Sleeping in Another World

Accident

Anslume was still several provinces away. Since we had extended our stay there, we had to make up with speed, and on the 32nd, we decided to move out. My husband had several giant warhorses added to the carriages and had the wheels modified while I was busy recuperating. The speed that we were running was frightening, but it seemed none of the guards minded. My husband explained that during war, his soldiers travelled much faster than what we were running at. As a consequence, We had to take frequent breaks throughout the morning for the horses, despite this, we had covered a lot of area. Oddly enough, I was more exhausted than usual with our travel.

"Does your belly still hurt?" my husband asked after hearing me sigh. I did not even realize I sighed.

"No, Husband, I am feeling well. Just that I feel fatigued easily with this speed." I whined. My husband placed an arm over my shoulder and planted a kiss on my forehead.

"Bear with it a little. At this rate we will be able to return on the 36th as planned." he assured me.

It was a good thing that the Merchant's Route was wide and was located in forests and flat lands. Otherwise, our speed was an accident waiting to happen.

" I had the Temple Palace built for some years now. I'll give that place to you Wife, on the condition that you will turn it into a house to live in rather than a functional temple as planned. However it is not yet furnished." he suddenly said after reading another report that his men gave him.

"Wouldn't that be blasphemous, turning a temple into a house?" I asked a bit concerned.

My husband stared at me for a while before he laughed at me. "That temple was built to worship you." he patted my head and pinched my cheek as if I was saying something dumb and amusing.

He then described to me his home had a small temple initially but since he was a devotee, he planned to have a grander temple, so he had a bigger one built. "Why are you giving me that temple as a house when I will be living with you?" I asked. My husband then explained that the wife usually have her own place, and it was not simply a room but should be big enough as a house, since it will house my servants. I imagined it like a Chinese Manor where the wife gets her own courtyard. Perhaps mine would be bigger since it was a temple.

By the time noon came, we had already covered several provinces and the terrain was getting better. We had another break for our meal at a clearing in the forest. My husband allowed me to stand and walk around to relieve my fatigue after we ate our meal. Of course my husband accompanied me, as well as two guards. The sun was really high up and it was warm, however trees surrounded us, hence a lot of shade in the area. The clearing must have been a common place for travelling merchants since the ground was levelled and had little to no rocks.

"Oh there, by the tree, look at that rat, it is hairy!" I told my husband as I pointed at a little creature.

"Wife, that is a squirrel," my husband corrected me

"It looks a lot like a rat. I think it is scary" I answered, giggling. I rarely saw a squirrel in my life.

"If it frightens you, shall I kill it for you then?"

"Don't be silly, Husband. Just because one thing is ugly for me, does not mean it deserves to die. It is still a living creature and we should celebrate its life."

I watched the squirrel go up a tree, and suddenly, I noticed that there was a person's feet peeking from the branches.

My husband also noticed the person, and quickly turned hostile. He gently dragged me behind him but all too soon, something hit me from the back before he was able to move me.