Chapter 4
He, however, had never confessed his feelings to anyone in such a way. Each time, he had weighed the potential gains and losses and ultimately decided that confessing wasn’t worth the risk.
He was greedy, after all. He wanted to gain love without losing anything.
But Anteia Blair hadn’t seemed to care about such things. She had faced him head-on, throwing her whole heart into it without hesitation.
‘Who am I to deserve something like that?’
The instant that thought crossed his mind, his body was already in motion.
“T-Tell them to prepare a horse for me.”
“Pardon? You’re going out in this weather?”
“I need to find the young lady.”
Throwing on a waterproof hood, Rudvig gathered a map, some rations, and a few other necessities. Henry tried frantically to dissuade him, but Rudvig was resolute.
“I’ll return safely, so don’t worry.”
“Hah..when you find her, fire a flare.”
“I will.”
With that, Rudvig mounted his prepared horse and rode off into the rain.
***
“Ugh… it’s so cold.”
Anteia, by some great fortune, discovered a small cabin and darted inside.
It was old, but at least it was cozy. It didn’t look like anyone had lived there for a while, though—there was nothing inside.
She wished she could start a fire, but it wasn’t like she’d ever done it before.
“And I don’t even have a lighter…”
At least there was a tattered old blanket lying around.
Anteia wrapped the blanket tightly around her shoulders, shivering. Despite covering herself, she couldn’t shake the cold—she almost felt like she was getting even colder.
“Can’t believe I’m missing Rudvig even at a time like this…”
Burying her face in her knees, she mumbled quietly. Despite her teeth chattering from the cold, she found herself growing sleepy.
“I miss you, Rudvig…”
She murmured faintly, her voice barely audible, as her heavy eyelids began to close.
Bang! Bang!
But a sudden pounding on the door, loud enough to break it down, jolted Anteia awake. At first, she was so startled she froze, clutching the blanket tightly and curling up instinctively.
“Lady Blair!”
But the familiar voice that followed made her head shoot up in surprise.
“Duke Sylvester…?”
“There you are! Thank goodness! Could you open the door?”
“O-Okay…!”
Anteia scrambled to her feet, but a wave of dizziness hit her. Still, she had to open the door, so she stumbled forward and unlatched it.
And the moment she pushed the door open, she lost her balance, and her vision blurred.
“Anteia!”
The last thing she remembered was a pair of strong arms catching her as her name was called in a panicked voice.
When she regained consciousness, she felt something firm and warm wrapped around her body. Feeling suffocated, Anteia wriggled.
“Ugh, Anteia… Hold still for a moment…”
The familiar voice made her eyes slowly flutter open.
The first thing she saw was… something skin-colored in front of her. She stared blankly at the pale flesh in front of her until it dawned on her, about a minute later, that it was bare skin.
“Kyah!”
Startled and unsure of what was happening, Anteia hastily pulled away. Whatever had been holding her released her without resistance. It was only then that she realized it had been an arm wrapped around her.
“Lady Blair, please don’t misunderstand. When I came in and found you, you were suffering from hypothermia—”
“Hold on, Your Grace.”
“Yes?”
“What did you just say?”
“Hypothermia…?”
“No, before that.”
“‘Hold still for a moment’?”
“No, right before that.”
“Anteia?”
“You called me by my name?”
“Ah, that was…”
‘So I hadn’t misheard when I collapsed!’
Anteia was so delighted she felt as though she might faint all over again.
Seeing the way she covered her mouth, looking thrilled, Rudvig squeezed his eyes shut and turned his head away.
“Lady Blair. Right now…”
“Call me by my name, please.”
“…My Lady. I don’t think you realize the state you’re in.”
Rudvig Sylvester was more meticulous than she had expected. For a man and woman to address each other by their given names implied family or a deep closeness—some kind of established relationship.
Which was why he didn’t grant her request.
“What’s wrong with my state…?”
Following Sylvester’s gesture, Anteia glanced down. Her completely bare body was illuminated by the flickering light.
“Kyah! Something to wear!”
“W-wait… here, take this…”
Anteia’s sudden outburst left Rudvig flustered as well. In a rush, he grabbed his shirt, which had been hanging nearby, and handed it to her—carefully averting his gaze all the while.
“T-Thank you…”
Anteia quickly put on the shirt he offered her.
“Wearing wet clothes would’ve made your hypothermia worse. That’s why I undressed you. Please don’t misunderstand.”
He rattled off his explanation quickly, almost like a machine gun as though he thought she wouldn’t believe him otherwise. But it wasn’t as if she’d doubted him to begin with.
“Was I out for a long time?”
“No. About thirty minutes, maybe?”
“I see…”
Growl—
Her stomach, oblivious to the mood, loudly demanded attention. She hadn’t had a proper meal all day, and her hunger finally made itself known.
“All I’ve got right now are some dried provisions. Would that be all right?”
Despite the situation being somewhat humorous, he didn’t laugh. Instead, he silently opened the small bag he had brought with him and took out some jerky and dried fruits.
Anteia nodded quickly in response.
Rudvig rose, poured some of the hot water he’d been boiling into a small cup, and handed it to her.
Anteia sat on the blanket-covered floor by the fire, eating whatever Rudvig handed her.
He watched her silently for a moment before opening a canteen and taking a swig of something himself.
“What’s that?”
“Alcohol. It’s strong, but drinking a little at a time helps raise your body temperature. The key is to drink in moderation.”
At her curious gaze, Rudvig hesitated briefly but then carefully extended the canteen toward her.
“Would you like to try it?”
“Yes, please…! My parents let me do just about anything, but they were strangely strict about alcohol.”
“Pardon?”
The moment Rudvig realized what she meant, he tried to stop her, but it was already too late. The alcohol had already made its way down her throat.
“Wait, Lady Blair. That’s enough—!”
Rudvig quickly snatched the canteen back from her hands.
“Huh?”
Anteia blinked up at him with wide, innocent eyes, and at that moment, Rudvig had a sinking feeling: this night was going to be a long one.
