Chapter 5

Chapter 5

“Venus.”

I said while brushing my fingers over the hair they had messed up.

“Yes, Young Lady.”

“Punch…”

“Yes.”

“Cough!”

As I watched those kneeling men turn into a batter-like state, I gradually shifted my gaze. Just a while ago, the tiny young boy who hugged me was dazed.

Schloetz Procyon.

This empire’s strongest knight and the character I liked so much, who eventually died and turned the genre of this novel into an excellent ravage apocalypse…

‘Oh, my.’

I let out a sigh as soon as I properly looked at him. He was in a more terrible condition than I expected. Even though he was beaten and bleeding hard, he still stood upright on both of his legs. Well, for sure, not everyone could be the strongest knight in this world.

“Young Lady, should I take a look at that boy?”

Another knight soon approached me and asked. It was kind of funny to see him ask me and not Schloetz… but still, I nodded and stalked toward Schloetz. He looked wary, yet he remained calm.

“You were… trying to… save me, right?”

“….”

“Thank you.”

“….”

Schloytz’s eyes briefly flashed with embarrassment before they vanished.

Right, how long has it been since he heard someone say nice things such as ‘thank you’? Thick dark hair, bright blue eyes. He was in a mess because of blood and fatigue, but the unique color of his features remained the same.

I released a sigh.

“But first… I should… sit down…”

It seemed that today’s event took a toll on my body. Schloyz flinched slightly at my words. He hesitated a bit before he took a few steps back as if to allow me to enter his house.

Thanks to that, I almost smiled.

That was right. He grew up receiving mistreatment and being abused until the day he died with a cold and indifferent expression on his face though he wasn’t merely a cold individual.

I sighed deeply when I walked into the house to let Schloetz get treated.

Unlike the decent exterior, the interior of the mansion was empty without proper furniture. Those guys must have taken all of it. Perhaps because they were ordered to ‘feed him,’ the dining table and chair were in fine condition.

I sat down and looked around the house. There was nothing else. The food they could put on the table was mostly dried up since it was all food they could get.

“Young Lady.”

As I raised my head, Venus was here before I knew it.

“What should we do with them? Shall we send them to the Lord to officially send our complaint?”

I shook my head.

I was still disguised as Lefebvre’s collateral family’s young lady, and not a member of the Lefebvre family itself. Until I left, I had no intention of revealing my real identity.

If this confrontation about Schloetz stepmother’s enmity toward him was brought up, it could lead to a family affair… and it would be better not to. Although his family was one of the prestigious noble families, they were no match for the Lefebvre family.

‘His father will blame him again and harass him more than before.’

That was why it was just right that a young lady, who was accidentally saved by Schloetz, protected and defended him back from the bad guys from hitting him. His stepmother, who paid them, would also receive this news, but if things got bigger, she would save herself from letting others know she was sending him poisoned food.

I had to remove the poison that had been accumulating in Schloetz’s body and take care of his health before leaving.

“Just… chase them…out of here…”

“I understand. I will chase them out by the end of the day.”

“Okay.”

I nodded my head and yawned as my eyes gradually closed. Before I knew it, I laid my head on the table and passed out for a while.

When I opened my eyes again, I had to hold back a scream.

“Ack!”

It was because Schloetz, who was soaked, was staring at me. Perhaps because I screamed, he looked a bit flustered.

‘He looks like a drowned rat—’

He looked awful. It seemed that the knights washed him while treating him… no, it seemed that they didn’t wash him. I guessed they just dropped him in a water bath. Still, looking at the bandages wrapped here and there, it seemed that he had been treated well.

“…Sit down.”

‘You’re the house owner…’

Schloetz obediently sat down at my words before he opened his mouth.

“Why did you save me?”

‘Oh, my.’

I felt embarrassed at the moment since I didn’t expect him to speak in honorifics to me. In the first place, Schloetz was a great hero that would never be replaced in history, and he didn’t speak with honorifics to anyone but the monarch.

Crown prince? Ignored. Lefebvre family? Ignored, too. He wasn’t very polite to the monarch in the first place.

“Because… you were being beaten.”

“…You were hiding while looking at me.”

“….?”

‘…What just happened?’

I was really embarrassed. Those rascals who hit him wouldn’t have seen me because they were turning their backs on me, and because of those guys’ big bodies, his sight was blocked. In addition, he never even looked at my side, so when did he notice me…?

‘Woah, things are getting real.’

When Schloetz’s greatness struck me, I clasped my hands in front of me.

“That’s because… I am… shy.”

“….”

Venus, who was standing quietly, knitted his eyebrows and frowned openly.

What? Was it so hard to believe that I was shy?

‘I was really quiet and serene, though?’

Since I was ill, I would always be sleeping. While I couldn’t understand the change in Venus’ expression, Schloetz in front of me now was more important.

“As you can see… I’m also a noble…so I went to say hello… to the noble who lives here… but I felt shy… and went hiding for a while… though when I saw…you were getting beaten… I ran out… from my hiding place.”

I was out of breath to talk this much.

Even though I talked much slower than I usually talk, Schloetz just stared at my face and spoke without displaying any indications of irritation.

“Do shy people rush in like that?”

…Look at him. He wasn’t just a polite and submissive one. Rather, he was like a baby hedgehog putting his thorn up… and a sharp one.

I answered calmly, looking at Schloetz, who would be a great person in the future.

“I was shy… I didn’t say… that I was scared…”

“….”

Obviously, even though I was unable to take a step out of the mansion, I grew up being loved inside it! I’ve developed a fearless personality. I then took a glance at Venus again. Seeing that his face was still frowning, I couldn’t help but wonder if I spoke too mature again.

“Ah. Was that the case?”

Schloetz’s silence could have been because he didn’t understand me.

“Perhaps… you couldn’t tell… the difference…between the two?”

“I know the difference.”

His icy retort made me feel a bit embarrassed. In the mansion, all the maids and the knights always told me that I was very mature for my age, and perhaps I was out of my mind, too.

“Ahem.”

I coughed and stared at Schloetz’s face while biting my lips.

‘He’s really handsome.’

I almost said that out loud.

Schloetz’s illustration appeared several times in ⌊ The End of A Mad Beauty. ⌉ Every time I saw it, it felt like my heart would explode… but this was my first time seeing him when he was a child as a real person.

Handsome men were beautiful even when they were still young. Though the person in front of me now was staring at me with wary eyes…

‘Or was it not? Was he staring at me because I hurt his pride?’

Since I’d seen him where he threw up after getting beaten, I didn’t want to hurt Schloetz’s pride. Although he might be small and weak now, he would turn into the strongest knight when he was older.

In truth, it was a bit scary because he kept staring at me.

“For now… take a rest. Tomorrow… I’ll come here again.”

As I furtively roused from my seat, Venus came right behind me.

“Are we going to sleep… in the orphanage?”

“Yes, Young Lady. I think we have to do that for a few days.”

How often would it be for nobles to visit and stay in the red district? There was no proper lodge or guest room. From the start, I had already thought about sleeping in the carriage or staying at the orphanage since there were only a couple of small lodges for travelers.

‘Well, I guess I could say that it’s a good thing that the orphanage is so vacant.’

Since the head of the orphanage put fake kids’ names on the list just to get donations, all he deserved was knights and inspectors in that huge orphanage.

As I was leaving, I took another look back.

Schloetz was still staring at me, with water dripping from his head and body.

“Young Lady, that boy must have been poisoned.”

The moment we returned to the orphanage, the knight that had bathed Schloetz whispered to me.

“I was washing that boy earlier, but I could see light purple blotches appearing on his chest.”

“…Blotch?”

“Yes. The exact name of the poison is still unknown, but he’s definitely been poisoned.”

“…”

Poisoning.

Even though I already knew it, it felt weird to hear it in person like this. He was only ten years old… Was it not enough to kick him out and send him to this scary place? What was the point of their affair if they abused a child like that?

“Maybe we can consult with doctors and make an antidote. What do you think about that, Young Lady?”

“I like that.”

“Please don’t worry too much since Lefebvre’s family doctors are high-skilled.”

“Alright.”

The knight smiled warmly as if to reassure me. Besides, what he said wasn’t wrong. Three family doctors were included in the team of investigators because of my physical condition.

‘I’m glad.’

Thanks to the urgent development of the cure using alice flowers, the Lefebvre family’s research has gone really well. Usually, the royal palace’s medicine was the most popular, but it was different these days. It was even said that Lefebvre family’s doctors were the best.

Thinking of this, I threw myself on top of the bed with the fur that the knights had laid in advance without any care in the world.

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