"...It's me, Etienne."
She hurriedly approached him and knelt beside Etienne. Etienne, lying down with his hat pulled down low, had his eyes closed.
Beneath his sharply extended nose, his red lips caught her eye. He looked like a prince in the forest who had fallen asleep under a witch's curse. Mesmerized by his graceful figure, she cautiously reached out her hand.
"Thank god."
As she placed her hand under the nose, she felt a faint breath. However, she did not know what to do next. She did not know where the pain was, and since she was not a doctor, she could not treat it properly.
It was Etienne, not her, who needed to be shown to the doctor.
"What if it leaves a scar?"
The scratch under his eye was healing. Just then, Etienne coughed, and Shioana covered him with the blanket she had brought.
"Etienne, what more can I do for you?"
A white haze spread across the corners of Shioana's mouth as she sat leaning against the straw. The inside of the barn was just as cold as the outside, cold enough to cause illness that didn't exist before.
Just then, with a rustling sound, a large hand touched her shoulder.
"...?"
At his touch, Shioana turned around and could see Etienne's hazy eyes. Shioana urgently clutched his hand and bombarded him with questions.
"So I woke you up? How are you feeling? Martha said she thinks your arm is broken; is that true? Are you hurt anywhere else?"
The entire time she lay there, her heart was here. She could not possibly feel reassured by the trivial news Martha delivered. Thoughts of Etienne, who had protected her even while bleeding, would not leave her mind.
"...Mmm."
"...Etienne. It's me."
Seeing his face, which still did not recognize her, Shioana cautiously opened her mouth. It was the exact same face she had seen at the cold lake a while ago.
His eyes seemed like he was dreaming, giving the impression that he was wandering in search of a place far away rather than here. Feeling that he would leave forever if left alone like this, Shioana tightened her grip on his wrist even more.
"...Smillax."
Etienne whispered very softly.
"...Etienne. You didn't hit your head, did you? Or are you blind?"
Shioana's face turned pale as she looked at Etienne, calling her by a strange name. Etienne slowly rose to his feet, looking down at Shioana's hand that was holding his.
'When was Etienne's first love? I think I met mine recently.'
He wore an indifferent expression at Edwin's triumphant look. It was surprising that his younger brother, who was still so young, had fallen in love for the first time.
'I haven't done that yet either.'
He quietly attended balls and met many ladies, but no woman caught his eye. He was still more interested in swordsmanship training or reading books.
'Well, did I ever have something like that?'
As he watched Etienne try to gloss over the situation, his younger sibling clung to his arm.
'If you ever meet a lady like that later, please be sure to introduce her to me. I would like to give her a wonderful gift.'
However, his younger brother, who used to look at him with sparkling eyes, was dead, and the only one left here was Etienne, who had fallen into a foolish first love.
The woman he called Smillax harbored an unhidden passion in her blue eyes.
"It is said that Crocus's love could never be fulfilled."
Because Crocus was an ordinary human and Smillax was a forest fairy. Their love was bound to end in tragedy.
"...Etienne! What have you been talking about for a while now?"
Shioana choked back tears as she buried her head in Etienne's embrace. He did not look well. She felt even more anxious, recalling Martha's words that many people say strange things before they die.
"Etienne, you have a high fever right now."
His body was as hot as if touched. She fumbled with Etienne's forehead, quickly took out a fever reducer, and poured it onto a spoon.
"Let's take the medicine first. If you don't bring the fever down, something serious will happen."
She brought the spoon to his mouth, but he did not open his lips. As she strained to force him to eat, Etienne snatched her wrist and pressed his lips against hers. As a result, the sticky potion and the spoon were scattered across the straw.
"Smillax, why didn't you appear in my dream?"
Ever since the day he saved Shioana from being buried under a pile of wood, Etienne had been constantly curious about her whereabouts.
'But there was nothing I could do.'
He had severely sprained his ankle and wrist, and with branches embedded deep in his back and shoulder, he lay motionless.
He couldn't even properly eat the food and medicine Joseph and Martha had brought. He didn't dare to wrap a cloth around his wound.
'...Father, Edwin.'
He did not regret his choice to become a slave of the Caspian Empire, but seeing himself in this situation, he wondered what the point of living was. It was ridiculous to be in this state, unable to even move his own body as he pleased.
He had fled to live as his younger brother wished, but he kept doubting whether he was truly alive. However, whenever he was about to let go of the thread of life, Shioana's blue eyes flickered before his eyes.
'I do not want to send Shioana to a man like that.'
The moment the branch broke, he saw it clearly. Instead of saving Shioana, Count Noah fled and escaped the danger.
'That fellow definitely won't be able to make her happy.'
However, in this situation, he couldn't exactly ask Shioana to come to him. He was tormented, unable to hold her hand, nor to let her go.
"I'm not Smillax or anything like that. I'm Shioana!"
"... Shioana."
At the whisper of Etienne, who was trembling violently, Shioana nodded.
“Yes, it’s me.”
"My mistress, Shioana."
As he slowly lowered his head after meeting her straight in the eyes, Shioana naturally lowered her gaze. Pressing her pounding heart tightly, she lifted her head, and Etienne cupped her chin with both hands.
His hand, trembling slightly, gently stroked Shioana's cheek and neck.
"Open your eyes. Look closely at who I am."
"...E, Etienne."
As Shioana, with flushed cheeks, whispered his name, Etienne lightly kissed her.
"...Ha."
His lips were like a burning inferno.
Even though it was just a slight brush, Shioana's body boiled with heat. It was a completely different feeling from the kiss shared through the back of the hand.
"You need to take your medicine now."
Barely managing to suppress her pounding heart, Shioana took out the fever reducer she had brought and took a sip of the liquid medicine.
She reached out her arms, grabbed Etienne's neck, and pressed her lips against his.
"...Ugh."
At Shioana's sudden kiss, Etienne gulped down the medicine she handed him. Seeing his Adam's apple bob, a strange sense of satisfaction spread through Shioana's chest.
She was infinitely happy right now, held in Etienne's arms with their lips pressed together. Shioana choked up with tears at the feeling of completeness she had never experienced before.
She pulled her lips away, wiped the medicine that had dripped down the corner of his mouth, and ordered him to lie down again.
"Etienne, now that you've taken your medicine, you'll be fine."
After covering him with the cloth brought, she even took off her own cloak and gave it to him. However, Etienne shivered all over and felt cold, as if he had a chill.
"... It's cold."
"Etienne, what should I do?"
She wanted to lay him down on a comfortable bed in a room where she could light a stove, but that was impossible at the moment. Shioana pondered what she could do and looked around.
"It's okay. There's no one here, and Etienne is sick."
She slowly took off the dress she was wearing and was now dressed in a thin chemise. Her cheeks flushed for no reason, and she didn't know where to look. It was the first time she had shown herself dressed like this to anyone other than Martha.
Shioana cleared her throat softly and slowly burrowed into the seat beside him. Etienne, who had closed his eyes for a moment while suffering from a high fever, came to his senses at the soft hair touching the nape of his neck.
"...Smillax, tonight's dream is truly sweet."
He was still not fully recovered due to a high fever.
Etienne, speaking in a hoarse voice, held her tightly in his arms. His strong arms wrapped around her waist, while the other wrapped around her shoulders. At his gesture that he would not let her go anywhere, Shioana's eyes welled up with tears.
"Etienne, this isn't a dream."
The two of them were not like bubbles that vanish after waking. Because their bodies touching were this hot, and their hearts were beating fiercely.
However, Shioana, who was hugging his excessively hot body, could not shake off her anxiety.
'The fever will go down, right? It will.'
Clutching his burning body, Shioana prayed all night long.
Begging that Etienne wake up safely, promising to do anything for that,
Rattling and rattling, the barn roof made a noisy sound as if it were about to fly away. It was certainly impossible to block the draft in the barn with only thin cloth and a cloak.
Whenever that happened, Shioana hugged him even tighter. Shame was long forgotten, and she tried her best to keep the cold wind from touching Etienne's body. As the wind grew stronger, the embrace between the two grew more tender.
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