Chapter 11
“Don’t make any mistakes. Understand? And that ball…”
“Mother. I’ll explain it well so that the lady doesn’t misunderstand. Of course, to the Duke as well.”
“Don’t think about breaking off the engagement for now. Marquis Ersian knows Cassien, so don’t you think he would’ve expected something like this to happen at least once?”
You really do live long enough to see all sorts of things. I never thought a day would come when Peria would take my side even after I caused such a big problem.
“Stay as close to him as you can while you’re there. I believe you understand what I mean.”
“Yes, of course. Don’t worry. Then Mother, I’ll be going now.”
It probably meant I should try to get closer so our families could form a bond. Of course, I had no intention of doing that, but I smiled like an obedient child and answered.
I bowed politely to Peria and walked toward the carriage.
‘The original story has definitely changed.’
Maybe I should feel relieved it hasn’t changed too much from what I expected. Still, going through events that weren’t in the story didn’t feel great. I just felt oddly uneasy.
‘Is it because unexpected things keep happening lately…?’
Thinking such trivial thoughts, I approached the carriage a knight had guided me to and stepped up the stairs. But not even a second later, I stepped back down.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know the Duke was inside…”
I had come this far because of Shanette request, but there was no way I could ride in the same carriage with him.
Before I could be glared at by Reus with contempt, I quickly looked around for the carriage I was supposed to take.
‘What? There’s only a baggage wagon…?’
They hadn’t said anything specific, and since a knight from the Duke’s house guided me, I thought for sure there’d be a carriage ready.
But apparently not. Feeling awkward, I was about to turn back to the Count’s estate. Then Reus called me.
“Lady Ivelle.”
“I-I’ll have a carriage brought over right away…”
“Get in.”
I thought I misheard him, but not only did Reus tell me to get in, he even reached out his hand. It looked like he meant for me to take it and get in.
Did he notice I was hesitating?
Reus spoke again.
“You weren’t guided incorrectly. Please get in.”
‘He’s clearly going to be uncomfortable.’
I concluded that refusing now would just make it awkward, so I shook my head slightly.
“No, Your Grace. They’ll bring a carriage soon, so please just wait a bit… Ah—”
Before I could finish, Reus pulled me up into the carriage. But that wasn’t why I stood frozen like a fool.
‘Did he… just smile?’
It was only for a moment, but I think I saw Reus smile. Because of that, I couldn’t take my eyes off his face.
‘He used to avoid even making eye contact with me.’
Why are we riding in the same carriage now?
What made it more frustrating was that while I was sitting uncomfortably, Reus was calmly reading a newspaper.
‘But is he really okay?’
Even now, he seems perfectly fine, walking around like nothing happened. He must’ve recovered a bit by now…
Still, it wasn’t easy to stop worrying.
Even my own injuries on my arms and legs were only now starting to heal. Reus, who was hurt worse than me, couldn’t possibly be completely fine just because he looks okay.
‘Why did he have to get hurt in front of me of all times…’
I sighed softly, lost in complicated thoughts. Maybe he heard me, because Reus looked up and asked:
“Do you have something to say?”
“Huh? Oh… no…”
“I thought you were staring because you wanted to say something.”
“Sorry if I bothered you, Your Grace.”
I thought he might nitpick more, but Reus surprisingly turned his eyes back to the newspaper. I thought he’d lost interest in me again, but before long, he spoke while still looking at the paper.
“Or is there something else that’s bothering you?”
For a moment, his timing felt too odd, and I flinched.
He wouldn’t know I was worrying about him, but still… weird timing.
“No… Not at all.”
Reus didn’t say anything after that.
I quickly turned my head to the window. I made up my mind to stay as quiet as possible from now on.
But that plan quickly failed.
Not even a second later, I made a loud, dumb noise.
“Uh—?”
It was because the carriage was heading in the opposite direction of Marquis Rabian’s estate.
While I was blankly staring out the window, trying to understand the situation, Reus casually said:
“My aunt is currently at the Duke’s castle.”
“Oh… I see. Right.”
Would it have hurt to tell me that earlier…?
I was full of complaints, but what could I do? Reus was never someone who acted kindly toward me. I just had to bear it.
‘Still, since it’s the Duke’s castle, it won’t take too long to get there.’
The Duke of Rochester bordered the County of Ivelle, so it shouldn’t take too long to arrive.
We’d probably get to the castle in the late afternoon or early evening.
‘Anyway, it’s way better than going all the way to Marquis Rabian’s estate and having to stay overnight.’
At the time, I was a little too relaxed. I didn’t yet know what kind of situation would greet me at the Duke’s castle.
“Hmm…”
It was so quiet around me that my eyes opened naturally.
As I blinked, my blurry vision slowly cleared, and I saw someone’s legs.
“You’re awake.”
“Yes…”
I vaguely thought those legs were long. I had no idea they belonged to Reus.
‘Oh my god…!’
As soon as I realized they were Reus’s legs, I jumped up without thinking. At that moment, something soft fell off me.
It was a cream-colored blanket.
I stared at the blanket on the floor, seriously wondering why it had been covering me. It wasn’t the most important issue, but my sleep-fogged brain couldn’t think clearly.
What snapped me out of it was Reus’s voice.
“Shall I help you?”
Help with what…?
Reus seemed to wait for my answer, then slowly stepped closer. Soon, something touched my cheek.
It was… Reus’s fingertips.
They say if you’re too surprised, you can’t even scream. I froze, eyes wide open, still not fully awake.
Even though he must’ve known how stiff I was, Reus said nothing. He just gently moved the hair stuck to my cheek.
With such a careful touch.
It was such an unrealistic sight that I almost thought I was still dreaming. But the sharp sensation of his hand on my cheek made it impossible to deny.
‘What is with him today…?!’
I couldn’t show it, but I was panicking inside. Then I felt warmth near my cheek.
At the same time, the stinging pain completely disappeared.
‘Huh? Is this… magic?’
Magic? But Reus is… a knight.
Even in the novel, and now in this life I’m living, Reus was a knight and a hero of the empire. He wasn’t a magician, but a swordsman! But what just happened was clearly magic.
My swollen cheek healed instantly.
‘Could Reus always use magic?’
I was still confused when Reus picked up the blanket from the floor, folded it once, then twice, and spoke again.
“Would you like help fixing your clothes?”
“Huh?”
I looked straight ahead, then dropped my gaze to the floor.
‘Oh no. What is this?’
The first thing I saw was my wrinkled clothes. As if that wasn’t bad enough, they were also twisted and didn’t fit right on my body.
And my hair—what a mess. One of my shoes wasn’t even on my foot, just rolling on the floor.
I hurried to put on my shoe and fix my hair. Then I discreetly checked my mouth to see if I’d drooled in my sleep. Meanwhile, Reus stepped down from the carriage first.
I rushed to follow him, and when I tried to get off, Reus stood in front of the carriage and looked at me.
“You can come down slowly once your fever calms.”
Reus lightly tapped his own cheek.
I tried my best to act calm. But apparently, my face had turned completely red.
Left alone in the carriage, I slammed my forehead against the wall and blamed poor Reus for everything. As soon as I got out of the carriage, I saw Shanette talking with Reus. I approached to greet her.
But something seemed off about Shanette expression.
“Lady Ivelle?”
Yes. That face. Like, what are you doing here without even sending word?
I couldn’t read anything else from her face, so I gave her a confused look and greeted her.
“It’s been a while, ma’am…”
“It’s so good to see you. How long has it been? But what brings you here…? No, wait—did you two come together?”
What?
‘I thought Reus said Shanette asked him to bring me…’ I replayed our earlier conversation in my head.
He came out of nowhere, asked why I wasn’t surprised to see him, gave me Shanette invitation, then suddenly told me to get ready to leave.
‘That was it, right?’
As I was thinking, Reus stepped up next to me. I looked up, hoping for an answer, but he ignored my gaze and calmly told Shanette:
“She’s my guest. And yes, we came together.”
He said it with the most shameless expression I’d ever seen.
