DSFL | Chapter 64

~Chapter 64~ 

“Simon?”

 What was he doing here?

He rushed over and grabbed my arm.

 “B-Big trouble!”

 “What is it?”

 “The carriage to the restricted zone is leaving today! Right now!”

…What?

He started panicking.

 “The person who told me the schedule must have made a mistake! We have to hurry, or we’ll miss it!”

“W-Where’s Thomas?”

 “I don’t know! I checked his room but he wasn’t there!”

This was a nightmare. But there was no time to think.

“Duke, then… goodbye!”

 I quickly bowed to Ricardo, but he called out behind me.

“You two are going to the restricted zone?”

 “Y-Yes?”

 “Do you know how dangerous that area is—”

 “It’s fine. Simon’s family is from there.”

I quickly cut him off.

Just then, Simon, who had been watching Ricardo closely, suddenly reached into his coat like he remembered something.

“Simon, let’s go!”

 We can’t afford to miss the carriage!

“Um, Duke—would you like to come with us?”

 “……What?”

My voice jumped in shock.

 But Simon, totally oblivious, simply handed over a ticket.

“I bought three tickets, including one for Thomas. It’d be such a waste to throw it away.”

Seriously?! That’s what you’re worried about?

 Forget the money—I’ll pay you back myself!

“Duke Ricardo’s too busy. Just let us—”

 I reached out to snatch the ticket away, but Ricardo beat me to it.

 He took it from Simon with a calm expression.

“Whew! Thank goodness! If it weren’t for you, I’d have wasted that money!”

Simon gave a sly wink and whispered,

 “This is your perfect chance to get close to him.”

My fist clenched. Unbelievable.

***

Rumble!

How did things turn out like this?

I never imagined I’d end up riding in the cargo wagon with Ricardo.

 The Duke! Crammed into this box of a cart with the rest of us!

I leaned my head against the wall.

 The driver was so rough I kept bumping my head.

 Ricardo reached behind and cupped the back of my head with his hand to cushion it.

“You don’t need to do that…”

 Why did he even come along?

I couldn’t imagine Ricardo being the type to meddle like this.

 He glanced at me with a strange expression and replied quietly.

“It was too noisy.”

“Sorry, then…”

Across from us, Simon added cheerfully,

 “He’s right. It was a little loud.”

You. Just shut it.

This is all your fault!

I sighed deeply. Then the wagon hit a big bump.

“Careful—!”

 Ricardo grabbed me before I could fall.

“Th-Thanks…”

I stared uneasily at the carriage door.

 It looked fine from the outside, but it was clearly unstable.

 Every time we hit a bump, it creaked like it was breaking apart.

Maybe it’s just close enough for me to hear… right?

Finally, Ricardo offered,

 “Let’s switch seats.”

“N-No, you should sit on the inside, Your Grace.”

He narrowed his eyes, clearly not liking my answer.

Look, I’m still pretending to be a regular mage, okay?

Suddenly, the carriage hit a huge bump—CRACK!

 The door broke off completely.

People who were napping shot awake, and the sudden movement made the carriage rock violently.

We were going uphill, so people who stood up started rolling like balls down the slope.

 Someone grabbed onto me by accident—and I nearly fell out of the carriage.

“…!”

Ricardo gritted his teeth and pulled me into his arms.

We both fell out of the carriage—CRASH!

I kept my eyes shut tight, but slowly opened them…

Ricardo had wrapped himself around me to protect me during the fall.

“D-Duke!”

He lifted his head slowly, checking me over before sighing in relief.

“…Are you hurt?”

“Never mind me—what about you?!”

I grabbed his hand, the one that had shielded my head.

It was badly scraped and bleeding.

My chin started trembling.

“O-Oh no…”

He had taken the full impact.

His back, his arms—his whole body must be injured.

“Your back—oh no, even your face is scratched!”
“…”
“We need medicine, something, anything…”

But while I panicked, Ricardo simply stared at me.

“…Are you okay? Does your leg hurt? Can you move?”

Still, he said nothing. Just kept looking at me.

Wait…

Did he hit his head? Did the fall mess up his brain?!

Just then, Simon’s voice called out from nearby.

“Ann!”

“S-Simon!”

Luckily, the carriage hadn’t gone too far.

I turned to Ricardo, ready to ask if he could stand, but…

he was still staring at me.

“…Can you get up?”

“Oh my goodness, what happened!”

Simon ran toward us.

Only then did Ricardo move, slowly standing.

“Let’s go back,” he said, sounding normal again.

He seemed like his usual self, but I couldn’t stop staring at his injured hand.

“This used to be my old house!” Simon said, leading us inside.

“It’s late, so let’s stay the night here and head into the restricted zone tomorrow.”

“Th-Thank you for the hospitality…”

“No need to be formal. My family’s inside the restricted zone anyway.”

Simon scratched his cheek awkwardly as he climbed the stairs.

“Uh… the room might feel small for a duke. Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine. I appreciate you letting me stay,” Ricardo replied calmly.

Simon sighed in relief and turned to me.

“Anne, you can have the room next door.”

“Thanks.”

“Oh—and there should be medicine in the downstairs cabinet. Feel free to use it if you need it.”

Then Simon went out to buy food.

Ricardo went into his room without another word.

…Is he really not going to treat those wounds?

I placed my bag down and opened the door to go fetch the medicine—

“…!”

Right in front of me was Ricardo—about to knock, holding the medical kit in one hand.

Ah. So he was planning to treat himself.

“I should’ve brought this to you first. Come in,” I said quickly.

I reached for the kit—

But Ricardo raised it out of my reach.

“…?”
“I want to check your wounds first.”

My face twisted with confusion.

“…What? You’re the one who’s hurt!”

“Sit.”

“But I’m fine because of you!”

Ignoring me, he stepped into my room and said quietly:

“Your lower back seems hurt.”

“I rolled less than you!”

“…You kept wincing the whole time in the carriage.”

He squinted, clearly not happy that I was being stubborn.

“Well…!”

The truth was, my back did hurt.

 But it was nothing compared to his wounds.

The cloth I’d used earlier to patch it up was stained red.

 And if I took off this dress, I’d probably see a lot more bruises.

Suddenly, Ricardo gently grabbed my hand and pulled me toward him.

My heart ached.

Why are you so worried about me when you’re clearly worse off?

I wanted to resist—but I couldn’t win against his strength.

 He made me sit in front of him, and I warned:

“Don’t touch me.”

He paused.

 Then gave a bitter smile and bowed his head slightly.

“I just want to check your injuries…”

He didn’t finish the sentence.

Then I felt something strange.

The back of my dress loosened—

 A cool breeze touched my skin.

 “…!”

I turned around quickly—

Ricardo stood behind me, holding the ribbon of my dress in his mouth.

As the ribbon fell, he said shamelessly,

 “I didn’t use my hands.”