voices and just let it go.”

When Gillen spoke in his good-natured way, the Knight Commander reluctantly bowed his head. However, before the Knight Commander could pay, Yuan snapped his thumb and middle finger.

Clink.

At the same time, four gold coins appeared on the dusty counter. Everyone’s eyes went wide. The old woman’s jaw dropped so low it looked like it would fall off.

“I told you. I will pay for all the travel expenses.”

Yuan said, glancing at Gillen, then ordered the old woman.

“Show our ‘married couple’ to our room.”

“Oh my, yes, yes.”

The old woman excitedly swept the gold coins with the side of her hand and put them into her pocket. Then, with unbelievably quick speed, she came out from behind the counter and limped up the stairs. She was just like a machine that starts moving as soon as a coin is inserted.

The Knight Commander, still glaring at the old woman with a look of disdain, followed closely behind Gillen, but Gillen just found the old woman amusing. He had always been the type to have a high tolerance for people others would find uncomfortable or dislike. Come to think of it, he felt that it was thanks to that personality that he and Yuan had ended up in this kind of relationship.

Gillen suppressed a laugh and watched Yuan’s back and buttocks as he went up ahead. But when he saw the broad, straight back and the firm, high buttocks before his eyes, his amusement naturally faded.

Gulp. Gillen swallowed. Perhaps because the thought that he might like Yuan too had briefly crossed his mind earlier, he felt strangely tense.

He tore his eyes away from Yuan’s firm buttocks and fixed his gaze on the tips of his own feet. Now that he looked, he saw that many of the wooden planks on the stairs were rotting, so he had to watch his step carefully.

“Yuan, be careful on the stairs.”

Oops. Gillen had spoken to Yuan unconsciously. Of course, Yuan replied, “Yes,” without a second thought, but Gillen was a little shocked with himself.

Am I this strongly conscious and concerned about Yuan? To the point that the moment I think I should be careful on the stairs, I warn Yuan about it?

It was a very bewildering development. Gillen bit his lip and climbed the rest of the stairs.

The old woman groaned, “Oof, oof,” and opened the door to what she claimed was the largest room.

“This is the room where you masters, the married couple, will be staying. Believe it or not, it’s the best room in our inn. Once upon a time, even Marquis Plaple stayed here.”

The Plaples were a family that had fallen 50 years ago due to political infighting between the direct and collateral lines. Was this inn a bit cleaner 50 years ago? Was it considered a new building then? Gillen smiled and looked around the room. His head had been aching because of Yuan, so he was actually glad and grateful that the old woman was distracting him.

However, the state of the room was a sight to behold. Gillen blinked his dazed eyes, and Yuan let out a scoff beside him. Behind them, the Knight Commander drew his sword once again.

“Have you ever seen such an outrageous person! How can this be the largest and best room in this inn! Bring out a better room at once!”

This time, even Gillen couldn’t immediately stop the Knight Commander. And for good reason; the room was very small, and all it contained was a single queen-sized bed and a nightstand covered in blackish, sticky stains.

The carpet on the floor had frayed edges and was riddled with burn holes in several places. It was a sight that couldn’t be explained unless someone had smoked about 50 cigarettes at once and stubbed them out on the carpet, or perhaps played with fire here. Of course, there were large cobwebs in every corner of the walls, and one of the windows was broken and sloppily covered with newspaper.

Gillen took a deep breath, then calmly asked the old woman.

“Is this really the largest room?”

At that, the old woman clasped her hands together with a sincere expression and shouted.

“Of course! The bed is bigger than in the other rooms! And there’s only one bed.”

“Th-then what on earth are the other rooms like?”

“The other rooms are similar in size, but they have three bunk beds crammed together. If you would prefer that room—”

“N-no. No, we don’t.”

So this inn… was something like a super low-budget guesthouse in the Moore Empire. But with poor facilities and a high price. Then couldn’t it not be called a super low-budget guesthouse?

Gillen got his stream of consciousness under control and nodded as if satisfied. Yuan seemed to want to say something too, but after hearing about the state of the other rooms, he kept his mouth firmly shut. The sound of the Knight Commander’s sword dropping with a thud could be heard from behind. He must be terrified of the room he would soon see.

Gillen, with his usual good-natured smile, sent the old woman and the others out. The door closed, and from outside, the old woman’s voice introducing the next room could be heard, along with the sound of the Knight Commander drawing his sword once more, shouting, “This can’t be real! Will you not show me the real room!”

“…We were the lucky ones.”

“We’re benefiting from the class system.”

Yuan retorted caustically. He sighed, then mumbled a language he had never heard before under his breath. Soon, a silver breeze began to swirl inside the room. The wind was not threatening, but wherever it swept past, it left a sparkling sheen. The cobwebs, the broken window, the insect carcasses, and the hole-ridden carpet all disappeared completely.

“Wh-what is this?”

“Cleaning magic.”

Yuan said, unimpressed. The wind was now passing over the bed and sweeping across the ceiling. A moment later, when the wind died down, a room that was shining and clean, incomparably so to before, was revealed.

“You can do things like this too?”

“It’s a basic function installed even in my household’s servant robots.”

“Good heavens.”

Gillen exclaimed in admiration.

“Come to think of it, you invented the washing machine, no, the washing robot, didn’t you? That was you, right?”

“Would those morons from the other magic towers have made something like that? Those guys are crazy about useless and trivial research on ancient texts or magical beasts. They’re parasites that just eat up the Magic Tower’s research funds.”

“Ha! Ha! Ha!”

Gillen suddenly burst into laughter. Yuan glared at Gillen as if he were strange.

“What is it now?”

“Hahaha, no, it’s just… I was thinking you’re so consistently yourself. And I’m so consistently myself.”

Even Yuan chattering on and badmouthing the other mages was so cute and so very Yuan-like. A laugh escaped him on its own. He still didn’t know in what way he liked this guy, but one thing was certain: he found this Yuan amusing, and that was why he liked being with him.

“I suddenly feel at ease.”

Gillen said with a much more refreshed face. Yuan clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“The mage does all the work, and you reap the benefits. Be grateful to me that you get to sleep in such a clean room by yourself, Gillen.”

“Huh? Ahaha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Yes, yes! Thank you, Yuan! What would I have done without you?”

“You’re only realizing that now?”

Yuan asked back, the corners of his mouth twitching. Ah, that was definitely a pleased expression. Gillen now knew that Yuan deliberately frowned whenever he was in a good mood.

“By the way, Yuan, can you cast this magic on the other people’s rooms too? I feel bad that we’re the only ones sleeping so cleanly and comfortably…”

When Gillen asked carefully, Yuan rolled his eyes. Hmm, that’s an expression of genuine displeasure. He could tell even without hearing the answer.

“I went through the trouble of using my energy to cast cleaning magic because I have to sleep in this room with you as your lover, but they are different. Aren’t knights people who are used to sleeping on the ground? Those who should be training and fighting in the harshest places have become steeped in elitism… Just let them sleep as they are.”

After that, Yuan launched into a long speech about how much energy was consumed in using such magic. Gillen listened quietly and then asked without thinking.

“But didn’t you use magic quite often in front of me? Even before the fake dating contract.”

“…”

Yuan was suddenly at a loss for words. Soon, his beautiful face turned beet red.

“That’s different from this! I was only using magic back then to win Cecil’s favor, and you weren’t even on my mind! It is a complete misunderstanding that I was interested in you from the beginning! Please, have some sense of shame, Gillen. Since when, exactly, do you think I started to like you?”

Yuan, trembling and squawking, looked like a cat with its fur on end, or maybe an angry puppy. Gillen laughed, ha ha ha. Does that guy even know what he’s saying? If you interpret those words, it sounds like ‘I didn’t before, but I like you now.’ If I point that out, he’ll probably flip out again.

A smile that wouldn’t easily fade lingered on Gillen’s lips. He said impulsively.

“Alright, alright, I like you too.”