Was it because she had turned her head with too much confidence? Beatrice’s glasses slipped down slightly.
“Whoops!”
Holding her notebook in one hand and Cassian’s hand in the other, she tilted her head back slightly.
It seemed the thought that she could simply let go of Cassian’s hand for a moment had not even crossed her mind.
Wrinkling the bridge of her nose to barely nudge her glasses back up, she gave a refreshed smile and pushed her way through the crowd.
At the gap that parted far more easily than expected, Beatrice let out a soft exclamation.
“Oh. It actually worked. Truly, they say no experience is ever wasted. This is all thanks to having had a pop… um, very popular friend back in my academy days.”
To speak honestly, it was closer to the people making way in sheer bewilderment, but that was not a particularly important fact.
At that moment…
“Pfft, ah, hahaha!”
Because Cassian, who had been dragged along by her with a somewhat bewildered expression, burst into laughter as if unable to hold it in any longer.
At the sudden laughter from behind, Beatrice turned her head.
In stark contrast to his usual cold and composed impression, Cassian was laughing brightly enough to melt even the snow atop a mountain.
“Ah, my apologies.”
Catching his breath lightly, his eyes crinkling at the corners, he added:
“It’s just that I’ve never been rescued in this manner before.”
“Uh, well, um… It wasn’t really anything so grand, though.”
The phrase ‘rescued’ seemed much more fitting for Cassian, who had whisked her away while she was being interrogated by Clyde.
Of course, that situation in itself had been a misunderstanding.
With an embarrassed expression, Beatrice scratched her head.
Seeing that, the corners of Cassian’s lips curved up a little more, tinged with softness.
“Is that so? You looked more gallant than any knight to me.”
His voice was still laced with residual laughter.
It was clearly a joke, yet Beatrice’s body stiffened slightly.
It was because, outside of Clyde and her family, there had been no member of the opposite sex with whom she traded banter like this.
‘Still, it’s not like I can throw a punch to Cassian’s solar plexus the way I would with Clyde or my brothers…’
It was the moment she awkwardly rolled her eyes behind her glasses and parted her lips to speak.
The murmuring of the people who had surrounded Cassian and Beatrice reached her ears.
“Sir Cassian laughed.”
“I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen him laugh like that?”
“…Say, wouldn’t the Lord Marquis hold a grand banquet before this year passes?”
A subtle excitement lingered in the glances and whispers of the people looking back and forth between the two.
Though they exchanged these words in their own serious manner, Beatrice took it all as affectionate teasing.
This was because Beatrice and Clyde were often teased in this very way whenever they went out into the fief to play.
‘Oh my! Did the two of you sneak out together again today? At this rate, you two will end up holding hands and eloping!’
‘What? The young lady and Lord Clyde are going to elope? I knew it! Didn’t I tell you they had that kind of relationship?!’
‘My lady! Is the rumor true? Have you really set your heart on Lord Clyde? Why? You had such great chemistry with that tall, orange-haired gentleman who came with you during the last break!’
Recalling the people who used to show such keen interest in Beatrice’s love life, her tension eased slightly.
Thinking that Cassian was probably in a similar situation made her feel that the distance between them had narrowed a bit.
‘No wonder he just let them crowd around him like that. They must really get along well.’
To think that such a place was falsely accused of being cursed and vanished without a trace before my regression… A complicated emotion welled up anew.
From the thought of whether she would have ever remembered this place if Clyde hadn’t mentioned it, to the relief that, whatever the case, she was glad to be able to prevent it this time.
While Beatrice was indulging in a touch of sentimentality, Cassian swiftly began to wrap up the situation.
“Ahem. Everyone, it would be best for you to return to your places for now.”
“Ah!”
“Because if you gather like this here, people might get injured in the crowd again. If you still have business remaining with me, wait in an orderly fashion. I shall check shortly.”
At Cassian’s words, the people exchanged glances for a moment before shaking their heads side to side.
“No, today… we should be fine! We have some tact, after all.”
“We’ll take our leave, then!”
…Tact?
Beatrice knew very well what such reactions meant.
Yet before Beatrice and Cassian, having caught on to the situation, could correct their misunderstanding, the gathered crowd dispersed.
Shrugging lightly, the two met each other’s eyes for a moment, tugging at the corners of their mouths awkwardly as they spoke.
“Well… it’s all right! It must be because I treated you with so little reserve, Lord Cassian.”
“No, that is not true. I should be the one apologizing. However, um, Lady Kruger?”
“Yes?”
“I believe it would be fine to let go of my hand now.”
“Ah, aah!”
Realizing at Cassian’s words that she was still holding his hand, Beatrice’s face flushed bright red in an instant.
Quickly releasing his hand, she laughed sheepishly and continued:
“Um, shall we head inside now? Somehow quite a bit of time has passed!”
“Yes, let us go.”
Ignoring the faint amusement lacing Cassian’s voice, Beatrice moved straight ahead.
Climbing the entrance stairs, she opened the door and entered the treatment center alongside Cassian.
Though separated by merely a single door, the air inside the treatment center was starkly different from the outside.
“Aaargh! It hurts, it hurts!”
“You must endure it. Come, just a little, just a little more…!”
“No!”
—Clang!
The first thing that caught her eye was patients thrashing violently as if the treatment itself was agonizing, and healers barely managing to restrain them.
However, unlike the chaotic situation of the patients, the interior of the medical clinic was surprisingly well-ordered.
The beds, arranged at regular intervals, were clean, and the medicines and tools set out all showed signs of attentive care.
‘The movement path is immensely efficient, too. I can see much thought went into it.’
Beatrice’s eyes shifted to the monks bustling back and forth between the patients.
With practiced familiarity, the monks were swiftly clearing bloodstained cloths and instruments, examining patients’ conditions, and checking additional supplies.
It was while Beatrice was inwardly admiring them as they poured in all their efforts.
“Lord Cassian?”
A monk who discovered the two approached with a welcoming expression and offered a greeting.
“It has been a while. You came in person today! Did you come because you were concerned about the situation at the treatment center?”
“You are working hard. Yes, I wanted to see the situation firsthand, and also lend a hand if there is anything I can help with. The more helping hands, the better, isn’t it?”
“Haha, you haven’t changed a bit.”
Smiling gratefully, the monk turned his gaze toward Beatrice and bowed his head once more.
“Ah, this person is Lady Ria Kruger, who came out to support the Marquisate together with His Highness the Crown Prince. She is the person who realized that the Orichalcum was dangerous this time and offered great help.”
“Ah! I’ve heard the stories! It was you? To think I would meet you in person like this… It is truly a pleasure! You must be very busy with other matters as well, so thank you so much for coming all the way to the treatment center.”
“Ah, not at all. I was merely fortunate to discover it. Thank you for thinking so kindly of me.”
“Humble as well! May Kalbaron bless you, sister. My name is Jeremiah. I serve as the deputy head of this relief mission.”
Before Jeremiah, who had warmly greeted her, could even speak again, a patient’s scream echoed from the opposite side.
Reflexively turning his head to check on the patient, he spoke again with a troubled expression.
“Ah, um… I am truly ashamed to say this the moment you’ve arrived, but we are currently facing a severe shortage of hands.”
“As expected, then.”
“Yes. With the sudden surge in patients, we were attempting to build a temporary accommodation space.”
Hearing Jeremiah’s words, Cassian nodded briefly.
“I shall help.”
“Ah, I’ll help too!”
Looking at Beatrice, who raised her hand without hesitation, he smiled once more and spoke to her cautiously.
“Um, in that case, may I ask a different favor of you, sister? Setting up the temporary space requires a great deal of physical strength.”
“Ah, of course!”
At Beatrice’s cheerful consent, his expression brightened slightly. And the task he asked of her was…
“Then while Lord Cassian and I construct the temporary space, I would be grateful if you could keep watch over this person in the storage room.”
“…Pardon?”
It was none other than watching over a person.
And not just anyone, but Valoa Crawford.
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