ATPE 17

After the Treatment Was Over

The Gallute Family members finally regained their senses a moment later and began chasing after him.

However, the distance between them and Ain only continued growing wider instead of closing.

Serenia looked at him with shocked eyes as he carried her while moving at such terrifying speed.

Ain noticed her gaze and answered shortly.

“I’m fairly fast on my feet.”

“This… feels beyond just ‘fairly fast.’”

“Then let’s say I’m very fast.”

As he spoke, he lightly jumped onto the nearest bridge.

The Gallute Family members chasing them seemed to panic when they realized the distance was not shrinking, so they started throwing anything they could grab.

Stones lying around near the riverside, wooden pieces, empty cans—everything flew wildly toward them.

Most of them could not even reach near Ain before falling back onto the ground.

But one piece of metal someone threw was different.

It was probably part of some carriage, shaped like an “L,” flat and fairly sharp at the edges.

Spinning rapidly through the air, it flew straight into the center of Ain’s back.

“……!”

Ain’s expression did not change at all, but Serenia could tell from the impact transmitted through their touching bodies that he had been hit quite hard.

Avoiding her wide-eyed stare, Ain crossed the suspension bridge said to be the most beautiful bridge over the Pruhen River and headed north.

The men chasing them stopped at the end of the bridge and only cursed while watching his back disappear into the distance.

The Gallute Family could not cross north of the river.

In exchange for ruling the First District of Pledes like kings, they were forbidden from stepping into Ildivoa, the district of nobles.

That was the agreement the former boss of the Gallute Family had once made with the royal family and nobles.

Thanks to that, Ain and Serenia managed to escape safely.

But while desperately escaping, the two completely forgot something.

The photographer hiding far away inside the bushes and secretly taking pictures of them still had not escaped.

* * *

Even after shaking off the Gallute Family, Ain did not slow down.

He ran as though flying and arrived in front of the Barishart estate before sunrise.

Fortunately, unlike what they feared, the estate entrance was completely empty without even a single reporter in sight.

Ain carefully lowered Serenia from his arms and spoke.

“I’m truly sorry about today. It was my mistake for not preparing in advance.”

“Ah… well, that…”

“I’ll arrange for today’s unfinished schedule to be replaced or completed later.”

“…Ah. Yes.”

“For the time being, it would be better if you avoid going outside and stay inside the estate.”

“Uh… yes. I-I’ll try.”

“Then I’ll contact you again once your safety is confirmed.”

The moment he finished speaking and tried to leave immediately, Serenia suddenly grabbed his hand tightly.

“Wait. Where do you think you’re going right now?”

“……Pardon?”

“You got hurt earlier!”

“T-That…”

Serenia stared at him silently as he trailed off before finally sighing and pulling him along.

“Come inside.”

“Pardon?! W-Wait a moment…!”

“Hurry up!”

Like that, Serenia forcefully dragged him through the estate gate.

Before he knew it, Ain had already crossed the courtyard and arrived in front of the mansion entrance.

His face turned pale as he desperately tried stopping her.

“Y-You mustn’t do this! If an unrelated man openly enters a mansion without servants, bad rumors about you will—!”

Serenia looked at him with complete disbelief.

“The person worrying about that is the same one who took me into a hotel in broad daylight?”

“That was because we were disguised back then…!”

“Ah, enough already!”

Cutting off his excuse, Serenia immediately opened the front door wide.

“Stop talking and come inside.”

“Young Lady!”

“If you still have the energy to worry about useless things, then I guess you’re not seriously injured. But you still need treatment.”

“No, I’m really fin—”

“What do you mean fine?! You got hit so hard I heard the impact clearly!”

“Really, it’s nothing serious, so you don’t need to worry—”

Serenia sharply interrupted his rambling.

“No, what exactly are you talking about?”

“Pardon?”

“Do I look like I’m worried about you right now?”

“……?”

Seeing his confused expression, Serenia proudly declared:

“I’m doing this because of the compensation fee for breaking the contract. My six million crovats!”

Ain became completely speechless.

After forcefully pushing him inside, Serenia shut the front door.

The moment they entered, freezing cold air wrapped around them.

Perhaps because the mansion had been empty for several days, it somehow felt colder inside than outside.

Serenia hesitated briefly.

“Was it really okay to bring an injured person into a place like this?”

She worried he might catch a cold and end up even worse.

But soon she shook her head.

“I can just light a fire now.”

Leaving the awkward-looking Ain standing near the entrance, Serenia went into the kitchen and broke apart the last remaining dining chair.

When she returned carrying an armful of firewood made from it, Ain stared blankly with his mouth hanging open.

Ignoring his dumbfounded expression, she dragged him toward the drawing room.

Though embarrassed by how empty the room looked, Serenia diligently lit the fireplace.

A little while later, thanks to the noble sacrifice of the dining chair, warmth slowly spread through the drawing room.

Only then did she approach Ain, who stood awkwardly in one corner, pull him near the fire, and say:

“Now. Take it off.”

At those words, Ain jumped in shock and covered his chest with both hands.

Serenia’s eyes narrowed sharply upward.

“What exactly is that reaction?”

“No, well…”

Seeing him hesitate, Serenia let out a short laugh of disbelief.

Then she glared at him and said:

“You were taking your clothes off perfectly well before even when nobody asked you to, so why are you acting like this now?”

Ain answered with an unfair expression.

“You did ask me.”

“…Ah. Right. You did.”

Feeling slightly embarrassed, Serenia awkwardly coughed and quickly changed the subject.

“A-Anyway! I’m not interested in an eighty-nine-point body, so stop worrying.”

“……But I exercised really hard these past few days.”

“That doesn’t mean your score suddenly rises in two days! …No, more importantly, that’s not the issue right now! Are you going to keep changing the subject like this?!”

When Serenia finally shouted angrily, Ain reluctantly removed his hat and coat.

Then, with hesitant hands, he slowly unbuttoned his thin silk shirt.

A carefully trained body covered in lean muscle without even a trace of extra fat gradually appeared.

The center of his back, which should have been shining pale white until recently, was now badly swollen red.

The skin had also been scraped from the strong impact, and small amounts of fresh blood were seeping from the wound.

Serenia was startled by how much worse the injury looked than expected and instinctively reached out her hand.

The moment her fingers touched near the reddened wound, Ain’s shoulders suddenly trembled violently.

More surprised by that reaction than he was, Serenia hurriedly pulled back her hand.

“S-Sorry. Does it hurt?”

“…No.”

“J-Just endure it a little even if it hurts. I think we need to quickly check whether anything is broken…”

“Yes.”

“I’m going to press a little. Tell me if it hurts badly, okay?”

“……Yes.”

His voice sounded strangely resigned, but this was not the time to focus on small details like that.

Serenia concentrated completely and carefully moved her hands.

Her fingertips slowly traced delicately along his spine and ribs.

Ain clenched his teeth tightly with a deeply reddened face, but eventually a suppressed groan escaped him.

“Ugh…”

“Does it hurt here?”

“No, that’s not…”

“Huh? Oh no. That’s your ribs. Uh, try taking a deep breath once.”

“That’s…”

“Ah. Is it difficult? Don’t tell me it’s really fractured? Then try moving slightly left and right.”

Listening to the worried voice behind him, Ain squeezed his eyes shut tightly before finally speaking.

“That’s not it…”

“Not?”

“…It tickles.”

Feeling like her concern had been wasted, Serenia puffed her cheeks slightly.

Then, with hands noticeably rougher than before, she firmly continued pressing against his back during the examination.

After a long while, Serenia finally confirmed there were no serious problems with his bones and let out a small sigh of relief before pulling her hands away.

The moment she did, Ain immediately grabbed his shirt and spoke as though waiting for that exact second.

“Then I can get dressed now, right?”

But Serenia firmly shook her head.