Chapter 16
“Sorry.”
Killian bowed his head.
“What…?”
“Yesterday because of me, I overworked you…”
Killian remembered Sophia who was staggering yesterday.
From the dressing room to catching thieves to the party with Chanelia.
He should have sent her back when he noticed she was tired, but the weekly work made him greedy.
“No, yesterday was fun.”
She couldn’t say it loudly because of her sore throat, but Sophia answered with a small smile.
Then, Killian’s hardened face loosened a little.
“I’m glad you’re okay.”
“By the way… Cough, cough.”
‘How did you get here?’ was overshadowed by a cough.
Fortunately, Killian noticed her question that was blocked.
“I went to the doctor’s office to find Dr. Leopeld, and they said he went to see Miss Sophia from the Frauss family, and I happened to come here by chance.”
Sophia pursed her lips in a round ‘oh’ without making a sound.
‘I guess this is the blessing of a cliché…!’
In the novel, when the female lead is sick, the male lead has to take care of her.
Heaven, no, the god of clichés is helping her.
She seemed to have a guardian spirit, so she felt a little happy.
‘It’s worth the pain.’
As she laughed bashfully to herself, Killian stared at her sullenly for quite some time, without a word, with an expression that doesn’t know how to feel.
Ian’s words suddenly came to her mind from his gaze.
“Are you going to meet the Duke like that?”
‘Maybe it’s because I look so weird…?’
Sophia hurriedly touched her cheeks and combed her tangled hair with her fingers.
The sweat she had shed from the fever was disgusting too, so she pretended not to notice, lifted her sleeve and sniffed.
‘Fortunately, it doesn’t seem to smell like sweat, but I wonder if it’s because I’m used to it…’
Killian’s head tilts to Sophia, who suddenly blinked her eyes with anxiety.
“Where are you uncomfortable?”
Sophia opened her mouth.
“It’s not that, cough, cough, the way I am now is not good to welcome guests… I don’t think I’m ready.”
Her throat hurt, and her voice, like the sound of the wind, was getting louder and louder.
Then Killian burst out a small laugh.
In response to the reaction, Sophia’s cheeks became hot and red.
Seeing her blush, Killian’s hand reached Sophia’s forehead.
Sophia blinked her eyes and forgot to breathe as she looked at him.
A cool, large hand on her forehead.
She took in her breath in nervousness, and hurriedly covered her coughing mouth with her handkerchief.
“I don’t think the fever has gone down yet.”
His face, which had just been smiling, became serious.
No, this isn’t the fever…!
“No, it’s embarrassing… Because you laughed at me.”
Sophia gently pulled the white blanket up to the tip of her nose, covering her blushing face.
It was also to cover up her unsuitable appearance for the guest.
“…I wasn’t laughing at you.”
Read only at pm tl.
Killian explained, but Sophia did not believe it.
Her eyes glared at him, saying, ‘If you came here to make excuses, I’ve already heard all of the ridicule.’
“I really wasn’t laughing at you…”
“But you were laughing.”
“You caring about your appearance in front of me…”
It felt a little burdensome on her for him to say that it was cute.
Killian picked another word, then parted his lips again.
“Was fun.”
“Fun…! So you were laughing at me! Cough!”
Excited in her embarrassment, Sophia coughed again under her blanket.
The military and police commander who was far from a writer or poet had failed to choose an appropriate vocabulary word.
“Where are you uncomfortable?”
The excuses seemed to only deepen the misunderstanding.
“…I’d better get going.”
Killian, who cleared his throat in vain, neatly brushed the collar of his coat.
It was late, and he confirmed that her condition was not serious, and he came to visit, but it seems that Sophia’s cough was getting worse.
Besides, it was not good to stay too long since he scratched Ian Frauss’s insides.
He also has work to do.
“I wish you well, my fiance.”
Killian simply kissed the back of Sophia’s hand, which was holding the white blanket.
As the heat radiating from his lips touched the back of her hand, Sophia felt even hotter.
She firmly believed that such a perfect person was the male lead.
~*~
Killian rode his horse towards the Imperial Palace.
‘I just wanted to be polite and check on her.’
The starting point was that the doctor he was looking for was treating Sophia by chance.
He thought that he had made an unreasonable schedule yesterday, so his heart was heavy, and especially since she had never been examined by a doctor before, he wanted to check if it was something serious.
It seemed to be his fault, so he thought it would be more comfortable to go and see her, even as a courtesy.
‘Provoking Ian Frauss was another matter.’
Maybe it was because he hated the man who only looked down openly from the window.
It was a little childish, but Killian just wanted to press him once because he had a problem with his pride.
To add one more thing, he was curious about the skills of Ian Frauss, whom he had only heard of through rumors.
‘It was too much.’
Killian looked back on that time and regretted it slightly.
He could have gotten over it by moderately suppressing him, but he seemed to have shown things he shouldn’t have had to show.
It won’t be a big deal, but it can’t be helped.
‘More than that…I think she misunderstood.’
“It’s not that, cough, cough, the way I am now is not good to welcome guests… I don’t think I’m ready.”
For a moment, he didn’t know why those words sounded cute.
It must have meant that it was difficult to welcome guests with a sick body, so why did it sound like she wanted to look good in his ears?
What’s more, she covered herself with a blanket up to the tip of her nose and only her eyes were sticking out.
Without realizing it, laughter came out, and there was a misunderstanding.
He couldn’t even explain it properly…
He felt a little sorry for Sophia, but there was nothing he could do about it.
If he said ‘cute’, there would be another misunderstanding.
His feelings for Sophia are only of moderate interest.
It was at the level where he briefly glances at a squirrel that pops out while walking down the street.
It was good that he didn’t dare say anything that might sound different to the opposite sex.
‘But I should pay more attention.’
Killian thought, clutching the horse’s reins loosely.
Although it was an arranged engagement without heart, it didn’t seem like a relationship that would remain boring like letters on a paper.
~*~
Ian pondered over his defeat.
This was a habit for a long time.
Overcoming his own defeats, mistakes, and shortcomings over and over again.
Some say that he was too obsessive, and that he dwells on failure, but this has been the driving force for him to come to this position.
The biggest loss in that defeat was the fact that he made it easy faking his movements against Ian.
‘I was expecting a surprise attack.’
Killian did not underestimate Ian’s skills. However, Ian had underestimated Killian.
It was his fault that he saw through his skills, and that he didn’t fully understand the skills of his enemy.
“However…”
Deep in thought, he recalled the movements of the military and police commander.
As much as Killian had heard about Ian, so did Ian.
Duke Killian Viprons Rivelon.
He grew up in the imperial family and practiced with the Crown Prince.
He excelled in swordsmanship, archery, horsemanship, and he was loved by the emperor. He became the leader of the military and police force.
However, what Killian learned was the study of the courts.
Movements learned in the imperial court are standardized.
It’s disciplined, systematic, and refined, but at worst, it’s stereotyped and cramped.
The etiquette and laws are strict, and the correct answer is set.
Killian has learned such moves his entire life, and he was also a recognized genius in his field.
But the move that Killian showed today…
‘It was free-spirited and light.’
It was by no means a move that could be learned at the imperial court.
Using the air instead of the path in front of him, twisting his body flexibly…
By analogy, he was preparing for an attack by an upright and agile hound, but suddenly the hound moved like a cat and jumped out of an unexpected gap.
‘How could that be…?’
Ian bit his nails.
He knew that he was capable enough to become a commander in the military police at a young age in his twenties.
Some criticize him for sitting in an excessively seated position with the royal guardian on his back, but looking back on what he has done as a military and police commander, his ability has been sufficiently proven.
‘But it was more than that…’
He even had a bit of a vain suspicion that maybe Killian was hiding his true abilities in moderation.
‘I can’t be sure since it was only one time…’
Maybe Killian was particularly creative today. Or maybe it was just a random move.
But he was concerned about Killian’s relaxed and confident expression.
It was clear that he was by no means an easy opponent.
