Chapter 28
“Why did you interfere? I could’ve handled it on my own.”
“I should be the one asking. Why didn’t you ask me for help?”
“This is my problem. It has nothing to do with you.”
“…Nothing to do with me?”
There was no need to respond to something so obvious. More important right now was finding something to stop the bleeding.
As Selachia frantically searched the unusually large-looking bedroom, Tenus suddenly tossed the dagger he’d been holding onto the floor. Then, he wiped the blood off his hand on the bedsheet without care and grabbed Selachia’s chin, forcing her to look at him.
“Ugh.”
“Selachia Seydon.”
His rough, hoarse voice struck her ears harshly.
“Don’t ever do something this stupid again.”
“…What?”
“If you really wanted to resolve things on your own, you should’ve picked up the sword and stabbed your opponent. Not pointed it at yourself like a fool.”
“…”
“If you try to solve a problem in this pathetic way again, don’t expect me to let Aldritch off the hook.”
His chilling words crawled across the floor like a viper, sending shivers down her spine.
Selachia glared at Tenus with a face full of things unsaid, then forcefully pushed his arm away. There was no time for arguing. She immediately walked to the window and untied the curtain cord.
“You’re not going to answer me?”
Ignoring his cold gaze, Selachia wrapped the cord tightly above Tenus’s wound. It was a knot her mother had once taught her.
“I don’t want a lecture from someone who personally demonstrated such a foolish method.”
“What choice did I have?”
Tenus tilted his head, his voice bitter.
“If I’d chosen another way, you would’ve hated it.”
“That’s… true.”
What Selachia had wanted was for Aldritch to slip away from his own trap like a slippery eel. Even if it meant enduring some personal sacrifice, she didn’t want direct confrontation.
She especially didn’t want to provoke suspicion or raise alarm. Having Sophie bring things to a close was the best route. Even if it meant shedding some blood herself.
If Tenus had stepped in and escalated things, it would have complicated everything. The fact that he had instead considered her feelings and acted accordingly was surprising.
“You could’ve gotten seriously hurt. Have you already forgotten your one and only duty?”
“I wasn’t trying to die. I just meant to prick myself a little—like you did.”
“With that dagger? If I hadn’t intervened, your hand would’ve been split in two.”
Her hands trembled slightly as she tightened the knot.
But she couldn’t argue with him. If she had been unlucky, that very well might have happened. Her shaking hands wouldn’t have been able to wield the blade precisely. She could’ve misjudged her strength, or the act might’ve been exposed.
“I’m begging you—don’t ever do anything dangerous again.”
“Then what was I supposed to do in that situation? Just watch while Sophie got dragged down to the dungeon?”
As she continued threading the rope through the loop in the knot, Selachia murmured.
“I honestly don’t know. When caught between the devil and the deep blue sea… I don’t know what the right answer is.”
She’d struggled with that question since she was a child.
After her parents died and she became unwanted in her own home, Selachia had chosen inaction. Letting herself drift along with the current had led her here.
Now she was being framed, her life constantly threatened, standing alone with no one to lean on.
She had boldly left the Viscounty of Lensh, claiming she wanted to live her life properly, but nothing had changed. In fact, things had only become more precarious.
Maybe her past choices hadn’t been the right ones after all.
That’s why she had decided to leave the Duke’s house. This time, she wanted to find her proper place in the world.
Venturing into the world alone is never easy. It requires the kind of courage it takes to leap into the open sea.
Saving Sophie was part of that shift in mindset. She’d made up her mind—she didn’t want to stay passive anymore. Even if it meant paying in blood.
Still, she couldn’t be sure.
Was this really the better path?
Maybe the old way was the right one?
Tenus said nothing as Selachia finished the knot, consumed by her own unanswered questions.
When he finally saw the finished knot, he let out a dry chuckle.
“I thought you might have studied medicine with how confident you looked. But this knot? You used a sailing knot on my arm?”
“I only know two types of knots.”
Selachia watched closely to see if the bleeding had stopped, raising two fingers playfully.
“One is the one I just tied around your arm. And the other…”
She paused.
“…is the kind used in executions.”
“…What?”
“If you don’t want to test the second one on your own neck, stay quiet.”
Of course, her mother had taught her that knot as a fishing hook knot—but she’d mentioned it was also used in hangings. So it wasn’t a total lie.
Fortunately, the bleeding slowed. The knot seemed to be working. She relaxed a little, thinking all they needed now was some medicine.
Knock, knock. Before they could answer, the door burst open.
Startled, Selachia instinctively shielded Tenus with her body. But her small frame did little to cover his large build.
As she fumbled to block him, she made eye contact with Mark. He looked slightly flustered as he held up a glass vial.
“…Thought you might need this.”
“Bring it here.”
Tenus remained perfectly calm, as if he’d expected Mark to show up.
“It’s a hemostatic agent.”
Mark handed the vial to Tenus as he walked past Selachia.
He looked like someone who already knew everything that had happened. If that were true, had others figured it out too?
Seeing her anxious expression, Tenus glanced at her and said,
“Mark’s the most perceptive of the Seydon knights. That’s why he noticed. The others don’t know. Especially Aldritch.”
His low, steady voice was oddly reassuring. Selachia looked at the vial filled with fine, white powder.
“Is that… cuttlefish bone powder?”
“That’s right. You’re familiar with it, my lady.”
Cuttlefish bone powder was commonly used to stop bleeding—every coastal household had it. Mark had apparently brought his personal supply.
“But… won’t a wound this deep need stitches?”
Selachia looked at Tenus’s wrist in concern.
“It’s fine. This is enough.”
Tenus sprinkled the powder lazily. One light shake of the vial—that was all. The white powder barely covered the wound.
Unable to bear it, Selachia snatched the vial and dumped a generous amount over the wound like a snowstorm.
Mark handed over a bandage just in time, and Selachia expertly wrapped it using the same knot from before.
Mark looked curiously at the unusual knot but said nothing. Instead, he reported his task.
“The maid has been handled.”
Selachia considered asking where Sophie was but decided against it. Mark gave a polite nod and quietly exited the room.
Silence settled over the previously chaotic space.
Sophie was safe, and Tenus was alive. Everything was… okay.
Her body, which she hadn’t even realized was tense, suddenly lost all strength. As she swayed, Tenus caught her around the waist from where he sat on the bed, keeping her from collapsing with her bloody dress onto the sheets.
“Thank you. I’m okay now.”
She meant he could let go of her, but it didn’t seem he understood. Instead, he asked an unexpected question.
“Even after all this, you still haven’t changed your mind? You still want to let Aldritch go?”
“Well…”
She should probably come up with a plan before leaving the estate safely, but her brain felt numb from everything that had happened.
Tenus, who had bled heavily, still seemed full of energy as he continued speaking.
“Aldritch knows I’m immune to poison.”
“…Then he wasn’t trying to poison you.”
So… was she the only target?
But with such flimsy evidence? That was a naive thought.
Even if she was dragged to the dungeon under suspicion of poisoning, the truth would come out eventually. She was a noble by birth—punishing her without solid proof wouldn’t be easy.
So maybe, rather than that…
