~Chapter 23~
Etienne nudged the horse forward with a gentle kick. Because of the movement, my weak body was pressed against his broad chest.
Oh my! I jumped away from him, startled.
“Relax your body.”
His low voice right next to my ear felt strangely suggestive.
W-why do I need to relax? Seriously…
But after a few steps, I understood what he meant. Trying to keep my distance from Etienne made my back hurt so much it felt like it would snap.
In the end, I did as he said and sat comfortably, letting my body relax. Because of that, every time the horse walked, I kept bumping into him and then moving away again. Well, technically he wasn’t hugging me, but to me, there wasn’t much difference.
Was my back always this sensitive? This is crazy. Get a grip! It’s just horse riding! Am I trash for thinking this way? Etienne would be so disgusted if he knew…
I stared out at the quiet forest path and tried to calm down. Stay cool. It’s just a backrest. A very comfortable, sturdy backrest… A handsome, sexy backrest.
“Dahlia.”
His deep voice rang in my ear. I tried to steady my shaking shoulders and answered as calmly as I could.
“Check my right waist.”
“Why…?”
I hesitated, then used my free hand to feel around his waist. My brain froze at how firm his waist was.
No, think pure thoughts!
Soon, I found a small pouch. Under the soft fabric, I could feel grape-shaped candies rattling around.
“Oh? I’ve been looking for this!”
It was my favorite candy pouch.
“Where did you find this?”
“It was dropped the day you were kidnapped.”
“You’ve kept it for me all this time? Thank you…”
I squeezed the pouch tightly, then opened it. It was full of white powder-covered candies.
I was sure there were only a few left that day. Did Etienne refill it? No, it was probably Simon or a maid.
Not thinking much of it, I picked out a yellow candy and popped it in my mouth. The tangy taste made me feel lighter.
“Do you want one, Etienne?”
“No, I’m—”
“Here, ah.”
As he opened his mouth to refuse, I popped a green candy in.
It was my favorite—green apple flavor.
Maybe I missed, but my finger touched his soft tongue.
A chill ran through my body from my fingertip. Startled, I wiped my finger off awkwardly on the horse.
“It’s tasty, so just eat it. Etienne, you should try to be a little sweeter.”
He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, looking annoyed, but he didn’t really seem to mind. He shook his head but started chewing, which didn’t suit him at all.
I looked ahead and hid a little smile.
Riding a horse so close together isn’t as awkward as I thought…
It was still early morning, not even sunrise. In the dark room, Etienne sat as still as a statue.
Slowly, he lowered his head and looked at his hands.
He stared for a while, then clenched them into fists.
The feeling that had just been on his skin faded away instantly.
“Damn dream.”
Ever since that day at the market with Dahlia, she had started appearing in his dreams every night.
At first, it was just a replay of that day.
How can you wipe it like that, silly?
Dahlia had wiped his lips, and they burned as if on fire.
Her short hair swayed in the wind, and she smelled like wildflowers.
Dahlia threw her head back and laughed loudly. The noisy voices of the crowd seemed so far away.
But as the days passed, the dreams got more and more jumbled.
Dahlia wiped his lips, Etienne covered her eyes, and her small mouth would say something while peeking out from under his hand. Her playful voice made his heart flutter.
I love you, Etienne.
At that part, Etienne always realized he was dreaming.
As if she knew, Dahlia would pull down his hand. Now his palm covered her mouth. He could feel her warm breath against his skin.
Their eyes met, and her voice tickled his palm.
Why? Were you trying to divorce me?
Her eyes, usually blunt, curved up into a bright smile.
Forget it. I’m never letting go, so just give up. I’ll stick to you forever, like glue.
It was such a playful voice, but it sounded strangely tempting. She moved closer, really about to “stick” to him.
Her lips, as red as a ripe apple, parted slowly.
As her warm breath touched his lips, blood rushed through his body—and he always woke up.
Sitting on his bed, Etienne buried his head in his hands. His heart pounded heavily. He touched his ears—they were burning hot.
He just couldn’t understand what Dahlia had done to him.
A few days ago, he’d thought she was faking her memory loss and everything she did to him was a lie. But now, he was starting to doubt even that.
When they were attacked, she’d said Veseth’s name first. If she really was on Veseth’s side, why suspect him before anyone else? Did she really lose her memory?
And what about that night?
He still remembered her walking with Veseth in the garden, looking so close.
For a moment, he almost wished she really had lost her memory.
But he couldn’t find an answer, so Etienne angrily rang the bell next to his bed. After a while, Simon showed up, rubbing his swollen eyes. The cute button on his collar dangled from his thick neck.
“What’s wrong?”
“Dahlia.”
“Excuse me? I’m Simon.”
“What is Dahlia doing right now?”
“…She’s probably sleeping.”
“Suspicious.”
“What? Is it suspicious to be asleep at 5 a.m.?”
“Yes, suspicious.”
“….”
Simon leaned closer to Etienne’s face.
“What are you doing? Move your cheap shield-face away from me right now.”
“She’s probably sleeping… Did you drink? No, you don’t smell like alcohol… Why are you talking nonsense?”
Etienne glared at him. Simon quickly stepped back—he’d been with Etienne long enough to know when to retreat.
Etienne suddenly stood up.
“Bring my clothes.”
“Why, what’s going on? Are you going to see Lady Dahlia? She’s sleeping! Just get some more sleep yourself…”
Etienne glanced at the clock. It really was very early.
“Then maybe I’ll go to the training yard.”
“What? Now?”
“Get ready and meet me there.”
Simon’s mouth dropped open. Only Etienne would go practice sword fighting at this hour—so of course, no one else would be there.
Basically, he was telling Simon to be his practice partner—or punching bag.
“I should have just let him go see Lady Dahlia…”
Simon held his head in despair.
“Coming or not?”
“…I’m coming.”
Dragging his heavy body, Simon left the room.
The weather was nice.
A cool breeze blew in through the wide-open window.
Warm morning sunlight, soft music in the background, and a table set with beautiful food. There couldn’t be a more perfect breakfast.
But still half-asleep, I just blinked my eyes.
Why am I having breakfast with Etienne?
I was definitely sleeping before. Until Penny suddenly woke me up.
Lady Dahlia, please get up. Lord Etienne wants to have breakfast with you today.
Hearing that, I thought something important must be happening and rushed to get ready.
I barely made it on time and sat down at the table. But no matter how long I waited, he didn’t say anything important.
“It’s rude to stare at someone during a meal.”
Etienne spoke without even looking my way. Simon was jotting something down beside him, with dark circles under his eyes.
I stared down at my plate.
“It’s also bad manners to lower your face into your food.”
What does he want from me?
I slowly lifted my head again. I felt like I was about to get indigestion.
Why even have breakfast together if he’s just going to nag? He should eat in front of a mirror.
To make things worse, our tastes were totally different. Besides eggs, the whole table was covered in leafy greens. My fork wandered sadly across the table.
Sigh. I don’t want to waste my precious meal on this kind of food…
But since I was living here for free, I couldn’t complain about the food. Instead, I put on a worried face.
“Etienne, do you eat like this every day? How do you have so much strength with just this? Someone your size should eat meat. You’ll get sick.”
As I talked, I took a big bite of egg. Etienne ignored my question, chewing his food slowly. He wiped his mouth with a napkin. Ugh, so frustrating.
“Are you listening? Say something.”
Etienne put the napkin back down. Finally, his eyes flicked toward me.
“Don’t you know you’re not supposed to talk while eating? You really do everything wrong.”
“….”
Yeah, what was I expecting? I’ll just pretend he’s a TV. I’m just watching a silent eating show.
Changing my target, I looked at Simon. To avoid more nagging, I quickly swallowed the cheese in my mouth.
“What are you doing, Simon?”
“Huh?”
He looked nervous when I asked.
“Don’t mind me, my lady. Please keep eating.”
“Why, what are you doing? Show me.”
I pushed him with a smile. Simon glanced at Etienne, looking troubled.
