Gus went to fetch the doctor, leaving Aslan and Lyla alone in the suite.
Aslan first seated Lyla in a plush velvet chair.
Finally freed from Aslan’s grasp, Lyla sat awkwardly, fidgeting in her seat.
Aslan sat across from her, propping his chin on his hand and staring at Lyla.
Under the intense, almost piercing gaze, Lyla couldn’t hold out any longer and spoke first.
“…I didn’t mean to cause so much trouble.”
“It’s not trouble at all.”
“Still. I’m sorry for making you worry about such a trivial thing.”
At Lyla’s apology, Aslan’s face hardened.
“Anything concerning you is never trivial. No matter how minor it may seem, I will always be concerned.”
His tone was firm. It almost sounded as if he were angry.
Lyla, taken aback, fumbled with her words. But Aslan spoke before she could say anything further.
“And this is not a trivial matter. How can you call this trivial?”
“Ah…”
Lyla hesitated, unable to respond, her lips parting but no words coming out.
Aslan, still focused on her face, frowned. Watching Lyla’s discomfort stirred something within him.
But a stronger emotion quickly overtook him.
‘Why is she like this?’
Clenching his teeth, he spoke in a suppressed voice.
“Why do you care so little for yourself?”
His voice, which had been berating Lyla, softened.
“You’re hurt and bleeding; it must be painful, so why…!”
“…”
Aslan stood up while watching Lyla, who remained silent and kept her gaze lowered.
Lyla noticed him rising from his seat but continued to stare at the floor. She didn’t fully understand why he was so angry, but she knew it was because of her. She didn’t want to provoke his anger by meeting his eyes.
Lyla, feeling dejected, was startled when Aslan appeared in her field of vision.
“Aslan!”
He had knelt before her again. Although the plush blue carpet was more comfortable than the rough street, it was still an uncomfortable position.
“Please, get up, Aslan.”
Aslan didn’t budge despite her plea.
“Aslan…”
Instead of answering, he reached out and grasped her calf. Her slender leg fit easily in one of his hands.
Aslan clicked his tongue in his mind. She hasn’t been eating well, which is probably why her already weak body hasn’t gotten any stronger.
He gently set aside the thought of how to take good care of her in the future and let his hand slide down.
“Ah!”
The moment his hand grasped her ankle, a small gasp escaped from Lyla.
Embarrassed by the sound she made, Lyla quickly covered her mouth with both hands.
Aslan glanced at her and then refocused on her foot.
He carefully caressed her foot. Her small, injured foot fit entirely within his large hand.
Lyla wanted to tell him to stop, that it was dirty, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak when she saw Aslan’s face, which looked both angry and sorrowful.
However, she couldn’t just let this continue. Trying to sound casual, she spoke.
“It’s really nothing. The injuries are so small they’re barely visible.”
“…”
Aslan didn’t respond.
But the way his hand, which had been moving slowly, suddenly stopped made it clear that he was upset.
Lyla looked anxiously at the top of Aslan’s head. Due to their significant height difference, it was the first time she had ever looked down at him from this angle.
She was likely the only person to ever experience this, as Aslan Tordell had never knelt before anyone else.
“…Don’t speak like that,” Aslan said in a hushed voice.
“Value yourself and react sensitively even to small things.”
He was still gently caressing Lyla’s foot.
Even though it was just a scarred, unattractive foot, his touch made it feel as if it were the most precious thing in the world. She wanted to stop him immediately.
The tickling sensation that started from her foot traveled up to her heart. Her fingers twitched, and her eyelashes trembled.
Knock, knock.
“Duke, I’ve brought the doctor.”
It was only when the doctor arrived that Aslan let go of Lyla.
Lyla sighed in relief internally, trying to calm her racing heart.
“Try to keep the wounds dry until they heal, and apply ointment every morning,” the doctor advised after completing the treatment.
Once the doctor left, Gus spoke up.
“It’s late at night. How about leaving in the morning?”
“What time is it?” Lyla asked, surprised after checking the time. She hadn’t realized it was so late.
“My family will be worried!”
Lyla’s face fell.
Her family was so protective that they would worry even if an unrelated accident occurred, urging her to stay home.
Even though her parents had suggested she spend time with Aslan, they would undoubtedly be sleepless with worry over their daughter not returning home until such a late hour.
Despite Gus’s earlier suggestion to stay, he immediately complied with Aslan’s order.
“Understood.”
As a competent deputy, Gus quickly arranged the carriage.
Aslan carried Lyla and took the elevator through the lobby to leave.
Even the second time, Lyla’s embarrassment was still evident. She buried her face in Aslan’s chest until she got into the carriage. It seemed less humiliating to avoid eye contact with others, even if it seemed she was like an ostrich hiding its face.
Aslan, who had placed Lyla in the carriage first, did not get in himself but closed the door.
He walked over to Gus, who was seeing them off.
“Any urgent news from Central?”
“No, not yet. The last telegram I put in the mailbox was two days ago.”
“If you get any urgent telegrams, even at dawn, don’t hesitate to come to Ellwood. I’ll leave the window of the second floor end room open, and you can come there.”
“Yes!”
“Don’t waste time gauging whether it’s something I need to be informed of immediately. I will make the decision.”
“I understand!”
Gus bowed deeply, his face contorted with confusion.
‘Is he really suffering from memory loss? He seems exactly the same as before.’
If Oscar hadn’t mentioned it, Gus wouldn’t have known about Aslan’s memory loss at all.
‘Then what was that earlier?’
Aslan’s behavior in the hotel room seemed unmistakably that of someone with memory loss…
While Gus was pondering, the carriage departed.
Gus watched the carriage disappear into the darkness with a thoughtful expression before turning away.
Excessive curiosity could be harmful. As Aslan said, the judgment was for the master to make, and he merely had to follow the orders given.
The carriage heading to Ellwood was filled with silence.
Lyla was relieved that Aslan wasn’t trying to talk to her. Her mind was still in turmoil, and she wasn’t able to engage with him properly.
Above all, she couldn’t bring herself to face Aslan because she still felt the lingering sensation of his touch on her feet.
Since Eres and Ellwood were not far apart, the awkward atmosphere didn’t last long.
The carriage came to a stop in front of the Violet House in a secluded area after passing through the village.
“Lyla!”
“You’re finally here!”
As soon as the carriage door opened, Lyla was greeted with enthusiastic exclamations from those who had evidently been waiting for them.
“Have you been waiting outside all this time?”
Lyla asked, looking surprised as Sophia and Luke ran up to the front door.
“Well, we were worried that something might have happened on the way,” Sophia explained.
“You didn’t have an accident, did you?”
“Yes, mother was so worried that she even asked me to borrow a carriage from the parsonage because you hadn’t returned yet.”
Faced with her concerned family, Lyla forced a smile.
What happened…….
Looking back on the day, it had been incredibly eventful. Especially after the sun set and she was left alone with Aslan……
Lyla’s ears and neck flushed red. Fortunately, the light that illuminated the darkness wasn’t strong enough to make her subtle physical changes noticeable.
“No, nothing serious. It’s just that the festival was so much fun, we lost track of time and ended up being late. I’m sorry, Mom, Dad. Sorry, Aiden.”
“No, there’s no need to apologize. We told you to enjoy yourself, so there’s no need to apologize for that.”
“Yeah. I’m glad you had fun.”
“I wanted to join in too…”
The conversation would have ended on a warm note if Aslan hadn’t interrupted.
“There was something wrong.”
“What?”
“Lyla injured her foot, so we had to take care of that and ended up being a little late.”
“What? Injured? Where, on her foot?”
Her alarmed family rushed over.
Lyla tried to reassure them that it was nothing serious, but to get inside the house, Aslan carried her again.
Seeing this, the family was horrified that she couldn’t even walk.
Lyla insisted it was really nothing, but the commotion continued as her family insisted on checking her injury.
“I’m really fine……. But, could we please just go to bed now?”
After enduring much fuss, Lyla finally managed to fall asleep.
