CH 29

Two nights later, Nathan showed up. He walked into the room with an air of familiarity.

“Long time no see, Rosalie.”

“You’re late.”

“Bella was so obsessed with me that I couldn’t sneak out.”

Nathan sighed and leaned back on the couch, his nose twitching at the familiar scent he caught as he inhaled. But as soon as Rosalie set the chocolates and candy on the table, Nathan was distracted by the chocolates.

“What have you heard?”

“Oh, Bella took me to meet the Marquis of Windell.”

Rosalie’s eyes flashed. Nathan continued, munching on the chocolates.

“Marquis Windell took the bait. He’s going to declare a territory war in three weeks.”

“Really?”

Although her expression did not change, Rosalie secretly smiled inwardly.

‘Finally.’

Nathan swallowed the last of his chocolate and licked his lips with a dark smile, turning to Rosalie.

“Should I kill Bella and Marquis Windell?”

At Nathan’s words, Rosalie watched his face as he picked up the chocolate from the table. His face was nonchalant, but there was also a hint of sincerity.

“No, we will proceed with the territorial war. That’s the goal.”

“Was that the goal?”

Nathan burst into laughter, throwing the chocolate in the air. He continued to laugh until the chocolate rolled off the table and fell to the floor.

“Hahaha. That’s so funny… Ah, Bella’s coming back to the duchy tomorrow.”

“She’s probably trying to steal the assets. Keep an eye on her.”

As he nodded his head while humming a tune, Nathan suddenly let out a whine.

“Rosalie. It’s been so hard on me, you know? Bella’s strong perfume always gave me headaches, and she kept touching me, giving me goosebumps. Above all, Bella’s heartbeat made me uncomfortable.”

Nathan sobbed, and Rosalie gave him a questioning look. At that, Nathan smiled brightly and pulled himself up to sit next to her. Rosalie growled at his proximity.

“If you try anything, you’re on your own.”

“Please stroke my head.”

As he leaned in, Rosalie tried to raise a fist, and when he saw it, he whimpered.

“I really struggled, you know? Just for five minutes…”

“Three minutes.”

In a firm tone, Rosalie spoke, and Nathan made a disappointed sound. However, he quickly felt better as Rosalie’s hand gently stroked him, albeit a little clumsy. After exactly three minutes, Rosalie spoke up.

“It’s been three minutes.”

Nathan pouted with disappointment, but Rosalie was having none of it. She mercilessly pushed Nathan away.

⊱⊱⊱────── {.⋅ ✧✧✧ ⋅.} ──────⊰⊰⊰

The next day, the firing squad practiced on the mountain that Rosalie and Derivis had painted on. As they gathered in front of the mountain, they listened to Rosalie’s explanation.

“There’s red paint all over the mountain. You will have three hours to find the targets and shoot it with your crossbows. The Knight who finds the most will receive a small reward!”

“Yes, Sir!”

“Start!”

With Rosalie’s signal, the knights dashed out like arrows. After some time, when all the knights had disappeared and about an hour had passed, Rosalie prepared to move as well.

“Should we go up slowly and see?”

After doing some light stretching, Rosalie headed in the direction the knights had left for. She hid behind trees and rocks, observing the knights from a distance.

‘Fortunately, they all seem to understand the terrain of the mountain well. They handle the crossbows well and can locate the targets fairly easily.’

The knights navigated through the mountains without much difficulty using their stamina. As Rosalie watched the knights from a distance, she looked at a tree in front of her and suddenly got lost in thought.

‘If I can mimic the similar feeling, I might be able to imitate it.’

Rosalie closed her eyes, remembering the sensation of being embraced in Derivis’s arms. Then, a faint khaki-colored light, resembling the color of her eyes, began to flow faintly and envelop her body.

“And jump.”

As she kicked the ground as hard as she could, Rosalie’s body jumped high like a spring.

‘Oh no!’

The recoil was stronger than she expected, and Rosalie lost her balance completely in midair. Realizing that a safe landing was impossible, she braced herself to break a bone, anticipating the intense pain that would hit her.

“It’s alright, relax your body.”

Guided by the familiar warmth and soothing voice that embraced her from behind, Rosalie relaxed her body. She landed on the ground without feeling any pain.

Rather, she was startled awake by a hard, soft touch that felt like the opposite of a dull blow. She scrambled to her feet and looked down at the person beneath her. As she expected, it was Derivis lying underneath her.

“Where are you hurt?”

He asked as he lay on the floor, placing a hand on Rosalie’s cheek. Their eyes met, their pupils trembling slightly.

“That’s a question I should be asking. Are you okay?”

Shaken, Rosalie looked at him. However, he simply pulled her into his arms, and a hard body wrapped around her.

“I’m fine. As long as you’re not hurt.”

Listening to his regular breathing, his gentle voice, and the slightly accelerated sound of his heartbeat near her ear, Rosalie calmed her startled heart. Derivis simply yet gently stroked her head.

“I really can’t take my eyes off you.”

“I didn’t see it coming, either. If you’re hurt anywhere, I’ll compensate you.”

“It’s okay, let’s just stay like this for a while.”

His tone was different from his usual laid-back demeanor. It was almost soothing. Suddenly, Rosalie noticed that her hands were shaking.

She closed her eyes as Derivis’s voice echoed in her ears. She could feel his fingertips gently brushing against her hair, trembling just a little bit like her own.

“Your fingertips are trembling.”

“…I’m just a little surprised.”

When Derivis found her falling, his body was the first to move; all he could think about was keeping her from hitting the ground, regardless of whether his spine would shatter or not. By the time he regained his senses, he had already wrapped his arms around her.

Rosalie and Derivis picked themselves up off the ground at the sound of the approaching knights. Concealing the pain in his back, Derivis turned to Rosalie before leaving and spoke.

“Do that training only in front of me.”

At a loss for words, Rosalie nodded, and Derivis turned to leave with a satisfied expression on his face. However, his gesture was awkward and she grabbed his arm. Derivis groaned in pain coming from his back.

“Ugh.”

“As I thought!”

Rosalie exclaimed in exasperation, then quickly lowered her voice at the sound of the knights’ chatter.

“I’ve prepared potions and medical supplies at the foot of the mountain.”

“I’m fine.”

“If you don’t get treatment, I’ll block the teleportation portal.”

In the face of Rosalie’s threat, Derivis had no choice but to comply. He obediently followed Rosalie down the mountain.

Since they were still in the middle of training, there was no one at the foot of the mountain. Rosalie sat Derivis on a rock and placed the prepared healing potions and first aid items nearby.

“Can you take off your shirt?”

Derivis tried to avoid the situation by shaking his head as he sat on the rock, but he couldn’t because of Rosalie, who was standing firmly in front of him.

With a small sigh, Derivis reluctantly began to remove his shirt, revealing his well-defined muscles, and Rosalie turned to his back.

The skin on his broad back was already turning dark red in places. Rosalie frowned and asked.

“Are you trying to hide this pain? Are there any uncomfortable places every time you breathe?”

“I wrapped myself in my Auror when I fell, so there shouldn’t be any broken bones.”

Rosalie handed a healing potion to Derivis. He accepted it and gulped it down, while Rosalie took out some ointment and carefully applied it to his back.

“…Thank you for saving me.”

At that, Derivis smiled.

“You’re welcome.”

Rosalie continued to work the ointment into his back, the only sound surrounding them being the rustling of leaves in the wind.

However, at that moment, they heard the sound of footsteps crunching on leaves and soil. Surprised by the knights descending faster than expected, Rosalie paused, and Derivis turned his head to look at her.

“Is there a problem?”

“What? Oh, yes, there is.”

After a moment of contemplation, Derivis pulled Rosalie and ducked behind a boulder. However, the rock was only big enough to hide a seated person, so Rosalie ended up in Derivis’s arms. Rosalie stiffened at the sound of his breathing and body heat behind her.

“Huh? There’s no one here.”

The knight who had come down from the mountain surveyed his surroundings. He then noticed the scattered first aid supplies on the rock and approached slowly, feeling suspicious. Rosalie trembled and Derivis, who was behind Rosalie, also tensed up, focusing on everything including the sound of footsteps.

“Oh, wait. Did I find only a few targets? D*mn it.”

The knight, who had been getting closer to the rock, suddenly turned around and quickly ran back into the mountains. To him, Rosalie’s sharp glare was scarier than the scattered first aid supplies.

“They’re gone.”

Rosalie’s fingertips twitched at the sound of his gravelly voice near her ear. Derivis released her from his embrace as he heard the sound of footsteps moving away. Then, Rosalie quickly got up and looked down at him.

“…Why didn’t you go hide by yourself?”

“Ah, I was in a hurry so I didn’t think that far.”

Derivis chuckled and spoke, causing Rosalie’s eyebrows to twitch. Derivis soon got up as well, wearing a troubled expression.

“The ointment is all smudged on the rock.”

“…You can apply the rest yourself. The knights will come down soon.”

As she turned around and said that, Derivis nodded in understanding and grabbed the ointment. Rosalie stared at him as he left, then took a deep breath. For some reason, she felt more tense than when she’d fallen earlier.