The Guardian Knight of Affection-Starved Young Ladies - Chapter 134



133 – Richeza (05)

134.

“…”

Aching.

Had his body become accustomed to the comfort of a bed after sleeping in one for a while?

Kallen woke up feeling his whole body ache.

He had been drenched in the rain too much last night.

He had stood in the rain until his whole body was soaked without a coat.

Sleeping on the cold floor without a blanket made his whole body ache.

“…Are you awake? Kallen.”

Kallen, who was rubbing his body, turned his head at the weak voice he heard beside him.

To be precise, the voice came from above the bed.

When he looked up, he saw Richeza, hugging the blanket and wrapping her knees, tilting her head slightly and looking down at him.

A blanket covering her knees.

A face half-buried in the blanket.

Had something happened during the night?

The voice of Richeza, who had been harsh and blunt, with a bit of mischief, had become very soft.

That sentiment was short-lived.

Kallen quietly stared at Richeza, who had suddenly changed her way of addressing him.

“…Yes. I’m awake.”

“Were you uncomfortable?”

“Well… just…”

It was Kallen himself who gave up the bed.

If he said he was uncomfortable, it would not sit well with Lichessa.

For that reason, Kallen tried to say he was fine.

Srrk…

Lichessa, who had slipped out of the blanket, leaned her upper body out, then lay down on the bed and pressed Kallen’s body with her arm.

As if remembering he said it hurt, with a gentle rubbing motion.

“Another lie.”

“…”

“…Did you not sleep well?”

“…Yes.”

Press.

Press.

Lichessa lay on the bed, half-burying her face in her arm.

Whatever was so amusing, she wiggled her legs and poked Kallen’s body.

Then, with a slightly trembling voice, she spoke, her fingers touching his body.

“Then… do you want to come up…?”

The legs that had been brushing against the blanket stopped.

In that moment, there was silence.

And Kallen’s answer, which broke it, was not to Lichessa’s question.

“Are you alright, miss?”

“…”

She hadn’t thought of that.

It was no longer a favor given to test or tease Kallen.

The guilt and gratitude she felt towards him.

And the strange desire to lie beside him.

But Kallen remained pure as ever.

She didn’t know if it was right to call it pure, but Lichessa had always described him that way.

Moreover, the first thing he said upon waking up.

Was concern for her.

He wasn’t asking if she slept well.

The event from yesterday, something I don’t even want to remember.

The moment I developed feelings for this boy, feelings I couldn’t control.

Father didn’t love Mother.

Neither did my brother, nor the other noblemen.

The women they held were nothing but expendable objects for their desires.

I was afraid I would be discarded like the women who changed by their side.

But Kallen, instead, protected me.

Instead of revealing his desires, he worried if my heart was hurt.

Thump, thump, thump.

For the first time, I felt the somewhat girlish pounding of my heart.

It felt unfamiliar, but I didn’t dislike it.

What if Kallen noticed?

I buried my face deeper into my arms.

In a trembling voice, I whispered.

“After all…”

As my cheeks turned red, Kallen asked worriedly.

“Lady Richeza. Are you alright…”

“After all, you failed, Kallen.”

“…What?”

Richeza didn’t answer.

She just lay on the bed, her mouth buried in her arms, mumbling.

So, after all, I can’t let you meet Daphnis.

As she said, her face was half-buried in her arms, so Kallen couldn’t see her mouth.

Richeza just quietly looked at Kallen and smiled beautifully.

“Pervert.”

“…”

Kallen looked at Richeza with an incomprehensible gaze.

Her small fingers, gently rubbing her body through the thin clothes, somehow looked pleased.

*

It was late afternoon when they could leave the inn.

Since he had to dry his soaking wet clothes, Kallen had no choice but to do it to shake off his fatigue.

The street was undoubtedly the same as yesterday.

For some reason, Richeza liked that street more.

To be precise, it was the street she walked with a boy.

And she began to see things that were previously invisible.

Richeza realized that the ladies of the street glanced at Kallen more than she thought.

A boy who looked good in a dark uniform and goggles.

Now she noticed it wasn’t just his hands that were big.

His voice also suited her taste.

He was much taller than her.

She couldn’t ask about the scar… but the body she saw back then looked hard enough for any lady to want to embrace.

“Hmm…”

For some reason, her cheeks were heating up.

It was still an unfamiliar sensation, but she couldn’t stop glancing at Kallen.

Richeza quietly looked down at herself.

Not paying attention.

Just picking out clothes with minimal courtesy.

Today, she didn’t like it at all.

Kallen had come out so meticulously dressed.

Richeza thought, clutching her hem tightly.

From now on, her careful selection of clothes would only be a courtesy to the well-dressed Kallen.

“Ah. Lady Richeza.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“This is for you.”

“Oh…”

As Richeza barely managed to convince herself, Kallen handed her something.

A fan.

A fan that Kallen had given her, resembling the color of her eyes.

Richeza accepted it blankly.

She stared at Kallen.

It was a fan that I quite liked.

‘Unavoidably’, I might have to accept it.

Richeza, who had received the fan, opened and closed her hand for no reason.

She didn’t like the empty, cold feeling in her hand.

Richeza, who was looking at Kallen, who seemed slightly tired, suddenly stopped walking.

Half a step.

Kallen, who reacted in half a step, turned his head in puzzlement.

It didn’t even take a full step.

Did it mean that Kallen was that focused on her?

Richeza suppressed her twitching lips and cleared her throat with a haughty expression.

“My, my hand feels empty…”

She gently extended her hand.

Her fingers wriggled nervously.

She lowered her wrist comfortably, letting the fine line hang down.

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With her index finger extended, she held it out to Kallen.

“…”

“…Come on…”

Kallen looked at the fine, small hand and carefully grasped it.

The consideration that had become natural before she knew it was enough to let out a faint breath.

Her small hand, strongly grasped.

If she wriggled inside, the big hand would firmly wrap around it as if telling her to stay still.

She had been so angry when another man touched her hand.

Yet, he treated Richeza as if she were his own.

He didn’t even pay attention to other men.

Being treated by only one boy.

It might not be so bad.

Richeza willingly extended her hand.

She approached the boy and stuck close to him.

Hmph.

Then she let out a haughty snort again.

“Don’t misunderstand. It’s just more comfortable to walk close together.”

“…Yes. Do as you please.”

Richeza exaggeratedly turned her head with a flick.

When Kallen couldn’t see her face, she smiled faintly.

Kallen, who was considerate of her hand as he had learned.

The fact that she had colored the boy in her own hue felt so good, it was almost eerie.

That smile.

It resembled the purity that Richeza had longed for.

*

The meetings between Kallen and Richeza continued for a week, including those three days.

Originally, Richeza intended to reveal that Kallen was no different from other men during that week.

But exactly on the night of the second day, that intention significantly faded.

From the fourth day, Richeza changed a little.

Clothes that were neither too extravagant nor too plain.

She also adorned herself with small accessories and wore different outfits every day.

When Kallen asked if she was okay, seeing her appearance that seemed to take a long time to dress up.

Richeza shook her head and said it wasn’t that.

She said it was because she wanted to look pretty.

That complimenting her on how well it suited her should come first.

From the fifth day, Richeza would ask first, “How do I look?” whenever they met.

Kallen, as he had learned, would answer, “It suits you well.”

Richeza glared at Kallen for not saying she was pretty.

But she let it slide, thinking to herself that she would eventually hear it from his lips.

Thus, a week passed.

The meetings between Kallen and Richeza continued for a week.

Richeza, who always hid her malice and bluntness when looking at Kallen, smiled prettily more often.

However.

In some places, problems that Richeza had never thought of were arising.

The Marquis of Le Carlin.

When it comes to information and rumors, it is said to be a family as great as the Five Great Families.

In that mansion, there are two offices.

Originally, an office is almost synonymous with the head’s room.

The ones who decide the major and minor affairs of the family are the heads.

There is no one other than the head who needs a space to work.

Sometimes, there are families with an additional office for the heir.

But the tasks the heir needs to handle to develop their abilities do not necessarily require an office.

However, the Lecalin family has two offices.

One is for the head.

The other is…

“Miss. The young master of the Marquis of Vibra has not left his room for several days.”

“…Niden, was it?”

“Yes. Here is the detailed report.”

“Is it a rumor? Or information?”

“It’s still a rumor, but… it’s almost certain.”

“Hmm…”

A room piled high with papers.

A girl was sitting there.