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Chapter 33
After washing El and tending to her wounds, Caron pulled a blanket around her, wrapped her up like a cocoon, and lifted her easily, placing her softly onto the bed.
“Caron… sir?”
“Only your face is peeking out—you look just like a baby bird.”
Caron let out a small laugh, his eyes crinkling into a smile.
It was the characteristic, playful expression he always wore when teasing her.
No matter how often El flared up at his jokes, whenever she saw that face, she didn’t know what to do with herself.
She truly could never grow used to the allure of his features.
“M-me?”
Again, El stammered in visible confusion, not realizing that her reaction only amused Caron further.
“Yes, you.”
El pursed her lips and stared quietly at the ceiling for a long time before sneaking a glance at Caron.
Seated beside the bed on a chair he had pulled over, his expression was no different from usual.
“…Thank you, for bathing me.”
“Don’t mention it.”
“And for treating my wounds as well.”
“That too—I did because I wanted to.”
Caron replied instantly, brushing aside her tousled hair. The strands had been tickling her cheek, so El squirmed a little and thanked him silently with her eyes.
An awkward silence stretched on.
Caron kept staring at the blanket-wrapped El, while El, keenly aware of his gaze, fixed her embarrassed eyes on the ornate ceiling.
There was a vivid mural painted above. Nobles really did love their art and music.
“Um… Caron.”
Unable to endure the awkwardness any longer, El spoke first.
“What is it?”
“Aren’t you going back?”
“I’ll be spending the night here.”
“…What?”
El tried to bolt upright but was hindered by the blanket, flailing in vain. Caron burst into laughter at the sight, then gently patted her as though to reassure her.
“Why so nervous? Where’s the El who once asked me for a kiss?”
“T-that was—!”
“A lot has happened. You could suffer aftereffects. At the very least, someone needs to watch over you tonight.”
“……”
His demeanor suddenly turned serious, and El found herself unable to insist on sending him away.
Besides, the thought of being alone in such a dark, cavernous room was frightening tonight more than ever.
“So just sleep. I won’t touch you.”
Caron leaned his head against the bedpost, speaking lazily.
Caron was not the sort of shameless man who would take advantage of someone sleeping—El knew that. She nodded, then asked in a grave tone:
“Then what’s with this finger poking my cheek?”
Using her tongue from inside her mouth, she pressed against the finger jabbing her cheek. Caron, wearing a mischievous look, poked her again.
“This is punishment. For daring to come back injured.”
“……”
Whether or not he realized how his words left her speechless, El eventually raised her white flag.
What else could she do? She had acted recklessly without his permission and gotten hurt.
“They must have been planning to kidnap you. That’s the only reason you had any chance to resist.”
“……”
“If they’d decided you were just a witness and meant to kill you, you would have died for sure.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“You should be. I saved your life, didn’t I? Didn’t you swear to give me everything of yourself?”
“You’re right. I… acted too emotionally.”
“Still, you’re someone at my side. You should have the freedom to act a little willful.”
“…Pardon?”
“I mean you’ve grown. I won’t blame you.”
He withdrew his hand from her cheek, crossed his arms, and leaned more heavily against the bedpost.
“You’re not seriously going to sleep like that, are you?”
“Of course. Unless you’d prefer I sleep in the bed beside you?”
“N-no!”
“Then stop thinking. Just sleep.”
Caron casually covered her eyes with his hand. After about five minutes, El’s breathing slowed and deepened into steady rhythm.
When he lifted his hand, her closed eyes and long lashes lay in peaceful repose.
Caron gazed quietly at her sleeping face, then slowly closed his own eyes, still seated upright.
Early dawn. El’s eyes shot open. Caron’s words from the night before resurfaced.
Thanks to him, she had slept soundly, dreamless.
El wriggled free of the blanket and sat up.
“……”
She found Caron asleep, slouched against the post. El forgot to breathe as she looked at him.
Never before had she seen such a tranquil expression on his face.
Relaxed eyelids, long black lashes, the sharp bridge of his nose, and the lips curved faintly at the corners—
Under the dim shadows, he seemed too breathtakingly beautiful to be human.
So much so, she felt she shouldn’t even dare touch him.
“…Have I completely fallen under his spell?”
El whispered, exhaling helplessly.
After being saved countless times by him, how could she not revere him? He was more like a god to her than any distant deity—this man who reached out his hand to her.
And if that reverence hadn’t twisted into something else already, it was only because of Caron’s own nature.
He was controlled, cold. Though he sometimes teased, smiling in a sly, alluring way, El always saw the boundaries he set.
For Caron, the first priority was always the House of Fayros. The only reason he protected her, reached for her, was because she could serve that house.
She knew this.
Even so, El held her breath and reached out a trembling hand, as though committing a sin.
Her thin fingers brushed against his dark lashes.
“……”
Startled by her own boldness, she quickly pulled back and clasped her hands to her chest.
Her heart thundered so hard it felt as if it might burst.
“Caron… Caron…”
She dared to murmur his name aloud. Each time she spoke it, her heart pounded harder, her head swirled.
Heat rose to her cheeks; she felt on the verge of tears.
Was this fervent worship?
Or—
El opened her palm and stared vacantly.
Her scraped hand, bandaged in ointment and cloth, ached faintly. She caressed the gauze, then contorted her face in anguish and buried it in both hands.
“No…”
A despairing murmur slipped through her fingers.
Caron was controlled and cold.
But at the same time, he was kind, thoughtful.
Ah… El moaned softly, lowering her hands from her face.
She had, helplessly, been moved by his quiet kindness.
She clenched her fists, reopening the wound so that crimson spread across the white bandage.
“……”
Staring at the blood-stained cloth, El closed her eyes in pain.
How could she deny it?
She had harbored a forbidden desire—that he might see her as someone special.
It was affection.
“I’ll make myself useful. No matter what.”
She whispered, straightening her posture, then bowed down toward Caron where he slept on the bed.
“Since that day, I’ve resolved to give you everything.”
“……”
No reply came from Caron, like a beautiful idol in a silent temple.
“I swear it.”
I’ll end this love. Even if it means tormenting myself. El’s eyes gleamed with determination.
This was a feeling that must stop here.
A feeling she had no right to hold.
And he was someone she had no right to desire.
El slowly lifted her head, intending to look at Caron’s sleeping face.
But instead of sleeping, his dark eyes—like midnight itself—were wide open, glinting beneath the moonlight.
“C… Caron?”
“Kneeling in worship before a sleeping man—now that’s a first. Very interesting.”
“……”
“Oh dear. Your wound has opened again.”
Speaking in a drowsy voice, Caron gently pulled her hand toward him.
He unwrapped the cloth, revealing the reopened gash.
“Why has a wound I already bound up split open again?”
“…I’m sorry.”
“I don’t want your apology.”
Still holding her gaze, Caron slowly lowered his head and pressed his lips to the wound.
El’s brown eyes trembled violently. Her whole body froze; even breathing was hard.
His eyes—blacker than night—ensnared her completely, like a trap she could never escape.
“El. I cannot give you ordinary feelings.”
“……”
“As you know, I am the Duke of Fayros—a scoundrel who would do anything for my house.”
Though his tone was light, his eyes flashed with the ferocity of a beast, as if he might lunge and tear out her throat at any moment.
“…I wouldn’t dare hope for more.”
El’s voice quavered, her gaze still locked on his as if nailed in place.
“But I would hope.”
“…What?”
Caron pressed his lips again firmly to her wound, like a seal.
A sting of pain came, along with the warmth of blood staining his lips.
“El… I want you to love me.”
(To be continued…)
