Chapter 18
At sunset, all the work was finished.
Marsha thought she would finish earlier because today’s task was much easier than yesterday’s.
But Dio’s hands were unusually slow today.
Was he not feeling well?
“Are you in pain?”
“I am.”
He joked.
Marsha frowned.
“I mean, are you more hurt than usual?”
“Not really.”
He shrugged one shoulder and closed his eyes softly.
The deep sunset light filtering through the trees made his blond hair shine brilliantly.
He’s handsome.
Deep icy-blue eyes, a high, sharp nose, neat eyebrows, long dark eyelashes, and beautiful lips… all perfectly placed on his small, masculine face.
No one but a god could have made a face.
He’s so handsome it almost feels unreal.
Marsha wondered if he was there.
And how could he look so clean when he hadn’t washed himself properly?
Marsha would get dirty if she didn’t wash for a day.
Oh, right.
At that moment, Claudio lifted his eyelids.
Red eyes.
She was aware, but the mystery in those eyes seemed to grow even more.
There were no red-eyed people in the Emelide Count’s territory, at least not where Marsha had been.
Probably nowhere in the entire Domique Duchy was there anyone with such bright, intense red eyes.
Were there more people with eyes like his in Strabrien?
“You’re staring too hard.”
Claudio said with a smirk.
“Huh?”
“You’re staring as if you could see right through me.”
His eyes curved gently with amusement.
Marsha’s face turned red.
“I wasn’t just staring, okay?”
“Really? Then what do you want to say?”
He answered casually, as if inviting her to speak.
“My bandages. I think they need to be changed now. Also, to disinfect the wounds.”
Ah, so there was a real reason.
His smile faded.
Marsha brought a basket containing bandages, disinfectant, and gauze and handed it to Claudio.
“Here.”
“What? You want me to do it myself?”
“Can’t you?”
Masha asked, surprised.
His body was like a marble statue sculpted by an artist who devoted his life to beauty, but there were wounds here and there.
So I thought he’d be used to treating wounds.
As Marsha expected, Claudio was familiar with wound care.
He trained his body so harshly that Urian worried about him.
Still, somehow, he didn’t want to do it himself.
“You’d do better than me.”
“No. I only know a little about herbs, not treatment.”
“I’m the patient, but I promise you have a real talent for treatment.”
Marsha blushed from the sudden compliment and pulled her chin in.
Claudio often spoke lightly, so this praise was probably just casual.
No need to think too much about it…
“So, will you help me?”
Claudio smiled gently as he asked.
See? I told you he only said nice things to make me do stuff.
Marsha thought that, but still couldn’t refuse.
Doing it alone wasn’t an easy task.
“Okay then…”
Just as Marsha agreed, Claudio took off his shirt.
“W-What are you doing?!”
Marsha’s eyes went wide as if they would pop out.
“Why? You have to take it off to change bandages, right?”
“No, just lift it a little here…”
“This way is easier, isn’t it?”
Claudio smiled cheekily.
Well, yeah…
Grumbling, Marsha sat down next to him.
“Your face is all red.”
Claudio whispered in a pleasant voice.
It tickled her ears and made her whole body feel itchy.
“It’s because of the sunset.”
Masha replied with a deliberately annoyed expression.
“Your face is red too, you know?”
“Really?”
“Yes. Very red.”
Marsha spoke bluntly while looking over his body.
His well-built muscles shone beautifully in the red sunlight.
Marsha swallowed nervously.
Why am I so tense?
When Claudio lost consciousness, she could focus only on his wounds.
“Can you turn your head a little?”
Marsha asked him, who couldn’t stop staring at her.
“Why? I’m curious about how you do it.”
“It’s hard to do well if someone’s watching.”
“I don’t think that’s true.”
Marsha looked up at Claudio as if to say, What do you mean?
Claudio was speechless.
I stared at you for hours, and you still focused just fine on the herbs. What’s she talking about?
Even now, their eyes met, but she wasn’t embarrassed; instead, she just had a grumpy face.
“Anyway, don’t feel pressured. Just do it.”
“…I’ll try.”
Marsha replied reluctantly and began to remove the bandage.
The wound was still messy, but much better than when it was bleeding heavily.
The healing is faster than I thought.
Maybe his recovery ability is good, or the medicine works well.
Maybe both.
Satisfied, Marsha took a clean gauze soaked in disinfectant.
“This will hurt.”
“I can handle it.”
Claudio was relaxed, but Marsha was very tense because she knew well how painful disinfecting wounds was.
Even after four years, I remember it clearly.
She carefully placed the gauze on the wound.
But instead of flinching, Claudio stayed calm.
“Does it not hurt?”
“Not much.”
Not much?
That can’t be true.
He must be good at pretending not to feel pain.
After quickly disinfecting, Marsha put new gauze on the wound and started to unwrap the rolled bandage a little.
Now she just had to fix the new gauze in place…
The position is a bit…
Wrapping the bandage around the wound meant she had to hold his body closely, almost hugging him.
This is a bit embarrassing…
It was very embarrassing.
Marsha worried he might notice what she was thinking, but tried to act normal.
Done.
She carefully fixed the bandage and stood up.
She was satisfied that the treatment went well despite the confusing situation in her mind.
“How is it? Is it uncomfortable?”
“If it’s uncomfortable, will you fix it again?”
Claudio smiled smoothly.
“How is it uncomfortable? Do you feel the bandage is too tight?”
Marsha blinked anxiously and asked.
He chuckled.
“I was just joking.”
“Don’t scare me like that. Don’t joke like that again.”
Marsha grumbled and left the room.
Left alone, Claudio blinked rapidly, just like Masha had done earlier.
Even though only one small person had left the room, it suddenly felt empty.
Sometimes I can’t tell if that woman is afraid or bold.
Sometimes, she looked as frightened as a mouse in front of a snake, unable to hide her fear. But other times—like just now—she said whatever she wanted without hesitation.
Although he had recognised her uniqueness from the beginning, he was unaware of how unusual she was.
Thinking back on what Marsha had said, Claudio grinned quietly.
She told him not to joke around.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t joking.
Sincerely, he had hoped that she would become even more intimate with him if he pretended that the bandage was uncomfortable.
Why did I think that?
After deep thought, Claudio found the cause.
Marsha’s scent.
Fresh and green, with a faint hint of pure white flowers, and a warm, sunlit scent that gave him a pleasant, dreamy feeling.
… Could that be why?
He placed his hand on his chest.
It was a weird feeling.
It felt like his heart had been beating frantically for a while.
Could we describe this as “dreamy”?
Why do I act this way?
His thoughts and body were behaving wildly and uncontrollably.
Was the smell making him lightheaded, or had he been lying down too long and gone crazy?
Claudio had no idea.
