Chapter 16
I couldn’t hide my flustered state and lowered my head. Then my eyes saw…
‘Oh my.’
I raised my head again to look at Didier’s face.
I felt heat in my cheeks but pretended to be nonchalant. Didier glanced at me briefly, then began walking slowly.
He reached a large crate that seemed sturdy enough to bear a person’s weight and gently set me down on it.
“Can I see your ankle for a moment, Erica?”
“I said it’s fine.”
“Still…”
Didier was kneeling before me. He hadn’t moved his hands yet since I hadn’t permitted it, but his eyes were fixed on my ankle. Looking at his worried eyes, I laughed as if giving in.
“…Just this once.”
“Thank you for letting me.”
“…What are you thanking me for?”
“For letting me touch you.”
Hadn’t you already carried me and set me here, Didier? I laughed in surprise and patted his head.
“Alright, I’ll take it off.”
Is a sentence without a subject supposed to sound like that? The moon was covered by clouds, so I couldn’t tell if I’d misheard. Unlike me, Didier carefully removed my shoe. His expression quickly turned very serious.
No wonder.
My ankle, hidden by the shoe, was in terrible condition. From the heel to the ankle bone, it was swollen with a blackish-red hue, looking ugly.
An ordinary person wouldn’t have been able to walk with this ankle. Didier pressed his lips together as if he might burst into tears and spoke to me with deep concern.
“…It’s gotten worse.”
“…I had to move.”
“But…”
“It’s not a broken bone, is it?”
Didier couldn’t respond, only frowning. I understood why he was worried.
When we were stranded on the snowy mountain, my ankle injury was the worst. After it had barely healed to an acceptable state, I’d made it look like this again.
‘Even if I had an excuse, I have nothing to say here.’
I knew Didier was very worried, yet I let him see my ankle. I was at fault. I smiled awkwardly and searched for words to reassure him.
“It’s nothing, don’t worry too much. When I was little, I moved with worse injuries than this.”
“…”
But my words had the opposite effect. Didier’s eyes filled with tears.
We hadn’t even married yet, and I’d made my fiancé cry like this. Feeling guilty, I closed my mouth and quietly observed his actions.
Didier examined my ankle, his hands trembling. He didn’t dare touch it, his hands hovering in the air. Then, he placed his hand on my ankle with extreme gentleness.
A mere touch on the skin made my brow twitch slightly. But my face showed no pain. When I trained as a child, I endured such injuries daily.
“It needs treatment right away.”
“I don’t have time, Didier.”
“But… how can we leave it like this?”
“…It might sound foolish, but I’m really fine. I don’t feel anything.”
If I slept for a day, it would recover enough for me to move. Besides, in a situation like this, no one must know about my injury. Even if I bandaged it secretly, someone in the family would find out.
And the time to return to the palace with Kob was approaching.
“I’m really fine, Didier.”
I had no choice but to say that.
Didier bit his lips, holding back his tears. He stayed like that, his eyes fixed on my ankle without looking up. I watched him in turn.
So…
“What a lovely atmosphere.”
I hadn’t noticed the shadow approaching us from the darkness. Or rather, I hadn’t noticed someone approaching with no presence at all.
It was Adrian, the owner of the Hydra Trading Guild.
‘How did I not sense that aura?’
I wasn’t the only one; Didier hadn’t sensed him either, and confusion appeared on his face. Didier quickly pulled a cloth from his pocket, covered my ankle, and turned to look at Adrian.
My eyes met Adrian’s. He smiled deeply.
“…Adrian.”
“It’s a pleasure to see you under the moonlight, Erica. It’s been a long time. I thought you’d forgotten me since you hadn’t visited.”
Adrian greeted me kindly. On his shoulder, Kob was very angry.
Kob glared at me, then flapped his wings.
[‘Ka! My lady! You came to meet me, didn’t you!’]
“Of course, Kob. It seems your lady was distracted by something else and forgot you.”
[‘Ka! I hate my lady! Bad!’]
Though he seemed to be talking to Kob, Adrian’s eyes were fixed on me. Then he glanced briefly at Didier. I clearly saw the emotions in his eyes.
A mix of interest and displeasure.
‘I need to handle this carefully and take Kob.’
So Adrian wouldn’t provoke Didier.
“I was busy; I didn’t have time to visit.”
“You always found time before.”
“…Since when does the owner of the Hydra Guild fail at gathering information?”
“Maybe from now?”
Was this a child’s joke?
I looked at him silently. He nodded slightly, smiling deeply. While I was nervous about what he’d say, he spoke.
“Anyway, I’m curious why this person is examining your ankle.”
As expected, Adrian spoke to Didier in a provocative tone.
I tried to respond, but Didier unexpectedly spoke first.
“…I don’t think you need to know that.”
“Really?”
“Yes, you’re not involved.”
“Well, we’re quite close.”
“…”
I’d never seen Didier so sharp before. And I hadn’t seen Adrian laugh with such amusement in a long time. I suppressed my worry and unease, placing my hand on Didier’s shoulder to reassure him.
“Adrian, enough. Stop bothering Didier.”
“Oh, I was just having fun.”
“…I need to go now, so stop.”
“You’re leaving already?”
“I’ve been away from the palace too long.”
“Hmm.” Adrian looked toward the palace, then nodded slowly.
“Alright. But your ankle, doesn’t it need treatment?”
“…Kob.”
“Oh, Kob told you.”
Kob was the only one who could tell Adrian my small details. As if knowing his guilt, Kob stopped grumbling and hid his head under his wing.
“I have something suitable.”
“…Everything you offer has a price.”
In the past, he gave me a dagger and used it as an excuse to make me visit him in the middle of the night. I looked at him suspiciously. Didier listened to our conversation intently.
“This is for the obedient lamb, so I’ll ask him for the price.”
“…No need.”
“Really? Even if it’s the sap of the World Tree?”
I frowned at that. Was he joking with me now?
Because the ‘sap of the World Tree’ Adrian mentioned was extremely rare.
The World Tree was a massive tree at the continent’s center, said to have existed since ancient times.
Thus, it was special. Its sap had a mysterious power to restore wounds to their original state, its branches were strong enough to craft swords, and its leaves were so soft they were used for clothing.
But obtaining it was extremely difficult.
A massive, sturdy tree that couldn’t be broken or cut by force. One had to wait for what naturally fell from it, which happened only once every few years.
So, it wasn’t strange that I considered Adrian’s words a mocking jest.
“Oh, am I that untrustworthy?”
“The sap of the World Tree? That’s an exaggerated joke. It can’t be bought with money, and it wouldn’t be used just to treat my ankle.”
“Hmm, it seems your lamb thinks differently.”
I looked at Didier. He was staring at Adrian, so I couldn’t see his expression, which made me anxious.
And my anxiety was justified.
“If you have it, give it to me.”
“Didier!”
“Didier, you know there’s a price, right?”
“Yes.”
“If you need it, I’ll give it to you.”
“Give it to me; I need it.”
Didier and Adrian completely ignored me. Did he really have the sap of the World Tree? Adrian reached into his pocket and pulled out a bottle containing a pure white liquid. He tossed it to Didier.
I was shocked by this reckless act, but Didier caught the bottle skillfully. Before I could say anything, he quickly opened the cap, removed the cloth from my ankle, and poured the sap on it. I couldn’t stop him.
Suddenly, my ankle returned to its normal color.
It had completely healed.
