/
That’s why it’s like this now. She was afraid to expose herself.
‘How am I supposed to explain?’
Letting out a heavy sigh, Radis removed the blanket and looked around.
The curtains were black. The walls were covered in wallpaper that was embellished with gold, but even that was black, too.
Obviously enough, this was Yves’ room.
Over at a console table that was made out of black wood, she stared at the black rose that was inside a black enamel vase on top of the table, then she muttered.
“Yves, that guy, so it’s not just his clothes that’s black.”
Then, the bedroom door opened and Yves Russell entered.
He saw that Radis was awake and slowly approached her. He sat on a chair beside the bed.
Yves’ bangs were back over his face, and he was wearing a black velvet robe now too.
The familiar appearance made Radis feel quite at ease.
If she were to see Yves’ face or naked body again while her thoughts were so jumbled up…
“Radis.”
“H-Huh, what?”
“Your face is bright red? Well, I suppose. After all, you got injured so badly.”
“No, I mean, this…”
“You must be tired, so if it’s difficult to answer now, it’s okay to do it later.”
Yves stared at her for a moment, then he asked.
“What happened?”
“……”
“I was worried, you know.”
There was not a single sign of reproach in Yves’ voice.
‘Ahh…’
Radis felt odd.
Just now, she was imagining that she was diving straight into a pool of water, not knowing whether it would be scalding hot or bitingly cold. She was so nervous, but now, she just felt warm.
‘Marquis, it seems like you were really… worried for me.’
It was like that before, too.
Even though Radis suddenly appeared in his room, Yves didn’t seem to be shocked or suspicious… He just hugged her tightly, soaked in monster blood and all.
Strangely, her chest got stuffy and it felt like she was about to cry, but Radis only stared blankly at the bandage on her right hand.
Seeing her do that, Yves only smiled.
“I knew it, it’s not time yet. It’s fine. You can tell me later.”
But Radis grabbed him by the hem of his robe.
“…No, Marquis. I’ll tell you now.”
If she wasn’t feeling this way right now, she wouldn’t have been able to say anything.
Of course, she couldn’t exactly tell him everything.
However, Radis tried to arrange the words in her mind, then she spoke.
“At the auction… I heard some people talking about monster eggs. I went to those men out of curiosity. I found out they’re doing something bad.”
As she said this, Radis looked straight into Yves’ eyes.
But because his bangs were down, it was difficult to discern his reaction.
“I went with them and returned the monster eggs to where they’re supposed to be.”
Looking at her, Yves eventually replied.
“The monster eggs near the forbidden region, right? But going even near the forbidden region would require an entire knight order with enough people.”
At Yves’ astute response, Radis flinched.
“There… There was a passageway. It led directly to the forbidden region.”
“Aha.”
Yves nodded slightly.
“So with the passageway leading straight to the forbidden region, if you were lucky, then you shouldn’t have run into the monsters. With that, you would have been able to get in, leave the eggs there, and then go back the way you came. But you ran into monsters, didn’t you?”
“……”
Because Yves himself saw that she had been covered in black blood, she couldn’t give him any other excuse.
Radis nodded helplessly.
“Did you fight with the monsters?”
“……”
“How?”
Radis opened her lips with great difficulty, and the words barely—just barely—left her lips.
“I, um, a sword… I know how to wield a sword.”
It strangely felt like she did something wrong.
Radis admitted this with a very small voice, and she bowed her head as though she was a child who made a mistake.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you in advance. I didn’t mean to hide it…”
Then, Radis felt a big hand stroking her head.
“It’s okay.”
Yves’ hand was warm. And his voice was even warmer.
“You don’t have to apologize for that. You don’t always have to tell other people everything about yourself, do you?”
“……”
“Why are you so sullen now? Everything’s fine. You came back.”
Radis slowly raised her head.
Yves was smiling in relief.
“To be honest, I was really, terribly worried, and I was angry, too. But now it’s fine. Because you’re back.”
“……”
Radis looked up at Yves, blinking her moist eyes.
‘Why…? Why are you saying that?’
Yves smiled and patted Radis’ shoulder, which didn’t hurt.
“You said you know how to wield a sword, so show it to me later after you’re all better. Okay?”