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~Chapter 6~
The wheat field swayed in the wind.
“Talking to grass is something only clowns do.”
In his memory, young Blake said this in a grumpy way.
Just then, a girl who looked younger than four turned around…
Her hair blew between the wheat stalks.
But Blake couldn’t remember what she looked like—not even her hair color.
Did the girl smile at him?
Did she answer him in a friendly way?
Blake was deep in thought, then suddenly snapped back to reality.
It was because Lily was holding a brush from the wall. She brought the brush, covered with oil, to Dominic.
She was curious about everything in the stable.
Blake was about to stop her.
Dominic was a brave horse. He’d fought in many battles with his master, and he was fierce.
Blake thought Dominic might hurt Lily.
But before Blake could stop her, Lily’s hand touched Dominic’s mane.
Right at that moment—!
“Wow, you’re such a gentle horse.”
Dominic closed his long-lashed eyes and even leaned closer.
Animals and monsters usually liked sorcerers.
Maybe Dominic thought Lily was just a child, so he was even more gentle with her.
Blake, who didn’t know all this, felt betrayed.
His lips twisted. He almost let out a sigh.
After getting pregnant, Dominic had become more sensitive and never acted cute with Blake. But now, with Lily, she was acting sweet!
Blake forgot why he had come.
Instead of watching if Lily was being rough, he started watching how “disloyal” his horse was.
Blake’s sharp eyes filled with surprise.
“You look just like Mr. Blake on the outside, but inside, you’re totally different. You’re so pure and friendly…”
Blake clenched his teeth.
“She’s a warhorse! She’s usually very cold!”
Still, Dominic kept acting nice.
“Let me guess your name. Maybe it’s Coco?”
Blake closed his eyes. Honestly, right now Dominic looked more like a “Coco” than a fierce horse.
He felt even worse.
Even wandering the snowy mountains for three days hadn’t made him feel this tired.
Blake decided it was best to send Lily Hedwick back. He opened his mouth to speak.
“Excuse me, Miss.”
Bad timing.
Lily had just finished brushing Dominic and was stepping down from the straw.
Blake’s deep voice surprised her and made her lose her balance.
“Ouch.”
“Hedwick!!”
She suddenly sat down, so Blake ran quickly into the stable.
“Are you okay?”
“Oh, it’s you, Mr. Blake… Could you give me a hand?”
“Did you hurt your ankle? If you did, don’t get up yet. Let me check first.”
Blake didn’t even notice how hard his heart was pounding. He usually wasn’t like this.
Just as he was about to pick Lily up—
Dominic neighed!
Dominic moved her head at Blake with anger. She didn’t like that Blake scared Lily.
“Dominic, are you angry at me right now?”
This was the first time Dominic had ever been angry at him.
Blake felt so wronged.
He’d even tried to be gentle so Lily wouldn’t get scared.
Maybe he was a little too careful.
Still, it annoyed him that Dominic was on Lily’s side.
“You just met her, but you’re already taking her side!”
He really grumbled.
Still, under Dominic’s watch, he picked Lily up very carefully.
“Let me check your leg. Be careful so I don’t get blamed for hurting you. I don’t want Dominic to throw me off later.”
Lily laughed softly. She found Blake’s way of speaking funny.
Noblemen in the Empire never joked like that.
Every time she laughed, Blake’s hand on her waist trembled just a little.
“What’s so funny?”
Blake tried hard not to stare at her smiling face.
Luckily, Lily didn’t seem to notice.
Blake set her on a shelf, then took off her shoe to check her ankle.
It was going to swell for sure.
“We should wrap it so the blood doesn’t rush there. I need some cloth…”
He was about to take off his coat to tear some cloth when—
Lily stopped him.
“Thank you, but I’ll use my own clothes. I’d feel bad if you ruined yours because I got hurt.”
Lily really didn’t like taking things from men.
She looked down at herself.
Wait. She realized she didn’t really own any clothes right now.
She was wearing a lot of layers, but they were all borrowed from the maids. Only her nightgown underneath was actually hers.
Should she tear her nightgown?
If she did, she’d have to take off the borrowed clothes.
She felt a little embarrassed. Why did she care about noble manners, when she had run away from them?
She decided to change.
“Hmm, just wait. I’ll take off some clothes and tear some cloth.”
Lily wanted to be like the people here in the dukedom.
She wanted to act free, not get stuck on small rules.
The nightgown was really just indoor wear for the castle. Why not?
She took off her hat, scarf, and cloak.
Blake stared for a second, surprised. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
That peach scent was bothering him again.
He almost spoke.
He regretted being this close to her.
It was only because of his horse!
Darn it, Dominic.
…Darn it, Lily Hedwick!
“Don’t you realize? Being like this with a strange man…”
His voice was angry, frustrated, and a little pained as he tried not to act wild.
“Mr. Blake?”
Now it was Lily’s turn to be annoyed.
She just wanted to be free for once and not follow noble rules.
She hated her parents.
Her father was a strict councilman, always caring about appearances. Lily was always controlled.
She had no hope when she came here, but the dukedom was much better. She wanted to be like these people.
She remembered what she’d seen when she came.
The workers in the land were singing and chopping wood.
Instead of wearing lots of clothes when it was cold, they drank beer and laughed loudly, even if their clothes had dust on them.
“Don’t say my name like that. Do you know how your voice really sounds?”
Blake couldn’t act normal while looking at her nightgown.
Lily just didn’t know that.
It was also Blake’s fault for not explaining, but he’d never say those words out loud.
“I really don’t understand why you’re angry. I mean, Mr. Blake, you—”
“Again! My name!”
Blake was fighting with himself. Should he leave her or stay?
Lily was left only in her nightgown and started to tear the hem.
Blake turned his head quickly, like a wild animal.
But even though he looked away, he’d already seen everything.
The brown walls of the stable. The tiny Lily sitting on a shelf.
And the white skin of her thighs.
There were small scars there…
Wait, scars?
Blake stared at Lily again.
He was sure those scars were from her ex-husband.
The stable had heating, but it was still cold, especially before sunrise.
Lily, now just in her nightgown, felt a little cold. She didn’t realize she’d shown her thighs.
But then she saw Blake looking at her strangely.
“What weird thing are you going to say this time? I’ll tell you now—my ankle isn’t that bad.”
Lily had a little healing power, but it was hard to heal others’ big wounds. Still, she could fix small sprains for herself.
She wasn’t planning to use magic right now, though.
But Blake misunderstood completely.
He didn’t know Lily was a sorcerer.
His heart ached.
How could she smile even when hurt? Any normal noble lady would cry!
He thought it must be because her ex-husband had hurt her so much, she got used to pain.
“You should have killed your ex-husband!”
Lily’s blue eyes shined with surprise.
Blake stared at Lily sitting on the shelf.
He seemed to remember the talk they’d had last night.
“He said he only hit you because he was drunk? That’s a lie! If it was just a mistake, he wouldn’t have hurt you in such a sneaky way! I didn’t know it was this bad because you look fine on the outside!”
“Oh, you saw other scars too.”
Lily pulled her clothes together, a bit embarrassed. Blake’s hands were gripping the shelf tightly.
The veins on his hands stood out.
“How could he only hurt you in places no one would see? That’s not a mistake, that’s planned! Why did you just take it? If it were me—if it were me…”
He couldn’t even finish.
His voice was tight with anger and heat.
Lily saw that he finally knew just how bad her marriage had been.
If it had been Blake instead of her, he’d have made her ex-husband cry and beg for mercy.
She found that a little funny.
“Of course. Mr. Blake, you’re a bold person. If you were my husband, you’d probably grab the nearest candlestick and stick it right through his belly, like grilled pork.”
“Does it look like I’m joking?”
Blake interrupted, still fuming.
