As I entered through the open door, the dark interior of the cabin came into view. The cabin looked as though it had not been touched by human hands for a long time, to the extent that it seemed easier to find parts that weren’t broken.
“……”
Silently scanning the scene, I gently placed the items I had been carrying on the table. The scenery, which would have been all too familiar before I had brought Ruth, now felt strangely unfamiliar.
Did Ruth really stay here?
If he had stayed in the cabin during this time, there should have been at least a faint warmth left in the cold, dead furniture, but there was none. And that made me anxious.
“Ruth.”
I called his name softly as I wandered around the cabin.
However, contrary to my hopes, Ruth was nowhere to be seen.
After searching hard for a long time, I finally collapsed into a dilapidated armchair, exhausted. Then, I blankly stared at the cracked ceiling.
“I’ll come again in a week.”
“I hope you keep that promise.”
Suddenly, the words Ruth said during our last meeting echoed in my ears. It was a light voice tinged with loneliness.
“How can you just disappear without a word after saying that yourself.”
(TL/N: Cuz GibeHug said I can)
Feeling a surge of disappointment, I hugged my legs to myself with my lips jutting out.
“I thought you would be here until you were completely healed…”
Resting my chin on my arms and listlessly rolling my eyes, I noticed the books and clothes belonging to Ruth on the table.
“…”
The moment I was about to shift my gaze from those items, something sparkling caught my eye from the small table nearby, glinting in the sunlight coming through the window.
“Huh?”
What’s that?
My gloomy mood quickly lifted, and unable to contain my curiosity, I got up from the armchair and approached the side table.
Upon closer inspection, the side table held Ruth’s shirt, stained with dried blood and torn to rags, alongside a silver pendant with a clear amethyst embedded in the center. Given its placement next to Ruth’s shirt, it seemed likely that the pendant also belonged to Ruth.
Was it the pendant that just sparkled?
“It looks quite luxurious.”
I carefully picked up the pendant.
The pendant, fitting comfortably in the palm of my hand, seemed quite expensive. Even compared to the possessions of the servants working in the mansion, who earn significantly more than the average wage, it was clearly of superior quality, probably too costly for an ordinary person to afford
So, is Ruth a noble then?
As I examined the pendant, which had an intricate pattern engraved around its border, I thought to myself.
I had guessed that Ruth might be a noble, but I wasn’t sure. This was because, despite appearing dignified, he also seemed familiar with the wild. If he were a noble, he would have grown up delicately, like a flower in a greenhouse, without any time to get used to the wild.
After checking the appearance of the pendant, I hesitated whether to open it or not. I was curious about what was inside the pendant, but I had been taught by my mother that it is not right to touch someone else’s belonging without permission, even if they are a noble.
But if I leave it as it is, I feel like I won’t be able to sleep out of curiosity. Since I’ve already touched it, maybe it’s okay to quickly look inside and then return it to its original state?
With a regretful look in my eyes, I gazed at the pendant and then, with a calm expression, I fidgeted with my fingers to open it.
That was the moment.
“Serbia.”
“!”
Out of nowhere, Ruth’s voice came from behind me.
My heart skipped a beat in surprise.
I hastily put the pendant down and turned around awkwardly, like a broken toy.
“Ruth.”
When I softly called his name, Ruth, who had been leaning casually against the door, approached with confident steps.
“What are you doing there?”
Watching him, a mix of relief and fear suddenly intertwined within me. I was relieved to see with my own eyes that Ruth hadn’t left this place, but at the same time, I was worried that he might have caught me touching the pendant.
While I was looking at him intently with a complex feeling, he arrived in front of me and slightly furrowed his brows.
“What are you doing there?”
“Hm?”
Faced with his pointed question, I swallowed dryly and forced a smile by pulling up the corners of my mouth.
“Oh, nothing. Just standing.”
“Just?”
Ruth, upon hearing my answer, shot me a skeptical look.
His gaze made me tense up involuntarily. I couldn’t even think to shift my eyes away from him, fearing that avoiding his gaze might spell my end.
“…….”
“…….”
So, for quite some time, Ruth and my gaze tangled in the air, without giving away even a slight gap, firmly.
Sighing deeply, Ruth ran his hand through his disheveled hair. “If you say so…”
“Of course, it’s not without reason. I was just looking because your shirt was here.”
“Hm?”
“Huh?”
Seeing Ruth begin to speak, I quickly cut him off and made an excuse, afraid I might face a scolding from him.
However, contrary to my expectations, after my excuse had come to an end, we floundered in silence for a few seconds. The excuse I had concocted to escape the awkward situation had only led us into another.
I should’ve just told the truth from the start.
While I was regretting this internally, Ruth watched me for a moment and then his eyes curved into crescents. He crossed his arms and asked in a joking tone, “Hmm, a pervert, perhaps?”
“No!”
Shocked by the unexpected accusation, I shook off the thought and shouted back.
Then Ruth took his shirt away from me.
“If you’re not a pervert, then why were you looking at someone else’s shirt, especially when the owner wasn’t around?”
“That…”
For a moment, I considered spilling the truth, but biting my tongue was the best I could do under the circumstances.
I can’t say it, after all.
“Why can’t you answer?”
The ruby-red eyes sparkled mischievously, reminiscent of grapes, as if discovering an amusing toy.
Annoyed by the scene, I furrowed my brows deeply.
“You’re the pervert.”
“I am?”
When I retorted in a flat voice, Ruth titled his head to the side, seemingly puzzled.
“Yeah. If you think about it, the pervert is the person who leaves their shirt in a conspicuous place and walks around topless, not the person who happens to see the shirt that was left behind.”
I emphasized the word “happens” deliberately, to underscore that I hadn’t done anything to warrant being called a pervert.
Hearing this, Ruth glanced down at his body and muttered in retort.
“I’m not exactly topless.”
“But still, you’re not wearing anything on your upper body, right?”
“Even if I’m not wearing anything, thanks to your terrible skills, most of it is covered by bandages, so it’s as if I’m wearing something.”
(TL/N: Ruth became a Egyptian mummy now. Lol)
I followed his gesture and moved my gaze.
“……”
It was true. Except for a slight exposure of his shoulders and chest, Ruth’s upper body was entirely wrapped in bandages.
But what caught my attention more than the mostly covered body was the bandage that had turned red, not even wide enough to cover a single finger.
Come to think of it, Ruth had said that he looked like this because of my terrible skills.
I mulled over his words and deeply pondered.
The blood-stained bandages, Ruth blaming this appearance on me, and the meeting a week ago. Considering various circumstances, it was highly likely that Ruth hadn’t changed his bandages since our last meeting.
No way.
I doubted the conclusion that came to mind immediately. After all, Ruth was the kind of person who, once I returned to the mansion, could unravel the clumsily tied bandages and reapply them with time to spare.
“If you’re dissatisfied with my terrible skills, you could just change the bandages. Why keep wearing them?”
It’ll only make the wounds worse. I swallowed the words before they could even pass my throat.
“That is.”
While I was saying this, Ruth hesitated to answer, merely quivering his lips before shaking his head.
Although his hair has fallen over his face, making it hard to see, the tips of his ears have turned a pretty beetroot color. His somewhat shy appearance was a stark contrast to the mischievous smile he had been wearing just a few seconds ago.
“……Ser.”
After staying in that position for a while, he finally managed to squeeze out a timid voice.
“What did you just say?”
I couldn’t properly hear Ruth’s mumbled words, so I asked him to repeat himself.
“It’s my first time being treated by someone.”
“What?”
This time, I asked out of disbelief.
Looking at the pendant, he must undoubtedly belong to a noble family, yet he’s never been treated by anyone else before? It’s contradictory.
As I was reconsidering the gap between Ruth’s words and actions, I suddenly remembered a story I heard when I first met him.
“So, what did your brother send you here for? To check if I had completely stopped breathing? Or to capture my dying moments on video?”
“……!”
It was as if I had been wandering in a fog that made it impossible to see even an inch ahead and then suddenly found a beam of light, my mind cleared.
If Ruth was in a position where he had no choice but to get involved in the struggle for power to become the head of the family, everything fell into place. It was also the first time someone had been treated, and it was almost killed by someone called brother.
Oh my god. Then Ruth is…
I couldn’t continue my soliloquy from there because Ruth’s slender fingers pressed lightly against my forehead.
“Huh?”
As I looked up at Ruth in confusion, he flicked his forehead.
“Forehead.”
“Ah.”
Only then did I realize that I had unwittingly been frowning deeply in thought.
Ruth, removing his finger from my face as I quickly sorted out my expression, added sullenly.
“Don’t get me wrong. It’s not like I did it because I like you or anything.”
