Chapter 14
Lucy blinked in confusion.
“My condition?”
“Yes.”
“I’m perfectly fin…”
“You were trembling just a while ago.”
She blinked again.
She had flinched at first because everything happened so suddenly, but she didn’t think she’d been shaking badly enough for him to describe it like that.
“When was I trembling…?”
Then it hit her.
“Oh, do you mean at the end?”
Right before they landed.
She had shivered slightly while Edward was carrying her.
‘That was only because it was cold.’
They were already in the north.
Lucy was still wearing the filthy, worn-out clothes she’d had on in the underground prison.
The torn fabric let the wind blow right through.
And since they had been flying high in the sky…
The air had been much colder than it was on the ground.
‘Still, it wasn’t as cold as I expected.’
In the novel, people described him as cold like a reptile, as if touching scales.
But unlike those descriptions…
The Duke’s embrace had been incredibly warm.
Even with thick armor between them, he radiated heat like a giant heating blanket.
Since he had firmly covered the back of her head with his hand, her neck had hurt a little, but at least she hadn’t been exposed to the freezing wind.
Honestly…
He had been so warm that by the end she had been a little reluctant to leave his arms.
She had even planned to get down as slowly as possible after landing.
But so many people rushed over to look at them that she had changed her mind and jumped away faster than lightning.
At the time, Edward had looked like someone who had just watched a bullet fly out without anyone firing a gun.
Anyway…
‘I only shivered for a second.’
But Edward clearly thought otherwise.
“Your face was pale. You looked like you were about to throw up.”
“It wasn’t that bad.”
“Your whole body was shaking like your bones were about to break.”
“I’m not that weak! Want me to prove it?”
Afraid he might abandon her for being frail, Lucy rolled up her sleeve and flexed her arm.
Only a pitifully skinny arm was revealed.
Edward let out a snort and continued walking.
“Anyway, with strength as weak as paper, you can’t keep traveling without resting.”
“…”
She knew he wasn’t completely wrong.
But his words bothered her more than they should.
‘…Because being weak had always been my biggest insecurity, even before I came to this world.’
It was why she couldn’t go with her sisters.
Why she’d spent all that time trapped inside the shelter.
Still…
She found something surprising.
‘Was he… actually thinking about me?’
If he didn’t care about her…
He probably wouldn’t have stopped to rest like this.
‘I thought he was completely heartless.’
Maybe he was kind…
At least to people who were useful to him.
‘Looks like all my flattery wasn’t wasted…’
“I simply don’t intend to carry a corpse back to the Duchy.”
Lucy had been rubbing beneath her nose proudly.
But after hearing that…
She secretly frowned.
So much for thinking he cared.
His terrible personality hadn’t gone anywhere.
“Haha… you’re exaggerating. I can still work…”
“You barely eat.”
“You’re frail.”
“You’re weak.”
“…”
“And you’re tiny.”
It hurt even more because it came from someone who looked like he’d survive falling off a rooftop without a scratch.
Every one of her insecurities was being poked.
“But… the temple might catch up at any time…”
She protested weakly.
Edward answered casually.
“You don’t trust me?”
Lucy immediately shut her mouth.
‘Is he angry?’
His voice sounded calm…
But with him, you could never be sure.
Besides…
Making him think she didn’t trust him definitely wasn’t a good idea.
“Hehe… of course I trust you.”
Lucy smiled brightly and rubbed her hands together like a flattering servant.
“Who else would I trust besides my handsome, reliable, wonderful Master?”
“Good.”
Only then did Edward smile and look away.
The sight of her tiny hands rubbing together looked ridiculously pitiful…
And adorable.
That little mouse was definitely in love with him.
‘She praises me every chance she gets.’
If anyone else had done that…
He would’ve told them to stop with the empty compliments and thrown them away.
But hearing it from this tiny woman…
Only made him laugh.
‘She’s trying this hard just to win my favor.’
‘I suppose I should acknowledge her effort.’
Meanwhile…
Since Edward had looked away…
Lucy narrowed her eyes and grumbled silently to herself.
‘He really likes being flattered.’
‘So that’s how people in power are.’
‘He keeps poking at other people’s insecurities…’
Of course…
God had compensated him with a beautiful face, an incredible body, overwhelming strength, and endless wealth.
‘…He really got everything, didn’t he?’
She glanced at Edward’s broad back.
Walking behind him felt like following a giant wall.
A huge…
Warm…
Solid wall.
‘I was clinging to that body just now.’
The thought suddenly felt very real.
She couldn’t help wondering how anyone could possibly be that big.
‘Maybe the armor makes him look bigger?’
‘Even if he’s the male lead, he can’t be this huge without it…’
At that moment…
An entirely inappropriate scene flashed through her mind.
When Edward removed his robe, his enormous, solid body was revealed beneath the moonlight.
His physique looked like a masterpiece personally sculpted by a god. Every muscle seemed powerful enough to be a weapon.
The muscles beneath his shoulder blades flexed with each heartbeat.
Sephina gazed at him in complete fascination.
Of course… the most dangerous weapon on his body was the enormous…
‘…Why did I have to remember THAT scene?!’
It was a passage from the original novel.
Specifically…
The scene where Sephina admired Edward’s naked body.
She had reread the novel so many times in the shelter…
Especially the mature-rated chapters.
And now those memories were resurfacing.
“We’re here.”
“Eep!”
Thunk.
She had just finished panicking.
Then her nose slammed into warm steel.
Edward had suddenly stopped in front of the room assigned to him.
Step. Step.
He walked inside.
Lucy quickly covered her face with both hands.
Her face wasn’t red only because she’d bumped her nose.
‘Maybe this is my punishment for thinking weird things.’
Why did she have to remember that passage?
An enormous snake…?
Surely he couldn’t actually…
…Though she was a tiny bit curious…
‘No. Absolutely not.’
Lucy shook her head vigorously.
The fact that she could even think about such nonsense probably meant she had finally relaxed after escaping the temple.
She kept covering her face, trying to shake the lingering image from her mind.
Thenā
Whoosh!
Someone grabbed her wrist and pulled her hands away.
“Ah…”
The question of “What’s wrong?” disappeared the instant she saw what was in front of her.
“…”
At some point…
Edward had removed his armor.
He was now wearing only a shirt and trousers.
Frowning slightly, he was looking directly at her face.
Lucy couldn’t stop staring at his shirt.
‘…Why does his chest have such an overwhelming presence?’
It was the kind of chest that deserved its own name.
The buttons of his shirt looked as though they were about to burst apart, silently begging for mercy.
‘His chest is unbelievable…’
The original novel hadn’t exaggerated at all.
She had assumed the armor made him look bigger.
But now she realized…
The armor had actually been hiding just how intimidating his physique really was.
‘And why is he wearing that harness?!’
The leather harness used to secure his armor ran just beneath his chest.
It made his already broad chest stand out even more.
The poor harness looked as though it was begging for its life too.
Lucy seriously wondered…
‘…Shouldn’t he be the one wearing a bra instead of me?’
