Chapter 54
“Lover…?”
The old doctor’s teasing voice made Eleonore’s eyes go wide. She jerked her shoulders in surprise, then grimaced at the movement.
Watching the adorable young lady, Dorio and Eily, standing behind him, both brought their hands to their lips to hide their laughter.
‘H-Her lover?! What is that old geezer talking about?!’
Watching Eleonore’s fair face turn red beneath her flustered expression, Dorio continued in a sly voice.
“You came here in the middle of the night in a man’s arms. If he isn’t your lover, how else are we supposed to explain that?”
“N-no, that’s! I-it’s not like that….”
“Besides, both that gentleman holding you in his arms and you in his arms had rather suspicious expressions and an air about you.”
“W-What do you mean, suspicious?!”
With a guilty conscience, Eleonore’s voice grew louder than ever. At her shrill protest, the two could no longer hold back and burst out laughing in front of her.
“Pwahahaha.”
“A-ahem. Young lady, if you get so angry, your wound… Pfft.”
The laughter of grandfather and granddaughter filled the once-peaceful room. Eleonore alone looked on the verge of tears amid the cheerful atmosphere.
“That’s enough joking.”
Their laughter came to an end at the familiar voice from beyond the half-open door.
Eleonore turned her head slightly to look toward where the familiar voice had come from.
Though she had just gotten worked up over the ridiculous word “lover,” hearing his familiar voice in an unfamiliar place made her feel strangely moved.
“Hahaha. My apologies, Your Grace. And you too, Lady Eleonore. This old man got carried away.”
“She is no young lady for your vulgar mouth to make jokes about. And neither am I.”
Dmitri’s remark was rather harsh, but Dorio answered casually, still wearing his sly smile.
“It was merely a joke from an ignorant country bumpkin. Please forgive me generously and consider it part of the treatment fee.”
“Hah, what a nasty treatment fee.”
With a snort at Dorio’s words, Dmitri ran a hand through his disheveled bangs and slowly entered the room. He then approached the bed, where Eleonore had raised herself halfway, and gently sat on its edge.
The hard mattress dipped slightly beneath the man’s weight.
Closer.
And a little closer. So she wouldn’t startle and run away. Dmitri approached Eleonore cautiously, like a seasoned hunter.
His figure gradually filled her sky-blue eyes. At the same time, the memory of being held in his strong arms yesterday came back to her. Eleonore swallowed and gazed into his eyes.
“My lady. How are you feeling?”
Beyond the voice full of concern, Eleonore could see the deep fatigue etched in his pitch-black eyes.
And then, in that instant.
Her heart, which had lain still beneath the Shilob’s poison, began to pound once more.
All because of her.
All for her alone.
Dmitri had cast aside his usual playful manner, and the fact that he had worked himself to exhaustion made Eleonore’s face burn even hotter.
“I-I’m all right.”
Once she came to her senses, Eleonore turned her head slightly to avoid Dmitri’s gaze as she answered. Dmitri tilted his head at her behavior, but moved even closer.
“Your face is quite flushed. Could you have a fever?”
“I-I said I’m all ri—”
Eleonore’s words were cut short by that unfamiliar yet familiar touch.
Before she could finish speaking.
Dmitri’s large, rough hand reached for Eleonore’s forehead. When his cool, coarse hand touched her brow, Eleonore felt as though the world were spinning around her.
“Ah, I-I’m really fine! No, no. I think I have a bit of a fever, so I’ll rest a little longer. Eily, please show everyone out!”
Eleonore hurriedly pulled her head away from his hand, escaping that warm, familiar touch, and spoke. Then she lay back down and pulled the blanket over herself, right up to the tips of her hair, hiding her flushed face.
At the sight of the young lady, Dmitri let out a deep sigh.
“It seems the young lady is still feeling unwell. Let’s leave her to rest.”
Dorio, who had been standing behind them with a peculiar smile, said to Dmitri. Dmitri watched her, having fled beneath the blanket, with a worried gaze, then got up from the bed and turned away.
As the mattress, which had dipped beneath his weight, returned to its original shape, Eleonore lowered the blanket slightly and peeked out with only her sky-blue eyes.
“Eleonore. I was truly worried about you.”
After leaving those words behind, Dmitri moved farther and farther away. Before his broad back disappeared from view, Eleonore cautiously managed the faintest smile.
“Th-thank you for worrying about me, Dmitri.”
#.
“The young lady still doesn’t seem to be back to normal.”
As Dmitri stepped out of the room, he stopped again and looked back. Dorio naturally stopped beside him. Dmitri’s gaze on the firmly shut door was steeped in concern.
“A-ahem. Your Grace, you’re joking, right?”
“What are you talking about? Her face is flushed, and her eyes are unsteady and her voice is trembling like that. It seems she still needs more treatment.”
Dorio stifled a laugh as he looked up at the black-haired man beside him.
“Your Grace, do you truly not know why the young lady is acting that way?”
“It must be the antidote. Or perhaps some of the Shilob’s poison is still in her system.”
“The young lady is embarrassed.”
The worried black eyes turned toward the old man standing beside him, struggling to hold back laughter.
“Surely you know what that embarrassment means, Your Grace. You’re a man yourself, after all.”
In an instant, Dmitri’s gaze changed. The murderous aura radiating from his deep black eyes made Dorio, who had been smiling moments ago, hunch up in fright.
“Dorio. Do you really think I’m acting this way because I don’t understand the young lady’s feelings?”
“W-what do you mean?”
“I asked if you think I’m truly such a blockhead that I don’t recognize the way she looks at me.”
Perhaps intimidated by Dmitri’s gaze, Dorio gave no answer. Dmitri sighed, withdrew his gaze, and continued.
“The young lady lying in there is the youngest daughter of House Béarn, the ruling family of the West. And the man standing beside you is the head of the Grand Ducal House of Verbritz, ruler of the North. I’ve put up with your rudeness all this time out of gratitude, but…”
The old doctor nodded. Dmitri glared at him and continued speaking.
“This is as far as I’ll tolerate your rudeness. Just assume the young lady is acting that way because some of the poison is still in her system. As for the request you made last night, I’ll give it some thought, so keep that in mind.”
Leaving Dorio behind with a dumbfounded expression, Dmitri headed down the stairs.
His thoughts were in turmoil. Dmitri ran a hand through his hair, which had grown a little too long, and thought.
Yesterday, he’d been so focused on saving Eleonore that nothing else had entered his mind.
It had been the same when he held her soft body, so different from a man’s, in his arms. And when she rubbed her head against his chest as if nuzzling him coquettishly. Even when the scent of soft rose oil wafted from her.
But now was different. Even without touching her, he somehow felt as if her scent lingered beside him. It was as though her soft, warm body heat had settled over his entire body.
Dmitri went down to the first floor, sat on the shabby sofa in the living room, and let out a deep sigh.
Just as he’d told Dorio moments ago, Eleonore seemed to have feelings for him. Even if she didn’t love him, it was clear she saw him as a man and was conscious of him.
Her behavior made it clear. It had been the same during dessert on the terrace, just the two of them, after their first meal. And on the night of the ball, when their hands brushed past each other, her reaction had been the same.
Dmitri wasn’t some inexperienced blockhead when it came to women. He understood perfectly well what her expressions and actions meant.
So, as long as he kept his feelings in check, there would be no problem between them. The harsh, unforgiving lands of the North didn’t suit a young lady like her. And he could never bring someone precious to that cursed land, where even his own mother had abandoned them and run away.
That was why Dmitri had never become deeply involved with a woman, and until now, he had never wavered in that resolve.
At least, not until yesterday.
As though the thought alone were exhausting, Dmitri pressed a hand to his eyes beneath his black hair.
The problem was himself.
Every time he faced her, his heart wavered a little more. And the longer he spent with the young lady, the more violently his heart swayed.
At first, he had approached her out of simple curiosity because Eleonore, held hostage in the capital, had reminded him of the younger sister he’d left behind in his homeland. But his feelings had changed so much since then.
Even just now, when he saw Eleonore lying in bed, he had inexplicably wanted to stay with her. Thinking of her soft, warm body, he had approached the bed and gone toward her without even realizing it. Seeing her flushed face, his hand had reached out on its own.
“Get a grip, Dmitri. Right. I’m just a little tired, that’s all.”
Alone in the empty living room, Dmitri slapped his own cheek and steeled his resolve once more. Then, from beyond the firmly closed door, a man’s urgent voice rang out.
“Eli is here? In this shabby clinic?”