Please, please let Lily know where the ring is. Let her smile and say she kept it somewhere safe, just as Kaon suggested. Alessia fervently hoped until the moment Lily opened her mouth.
“Oh, now that you mention it, I don’t see that ring. I thought you took it off just for that day. It hasn’t been there since the day you got hurt. I’m sure because I’ve been here since the first day.”
“…Really?”
“Yes! Did you lose it? Oh dear, Young Master. What are you doing? This is your chance to earn some points by getting her a new one.”
The flickering light of hope was extinguished in an instant. Kaon sent Lily out, saying that Alessia still needed rest.
Shortly after Lily left, Alessia pushed herself out of bed again. Although she had moved a few times between the bathroom and the bed, she was still weak and her body wobbled precariously.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Move.”
Alessia coldly spat the words at Kaon, who was blocking her way. There was no time to waste. If she had lost the ring, it must be in the forest. The last place she used magic was in the forest. If it was in the forest, she had to find it quickly. Considering the days she had been bedridden, it might already be too late.
“You can’t even walk properly right now. Do you think you can go alone if I move?”
“I’ll manage, so just move…!”
Her voice rose automatically in her impatience, and she felt an unfamiliar warmth on her cheek. Startled, she looked up to see Kaon gently touching her cheek, staring intently at her.
“I’ll find it for you. No matter what, I’ll find it, so please calm down first.”
The sensation of his large hand pressing gently on her cheek was strange. The distance between them was uncomfortably close. Unconsciously, her whole body tensed up. It was the first time she had been in such close contact with Kaon.
Regardless of her confusion, Kaon continued to hold her face gently. His unwavering gaze was fixed on her. In his eyes, she saw herself. Realizing how stiff she had become in her bewilderment, she finally came to her senses.
“What are you doing…”
“You’re trembling less now.”
Just as she was about to push him away, Kaon pulled back first. Alessia quickly put her hand where his had been. The warmth still lingered.
“Sometimes, when Alain had students who couldn’t focus, he would do this to get their attention. To make them look him in the eye and snap out of it.”
“Oh…”
Only then did Alessia understand his intention. Come to think of it, she had seen the knight commander pressing down on the heads of knights who had lost concentration. He hadn’t cupped their cheeks like this, but the action was similar.
“You were trembling the whole time. You’re still shaking a bit.”
Kaon gestured subtly downward. Following his gaze, she saw her hand trembling slightly under the bandages on her arm. Alessia hurriedly tried to hide her arm behind her, wincing in pain. It felt as if her arm wasn’t her own.
“How do you plan to go out and find it? Are you going to climb over the castle gate in your condition? Let’s say you somehow get out. Do you think you’ll see anything in the forest at night? If you go out with a light, you’ll have to deal with the beasts before the monsters.”
“…”
Alessia bit her dry lips. Kaon’s words were all correct. She hadn’t even recovered half of her strength yet. If she insisted on going out like this, everyone would find it strange.
Even if she was incredibly lucky and managed to find the ring after recklessly venturing out, there was no guarantee she would return safely. Alessia never expected such luck for herself. Rationally assessing the situation, she realized how unreasonable her stubbornness had been.
Alessia slumped back onto the bed. She understood everything. She knew what Kaon was trying to say and how irrational her thoughts were, but her anxiety had momentarily clouded her judgment.
However, acting foolishly wouldn’t change reality. She began to calmly retrace her hazy memories.
‘It was definitely then.’
As she pushed the knight aside and threw herself in his place, the monster’s heavy front paw immediately struck her. The last thing she remembered was being flung into the air before losing consciousness. If the ring had fallen from her hand due to the impact, it would be near that spot.
‘The smell of blood might have attracted animals. If one of them swallowed the ring…’
The battle that day had scattered blood over the thickly piled leaves. In this harsh season, when food was scarce, the beasts wouldn’t have ignored the scent of blood.
A beast prowling for a scrap of meat might have found the glinting ring first. If it had taken the ring in its mouth instead of ignoring it, that would be a disaster.
“The beasts in the eastern forest don’t go near places with traces of monsters. They know the poison is harmful.”
Kaon’s voice fell over Alessia’s head as she was lost in thought. When she quickly looked up at him, Kaon frowned as if to ask why she was looking at him like that.
“Why are you looking at me like that? Do you think I’m that much of an idiot? How many things could you possibly be worried about in this situation?”
“Yeah, you’re not that much of an idiot.”
“What the…!”
Kaon, clearly irritated, bared his teeth but then sighed, “Fine. There’s no point in fighting with a patient…” Alessia quietly asked as she observed him.
“Can you take me out there?”
“Are you asking for a favor?”
Kaon crossed his arms and tilted his head as if to say, “So now you’re willing to ask nicely?”
Alessia knew well that he would help her even if she didn’t say anything, but she decided to play along with his effort to ease the tension.
“Yes. Please, Kaon. I really need your help.”
“…What’s with you? I thought you’d say, ‘Forget it. I’ll do it myself.'”
It was amusing to see him get creeped out when she did exactly what he wanted. Alessia, relaxing her body, let out a weak laugh.
“Someone promised to find it for me. I have to cling to any hope I can.”
“So, I’m the hope you’re clinging to.”
“A pretty sturdy hope?”
“Let’s not talk anymore…”
***
The two put their heads together to come up with a plan.
Kaon suggested mobilizing the knights to search for the ring, but Alessia immediately refused.
Indeed, with the knights’ help, they might find the ring faster and more safely. However, the forest was a perilous place to risk the knights’ lives for a mere valuable item.
Even if the knights participated out of goodwill, there was still a problem. What if a monster appeared during the search? Without the ring, Alessia couldn’t use any magic. She might use her injury as an excuse for now, but she couldn’t keep saying the same thing until the ring was found.
In the end, the two decided to act without any help. Kaon, who knew the forest better, insisted on making the plan, and Alessia agreed without objection.
“Get on my back.”
“What?”
The ring search operation seemed to be going smoothly, but the two started off on the wrong foot before dawn the next day.
“I said, get on my back.”
Kaon held out his hands as if he was going to carry her. Alessia frowned at him. She had taken painkillers and could walk on her own. They needed to return before the gatekeepers came out, so she could manage that much on her own.
“Why waste energy unnecessarily?”
“Do you think walking in the forest is the same as walking here? It would be great if we find it today, but what if we don’t? We need to conserve energy when we can. How do you plan to get past the castle gate when you can’t even open a door? Can you jump over the castle wall by yourself?”
“I understand what you’re saying, but for now…”
“Wasn’t it decided that I would make the plan?”
Kaon cut her off, raising his eyebrows as if to challenge her to say he was wrong.
Swallowing her frustration, Alessia reluctantly nodded. Immediately, strong arms slipped under her neck and knees, lifting her effortlessly into the air. She was surprised by how easily he carried her, as if she weighed nothing more than a feather.
“If your arm was in better shape, it might be easier to carry you on my back. We’ll have to see about that later.”
It didn’t end there. Despite her initial thoughts, it wasn’t uncomfortable at all. Kaon held her in a very stable position. Even though she could barely wrap her right arm around his back due to her injured left arm, she didn’t feel the least bit insecure.
‘…He’s solid.’
Being held like this, she couldn’t help but feel the full extent of Kaon’s body. Even through his thick coat, she could sense his firm, muscular build.
Of course, Alessia had seen his body before. Though it wasn’t intentional on either side, she had seen him quite explicitly. She forcibly pushed the vivid images of his bare skin out of her mind.
As much as she hated to admit it, Kaon was much faster carrying her than she would have been walking on her own. It was her first time being carried by someone, and she was surprised to find it could be so comfortable.
Kaon first opened the castle gate and let her out. Then he went back inside to put the latch back in place. Leaving the latch undone could lead to a big commotion if an early-rising gatekeeper noticed it.
However, putting the latch back in place meant the gate would be locked. Alessia anxiously watched the closed gate.
“…How are you going to get out?”
“I’ll just jump down.”
“Are you crazy?”
His voice from the other side of the gate was calm, but Alessia was incredulous. She had thought he might have some other method, being a nobleman from Ferdinand, but his plan was shockingly reckless.
The gate was much higher than Kaon, even with his considerable height. Jumping from there would surely break his legs, and she didn’t want to think about what else might happen.
“We’ll see if I’m crazy or not soon enough.”
Kaon’s voice was filled with confidence, but Alessia couldn’t help but feel worried.
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