Episode 21
‘Ah, I feel a bit better now.’
After some time had passed, fortunately, the dizzy spells that usually troubled her seemed to fade quickly.
‘Maybe… I should tease him a little?’
Unlike usual, Autumn thought it might be fun to tease the overly dramatic man.
She clutched her head with both hands and pretended to stagger slightly.
“My head… I think it kind of hurts…”
“Hurson! Are you there?”
Randel, seemingly too overwhelmed to even compose himself, stood frozen and shouted toward the door.
“What’s going on?!”
Startled by the loud voice, Hurson rushed into the room in a panic.
“Call the physician. Right now!”
‘Huh? It’s not that serious though…’
Autumn was taken aback and frantically waved her hands.
“N-no, it’s really fine. It’s not something to make a fuss about.”
“No way!”
Looking at him now, he was nearly hyperventilating, gasping for breath.
Randel jumped up and grabbed her wrist, looking even paler than Autumn.
“Call the physician, now…”
He gave trembling orders to Hurson in a shaky voice, sweat beading on his usually proud forehead.
Autumn grabbed the sleeve of his clothes to stop him.
“Really, I’m fine now.”
His greenish eyes looked unsteady as they focused on her.
But his face was so tense that it was hard to read his expression.
“…Let’s go back to the room for now.”
Though still trembling slightly, Randel gently picked her up in his arms.
“W-what are you doing?! What if someone sees? Put me down now!”
“…Our young master has really changed.”
Hurson murmured softly, covering his eyes with both hands.
“Shh!”
Embarrassed, Autumn thumped his chest with both fists, but Randel didn’t flinch. He silently carried her toward her room.
“I told you I can walk on my own! What if someone sees—”
“If you just lower your voice, no one will hear. This villa is my private estate. Nothing leaves here.”
“But still…”
Autumn clung to his arm and kept glancing around.
“Just lean on me. My arm is getting tired.”
Hearing his tired voice, Autumn stopped struggling for a moment.
But oddly, his behavior made her more flustered.
When she tried to stiffly raise her head, Randel sighed with a touch of scolding.
“Why don’t you ever listen?”
Slowly, he exhaled and gently rested her head on his shoulder.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
She could hear his heartbeat—steady, yet still a bit fast.
“You must be tired…”
“I’m just lending you my shoulder until we get to the room.”
His hand gently patted her back in a steady rhythm.
Autumn fiddled with her fingers in his arms.
“Don’t be too burdened by this…”
“A joke?”
His rare smile—gentle yet blunt—looked oddly familiar to her.
‘That smile… I’ve seen it somewhere before…’
As her tension slowly melted away, Autumn let herself rest in his arms.
‘Maybe Rodie used to smile like that while sorting food supplies… Either way, smiling really makes someone look different…’
‘Ahh, what am I even thinking?’
Staring blankly at Randel’s smile, she snapped herself back to reality with a slap on her cheek.
Smack!
Randel looked at her, puzzled, and Autumn quickly spoke first.
“Don’t mind me. I just needed to snap out of it.”
Sometimes, fleeting memories surfaced like this—but rarely as vivid as today.
Her eyes slowly closed again.
As she calmed down, she tried to recall those never-before-seen memories.
“Maxi, I don’t know…”
If it was ten years ago, she would’ve been very young. That’s why she didn’t bother to search back then. But now…
“Why do I feel like I’ve forgotten something really important?”
“Milady.”
Randel entered her room without hesitation and laid her on the bed.
Then, he called the servants and gave instructions.
As he looked down at her, their eyes met, and Autumn saw her own reflection in his hazel eyes.
“Eep.”
She quickly shoved her messy hair under the blanket and hid her face.
‘Is it because I’m feeling unwell?’
Her head started to burn again.
His gaze seemed to warm her cheeks and chest oddly.
As if he couldn’t hear her, Randel stepped closer to check her temperature.
“You… have a fever?”
“…Are you hot?”
“Don’t come any closer!”
Smack!
Autumn pushed him away coldly.
“I need to rest.”
“…Ah.”
That face again. Slightly hurt.
“You must be exhausted. Please rest well, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Uh, wait..!”
Suddenly, she felt like she shouldn’t let him go just yet.
She reached out and tugged on his sleeve as he turned away.
Looking back at her, he waited patiently, and Autumn quietly whispered:
“…Thank you for today.”
Randel smiled softly and replied,
“No need to thank me.”
He looked out the window where the sun was setting behind the mountains and added,
“If you’re well enough, we’ll begin practice tomorrow.”
“…Yes.”
“So rest well.”
With that, he closed the door.
‘The villa was said to have burned down, right…’
Autumn closed her eyes, chewing over the disjointed memories.
But nothing more came. Her head just kept throbbing.
“Don’t feel too burdened.”
“Ah, forget it.”
His voice suddenly echoed in her head, along with the image of his slightly disheveled face.
Startled, Autumn pulled the blanket up to her chin and buried her head.
The image of his damp hair lingered in her mind.
‘It’s probably nothing.’
She tried to convince herself that it wasn’t a big deal and turned to sleep.
But no matter how much she tried, it wasn’t an easy night to fall asleep.
“How is she?”
“The physician visited earlier. Just in case, I told her maid to keep a close watch on her tonight.”
“Phew…”
Randel roughly loosened his cravat and sank into the old leather chair in the study.
Only then did his body relax a little and his eyes began to close.
“You’ve worked hard.”
“Master.”
“What is it?”
A pile of documents he had yet to process had built up while waiting anxiously for just one word from her—that she was okay.
Randel rubbed his temples and glanced at the new files with a fed-up expression.
“You acted like a child.”
At Hurson’s comment, Randel pressed his lips together.
“She said she was fine, but you dragged the physician over in the middle of the night…”
“That’s enough.”
Randel waved a hand, turning away from Hurson and curling up on the sofa.
Then he muttered, loud enough to be heard.
“You talk like you’ve never treated me like a child before.”
“You’re not usually like this, Master!”
Hurson exclaimed.
“It’s been nearly ten years since I’ve served you… but lately, you keep surprising me.”
Randel shot Hurson a glare, then looked at the documents again and went back to his desk.
As always, in the same posture, he silently returned to his work.
“I’m worried.”
Hurson sighed at his superior, who moved like a lifeless cog in a machine once again.
“She must be special, right?”
