Chapter 118: Medicine on Time
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 118: Medicine on Time
How am I supposed to repay this?
They were far too distant for it to be a joke.
Still, the fact that he owed her a debt was undeniable. Tiern looked down at the handkerchief. The white cloth, embroidered with a yellow seal, still bore a faint brown stain.
He didn't mind the mark. It was far better than losing it forever and having nothing at all.
Both the handkerchief and the trust it represented.
After carefully tucking the Grand Duchess’s precious gift into his tunic, Tiern set off.
*
It was a rare, leisurely evening with no scheduled events. I was rolling around on my bed when a knock sounded from the terrace.
No, surely not...
I approached the terrace and pulled back the curtains. Through the glass, a pair of broad, sturdy shoulders caught my eye. Lifting my gaze a little higher, I saw Loik’s flushed face.
His sharp eyes curved into a defenseless smile the moment he saw me. His hair was soaking wet, as if he’d come straight here without even drying off after a wash.
I told him not to climb over the terrace!
I intentionally put on an angry face, causing the corners of Loik’s eyes to droop. Did he think I’d just open the door if he made such a pitiful expression, looking like a drenched puppy in the rain?
In the end, I opened the terrace door. This time, Loik didn't even pretend to ask for permission before slipping inside.
“Honestly! What if you fell!”
“I am a Sword Master. I don’t make such mistakes,” he said confidently.
This man... he thinks being a Sword Master is an excuse for everything.
“Do Sword Masters not know how to use the stairs?”
When I crossed my arms, Loik lowered his eyes, feigning reflection.
“But at this hour, the maids are still walking around...”
“Then you could have just called for me.”
“How could I ask you to come and go at this time of night?” Loik muttered softly as I shot him a glare. “And I thought you might go to sleep if I waited any longer, so I wanted to get here quickly...”
Seeing him shift his gaze like a scolded puppy, I couldn't bring myself to say anything more. Water dripped from his lowered bangs. The droplets fell onto the chest of his white shirt, making the fabric translucent against his skin.
My face heated up for no reason at the sight of the firm silhouette of his pectoral muscles.
“You should have at least dried your hair. You’ll catch a cold.”
“A Sword Master doesn't catch things like—”
Loik met my eyes and promptly shut his mouth.
I grabbed his hand, pulled him toward a chair, and fetched a towel from the bathroom. He reached out as if to take it, but when I abruptly draped the towel over his head and started rubbing, he obediently folded his hands in his lap.
“I can do it myself...”
“The Sword Master should just stay quiet.”
I pressed the towel against the back of his head, drying the hair that was wetting his pale nape. Loik’s shoulders flinched.
“Did the delegation leave safely?”
Tonight was the final dinner before the delegation’s departure. A small banquet had been planned, but only Loik attended the meal to host them, under the pretext that my health had not yet recovered.
“Yes. It ended well without any issues. Though everyone was quite disappointed that Annette wasn't there.”
“Maybe I should have attended after all.”
“I handled everything, so you don't need to worry.”
Even as he spoke, Loik’s shoulders kept twitching for some reason. Eventually, he took the hand I was using to dry his hair and pulled me down to sit beside him.
“It’s not dry yet.”
“Your arms will ache.”
It’s not like I’m a paper doll; my arms aren't going to ache just from drying someone's hair.
“Still, drying it completely is...!”
“...It’s fine.”
For some reason, Loik gripped my wrist tightly and wouldn't let go.
“Um... if you keep touching my neck...”
Only then did I notice that Loik’s long neck was flushed a deep red.
“I find it hard to endure...”
I suppose his neck is more sensitive than I thought. Feeling a bit embarrassed, I set the towel down. Searching for something else to say, I remembered something I wanted to ask.
“Oh, what happened to the head maid?”
“Hedrick is currently interrogating her.” Loik hesitated, his fists pressing into his thighs. “She’s still insisting she acted alone... but we’ll soon get a confession that the Lady of Arbor instigated it.”
Perhaps thinking I was worried about Marzella, Loik spoke firmly.
“You don't need to feel sorry for her. Hasn't she committed crimes against you twice now?”
It wasn't that I felt sorry for her...
“Is that why you hid it from me?”
While I was unconscious, the knights had thoroughly interrogated the surrounding maids. And Benet had immediately confessed that the Grand Duchess had already suspected Marzella.
Loik seemed to think I had hidden my suspicions to protect Marzella from her own mistakes.
Actually, that wasn't it at all.
To Marzella, the position of head maid was everything she had built. My actions stemmed from a perhaps very petty desire to be the one to destroy that precious thing myself.
“What punishment will Marzella receive?”
“We could exile her beyond the mountains like the previous criminals, or we could confiscate her assets and sentence her to hard labor at the Grand Duke’s Castle.”
I will do as you wish.
At Loik’s words, I quietly added, “If possible, please let Marzella choose her own punishment.”
After all, the one who instigated it was Meisel. What choice did Marzella have as a subordinate? She just did as she was told.
Though I doubt Marzella felt particularly guilty about it.
Loik nodded with a hint of reluctance. Noticing the air felt a bit chilly, I saw the curtains were still open. Even in summer, the northern evenings were cold, so I usually kept the curtains closed while sleeping.
Outside the window, the world had already turned pitch black. Without much thought, I turned back to Loik and said, “You must be tired, so you should go and get some sleep.”
At those words, Loik’s eyes wavered as if he were flustered.
“Are you... telling me to go?”
“Of course? Were you going to sleep here?”
“Not yet...” Loik toyed with his hands. “You haven't given me a kiss yet.”
“Wait...!”
I felt my face heat up from my neck to my forehead as I stammered.
The mood wasn't like that at all!
We were just talking about exile and hard labor, and suddenly he wants a kiss?
“It’s very late, so today, let’s just...”
“This is directly related to your health. It is strictly a form of treatment,” Loik said with an unnecessarily serious look in his eyes. “You shouldn't keep skipping it.”
“But I feel like we do it often enough...”
I was fanning my burning face with my hand when he spoke again.
“Do you... dislike it?” Loik asked in a subdued voice, his face looking dejected.
“No!” I waved my hands frantically. “It’s not that I dislike it.”
“If it makes you even slightly uncomfortable...”
“I—I like it!”
Loik’s eyes widened slightly at my outburst.
The problem is that I like it too much.
Every time we kiss, I find it impossible to stop! How can a man who claims he’s never even held a woman’s hand before be such a good kisser?
Besides, his lips are so soft and feel so good.
Once our lips meet, I lose track of time until dawn, so I’m almost afraid to start.
“So, what I mean is, it’s fine,” I said, trying to fix the situation. “It’s like, um, taking medicine... why would it be uncomfortable?”
Wait, is that right? Did I just make it worse?
As I lamented my own perverted-sounding answer, the corners of Loik’s mouth slowly curled upward.
“I’m glad to hear that then.”
Loik leaned in, his eyes narrowing suggestively.
“Because it’s important not to miss your medicine three times a day.”
Having closed the distance, Loik pressed a light peck onto the bridge of my nose.
“...Is that it?”
If it’s a kiss, shouldn't it be on the lips? After such a long buildup, too.
Seeing the slightly bewildered look in my eyes, Loik bit his lip hard and whispered in my ear.
“No. This is just the beginning.”
His hot lips swallowed mine. At the same time, his large hand gently threaded through my hair. I trembled and pulled at his collar.
Today’s dose of medicine was very sweet.
By the time a sweltering heat had enveloped my entire body, I realized we might stay up all night again like last time, so I pushed against Loik’s firm chest.
Breathing heavily, Loik licked his lips, unable to take his eyes off mine.
“It’s too late.”
“But the night has just...!”
...begun, he seemed to want to say. Looking at the dark window, Loik reluctantly pulled away from me.
“Go on and get some sleep now.”
I was nudging Loik’s back as he lingered as if my room were coated in honey, but for some reason, he headed back toward the terrace.
“Where are you going?”
“Back to my room...”
I let out a sharp breath through my teeth as if scolding him.
“How many terraces are there? You’re going to climb over them at this hour? Do you know how far it is from here to your room?”
“True, the rooms are excessively far apart,” Loik agreed. “As I thought...”
I was about to say, “As I thought, you should use the stairs,” when he spoke.
“It would be best if I moved my room.”
Loik spoke with a face full of conviction.