Chapter 150: Contract Extension (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 150: Contract Extension (1)
Sure enough.
Shouts of exertion, bordering on screams, echoed from the brightly lit training ground.
"O-over there! Her Highness the Consort is...!"
As Leon, who had spotted me from a distance, shouted urgently, the knights swinging their swords turned their heads toward me in unison.
"Commander! Her Highness is here!"
"Your Highness! Please, save us!"
The knights, drenched in sweat, made a huge fuss the moment they saw me.
Loik, who had been sparring with Johas, widened his eyes in surprise.
"Take a break!"
As Loik strode toward me, Johas shouted to the knights with an exhausted face.
The sound of bodies collapsing to the ground echoed from all directions.
Goodness, just how hard did he push these sturdy knights to leave them in such a state?
"What brings you all the way here at this hour?"
Loik was also covered in sweat.
His black hair was a mess over a face that flickered with a hint of delight at seeing me.
"What do you mean, 'what brings me'?"
I gave Loik a playful, sidelong glance.
"I came to find my husband."
"……Ah."
Loik, who had been wiping the sweat from under his chin with the back of his hand, let out a shy smile.
"Don't just say 'ah.' It's far too late."
"I was planning to head back soon."
Under the light, sweat glistened on his neck and trickled down.
From his face to his chest, visible through the gaps in his shirt, Loik’s entire body was flushed red.
He looks like he has a fever.
As I stepped closer to check his temperature, Loik flinched and pulled his head back.
"What's wrong?"
Loik bit his lip slightly, looking embarrassed.
"I've sweated too much. Please, don't come any closer."
"It's fine."
"It is not fine for me."
"Are you coming here or not?"
When I gave him a stern look, Loik finally brought his head back to where it was.
"Lean down."
"I'm dirty right now..."
After a moment of hesitation, Loik eventually leaned his body slightly toward me.
I stood on my tiptoes and touched his forehead; a searing heat surged into my hand.
"Did Hosen really say you were okay?"
"Yes. He said there was nothing wrong."
Earlier in the evening, the personal physician who examined Loik had diagnosed him as perfectly fine.
How could he be fine when his forehead is this hot?
No matter how much he's the personal physician, he's really not that reliable at times like this.
"Should I call Enol?"
"I am truly fine."
Loik gently took my wrist, pulling my hand away from his forehead, and called for the butler.
Whitley, who had been standing behind us, quickly handed Loik a handkerchief.
"There is no need to worry. I was just a bit hot and was cooling down."
Loik spoke as he carefully wiped my sweat-stained hand with the handkerchief.
"How is this 'cooling down'?"
I arched an eyebrow in disbelief.
The knights were all sprawled across the training ground, looking like complete wrecks.
"Look at them; steam is practically rising from their heads."
"This isn't that kind of heat..."
Loik muttered something unintelligible.
"Anyway, let the knights go. They're all going to fall ill from exhaustion at this rate."
"Dismissed."
As soon as I finished speaking, Loik shouted toward the knights.
"D-dismissed!"
Fearing their lord might change his mind, the knights scrambled out of the training ground as if they were escaping.
When I looked back, Whitley had also vanished.
It seemed he had tactfully withdrawn to give the Grand Ducal couple some private time.
"Shall we head in too?"
"Th-that... could you wait just a moment?"
Loik spoke anxiously, wetting his dry lips.
"I'll go wash my face quickly and come back."
In the end, I nodded.
"Alright. Take your time."
After seating me on a bench where the knights usually rested, Loik quickly disappeared into the inner area where the water fountain was located.
Less than a minute later, he walked back to the bench, dripping with water.
He was soaked from his hair down to his white shirt.
"……Did you wash your face? Or did you dunk yourself in the water?"
His chest muscles were clearly defined beneath the shirt clinging to his body.
Holding a towel, Loik approached hesitantly.
"I was afraid Annette would be waiting."
"Come here."
I stood up abruptly and pulled Loik down to sit on the bench.
"Dry off at least a little before we go in. You'll catch a cold."
Sitting awkwardly, Loik toyed with the towel in his hand and looked up at me blankly.
"Why are you just sitting there?"
"……Could Annette dry it for me, like last time?"
His eyes, framed by long lashes, blinked innocently.
This sly Grand Duke.
He definitely knows I have a weakness for that 'wet puppy' look of his.
Ultimately, I stood in front of Loik, took the towel from his large hands, and began to dry his hair.
Last time, he at least pretended to be shy.
Now, Loik seemed to quite enjoy the situation, quietly entrusting his head to my hands.
It was just as the hair winding around my fingers was starting to feel soft and dry.
Loik subtly shifted his body and buried his head against my waist.
He leaned into my arms so naturally that I didn't even have a chance to scold him.
I remained stiff with awkwardness, my hands moving slowly.
Below where his face rested, a burning heat gently warmed the pit of my stomach.
"Your body is still so hot... Should I call Enol now?"
Loik pulled my hand and pressed it against his cheek.
The heat transferred to my cool fingertips.
"I think I'll be fine if Annette cools me down like this."
Loik slowly lifted his head and looked up at me.
In his black eyes, reflecting the lights of the training ground, a strange golden hue flickered.
For some reason, I felt a sudden thirst as well.
"Did you come because you missed me?"
In truth, I had come to liberate the knights who were suffering at their commander's hands.
But I did want to see Loik.
Because as soon as Whitley mentioned it, I had excitedly run to the training ground.
"……And what if I did?"
The words came out more coyly than I intended.
Loik, looking a bit bashful, quietly buried his face in my waist again.
"Annette saying she missed me... makes me so happy."
My face flushed at his overly honest reaction.
Feeling a ticklish sensation throughout my body, I tried to change the subject.
"Ah, that, right—I received a letter from Countess Selvanis."
"I see. What did it say?"
"Oh, just this and that."
I ran my hands through his mostly dry hair, rambling about the contents of the letter without much order.
"……She said Arsen is very beautiful in the spring. She mentioned there's a large forest near the Selvanis estate too..."
What was the name again?
"Do you mean the Evern Forest?"
"Ah, that's right."
"……There is a Blenheim family villa near the Evern Forest as well."
"Really?"
"The flowers there are quite a sight in the spring..."
Loik toyed with the hem of my skirt.
"Annette would probably like it too."
His low, deep voice sounded a bit melancholy.
Next spring...
That would be after our contract period ends.
Ever since returning from the Temple, I had been lost in thought.
— "……Are you afraid of me leaving Blenheim?"
— "It is likely the greatest fear of my life."
Since Loik said he didn't want me to leave, I could stay in Blenheim as long as I wanted to.
Would it be okay to live as the Grand Duchess of Blenheim like this?
It was a question I had been asking myself for the past few days.
And every time I asked, my heart clearly leaned in one direction.
I like the North.
I like the Grand Duke's Castle surrounded by its sturdy gray stone walls, and I like the North's cloudy weather, which others call gloomy but feels atmospheric to me.
I like the blunt yet warm-hearted people of Blenheim, the knights who compete to escort me, the servants who are actually full of laughter once you get to know them, the always-enthusiastic administrators, and my talkative maid—I like them all.
Above all, I like Loik, the kindest man in the world.
But I was afraid that perhaps my current happiness was clouding my judgment.
After all, I had come to the North in the first place just to survive.
I want to do what my heart desires?
Can I take responsibility for those words?
I was terrified that I might be intoxicated by my current happiness, deluding myself into thinking I could handle the consequences of any choice I made.
I was anxious that I might make a decision out of the arrogant belief that I just needed to trust myself, only to regret it later.
But the moment I stroked the hair of the large man leaning in my arms, I felt an inexplicable sense that everything would be alright.
"You know, Loik."
I spoke up, somewhat impulsively.
"I've been thinking... and I think one year is a bit short."
At those words, Loik abruptly lifted his head from my lap.
His eyes, filled with a faint glimmer of hope as if trying to grasp the intent behind my words, trembled slightly.
"……What does that mean?"
His grip tightened on the fabric of my skirt.