Episode 43
Translator : Missme Editor : Aru
âDidnât you say âItâs not like I canât use itâ just nowâ¦â¦â
âItâs just bluffing.â
As far as I can remember, Ash never blatantly said that he was bluffingâ¦
I didnât answer back, so Ash continued his words.
âIâm telling you, itâs a very useless poison, just a paralytic poison.â
I donât know why Ash is reassuring and soothing me in this situation. Itâs Ash who got hurt.
I felt a little disheartened. Of course, since there was a perception that Ash was hurt because of me.
âJust let it bite me instead.â
Although, Iâm not really saying it like that, and Ash, who heard it clearly, made eye contact with me and said.
âIf so, then this house caretaker and all the house servants will have to go.â
ââ¦â¦â
âDo you want it to be like that?â
At this moment, Ashâs last remark about the âremainingsâ suddenly came to mind. The remainings except for me. If I got hurt then the other would die.
Oh, no.
I shook my head around. Come to think of it, isnât it the same as if for the sake of other people peace and stability, I need to save my body first, is it?
I shouldnât go around alone thenâ¦
I was thinking over the new realization when Bessieâs voice broke in and evoked the topic.
âIâm glad the wound itself isnât deep anyway. No, why was there a snake in the garden in the first place? Itâs not even a butterfly or a frog.â
Thatâs right, thatâs what I want to ask too.
Did it come in from outside? That was the only possible reason. I donât think anyone raised it.
â¦..isnât it?
The old Floraâs memory that passed through my head faltered, and at that moment the drawing-room door burst open.
âAigoo! Your Excellency!â
It was Lucas.
âIâve heard the word. You were bitten by a snake? God, itâs all my fault. I donât understand why that kindâ¦â¦â¦ Itâs my fault that I didnât take good care of the garden. Iâm so sorry.â
As soon as he entered the room, Lucas bowed so low that he could nearly touch the ground.
I deliberately ignored Lucas, who seemed to have a backache.
It may be technically unfair for me to blame Lucas for all the snakes in the garden, but somehow I didnât want to defend him now.
Maybe itâs because I keep seeing the bandages around Ashâs arm.
Ash calmly opened his mouth to Lucas, who apologized to me repeatedly.
âYouâre so lucky, Viscount.â
âYes?â
âIf my sister had been bitten, not me, You wouldnât even be here right now.â
Lucas swivelled his eyes. He seemed to measure what he heard.
âIâm so sorry to the Princess, too.â
Soon he turned around and apologized to me.
I was still pretending I didnât hear it, and then Ash gestured lightly, like chasing a fly.
âJust go away.â
âButâ¦â
âIf you donât think annoying me is the secret to getting the wound healed quickly, then go.â
In the end, Lucas limped back.
It was an early exit.
After Lucas disappeared, Sir Davery brought up the words as if to change the mood.
âWell, letâs rest today, Your Excellency, youâve been overloaded with work.â
âYes, yes.â
Bessie responded as if what he had just said is right.
I personally agreed. I didnât say it in words, but Iâve been hoping that for a long time ago when Ash can get rest a day.
But Ash, who did not even listen to them, saw me instead.
âNoonim.â
âHuh?â
âShall we go out for a tour of the territory in the afternoon?â
And it was Bessie who answered him before me.
âWhat do you mean by that! Where are you going? Even if you take a break and donât move at all, itâs still isnât enough.â
âItâs not a big wound or anything.â
âWhat do you mean itâs not! Youâre talking as if itâs just a scratch!â
âDidnât you hear the doctor say it was a scratch?â
Whenâ¦â¦?
âOh, lady. Please say something to him.â
Bessie shot me a glance to see as if she knew what she was saying wouldnât work.
I just talked frankly, a bit hesitatingly because I had the baton in my hands.
âEven if we go out together, Iâm not going to see anything else because Iâll just be paying attention to your wounds.â
Itâs embarrassing to spit it out, but itâs true. It was obvious that I couldnât concentrate on the outside when all Iâm doing was staring at the bandage.
Bessie turned on the double heart with a satisfied face.
âYou hear that? My Lady has said so, too. Today, you need absolute rest. Com. plet. ly!!â
Ashâs eyes met mine. I coughed in a sense of condescension.
âIf thatâs what Noonim say then.â
âReally, you should have said so.â
âBut anyway, youâll need a change of mood.â
âChange of mood? Me?â
Ashâs gaze was still turned at me as if he pointed at me, he said yes with a nod.
âA change of moodâ¦â¦.â
I couldnât find a reason why I needed it out of the blue and soon swallowed a short sighing of exclamation.
Is itâ¦â¦because of the crying? Because of what I did in the garden?
I was at a loss for words. He was just bitten by a snake, and even now and then.
Ash was really constantly thinking about me.
My heart throbbed. Feelings mingled suddenly.
A simple joy that comes from someoneâs affection for me.
But then thereâs immediately the despairing sadness that comes from the realization that I am going to lose it any time soon.
The latter was so big that I choked. The more pleased Ash is with the affection he shows me, the more painful it is for me to imagine a future that will lose it.
For that reason, I was at a loss for words, and then I heard Sir Daveryâs voice.
âLeave it to me.â
âSir?â
Bessie and I turned side by side.
Sir Davery held his right hand in his place and continued.
âIn short, isnât it a matter of trusting the escort? Iâll take care of the lady. Safety guaranteed, security guaranteed and fun guaranteed.â
âHow about the last one?â
âHmm. Even if itâs a mission, I donât want you to forget that Iâve been in the territory for some time.â
He added that he is familiar with the latest version of the outing.
It was a dignified attitude.
âWhat.â
Before long, Ashâs brief permission fell.
âWell, youâre better than the others.â
âTrust me, lady.â
Sir Davery laughed with a boastful grin. I realized a step later than his self-confident smile. That my outing was decided.
âHuh?â
***
There is a fact that no one knew, even though it is not much.
The doctor, who we had thought he had left earlier on the way, found out that his presence had been erased for some reason, but he still remained in the drawing-room.
âIâve never diagnosed your wounds as a scratch.â
It was quite late that he corrected Ashâs remarks, informing him that he was still in the room, and then gave Ash a prescription for âabsolute rest today.â
âDonât overdo your work today and take a good rest.â
Bessie and everyone else in the present were not desirable prescriptions.
However, the next question remained whether Ash would follow the prescription as soon as possible.
Anyway, thatâs how Ash was taking a break, meanwhile â
âWould you like me to hold it for you?â
âItâs all right.â
I went out.
The autumn has come but the midday sun is still hot.
Under the burning sun, I took out the parasol that Bessie had prepared and opened it.
I declined Sir Daveryâs voice and looked ahead. A lively and noisy street was visible as people rushed by.
I thought for a moment.
âHow did Iâ¦â
When Ash brought up the change of mood in the drawing-room, I couldnât say no to it right away because thereâs no chance to do so.
When I felt that I didnât have to change my mood a little later, it was already after Sir Davery was selected as the escort, and Bessie was also preparing to go out with a good touch.
Itâs too late to say no.
So I finally got ready for this and that, so Iâm here now.
The opinion that the morning was cold and the afternoon would be good for me to walk around made me leave the mansion just after lunch.
I stared at the bustling and noisy centre of the territory and soon looked back at Sir Davery.
âWhat do you do now?â
âAre you hungry?â
âDo you need a specific answer?â
âIâd appreciate it.â
âI can eat without hesitation if someone gives me something, but thatâs the kind of thing that I donât want to ask for first.â
âHmm, then letâs put off the restaurant first. Thereâs a new street stall nearby. Would you like to take a look around?â
âOkay.â
Sir Davery had been transformed into an oblivious tour guide.
I looked at him and swallowed a feeble sigh. Yeah, just enjoy it then.
Now that we have a professional guide, letâs take a look around.
âCause I should have gone out for sightseeing at least once like this anyway.â
Thatâs the reason why I came down here anyway.
As I was walking along the street led by Sir Davery, I suddenly thought of Ashâs voice.
âHave a good time.â
Ash stayed in the mansion and saw me out of the mansion in the afternoon.
And then I read the still-worried concern in Ashâs eyes towards me.
Does he still care about my crying in the garden?
The golden eyes that kept me still showed an undeniable warmth. Clear and vivid.
Thanks to it, my heart was pounding even at that moment. Feelings were overworked again.
It was heart-warming and special that he showed to me only, and at the same time, it was contradictorily sad, painful, and gloomy, and it was a kind of hot bath, cold bath, and merciless roller coaster.
âIâm going to die in expulsionâ¦â¦ Ah, my life itself is short, by the way.â
I was thinking about it that I didnât see properly in front of me, and then I bumped into someone coming from the opposite side.
âOh, sorryâ¦â
-I do. I couldnât get the word out of my mouth.
Itâs not because the guy I bumped into is a little kid who barely got to my chest.
âHehe.â
Because my purse was in the little boyâs hand.
I wondered why that was in the hands of that child. Of course, a very short accident was enough.
âThank you, Iâll use it well!â
The child, who seemed to have stolen my purse, soon turned around and fled toward the alley.
Heâs such a quick kid. It happened so suddenly that Sir Davery couldnât hide his absurd expression and said,
âIâm sorry. Shall we go after him?â
âItâs all right.â
I shook my head. Not for any other reason.
âYou donât have to look for that purse.â
âIt looked heavy.â
âItâs all stone.â
âWhat?â