(34) Seeping Warmth (4)
He had a look of amusement on his face.
Ariana froze, blinking.
He brushed his wet hair back, revealing his smooth forehead. His dark, ash-colored eyebrows rose slightly, and water droplets ran down his face.
The long eyelashes that adorned his peach-like eyes were damp, exuding a decadent aura. The water droplets on his cheeks shone strangely.
He looked at Ariana, who was staring at him, her mouth wide open, and said,
“You're drooling.”
Ariana suddenly came to her senses and closed her mouth.
She blinked, only to realize she was looking at his naked body, and hurriedly turned around.
Swoosh— swoosh—
The sound of him parting the water and walking toward the lakeside pierced her ears.
Her heart pounded, but she couldn’t figure out why.
This wasn't the first time she'd seen a man's body, yet she couldn't understand why her legs kept giving out.
His body, like a well-crafted statue, floated before her eyes.
Ariana gently grabbed her skirt, calming her racing heart.
By the time he stepped onto the lakeshore, Ariana's composure had returned.
She heard the sound of dressing.
"Did you sleep well?"
Cyrus asked casually, as if nothing had happened.
Ariana pursed her lips and then cautiously answered.
"Yes."
"My hands will do what I want, Louis."
When Ariana persisted, Louis stopped interfering.
The two headed to the lakeside to wash the dishes.
They sat side by side, washing them. The water was cold, and their hands were numb, but Ariana was used to it. She'd even had her hands bruised and bled several times while washing dishes in cold water in the middle of winter.
"Does His Excellency travel this often?"
Louis asked, glancing back at Ariana.
"Are you curious about my lord?"
All this time, Louis had seen Cyrus and Ariana's relationship as nothing more than a one-sided courtship. Ariana's cold demeanor was clearly pushing Cyrus away.
However, judging by the fact that she was asking questions about Cyrus, she seemed to be a bit more interested. A good feeling begins with curiosity about the other person.
Louis was tight-lipped, but she happily answered the future Duchess's question.
"He often does."
"Doesn't everyone feel uneasy when the Northern Duke is away from the North for a long time?"
"There's someone who handles things while he's away."
"I guess His Excellency trusts him a lot."
"Yes."
“Is concealment... magic?”
Ariana thought Louis wouldn't answer honestly. It was common for warriors to keep their skills to themselves.
But Louis answered without hesitation.
"It's a skill. It can be used with training, but not many know how to train."
"Then, His Excellency, the ice he used..."
"It's magic."
"Can Louis use it too?"
"A little."
Louis glanced back to check what Cyrus was doing, then sat close to Ariana. She then raised her palm.
Tiny ice beads appeared on Louis' palm. Ariana watched in amazement as they bloomed and vanished like brilliant flowers.
"It's beautiful."
"What he uses, my lord, is the most beautiful and powerful."
"I envy you. Even though you're a woman, Louis is strong and can even use magic."
"The previous Duchess was stronger than I."
"Can I become strong too?"
Louis's heart pounded at Ariana's question.
Ariana was undoubtedly interested in Cyrus. Hearing that the previous Duchess was strong, she yearned to become one herself. While strength wasn't a prerequisite for becoming a Duchess, Louis decided to create an opportunity for Cyrus.
"My lord is also an excellent instructor. If you learn from him, you too will become strong."
Unaware of Louis's thoughts, Ariana turned to Cyrus. The picturesque beauty paid no attention to her, continuing to polish his sword.
A series of events had taught Ariana that her body was woefully weak, and with such a fragile body, she would constantly be in danger.
While she always planned her next move, if she had the skills to protect herself, things would be easier.
However, asking for instruction was a different matter.
People were reluctant to share their martial arts. They only shared their skills with those they trusted, fearing someone might stab them in the back at any moment.
'The Northern Duke wouldn't teach me.'
Louis said, as if reading Ariana's thoughts.
“I will tell my lord.”
He had a look of amusement on his face.
Ariana froze, blinking.
He brushed his wet hair back, revealing his smooth forehead. His dark, ash-colored eyebrows rose slightly, and water droplets ran down his face.
The long eyelashes that adorned his peach-like eyes were damp, exuding a decadent aura. The water droplets on his cheeks shone strangely.
He looked at Ariana, who was staring at him, her mouth wide open, and said,
“You're drooling.”
Ariana suddenly came to her senses and closed her mouth.
She blinked, only to realize she was looking at his naked body, and hurriedly turned around.
Swoosh— swoosh—
The sound of him parting the water and walking toward the lakeside pierced her ears.
Her heart pounded, but she couldn’t figure out why.
This wasn't the first time she'd seen a man's body, yet she couldn't understand why her legs kept giving out.
His body, like a well-crafted statue, floated before her eyes.
Ariana gently grabbed her skirt, calming her racing heart.
By the time he stepped onto the lakeshore, Ariana's composure had returned.
She heard the sound of dressing.
"Did you sleep well?"
Cyrus asked casually, as if nothing had happened.
Ariana pursed her lips and then cautiously answered.
"Yes."
"I guess you came to wash."
"I was taking a walk, hoping to wake you up, Your Excellency."
"I won't watch, so wash. I don't enjoy watching others bathe."
"...Neither do I, Your Excellency."
"Oh."
He let out an incomprehensible exclamation and strode towards the bed.
His retreating figure was so imposing, unlike someone caught bathing, that it made her wonder if she was hallucinating.
Cyrus returned to the campsite and sat down on a rock. He watched Ariana stand there blankly.
“Does my presence bother you?”
“No. It’s just that the water is too cold for washing.”
“Oh, it must be cold for you. I’ll have Louis find a tub to heat it.”
“I appreciate your kindness, but please don’t. I’ll have plenty of opportunities to wash.”
Ariana walked over to Cyrus, clasped her hands together, and stood respectfully.
“Your Excellency, I will cherish your kindness and consideration. Thanks to you, I have rested and recovered, so I will now be leaving.”
“It’s raining.”
“Yes?”
“Heavy rain.”
Ariana tried to remember.
It certainly rained a lot this time of year.
A little rain wouldn’t be a big deal, but the downpour in the mountains was different.
“It keeps getting put off.”
She had left Bronte Manor, but she wasn’t completely free from Rachel’s clutches.
By now, Rachel had probably heard reports of Ariana's disappearance, and many people were probably out searching for her.
Perhaps she'd hired several assassins, pretending to look for her, and given orders to kill her upon finding her.
She wanted to escape from the West as quickly as possible.
"The mountain path is dangerous in the rain. It looks like it'll rain for another two days, so let's rest for another day and leave tomorrow. Then, the rain should stop by the time we leave the cave."
"Yes, that would be good."
As Ariana swallowed a sigh and replied, Louis was outside the cave, rendezvoused with Noah and Isaac.
Looking up at the sky, now clear from the rain last night, Louis muttered,
"The weather is really nice."
Isaac frowned.
"You're leaving tomorrow? Why? Is the Duchess really that bad?"
"Your Excellency says he needs some time to win her over so he can use her."
"... Is he still saying that?"
"Yes. If we keep up with the lady's pace, I think we'll be able to get out of here in three days."
"I'm dying. It's taking much longer than I thought. It's not Her Excellency who's going to get in trouble with Duke Herne, it's me."
Noah smirked at Isaac, who was looking embarrassed.
"But if we go with the Duchess, Duke Herne won't be angry either."
"Well, that's true... How's the Duchess? The letter said she was badly injured."
"It's gotten a little better with Isaac's ointment, but it looks like there'll be a scar."
“Yes, of course. It was made for monsters with steel skin like you and me. It wouldn’t be good for a woman to have scars on her skin.”
Isaac tapped his thigh with his index finger before saying,
“We don’t have to wait here, do we?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll wait in the village beyond that city. I need to make a potion that won’t leave a scar.”
“Yes, His Excellency will be pleased.”
“Is it that much?”
“Yes?”
“Are you so enamored that His Excellency would be pleased by the promise of a potion that won’t leave a scar for his Duchess?”
“Yes. Actually...”
Louis was a quiet woman, but Cyrus’s attitude toward Ariana was so surprising that she wanted to tell someone.
But she couldn’t reveal everything, so she carefully selected and pulled out the most powerful one.
“It seems that His Excellency was concerned about sleeping on the hard cave floor, so he went outside and gathered a bunch of leaves to make a bed. He also spread his cloak on top of it.”
“Huh!”
“Ugh!”
Isaac and Noah made strange noises.
The two men covered their mouths with their hands and stood there for a moment, their eyes wide open. Finally, Noah said,
“Louis, you’ve been lying so much since I last saw you?”
“I’m not lying.”
“You're lying. Even if His Excellency is deeply in love with a woman, there’s no way he would do something like that. Isn’t that right, Master Isaac?”
“Yes. That’s right. His Excellency, preparing a woman’s bed? Hahaha. That was a really funny joke, Louis.”
Isaac said, patting Louis on the shoulder.
Louis considered protesting that it was true, but decided against it.
They would soon witness the amazing sight anyway.
Ariana had never spent this much time in the same space with another person.
Even when she was Ariana Bronte, or Ariana Alfreich, they had never shared three meals a day, from morning to night.
Let alone when that person was Northern Duke Cyrus Carha. It was exhausting, worrying so much about finding fault with him that she was constantly on guard.
Unlike Ariana, who sat rigidly, watching him closely, he was almost annoyingly relaxed and at ease.
After a sumptuous breakfast of fish and game Louis had caught, he leaned against the wall and polished his sword. Ariana tried to help Louis clear the dishes, but Louis stopped her.
“Duchess, you shouldn’t be doing this.”
“I’m not Duchess, and I’m used to this kind of thing.”
“Then you should be clumsy.”
Louis carefully grabbed Ariana’s wrist as she headed for the dishes. Her violet eyes stared intently at her.
“You shouldn’t be using your precious hands for this.”
The sincerity in her voice made her heart flutter.
No one had ever treated Ariana’s hands this well.
Even the Third Prince, who spoke so affectionately, had made her do all sorts of dirty work. So Ariana lived her life as if all of this was her responsibility.
She was grateful for Louis's consideration, but she didn't want to get used to it. Once in the Eastern Realm, who knows how the Eastern Duke might try to use Ariana? She had no intention of doing the work of maidservants as she had in the Western Realm, but she didn't harbor any hope of living as lazily as a Princess either.
"Oh."
He let out an incomprehensible exclamation and strode towards the bed.
His retreating figure was so imposing, unlike someone caught bathing, that it made her wonder if she was hallucinating.
Cyrus returned to the campsite and sat down on a rock. He watched Ariana stand there blankly.
“Does my presence bother you?”
“No. It’s just that the water is too cold for washing.”
“Oh, it must be cold for you. I’ll have Louis find a tub to heat it.”
“I appreciate your kindness, but please don’t. I’ll have plenty of opportunities to wash.”
Ariana walked over to Cyrus, clasped her hands together, and stood respectfully.
“Your Excellency, I will cherish your kindness and consideration. Thanks to you, I have rested and recovered, so I will now be leaving.”
“It’s raining.”
“Yes?”
“Heavy rain.”
Ariana tried to remember.
It certainly rained a lot this time of year.
A little rain wouldn’t be a big deal, but the downpour in the mountains was different.
“It keeps getting put off.”
She had left Bronte Manor, but she wasn’t completely free from Rachel’s clutches.
By now, Rachel had probably heard reports of Ariana's disappearance, and many people were probably out searching for her.
Perhaps she'd hired several assassins, pretending to look for her, and given orders to kill her upon finding her.
She wanted to escape from the West as quickly as possible.
"The mountain path is dangerous in the rain. It looks like it'll rain for another two days, so let's rest for another day and leave tomorrow. Then, the rain should stop by the time we leave the cave."
"Yes, that would be good."
As Ariana swallowed a sigh and replied, Louis was outside the cave, rendezvoused with Noah and Isaac.
Looking up at the sky, now clear from the rain last night, Louis muttered,
"The weather is really nice."
***
Isaac frowned.
"You're leaving tomorrow? Why? Is the Duchess really that bad?"
"Your Excellency says he needs some time to win her over so he can use her."
"... Is he still saying that?"
"Yes. If we keep up with the lady's pace, I think we'll be able to get out of here in three days."
"I'm dying. It's taking much longer than I thought. It's not Her Excellency who's going to get in trouble with Duke Herne, it's me."
Noah smirked at Isaac, who was looking embarrassed.
"But if we go with the Duchess, Duke Herne won't be angry either."
"Well, that's true... How's the Duchess? The letter said she was badly injured."
"It's gotten a little better with Isaac's ointment, but it looks like there'll be a scar."
“Yes, of course. It was made for monsters with steel skin like you and me. It wouldn’t be good for a woman to have scars on her skin.”
Isaac tapped his thigh with his index finger before saying,
“We don’t have to wait here, do we?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll wait in the village beyond that city. I need to make a potion that won’t leave a scar.”
“Yes, His Excellency will be pleased.”
“Is it that much?”
“Yes?”
“Are you so enamored that His Excellency would be pleased by the promise of a potion that won’t leave a scar for his Duchess?”
“Yes. Actually...”
Louis was a quiet woman, but Cyrus’s attitude toward Ariana was so surprising that she wanted to tell someone.
But she couldn’t reveal everything, so she carefully selected and pulled out the most powerful one.
“It seems that His Excellency was concerned about sleeping on the hard cave floor, so he went outside and gathered a bunch of leaves to make a bed. He also spread his cloak on top of it.”
“Huh!”
“Ugh!”
Isaac and Noah made strange noises.
The two men covered their mouths with their hands and stood there for a moment, their eyes wide open. Finally, Noah said,
“Louis, you’ve been lying so much since I last saw you?”
“I’m not lying.”
“You're lying. Even if His Excellency is deeply in love with a woman, there’s no way he would do something like that. Isn’t that right, Master Isaac?”
“Yes. That’s right. His Excellency, preparing a woman’s bed? Hahaha. That was a really funny joke, Louis.”
Isaac said, patting Louis on the shoulder.
Louis considered protesting that it was true, but decided against it.
They would soon witness the amazing sight anyway.
***
Ariana had never spent this much time in the same space with another person.
Even when she was Ariana Bronte, or Ariana Alfreich, they had never shared three meals a day, from morning to night.
Let alone when that person was Northern Duke Cyrus Carha. It was exhausting, worrying so much about finding fault with him that she was constantly on guard.
Unlike Ariana, who sat rigidly, watching him closely, he was almost annoyingly relaxed and at ease.
After a sumptuous breakfast of fish and game Louis had caught, he leaned against the wall and polished his sword. Ariana tried to help Louis clear the dishes, but Louis stopped her.
“Duchess, you shouldn’t be doing this.”
“I’m not Duchess, and I’m used to this kind of thing.”
“Then you should be clumsy.”
Louis carefully grabbed Ariana’s wrist as she headed for the dishes. Her violet eyes stared intently at her.
“You shouldn’t be using your precious hands for this.”
The sincerity in her voice made her heart flutter.
No one had ever treated Ariana’s hands this well.
Even the Third Prince, who spoke so affectionately, had made her do all sorts of dirty work. So Ariana lived her life as if all of this was her responsibility.
She was grateful for Louis's consideration, but she didn't want to get used to it. Once in the Eastern Realm, who knows how the Eastern Duke might try to use Ariana? She had no intention of doing the work of maidservants as she had in the Western Realm, but she didn't harbor any hope of living as lazily as a Princess either.
"My hands will do what I want, Louis."
When Ariana persisted, Louis stopped interfering.
The two headed to the lakeside to wash the dishes.
They sat side by side, washing them. The water was cold, and their hands were numb, but Ariana was used to it. She'd even had her hands bruised and bled several times while washing dishes in cold water in the middle of winter.
"Does His Excellency travel this often?"
Louis asked, glancing back at Ariana.
"Are you curious about my lord?"
All this time, Louis had seen Cyrus and Ariana's relationship as nothing more than a one-sided courtship. Ariana's cold demeanor was clearly pushing Cyrus away.
However, judging by the fact that she was asking questions about Cyrus, she seemed to be a bit more interested. A good feeling begins with curiosity about the other person.
Louis was tight-lipped, but she happily answered the future Duchess's question.
"He often does."
"Doesn't everyone feel uneasy when the Northern Duke is away from the North for a long time?"
"There's someone who handles things while he's away."
"I guess His Excellency trusts him a lot."
"Yes."
“Is concealment... magic?”
Ariana thought Louis wouldn't answer honestly. It was common for warriors to keep their skills to themselves.
But Louis answered without hesitation.
"It's a skill. It can be used with training, but not many know how to train."
"Then, His Excellency, the ice he used..."
"It's magic."
"Can Louis use it too?"
"A little."
Louis glanced back to check what Cyrus was doing, then sat close to Ariana. She then raised her palm.
Tiny ice beads appeared on Louis' palm. Ariana watched in amazement as they bloomed and vanished like brilliant flowers.
"It's beautiful."
"What he uses, my lord, is the most beautiful and powerful."
"I envy you. Even though you're a woman, Louis is strong and can even use magic."
"The previous Duchess was stronger than I."
"Can I become strong too?"
Louis's heart pounded at Ariana's question.
Ariana was undoubtedly interested in Cyrus. Hearing that the previous Duchess was strong, she yearned to become one herself. While strength wasn't a prerequisite for becoming a Duchess, Louis decided to create an opportunity for Cyrus.
"My lord is also an excellent instructor. If you learn from him, you too will become strong."
Unaware of Louis's thoughts, Ariana turned to Cyrus. The picturesque beauty paid no attention to her, continuing to polish his sword.
A series of events had taught Ariana that her body was woefully weak, and with such a fragile body, she would constantly be in danger.
While she always planned her next move, if she had the skills to protect herself, things would be easier.
However, asking for instruction was a different matter.
People were reluctant to share their martial arts. They only shared their skills with those they trusted, fearing someone might stab them in the back at any moment.
'The Northern Duke wouldn't teach me.'
Louis said, as if reading Ariana's thoughts.
“I will tell my lord.”
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