CH 41

Friend (4)

Talin approached Lily. “For now, he will be detained. Even if he’s an acquaintance, we can’t just let it go because a man who isn’t even a family member has touched you.”

A commoner who grabbed the duchess by the shoulder.

In terms of those facts alone, he would be sentenced to summary execution.

What if the knight in front of her heard that Tristan insulted Vlad?

Chills ran down her spine.

She didn’t want to see his head hanging on the walls of Cadis.

Lily no longer wanted to suffer from causing people death.

“I… Knight…”

At Lily’s call, Vlad had no choice but to look back at her.

She grabbed Vlad’s sleeve.

He felt his body harden for a moment through his clothes.

“Will my friend die…?”

Vlad seemed to be a bit startled, and his eyes widened a little as he looked at his sleeve.

It was a slender finger, but it looked like it was bound by a huge chain, unable to move.

Facing her full face was far more lethal to him than he thought.

It was like everything froze.

Her green eyes, weak but also strong, looked directly at him.

Vlad’s eye twitched, and then his sharp eyes were shone with an unpleasant light.

Is that man important enough for her to cling to me so desperately?

It was no wonder. He was a man who she had deliriously looked for when her fever was high enough to render her unconscious.

Lily may have…

At his suffocating gaze, Lily sighed and put her hand away.

She just touched the sleeve of his shirt and let go, but that made Vlad feel regretful.

Talin again reported in sign language, “For now, he will be in a summary trial. Normally, we will have to hang his head… But in my opinion, since it’s Madam’s close friend, I think the lord might take it into consideration.” He glanced at Vlad.

Vlad only looked at Lily, and had no interest in what Talin added.

Lily just looked down at the floor with unfocused eyes. “Trial…”

Don’t tell me he would kill a man just because he grabbed me by the shoulder.

With such a thought in mind, Lily slowly raised her head.

She stared at Tristan as he was being dragged along.

* * *

Lily was escorted by the mysterious knight and slowly returned to the castle.

The snow, which had not yet melted, fell at their feet, making small noises.

Lily’s head was split in two.

One part was worried about Tristan’s future and the other was curious about the handsome man walking next to her.

She glanced at him. Then she made eye contact.

Both awkwardly looked away.

This was repeated several times while walking along the wall.

Lily, who had been walking silently for a while, looked at him hesitantly. “Excuse me, sir… Do you happen to know where Vlad is?”

His handsome eyebrows twitched slightly. He looked at Lily with a slightly dismayed look and shook his head softly.

Lily was a little frustrated.

It was difficult to understand the knight beside her.

“I’m sorry that I’m not good at sign language. I wish we could have talked more comfortably…”

From Vlad’s point of view, it was fortunate that Lily didn’t know how to sign.

Not having to give a specific answer was saving him quite a bit of trouble.

Lily let out a small sigh. “Have you known Vlad for a long time, Sir Knight?”

“…”

With his worried expression, Lily thought that he was just counting the years in his head.

He nodded slowly.

Lily wiggled her fingers and looked at his complexion with an increasingly nervous expression.

“Erm, then… would he be very upset if he found out about this?”

There was no need to ask.

Vlad’s eyes instantly became cold. Even thinking about it again, his blood was boiling.

A man named Tristan put his wife in the palm of his hand, manipulated her, and even touched her body as he wanted.

Even if he was Lily’s younger brother, that was unforgivable. After all, he was an outsider.

Lily was also terrified by his increasingly cold eyes. “I don’t know if you’ve heard my argument with Tristan, but… Could you keep it a secret from Vlad? I’m sorry to ask you this…”

Asking a knight who swore allegiance to keep a secret from his master. Lily lowered her eyes at her shameless request.

Vlad had been listening to the conversation for longer than she thought.

He had pretty good hearing. Even thinking about it himself, it was clear that his hearing was probably beyond the limits of an ordinary human being.

[It doesn’t matter what his identity is. At least he’s a much better person than you are now.]

Recalling her words that remained in his heart, Vlad stared at Lily.

One sentence that touched his heart the most out of them all.

[I hate… I hate it]]

“…”

It was windy. Vlad’s hair swayed to and fro.

“I don’t mean to put you in trouble.” She wet her lips. “I’m just… I was worried.”

Vlad, who was looking at her with narrowed eyes, picked up a branch. He began to write letters one after another on the snow.

The completed sentence was one question.