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The entire castle woke up to the commotion in the early dawn.

Lanterns brightened here and there, and everyone rose from their beds.

Maidens, retainers, soldiers.

Many gathered in front of Vivian’s room to confirm the aftermath of the events.

The two surviving assassins were dragged to the dungeon, while the already dead ones were taken away by the soldiers.

“Kyle!”

I, too, got up and kicked Balron in the stomach as he approached me.

“Ugh!”

“You idiot! Did Brinden tell the guards to stand down?”

While clutching his bleeding gut, I hurled insults at him.

All eyes were on us.

Balron held his belly, visibly flustered as he faced the consequences of his actions.

“I… I didn’t think Lord Brinden would… I mean, he’s a noble…”

…

“Lord Brinden threatened to cut off my head if I overheard him and Lady Vivian…”

I understood. It must have been tough for Balron to stand up to a noble.

But that didn’t mean I could overlook his behavior.

In fact, Balron had to be punished properly to set an example.

With a sigh, I leaned down towards his ear.

And whispered quietly, “You can’t escape punishment. Understand?”

Balron gulped and nodded at me.

“…Yeah.”

He seemed to have accepted it now.

Then he asked me, “Did you protect Lady Vivian again?”

I nodded.

Balron sighed and said, “Thank you. If it weren’t for you… I would have lost my head too.”

“…Maybe you would have.”

I straightened up and addressed the soldiers around.

“Take Balron and Landor to the dungeon.”

The soldiers stiffened at my command.

Then Vivian, who had been standing behind me, commanded.

“…Do as Kyle says.”

The soldiers saluted and took away Balron and Landor, who had been under the protection of Vivian.

I surveyed the area.

Willas and Martin were watching Balron get dragged away, then looked my way.

I put aside the shock they must have felt and asked, “Where’s Brinden?”

Willas replied, “…Searching. Not just us, but other knights too.”

I nodded and said, “Make sure to find him.”

“Kyle, but your gut…”

I checked my stomach again.

No matter how hard I tried to stop it, blood kept oozing out.

Now that the heat of battle had cooled, the pain was gradually catching up with me.

I bit my gums and turned to look at Vivian.

She appeared safe now.

Vivian said, “You need to get treated first.”

I sighed and said, “Where’s Scholar Krellyn-“

-Thud.

At that moment, Vivian grabbed my arm.

As I turned back, she shook her head firmly at me.

…Thinking back, she had said she wouldn’t keep Scholar Krellyn by her side anymore.

She had marked Scholar Krellyn as her enemy.

It seemed she was warning me not to let him treat me.

As if he was no longer trustworthy.

“…”

I didn’t argue with Vivian’s judgment.

So I turned to the crowd of people gathering around and said, “Anyone who knows how to stitch up wounds, come with me-”

-“Me…!”

In a slightly trembling voice, someone boldly raised their hand.

It was the maid, Serena, who had shown me some fondness in the past but faced bullying from Vivian.

Both Vivian and I were taken aback.

But Serena continued, keeping an eye on Vivian.

“I-I sew better than any of the maids. I really don’t mean anything else… I really just want to help. Everyone knows I’m the most careful and quick!”

The maidens nodded cautiously.

“…”

Vivian said nothing.

Instead, she shot a rather intimidating glare at Serena.

Was it really that infuriating for her?

Suddenly, I felt a surge of irritation towards Vivian’s hatred toward me.

Maybe it was even more so because I had been rejected a kiss again.

Thus, before Vivian could respond, I spoke to Serena.

“Alright. Follow me.”

“…Yes, yes!”

-Thud.

I shook off Vivian’s grip on my arm.

And slowly approached Serena.

“…Kyle, where are you going?”

Vivian asked in a fierce tone.

“To get treated as you said.”

But I responded without flinching at all.

After all, Serena had long abandoned her feelings for me.

As she said, she was only here to help.

Vivian’s paranoia was getting tiresome-

-Thud!

At that moment, Serena pressed against my side.

She gripped my hand that was clutching my wound with hers and slipped under my arm to support me.

…Her touch was shockingly intimate.

I asked her, “What are you doing? I can walk by myself.”

“I-I just don’t want your wound to get worse…”

“…”

Her kindness was as clear as the midday sun.

I thought she had given up… but maybe not after all. Vivian’s suspicion might actually be right.

One difference was that Serena’s fondness felt less innocent than before and more direct. A more mature form of affection.

How old was I when Serena first showed me her fondness?

I think I was around 15, and I wasn’t this big back then.

The size difference between Serena and me was not this prominent before.

Now, Serena was… pressing against my chest.

I walked while being supported by her and finally said, “Could you back off a bit? It’s uncomfortable.”

“…I can’t. Your wound might open up more…”

“I said it’s uncomfortable.”

“Just… bear with it a little bit.”

I sighed and asked.

After fighting, I was already exhausted, and it was deep dawn with little sleep, and since I hadn’t eaten properly in days… I had no desire to argue with Serena any longer.

I had no energy left to waste on something trivial.

So I gave in, shifting my entire weight onto Serena.

She seemed to smile with delight despite the effort it took.

I looked at her and asked, “…Can you handle this? Even if Vivian sees you like this?”

“I-I’m just trying to treat your wound…”

Her words might have been true, but…

I turned back again.

In the distance, surrounded by retainers, Vivian was still looking our way.

…For now, it seemed Vivian didn’t trust Serena’s words.

…

I was in the narrow infirmary of the reconstructed Castle Rondore, which had once burned down and then been rebuilt.

Thinking about how Brinden had led the reconstruction, I felt strange.

The infirmary had just one bed and a small space next to it where someone could stand.

As it’s an infirmary, I couldn’t complain, but the room felt unnecessarily secretive.

Beside me lay a clean cloth, a blood-soaked cloth, and some strong liquor.

Meanwhile, Serena, who was next to me, had sterilized a needle by heating it in the flame, swallowed hard, and looked at me.

“Are you ready?”

She seemed more nervous than I was.

I nodded at Serena, pulled my hand away, and showed her my wound.

Serena sighed, then soaked a clean cloth in liquor and cleaned the wound.

I gritted my teeth at the pain that action caused.

“J-Just a little more… bear with it…”

Serena whispered.

With her brown hair and dark freckles, tall stature, and plain face, she carefully tended to me with her calloused hands—perhaps from hard work.

It might be bothersome, but I didn’t hate seeing her put in effort.

It must have been the same in the past.

She was the first person to express fondness towards me when I had no allies.

Back then, she had never bothered me either.

“…”

As Serena finished cleaning my wound, the moment she threaded the needle, I pondered.

…But what was the reason behind it?

Why did I find myself thinking about nothing but Vivian, who was just being cruel, instead of Serena, who openly expressed fondness towards me and was stitching up my wound and wasn’t bad looking at all?

If I just accepted the fondness Serena was showing, wouldn’t everything be more amusing? Why wasn’t I inclined to do that?

Why didn’t I feel even a smidgen of affection towards this maid, who seemed to have everything?

“…”

As I silently stared at her, Serena cleared her throat and blushed.

That subtle reaction was indeed quite different from Vivian’s.

“I’ll begin now.”

Serena said as she brought the needle closer again.

I nodded.

Soon the needle pierced my skin, and I felt the pain, gritting my teeth once more.

But thankfully, as promised, Serena’s movements were quick.

It was clear that stitching up wounds wasn’t her first time, yet she glanced at me, tightening the speed as best she could.

“Just a bit more… You’re almost done.”

Perhaps to reassure me, she spoke up.

Although it was Serena who was trying to hold back the feelings of nausea caused by blood and the harshness of the scar, she kept trying to soothe me.

“What exactly… happened?”

Serena asked.

I took a deep breath and replied.

“There were assassins.”

“Who sent the assassins…?”

“…Treasurer Brinden. Brinden Trelly.”

Serena gasped in surprise, but her hands didn’t falter.

“Is… is he going to be executed?”

“He should be if we catch him.”

“…You’ve really been through a lot. If it wasn’t for you, Lady Vivian…”

I chuckled.

“…That’s what I’m saying.”

Once again, it could have been Vivian’s turn to die if it weren’t for me.

“…”

Serena’s expression grew dimmer.

Was she pensive because she was concentrating on the stitching? But then her next question revealed that wasn’t the case.

“…Why do you keep doing this?”

“What do you mean?”

“…I shouldn’t say this, but… aren’t you enemies with Lady Vivian?”

As she conveyed her words, Serena spoke in a careful whisper.

That tiny whisper held a hint of frustration.

“Why on earth do you sacrifice yourself for Lady Vivian so much?”

“…”

While I stayed silent, Serena leaned closer to my wound.

-Snip!

Bitten through the string, she finished stitching and looked at me.

“…I envy Lady Vivian.”

I couldn’t reply at all.

“If Kyle had protected me like that, I would have asked for nothing more in the world.”

“…”

“…If it were me, I would never hurt you.”

After struggling to find something to say, I finally questioned.

All I could muster were those words.

“…This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

“I didn’t act that way in front of Lady Vivian.”

Her gaze was different from before.

There was honesty and longing in her expression that I had never seen in front of Vivian.

“Now I can be honest, can’t I?” Serena whispered softly. “…I don’t know when the opportunity will come again.”

Serena said that and slowly set down the thread.

She naturally reached out both hands and held my face.

“…I like you, Kyle.”

It was a confession like no other.

However, even at this moment, I didn’t feel anything.

Her sudden closeness took me by surprise.

“…What the hell did we have between us?”

Serena shook her head and said in a tender voice.

“Does love need a reason?”

…That strange statement resonated in my heart.

As I tried to gather my thoughts, Serena held my face and stood up.

“I’m not asking you to accept my feelings. Just… sometimes like this…”

As Serena tried to lean in for a kiss.

I was curious about the feeling of kissing, but I didn’t want to have that experience with Serena.

I had someone waiting for me.

“Stop—”

I raised my hand to stop her, but in that narrow infirmary, the door swung open suddenly.

-Creak.

At the moment the door opened, I caught a whiff of flowers and instantly knew who had arrived.

Vivian.

She also froze in place, having opened the door, and stared at us.

Serena, startled, couldn’t react at all.

Looking back at Vivian, I stammered in an attempt to explain without letting go of her gaze.

“Vivian! This… This isn’t what it looks like…”

Vivian stood by the door, seemingly analyzing the situation, taking her time before slowly lifting the corners of her lips.

“…Huh.”

A quiet chuckle escaped her lips as she smiled.

She even tilted her head slightly while laughing.

That laughter held no warmth whatsoever.

“…Huh.”

Whatever she found funny, Vivian just laughed.

 

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