Chapter 13 Body Temperature
“We’ve confirmed that he fell off the cliff into the River Ropard. We’ve been searching the area around the river, but we haven’t found any trace of him yet.”
“What an idiot!”
“Ugh!”
Unable to contain his anger, Tate kicked the masked man hard in the shin.
Taking the kick squarely in the shin, the masked man dropped to his knees, face down on the floor.
Tate raised his voice and ordered.
“Go find him now, and if you don’t find him, find his clothes, his shoes, his body!”
“Yes, I will find it! I will definitely find it!”
“If you don’t find anything, you better not come back! I can’t even give you the money I’ve promised!”
“That’s… Yes, I understand.”
The masked man bowed and disappeared into the shadows.
The men Tate had hired were shadow mercenaries who could hide in the shadows.
He’d paid a lot of money for them, so he’d thought the outcome would be certain, but it wasn’t.
The disappointment was as great as the anticipation.
“Holy shit!”
Tate rubbed his face nervously. He wasn’t sure how to report this to Jonathan.
‘I’ve told him several times that it’s going to work, he’s going to throw a fit!’
Nope, a sigh of pain escaped him.
Tate wanted so badly to evaporate and disappear.
But there was no point in sulking any longer.
Jonathan would no doubt be expecting a report.
Delaying his report would only serve to anger him.
“It’s not easy to like your picky brother.”
A self-deprecating lament escaped Tate’s lips as he paced heavily.
***
“Ugh… ugh!”
Veronia groaned as soon as she opened her eyes.
She tried to move a little, but felt a sharp pain in her right ankle.
“Are you awake, Your Majesty?”
A familiar voice asked. The urgent voice belonged to Killion.
“…. Sir Killion?”
“Yes, that’s right, it’s me, Your Majesty. I’m glad you’re awake. I’m so glad.”
Killion’s eyes moistened at the sight of Veronia, who was clearly worried.
Aside from her right ankle, which had been scraped by a stone beak when she was swept down the river, there was no other apparent trauma.
But when she remained unconscious for an unusually long time and showed no sign of waking up, he had a sinking feeling of dread.
Finally, Veronia opened her eyes.
“But where am I? Am I in a…. Cave?”
Veronia asked as she looked around, a small bonfire burning in one of the dark circles.
“That’s right, it was suddenly pouring with rain, making it hard to see. I just happened to see the cave and came in.”
“… I see.”
“But… doesn’t seem to want to stop raining.”
True to Killion’s word, thunder crashed in the distance, accompanied by the sound of pounding rain.
‘It’s really getting out of hand, this damn world…’
Veronia cursed the gods again.
Then she paused, and swallowed hard.
‘Wait… this scene… is a cliché scene, a cliché scene of a cliché scene that often appears in romance fantasy novels? Ha, it’s me!’
‘Of course it is! It’s a fictional world after all! Veronia clicked her tongue to herself.’
‘But there’s no cave scene in this novel, is there? No, there’s definitely no cave scene in this novel. I hope I’m wrong, because if so, I’m glad.’
Veronia ran her hands up and down Killion’s body, searching for wounds.
In the original, he had suffered major injuries that took quite a while to heal.
He ended up with huge scars on his arms and legs.
“Are you okay, Sir Killion? Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Yes, as you can see, I’m fine.”
“I’m glad to hear that, really.”
The fact that Killion was uninjured was definitely a change of pace from the original story.
‘So am I supposed to like this situation…?’
Veronia thought to herself.
She was so busy recalling the original story that she didn’t notice Killion’s reddened face.
The way Veronia’s gaze had swept over his body a moment ago, Killion felt instantly embarrassed and ashamed.
He had removed his top to dry off his soaked clothes, and Veronia had stripped off her wet, heavy clothes to reveal her thin underwear.
Killion ran his hands over the clothes he had unnecessarily set aside to see if they were dry.
Contrary to his expectations, they were still damp.
“I… had no choice… but to dry those… clothes.”
Killion mumbled uncharacteristically.
But it must not have been clear to Veronia’s ears, who was thinking of something else.
“What? What did you say?”
“Oh, it was… so…”
Killion’s face flushed bright red under her stare, and he gasped.
‘What is it? What’s wrong with you?’
Veronia watched Killion anxiously pick up his wet clothes and put them away.
She saw him sweep his arm across his naked body in a futile attempt to cover himself.
But the gesture barely concealed his muscular upper body, which began at his broad shoulders and fell in an inverted triangle.
Shaded by the bonfire burning in one corner of the dark cave, the muscles that delicately filled out his body stood out.
‘Killion… is quite a body for a Swordmaster Lord, I’ve never seen one like this in real life.’
Her mouth went dry at the sight.
‘Oh, come to think of it… I was naked too.’
Veronia lowered her gaze and saw her in her underwear.
Compared to the palm-sized undergarments she had worn in her previous life, they were quite modest.
The muslin dress-like undergarments were more like minidresses than underwear to Veronia.
Perhaps that was why she wasn’t too embarrassed by her current attire.
But Killion’s embarrassment was understandable, and she felt she had to comfort him.
“I know you couldn’t help it, your body temperature drops when you’re wearing wet clothes, so it’s okay.”
“…Yes, it was.”
Killion turned his flushed face away and wiped at his cheeks.
His giddy, animalistic body, combined with his embarrassed blush, made him look somehow bewitching.
‘Whether it’s wild or naive, I’d like you to do one thing…’
So many opposite charms radiated from him at once, Veronia was a little afraid that she would fall into the gaping chasm and lose her wits.
‘Get a grip, mate! Romance when you’ve just survived a near-death experience? That’s weird. I know we’re in a romance novel, but Veronia, there’s no romance for you unless you’re the heroine.’
She chastised herself, trying to drive away the lurid mood that she didn’t know whether to call romance or lust.
Veronia, who had been sitting across from Killion, slowly rose to her feet and moved to sit beside him.
Killion’s eyes widened as he watched her sit down so close to him that their arms touched.
“Why, what is it. Sire, I thought we agreed not to approach this way?”
Killion drew himself to the side, and their arms fell from around each other.
She wasn’t sorry for his misunderstanding.
He knew Veronia’s past behaviour.
‘Wasn’t this how Veronia used to try to make out with him? Even though Killion hated it? Where… you pretend to be crazy and want me to try it?’
His surprise was cute, and it was tempting to tease him further, but Veronia resisted.
‘He’s had an eventful enough day already, let’s not make it worse.’
She sat back down next to Killion, snuggling close to him.
Their arms, which had fallen apart, touched again.
“You know this, right? It’s the only way to keep your body temperature from dropping in a situation like this.”
“Oh…”
“I read about it in a book.”
Killion swallowed the rest of his words and looked at Veronia, who was smiling.
He didn’t move to the side again, so their arms remained interlocked.
“… That’s right.”
“So this is how we’re going to spend tonight.”
“I see.”
Killion turned his head to the other side, so she could see his reddened ears.
‘He’s handsome, he’s brilliant, he’s got a great personality, and he’s so innocent. He’s totally my dream guy, well, almost every girl’s dream guy, but whatever.’
For the first time, Veronia envied the heroine, Evangeline, who would have the full attention of this perfect man.
‘But don’t be greedy, it could cost your life.’
If you want what you can’t have, you’ll die. Let’s not forget!
Veronia was planning to run away from the original story entirely, and she couldn’t include her husband’s love in that plan. Never.
“It’s supposed to stop raining tomorrow.”
Veronia said, stifling a yawn that threatened to burst out.
The warmth of her body made her tired and drowsy.
“It will stop.”
“By the way, Lord Killion, do you know roughly where we are?”
“Yes. The eastern end of the Sciobo Forest touches the River Ropard. I’m guessing somewhere near the middle to lower reaches of that river.”
“….”
“…. Your Majesty?”
Killion called to her, but there was no answer in return.
Instead, a small pressure gently touched one of his shoulders, then fell away, then touched again, then fell away.
He turned his head to see Veronia dozing softly.
Killion slowly reached out and gently laid Veronia’s head on his shoulder.
She was so tired, Veronia seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep.
He could hear her breathing, slow and even.
His arms and shoulders were warm against his body.
