“Lord Klen!”
“I am busy right now, so later.”
“What?!”
The soldier who had been rushing toward us stopped dead in his tracks.
He was likely frozen in place, unable to move.
In the meantime, Klen dismounted with me in his arms and walked briskly.
Occasionally, voices called out to him along the way, but he never stopped, using the excuse of being busy.
As he continued on, the voices trying to stop him and the footsteps following behind eventually faded away.
Perhaps the sight of him hurrying with unsteady steps while holding me looked incredibly urgent to them.
“Lord Adrian!”
“Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?!”
[Who do you think my master is~ Of course he is safe!]
Immediately following, the voices of Linda and Vis burst out like screams.
I realized we were finally back.
It seemed the two had stayed up late into the night waiting for me.
“H-how… did you save him, Young Master?”
“Could it be… is it true?!”
Words filled with shock and deep emotion followed.
“He isn’t wounded, so rest easy.”
“Good heavens……. His body is so cold.”
Linda’s hand trembled slightly as she brushed my hair aside.
Her voice, thick with sorrow, tugged at my heart.
I wanted to open my eyes right then and look into her worried gaze to reassure her.
‘It’s not like that, Linda. My body is cold because Klen spent the whole time radiating a massive amount of chill.’
If I felt this cold despite Aren’s protection, the ones who took the direct hit must have nearly had their hearts frozen solid.
“Please, go inside quickly.”
“Are you alright, Young Master? Your clothes are a mess.”
Having rolled around quite spectacularly, Klen’s appearance must have been quite a sight as well.
No wonder the soldiers were worried he might be injured.
“The bath is already prepared.”
“As expected?”
“……Can you really laugh in a situation like this?”
It seemed Klen let out a faint smile again at her quick response.
Even at her frosty words, his body shook slightly as if he were still smiling.
“Ah, right. Prepare some warm tea. I think Adrian will wake up soon.”
[Bring some dessert as well!]
“Is that true?!”
“Yes. I will prepare it immediately.”
“…….”
I had planned to pretend to wake up once we reached the room and felt the warmth, but listening to their conversation caused me to miss the right timing.
Besides, no one else would have heard what Aren said.
‘Will it be okay?’
Aren was a huge help in this matter.
It would be nice if they brought something for him, but if they only brought tea, it couldn’t be helped.
I’m sure there are some raspberries preserved in honey that Klen hid somewhere in the room.
Klen went straight into the bathroom.
He firmly refused Vis’s offer to help and only set me down once we were inside.
Only then did I lift my eyelids.
Before me stood a bathtub with steam rising from it.
“…….”
Standing beside me, Klen began to take off his clothes as if it were nothing.
As his firm physique, previously hidden by his clothes, was revealed, I unknowingly swallowed hard.
No, I’m certainly not the type of person to drool over someone else’s body.
Embarrassment rushed over me, and I quickly turned my head away.
My cheeks felt flushed, likely due to the high temperature of the room.
But why was he taking off his clothes?
Even though I wasn’t actually unconscious, I could only think of one reason why he would undress as well.
“Are we going in together?”
“If you strongly wish to wash separately, I will do so, but is there a need?”
“…….”
Was that right?
Well, I suppose it could be.
It might be better.
It’s no big deal.
My mind kept repeating that it was no big deal, as if trying to convince itself.
I was likely nervous because it was the first time I had bathed with someone else since I was a child with my older brothers.
My hands trembled slightly as I reached for my buttons.
I pulled my hands back, clenched them into fists, and then released them.
It took a moment for my pale hands to regain their color, but the trembling stopped.
Taking that chance, I threw off my clothes as quickly as possible and hopped into the tub.
The warm water felt wonderful as it wrapped around my body.
However, the fact that the transparent water couldn’t hide me bothered me.
Splash—
“……!”
When I felt his presence, a shiver ran down the back of my neck.
It was as if I could see exactly where his invisible gaze was lingering; the fine hairs on my body stood up one by one.
My heart beat so strongly I couldn’t tell where the pulse was coming from.
‘Stay calm. Calm…….’
I shifted my thoughts. I couldn’t see him yet, so it was fine.
This was no different from being in the bath with my brothers. I would just wash and get out immediately.
Thinking that way, my heart, which had been thumping loud enough to make my ears ache, slowly began to find its rhythm again.
“Adrian. Tilt your head back.”
“Yes?”
As I leaned my body into the tub and tilted my head back, Klen’s face appeared directly above me.
I quickly closed my eyes.
While I barely managed to keep my heart from jumping out of my chest, warm water slowly flowed over and soaked my hair.
“Is it too hot?”
“I-it’s fine.”
Soon after, his hands entered my hair and slowly worked through it.
His movements continued like a massage, pressing and rubbing gently.
As the scent of oil mixed with various herbs and medicinal plants reached my nose, the muscles that had been stiff with tension melted away.
It felt good. I didn’t know I could feel this much peace while someone else was handling my hair.
“Ah…….”
A satisfied sigh escaped me unintentionally, and I felt my entire body sink into a languid state.
My closed eyelids felt heavier and heavier, as if weights were attached to them.
As the warm water flowed over my head again, sleepiness drifted toward me like a gentle wave.
Is it okay to sleep?
If I fall asleep like this, Klen wouldn’t irresponsibly leave me here.
I was certain that when I opened my eyes tomorrow, I would be lying in a soft bed.
In the end, I didn’t resist the oncoming sleep and let myself go.
“!”
But I couldn’t fall asleep.
Far from sleeping, I snapped my eyes wide open.
Just as I was about to fall into a dream, something soft touched my lips and then pulled away.
“Are you tired?”
Even under my fixed gaze—having forgotten to blink—he wasn’t surprised and simply placed his hand on my cheek.
Then, he gave a faint smile.
“Since you had your eyes closed, I did it unintentionally.”
“…….”
And then, our lips touched again.
His soft, warm lips simply pressed against mine and pulled away, as if there were no other intention.
It was just that, yet my heart fluttered.
“Your eyes are open now, aren’t they?”
“Well, your beautiful eyes were drawing me in, so I did it unintentionally.”
“…….”
What kind of embarrassing talk was that?
