Chapter 31. Were You Two Together?
That method of confirming something myself…
Just as I was about to speak, Ian leaned in close. His face came so near that his eyes, now crystal clear, rippled like waves.
Was he trying to smell if I had cherry scent on me?
“W-Wait a second.”
I hurriedly covered my mouth and took a step back. That was when I heard someone moving inside the dormitory.
Footsteps approached, and I quickly shoved Ian back. At the same time, the door swung open.
“Rosebellia?”
It was Edwin, dressed in casual clothes, peeking in through the doorway.
“Edwin.”
“Rose, are you staying in the dorm tonight?”
“Yeah. I ended up doing that.”
Edwin nodded, but his eyes widened. His gaze briefly lingered on me before shifting directly to Ian.
“Wait… Were you two together?”
Seeing Edwin’s lips twitch slightly, I answered quickly.
“We were out for a short walk and just happened to run into Klein in front of the dorm.”
I sent a silent signal to Ian, who let out a soft sigh and added,
“Yes, that’s right. I’m staying in the dorm tonight too.”
“Really?”
Edwin narrowed his eyes and looked between us, clearly not buying it.
I had to change the subject before he said something weird again.
“Edwin, are you feeling better now?”
His eyes finally settled on me. While waiting for a reply, I casually touched my lips, pretending to adjust them.
“Yeah. I feel better after resting.”
Edwin smiled lightly as if to prove his point. Now that I looked closely, the pale complexion he had earlier had returned to normal.
“That’s a relief.”
“I’ve been inside too long. It’s stuffy, so I thought I’d take a walk.”
“Okay. Go ahead, then. I’ll head inside first.”
Ignoring Klein’s persistent gaze, I turned and walked into the dorm.
I headed straight to my room and checked the mirror. There was a faint trace of blood at the edge of my lips.
Considering I had wiped it once already, it must have been pretty obvious at first.
“Not sure if the cherry pie excuse is going to work.”
I smoothed my forehead and approached the table. Picking up the cherry pie, I took a big bite.
Ian probably wasn’t going to chase me into my room just to confirm I’d eaten cherry pie, but somehow it made me feel better.
“If I just keep denying it, what’s he going to do?”
After taking a quick shower in the small bathroom attached to the room, I laid down on the bed.
It was a bit firm, but not uncomfortable—actually, it felt pretty cozy.
Maybe it was because the space was entirely mine, even if it was small.
“This is a great single room.”
Considering it even had a private bathroom, the room wasn’t that small. The dormitory building had been built quite large, so there were extra rooms. Once assigned, the room wouldn’t change unless you left the knights, which I liked.
Whether I used it or not, this room was mine until I left the order.
They said the emperor had tried to lure the White Knights’ headquarters to the capital from the outskirts—he really must’ve invested a lot in the facilities.
I was blankly staring at the unusually close ceiling when Ian’s words suddenly echoed in my mind.
‘May I check it myself?’
“Check what, exactly…”
As Ian’s face flashed across my mind, my thoughts came to a complete halt.
Just recalling what happened with him brought back the warmth that had touched my forehead in the cool night air.
Half sitting up, I rubbed the tingling spot on my forehead and sighed.
So much for being a stone wall—he swoops in out of nowhere.
Maybe that’s why I was so flustered. Because he wasn’t the type to make the first move?
“Could it be that he doesn’t see me as a woman and that’s why he’s so comfortable?”
That could be. Ian fits that type.
Nodding to myself, I turned and lay on my side. Hugging the blanket close, I tried to fall asleep.
‘Sis, are you just getting back now?’
‘Yeah.’
It was Rosebellia’s voice. Realizing this was a dream, I quickly took in my surroundings.
We were on the path to the main mansion of the marquess’ estate. The voices belonged to Rosebellia and Caidan.
‘Do you have something to say to me?’
‘No, nothing.’
‘If you’re trying to bring up that sparring match again…’
Caidan fidgeted with his fingers, clearly trying to hide his nervousness. Rosebellia glanced at him, paused, then opened her mouth again.
‘I never said I’d never spar with you again. It’s just that you’re still too young… Even in our knights, no one spars with me.’
Her voice was still firm, but gentler than before.
‘No one at all?’
‘Right. Not a single person. I refuse all sparring matches within the order.’
So she really never sparred with Ian either.
‘I wasn’t saying I wanted to spar with you right now. I just wanted to hold onto a little hope that if I work hard, I might be able to someday…’
‘If you’re okay with a training spar.’
Caidan’s eyes widened at her offhanded response.
No wonder he reacted like that—I was surprised too.
I thought she’d reject him firmly, like she did with Ian. But clearly, Rosebellia was weak when it came to her younger siblings.
‘Really?’
‘I’m not saying we’ll do it right away. Even a training spar is still a sparring match, so you’ll need to get Schult’s approval on your skills first.’
‘Understood, sis!’
That was how the dream ended. I blinked a few times and found myself looking at a ceiling—unfamiliar, but not dark.
“What was that? Was that from the original story?”
It was still just a guess, but the more dreams I had, the more convinced I became that I was seeing scenes from the original work.
After all, Rosebellia’s appearance and mannerisms in the dream were exactly like those from her memories.
But why was I being shown this? Even what I said to Caidan felt similar to how things went in the original story.
So… nothing’s actually changed?
“There has to be a reason I’m being shown the original plot…”
Am I overthinking this?
As thoughts tangled one after another, I began to feel a light headache. I pressed my temples and forced my eyes shut.
The sky had cleared as if the heavy rain never happened. I took a deep breath of the fresh air—when I spotted red hair in the distance.
I was about to call out to Edwin but stopped to watch his walk closely.
Was it just me, or did his left leg seem stiffer?
His right leg stepped confidently, but his left seemed to flinch just before hitting the ground. It almost looked like he was limping.
“Edwin.”
“Rose.”
“About your leg… You didn’t twist it, right?”
Edwin glanced at his leg. He let out an awkward cough—which only confirmed my suspicion.
“You hurt your ankle during the last beast subjugation, didn’t you?”
Because it was beast venom, the healer had said he needed at least three months to rest and recover, but Edwin had returned to the order after only two.
“…Yeah. Who am I kidding.”
Edwin smiled weakly and continued,
“As you guessed, the pain in the ankle I injured has returned. I’ve been getting by with painkillers, but… I didn’t expect to stay at the dorm last night, so I didn’t bring any. That’s why it’s worse today.”
“Did you see a doctor?”
“I saw a few, but they said it might not have been fully detoxified back then.”
When Rosebellia’s memories flowed into me, some of the most painful ones were from the beast subjugation mission.
She herself hadn’t been hurt, but she witnessed comrades getting injured or even dying…
My palm stung. I glanced down to see I’d clenched my fist tightly. As I released it, a soft breath slipped through my teeth.
“So what are you going to do?”
“I’m trying to get the medicine again.”
I could feel Edwin watching me carefully. Since beast venom cases were rare, good medicine wasn’t easy to find on the market.
That meant there was really only one place he could go for it.
“You’re getting it from the Riley family?”
The Riley family—Olivia’s birth family and the current Empress’s family—was famous for their herbal cultivation and blending techniques.
To date, they were the only ones who had successfully created an antidote for beast venom.
“Yeah. I’ve already put in a request, so now I’m just waiting.”
“Wait, then what about yesterday? Was that because—?”
“No! That wasn’t related. Seriously.”
When I kept staring at him suspiciously, Edwin quickly raised both hands as if to prove his innocence.
Those downward-curving brows did make him look genuinely wronged.
“What are you two talking about?”
A sudden voice cut in—it was Lucas.
“What? Did something happen?”
Edwin asked eagerly. Lucas grinned smugly and replied,
“You’re behind the news, Ed. The new subjugation team list is out.”
“The list?”
“Go check in front of the main building.”
I exchanged glances with Edwin and ran straight there.
At the top of the notice was the name of Commander Gabriel, who would lead the subjugation team. Below that were the names of the selected members.
Since the White Knights didn’t care about social status, only names were listed.
Just beneath Gabriel’s name, I saw “Rosebellia.” I slowly lowered my gaze, passing familiar names like Edwin, Vanessa, and Lucas—until my eyes froze on one spot.
