"Eh!"
It wasn't cool outside, and the cold wind made her sneeze.
After hesitating for a moment about where to go, Shioana quickly decided on her direction. Her heart was so tight that if she didn't talk to someone, her heart would burst. Except for the busy Martha, there was only one person she would find in this house.
She limped to the barn, but Etienne was not inside.
"Where the hell did you go tonight?"
Shioana leaned against the shabby door and waited for a few minutes, but all she could hear was the sound of the livestock. She stood up and looked around in all directions.
"I want to spend the rest of my time quietly."
As soon as she arrived at the moonlit lakeshore, Shioana's eyes widened.
With his back to her, Etienne was half-immersed in the lake.
Even though it was summer, the nights in Regbel were as cold as winter elsewhere.
Shioana took off her dress and ran frantically into the lake.
Etienne seemed to look back at the splashing sound, but he didn't react much.
"...Etienne! What are you doing?!"
She shouted. Etienne's red eyes were still blurred.
It was cold, but the dress that had been wet kept wrapping around her ankles, and she couldn't move fast.
Shioana, who barely reached the center of the lake, spread her hand and grabbed his shirt. Shioana's hand gave him a hint of light in his eyes.
"...?"
"...Even if it's hard! Why do you die!"
Shioana's furious voice made his pale face wrinkled.
There was nothing better than sweating to shake off his thoughts. However, after chopping a lot of firewood, this time Etienne's body was heated.
'Yes. I came to the lake to cool off from the heat...'
But he couldn't remember why he came so far.
After going through the major incident, Etienne sometimes behaves strangely. But what is certain is that he did not intend to die.
'No. Maybe this is sincere...''
Sometimes he wanted to let go of the strings of life like this.
When he was still in a daze, Shioana cried out.
"Why don't you answer anything! What will happen to me if you die!"
Her exposed shoulder was stiff, and her teeth crackled. When Etienne still didn't move, Shioana slammed his chest with her fist.
"Why do you do that? I'm asking! Without you, I..."
The pale-faced Shioana couldn't speak as well as she could. The sound of her cough made Etienne perceive reality directly. He had to get out of the icy lake right away.
He immediately picked up and hugged Shioana.
"...Etienne!"
Shioana, who was holding him, struggled on her feet, but Etienne silently walked out of the lake.
Then, after looking around for a while, he stopped at the small building near the lake. This place is a shelter for hunting, narrow, but suitable for staying for a while.
"Cough, you don't listen to me at all..."
After sitting Shioana on a rug made of animal skin, he quickly lit the stove. After a few attempts, a pungent smoke came out and soon caught fire.
"Eh!"
Etienne quickly brought a blanket from a small bed and wrapped it around Shioana's back.
As the wood fire burned, a scorching smell swirled inside the room. Etienne, who has scooped up water from outside, handed her warm water. As she silently held out her glass, Shioana grumbled with her blue lips.
"Don't expect to say thank you! If you hadn't tried to die, I wouldn't have been so wet."
Shioana's shoulders trembled slightly as she pressed her lips to the steaming glass.
"..."
Etienne coughed again and again and pouted.
To tell her no.
At first, he thought there was a sound of scraping iron from her throat, but then the original voice came out.
"I didn't mean to die."
"...?"
Surprised by the low and faint voice like a night air, she dropped the glass she was holding on the floor.
"Were you able to speak?"
"...Because there are some circumstances."
He looked at Shioana, who had wide eyes, and made a handsome face.
He didn't deliberately deceive her.
This was the first time in a long time that he had a conversation with someone.
The moment he witnessed the death of his beloved brother, he was speechless.
He could talk to himself, but when someone tried to talk to him, he choked. In such a state, Etienne crossed over to the Caspian Empire by boat.
'It doesn't matter if I can't speak.'
Everyone who wanted to talk to him was dead.
The sight of him calmly weaving his wet shirt made Shioana feverish.
"No, why did you go into the lake if you weren't going to die? Did you mean to swim?"
Even when Shioana questioned, he still remained silent. Etienne's piercing eyes touched her ankles, which were exposed under her dress.
"....?"
Surprised, Shioana quickly tried to hide her feet, but he was faster.
Etienne's large, veiny hand grabbed her ankle. His callused and rough hands touched the wound. Unlike the pain, a strange feeling spread through her ankles and throughout her body.
"...Oh."
Shioana tried to break away from the strange sensation, but his hand prevented her from moving.
"...You, you!"
For the first time, she knew that if a person is too frightened, she can't even scream. Trembling with fear, she was about to swing her arm when Etienne, who had taken off her shoes, jumped up.
"...Oh."
Looking at the massed shoes that were lying around, Shioana swept her chest down. He just took off her wet shoes.
'What the hell were you thinking?'
Even though Etienne has a corner where he is unruly, she knew he wasn't that bad.
"Would it be nice if you told me in advance?"
The same was true of the swing last time, and Etienne often surprised her in this way. Shioana, who was touching her hot cheeks, gave him a sharp voice as she examined the shelf.
"Are you listening to me?"
Embarassed, she hid her feet under her dress, and the wound was swept to the floor, and she screamed.
'What is this?'
When she looked at the mirror earlier, she had no idea that her debutante would be like this.
'Everything was a mess.'
This opportunity showed that she was just a rustic living in a rural estate. The others at the ball were all relaxed, and they were confident in their gestures and eyes.
What they have, what Shioana doesn't.
At that moment, Shioana, surprised by Etienne suddenly approaching behind her, shrank her shoulders.
He sat on his knee and put a towel on Shioana's head. Etienne whispered as he carefully wiped the water.
"If you leave it like this, you will catch a cold, Miss."
Soon, a pleasant bass brushed through Shioana's ears.
For some reason, her ears were itchy and twitched. Shioana, who was raising her hand to wipe her hot tears, lowered her eyes.
When did you start serving as a loyal servant?
'You've always been unruly.'
However, Etienne's touch was not bad, so she stayed still. On the contrary, it was good.
"It's ticklish, it's sweet."
A strange sound came from her intoxicated lips. Her body seemed to melt as it was.
"...Miss?"
Awakened by Etienne's voice, she sat up straight.
'I heard the word 'Miss every day, but why is that?'
Perhaps because the heat of the stove was so hot, her cheeks were warm.
"You! Don't talk too much!"
It didn't make sense.
Not long ago, she was so curious about his voice.
When Etienne opened his mouth, Shioana's heart kept pounding.
The sharp pain that started in the curled toes pressed down on her chest and made the top of her head hot. Then her shoulders slumped.
'...It's pathetic.'
Neither the ball nor the role of the owner was properly accomplished, and she was so immersed in water.
Even when Shioana was alone in agony, she continued to wipe off the water without saying a word.
Affectionate and gentle.
Shioana's eyelids, which had become accustomed to his hand movements, seemed to become really heavy, and the corners of her mouth became mushy.
'I shouldn't fall asleep...'
Her head, which had been staring blankly at the blazing flames, slowly swayed back and forth and soon fell down.
It was worth it.
They had been preparing for the ball since dawn, and she must have been tired of performing various dances to greet strangers.
On top of that, she jumped into the lake at night and got wet.
Shioana's heavy breathing echoed through the shelter, and Etienne bit his lips.
"... Every time I see you, you're so defenseless."
It wasn't a good sign.
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