55. The Feeling Against His Chest

 

Roselia froze as she felt the sticky blood on her palm and glanced up at Klaus.

“Y-Your Grace, you’re bleeding!”

As she struggled in his arms, Klaus gritted his teeth and muttered.

“Shh… Please, stop moving. You’re making it worse.”

Now that she noticed, sweat was dripping down his forehead, collecting in beads before falling onto Roselia’s cheek. It was clear that he had sustained a serious injury while protecting her.

Drops of his sweat trickled down her face as she gazed up at him with a worried expression, unable to move.

“Just hold on… I’ll figure something out.”

She said, her voice trembling with concern.

Klaus, breathing heavily, managed to speak between ragged breaths.

“I’m more worried about you getting hurt, so just stay still.”

His sharp eyes scanned their surroundings, adjusting to the darkness.

There wasn’t a clear way out. If they moved the wrong way and dislodged one of the beams, the fragile space holding up the debris could collapse entirely.

Cursing under his breath, Klaus frowned in frustration.

Seeing his grimace, Roselia reached up and wiped the sweat from his forehead, thinking he was in pain.

Her gentle gesture startled him, and Klaus’s gaze fell on her, noticing how close their faces were.

Her breath brushed against his skin with each inhale and exhale, making him hyper-aware of her presence.

Why does his body feel so soft and small?

Their bodies were pressed so tightly together that he could feel every curve, every line.

The pain from his injury had long faded from his mind.

Are all men with smaller frames this soft and fragile?

He was both bewildered and overwhelmed by the foreign sensation of Antonio’s slim form against him.

As Antonio’s shallow breath tickled his chin, Klaus felt a strange thought cross his mind: he wasn’t sure how much longer he could endure this closeness.

Just as his thoughts spiraled further, a voice cut through the tension.

“Your Grace! Are you here?!”

Klaus had sent Alejandro ahead with a message, and it seemed he had finally arrived.

“About time.”

Klaus muttered under his breath, too low for Roselia to hear, but she let out a relieved shout.

“We’re here! The Duke and I are here!”

“Oh my heavens! Hold on! I’ll fetch the workers!”

A breath Klaus hadn’t realized he’d been holding slipped out in a sigh—whether it was from relief or disappointment, he couldn’t tell.

Roselia, misunderstanding his sigh, reached up and gently wiped more sweat from his cheek.

“If you’re in pain, it’s okay to let go for a bit.”

She said, her voice filled with concern.

Klaus tensed at her touch, his shoulders stiffening.

Damn it, your scent is making my head spin.

His thoughts were in chaos, his body reacting in ways he couldn’t understand. Just as his confusion peaked, a loud noise rang out, and light filtered through the cracks as one of the beams was lifted away.

“Bring the lever! Make sure the space doesn’t collapse! Set up a temporary support around the Duke!”

The workers had arrived.

Roselia’s tense expression softened in relief, while Klaus remained staring down at her, his face serious.

“Your Grace… Are you alright?”

Roselia asked, her voice filled with concern.

At that moment, one of the workers managed to clear enough debris, and both Roselia and Klaus were carefully pulled from the wreckage.

The rescue went smoothly, and they emerged from the site without further injuries.

“Are you alright, Your Grace? The wound on your back isn’t too deep, thankfully.”

Alejandro said, breathing a sigh of relief as he finished tending to Klaus’s injuries.

Klaus glanced at Alejandro and then looked around for Antonio, his tone indifferent as he asked.

“And Antonio?”

“He only suffered a minor scrape on his ankle.”

Alejandro replied, though he hesitated slightly before continuing, “But… there’s something we found while clearing the debris.”

Alejandro leaned in close and whispered in Klaus’s ear.

“The medical herb?”

“Yes… It seems someone hid it beneath the school site. We’ll need to investigate further to determine whether it was intentional or accidental.”

“They probably planned to pin the blame on me while profiting off the herbs. Have we identified who’s behind it?”

“No… We only found the medical herb so far, no solid leads on the culprit.”

So Antonio was right.

Klaus recalled Antonio’s warning about something illegal being hidden at the school site.

How did he know about this?

Though Klaus didn’t know how Antonio had come across this information, the discovery of the medical herb—a strictly prohibited herb in the empire—was serious. If Klaus had been falsely accused, the consequences could have been dire, possibly even leading to his arrest by the imperial family.

Klaus’s gaze fell on Antonio, who was thanking the workers with a soft smile. His eyes lingered on him longer than usual, filled with thoughts he didn’t entirely understand.

* * *

Roselia, having returned to the mansion in the Duke’s carriage, limped toward the entrance, exhausted from the day’s events.

“Antonio!!”

It seemed Claucet had already heard the news from Alejandro, as she rushed toward Roselia with a pale face, accompanied by Melda.

“Oh my, what happened to you! Melda, please prepare some warm tea!”

Claucet’s anxious fussing made Roselia chuckle weakly as she tried to reassure her.

“My lady, I’m fine. You should worry more about the Duke…”

Roselia glanced back toward the carriage, just as Klaus, supported by the coachman, entered the mansion. Although his injuries weren’t severe enough to prevent him from walking, it was rare to see him being helped, which caused Claucet’s face to tighten with shock.

“Klaus…?”

Seeing Claucet’s pale face, Roselia watched her nervously.

“My lady, please don’t worry too much. The Duke’s injuries aren’t too serious…”

But before Roselia could finish, tears began to stream down Claucet’s face.

Roselia was caught off guard by Claucet’s sudden reaction, and Klaus, who had just entered, also seemed taken aback upon seeing his sister crying.

“Claucet…?”

At the sound of her name, even more tears poured down Claucet’s cheeks. She had always maintained a strong and proud facade, and Roselia had never seen her cry like this.

Seeing her sobbing like a child left Roselia flustered. She hurried to reassure her.

“My lady, I’ve been told that his injuries aren’t as bad as they look. There’s no need to be so worried.”

Just then, Claucet’s small, trembling voice broke the tension.

“Father also said… his injuries weren’t that bad.”

“Pardon?”

“Father… said his injuries weren’t serious either.”

Roselia suddenly remembered the original story’s explanation about the death of the former Duke and Duchess. They had died in a carriage accident, but while the Duchess had died instantly, the Duke had succumbed to his injuries after receiving treatment at the mansion.

It made sense that Claucet, who had been only four or five years old at the time, would still carry the trauma of losing her family.

Claucet, her face streaked with tears, turned to Klaus and spoke in a trembling voice.

“Klaus… If you leave me too, I’ll never forgive you.”

Klaus, seeing his sister’s tear-streaked face, smiled softly.

“Don’t say such scary things.”

His calm and reassuring tone seemed to bring Claucet some relief. She quickly wiped her tears away with the back of her hand and spoke firmly.

“I’ll summon the maids. Both of you need to rest.”

* * *

Thanks to Claucet’s insistence, Roselia allowed the maids to care for her injuries. Once Claucet had fallen asleep, Roselia dismissed the maids and quietly left the room.

This wasn’t the time to rest comfortably.

She vividly remembered the symbol carved into the pillar where the medical herb was hidden. It didn’t seem like a random carving.

Klaus might know what the symbol meant. Even if he didn’t, telling him would be better than keeping the information to herself.

With this thought, Roselia headed to Klaus’s bedroom and knocked on the door, taking a deep breath.

“It’s Antonio.”

She half-expected him to be in his office, even while injured, but luckily he was resting in his bedroom. After a brief pause, his voice came from inside.

“Come in.”

Roselia opened the door and stopped in her tracks when she saw Klaus in the middle of removing his shirt. He seemed to have been tending to his back injury, likely unwilling to summon a servant at such a late hour.

Klaus glanced at her in surprise.

“What’s the matter?”

Roselia quickly averted her gaze, trying to stay composed as she began to speak.

“I heard there were no clues found regarding the people who hid the medical herb.”

“So?” Klaus frowned, clearly displeased by her mention of the herbs. Undeterred, Roselia continued.

“I think I might know something.”

“What do you mean?”

He asked sharply, his tone hard.

Ignoring his disapproval, Roselia glanced around the room and spotted paper and a pen on the table. She quickly sketched the symbol she had seen.

“This symbol. It was carved in a place that could easily be overlooked, but it was clearly meant to mark the location of the medical herb. It looked more like a stamp than a random carving.”

As Klaus looked at the symbol Roselia had drawn, his expression hardened.

A snake coiled around a rose.

It was the same emblem that had been worn by the men who had targeted Roselia, and by Viscount Clemang, who had been involved in the scheme.

Klaus hadn’t intended for Antonio to get caught up in this, and after today’s events, where Antonio had nearly died, it was clear that this was more than just a simple investigation.

“Antonio, forget what you saw.”

“What?” Roselia blinked, caught off guard.

“I’ll handle the rest. You need to stay out of it.”

“But…”

Before she could argue, Klaus’s stern gaze silenced her. Maybe he was right. She could end up causing more harm than good. After all, if she hadn’t been involved today, Klaus wouldn’t have been injured.

Perhaps just providing him with the information about the symbol was enough.

“Then at least let me help you bandage your wound,” she said.

She couldn’t shake the image of Klaus struggling to wrap the bandage around himself, and her voice was firm, leaving no room for argument.

Reluctantly, Klaus handed her the bandage.

Roselia carefully placed a piece of gauze over his wound and began wrapping the bandage around his chest.

Though she had offered with confidence, she couldn’t help but feel nervous, her palms growing damp with sweat.

Klaus seemed just as tense, his muscles stiffening each time her hand brushed against his skin.