.jpg)
Of course, the Grand Duke hadn't given a mere knight like Riet a hint about the situation. It was simply that Riet was good at reading the signs visible in the current circumstances.
However, Riet realized that such a prediction was useless in the current situation.
‘So, that lady is my wife, at least until they divorce.’
Riet remembered Rahan saying that. To her, it was nothing short of surprising.
Riet was also someone who had accompanied Rahan on a long, long expedition. She had never seen Rahan protect someone in such a manner.
‘Is what Harris said true?’
Rahan's adjutant, Harris, had repeatedly urged Riet to keep a close eye on Rahan, saying he was acting strange as they left Wind Rock Monastery.
‘No matter how I think about it, the captain was weird.’
‘What was weird?’
‘I told you, when he entered that bell tower.’
He was a man who always favored swift resolution, even on the battlefield. Thus, it wasn't particularly strange that Rahan Norwich had rudely flipped the veil to check her face, even if she was the lady he was to marry.
Harris emphasized that the strange part came after that.
‘Anyway, he was really different from usual. Regardless of what happened or didn't happen, I think we need to keep an eye on him.’
Rahan, who had flipped the veil, stared at the lady for a duration that—though brief—would have felt like an eternity compared to his usual self. In truth, if that were all, it would be something to brush off as "nothing much."
But after meeting her, Rahan hadn't grumbled at his subordinates once.
Considering how he had spent the entire journey to Arnsberg complaining, it was astonishing.
‘Maybe he fell for her? Haha.’
Riet had laughed it off with that answer. But in truth, even Riet didn't believe her own words.
Falling in love at first sight, or wanting to protect someone because of love, were things only possible for people who had leisure in their lives.
Because Rahan Norwich's life, like those who accompanied him on the expedition, had flowed without any leisure or room to love someone other than himself.
Abandoned by his mother as soon as he was born, and though he was taken in by the Grand Duke, he had to prove himself to people his entire life.
Every time he was pointed at as an omen of misfortune because of his ‘Red Eyes,’ a life spent having to produce results could not have been warm or leisurely. Though his path of expedition was filled with hardship, Riet vaguely understood.
The Expedition of Glory must have been the only way for Rahan to catch a breath of air. Meeting comrades he could rely on should be seen as a miracle.
He always acted playful and blunt, but those around him knew, at least a little, that this was his way of protecting his fragile inner self.
For such a man to suddenly fall in love now? It would be difficult unless a miracle occurred.
And yet.
‘Well, it would be good for the captain to have the experience of living and touching skin with someone.’
It was okay if it wasn't love at first sight. She just hoped he could at least start a family and learn what stability felt like.
Riet sincerely thought so.
Rahan needed such things.
She idly turned over her palm. Black blood that smelled of rot clung to her body.
The reason she could slice through others' flesh and bone and get such things on her without hesitation was that she knew there were many other good things in the world.
More accurately, she should say there were many things worth protecting, even if it meant dirtying her hands like this.
It didn't have to be a grand love worth selling one's life for. If there was even a small sense of relief that came from pressing bare skin against another, sharing warmth, and intertwining breaths, Rahan Norwich wouldn't live as if there were no tomorrow.
“Idiot. What's the big deal that he's acting out on his own.”
She wanted to blame his stupidity for facing a magical beast the size of a house alone, but she couldn't.
If he has something to protect, maybe he'll get a bit better.
Riet scratched her head. Then, realizing that the magical beast's blood was on her hair, she frowned.
Ugh, the smell of rot.
I should go wash up quickly.
* * *
Unfortunately, things did not turn out as Riet hoped.
“Ngh.”
It was in the middle of a breathless kiss. Rahan tried to adjust his hold on Iris's spine, but he unconsciously frowned at a sharp sensation.
The back of his hand had been scratched by a small stone among the grass. Normally, he wouldn't have cared about such a pebble.
But there was a problem. Iris was lying on the grass.
“Rahan?”
Iris, lying on the grass, belatedly came to her senses and looked at Rahan with a puzzled expression as he suddenly pulled away.
Her flushed cheeks and the lines of her body revealed through her soaked clothes were stunningly beautiful. Even her moist eyes as she lay upon the light green grass.
It was a sight that would make anyone lose their mind. In fact, Rahan's lower body was practically screaming.
However, Rahan's mind became surprisingly cold as he looked down at Iris.
He shook his head. Then, he supported Iris's back to help her up.
Iris, who suddenly found herself sitting by the spring, looked at him with a confused face, but Rahan pulled down her slender arms that had been wrapped around his neck.
“You’ll catch a cold.”
“Oh….”
“And doing this in the Sanctuary provided by the monastery is a bit….”
It was a statement close to an excuse, but it wasn't wrong.
Though it was a grassy field, it was a dirt floor. Moreover, while it was a forbidden forest, it was a place where someone might come and see.
It wasn't the kind of thought a man who had been panting frantically for her just a moment ago should have. Even he thought it was shameless.
“I-I suppose so….”
At Rahan's words, Iris also lowered her head in embarrassment and made a gesture as if tidying her top.
Once the reason that had melted into impulse returned, they could not easily look at each other.
Rahan shook his head and took off his own top. His clothes were also soaked, but it would be troublesome if Iris were seen by others in such a drenched state.
‘I was careless.’
He wrapped his top around Iris.
“Shall we head back for now?”
“Um….”
Iris looked up. A strong lingering desire remained in her eyes.
Rahan knew immediately what that desire was for. But since she had clearly been swept away by the atmosphere as well, he gave her a smile.
“I’m hungry.”
“…Ah. Right. You would be.”
Iris flinched, then gave a faint smile.
Priest Marid had said that bathing in the Sanctuary didn't need to be for a long time. Rahan realized that it was indeed true, as he felt much more capable of moving than when he had first left the monastery.
“There should still be some venison left at home. Shall we go quickly?”
“Yeah.”
As they left the forest drenched and returned to the small cabin, neither of them spoke. Part of it was awkwardness, but part of it was because they were lost in their own thoughts.
Iris had told Rahan that she 'liked him from the start.' Those words pierced somewhere deep in Rahan's heart. It was a quite pleasant pain.
It was also a sensation he was experiencing for the first time in his life. The feeling of someone pressing firmly on some part of his chest.
Rahan had never truly liked someone. But even without anyone telling him, he knew instinctively.
I, you.
….
.jpg)