Episode 82. Surrender (3)

“Ho, I can walk by myself.”

I’m so embarrassed. What kind of spectacle is this?

Allen would rather have ended her life. Not only did she lose the sparring match and get injured, but she’s being carried in this position… There wasn’t a single manly, knightly action to be seen. Could she be disappointed in this unknightly appearance? Edward, who was holding her, simply moved his feet without a word.

Losing can happen. Every sword is bound to be broken someday. But getting injured after that, and not being able to take care of her own body, receiving help in this state, she really didn’t like it. This kind of position only appeared in the stories she heard when she was young. It was mainly the pose a cool knight would take after defeating an evil dragon, when holding a beautiful princess or noble lady who had been captured. She tried to change the position a little, as her pride as a knight wouldn’t allow it, but Allen felt a throbbing in her left shoulder and soon gave up.

Being held and lifted by someone was a very old memory. Before her younger siblings were born, she had memories of receiving this from her father. But after Allen became proficient with the sword, and all her younger siblings were girls, she worked tirelessly to show only a knightly appearance. This kind of situation was certainly not included in that knightly appearance. Unless she was the one taking that position.

Still, she relaxed her body due to the more comfortable ride than she expected, and the not unpleasant smell of sweat coming from Edward. She comforted herself that it couldn’t be helped since she was injured now. But after noticing where Edward’s steps were heading, Allen couldn’t relax anymore.

‘Why are we going into the main castle?!?’

The main castle? She thought he was a guest since she didn’t recognize his face, but could that not be the case? But Allen clearly heard earlier that Edward belonged to the Yulstein Count Family, not the Mountberne Count Family. If she thought about it a little, she might have realized that they could be connected by blood or marriage, but Allen was in no state to think straight. More important to Allen than such irrelevant information was something else.

The main castle was where the Count and his direct family resided, so there were many staff members managing it. Professional servants were constantly cleaning and maintaining the interior of the mansion. Not just anyone could come and go as they pleased. Only direct ascendants and descendants, and those who had their permission, could enter and exit, so Allen herself had never been inside except when she was assigned to protect Marie-yang.

But the time she had followed Marie-yang to protect her was not short. That meant that there were many servants who had seen her face while she was constantly protecting Marie-yang. And that was just counting the staff in the main castle. Showing this kind of appearance to those people? Rumors would spread that she was a knight making a fool of herself.

When she first entered the main castle, there weren’t many servants in sight, so it was okay. But she wondered how many floors they were going to, and as they went further inside, she turned her head and tried to hide as much as possible. If it weren’t for this situation, she would have at least acknowledged them. She buried her face in Edward’s chest and closed the ears of her heart. Even though she tried not to care, she could hear the whispering.

‘…Edward… Doryeon-nim….’

‘…Oh my….’

It felt like everyone who was speaking quietly was talking about her. She could hear Edward’s name here and there, and she felt guilty that he was getting bad looks because of her. The shrunken Allen curled up.

‘Huh?’

Edward seemed to notice something from the feeling against his chest and quickened his pace. He held her tightly with both arms so she wouldn’t fall, and Allen was grateful that he seemed to be considerate of her. It was a little uncomfortable because her body was shaking too much on the stairs, but that didn’t matter as much as the burden of the surrounding gazes. Even though it was quite a high floor and a long distance, Edward strode quickly and arrived at his room in an instant.

I held the embarrassed Allen, who was about to die, and headed to my room. Although I was an adopted son, I practically used the same space as the direct family, so my room was on a fairly high floor. I crossed the hallway and walked up the stairs. Allen, who was constantly checking her surroundings to see if anyone was there, buried her face in my chest when she saw the servants walking around for cleaning and internal management.

Her slightly visible profile and ears were as red as tomatoes. I quickened my pace to minimize the time she was feeling ashamed. I could hear people whispering my name behind me. It seemed that there were still quite a few people here who recognized me. Fortunately for Allen, they seemed to be paying attention to me and my actions, and not paying much attention to who I was holding.

I walked as if I was running and arrived at my room in an instant. I laid Allen on the bed, which had been cleaned and had new bedding. Since I had confirmed that Allen was a woman while holding her, it was a reaction that was understandable enough. From the shoulder that had been removed to check the area hit by the wooden sword, to the fact that she had some muscles, it was definitely a woman’s body. When I held her in both arms, she was much lighter than the average adult male. If Allen wasn’t a woman, I wouldn’t have held her in that position. I would have slung her over my shoulder like luggage and thrown her away.

Small stature, slightly lacking strength, and pretty appearance. And the fact that she was in charge of Marie-yang’s protection alone, it all made sense. Because she’s a woman, because she’s a female knight. She must have been looking for a place to train separately, not in the public training ground, because she didn’t want to be found out that she was a woman, and to train comfortably. The empty lot that was my personal training ground was in the back of the castle, in a corner between buildings, so I was able to use it.

“I don’t want to stain the blanket, so please show me quickly.”

“I’ll do it myself.”

“This has a very strong smell, so don’t spill it anywhere. Quickly.”

It’s a new blanket, and I can’t sleep with a blanket that smells like this ointment. Allen, who was hesitating, took off her top altogether. I helped her because she was struggling with one arm. She showed me her shoulder, which was more curved than bumpy. Her slightly tanned skin had no scars except for the area I hit. I could see that she was wearing a compression bandage on her chest. The more I thought about it, the more amazing her talent felt.

With a woman’s physical ability, and with a compression bandage on her chest, making it difficult to breathe, she was able to withstand my strike. It wasn’t a full-force strike, and it was just a simple swing, but the technique she used to receive it could be called masterful. And she looked younger than me.

“Ahk!”

As soon as I took some ointment on a stick and applied it, she made that sound. It must sting a lot. That’s why I’m using a flat stick instead of my hand, because I don’t like it either.

“It’s going to sting a little, but you can handle it, right? Because you’re a knight.”

“Yes? Yes, yes! Because I’m a knight. Heup….!”

Allen clenched her teeth and endured. This might feel more painful than getting hit. Allen’s hand, which was holding the blanket, was clenched so tightly that it turned pale. If she just endured a little, she would heal without any scars. Unless the bone was damaged, I don’t think there’s a better solution than this medicine. After spreading the ointment widely enough to cover all the red and swollen areas, I brought a bandage and tied it so that it passed over her shoulder and armpit.

“Hoo, hoo, hoo….”

Allen, who was breathing roughly, took a deep breath, as if the pain had subsided to some extent. She also noticed that the blanket covering her body had slipped down. Allen, startled, pulled the blanket back up.

“You had a wound on your stomach too….”

“That’s from a long time ago. It’s okay.”

It was obvious that the red and swollen area was a lie, but I just let it go. It was obvious that she thought it would be too much to apply this there. Her abs, which were clearly different from a man’s, and her chest, which was pressed down by the bandage and protruding downwards, were a bit attractive.

“…You’re not asking why I’m dressed as a man.”

“I’m sure you have your reasons. And…”

I don’t have a hobby of digging into facts that people are trying to hide. We’re not close, and we’ve only seen each other two or three times.

“It’s obvious that you’re a woman, so I knew.”

“Yes??”

Allen’s face turned red.