(33) Seeping Warmth (3)
Her whole body ached from using muscles she hadn't used before. The ointment Cyrus had applied had lessened the pain in her wound, but it hadn't completely disappeared.
She knew she needed more rest, but she couldn't continue to bother Cyrus. When Ariana stood up, Cyrus looked up, as if asking what was wrong.
The blue light from the mushroom dyed his silver hair sky-blue. His skin, almost blue, made his red eyes look even more intense. The lips beneath his chiseled nose were as red as his eyes.
Only now did she notice a small mole under his left eye. Ariana focused her gaze on the mole instead of his cold eyes and said,
"I should go now."
"Where?"
"Anywhere."
"It's dark outside."
"The cave is long. It'll take more than a day to get out on my own. Won't it be daylight by the time I get out?"
Cyrus, who was perched on a small rock, propped his elbows on his knees and rested his chin lightly on the back of his hands, staring intently at Ariana with only his eyes wide open.
“What’s the rush? Didn’t you manage to escape from Bronte Manor?”
“The Duchess should have reached the city beyond the mountains by now. She’ll have informed the soldiers that my carriage has disappeared. The Duchess’s plan is to hear of my death and properly fulfill her role as a bereaved mother, but thanks to Your Excellency’s help, all those who tried to harm me are dead.”
“Hmm. You seem to be secretly blaming me. Am I mistaken?”
“You made sure their bodies were not found. What happened to the coachman?”
“Dead. Untouched.”
“Then the soldiers will only find his body. There are traces of an attack and blood on the ground, but they won’t be able to find mine or my maid’s, so they won’t be able to confirm my death. There’s no reason to leave the coachman’s body behind and take only mine and my maid’s.”
“They’ll think it’s kidnapping.”
“Yes, probably. The buying and selling of people is a clandestine business, and noblewomen are especially expensive, so they’ll suspect that. The soldiers will declare me missing.”
Cyrus lowered his chin and folded his arms.
“What does that have to do with your haste?”
Ariana sensed Cyrus was asking knowingly, but she spoke calmly.
“If my death were certain, the Duchess would go to her villa in the Empire and hold my funeral. Ladies and gentlemen who have lost their daughters and sisters in unfortunate accidents. What better way to grab people’s attention than that?”
“Society women are vicious. Rachel Bronte is your biological mother, so why would she exploit your death?”
“She wanted to kill me while I was in her womb.”
“...”
“Since I survived, it must have been hell for the Duchess to see me.”
Cyrus stared silently at Ariana’s face.
Even as she spoke of her mother's desire to kill her, a faint smile played on her lips. A sad, cold smile wasn't what Cyrus longed to see. He wanted to see something a little brighter, a smile that, yes, lit up her eyes like the sun.
Like when Ariana had laughed, finding Cyrus's words amusing.
Louis, standing beside him, gently touched Cyrus's shoulder.
They'd been together for so long, Louis knew what she meant just by looking at her eyes.
'You'd better comfort the lady, my lord.'
Comfort?
It had been so long since Cyrus had felt comforted, he didn't know how to offer it.
He searched his memory, and his childhood came to mind.
His mother would embrace him warmly when Cyrus was mischievous, scolded by his father, and he'd burst into tears.
Was a hug really all that was needed?
As Cyrus was about to stand, Ariana continued,
"But the Duchess can't accomplish her plans with a missing daughter."
Cyrus stared at Ariana in an awkward posture, neither standing nor getting up. The lonely smile that had been playing on Ariana's lips had disappeared.
"If she continues on her journey to the Empire with her daughter missing, she'll only be criticized. Whether they find my body or me, I have to find them before I can plan my next move. So, I have to escape the secluded area before they catch me."
"..."
"But Your Excellency, what's wrong? Why are you in that position?"
Cyrus, who had been pointed out by Ariana, stood up straight and stood in front of her.
"Do you know what warriors consider most important on the battlefield?"
Ariana was taken aback by his sudden question, but she answered silently.
"A weapon?"
“No. Sleep.”
“Sleep...?”
“Yes. When people can’t sleep, this is where they go.”
His fingers lightly brushed Ariana’s temple. Even the brief touch was chilling.
“They’d go crazy. That’s why, even with the shortest rest, they try to fall into a deep, quick sleep. Warriors who are good at that survive longer. Isn’t that right, Louis?”
“Exactly.”
“You’re not in good health, and you’re suffering from severe muscle pain right now.”
Ariana’s face flushed at the thought of her condition being discovered.
“The bags under your eyes are hollow from lack of sleep. How long do you think you can escape like this? Do you think you can go far with a brain that’s not working because of lack of sleep?”
It was a valid point.
“I have nothing to gain by killing you, and neither does Louis, so you don’t have to worry about being attacked while you sleep.”
“I didn’t think Your Excellency would kill me.”
“Oh, you’re so confident. Then take a breather.”
Ariana sat back down.
If she had left like Cyrus had said, she would have collapsed before long. It was hard enough to even stand during the conversation.
Sleeping in front of a man, especially the Northern Duke, weighed heavily on her mind, but she quickly dismissed the thought.
“I decided to throw away my reputation and everything, and what is this situation?”
Ariana closed her eyes.
Cyrus’s voice mumbled as he gave Louis instructions. “I don’t think I can sleep,” she thought, and within seconds, Ariana fell into a deep sleep.
***
Louis, who had followed Cyrus’s instructions and inspected the area outside the cave, reported.
“The soldiers are searching the forest. Rachel Bronte will soon hear that the lady is missing.”
“Yes.”
“And it’s raining lightly. Judging by the conditions, it looks like it will last for several days.”
“Has Ten returned?”
Ten was a white eagle that Cyrus raised as a carrier pigeon.
“Yes. Noah and Isaac said they will search the cave exit on the other side and wait nearby.”
“Yes.”
Louis wondered if he would take Ariana to the North, but he had the patience to keep his curiosity to himself.
“I’ll go catch some fish for Duchess when she wakes up.”
“Yes.”
After Louis left, Cyrus leaned against the wall and watched Ariana. Just watching her sleep, he lost track of time. It had been that way since the Bronte mansion.
Talking to Ariana was enjoyable. The clever Ariana quickly discerned what her enemies were thinking and responded tactfully to Cyrus’s words.
How would she react if he said something like this? How would she fend them off next time?
Anticipating and observing Ariana’s moves was more fun than the performances of a renowned troupe on the continent.
To uncover and resolve the past, Cyrus had a lot to do. Having secured what he needed in the West, he should have rushed to the North, but he didn’t want to.
For Cyrus, who had always lived by the second, this kind of leisurely and procrastinating was a rare experience.
"Because she's worth using."
Cyrus repeated the thought he'd had countless times.
"If anything, I'd prefer the woman I'm using to have a good laugh."
With this completely unreasonable thought, Cyrus watched Ariana sleep.
***
He remembered sleeping on the hard floor of a cave. That's why he couldn't understand the warmth she felt the moment she woke up. She must have slept uncomfortably on the cold floor.
Puzzled, he felt his hand over the floor and found a soft cloth. Beneath it, there seemed to be a gentle blanket of leaves or straw.
The soft cloth gave off a familiar scent. He buried his face in the cloth, thinking it was a pleasant scent, but then he pulled away when he realized where he'd smelled it.
When he'd first met Ariana in the kitchen of Bronte Manor. When he'd embraced her, the maids appeared. When she'd buried her face in his chest.
It was the scent he'd smelled then.
A refreshing scent.
Only then did he realize the soft cloth was the cloak she'd been wearing.
His face flushed.
Buried in her scent, sniffing it, saying it was a pleasant scent.
He decided not to care about her reputation as a woman, but this was beyond that. It was foolish and shallow.
Ariana checked beyond the blanket to make sure no one was watching.
Thankfully, neither Cyrus nor Louis was in sight. The bag he'd shown her was still where Cyrus had been sitting before she fell asleep.
"Where did he go?"
Ariana slipped out of the blanket and gently lifted her cloak. Beneath it, a thick blanket of leaves, unearthed from somewhere, lay.
"There shouldn't be this many leaves yet."
The weather was finally starting to warm up, and young leaves were just beginning to sprout. She seen the forest trees before entering the cave, only a hint of green.
Gathering this much must have taken considerable effort and time. This was the first time she'd been treated this way, from her first life to now, and she was a little taken aback.
"I know you want something from me, but... You don't need to go this far."
Just what did you want that made you so kind?
"How long did you sleep, anyway?"
Inside the cave, she couldn't tell the passage of time.
Judging by the way her body felt, she must have slept quite a while.
Sleep was important, as Cyrus had said. A good night's sleep lifted her melancholy, and she felt ready for anything.
"Now that I've regained my stamina, I need to hurry and get moving. Where is everyone else? I think I should say I'm going before I go."
Ariana looked back at the lake a short distance from her bed.
The mushrooms gave off a faint glow, but the cave lake, devoid of light, seemed impossibly deep.
Ariana approached the lake, crouched down, and scooped up some water. Her fingers were freezing cold.
"I need to wash."
She hadn't washed since leaving the mansion. She'd sweated profusely, running from the attackers, and felt uneasy.
"My hair and face must be a mess."
Ariana looked around again.
As expected, Louis and Cyrus were nowhere to be seen.
"They're not hiding, are they?"
She squinted and carefully examined the dark cave, knowing their skills were beyond her ability to detect.
"They're out hunting, maybe?"
The water was so cold that it bothered her, but she wouldn't have many opportunities to wash again. Ariana hesitated for a moment before placing her hand on the strap holding her dress in place. Just as she was about to untie it from her fingers, whoosh!
A spray of water rose from the lake.
Startled, Ariana turned her gaze into the water.
The first thing she saw was white shoulders. Broad, firm, muscular shoulders. Then came his chest. A firm chest, so muscular it cast shadows.
Below his chest, his abdomen was etched with evenly sculpted abs, and his waist was slim, free of flab.
And...
Ariana, who had been staring intently down at the water as if admiring a beautiful work of art, stopped herself from looking any lower when she realized what it was.
She quickly raised her head and, preoccupied with his upper body, caught sight of her.
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