Chapter 14

Chapter 14

“Do you need anything? I’ve never looked after anyone, so I’m not good at this.”

“Is it your first time taking care of someone?” Karina asked.

“Yes.”

“It’s my first time too,” she mumbled, blinking her heavy eyelids.

Milian held back a smirk. Of course, she had never looked after anyone. Life as an aristocratic lady doesn’t involve tending to sick people. “Is that so?” he asked dryly because he thought her words were the mindless babble of a sick girl. His gaze turned to her.

She nodded and replied, “It feels nice to have someone next to you when you’re ill. I’ve always taken care of my younger siblings and older brother when they were sick…”

Milian furrowed his brow at her whispered words. I’ve heard that the other young lady of the Leopold family was often ill. He quickly understood what she meant—it was hard for a family to function normally when one member was often sick. Perhaps it wouldn’t matter if the family didn’t care for one another but if there was any love and care in the household, the sickly one would get it all.

“Your fever isn’t getting better.” He reached out and touched her forehead, which was flushed red.

“My bag…”

“Bag?”

“I have medicine in my bag. I forgot to bring it,” she explained in short breaths.

“Medicine? Will you get better if you take it? Then I’ll bring it right this second.”

Milian was about to rise, but she shook her head and grabbed his arm. She had to take a pill tomorrow, so he didn’t need to go.

“Not now. I need to take it tomorrow,” she said.

“Your fever is bad.”

“I need to take it tomorrow.”

“You are as stubborn as a mule.” Despite his harsh words, he complied with her wishes and sat back down.

Karina gave him a relaxed smile and closed her eyes again. She found it strange—even with everything around her feeling heavy and dark, the simple warmth of his hand was enough to make her happy.

“It’s not sunrise yet. You should sleep more,” he said.

“Will you leave if I fall asleep?”

“No, I’m going to stay here until Fang wakes up.”

Karina nodded. His presence was like a birthday present to her—she had never imagined someone being there for her when she was ill.

He glanced at her and found her holding onto his hand quite firmly, not intending to let go. He tightened his grip on her hand in return, and Karina’s eyes widened at the unexpected movement.

“I will be here until you fall asleep. Now rest.”

“Okay.” She slowly closed her eyes again. As if she was waiting for his permission, her breath began to deepen and she fell asleep.

He turned his head and looked over at the letter on the table. It’d be better to send that letter after winter passes. Milian had planned to write a letter to Count Leopold, but he had changed his mind. He now thought that she must have had good reasons to come to him—he didn’t think that Karina had much support at home and decided he would be on her side.

It was November now and it would only take three months, a very short time, for the snow to melt. Since Karina was finally asleep, he went back to the table next to the window.

* * *

As the doctor had warned her, Karina was sick for a full week until she was able to function normally again—perhaps it was a decent price to pay for doing whatever she wanted for two months. What surprised her was that Milian came by to check on her at least once a day. She had not expected him to have any interest in her condition.

The north was much colder than the south, as the wind was cold from the beginning of the season. For Karina, who was born and raised in the south, the cold was hard to bear.

Am I getting worse? After walking around the house, she noticed that she was out of breath even without walking fast, though that was the only change she’d seen so far.

“My lady?”

“Yes, my lord.”

“What are you doing trotting around the house when it hasn’t been long since your fever came down?”

“Um, I felt trapped in the bed for so long.”

Approaching her, Milian placed his hand on her forehead. That gesture used to startle her but he would do it every time he saw her like it was some kind of greeting. During the week of her sickness, she learned that he didn’t act as harshly as he spoke. Although he was strict, he was also very caring.

“Your fever has definitely gone down,” he declared.

“Ah, yes…” Startled, she took a step back.

He seemed to have finished taking care of his estate’s pressing matters and looked like he had been getting good sleep in the previous few days. The dark circles had disappeared from under his eyes.

“Why do you jump like a scared bunny? Don’t worry. I won’t eat you,” he playfully added, watching Karina squirm and rub her forehead.

She stared blankly at Milian's smile and then slowly nodded.

“What about lunch?” he asked.

“I haven’t had it yet.”

“I haven’t eaten yet either, so how about we have lunch together?”

She hesitantly nodded—she had planned to hide from him, thinking he’d find her a burden. After his initial greeting, she didn’t think he wanted her there. However, he had shown her nothing but hospitality.

“I gave it some thought and there’s no need for you to move to the annex. I won’t be here much because of the need to exterminate the demonic monsters. We’ll be going on hunts.”

“Would I be a bother if I followed these hunts?”

Milian gave her a sharp look. “Of course!”

Karina left out an awkward laugh at his curt rejection. She hadn’t really meant to attend a hunt but was surprised at how quickly he turned her down.

“Anyhow, I found a lot of drawing tools inside your bag. You must like art?”

Karina’s eyes widened and a bitter smile formed on her lips before disappearing. She had never expected to hear that question for the first time from Milian, of all people. “Yes, I do like to draw.”

“Is that so? Then you should climb to the roof of the mansion. You’ll get a spectacular view at sunset or at dawn.”

“I will definitely try to.”

“But!” Milian suddenly turned around and Karina stepped face-first into his chest. She hurriedly backed away. “I’m sorry.”

“No, no, I’m the one who should be sorry...” Her face blushed bright red when she felt his firm chest against her cheek. She wasn’t used to any physical contact from strangers. She raised her head, trying to focus. “But what?”

“Ah yes, since you were sick for a week, your health is still fragile. So be careful when you go to the roof.”

“Oh, I understand.”

“The wind is very cold in the morning and after sunset, so dress very warmly,” he warned.

“Okay...”

“And you must tell me or Fang if you are going there.”

“Mm, got it,” she replied.

“Also, you must come down every hour to get warm.”

“Okay.”

There were many restrictions, it seemed, to going on the roof. He looks like a man of few words but in reality, he’s quite prone to nagging. I don’t think his underlings would like that side of him. While pondering these thoughts, she kept nodding. In honesty, she didn’t mind his nagging and couldn’t hold back a laugh.

“If you don’t want to end up a frozen jellyfish, try not to be outside for too long.”

His words rubbed her the wrong way and she muttered, “Not that jellyfish thing again!”

“Do you know how annoying it was to watch you following your maids around with ‘I don’t want to be here but I was forced to’ written all over your face for everyone to read? You should have spoken up if you hated the engagement that much.”

“That was because…” The decision had already been made for her and her only sister was sick. What part of an engagement could be good if nobody had asked for her opinion on the matter? Even on the day of the engagement, Abelia had been suffering from a bad fever. The only family who showed up to the engagement ceremony were Enphric, who came in place of the count, and Feldon. She had felt bad for her fiancé, but she had really not been feeling eager about the situation. “I’m sorry if my attitude offended you.”

“There’s nothing for you to be sorry about.” Milian shrugged. “I was just trying to fulfill my father’s dying wish. What I was trying to say is that if you don’t like something you should be firm about it.”

These casual words were something Karina had waited all her life to hear. Speaking to her family had always felt like talking to a wall—they never cared to actually listen to her when she would say that she didn’t like something or if she was having a hard time.