~Chapter 15~
“Your Grace, please wake up,” I said to Latryne.
But he didn’t move.
I was worried.
It seemed like he was seriously injured, and I was also concerned that his condition might worsen if he continued to be exposed to the rain.
However, I couldn’t move Latryne to another place.
Under normal circumstances, I would have easily carried him to a sheltered spot to avoid the rain.
But at that moment, I didn’t have the strength left to do so.
To be honest, just keeping my eyes open was the most I could manage.
Still, I couldn’t just do nothing.
After all, wasn’t it because he shielded me that Latryne ended up like this?
I took off my coat, trying to find somewhere nearby that could offer even a little shelter from the rain.
I didn’t see any proper shelter, but I thought that under the nearby pine tree, we might be able to avoid some of the rain.
With great effort, I dragged Latryne under the shade of the pine tree.
Maybe it was because I wasn’t feeling well, but Latryne felt incredibly heavy.
After finally getting him under the pine tree, I felt like all my strength had left me.
I had a feeling this was the last bit of energy I had.
‘What happened to Seri and the others…?’
I was already worried about the maid, and now I was completely separated from Sertien, so I felt anxious.
But despite these concerns, I couldn’t stop my eyes from closing.
My body was still in pain, but that didn’t matter. I didn’t have the strength to keep my eyes open anymore.
At least I was relieved that I had managed to move Latryne here. With that thought, I lost consciousness.
I had no idea how much time had passed.
Latryne remembered that he had lost consciousness while shielding Litya.
His instinct to protect Litya hadn’t been a conscious decision; it had been more of a reflex.
He had been thinking about it a lot.
When Litya had first come to him, Latryne couldn’t shake the feeling that he was seeing Erias.
If it had only been about their similar appearance, it wouldn’t have been that hard to separate Litya from Erias in his mind.
But Litya was different from Erias.
Litya wasn’t physically weak like Erias and had been the commander of a nation’s knight order.
Even so, every little thing about Litya’s actions and mannerisms reminded Latryne so much of Erias that he couldn’t help but think of her.
When Litya had worn the outfit that Latryne had chosen, he had felt like he had stepped back in time.
Latryne had unconsciously chosen a style of clothing that Erias often wore.
It hadn’t been intentional, just something he did out of habit.
The fact that Litya’s clothing size seemed to be the same as Erias’s also contributed to his choice.
So, when Litya had almost been swept away by the landslide, Latryne’s instinct to protect her had probably been triggered by the same habit he had developed from protecting the frail Erias in the past.
But Latryne, already worried about how unwell Litya had been, didn’t regret his actions.
In fact, he felt proud of himself for rushing to Litya’s aid.
As Latryne finally opened his eyes, he realized that someone had draped a coat over him.
It was the coat he had bought for Litya.
Why was it here?
Latryne sat up.
He was lying under a pine tree, which was odd—someone who had been swept away by a landslide wouldn’t normally end up lying neatly under a tree like this.
Could it be that Litya had woken up before him and moved them here to avoid the rain?
Grateful, Latryne looked around for Litya and realized, belatedly, that she was lying right beside him.
“Commander…”
Latryne’s voice trailed off when he saw Litya.
She looked deathly pale, her face contorted in pain as she sweated and gasped for air.
Latryne quickly stood up, his expression serious.
He grabbed Litya’s hand with one of his own and touched her cheek with the other to check her temperature. Both her hand and face were unnaturally cold, like a corpse.
It hadn’t been long since she’d been injured, but after falling down the mountain, rolling violently, and being exposed to the cold rain for so long, it was no surprise that her condition had worsened.
Latryne carefully lifted Litya into his arms.
The situation was too urgent for him to even think about Erias.
Fortunately, he saw a cave not too far away.
Hoping that the cave would offer shelter from the rain and a way to warm Litya up, Latryne started walking toward it, carrying her in his arms.
As he got up, Latryne realized that his leg was aching, probably from being injured during the fall.
But he couldn’t afford to worry about that now—Litya’s condition was much worse.
When they reached the cave, Latryne laid Litya down.
Even as he laid her on the cave floor, he could feel her shivering.
Her clothes were soaked, so they wouldn’t be of much help. Still, Latryne took off Litya’s coat and his own, laying them over her as a temporary solution.
But that wouldn’t be enough. He needed to light a fire as soon as possible.
Despite his injured leg, Latryne limped around the area, gathering firewood.
With the heavy rain, it wasn’t easy to find dry wood, but he managed to collect some usable branches and skillfully started a fire.
Even though he was a duke’s son, Latryne had learned how to do many things growing up.
Litya was still unconscious.
Since her wet clothes weren’t helping, Latryn removed the coats he had draped over Litya to dry them by the fire.
But the small fire alone wouldn’t be enough to warm Litya’s freezing body.
After some hesitation, Latryne carefully lifted Litya into his arms.
Even though it was an old-fashioned solution, sharing body heat was the most effective way to warm someone up.
Awkwardly, Latryne held Litya close.
Since his body had warmed up from moving around so much, he hoped it would help raise her body temperature.
He figured they would have to stay like this until the rain stopped.
It was dark outside, and with the possibility of another disaster like the earlier landslide, along with Litya’s unconscious state and his own injured leg, Latryne knew it would be difficult to make it back even after the rain stopped.
Latryne checked on Litya.
Her face looked better than before.
Feeling relieved, Latryne relaxed a little.
Despite everything that had happened, Litya seemed to be recovering slightly just from Latryne warming him with his body heat.
Latryne couldn’t help but think of Erias again.
This would have been impossible for Erias.
If something like this had happened to her, she would have been taken too far to recover.
“Thank goodness Litya isn’t like Erias… Wait, what am I even thinking?”
Latryne shook his head, scolding himself for comparing Litya to Erias yet again.
“…Ugh…”
Just then, Litya stirred.
Latryne, surprised, looked down at her.
Litya was frowning as if she were in pain, mumbling something incoherent.
“Commander, are you awake?” Latryne asked gently, concerned.
Litya’s eyes opened slightly, but she didn’t seem fully conscious.
“Latryne…”
Latryne froze for a moment, taken aback that Litya had called him by name, but quickly responded, acting as if nothing was wrong.
“Yes, I’m here.”
“It’s cold…”
Litya clearly wasn’t fully aware of her surroundings.
After saying that, she instinctively burrowed deeper into Latryne’s embrace, seeking warmth.
Though Latryne didn’t show any outward reaction, the scent of Litya became more intense, making him feel flustered. He couldn’t bring himself to meet Litya’s eyes.
Soon after, Litya stopped moving again.
This time, it seemed like she had fallen asleep.
Seeing Litya finally resting peacefully, Latryne felt relieved and unconsciously began to stroke his hair.
Had I been dreaming?
I wasn’t sure, but it felt like I had a dream.
Latryne was in it.
In the dream, Latryne had held me, and it had felt so warm that I instinctively leaned in closer.
If it had been real, I would never have done something like that.
I had thought that after losing consciousness while moving Latryne, my body would have been in terrible shape. But to my surprise, I felt lighter than before.
And I wasn’t lying on the cold ground either.
It felt like I was being held by someone.
“Am I being held by someone?”
The dream I had just came back to me.
Suddenly, I felt wide awake.
I hurriedly opened my eyes to see if I was really being held by someone.
As soon as I opened them, my gaze locked with Latryne’s, who was staring at me.
“Your Grace!” Latryne said.
“Are you feeling better now?”
Hearing Latryne ask me so calmly, I almost wanted to faint.
We were in what seemed to be a cave, and I was cradled in Latryne’s arms.
It seemed that Latryne had carried me here and taken care of me while I was unconscious.
But if that was the case, then the dream I thought I had… wasn’t a dream at all?
The memory of my actions suddenly flashed through my mind.
‘So… did I really… hug Latryne?’
I was so flustered that I couldn’t say anything, while Latryne continued to look at me with a calm expression.
