Chapter 026
I turned to face Dedrick, smiling, and he awkwardly looked away, lowering his eyes.
“Are you uncomfortable?” I asked.
“……”
“It must be really uncomfortable. You can sleep on the bed if you want.”
“I’m going to sleep now,” he replied, hurriedly shutting his eyes and pretending to sleep.
So Cute.
To reassure him I wasn’t going to kick him out, I patted his arm and closed my eyes too. The warmth of our foreheads touching made it easy to fall asleep.
Even though his body felt a bit stiff, Dedrick woke up feeling refreshed, likely because his mind was at ease.
He wanted to keep lying there, facing her, but he couldn’t. Joanna would surely show up later in the early hours to speak with him, especially after the chaos Somerset caused last night.
‘I have to make it clear this time,’ he thought.
So she won’t bother me again.
So my Ash-gray monster won’t have to worry.
Carefully, so as not to wake her, Dedrick got up and opened the wardrobe.
“…Going for a run?” she mumbled groggily, her eyes half-closed.
Just hearing that made the corners of Dedrick’s mouth twitch upwards.
“I’ll be back soon. Get some more rest.”
“Be careful…” she murmured before quickly falling back into steady, soft breaths.
Smiling, Dedrick gently stroked her hair.
“…I’ll be back,” he whispered.
After washing up and changing into his workout clothes, Dedrick stepped outside. He didn’t expect to run into Joanna until he finished his running, but there she was, waiting for him earlier than anticipated.
“Dedrick,” she greeted, her smile soft and radiant in the misty morning air. But Dedrick felt nothing.
He walked toward her, neither hurriedly nor slowly.
“I’m sorry about yesterday,” she said. “I shouldn’t have said those things…”
“Are you interested in me?” Dedrick asked directly.
“W-what?” Joanna’s face turned bright red at the unexpected question. She fanned herself in an attempt to cool her burning cheeks, but Dedrick remained firm.
“Miss Primrose is in talks for an engagement with my brother. I want to avoid unnecessary conflict.”
“But if I explain it properly—”
“Do you think that will work? You saw it yourself yesterday.”
Joanna bit her lip, unable to refute his words.
“And I have no intention of pursuing anything with Miss Primrose. You don’t truly like me, either.”
“What are you talking about—”
“You’re just interested in my face, aren’t you?”
Joanna froze, momentarily at a loss for words. It felt like he’d seen right through her, and she lowered her head in embarrassment.
“For your own sake, please let this go,” Dedrick said firmly.
“For my sake?” Joanna blinked in confusion at his parting words, clearly taken aback.
Without waiting for her response, Dedrick politely bid her farewell and left. Joanna stood there, lost in thought as she watched him walk away. His rejection wasn’t like others she’d experienced.
“For your own sake, please let this go.”
Those words lingered in her mind.
“My parents always said it was for the family,” she muttered.
Everything she’d ever done was for the future of her family. Her own desires had never been a consideration.
An unfamiliar emotion stirred within her, and she frowned.
It wasn’t the same feeling she had while reading The Orphan and the Prince.
“This is… irritating,” she muttered.
Was irritation really the right word for it?
Unable to define the strange feeling, Joanna stayed rooted to the spot, lost in her thoughts.
While copying the fairy tale book, Somerset barged in, as usual.
Bang!
“He never gets tired, does he…”
Dedrick had firmly turned Joanna down earlier that morning. She hadn’t shown up since, so it seemed the conversation had gone well. But Somerset was the problem now.
“Hey,” Somerset growled, glaring at Dedrick as if he wanted to kill him.
“Why were you with Joanna early this morning?”
“This creepy guy must’ve been watching again,” I muttered.
“I told her not to come back.”
“Why’d you have to tell her that in the middle of the night?”
“She was waiting for me. What else was I supposed to do?”
“…”
Got nothing to say now, huh?
Grinding his teeth, Somerset suddenly tilted his head, looking Dedrick up and down. He stood there with a crooked stance, eyeing him like he was measuring his height.
His brows furrowed with dissatisfaction.
Dedrick, now fourteen, was growing fast, big enough to easily look down on someone like Somerset.
I couldn’t help but feel proud and puffed out my chest a little.
“I heard from Mother that you’re training with the Knights of the Black Hawk?” Somerset said.
“What?!”
I was so surprised that Dedrick sighed and rubbed his face, looking frustrated.
“So it wasn’t just running, but sword training too?!”
“…”
Why didn’t he tell me?
Was he not confident enough to show me yet? Or maybe…
“Why am I always hearing things secondhand?” I muttered, feeling a little hurt. I wanted to hear it from him directly.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I snapped, glaring at Somerset for ruining the moment.
Dedrick probably hadn’t planned to hide it for much longer. He likely wanted to show me once he was satisfied with his skills. But Somerset ruined that.
Dedrick clenched his fists tightly.
“Brother,” he said, his tone icy.
Somerset flinched and took half a step back before biting his lip, seemingly unable to accept his own reaction. He pointed a finger at Dedrick, his face contorted in frustration.
“Let’s see how much you’ve improved!”
“I’m not ready to spar with you yet.”
Hearing that, Somerset smirked and raised his chin arrogantly.
‘So it was just luck when he beat me back then,’ he thought.
Growing even more smug, he raised his voice.
“Come on, let’s see. Right now!”
“Brother…”
“If you don’t, I won’t let it slide.”
With a childish threat, Somerset stomped out of the room.
Dedrick sighed, avoiding my gaze and rubbing his face again.
“Sorry… I wanted to show you once I’d improved,” he said.
Hearing that, my frustration melted away. I shot a sharp glare at the door Somerset had slammed shut.
If I’d found out later, I would’ve been so surprised and happy!
It was a bit disappointing, but it was still a relief.
A swordsmanship teacher—and a knight from the Black Hawk Order, no less.
‘Could it be the knight I had my eye on?’
I wanted to ask, but decided to wait until he told me himself.
“You found a swordsmanship teacher! That’s great! Since you hid it to surprise me, I’ll forgive you.”
I exaggerated, pretending to be generous, and Dedrick looked relieved.
“Win again this time and come back!”
He just smiled silently. Then, cautiously, he spoke.
“I won’t fight back today.”
“Why not?”
“They want to embarrass me in front of Lady Primrose.”
“But it’ll hurt if you just get hit. You don’t have to hold back. Last time, you hid your injuries from me.”
By the time I found out, I couldn’t even treat him properly. Or rather, he’d already treated himself so thoroughly that there was nothing left for me to do.
Feeling upset again, Dedrick tugged lightly at my sleeve as if to say, “Don’t be mad.”
“It’s better if Lady Primrose is disappointed in me.”
“…….”
“That way, I won’t have to face her anymore.”
I looked at him with pity.
Getting hit wasn’t easy, but he seemed so indifferent about it.
I had a feeling stopping him wouldn’t work.
If that’s the case… I’ll at least make sure he gets treated properly.
“This time, don’t hide it from me. Come straight to me, okay? I’ll take care of you. I’m really good at bandaging wounds! But don’t get hurt too much. Try to fight back a little!”
“…Okay.”
“Promise!”
I stuck out my pinky finger.
“When you promise like this, you lock pinkies.”
I showed him how to link pinkies, and he smiled brightly.
“Alright. Promise.”
It hurt to send him off knowing he’d be hit…
But Dedrick told me to stay here.
“Be careful.”
“I’ll be back soon.”
As he headed to the training grounds, I snuck into the wardrobe.
I’ll gather every medicine I can find in the castle.
With a mischievous grin, I busily “borrowed” the supplies.
Joanna stayed holed up in her room, her thoughts were in a mess.
Somerset, of course, came looking for her anyway.
“I heard you’ve been in your room all day…”
“…….”
“Ahem, ahem…”
Clearing his throat unnecessarily, Somerset approached her.
Scratching the back of his head, he glanced sideways at Joanna.
When their eyes met, his face turned bright red.
‘She really is pretty.’
Somerset still vividly remembered the day he first met Joanna.
