Chapter 16

Thank you so much for the Ko-FI

support Rosa.❤️

It was strange that she didn’t get irritated when he pressed down on the stinging spot. Roger wiggled the corners of his mouth and slightly changed his ruthless touch. This time, it was a gentle touch like acupressure.

“Ah…..”

Maybe it was because he rubbed it with cream, but it felt weird.

At first, she thought it was a little itchy, but a strange sensation that caused her to bend her back flowed down her spine. Vivian twisted her wrist to escape, but it was impossible because she was bent firmly.

“Wait, wait, Sir.”

“What’s wrong?”

He asked in a nonchalant, dry voice. Vivian was the only one who couldn’t move her body.

His thick fingers, which touched her palm, tangled with Vivian’s fingers. His fingers moved as smoothly as if he were playing on the piano.

“It tickled, so…”

“Where did it tickle?”

The question was more of an attempt to embarrass her than a real question. But Vivian, with all her nerves focused on her hand, didn’t notice.

The touch of rubbing the inside of her creamy hand was strange. At that moment, his and her hands were completely intertwined. It had been a long time since the ointment had been applied to her hand. She was the only one who needed the ointment.

Roger turned her hand and pulled it toward him.

“I have a question.”

He said, speaking loosely, without forgetting to tickle Vivian’s hand. Vivian looked up at him with wary eyes. She didn’t know why, but she got goosebumps the moment she looked into his eyes that seemed to have stolen the color of the sun.

“Do you know him well?”

I can’t quite understand what he’s saying because I’m so out of it. 

Vivian stared silently at the man with a shaky gaze as his fingers pressed down on her palm. When the gentle movement revealed his claws, she came to her senses as if she had been shocked. Pain spread from the area that was in contact with him. 

It wasn’t physical pain, it was Roger, she felt him deeply embedded in her chest.

“Well, who is it?”

“The Knight from the Imperial Order”.

She could feel dissatisfaction in his tone of voice.

Vivian quickly realized who he was talking about. He meant Hewson Audney, who was showing too much interest in her outside the fence of the training ground.

“No. I don’t know him.”

I wasn’t obligated to answer him. But I felt like I had to answer for some reason. It was because the hand that was caught by him right now felt like a hostage.

He spread the knotted ointment on Vivian’s hand again with his fingers. It was just a touch to apply evenly, but it felt too sensual.

“You seem to be very pleased with that answer.”

The complaint became more explicit. It was so obvious that even Vivian noticed it.

Vivian was extremely sympathetic toward Hewson. Hewson was overjoyed with Vivian, whom he had only met at the banquet hall.

Yeah, like a guy who has a thing for her. 

“……. I don’t know. It was only a brief encounter at the banquet hall.”

But Vivian chose to pretend not to know him instead of sympathizing. The decision was made with the assumption that it would be no good to pretend to know Hewson here. He, who was staring at Vivian,  questioning if it was true or not, soon closed his eyes. Then he let go of the hand he had been holding. 

Under his persistent touch, the ointment was well applied without clumping.

“It would be better to put on some medicine tomorrow as well.”

After the treatment, Roger returned in a nonchalant manner.

Vivian nodded, still wriggling her hand left with a tickling sensation.

“’How was it today?”

“Oh, it was more fun than I had expected.” 

Roger grinned as he closed the lid of the ointment.

“You wouldn’t have said that easily if I had taught you myself.”

He wouldn’t give me any time to relax. 

Vivian forced a smile even though she seemed to have cramps around her mouth.

“Then I’d be happy to decline.”

“That’s too bad.”

He looked like he just played a trick on her.

“You don’t look that way.”

Vivian raised her body, answering in moderation.

With hands like this, it would be too much to train more today. Roger rose up after her approaching the door.

The two of them came out of the palace without saying a word.

“Shouldn’t I say goodbye to Sir Enka?”

Vivian asked Roger before getting on the carriage. She seemed to want to say bye to Enka who looked after her today.

“I’ll give her your message, so go back and rest.”

Roger pushed her steadily into the carriage, ignoring Vivian’s innermost thoughts.

The door closed, and the carriage carrying Vivian instantly drifted away like a small dot. Watching her go back, Roger turned and headed for the training ground not long after.

The training ground was noisy for some reason.

“What?” 

Roger approached the crowd with a somehow ill-tempered face.

At the heart of the raucous herd was the vice captain, Tainy.

“Is the Captain here?” 

The Knights looked at Roger, beginning with a playful greeting rather than polite.

It’s been a while since they’ve been together, but Roger was still a scary being to the Knights. In particular, his past as a mercenary  was so clearly engraved in their minds. He was an ally, but the Knights couldn’t even pray properly at the time because of the Captain’s brutality. Now that the memory of the day was clear, it was impossible for the Knights to treat Roger comfortably.

“What are you talking about?”

They thought they’d be threatened if they didn’t train. Roger stepped in the chatter for some reason.

Everyone was so excited that they began to open their mouths again.

“We were talking about Lady Lector.”

Roger’s eyebrows furrowed after hearing that.

“What’s wrong with Lady Lector?”

He uttered in a lowered voice. It bothered him that Vivian was the talk of the town amongst so many men. Today, there have been countless changes of heart. 

Everyone kept their mouth shut immediately at his unpredictable change of tone. Tainy, who was close to him, said, scratching his head.

“These days, I hear the Lady is the eye of the typhoon.”

“Eye of the typhoon?”

“Society. She’s a big hit.”

Tainy waved with an innocent smile. It seemed as if Vivian’s popularity was unthinkable from his gestures.

“Oh, by the way. I think a Knight was talking to the Lady. What did he say?”

“Isn’t the Imperial Knights more appropriate than us to teach her swordsmanship?”

At Roger’s easy-going words, the Knights’ eyes looked frightening.

They were a lot better these days, but not necessarily when you looked deep inside them. Sometimes, when they thought they were being made light of, their dark nature comes out.

“Did you leave it alone?”

“I was with Lady Lector.”

Tainy nodded that he understood and then paused. It was because Roger’s behavior felt strange. As far as anyone knew, Roger was not the kind of man who would control his temper just because someone was around him.

Suddenly, the short conversation with Enka occurred to him. In particular, Tainy’s own derision of Enka.

“I guess he likes my lady.”

Tainy was about to ask his boss if Enka’s words were true, but closed his mouth after realizing that there were so many knights around them.

After the Knights’ training, Roger left to wash up. He came back to the training center but no matter how much they called him, he still immediately headed for Vivian without looking back. It also felt like he stayed in the training center for a long time today. 

Is what Enka said true?

Tainy stared at Roger with slender eyes.

“What is it?”

Roger reacted brusquely, as if he were wondering why he was looking at him with such eyes. Tainy waved his hands to convey that it was nothing, but continued to think.

No matter how close the relationship was between superior and subordinate, there will always be things that they like and dislike about each other. Tainy’s review of his boss Roger was close to an arc. Because he was strong and he liked that he never hid his honest personality. 

Lady Lector also didn’t look wary of him when we saw her for the first time yesterday.

Most of all, when she overpowered Ben as if she was looking down on him, there was indescribable joy. Ben hiding his tail between his legs was hilarious to Tainy.

He didn’t know if there was another woman, but Tainy smiled because Vivian was the one whom the boss was interested in.

I think this is going to be fun.

[TN/N: I think so too. ^•^]

***

Meanwhile, Vivian, who returned to the mansion, couldn’t even take off her clothes properly because of the pain in her hands. With the help of Hamel and some maids, she managed to wash up and change her clothes.

After washing up, Hamel was opening the first aid kit. Vivian naturally sat across from her.

“You’ll be in a lot of pain tomorrow.”

Vivian answered Hamel’s comment as she was checking her hands.

“I’ve heard that a lot today.”

“Do you want me to call a doctor?” 

Despite Vivian’s playful reply, Hamel asked with a very serious face. Knowing that it was a worry, not a disregard, Vivian stopped laughing and shook her head. 

“That’s enough. I’ll be better once you apply the medicine and rest.”

Hamel said, “Let’s do that.”

“How was it learning swordsmanship?” 

“Not bad. It was fun. It was refreshing.” 

Vivian replied, shrugging her shoulders. She suffered, but she could not forget the exhilaration of hitting the straw post.

“Well, you said your teacher recommended it in the past. Didn’t you intend to learn swordsmanship then?” 

“Yes, but I didn’t because I couldn’t afford to learn swordsmanship.”

“I guess your teacher recognized your talent.”

“I’m not good enough to call it a talent.”

The treatment was over while they were talking affectionately.

Hamel left the room after saying that she will apply medicine tomorrow morning. Maybe it’s because she hasn’t used her body in a long time, but she couldn’t find a place that didn’t hurt, her neck, shoulders, arms, waist, or wherever, Vivian laid on the bed without even having dinner.

Vivian, who was staring up at the ceiling blankly, raised her hand.

The hand that Roger was using as an excuse to touch. Vivian rubbed the back of her hand with her other hand. There was no strange sensation unlike when Roger touched it. The thoughts that sprouted from the fingertips that grazed her eventually reminded her of her conversation with him.

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