Amidst the sudden call, Anje responded with a start.
“Just a moment.”
As she passed through the bushes and followed the direction of Aiden’s voice, a stream flowing gently between the blue trees soon came into view.
“What’s the matter, Sir Aiden?”
Surely he wasn’t saying he couldn’t run an errand for her now?
Aiden pointed somewhere near her as she approached.
“That, by any chance, is your belonging?”
“What are you talking about now… Ah!”
Anje gasped in surprise. Just as he said, her belonging was indeed caught between the branches of a tree stretching its arms over the stream.
“My parasol!”
It was the parasol she had lost a month ago when she tried to escape and fell into the water.
Naturally, she had assumed it was already broken and hanging somewhere or even floating out to sea.
However, here by the stream, the parasol, fully opened, looked perfectly fine. She even wondered if someone who found the parasol had deliberately hung it there.
“It seems it’s yours.”
“Oh my goodness, this is a miracle.”
Even without it, she often missed her parasol. Especially since it was a parasol made of lace that she had brought back from Lutetia, the capital of Francia.
She wondered how she could safely reach the spot where the parasol was. The stream here was wider and deeper than the one that flowed around Aiden’s house.
“How do I get that?”
“Here, take this.”
Aiden handed her her hat again. It was filled with raspberries that he had already washed before calling her.
Seeing him take off his shoes and socks without hesitation and roll up the hem of his pants, she muttered cautiously.
“Oh, I can get it…”
“The bottom is more slippery than it looks. I’ll just go and come back quickly.”
Without giving her a chance to reply, he strode into the water.
Anje watched him in confusion, then hurriedly greeted him from behind.
“T-thank you. If it seems broken, you don’t have to force yourself to bring it back.”
Without looking back, he raised one hand. Anje, who had become somewhat familiar with him, interpreted it as “No need for such formalities.”
“You’re unpredictable.”
She muttered under her breath, inaudible to Aiden, and popped a neatly washed raspberry into her mouth.
His unexpected kindness was still a part of him that she wasn’t used to.
‘He’s just bad at expressing himself, that’s all. He’s trying his best to be nice to me, in his own way.’
Maybe Mrs. Meg’s words were true to some extent.
In that case, would it be okay to ask him to take her to town?
‘If I want to go straight from town to the capital, I need to pack my things in advance. I won’t be able to bring anything but valuables and money so as not to arouse suspicion from Sir Aiden.’
She already knew where to catch the stagecoach to the capital from the information she had gathered from Mrs. Meg.
Since it was a carriage commonly used by commoners, she could afford the fare with the money she had.
‘It’s really getting close to the time to leave.’
She put aside her complicated thoughts for now and focused on the present instead.
Sweet and sour juice flowed out with every bite of the fruit flesh with her molars.
Not too sweet or sour, just the right amount of sweetness. It was the taste of spring.
Splash, splash―
In the meantime, Aiden, who had already crossed half the stream, carefully pulled the parasol out from among the branches. He tested it by folding and unfolding it to see if it was broken, but it seemed fine.
“A lucky item.”
He turned to Anje and waved his hand once. It meant it was fine.
‘I’m glad I came in for the princess.’
TL/N: OH TO FIND SOMEONE LIKE AIDEN!!!
No matter how much it was spring, the water temperature was still icy cold. He shivered once and started to head back to the water’s edge.
The princess, who saw his signal, was smiling goofily. Was it that good to have this item back?
Oh, on closer inspection, her lips were moving. They were redder than usual, probably from the raspberry juice.
He realized without realizing it that her smile had spread to him as well. He thought he had lost laughter a long time ago, but lately he had been smiling crookedly from time to time.
‘It’s just that that face is so funny that it makes me laugh.’
He found an excuse for the smile he had just made and hurried his steps.
But even so, his gaze remained fixed on her waiting for him by the stream.
In a light blue muslin one-piece dress with a white apron, her lips and cheeks flushed red, smiling, she was so beautiful that it hurt his eyes.
If spring had a human form, it would probably look like this.
Lost in thought, he realized he had stopped walking and shook his head.
Whoosh―
A wind filled with the scent of flowers blowing from somewhere in the south ruffled her reddish-brown hair. The flower bud that Aiden had pinned behind her ear earlier fell to the ground in the wind.
“Ah!”
“Oh.”
While Anje lowered her head to pick up the flower, Aiden noticed the swaying sky.
“S, Sir Aiden!”
Anje’s voice overlapped with the loud sound of water.
Anje looked at Aiden from head to toe with a worried voice dripping with concern.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”
“It’s nothing.”
Aiden replied as calmly as possible, but he couldn’t help but feel embarrassed inside.
He had told her not to come in because it’s slippery, and yet here he was, sprawled out on the ground like a fool.
In the blink of an eye, a pebble he had stepped on in a moment of distraction had wobbled in the wind, causing this disaster. He was mortified, all because of that darned mossy pebble.
“Here, take this. Just make sure you don’t lose it again.”
The only thing that comforted him was the fact that the parasol he had brought with him was still intact, even though he had gotten soaked.
“Thank you, but… are you really sure you’re not hurt anywhere?”
“I’m fine.”
He had bumped his back on a rock when he fell, but the shame of having shown his ugly side in front of her was more painful than the dull ache.
TL/N: I KNOW I SHOULDN’T BE LAUGHING, BUT…
“You should be more concerned about your shoes and the hem of your dress.”
“Oh, my socks are soaked too.”
She had rushed in to help him without any preparation, and now part of her clothes were wet.
Anje took off her wet shoes and carefully wrung out the water from her socks and the hem of her dress. She was used to housework and was quite adept at it.
“Here.”
Aiden offered her his shoes.
“Put these on.”
“But if I take your shoes, what will you do?”
“I’m used to walking barefoot.”
Her slender feet, free of calluses, were clearly not used to walking on stones or dirt.
Anje was embarrassed to receive further kindness from him, especially when he was wet because of her.
She declined.
“I can walk barefoot too.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
He snorted and deliberately frowned. With those delicate feet, she was bound to be in pain every time she stepped on a thorn or a sharp pebble.
“If you want to cling to me again to get home, I won’t stop you… but…”
“It’s not like that! Alright, I’ll put them on.”
Anje hurriedly put on his socks and shoes, hiding her flushed face.
Who would have wanted that? She had only refused because she felt bad that he was suffering so much because of her.
She held back what she wanted to say to Aiden and instead asked him,
“Shouldn’t you… do something about your clothes too? Maybe wring them out and wear them again…”
She trailed off. She couldn’t let him walk home soaked through both his top and bottom if she didn’t want him to catch a cold.
But to wring them out, he would have to take off all his clothes. Aiden’s face also clouded over with the same thought.
“What do you mean-”
“Maybe you should at least wring out your shirt and wear it again? Or maybe you could just take off your outer shirt.”
Anje, who didn’t want him to take off all his clothes, hurriedly added an explanation.
She had often seen men working bare-chested through the windows while riding in carriages in the city.
And there were also nobles who took off their shirts for no reason to show off their ‘manliness’ during hunts, so it wasn’t too scandalous.
“……”
Aiden touched the hem of his shirt, which was soaked and sagging. It was a body that was unsightly to look at, not only because of the scars from his war wounds but also because of the mark Philip had left on him. He worried that the princess would be shocked to see his body.
Not only that, but for the past few years, he had felt a sense of reluctance whenever he had to show his body to others. He didn’t want to show his bare skin, not even to the doctor at the hospital.
Perhaps it was related to his frequent seizures. He guessed, but he couldn’t be sure of the exact cause and effect.
Sensing Aiden’s reluctance, Anje turned her body away, covering her eyes with both hands.
“Just do something about this water. I promise I won’t look. Don’t worry.”
“…Promise. No peeking.”
Did she think she wanted to see his body? Not understanding his intentions, Anje flared up and made the most honorable promise she could.
“I swear on the name of the Glasster Duke Family.”
Only then did he move away from her and slowly unbutton his shirt.
* * * *
If you want to support the Translator, Translator’s Ko-Fi:
