RTGD 25

Chapter 25

“…Litrisha?”

“Ah, hahaha. Ki–Killian. You’re… back?”

Litrisha was so startled that she blurted out something utterly stupid.

Thankfully, she had sunk into the bathwater the moment the doorknob turned, avoiding the worst-case scenario of being seen completely naked.

But the situation was still precarious—the quickly fading bubbles were barely enough to cover her.

If Killian took even one more step forward, things would become incredibly embarrassing.

So flustered and overwhelmed, Litrisha didn’t even know what she was saying. She could only desperately pull what little remained of the bubbles over herself.

To be fair, Killian was just as startled.

Even for someone like him, this was an unexpected situation. His sharp eyes widened in surprise.

“My lord? Is something the matter?”

Perhaps noticing that Killian wasn’t entering, Mark quickly came up behind him and tried to step into the bathroom.

If the door hadn’t slammed shut in his face—bam!

“M–My lord? W–What’s going on?”

Mark, who had nearly hit his face on the door, knocked in a panic.

His strength was no joke—the thick door shook like paper.

“It’s nothing. Just leave.”

“But if it’s nothing, then—”

“Just go!”

Killian suddenly lost his composure, his voice rising with tension.

“…Haa. Just leave, Mark.”

“…? Yes, sir. I’ll wait right outside in case anything happens…”

“Mark.”

Killian’s sharp voice cut through, and the loyal knight, Mark Davis, stepped away from the door, albeit confused.

Only when Mark’s footsteps faded beyond the door did Killian let out a long breath and relax his shoulders.

He clenched and unclenched his fists a few times, then leaned casually against the door with a now composed expression.

“I wasn’t expecting a guest.”

“S–Sorry. I must’ve made a mistake. I didn’t realize this was your bathroom…”

Litrisha apologized first, then frowned slightly.

Now that she thought about it, wasn’t it reasonable to assume that the bathroom attached to the room belonged to her?

“But this is connected to my room. How did you…?”

“This side is my room.”

Killian gestured toward the door he had entered from and rubbed his forehead.

“Well… in the North, the husband and wife’s rooms are connected by a shared bathroom.”

“What?”

“The staff must have guided you to that room assuming we were married… I suppose they failed to explain.”

Killian paused, then picked up a robe from a nearby shelf.

Despite having said only a few words, most of the bath bubbles had already disappeared.

With the water becoming increasingly clear, the swell of Litrisha’s chest was now visible above the surface.

Killian’s eyes may have flickered in that direction briefly, but with an impassive face, he simply approached and set the robe near the bathtub.

There wasn’t even a hint of surprise or embarrassment in his expression.

“The water’s probably cold now. You should put the robe on.”

“Ah, yes!”

“…”

“Uh, Killian?”

Litrisha blinked rapidly as she cautiously reached for the robe.

Killian remained standing exactly where he had placed it, without moving an inch, his usual impassive expression unwavering.

“Killian, could you turn around? I can’t change unless you do…”

“…Ah.”

Only after she said that did Killian finally turn away.

“…?”

Something about his movement seemed oddly stiff, but Litrisha hurriedly put on the robe without thinking further.

“Well then, Killian. I’ll go back to my room now. Um… enjoy your bath?”

“…Yes.”

Her face too hot to continue the conversation, Litrisha mumbled nonsense and quickly fled the bathroom.

Click. The sound of the connecting door to Litrisha’s room closing echoed, but Killian stood frozen, staring at the wall.

Even after all the steam in the bathroom had dissipated, he remained in that position, until finally, thud, he slammed his forehead against the wall.

Unlike when he faced Litrisha, his ice-blue eyes were now violently shaking.

Litrisha’s small, round shoulders kept flashing before his eyes.

“Damn it. What am I, some kind of animal? Am I insane?”

Unable to shake the lingering image, Killian slammed his head against the wall even harder.

From his hand, a soft blue mist rose, twisting into glowing letters.

“Only realizing that now? You’ve been insane ever since you decided to turn back time.”

“Shut up.”

Killian snarled and snatched the blue mist, shoving it into the bathwater.

It vanished without a trace, as if mocking him.

Killian stared down at his own reflection in the now-still surface.

Litrisha’s image refused to fade.

“I’m really going to lose it…”

***

After leaving the bathroom and drying her hair, Litrisha sat on the edge of the bed, legs dangling.

“Come to think of it, he’s injured. Will he be okay?”

Swinging her now-lighter legs, Litrisha looked toward the bathroom.

Now that the embarrassment had passed and she could think again, she recalled Killian’s injured arm.

She had overheard that he was trying to bathe without the help of an attendant. Would he really be able to manage that?

Maybe. But knowing that she was the reason his arm was injured, she couldn’t help but worry.

The doors were well insulated—she couldn’t hear anything from outside.

Part of her thought about going in to help, but then again, entering the bathroom again felt… strange.

Torn between options, Litrisha finally shook her head and began organizing her luggage.

“If he needs help, he’ll call for a servant.”

Her belongings weren’t many, and before long, Killian reappeared, freshly bathed.

This time, through the proper entrance.

“Oh… You’re done.”

“Yes.”

Killian stood at her door, wet hair dripping. Litrisha fidgeted with her hands.

The way the water trailed down his defined jawline was… distracting, and her face flushed again.

She couldn’t help but avert her eyes.

Looking into those deep blue eyes only brought back the memory of what had just happened in the bathroom, making her toes curl.

“How is the room? Do you like it? Not too inconvenient, I hope?”

“No. It’s very nice. Not inconvenient at all…”

She trailed off as her eyes drifted toward the bathroom door.

She couldn’t, in good conscience, say that the shared bathroom wasn’t inconvenient.

But she couldn’t very well ask to switch rooms because of it either…

Fortunately, Killian addressed the issue.

“Ah, don’t worry about the bathroom. I’ll use the one in another room. You can use this one comfortably.”

“Oh…!”

Litrisha lit up with excitement and nodded.

She didn’t have to give up the first room she had genuinely liked, and that lifted her spirits.

Instead of her usual practiced smile, a sincere grin spread across her face, and she quickly covered her mouth.

Killian was looking at her as if he’d seen something unusual.

“Why cover it? It looked nice.”

“Uh… your hair. If you stay like that without drying it, you’ll catch a cold. You should dry it off.”

Litrisha changed the subject awkwardly, unaccustomed to showing her true feelings.

“It’ll dry on its own eventually.”

Killian’s reply was completely indifferent.

He was the type who wouldn’t flinch even if he walked into an icy stream during a blizzard. Litrisha’s concern was wasted on him.

“Still, you should dry it after you return to your room…”

But seeing how Litrisha was clearly trying to end the conversation and send him off, Killian suddenly felt petulant.

Am I really going crazy? he wondered, then uncharacteristically feigned weakness by holding his injured hand.

“My hand makes it hard to dry my hair alone. Would you help me?”

“Me?”

“Yes. You.”

“Well… if you’re okay with it, sure. Come in.”

Since Litrisha already felt responsible for his injury, she willingly let him in.

She thought it might be better to ask an attendant, but…

Killian sat down calmly and closed his eyes, letting her tend to his hair. He looked so peaceful.

So Litrisha decided to just go along with it for now.

“Hey, Killian.”

She returned with a towel and began speaking.

“You said this morning, if there’s something I want to do besides painting, I should tell you.”

“I did.”

“Then… I want to learn braille.”

“Braille?”

“Yes. You saw it at the banquet, right? My eyes suddenly went blind.”

Litrisha nodded as she gently patted down the moisture from his silvery hair.

“The doctor said those episodes will become more frequent as the condition progresses. So I want to prepare. I’m sure it’ll help someday.”

Her voice was so calm, it felt like she was just talking about catching a cold.

“…”

Seeing her so lighthearted, like she had no attachment to life, Killian clenched his jaw.

The satisfaction he’d felt moments ago vanished in an instant.

“…Understood. I’ll find a teacher to teach you braille.”

“Oh, you don’t have to go that far. Just a book would be fine, I can learn on my own…”

“No.”

Killian pushed aside the towel and tilted his head back.

Still reclined, he looked up at Litrisha and gently rested his damp head against her hand.

“I’ll prepare everything so you can start learning tomorrow.”