Author: rolypoly

Not only that, Rev got up from his seat. 

 

Everyone’s eyes were on him, but Rev didn’t seem to mind at all. 

 

Franz stood up, surprised that he had dared to disagree with what the Duke had said, but Rev was looking at Luce. 

 

“What is this…!” 

 

“Enough, Sir Franz.”

 

The Duke’s husband, who beckoned, smiled kindly.

 

“I’m telling you because you seem ignorant of these etiquettes, but it’s highly not recommended to leave your seat in the middle of a banquet.”

 

“I understand that sharing a banquet with a patient is also not recommended for nobles for safety reasons.”

 

Rather than pointing out rudeness, it was first to respond to the word sick person.

 

‘Sick? who?’

 

The Duke’s husband looked in the direction Rev was walking, which was toward Luce. 

 

“Are you okay?”

 

Rev asked in a worried tone when he cut off his words coldly. 

 

He was holding Luce’s arm carefully. A red spot sprouted on her left arm. 

 

Before realizing exactly what it was, the Duke’s husband turned his gaze to the Duke. 

 

“Could it be, wife?” 

 

Today was the day the reply came from the Empress. 

 

He doesn’t know if it goes as planned, but what if it doesn’t go as planned? 

 

So, what if the Duke did it again, just like she did in Rodante’s estate?

 

What if that went wrong and an innocent child was taken instead?

 

Suspicion about what had happened spread like wildfire, but the Duke just stared at the people across from her indifferently. 

 

The girl with a clear look of bewilderment shook her head.

 

“Ah, I guess seafood doesn’t go well with me. After eating the pie, my body itched…” 

 

“How did you put up with this?”

 

“It’s all right, Rev!”

 

Rev looked at the Duke.

 

“We will leave the seat.” 

 

It was a tone of notification rather than asking for permission.

 

The Duke, who looked at the girl’s arm and the man once, nodded.

 

The two got out. Everyone stared at the place they had left for a long time, and Alois’s gaze lingered longer.

 

It was the Duke who broke the silence in the banquet hall for a while.

 

“Let’s eat.”

 

****

 

‘I’m going crazy.’

 

She forgot one variable of her small thought. 

 

A friend who thinks terribly of her, Rev.

 

Luce, who had intended to get up secretly complaining of itching, was busy calculating the situation in which she left her seat openly.

 

And both at once.

 

‘Can I do this? Rev, what if you get scolded instead of me? Is this okay with him?’

 

As she was thinking about it, a warm temperature touched her shoulder.

 

Isn’t Rev the one who removed his jacket and placed it on her shoulder, silently escorting her?

 

Luce, who was walking, asked cautiously.

 

“Will it be okay?”

 

“I don’t know much about your treatment. Did you bring your medicine, Luce?” 

 

Contrary to the serious question, he gave a wrong answer. 

 

He seemed to understand it to the extent of ‘Are my arms okay?’.

 

Rev is now focusing all his attention on her arm. 

 

“No, not me, but those people. I wondered if it was okay to leave it alone.”

 

“It’s no problem, Luce. Even if there is a problem, Franz will take care of it.”

 

She didn’t know that Franz, who had been preparing for ‘unforeseen circumstances’, would be used in this way.

 

‘He’ll take care of it right…? Yeah, maybe this is a good thing.’

 

Now that she thinks about it, it wasn’t too different from the original concept. 

 

Luce went into the room, hoping that they would think that they weren’t polite because they were from the countryside.

 

Luce sat down on a chair, opened her bag, found a beginner antidote, swallowed it, and frowned.

 

It was very itchy even though she applied dilute oak moss extract.

 

‘If I knew it worked this well, I should have diluted it more.’

 

It was itchy, but it was obvious that if she scratched more, it would leave a scar.  

 

When she scratched her arm without thinking, something cold landed on it.

 

Before she knew it, Rev brought a wet towel.

 

“Even if it’s itchy, just be patient.”

 

As if soothing, the hand that carefully wiped her arm was very sincere.

 

Luce said softly as she looked at Rev, who was on one knee and looking at her arm like it was a treasure. 

 

Thank you.”

 

Rev, who had paused for a moment, raised his head.

 

As he sat on his knees, the distance was very close.

 

She could see his face well. 

 

Rev, who was looking up at Luce with a noble and elegant yet complicated expression, shook his head. 

 

“Thank you. You always helped me like this.” 

 

“….” 

 

“So there is nothing to be thankful for. I’d like you to think of it as getting it back. It’s a matter of course.”

 

“Since you said that, I’ll put in a word of thanks, but at least you don’t have to get down on your knees for what you do for me to take for granted, Rev.” 

 

“Why?”

 

He seemed really unconcerned.

 

It was the attitude that it didn’t matter whether he was kneeling, lying down, or in an uncomfortable position, as long as he could touch her with a wet towel. 

 

“Would you feel better if I was on my knees?”

 

“No.”

 

“So you get up, too.”

 

“I’m fine, but you don’t.”

 

“What nonsense is that?”

 

Rev smiled briefly at Luce, who was upset, and soon his expression became complicated again.

 

‘Is it because you’re worried about me being sick? As he said, it was Rev who was always looked after, but am I sick or not? But it wasn’t really painful, it was a way to get over the situation… so it’s fine.’

 

It would be a much more profitable business if she could escape the uncomfortable seat with at least an allergic reaction. 

 

These are the people who still give her goosebumps whenever she thinks about them. 

 

Luce poked her head in agreement with the comment that said those kinds of people were the scariest. 

 

‘But it was a good thing that Rev cut them off at that point. It would have been difficult in many ways if she had said, ‘It’s a little different from my memory,’ while we were talking about it.’

 

She lied to the Duke’s husband as well. 

 

It didn’t matter if Franz was with them because he didn’t know the details of the situation, but Rev was different. 

 

From her point of view, it would have been incomprehensible to have omitted the reason for the blackout and hid that she communicated through her necklace. 

 

‘Do you think I forgot all the context?’

 

If not—.

 

Even from Rev’s point of view, there’s nothing good about getting involved with Duke Ximel, so maybe that’s why he didn’t say anything? 

 

It was when she was going to ask. 

 

“Luce.”

 

“Eung, Rev.” 

 

Timing is like a ghost.

 

Luce, who had been waiting for Rev’s words with a smile, noticed that his hand holding her arm was a little weak.

 

“Did I have two wishes left?”

 

She thought it was a wish out of the blue, but it was true.

 

Luce promised him three wishes.

 

One of them has already been used. By accepting his necklace as a gift.

 

It was a strange wish to receive a present.

 

“Eung. You still have two left. Why? Do you want me to stroke your hair?”

 

Rev smiled lightly and shook his head.

 

“No. Is it still valid?”

 

“Of course, I’m not the kind of person who just wipes my mouth just because time has passed.” (t/n : 입을 싹 씻기 wipe my mouth means to have solely profited from something and to pretend to not have done so.) 

 

“That’s a relief. My second wish is.”

 

The mouth, which had been drawing a soft arc, hardened in an instant.

 

Then he said in a suppressed voice.

 

“Promise me you won’t hurt yourself, Luce.”

 

“Huh?” 

 

“Just like today, promise me you won’t hurt yourself.”

 

Then Rev ran his finger across her spotty arm.

 

The movement was very slow, polite, and heavy, and there was something desperate about it.

 

“…How did you know?”

 

“Because I was only looking at you.”

 

Her face flushed.

 

It wasn’t because she clenched her throat and held her breath, like she did at the banquet.

 

“I saw you pull something out. An unknown drug… You put it on your hand.”

 

Rev’s voice seemed to reach her chest rather than her ears, as he frowned as if he was in pain just thinking about it. 

 

“I saw everything, even when you scratched it to make it look red.”

 

“….” 

 

“I don’t know why you wanted to avoid the spot after going so far. I have no intention of asking you to pry or confide in you. Talking about that day, even your struggling face, I’ve seen it all, so I can’t do that, Luce. However…” 

 

This time, Rev’s body leaned over, sweeping up her reddish wrist.

 

“I wonder if you didn’t think of me even in a situation where you were in such a hurry to hurt yourself, or if there was no option to use me at all.” 

 

The hand that was going up and touched her arm wrapped around the shoulder.

 

The hot breath he exhaled silently warmed Luce’s skin.

 

“Eung? Luce.” 

 

He asked again, patiently holding out the urge to collapse only on this.

 

“No?” 

 

Author's Thoughts

Hello! You can also buy the advanced chapter in Ko-fi now, just click the ko-fi button and look for the title of the novel in shop. Thank you for your support!

Table of Contents
Reader Settings
Font Size
Line Height
Font
Donation
Amount
rolypoly

Ko-fi Ko-fi

Comments (0)