No More Regrets, Just K*ll Me

“Hold on.”

“Huh? Sir Maicher!”

She smiled brightly as she took his hand and got down, and Pierne closed the carriage door after confirming she had safely descended.

“Did you sleep well last night?”

“Yes.”

Pierne furrowed his brow as he secretly observed Ariadeline’s wrist. The marks from yesterday had become even more pronounced.

There hadn’t been any sound at all yesterday. While Pierne was frowning, Ariadeline quietly looked at his face.

“Huh?”

Taken aback, she brought her hand to his cheek. Pierne flinched and moved slightly without realizing it.

“What happened to your lips?”

Ariadeline looked at Pierne’s split lip and asked. Pierne shook his head as if it were nothing.

“It’s nothing to worry about.”

“Really? It looks like it bled quite a bit…”

As she examined his wound, she heard whispers coming from somewhere. Ariadeline turned her head in confusion.

The sound came from a group of knights gathered nearby. As soon as Ariadeline’s gaze fell upon them, they dispersed as if they had never been whispering.

Pierne’s expression darkened. However, Ariadeline, unaware of the situation, thought they were simply chatting among themselves and returned her attention to Pierne.

“Wait a moment. They might have some medicine.”

“Wounds like this will heal naturally if left alone.”

“Still.”

Ariadeline grabbed one of the servants who had just started preparing breakfast.

“Do you happen to have any ointment among the things you brought?”

“Ah, of course. I’ll bring it right away. Please wait a moment.”

While the servant went to fetch the ointment, Ariadeline asked,

“How did you get hurt?”

“I fell.”

“Really? You seem like someone who wouldn’t fall even if pushed…”

As Ariadeline spoke, someone nearby muttered,

“Fell? Yeah, right…”

It was Phil, with his unkempt brown hair and swollen face, who had been beaten by Pierne yesterday.

Ariadeline was startled by his appearance and rushed over to him.

“Why is your face like this?”

With both of her white hands, she grabbed Phil’s face and pulled it.

“Isn’t that a bit harsh to say about my face?”

“That’s not what I’m talking about right now!”

Phil rolled his eyes. What kind of situation is this?

He was taken aback by Ariadeline’s sudden shock at his injury.

So he looked at Pierne, but Pierne was just looking at him with a face that seemed to say, “I’ll kill you if you talk nonsense.”

“It’s common for men to have a bit of a scuffle.”

“I don’t think that was just a bit of a scuffle.”

Ariadeline let out a deep sigh.

“Both of you, go sit over there.”

She pointed to a long log lying on the ground. Just then, the servant brought the ointment.

“Since we can’t use a healer right now, we’ll have to use the ointment.”

“You really don’t have to go to this trouble.”

“How could I not care when it was so obvious? And Sir Maicher, how could you beat someone to this extent?”

“…I will reflect on my actions.”

Phil let out a hollow laugh, feeling incredulous. Yesterday he had roared like a beast, but now he seemed as gentle as a lamb.

Phil secretly observed Ariadeline, who was opening the ointment.

Honestly, she was beautiful. Such a beauty would be difficult to find anywhere else.

But still, she was a villainess! She was a sinner who attempted to kill the beautiful, angelic Princess Dorothea!

“First of all, what’s your name?”

“Phil Greint.”

“Alright, Sir Greint. Since your injury is more severe, I’ll apply the ointment first.”

“Uh, uh…”

He froze, unable to refuse. She began to gently apply the ointment to his wound with her delicate, white fingers.

Her touch was so careful that it almost tickled. Phil bit his lip and looked at Pierne.

Pierne stood with his arms crossed, watching the situation with an expression that suggested he was displeased.

Phil let out a small grunt. After all, he had been beaten for insulting Ariadeline, and now he was receiving treatment from her.

“Does it hurt?”

At Phil’s grunt, Ariadeline started to apply the ointment even more gently. Ticklish, ticklish.

Phil found the situation incredibly awkward. The bruises around his eyes, swollen nose, and sensation of being touched by someone were so unfamiliar.

“Thank you! Well, I’ll take my leave now!”

As soon as Ariadeline removed her fingers, he jumped up, bowed, and quickly walked away.

Ariadeline blinked as she watched Phil’s retreating figure, then turned to Pierne.

“Is he a very shy knight?”

“…Well, you can think of it that way.”

“In that case, it can’t be helped. Sir Maicher, you come over here too.”

Ariadeline began to apply the ointment gently to Pierne’s split lip.

Pierne thought the sensation of her fingertips was strange. He could see her face, focused on applying the medicine. Her blue eyes remained fixed on his lips.

Suddenly, he noticed Ariadeline’s lips. Her lower lip was slightly swollen.

Pierne frowned involuntarily. Could it be that yesterday…

“Alright, all done!”

“Thank you.”

“No need to thank me. More importantly, adults shouldn’t fight like children. We should resolve things through conversation.”

“I understand.”

But then, a voice suddenly interrupted between the two.

“So, why were you fighting?”

Ariadeline turned immediately upon hearing the voice.

“Carlothian!”

“I just got the report myself…”

Carlothian, looking extremely tired, crossed his arms and stared at Pierne. Pierne met his gaze and spoke.

“There was a difference of opinion.”

“What kind of difference of opinion could lead to a fight like that?”

“It was nothing important.”

“I’m asking you about that ‘nothing important’ right now.”

Ariadeline looked back and forth between the two, her eyes darting around. Carlothian was irritable from lack of sleep, and Pierne seemed unusually sharp for some reason.

“I don’t want to cause any trouble for the Duke.”

“This is a matter concerning my knight order. I need to know about even the smallest issues.”

“But…”

“Wait, wait!”

To block the two, Ariadeline spread her arms wide.

“If you do that, you two will fight too. Let’s talk things through calmly.”

Her intervention seemed to help the two men calm down for a moment.

Carlothian ran a hand through his hair and spoke to Pierne.

“Both of you, write up a report.”

That made Pierne frown heavily. Before Carlothian could see it, Ariadeline hurriedly pushed his back.

“Let’s head back to our carriage! The air is a bit chilly!”

Having barely managed to stop the fight, Ariadeline let out a sigh once they were inside the carriage. She then spoke to Carlothian, who was sitting with his legs crossed.

“Seriously, why would you want to fight your own knight…?”

“You thought about putting ointment on those guys, but you didn’t think about me.”

“Huh?”

Carlothian tilted his head slightly and spoke again.

“Don’t you think about me?”

“What are you talking about…?”

Before Ariadeline could finish her sentence, Carlothian opened his mouth. Then he stuck out his tongue, which had a distinct bite mark.

Ariadeline’s face turned bright red.

“I, I’m sorry….”

“If you’re sorry, you should show it with actions, not just words.”

“But there’s no healer.”

Ariadeline moved her gaze around and fidgeted with her fingers, to which Carlothian casually replied,

“Ointment will do.”

“R-really?”

Ariadeline took out the ointment she had put in her pocket for a moment. Then, flustered, she scooped some out with her fingers, but the place to apply it was not his lips but his tongue.

“C-could you stick out your tongue…”

“Just apply it.”

Carlothian simply waited with his mouth open. Ariadeline cautiously inserted her finger into his mouth.

She felt the soft texture on her fingertips. Ariadeline was startled and flinched for a moment. Carlothian’s expression remained neutral.

“Isn’t it… bitter?”

“No.”

As he spoke, his lips enveloped her fingers. The heat against her fingertips was intense. With trembling hands, Ariadeline rubbed the ointment onto his tongue.

After slowly and carefully applying the ointment to the mark she made, Ariadeline hurriedly withdrew her finger.

“It tastes bad.”

“W-well, is the ointment supposed to taste good?”

She still felt the lingering sensation of his tongue on her fingertips. Her face remained flushed.

“I-I’m going to get some fresh air!”

With that, she hurriedly dashed out of the carriage, and Carlothian clicked his tongue as he watched her retreating figure.

“She ran away.”