Chapter 11
Kay stood on her tiptoes and felt around the top of the display cabinet. As she reached further inside, I could see her center of gravity shifting forward. An unpleasant sound came from the chair legs. Kay must have heard it too because she stopped moving and looked down at the chair.
“Kay! Get down from the chair!”
Kay also seemed to sense the danger and nodded at my words.
Just as she was carefully trying to get down from the chair, the cracks in the chair legs began to visibly worsen. If she fell like this, that small body would obviously get hurt.
I put strength in my legs and ran. At that moment, another window appeared before my eyes.
[Warning! While saving ‘K’ may earn ‘K’s’ recognition, some harm may come to you.]
But I had no time to look at the window.
I passed right through the window and reached out my hand. I threw my body and embraced Kay as she fell from the chair.
Unable to bear Kay’s weight, I fell down while holding her.
The chair with completely broken legs toppled toward the display cabinet. From that impact, the bottles that had been at the front of the display cabinet fell toward me.
I held Kay tightly in my arms and lowered my head. I heard the sound of glass breaking beside me and felt something fall onto my shoulder.
It must have been a light bottle because it didn’t hurt much, but the liquid inside began to spill and soak my right arm.
After that, I heard several more sounds of things falling and breaking. After some time passed, the surroundings became quiet.
After confirming that no more objects were falling, I checked on Kay in my arms.
“Are you okay?”
Kay carefully emerged from my embrace. Tears were hanging in the brown eyes that met mine.
“S-sister…”
Her face looking at me was pale. Seeing that completely white face made me suddenly scared.
“Kay, are you hurt anywhere? Does anything hurt?”
I was urgently examining Kay’s body when she suddenly stood up.
“Right now, I’ll call uncle or the leader…”
Then someone entered the room.
“What happened, Kay? I heard breaking sounds…”
It was Adrian.
Adrian, who had been looking back and forth between me and Kay, soon seemed to grasp the situation and frowned. Then he passed Kay and approached me.
“Ashley Ort.”
His voice was full of sighs. The eyes that met mine were cold.
I felt this temperature from him for the first time and just looked up without saying anything. Then I heard another sigh-like words.
“You should get up first.”
Adrian reached out his hand to me. When I took that hand, Adrian, who lifted me with strength, said to Kay.
“Kay, there’s burn ointment in the research room. Bring it to the reception room.”
“Kay was very startled. I’ll go get it.”
I tried to stop Kay from leaving, but Adrian pulled me toward him.
“Don’t you understand the situation?”
His voice was as cold as the eyes I had just met.
“Ashley Ort, you have somewhere to go with me.”
“Sister, I’ll bring it quickly!”
“Kay!”
I tried to follow Kay who was running outside, but was stopped by Adrian who was still gripping me tightly.
“You’re going this way.”
The place Adrian took me was none other than the reception room.
“Sit down.”
I was so bewildered by the current situation that I had no choice but to do as Adrian told me. He sat me down and brought a water bottle from a nearby table.
“It will hurt.”
“What?”
After saying that, he carefully took my arm.
Only then did the burned arm come into view. When I saw the wound, it began to sting.
“When exactly did…”
Adrian furrowed his brow after hearing my muttering.
“It’s cold.”
“What?”
Before I knew it, Adrian had a water bottle in his hand. The bottle tilted and a stream of water slowly flowed down over my arm.
“Gasp…!”
A sound burst out involuntarily.
It hurts. It hurts so much.
Tears naturally formed in my eyes. I even had the illusion that I was experiencing physical pain for the first time.
I tightly grabbed the collar of Adrian who was in front of me.
“What are you going to do if you don’t know your own condition?”
“…I was out of my mind. Ugh…”
“Does it hurt a lot?”
To Adrian, who had been involved in all sorts of dangerous situations, it would probably look like whining, but it really hurt. So much that I couldn’t continue speaking from the pain.
“Still, we have to wash it out. Bear with it.”
The stream of water passed over my arm. If it hurts this much for me as an adult, if Kay had been hurt…
“Leader, Kay isn’t hurt anywhere, right?”
“No.”
“That’s a relief.”
Adrian’s hand stopped for a moment. Our eyes met.
Usually this person’s expression was hard to read. Partly because he covered the lower half of his face, and partly because Adrian himself had lived restraining his emotions. But now I could tell.
Right now Adrian didn’t understand me.
“A relief… you say.”
Adrian’s hand holding my arm applied a little more pressure. His gaze turned to my wound. It seemed like he was asking if I thought it was fortunate even though I was hurt like this.
“Of course. What else would it be but fortunate?”
The blue eyes that had been looking at my wound slowly moved up. Soon they held me.
“Are you…”
“…”
“Like this with everyone?”
“What am I?”
“I’m asking why you think of others before yourself.”
It was a foolish question.
I was neither a pushover nor a saint. It was possible because the person in front of me was Adrian, because Kay was a good child.
“No way. I know my body is precious too.”
“Then why… are you being kind to us who kidnapped you, to me…”
The blue pupils looking at me wavered. Like someone had thrown a very small stone.
I looked straight into those shaking eyes. To give an answer to a very easy question for me.
I smiled faintly at Adrian, who looked confused.
“Because I like you. I do.”
As soon as I finished speaking, the water pouring over my arm stopped. Eyes like the sea meeting wind looked at me steadily. It was eye contact that continued in quite a long silence.
“Leader?”
I was the first to speak, unable to bear that time. Only then did the eye contact end. An uncomfortable atmosphere instantly began to circulate.
I could clearly feel through the air how Adrian had received my words. I felt regretful.
I should have been less honest. I should have built up more affection before saying it.
In the silence, all the water in the bottle was emptied. Adrian took out a handkerchief from his clothes. That hand carefully wiped the moisture from my arm.
Even the slight touch of the cloth was painful, making me naturally frown.
“It will get somewhat better after applying ointment, but the scar will remain quite large.”
I was relieved by his voice that was no different from usual. Since Adrian seemed to pretend he hadn’t heard, I also answered in my usual tone.
“I can cover it with clothes.”
Contrary to my words, tears dropped again as the cloth touched me once more.
“Even if it hurts, we have to wipe it clean.”
I felt embarrassed for no reason and added words.
“It might seem like whining, but I’m really enduring a lot right now. Really.”
“I know. If it were an ordinary noble, they would have said they were dying dozens of times.”
Is he serious? Or is it a joke?
I stared at his eyes to figure out his intention. Adrian seemed quite burdened by my gaze and looked toward the door.
“It seems Kay can’t find the ointment, so I’ll go get it.”
Adrian got up without waiting for an answer. No, he tried to get up but froze and looked at me once, then lowered his gaze.
Why is he suddenly acting like that?
I followed that gaze too. At the end of his gaze was my hand tightly gripping Adrian’s clothes.
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
I quickly let go. The part I had been gripping was full of wrinkles.
“Well… I guess I was raised delicately. I unconsciously depend on others…”
I rambled in embarrassment. Adrian gave me a cold assessment.
“You don’t really show signs of being raised delicately.”
Even though I’m a noble young lady, he says I don’t show signs of being raised delicately.
“That’s not… a good thing to say… is it?”
“I didn’t mean it badly. I meant you’re different from other nobles.”
I certainly didn’t seem like other noble ladies. Since I wasn’t really Ashley Ort to begin with, that made sense.
I laughed. I was happy that Adrian seemed to feel I was different from other nobles. To him, nobles would be people who deserved to die. I was fortunate to be distinguished from them.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Just because I’m happy.”
“I don’t know what you’re happy about.”
“Then let’s say I laughed because it was funny.”
At my answer, Adrian replied curtly.
“There was nothing funny here.”
“I think it’s funny though?”
Even this childish argument was fun.
At my laughter, Adrian’s ears turned red. He seemed to think I was teasing him.
Seeing that face made me want to tease him for no reason, so I was giggling when Kay’s voice was heard from the corridor.
“I brought the medicine!”
Kay entered the reception room, breathing heavily.
Seeing that, Adrian quickly walked toward the door. And he delivered his words faster than ever.
“Kay, apply medicine to the lady and give her a warm cup of tea. Let her rest well today.”
“Is sister okay?”
