Chapter 15

***

Sponsored chapter by AmberCrosby. Thank you ????

***

Vivian eventually took the chance to talk.

“That day, I was really absent-minded. My name is Vivian Lector.”

Vivian brought up her name that the man already knew.

It was an act knowing that the introduction would be reciprocated.

“My name is Hewson Audney, my lady.” 

Replied the man, who still beamed. His happy reaction felt a little overwhelming. If it wasn’t for the fence that was blocking the two, Hewson might have kissed Vivian’s hand.

Vivian’s eyes shifted to the face of the man she had not seen in a while, then noticed the uniform he was wearing. The emblem of the Imperial Knights, to be exact, on the chest. 

“Are you a Knight?”

“Yes, I’m a Knight of the Imperial Knights. Then why is Young lady here?” 

Hewson, who was babbling with a reminder, suddenly shut his mouth as he saw the man behind Vivian. Roger, in a ferocious mood, was watching him with his arms folded. He was so happy to see Vivian again that he couldn’t even see who was around her.

Roger’s eyes were fierce as if he wanted Hewson out of his sight. Hewson was horrified by the gaze directed at his neck.

“Oh, Lord Orpheus was there, too.”

“The Imperial Knights never come this way.”

Roger said calmly. Unlike when he corrected Vivian’s posture, he had a stiff voice. 

Vivian glanced up at him, wondering if he was in a bad mood. However, Roger’s sparkling eyes only stared at Hewson. It was like a carnivorous animal that was after it’s prey for a long time.

“Yes, I was just passing by, and I was happy to see her.”

Hewson had no idea how sad he was on the day of the banquet. Hewson knew that Count Lector had an only daughter, who was born with the power of spirituality and was sent to study abroad.

What he didn’t know was Vivian’s appearance.

It was the first time he encountered his ideal type. 

Beautiful as silk and white as snow, big eyes, plump nose and red lips. The main character of the banquet was Vivian by all accounts. The eyes on her for the first time in society were as hot as the heat of summer, and the men’s stares and gazes were fierce.

As soon as Hewson approached, the hordes of spirits rushed in like a waterfall, and he was irritated all the way to the top of his head.

On the same day, Vivian, who was alone, soon left her seat due to the Emperor’s call. Hewson quickly remembered who had taken Vivian with him.

It was the same as now.

At that time, Roger stood by her side and left the banquet hall with her.

Hewson, who fell in love with Vivian at first sight, didn’t want Roger by her side every time he ran into her. But he couldn’t confront him openly. Roger, not to mention his sword skills, was a man of great importance to the Emperor. He would’ve lost if he competed with his skills or status. 

“But it’s amazing to see you two together. What kind of relationship do you have?”

Still, it hurt his pride to pass by like this, and he was sure he would worry about it later, so he asked the question. Vivian, who blinked at Hewson’s question, glanced at Roger with an embarrassed expression. She looked like she didn’t know what to say because she couldn’t talk directly about the West-bound trip.

Roger opened his mouth as if he had read Vivian’s troubled mind.

“If you’re done talking, leave us alone.”

Hewson’s face, which had been forced to smile, was stiff. He didn’t expect a proper answer, but he didn’t expect to be ignored like this.

When his self-esteem, which he had hidden, was crushed, the corners of his mouth shook convulsively.

“My lady, are you learning swordsmanship?”

Hewson’s eyes quickly crossed over to Vivian.

“What? Oh, yes.”

He looked at Vivian’s costume and a wooden sword in her hand and quickly grasped the situation. 

Soon, Hewson smiled tenderly.

“The Imperial Knights would be better suited to learn swordsmanship from, than the Knights of Eckhart.”

It was a clear sarcasm. Why are you learning swordsmanship from a group of knights full of people with poor background, not from the Imperial Knights who are from a proud upbringing and protect justice?

Even Vivian could not have anticipated Roger’s inner thoughts.

She heard a smirk next to her. The atmosphere cooled as if the temperature had suddenly dropped all at once.

Vivian was somehow afraid to look back and look at Roger. It was easy to tell that Roger’s spirits had turned hideous just by looking at his face turning white on the other side. 

“Now.”

Roger’s voice has been completely changed as if he had crawled  from underground.

“Who are you admonishing in front of?” 

As soon as the darkness leaked out of his head, Vivian suddenly remembered the reputation of a crazy dog.

A dangerous situation unfolded.

Only then did Vivian glance back. Roger’s face was indifferent, but it was scarier. It’s scarier to look at people with cold energy than to yell at them.

It seems that Vivian is not the only one who is flabbergasted. On the other side, Hewson was frozen and said nothing.

‘Why are you rushing to attack when you can’t even take it back…’

Vivian thought she couldn’t understand Hewson’s bravado at all, but she didn’t show it.

A smiling Vivian opened her mouth to sort things out.

“The Knights of Eckhart’s teaching was excellent too.”

Vivian’s soft voice eased the serious atmosphere a little. Only then did Hewson wake up from being frozen and stared at Vivian with puzzled eyes.

“So I don’t think it’s something you should worry about.”

Vivian added, suppressing her soaring irritation. She spoke with courtesy, but the meaning it contained was, ‘It’s none of your business, so if you’re done greeting, leave.’ It was like that. If he didn’t even understand this, she wasn’t confident in getting him out of this situation anymore.

“Oh, well, I see. I’ve been presumptuous.”

But he doesn’t seem to be completely tactless.

As soon as he stepped back, Vivian smiled at him. Hewson could not react to her bright smile. It was because of Roger’s eyes staring at him from behind her.

What is this uneasy feeling? It was as if the tip of a sword was touching the back of his neck even though he was only looking at him eye to eye.

Hewson left his seat as if he were running away.

Vivian sighed silently as if relieved. Someone was beside her, almost touching her fingertips. Vivian easily recognized that it was Roger without having to turn her head.

“Let me see your hand.”

“Yes?”

He asked for Vivian’s hand out of the blue. The terrifying nature of trying to pop out at Hewson had long been wiped clean. The manner of courtesy was as nonchalant as if nothing had happened. 

Vivian reached out to him in a daze. Vivian moaned faintly as his finger rubbed the middle of her palm.

Even though it was a very small sound, Roger noticed and frowned. 

“Does it hurt a lot?” 

“Well, it’s bearable.”

“It’ll get worse by tomorrow.” he murmured as if he were worried.

Vivian expected it. She had swung a wooden sword a thousand times, so it was certain she would get blisters.

“Let’s put some ointment on it,”

Roger said quietly and began to take a big step. Vivian followed him to say no, but his steps were too fast to catch up. 

Eventually, Vivian entered the Eckhart Order’s former palace. As soon as he opened the door at the end of the hallway, he pointed toward the sofa. His behavior was so natural that Vivian had already sat on the sofa.

As Vivian belatedly tried to get up from the seat, her side had become occupied. He found the ointment and sat next to Vivian.

He opened the lid of the ointment can. 

“Hand.”

“….. What?”

“I asked for your hand.”

‘I’ll put it on.”

Vivian tried to take the tin of ointment from his hand, but he avoided it. Vivian looked at him and at the ointment alternately with round eyes. Roger repeatedly said with a brazen face.

“I’ll do it for you.”

You can at least refuse if he was someone comfortable to speak with. However, it was not easy to refuse because the opponent was too tough.

Vivian smiled embarrassingly, but he also didn’t back down easily. They stared eye to eye for a while but it was her who lowered her tail first. She just gave up because she knew very well how persistent this man was through her dream experience.

“…… Like this.”

Roger grabbed Vivian by the wrist and her mouth opened at the same time.

“Do you take care of people like this?”

Based on the rumors, this has probably never happened before. She heard that this man had such a sensitive personality that it was hard to deal with unless they were a great man.

But for Vivian, everything about him was unexpected.

In front of her, he was so gentle that it was hard to see the reputation of a crazy dog, and so was what he was doing. The act of applying direct ointment to her was inconsistent with his known personality. 

Roger, who was scooping out a lot of white creamy ointment and applying it to Vivian’s palm, smirked. He reacted as if he had heard something funny.

“No way.”

“……..”

That useless personality, you’re mean.

So who am I seeing now?

The words were at the tip of her tongue, but she patiently held it in. Somehow she couldn’t ask. If she asks this question, she might start talking about the dreams she’s been having.

Their relationship was not strong enough to openly talk to him yet. She wasn’t even sure if he was going through the same dream. As far as s*x is concerned, there must be some degree of certainty before she brings it up. 

If he wasn’t the one in the dream, she would be a disgrace to the world.

” ········.”

Vivian, who was wondering what to say to him, flinched at the touch that was rubbing her palm. The hand that pressed down on the numb palm was merciless.

“You’re going to have a hard time tomorrow.”

“Oh, it hurts, wait!”

Roger rubbed Vivian’s palm with his eyes on her face. Vivian’s lips automatically groaned, as the force was quite palpable. It was quite embarrassing to groan even though she wasn’t doing anything racy. It was beyond her control, beyond her will.

“Does it hurt a lot?”

Vivian’s eyes were red, and before he knew it, she punched his head.

I’m not kidding. It hurt a lot.