/
Back at the Russell Marquisate’s mansion—
“Where the hell did she go…!”
In the Marquis’ bedroom.
“Radiiiiiiis…”
After having just left the bath, Yves Russell sat on his bed with only a towel wrapped around his waist.
“Haa… My goose…! Did you rise to the sky or did you travel on land?”
It’s been three days since Radis disappeared.
He was aware of how she often went somewhere at night, but he didn’t take it seriously because she always came back before sunrise every time.
Although Radis was younger than him, she was close to reaching adulthood and she had a mature and skillful air to her. That’s why he hadn’t been particularly worried.
He just wanted to let her enjoy her newfound freedom. He knew how she must have suffered all this time.
Yet here lies the problem. He trusted her and let her go too far away.
He had the immediate vicinity searched. He deployed his men to Larrings. He even had people see if she had returned to House Tilrod.
But there was no sign of Radis anywhere.
“Radiiis…”
In agony and feeling suffocated, Yves Russell swept back the bangs that were covering his face.
At that moment.
Something shone brilliantly on his lap.
* * *
“……!”
Radis was absolutely shocked.
A dazzling light enveloped her, and the next moment, she was in the arms of a handsome, naked man.
“AACK!”
Radis was surprised enough as it was, but the man himself looked as though he was about to faint.
But regardless of his expression right now, it’s true that this man was an extremely good-looking man.
If ‘beautifully handsome’ suited the delicate Olivier, then ‘ruggedly handsome’ would suit this man.
Beneath the man’s dark eyebrows was a pair of sharp, golden eyes that were as pretty as sparkling jewels.
“You…!”
The man’s face began to turn red.
It was only then that Radis realized that she was sitting… on the lap of a man who had only a single towel on him.
“S-Sorry!”
Radis tried to get up in a hurry, but then she was paralyzed when she shockingly realized that what her hand was touching now was the man’s bare, solid chest.
Not knowing where to put her hands, she touched the man’s wide chest first, then his hard shoulders, his thick forearms, his perfectly formed abs, his dainty navel.
“R-Radiiiiis…!”
“……!”
“Where have you been?!”
The handsome man mournfully called her name with the same voice as the voice of Yves Russell… Tears pooled in his lovely golden eyes until they were filled with moisture… And he held her tightly in his embrace.
Radis endured and endured once more.
She endured it when Arachne appeared above her head, she endured when she heard that monster’s voice, she endured when the haunted sword suddenly moved by itself, spewed fire and made a fuss by demanding her to name it.
But as soon as this nearly naked handsome man, who gave off a sweet scent, hugged her with his bare chest rubbing against her cheek and neck…
For the first time in both her lives, Radis fainted.
¡
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12. Recovery
“…What on earth…”
“She suddenly appeared in front of His Excellency?”
“That black blood must have been a monster’s…”
As Radis opened her eyes, she furtively looked around.
She was covered by a black blanket.
The voices were coming from the other side of the room. Then, she heard the quiet sound of a door closing, and so the voices disappeared out of earshot.
“Hah…”
Radis squirmed and checked her condition.
Her clothes seemed to have been changed, and there were bandages wrapped around her arm. The scent of medicine was also strong around her.
“Uwaaaah…”
She wriggled beneath the covers.
‘I didn’t want to get caught though.’
Even though Radis had good swordsmanship skills, even when she had performed well during the subjugation expeditions, she never bragged about it to others.
She learned this lesson when she was a child. If she was good at something, this would only be poisonous to her.
Either Margaret would grow angry or the tutor would become anxious. Even Armano was more inclined to hide her skills.
The accumulation of similar experiences like this made her afraid of being noticed by others.
The same was true even when she was acting as David in the subjugation squad.
She always gave credit to others because it’s obvious that she’d only get into trouble if she got too noticeable.
Still, she had rather preferred this.
So at the subjugation squad, even as she rolled on the ground and ended up dying from miasma poisoning, she always put her family first before herself.
While sacrificing everything for the sake of her family, she was constantly only worried about how she would become an obstacle to them.
Now that she was living her second life though, Radis vowed never to do such foolish things again.
However, there were still things that were so deeply ingrained in her, like thorns that were impossible to pull out.