Chapter 92
Kenzis, my spoil of war, would usually snort and sharply turn his head away whenever I spoke to him, yet Koa would run over the moment he even saw the tips of his hair in the distance. Anyone who saw them would think Koa was the owner who had raised him since childhood.
Seeing that tear-jerking devotion was both astonishing and pitiful. Still, maybe it was a good thing that he didn’t seem to miss the Emperor at all. In the end, I decided to bestow this wretched fellow upon Koa.
“To give me such a precious horse… I don’t know how to contain myself.”
“I don’t know whether he’s precious or not. He likes you, so he’s yours.”
“Thank you, Lady. I’ll ride him well.”
Koa was genuinely delighted, like a child who had just received a new toy.
Even after ownership had been transferred, Kenzis would still snort at me every time I passed by the stables. It was so absurd and ridiculous that one day I snapped at him, and Adrien, who witnessed the scene, shot me a look as if I were pathetic.
“What kind of kid picks fights with animals? Do you really want to do that?”
“He started being rude to me first!”
“A horse is a horse. You have to handle them delicately, like this.”
Adrien strutted over confidently toward Kenzis, then slowly reached out a hand toward his face. The horse blatantly turned his head away.
“W-what?”
Heh. Figures. How does it feel to be ignored by an animal too?
Just as I was about to mock him, Adrien got far angrier than I expected.
“No. This horse dares to look down on a person? You want to go one round with me?”
“You’re picking a fight with a horse now? Do you really want to do that?”
“…”
I threw his words right back at him. Adrien’s face twisted when they were returned verbatim, while Navien, who was watching beside us, burst into laughter, clutching his stomach and rolling around.
As soon as we returned to the fortress, I heard the news that Raymond had woken up.
“Lady Cowett, please come this way.”
When Melas spotted me, he immediately guided me to the Grand Duke’s room. But along the way, I heard an excited voice chattering loudly. It sounded familiar—it was Kalu.
“You guys didn’t see it, right? The Lady just lifted His Highness the Grand Duke and carried him off like—!”
I thought he was boasting about his own deeds, but strangely enough, he was talking about me.
“Kalu.”
“Gah—Lady!”
At Melas’s quiet call of his name, he came running straight toward us.
“You’re here?”
He scratched the back of his head awkwardly, looking like he had something to say.
“Lady.”
“Yes?”
“I deeply apologize for my rudeness before!”
Kalu shouted that and bowed at a perfect ninety degrees.
Huh? Is this really the same Kalu from back then?
I was honestly dumbfounded. His attitude had changed so much that he didn’t even feel like the same person.
Since I had received his apology, I nodded in response.
“It’s fine. Given your position, it was understandable.”
“Oh my—Lady, you’re not only strong, but you’re generous-hearted too!”
He raised both thumbs enthusiastically, laying on the flattery. Whether it was sincere or not, he was remarkably good at buttering people up.
“We’ll go see His Highness now.”
“Yes! Please go safely!”
As the conversation dragged on, Melas cut it short. We resumed our walk toward the Grand Duke after receiving Kalu’s ninety-degree bow. Once some distance had opened between us, Melas scratched his cheek and began offering what sounded like an excuse.
“Kalu… it seems he was deeply impressed that you saved His Highness.”
“Looks like it.”
“He doesn’t stop talking about you.”
He looked embarrassed by Kalu’s complete change in attitude, yet also seemed to feel obligated to explain it to me. He must have felt bad about how Kalu had treated me before.
Honestly, I could understand the shift. I went from being a burden to being someone who helped. In wartime, no one welcomes dead weight.
So he’s actually pretty simple, huh?
At first, he must have dismissed my healing abilities due to his prejudice. After that incident, I even heard that he’d been going around praising them as miraculous powers.
“Your Highness, Lady Cowett has arrived.”
When I entered the room, Raymond, propped up against the bed, welcomed me. Several of his subordinates were standing by his side.
“Raymond. Are you okay?”
“My back hurts terribly.”
My headbutt had been strong enough to knock out a man as large as Raymond, so even after he regained consciousness, he kept complaining that his back still throbbed.
Groaning, he placed a hand on his waist. For some reason, that sight made irritation surge up inside me. I don’t know why I got that angry, but I immediately launched into a scolding.
“That’s why you shouldn’t have done that. You didn’t need to.”
“I lost my senses the moment I thought you were hurt.”
“As the head of a faction, you can’t just throw away your reason and act on emotion.”
“You’re right. I was short-sighted.”
As I pointed out his faults one by one, Raymond immediately acknowledged them and apologized. His subordinates, who had been watching, were all standing there with their mouths hanging open in utter shock.
“What are we going to do? A man’s life is his back, you know.”
I said anxiously. Around us, people visibly flinched. Eden, who was standing near the edge, even trembled up to his shoulders. But unlike them, both Raymond and I spoke calmly.
“Then you can treat me, Aileen.”
“Shall I bring a healing potion?”
“This seems like an internal injury. We’ll need another method.”
Most of the subordinates looked confused at his words. But among them, Melas cleared his throat with a “Ahem,” his face turning red.
Only then did Raymond seem to realize they were still there.
“All of you, leave.”
“Yes.”
Relieved, they withdrew at once. Soon, only Raymond and I remained in the room. For no reason at all, tension crept up on me, and I swallowed hard.
“W-why did you send them out?”
“So I can receive kiss treatment from you.”
“W-what?!”
I had asked cautiously, but he answered without hesitation. Startled, I yelped and jerked my shoulders.
He stood up from the bed and walked toward me, step by solid step. Intimidated by his presence, I instinctively backed away. His gaze gleamed like that of a beast targeting its prey.
“You said a man’s life is his back. I learned something new.”
“I-I did? Haha…”
“Since you got hurt because of me, I have to take responsibility. I might need it later… for you.”
What do you mean, for me?
By now, Raymond was right in front of me, pressing his body against mine. But a doubt surfaced in my mind. Watching him walk so normally, he didn’t look injured at all. I felt like I should check. And besides, we needed to reset the atmosphere.
“You’re walking just fine—aren’t you actually okay?”
With reasonable suspicion, I lightly punched his back. The moment I did, he let out a groan and his body sagged.
“Ah—Raymond! Are you okay?”
“I’m not okay.”
Just that light test had him clutching his waist and groaning. The bold, predatory aura he’d had just moments ago was completely gone. Seeing that made me feel sorry for him all over again.
“Come here.”
Without warning, I grabbed his chin, lifted it, and pressed my lips to his in a head-on “treatment.” His eyes widened in surprise at the sudden kiss. But he quickly adapted, sitting down fully on the floor and pulling my waist into his arms. Because he was so tall, I ended up clinging to him with my knees bent.
Let me emphasize again—this isn’t kissing, it’s treatment! That’s what Raymond said, right?
Even so, the “treatment” gradually became deeper and more intense. When my breath started to run short, Raymond slightly pulled away to give me room to breathe.
“Aileen.”
Facing his flushed face made my heart waver.
This man before me was once my favorite character—and now he was my lover. He was precious even as just my favorite, someone I’d been willing to risk my life to save. Now that he was my lover, how could I even measure his value?
Our love had not yet been permitted by the world, but after confirming the depth of our feelings, there was no longer any room to retreat.
He was the one who had resolved to undertake a grand ambition—for me.
I loved those blue eyes more than anything. I had allowed him deep into my heart, and it was already too late to turn back. Ever since the moment I possessed this body, he had been someone I could give everything to without regret.
“Raymond. Hold me deeply.”
I gazed into his eyes. Reflected in that blue sea was a woman with pink hair who had fallen for the novel’s villain.
“All night long.”
Raymond’s eyes widened slightly at my words, but he didn’t look like he intended to refuse. Rather, as if he had been waiting for this, he curved his lips upward.
“You’re the one who asked. There’s no use regretting it later.”
Was the same fire burning in my eyes as in his? I looked into those blue flames and silently nodded. Raymond wrapped his arms around my back tightly. The kiss began again.
