Chapter 241: I’m Furious
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 241: I’m Furious
A thin red line ran just beneath Cecilia’s jaw.
“You’ve been injured on your face.”
Cecilia covered her cheek, looking a bit bashful.
“It’s nothing much.”
The scratch was right along her jawline, a spot easily missed unless one was looking closely.
“Did you get hurt at the Imperial Palace earlier? Why didn’t you say anything?”
Perel’s hand hesitated in mid-air, unable to bring himself to touch a lady’s face.
“The wound is swollen.”
It wasn’t bleeding, but the scratch looked irritated, as if some toxin had set in.
“Please wait a moment. I will ask the mage for assistance.”
As Perel turned to quickly fetch the mage, Cecilia stopped him.
“It’s fine. It’s not like I’m Her Highness the Consort.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Perel frowned deeply at the nonsensical statement.
“Are you saying it’s alright for you to be hurt just because you aren’t Her Highness?”
Cecilia shrugged, noting that the mage tended to be uncooperative unless the matter involved the Consort.
“It’ll heal in a day or two anyway.”
Perel bit his lip at the lady-in-waiting’s nonchalant attitude.
What is wrong with him?
For some reason, the aide’s expression remained stiff the entire time he escorted Cecilia back to her room.
Was I hurt that badly?
Cecilia stole a glance at her face in the bedroom mirror.
However, the thread-like scratch under her chin was barely visible unless she tilted her head back.
She clicked her tongue, impressed by his keen eyes, when there was a knock at the door.
“It’s Perel.”
Wondering what brought him back, she opened the door to find the aide holding out a small silver case.
“It’s an ointment.”
Cecilia took the silver case, looking slightly surprised.
“I received it from the mage.”
At this hour?
The mage must have grumbled up a storm.
“He said that while it’s weaker than recovery magic, it works well on scratches, so apply it generously.”
Despite his kind words, the aide’s face was strangely sullen.
“Sir Perel, are you perhaps angry?”
Perel’s brow furrowed at the question, and he suddenly looked grave.
Is it because he’s the type who never gets angry?
He looked as though he hadn’t even realized he was upset until she pointed it out.
“It appears that I am.”
After tilting his head in thought, Perel finally nodded.
It must have been a long, exhausting day for the aide as well.
Seeing his unusually grumpy expression, Cecilia strangely didn’t feel bad at all.
“Sir Perel, would you like a cup of tea?”
After a moment’s hesitation, Perel stepped into Cecilia’s room.
Soon after, Cecilia personally poured the herbal tea brought by a maid for Perel.
Trickle.
Even to her own eyes, her movements as she poured the tea had become quite elegant.
Perel watched the stream of water falling from the teapot before asking, “About Countess Asellino. She seems quite strict.”
“She’s actually a good person once you get to know her.”
Cecilia reflexively started to blow on the hot tea to cool it down, then caught herself with an “Oops” and set the teacup down.
— “You must wait gracefully until the tea cools. Blowing on it? Have you lost your mind?”
She could almost hear Countess Asellino’s nagging in her ear.
“She only acts strictly because I’m such a mess.”
“You aren’t… a mess.”
Perel told a white lie, slightly averting his gaze.
“I know exactly what I’m like.”
Cecilia replied with a nonchalant face.
To be honest, she had been far from demure since she was a child.
It was so bad that one of her etiquette teachers had even made the disparaging remark that it would be easier to put a dress on Norton instead.
“Even my parents worried a lot because of me.”
Thinking back, it was a miracle in itself that she had become a lady-in-waiting to Her Highness.
“Viscount Terito and his wife are likely very proud of you, Lady Cecilia.”
Perel raised an eyebrow at Cecilia’s self-deprecating tone.
“Are you not the most famous author in the Empire right now?”
Perel told her about the maids he had seen hovering outside her room earlier.
He described how much their eyes had sparkled.
“And Her Highness the Consort is someone with truly exceptional discernment.”
The aide’s serious gaze lingered on Cecilia.
“Did such a person not choose you, Lady Cecilia, to be her lady-in-waiting out of all those noble daughters? If you were merely a lady skilled in etiquette, you would never have been able to serve Her Highness properly.”
She had never thought of it that way.
In truth, Cecilia had been approaching the Countess’s etiquette lessons as if her life depended on them.
It was because she knew better than anyone that she wasn’t exactly the ideal candidate for a Grand Duchess’s lady-in-waiting.
She had been gripped by anxiety throughout the entire journey to the capital.
But the moment she heard the kind aide’s words, her heart felt significantly lighter, even though she knew it was just a polite comfort.
Having finished his piece, Perel rubbed the back of his neck, looking a bit embarrassed.
“At any rate, you are irreplaceable, Lady Cecilia, so there is no need for you to feel intimidated at all.”
“Thank you, Sir Perel.”
Watching Perel, whose ears had turned slightly red, Cecilia finally took a sip of the now-temperate herbal tea.
The warmth spread gently through her body.
* * *
I couldn’t sleep at all.
Eventually, I bolted upright in bed.
“I’m so mad!”
What was I supposed to do with this feeling of betrayal?
“It’s like I went out trusting a well-trained puppy, only to come home and find that the puppy has caused a total disaster.”
How could he go off to fight a dragon behind my back!
If he was going to do it, he should have at least done it well.
When Loik was coughing up blood, I couldn’t think of anything.
My mind had been entirely consumed by the desperate need to save him.
And while I waited for the stabilized Loik to wake up in bed, I finally faced an endless fear.
If Loik died, could I go on living alone?
Could I endure a life of terrible loneliness and solitude, having completely lost his kindness and warmth?
The mere thought sent such a horrific chill through my body that I shook my head violently.
If Loik dies, my world ends too.
Maybe it would have been different if I had never known this feeling.
But I already knew the fulfillment that comes from being wholeheartedly loved.
To live on after losing such a love…
There was no way I could endure such a terrible, painful loss.
“He doesn’t even know how I feel.”
And then he has the nerve to say things like it was a fight he had already won.
I wiped my watering eyes with my sleeve and turned my head, only to see Considerations on Mysterious Beings sitting on the bedside table.
Suddenly, an unbearable surge of anger rushed through me.
I finally kicked off the covers and stood up.
Loik, who was sitting outside the door, jumped to his feet.
He had noticed Annette’s breathing becoming increasingly heavy for a while now.
Then he heard the sound of stomping feet approaching the door.
When the door swung open, Annette stood there, breathing raggedly and clutching a book.
Before he could even say a word, Annette raised the book with both hands and slammed it against Loik’s chest.
When he reflexively caught the book, Annette’s eyebrows twitched.
“You’re catching it? You’re catching it right now?”
Loik hurriedly dropped his hands.
“Please, hit me as much as you like.”
As soon as he said it, Annette began to pummel him with the book.
Thud. Thud.
Feeling guilty, Loik bit his lip.
Annette seemed to be swinging with all her might, but unfortunately, it didn’t hurt at all.
Instead, Annette’s arms soon began to tremble.
If she kept this up, she might actually strain a muscle.
Watching Annette panting from the exertion, Loik gently took the book from her hands.
“Do you know what this book is?”
Annette shouted, planting her hands on her hips.
“I stole that from the Grand Temple’s library!”
Only then did Loik look down in confusion at the cover titled Considerations on Mysterious Beings.
“Do you know why I went as far as stealing from the sacred Grand Temple?”
“Because I wanted to give Loik information that might help! So you could win safely without getting hurt by the dragon!”
Loik clamped his mouth shut like a clam.
He truly had no excuse.
“And yet you come back hurt without saying a word to me?”
Having lost her book, Annette began to beat Loik’s chest with her fists.
“You told me I held both your lives in my hands or whatever!”
It was the first time Annette had ever been this angry.
“Do you have any idea how I felt when you were coughing up blood?!”
“Annette, you’ll hurt your hands.”
Loik gently caught both of Annette’s hands.
Her fists, completely enveloped by his, trembled weakly.
“Are you trying to make me a widow?!”
“I will never make you a widow.”
“You idiot! You fool!”
After pouring out her resentment and huffing for a long while, Annette’s fury finally seemed to subside as her energy flagged.
Taking advantage of her weakened resistance, Loik pulled her into his arms.
“Annette, I’m sorry.”
It was my fault.
As he continued to whisper into her ear, the strength finally drained from Annette’s arms.
“I really hate you.”
Her voice, filled with both resentment and affection, made his heart ache.
Loik held her tightly, leaving no space between them, to calm her down.
“I promise I will never do it again.”
Loik whispered, stroking her slender back.
So please, don’t push me away.
If you push me away, I’ll die.
Loik couldn’t bring himself to voice those choked-up words.
He simply spent a long time repeating his apologies until Annette finally hugged him back.