Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Suddenly, his hand flung out of my chest. Although it was still wrapped over his arm, the snake’s meandering body dangled in the air.

“AHHH!”

I let out another ear-splitting scream. The snake firmly curled over Amoide’s arm was bigger than I thought. Finally, I was able to see the overwhelming size, and to say that it absolutely terrified me was an understatement.

I-it should be alright…

The snake’s body tightened around his arm even more.

“W-what should we do?” I asked helplessly, thinking about how its poisonous fangs might dig themselves into his flesh. The snake’s teeth and fluttering forked tongue drew near the hand that held it.

It’s not dead yet.

“It’s d-dangerous! Be careful!” I shouted in horror.

Before I could say anything more, Amoide slammed the snake onto the ground. The blunt corner of a protruding rock was struck over the snake’s head vigorously.

“…”

The ferocious scene rendered me speechless. Instantly, the dangerous commotion was over just like that.

Eventually, Amoide was the one who broke the silence.

“…What?”

Confused by my reaction, he stared right into my eyes.

I couldn’t ask right away, shocked by the snake’s flattened head in his hand. But then I finally opened my mouth and asked, “A-are you… alright?”

‘What did I just see…?’

With one fluid motion, as easily as breaking a brittle branch in half, Amoide subdued the snake. I saw it very clearly. Not long ago, this sickly husband of mine had a fever so high that he was bedridden. Well, even then, he still had enough strength to crush my hand.

‘Just my luck.’

Feeling goosebumps rising at the back of my neck, I wrapped my bandaged hand over my nape slowly.

“Your hand really did that.”

I peered at the snake’s crushed head, then at his hand.

Upon seeing how I kept looking back and forth several times, Amoide raised an eyebrow. Although I assumed it was easy to guess what was on my mind, he instead asked, “Does your hand hurt?”

“I’m…fine…”

I forced myself to respond with a voice that wouldn’t come out. However, I immediately regretted it.

‘Fine, my ass!’ I should’ve just said I wasn’t fine! I really needed to milk this injury dry and use it to my advantage!

But then, after seeing such an expression on his face as he looked at my hand, the lie got stuck in my throat.

“Sorry for startling you.”

“I’m fine,” I said again, as if I’d already memorized the phrase.

However, I really was okay now.

This guy in front of me caught a snake with his bare hands without kicking up a fuss, so how could I complain about it? Combing his fingers through his hair roughly, his blond hair became tousled even as it radiated in the sun.

“Damn it,” he said in a barely audible voice.

Disregarding his foul language since I had more things to worry about, I asked in return, “…What about you?”

“What about me?” Amoide frowned again.

‘What else could I be talking about?’ It seemed as if he really didn’t understand what I was referring to.

“I’m asking if you’re alright.”

You just caught a snake, after all.

“What’s this about?”

With frustration built up to a certain level, I pointed at the snake he flung just now and bursted out.

“Be more careful! You could have been bitten by that snake!”

“It’s already dead.”

Whoosh. He hurled the snake to the other side of the garden. Amoide did it in such a way that it looked so easy, as though just flicking away a bothersome twig on a sidewalk. In that one moment, it seemed like the snake flew slowly, then seconds later, I could hear a distinct sound as it hit the ground.

“I’ll tell the staff to clean it up. Don’t go near it.”

“What if it comes back to life?”

“Don’t worry. I completely crushed its skull.”

“Ah. Okay,” I answered without missing a beat. Then, as if compelled, I continued, “T-that’s amazing. You really were—amazing. Wow. I was shocked.”

I gave him a thumbs up.

“It was nothing.”

He simply replied nonchalantly. It didn’t seem like false bravado, just really an attitude that radiated confidence.

If that was nothing for him, then what the hell would he consider ‘amazing’? It wasn’t even a small stringy snake, it was definitely a huge snake. I saw it. I literally saw it!

“Did…did it bite you?”

An uncharacteristic smile graced his lips, though it was so imperceptible that I couldn’t see it due to my overflowing distress.

“Right here…” I took his hand and flipped it over and over, carefully inspecting each and every finger. “It looks like you were punctured right here…”

“Punctured?”

Quickly, getting distraught, my voice shook as I cried, “Le-let me see. We have to get you to Raymond straight away, and then—”

Taking his hand, I tried to examine it thoroughly again. I searched every nook and cranny, but I couldn’t see any wounds at all.

“…”

The hand I held was shaking. To be exact, it was his entire body that was shaking. Covering his mouth with his other hand, Amoide tried to hold in his laughter.

Only then did I realize something was amiss.

“I really was worried! Were you just making fun of me?”

At that moment, my grip on his hand loosened. He smiled so brightly that I had to worry over my poor heart again.

‘So, he’s also capable of laughing so freely like this…’

But before I could admire his smile more, it quickly disappeared from his features. ‘Did I really just witness his mood swings in action?’ Donning a cold exterior once more, I then recoiled and let go of his hand.

“What kind of snake was it that you…’

‘…could grab it like that.’ was what I was going to say, but before I could continue, he interjected. “If you plan to continue coming here, we’ll have to search for more snakes and kill them. Just in case there’s more,” he spoke with a casual tone despite the gravity of his words.

I suddenly felt sorry for the snakes I’d never met before, if only because I saw their comrade’s skull get crushed like that.

‘Oh, that’s right.’

Amoide was a knight. I almost forgot.

He had been the Commander of the Order of the Sun, the knights who fought and contributed the most in the war. Amoide was a man that everyone admired and rightly idolized.

‘Yet, now…’

He was trapped in this estate. No matter how admirable the Duke was, he wouldn’t be able to return to the battlefield like this. I could feel my face scrunching up into a grimace. Between the two of us, he must be deeply frustrated. That, I could tell without him even needing to say it.

While the war was ongoing, he wore solid armor and forged headfirst into violent battlefields. In times of peace, he wore a dignified knight’s uniform and defended the Empire’s Capital.

After being used to such dignity, it’s no wonder that Amoide’s personality became twisted while he was helplessly chained to one place.

“…”

Perhaps it was because of the sullen mood, but my heart suddenly became cold.

‘…What?’

Seriously, it’s cold.

‘What’s this?’ Was I really that worried? ‘To the point that my heart would ache like this?’

It suddenly felt like there was a hole where my heart should be.

Swoosh.

Something flitted across my periphery. I thought it was a butterfly, but immediately, I realized it was only the lace of my dress.

‘Huh?’

Why was lace flying across my face? It looked exactly like the one attached to the front of my dress as well…

“Looks like your dress was ruined,” he said in a brash tone.

“My dress? Oh, you mean what Noir did earlier?” I asked unknowingly, but when I glanced down, I shrieked loudly and covered my face. Never mind the ruined lace, the chest area of my dress was completely torn apart.

Even my underwear was ripped up!

Cleavage that would normally have been covered up was exposed for all the world to see as the hems around my chest fluttered around.

I gasped audibly.

After regaining my senses, I quickly adjusted my clothes.

It was only to be expected that the thin fabric of my clothes would get torn apart after a snake and his arm went through the neckline.

In my bewilderment, I gathered what’s left of the top part of my dress in a feeble attempt to cover up. However, no matter how desperately I tried to adjust my clothes, it wasn’t enough to completely cover my exposed underwear and skin.

“It… It was an accident,” Amoide said, but his eyes were as calm as an undisturbed lake, not the least bit thrown off his game. He didn’t look embarrassed at all.

It’s like it hadn’t been a day or two since he last saw a woman’s naked chest.

As if I was a reptile myself, his expression betrayed nothing as he looked at my disheveled state.

‘You should feel self-conscious at the very least…’

I was embarrassed all on my own because the other person was so blasé about everything. On the other hand, instead of panicking or feeling bashful, he raised a hand and placed it on his shirt. Amoide stared at me emotionlessly.

Pluck.

“…”

Pluck, pluck.

Without the leisure of stopping to think about what’s going on, I peered down, aghast. It was as if time had stopped.

As his hand went down further, buttons were being ripped mercilessly off his own shirt. Like a fool, my mouth stayed open as I gaped blankly at him without doing anything. He ripped off his thin white silk shirt, his body now exposed under the sun.

Plain for everyone to see was his perfectly toned body, his firm arms, and a solid chest, his stomach that rippled with muscles.

“Uh…”

He’s been stuck to his sickbed even during the prime of his youth…

‘Let’s stop thinking so hard.’

Still heavily confused, I lowered my gaze and stared at the floor.

While counting the small buttons scattered on the ground, I was jolted to attention by a thin, warm touch on my shoulder.

“…”

I could only blink silently as Amoide put his shirt over my shoulder.

“You can cover up this way.”

Surprisingly wider and larger than I thought, the shirt indeed could cover my upper body completely. It was also long enough to reach my thighs. It was hard to believe that this piece of cloth was a shirt and not a blanket.

Couldn’t find a safe place to rest my gaze at, I blinked once more nervously. His nude chest was right in front of my nose.

He’s too close.

I could see everything.