The Tutor's Fall
"Haa... haa..."
Sophia suddenly fell down the hiking trail.
It was an extremely sudden occurrence.
It felt as if the gods had deliberately pushed her.
Even though it was a hiking trail, it wasn't a formally constructed one.
It was truly just a path created by natural coincidence.
That's why it was such a beautiful place.
But right now, that fact was the biggest problem.
"Where are you...?"
The moment I saw Sophia fall down the trail, I rushed down.
But Sophia was nowhere to be seen.
She couldn't possibly be buried under the snow.
Then, how far had she fallen?
Perhaps she had hit her head on a tree and gone even further than this spot?
That was not good.
If she had been an ordinary northerner, it might not have been an issue.
But Sophia wasn't from the north.
No matter how much she wore a coat, prolonged exposure to the cold would cause problems.
And with her unconscious, it would be even worse.
"Damn..."
I searched for the traces of Sophia rolling down, but there was no sign of her.
Fortunately, it wasn't snowing heavily, but the mountain was densely wooded with trees.
How was I supposed to find Sophia in this place?
It was an extremely urgent situation to call for help.
I descended the snowy slope again.
While going down, I spotted something's traces.
"..."
Footprints.
They weren't human.
But they weren't the tracks of a massive beast either.
"Thank goodness."
Yes, at least they weren't the footprints of a large animal.
I was relieved by that fact.
If there had been wolf tracks here... I would have panicked.
"It hasn't been long since then."
It wouldn't take long to find Sophia and reach the castle.
Traversing this mountain range to the castle was easier than finding Sophia.
Of course, if I found her.
I analyzed every remaining trace.
I never imagined my lessons with Father would be used in a place like this.
*
"Sophia!"
I found Sophia.
She hadn't hit her head on a rock while rolling down, so there was no blood on her head.
But the sight wasn't good.
Perhaps she had injured her leg, as she sat in place, unable to move, just shivering.
"Master...?"
"Yes, it's me."
I rushed straight to Sophia.
When I reached her, the injured area was clearly visible.
On her arm, there was a wound from being scratched by a branch during the fall, and her ankle was completely swollen.
"Are you all right?"
"Haa... haa... It's not that good..."
"Let's go straight to the castle. I'll carry you."
"It's fine. This much is..."
When I offered to carry her, Sophia suddenly tried to get up on her own.
She was trying not to burden me.
"Haa..."
But contrary to her will, Sophia's body refused to cooperate.
With her ankle injured, standing properly was impossible.
Even if she could, it would only worsen the injury.
"Sophia, stay right there."
The easiest and most comfortable way to get to the castle from here was for me to carry her.
I had once impulsively picked her up.
Originally, the dumbbell I usually lifted was heavier than Sophia, so there was no need, but...
I just tried lifting her once.
Since I had already done it once, it was no problem at all.
"Kyaa?!"
After supporting Sophia's calf and back with my arms, I lifted her up.
Sophia was startled that she had suddenly fallen to the ground, but I didn't care.
After all, there was no way to bring Sophia to the castle unless I carried her.
"Are you cold?"
"N-no..."
Her hands were trembling, even though she said no.
Her hand was resting on her belly, so it was visible, but I didn't understand why she was lying.
"Sophia."
"Yes, young master..."
"I'm sorry."
While descending the mountain quickly, I apologized.
If I hadn't come here, Sophia wouldn't have gotten injured like this.
It would have been better to just enjoy the snowy plains.
"Ugh..."
Sophia made a sound because the injured part hurt a lot.
That sound made me feel even more guilty.
With Sophia in my arms, I could see her more closely.
That's why Sophia's wounds were more visible.
It was a wound caused by me.
I felt guilt that the man who liked Sophia had made her like this, and even self-loathing.
"If it weren't for me..."
"No... young master... Because you were there, I am living like this."
It was a way to reduce my responsibility.
It could be seen as correct in a way.
Because I found her.
I brought her to the mountain and barely found her at the mid-mountain.
I brought her, I saved her.
In the end, it was my responsibility.
"How can a human predict all of nature's things. I also didn't know that the wind would blow strongly there."
"But..."
If I hadn't brought you here.
"But, young master, didn't you save me? Because my leg was injured and I couldn't move... I was about to give up. I was trembling in the cold that no cape could block. It was you, young master, who saved me, not anyone else."
"..."
"Stop blaming yourself. I, your tutor, didn't raise you to be someone who only blames himself, is weak, and runs away."
I wonder why you don't blame me.
If I were you, I would definitely blame the one who brought me to this place.
You fell because of me, you almost died because of me.
You would have scolded while saying any words.
How did you...
"Young master... You are still young. You will face countless unfair things as you live."
"..."
"Um.. For example, I suddenly entered a boarding school, or a crazy woman confessed to me at the boarding school and strange rumors spread, or I worked as an adventurer and didn't get paid, or anyway, such unfair things happen."
"Yes.."
I listened to Sophia's words while descending the mountain.
My attention was focused on two places.
Eyes on descending the mountain.
Ears to Sophia's words.
"But.. Finding someone to blame for each of those things is really a tiring job. Sometimes it's just that it happens, and since I didn't die, it's fortunate, and I think it's easy to pass over."
"..."
"This time, it was just that the wind suddenly blew. How can I predict nature's whims?"
This person... always told me something.
From the first day we met.
She taught me etiquette.
She taught me manners.
She taught me how to have confidence.
She taught me how to laugh.
She taught me how to know my own shortcomings and ask others for help to learn how to protect me.
When I was young, when I met you, I had no idea this would happen.
At that time, I just thought she wasn't a bad person and accepted her.
It was a decision made by a 12-year-old child who knew nothing.
But.. That decision at that time became the most important decision in my life.
"Sophia?"
"Yes."
Even though her body looked painful to anyone, she didn't show it on her face.
There was Elin, the knight who sometimes praised me as strong.
But her words were wrong.
It was exactly this person.
The strong person.
The person I thought I liked, loved, was such a wonderful person.
"I'm glad you answered. It was a bit scary. I was worried that young master might have gotten injured too."
"Why would I get injured. Sophia got injured.."
"Is it a problem that a servant worries about the master, or that a sister worries about the younger brother?"
"..."
She really thought of me as family.
Differently from me.
But I couldn't think of her as a complete family.
Because her appearance was so beautiful, so wonderful, so... lovable.
"Sophia, where are we now?"
"We're almost at the village."
We had already left the mountain and were on the path to the village.
It was only about 5 minutes from here to the castle.
"You are really fast.. I wonder what you eat and sleep to build such a strong body."
I ran while carrying Sophia.
People around were saying something, but I didn't care.
My attention was already all focused on Sophia.
"I really thought at first that I was going to die. It was the first time I was left alone in the snowy mountains."
Sophia continued talking casually while in my arms.
It seemed like she was trying to reduce my worry about her.
"But.. At that time, young master came. It was really... a wonderful sight."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. The sight of you running towards me with a worried face about whether I was injured was really good. I thought I was a slightly strange person."
"No."
"Then it's fortunate.."
"Sophia."
"Yes."
Sophia had said not to say it, but I wanted to say this again.
If I said this, it would be another lecture, but I had to.
I had to not say it.
"I'm sorry. Next time, I'll show you a safer and better place."
"Haha.. Is there a better view than the one I saw today..? I'm looking forward to it."
With that, we arrived at the castle.
When the servants saw me, who had gone out and brought back the injured Sophia, they were all surprised.
I went out, but one person came back badly injured.
The story of a knight getting injured and Sophia getting injured was completely different.
"Call the doctor.. Call the doctor as fast as possible."
It was a family with a knight corps.
So, naturally, the family always had a doctor living there.
"Haha... You arrived much faster than I thought."
"Sophia, stop talking and.. First, rest."
You talked while coming from the snowy mountains, so that's it.
Soon, the doctor arrived, and Sophia was moved to the treatment room for her treatment.
"Haa..."
An incident happened in the snowy plains, and time had passed.. less than an hour.
But perhaps because I was too tense.
I thought several hours had passed.
Today... if I hadn't found Sophia there.
If Sophia had suffered more severe injuries.
"..."
It was an unimaginable thing.