Chapter 51
“Cough!”
“Marion!”
I harshly spat out the water. Kaiden was right in front of me. The near-death experience I had in my memory overlapped with the present moment.
“Did I… survive?”
“Haa…. Yes.”
Kaiden let out a sigh of relief.
“I’m sorry, Your Grace….”
“What do you have to be sorry for? I’m just relieved you’re safe.”
He tenderly pushed the hair sticking to my face away and spoke gently.
“Don’t make me a widower before the wedding.”
“Cough.”
Since he was joking, it seemed he was relieved as well.
I got up with Kaiden’s assistance.
“Anyway, those guys ran away, didn’t they?”
The ruffians were long gone.
“Yes. They’re lucky fellows.”
Kaiden took my waterlogged robe. Both of us looked a mess, drenched like drowned rats.
“Are you okay? You shouldn’t catch a cold.”
“Who is worrying about whom right now?”
“But…”
“The weather is getting colder as the sun sets. Let’s head to the hotel quickly.”
[Yes. You need to warm up quickly.]
Tiny Blede zipped around next to me. His voice was full of concern. I managed a weak smile.
‘Thank you, Blede.’
Kaiden helped me walk toward the hotel. As we entered, Vito, who had been waiting for us, asked with a startled expression.
“Your Graces, was something the matter?”
Kaiden answered.
“We took a little dip. Vito, ask for a warm room.”
Vito looked like he had many questions but silently obeyed the command.
We entered a warm hotel room, washed up, and lay our tired bodies on the bed. By now, sleeping in the same bed as Kaiden felt commonplace.
…Actually, it was still embarrassing, but I meant it wasn’t incredibly embarrassing like before.
…Or was it?
Anyway! I still had to say what needed to be said.
“Your Grace. That was reckless.”
“My name.”
“Haa…”
A sigh escaped me naturally.
“Fine, Kaiden-nim. Why did you jump in?”
“Drop the ‘nim’ suffix.”
A vein throbbed on my forehead, but I barely managed to suppress my anger.
Kaiden was my savior today for saving my life. I reminded myself it was wrong to be angry at him and said.
“Fine, Kaiden. You know you almost died, right?”
“Me?”
“When you save a drowning person, you should wait until they tire out, shouldn’t you? But you jumped right in, that was reckless.”
“My body moved on its own, I couldn’t help it. And your appearance as a child overlapped with the memory.”
“Ah.”
Kaiden seemed to recall the same memory.
The day I fell into the lake near the Grand Duchy mansion when I was young.
He had saved me then too, and I remembered his deathly pale face looking down at me, just like today. I was truly sorry to have worried him again like this.
But still, I had to say my piece.
“…Thank you. But next time, please don’t enter the water until I faint.”
“If you faint, it means something serious has happened, doesn’t it?”
“Still.”
“Nonsense. There won’t be a next time for this.”
I hoped so. But you never know what life holds. I steadfastly continued my point.
“You should have just let me die instead. Because Your Grace has so much to bear.”
Kaiden stared intently at me. His sinking eyes looked somewhat angry.
“If you die, what point is there in me living?”
“…”
…He suddenly hit me with that. How could he say something like that so casually?
I awkwardly cleared my throat.
“Ahem, I’m not joking. Today was truly dangerous. And Your Grace has the Grand Duchy of Baltenstein to look after, Mmph!”
I glared at Kaiden with wide eyes. He used his thumb and forefinger like a clamp to pinch my mouth shut. The sharp glare was a bonus.
I instantly felt humiliated.
“Uh-buh-buhb! (Let me go!)”
Kaiden seemed to understand me, as he curled one corner of his mouth into a sneer.
“No.”
“Uh-buh-buh-buhb! (This is tyranny!)”
“Marion. Listen carefully.”
“Uh-buhb! (Say it while letting go!)”
“You are five years younger than me, so you are not allowed to die before me.”
“Uhb? (What?)”
When I asked with a furrowed brow, Kaiden stared at me for a moment and then released my mouth. I rubbed my throbbing lips and grumbled.
“If nothing eventful happens, Your Grace, ah, fine! I’ll live longer than Kaiden!”
I hurriedly changed the address because Kaiden was glaring at me for not using his name mid-sentence. But when he heard my words, Kaiden changed his mind, looking dissatisfied.
“No. I suddenly don’t like that. Just die one day before me.”
I narrowed my eyes and looked at him.
“Why are you so wishy-washy? Do you wish for me to die?”
“Don’t even joke about that. I mean, live your life and then die just one day before me.”
That’s not something you can control. I huffed a “Hmph!” and grumbled.
“There’s no order in dying, you know.”
“…That’s true.”
Kaiden seemed lost in thought. I shook my head, watching him. I almost wanted to open up that Grand Duke’s head to see what was inside these days.
“But, Your Grace.”
“Yes.”
“How did you save me earlier? I think I swallowed a lot of water and couldn’t breathe…”
When I muttered this, Kaiden spoke as if it were obvious.
“How did I save you? I gave you artificial respiration.”
“…”
Artificial respiration. The act of directly supplying oxygen from mouth to mouth.
Then, Kaiden’s face when I first regained consciousness flashed into my mind.
His image looking down at me from up close, with his eyebrows deeply furrowed.
“Agh!”
“Ugh! What’s wrong?”
When I screamed and pulled the blanket over my head, Kaiden, who was sharing the blanket, also took the hit.
“Marion?”
He called out, but I couldn’t answer. His face kept flashing in my mind.
Deeply furrowed brows. Straight nose bridge. Red, swollen lips.
‘So that’s why his lips were swollen!’
It had happened because he was giving me artificial respiration—no, anyway! It was because of that!
‘…That was my first kiss.’
I had an infamous reputation for flirting with many men, but I had never kissed anyone. In fact, since I had only engaged in childish, playful romances, it was only natural.
‘Wait. Did he save me with artificial respiration when I was a child, too?’
When my thoughts reached that point, my frantically pounding heart began to return to normal.
‘Right, this was a medical procedure. I can’t count it as my first kiss.’
But the thought of Kaiden’s face being so close made my body twist with embarrassment again.
Kaiden, who had been watching my dramatic display next to me, sighed and said.
“You’re kicking up dust. And it’s a bit cold.”
“Gasp, are you cold?”
I, who had been writhing in agony like a freshly caught fish, immediately stopped when he mentioned being cold. The aftermath of falling into the river might have left him chilled.
“Should I get another blanket?”
“No. That’s fine.”
Kaiden paused for a moment and then spoke in a quiet voice.
“Your warmth… should be enough.”
“My warmth?”
“Yes.”
The room fell silent.
Warmth, he said….
“S-should we sleep a little closer?”
It felt as if the room temperature instantly shot up.
We had already spent several nights in the same bed, but we hadn’t touched even a fingertip until now.
This was partly because Kaiden’s bed was so wide and partly because neither of us tossed and turned in our sleep.
But Kaiden was a man who had gone into the river for me. No matter how healthy a Swordmaster is, you never know. Besides, if he was cold under the blanket, it was definitely a precursor to a cold.
When that thought occurred to me, I quickly wiggled closer to him.
“Your Grace. Shouldn’t you take some medicine?”
“…It’s fine.”
I felt nervous and a little embarrassed, but most of all, I was worried he might get sick.
So I tried to check on him, who was right in front of me, but the room was too dark to see clearly.
He seemed close, but I couldn’t tell if Kaiden was warm.
The Grand Duke must not catch a cold.
Worried, I moved even closer to him.
Whoosh!
Before I knew it, I was completely nestled in Kaiden’s arms.
The perfect fit felt comforting. The immediate transfer of warmth made me feel like I would fall soundly asleep….
“Gasp!”
Startled, I quickly came to my senses. I could feel Kaiden’s body completely stiffen, perhaps surprised by my sudden embrace.
“I-I’m sorry, Your Grace!”
As I scrambled to pull away, I heard the rustle of the blanket, and his arm wrapped around me and pulled me closer.
“…Let’s just stay like this.”
“Y-Yes?”
“It’s warm… and I think I’ll sleep well.”
Kaiden’s slightly cracked voice came from above my head.
It was certainly warm. No, it was getting hotter.
But my heart felt like it would explode, so I didn’t think I would be able to sleep.
I swallowed and muttered.
“If-if Y-Your Gr-Grand Duke says so.”
Damn it. Why am I stuttering so much.
I bit my lip in embarrassment, and I heard him swallow, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
Kaiden seemed nervous too. I somehow felt more and more relieved that he seemed similar to me.
The sound of the seconds passing went by. My heart, which had been racing, settled into a steady rhythm.
A pleasant sound came from his chest.
“Thank you.”
Kaiden whispered above my head.
“O-Oh, no. You shouldn’t catch a cold…”
I mumbled near his collarbone. I felt him twitch and tremble.
“…Let’s sleep now.”
“Yes…”
I squeezed my eyes shut.
Sleep was not happening tonight.
☆▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎☆
By Anna 💓
