#27.
“Hmm….”
Hera woke up well over half a day later.
The sun had already set, and the sky was dim.
“Your Highness! You’re awake.”
A lively voice, somewhere between a boy’s and a young man’s, pierced Hera’s ears.
When she slowly opened her eyes, Merriot and a man she had never seen before were staring intently at her from a sofa chair on one side of the room.
“Where is this…?”
Feeling stiffness in her shoulders, Hera sat up.
Her eyes took in the simple layout and interior of the room.
The man nearby answered her.
“This is the Loranga estate. Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?”
“Not particularly…”
After hearing his words, she briefly checked her condition.
Perhaps because Emilia’s body was so healthy, even after fainting and waking up, she felt no pain.
The man smiled fresh and lightheartedly, relieved, then explained the situation before Hera lost consciousness.
His voice had sounded like a teenager’s at first, but his firm, well-built physique suggested he was around twenty.
Above all, his whole face smiled brightly, giving off a blend of innocence and freshness.
“Though the carriage tipped over, it was a gentle fall. Your Highness also protected yourself. A doctor came while you were asleep, and apart from minor abrasions, there’s no major problem.”
“Ah, thank you.”
“Are you hungry? Shall I bring you some soup?”
As the man spoke kindly, Merriot, who was sitting behind him, stood up and scolded him.
“Soup? What do you think this is, a restaurant? Stop it and get out.”
“The pumpkin soup was delicious today, though?”
“Hendrick Poi.”
That seemed to be the man’s name.
It suited him well—a mischievous yet healthy-looking young man.
Pouting, Hendrick left the room as Merriot ordered.
With Hendrick gone, only Merriot and Hera remained in the room.
An awkward silence filled the space.
Merriot, who had been staring at the door Hendrick closed behind him, approached near the bed.
His expression carried a hint of guilt and apology.
With his hands lightly clasped behind his back, Merriot began to explain the situation.
He looked like a student reporting to a teacher.
“To explain the situation, someone attempted to assassinate me by attacking the carriage, but fortunately, my guard Hendrick Poi killed the assassin first. The carriage did tip over during the process, but neither you nor I were seriously hurt.”
Hera recalled the moment before the carriage tipped.
As the carriage tilted completely and was about to fall, Merriot had not hesitated to grab her body.
Thinking about that embrace, Hera’s face suddenly flushed bright red.
Lowering his gaze, Merriot looked at Hera’s suddenly reddened face with raised eyebrows.
He was a woman who was difficult to read.
“Sorry for dragging you into this.”
Whether that was a polite phrase or not, a feeling of joy blossomed inside Hera.
Though others might be startled to hear her true feelings, upon hearing Merriot’s apology, Hera’s first thought was that their bond would continue further.
She was glad to be involved in this incident and even owe a debt because of it.
“That was quite… an accident.”
Hera’s feelings, inappropriate for the situation, struggled to break out, so she raised a hand to cover her face as much as possible.
No matter how much she hid her face, Merriot surely noticed the sweet happiness spilling from the curve of her eyes and voice.
Still, he could not read her innermost feelings, so he just frowned, thinking Hera had a strange personality.
“I considered going straight to Tollinga, but if it became known that I brought your unconscious body, it would be troublesome for both of us, so I brought you here for now. Julian Tollin has been informed and will come to pick you up soon.”
Merriot was suggesting that today’s incident be kept quiet.
The place where the accident happened was sparsely populated, so rumors that they rode together would be an undeniable scandal of an illicit meeting.
There was no one to blame.
It was Merriot himself who put her in the carriage, and he was the assassination target.
Besides, the rumors that Merriot Lorang was a promiscuous rake were something he had spread himself.
Pressing his throbbing temple with his hand, Merriot fixed his gaze on Hera.
Whether Hera understood Merriot’s concern or not, she seemed to be drifting in thought, even faintly smiling.
‘Does she even realize her situation?’
Even if a scandal of an illicit meeting spread, Merriot wouldn’t suffer much.
People wouldn’t expect purity from him, so if gossip with Hera caused harm, he could just create a scandal with another lady.
It was clearly Lady Tollin who would suffer damage.
Whether she knew this or not, she was laughing quietly on someone else’s bed.
‘I won’t say that Emilia Tollin suffers more…’
He had no desire to show the Tollin family any mercy.
However, he didn’t want to sully the young lady’s honor.
Scandals were always more fatal to ladies.
“Look. It’s better for both of us to quietly bury what happened today, don’t you think?”
To catch Hera’s attention, who was looking down, Merriot lightly tapped the back of her hand.
The warmth of his fingertips touched briefly, but Hera’s heart stopped and then started beating wildly as if she had just come out of a deep bath.
The tender sensation spread all the way to her earlobes.
Hera raised her head and looked at Merriot.
He was waiting for her reply.
“Is that… a request? To me?”
Hera was still poor at reading others’ intentions.
Seeing Merriot’s softest expression yet, she could only interpret his words as she wished.
Merriot frowned deeply and narrowed his eyes at her unexpected response.
A request?
Was she teasing him?
Merriot was slowly growing angry with someone who was so hard to understand.
He hated confusing things.
He had no time to play with things that would bewilder him.
He knew very well how ruthlessly Ober Tollin and his children had survived.
There was no room for innocence in their lives.
Yet Emilia Tollin pretended to know nothing, acted clumsy.
Did she hope to fool him with that ridiculous act, or did she want him to let it go?
Either way, Merriot no longer wanted to waste time on her.
“Unfortunately, it’s a threat.”
Hera didn’t really understand the variety of ways to deliver coercion or threats.
His words still sounded gentle to her because of his soft tone.
Her mother Belina also occasionally threatened her.
If she didn’t take her bitter medicine, she wouldn’t get snacks, and was locked in her room with a fierce glare.
Hera only remembered such loud threats, so she had no idea that quiet pressure could be more terrifying.
The Loranga bed was softer than the one she usually used, and Hera suddenly realized this was Merriot’s home.
Feeling invited to a special place, Hera felt instantly closer to Merriot.
Maybe that was why she joked with him in a casual tone.
“When you threaten someone next time, it’d be better to be a little harsher.”
“Is that advice?”
“It’s a suggestion.”
They both felt completely different emotions as if from different worlds.
Merriot’s cold eyes were fixed on Hera.
With both hands in his pockets, he bowed to her.
One knee pressed slowly on the bed, making a creaking sound.
Leaning against the headboard, Merriot’s face slowly drew close.
Turning her gaze away seemed impossible.
Merriot came within a hand’s length and spoke.
In a voice too cold to match his faint smile:
“Then let me give Emilia Tollin some advice too.”
Merriot’s eyes locked firmly on Hera’s pupils.
“Don’t act naive in front of me.”
Even Hera, poor at reading others’ emotions, couldn’t misunderstand such cold words so close.
“I know well what the Tollin children have done to survive. The purpose of wearing a mask to seem like someone else is the same for all—to deceive others.”
This time, Hera was sure Merriot understood her meaning properly.
“If you thought you could win my favor with some unique charm, you’ve failed.”
Otherwise, she wouldn’t be wearing such a sad expression.
‘Damn.’
Feeling guilty looking at her face, Merriot bit his lip hard without realizing it.
Hera blinked rapidly, as if about to cry, looking pitiful.
Though he told himself not to be fooled, Merriot’s heart churned with complicated emotions.
Thinking he had been too harsh, he wanted to apologize briefly and reach for a handkerchief…
“Your Highness!”
At that moment, Hendrick burst in without any tact.
“Hendrick Poi!”
Merriot, who had been leaning toward Hera, sprang up like a falling swing and cursed Hendrick’s full name as if it were a curse.
Hendrick, apparently used to this angry tone, casually told Merriot his business.
“A guest has arrived from Tollinga!”
“Of course. I contacted Julian Tollin!”
“No, it’s Baron Julian Tollin who’s come.”
“What?”
