Chapter 13: CH 13

Edric opened his eyes blearily.

There was no one in the barracks and the light from the lamp was dim.

It was dinner time according to the strong smell of food and noise coming in from outside.

‘—That servant is not here.’

The last time he saw him was during the day and he was smiling embarrassedly.

He stepped back and disappeared somewhere, saying that he smelled bad.

So he didn’t have the opportunity to ask about the source of the money earlier.

Edric clutched the crutches in his arms with a complicated expression.

‘Did that woman prepare this—’ 

But then, he shook his head.

Even though he did not have much knowledge of how the aristocratic society worked, it was still impossible.

If he threw away the Duchess’s money in the bin, it would be a great insult even among the commoners.

‘Then— Is it Rovel’s money? No way, half of it might be his—’

He couldn’t understand it at all. It was very strange for a servant to have such a huge amount of money with him during work at all times.

He didn’t know where Rovel had gotten the money. But the important thing was that Rovel spent a considerable amount of money on him.

I don’t have that much money, so what to do—.

While he was mulling over it, he heard someone coming towards the barracks.

Soon after, the sound of light and confident footsteps echoed in the barracks.

Now, he could tell who it was just by hearing that sound.

‘It’s Rovel.’

Edric reflexively closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep.

It was because he didn’t know how to face Rovel right now.

It would be awkward to get irritated as usual and it hurt his pride to say thank you. Besides, he felt uneasy to ask questions.

“—He’s still sleeping.”

After a big yawn, he heard Rovel picking up something.

And then the sound of spreading a blanket on the floor.

Edric listened very closely.

The Madam who killed his mother in the past also took this opportunity to prepare poison. 

‘If you do something, I’ll scream right away.’

However, despite his anticipation, Rovel didn’t do anything particular this time. 

He only heard a rustling sound beside his bed, and then he smelled something savory drawing closer. It was a familiar smell. 

‘Is he preparing a meal—’

He didn’t seem to want to wake him up right away. 

It was a habit of Rovel that he discovered recently. Even though he seemed to like to force things to go his way, he actually didn’t.

As the smell of food grew stronger, he couldn’t help but drool in his mouth. He had not eaten since lunch and his stomach was empty. He was very hungry.

It was also because he was someone with a small appetite. 

“But he’ll still eat this one right?”

“….”

“Last time, I risked my life, and this time, I even splashed dirty water.”

—Somehow, he felt his appetite sink sharply.

He was annoyed and disgusted inside. But Rovel just yawned lazily again. 

Just hearing it made him feel exhausted.

‘What did you do that made you so tired—’

Edric’s bitter feelings paused.

Rovel’s knees, which had been stained with dirt from kneeling on the floor, his sweat-drenched bangs, and the sweat-stained white shirt came to mind one after another. 

He didn’t think much about it at the time because Rovel was smiling so brightly. But it was not nothing. 

Rovel must have been really tired because he immediately fell asleep as soon as he laid down.

“Uh—”

After listening to him snoring for a while, Edric got up halfway on his bed.

He saw Rovel lying on a blanket a little away. He had already fallen asleep.

Soon, Edric shifted his gaze to the bedside.

A neatly prepared meal on a wooden tray was covered by a white cloth.

‘….’

After hesitating a little, Edric picked up the fork. 

In the quiet barracks, the sound of sleeping Rovel and the sound of chewing food were harmoniously blended.

*****

As soon as my head touched the pillow, I fell asleep. But I woke up in the middle of the night.

I got up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

The familiar view of the barracks slowly came into focus in the lamplight.

As usual, the Young Master was sleeping in one corner.

‘Had he eaten?’

I sneaked over and looked at his bedside. There was a half-empty bowl. 

‘You ate well.’

That’s a relief.

So now it’s my turn to be relieved.

After staring at him for a moment, I slowly picked up the empty medicine bottle.

Then, I licked the inside like I was licking a yogurt lid. 

‘Uhm. Is this the taste of the upper class?’ 

Maybe because it contained royal jelly, it tasted very good. 

‘It’s probably just my wishful thinking, but I feel like I’m gaining energy—’

I’m struggling to get what little there was left, and my cheeks hurt a little. 

“….!”

—Huh! 

When I put it back down, a pair of beautiful eyes were looking up at me. They were widened to the point that they couldn’t get any bigger.

He was looking at me like I was a mysterious creature that should not have existed in the real world.

I’m a little embarrassed to be caught red-handed—.

Scratching the back of my neck, I contemplated what to say to him. And then, I made up my mind. 

“Young Master, I did a great job today. Can you give me a reward?”

The Young Master’s eyes shook incredibly at my sudden request.

It was certainly a little strange to suddenly bring this up in the middle of the night. 

Still, it was the best course of action after such an embarrassing moment.  

I bent myself towards him and presented my cheek. 

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“Please just one cheek.”

“….?”

“Please slap me on that cheek.”

Then, instead of the expected slapping sound, a popping sound was heard. 

*****

Finally, the short journey was over.

Upon returning, Blivan was welcomed by the Duchess.

“I’m glad nothing special happened. Great job, Blivan.”

He just gave a straightforward nod and shared a few more words. 

They were trivial matters.

Like the fact that the Young Master had a little bit of motion sickness in the carriage.

When he told her about the crutches, she was noticeably sorry and heartbroken.

“Crutches—. That’s right. I should’ve checked first if there was anything he left behind— I’m going to have to take better care of everything now.”

She muttered as if she was determined to do better. 

After completing his business, Blivan left the study and headed to the training hall. 

He went through the back corridor to avoid those who were frightened of him. So, not many servants frequented that corridor.

However, this time he heard a commotion in the corridor which had always been quiet. 

When he turned the corner, he saw the Young Master with the crutches, who seemed to be annoyed, and a skinny servant next to him. 

“Young Master, if you bend too much, you’ll get hurt. I will show you the proper posture. Give me your hand. Okay, hand. Or should I hug you?” 

“Get out of my way. I’ll take care of it!”

Blivan stood behind the pillars of the corridor and watched them.

The Young Master’s face was full of color for the first time.

Trying to move forward step by step, he was finally showing the innocence of his age.

“Oh, really. That’s not the correct posture.”

“Then you should try it!”

Blivan’s gaze shifted to the old crutches.

It was an absurdly crude object for the Duke’s son to use. 

Nevertheless, Edric seemed to cherish it like a treasure and carried it around with him everywhere.

Naturally, he wondered.

‘—Why didn’t he order me to find that crutches?’

From what he saw, Edric was a boy with great pride and didn’t like to show his weakness.

Did he not talk to the Duchess about the crutches because of his pride? 

He was not sure what to think.

Blivan’s thoughtful eyes darkened.

‘Or— maybe he couldn’t order it?’

*****

Edric didn’t use the crutches he had reclaimed.

It was because he didn’t want to do something that stood out in a place full of people who were already watching him.

But that servant interrupted him again.

“Young Master, Young Master. Let’s go to the garden.”

“I don’t want to.”

He firmly refused.

However, he was someone who helped him save his mother’s gift, so he could not treat him as rashly as before.

At least five times out of ten, he managed to give a reply instead of throwing objects carelessly at him.

However, the quick-witted Rovel noticed it and took advantage of it at once.

Not only did he keep invading his bedroom, but he kept insisting on something. 

Rovel rested his chin next to the pillow and asked him persistently.

“Then where do you want to go?”

“….”

“Think about it. If you think about it, there must be at least one place you want to go.”

“—Nothing. You can just go by yourself.”

“Heartless.” Rovel whined under his breath. 

Edric, who was laying with his back to him, remembered something he had always wondered about.

It was the source of the money he had used to pay for the crutches.

‘Where on earth did all those gold coins come from—?’

He couldn’t ask before because he had a feeling that if he asked, he would get caught up in something really annoying.

If it was really Rovel’s personal money, an inheritance, or something like that, Edric was sure he would do something weird again while bragging about it. 

Apart from where he got so much money, the reason why he would help him also kept lingering in his head. 

He was curious about the answers but at the same time, he didn’t want to know.

It was complicated, so he let out a small sigh. Then he heard Rovel let out a ‘Hmm’ sound from outside the blanket.

Right after that, he heard the unexpected words.

“Those gold coins were the money Madam gave me when she bought me.” 

“….”

“These days, everyone is asking me about it whenever they see me. I thought our Young Master would be curious, too.” 

There was a light and cheerful laughter that contrasted with the heavy atmosphere. 

He really couldn’t understand. 

Why did he spend the money on him after being bought?

And it was very strange to talk about this kind of matter so calmly.

Somehow, Edric felt like Rovel was playing with him and laughing at him behind his back.

He lowered the blanket and looked at Rovel’s face. When their eyes met, Rovel’s mouth and eyes widened in delight. 

There was no sign of any ulterior motive. Rather, it was the warmest smile he had ever seen in this mansion.

Rovel tilted his head further toward the confused Young Master and said. 

“I couldn’t help but accept it. If I refused, I’d be suspicious in her eyes. I thought it would be much wiser for us to accept it and use it properly. Well, looking at the outcome, I think I did a pretty good job.” 

What do you mean, us?

When Edric narrowed his eyes, Rovel tilted his head as if that was the case.

“At that time, we had one heart and one mind. I also wanted to take crutches, and I hated those bad guys very much. Even though it was dirty, it was very refreshing, right?”

Just as he said, the first revenge of his life gave him a pleasant and refreshing feeling.

He laughed a little when he thought of the guys who would have been stuck in a trash can all day trying to take out those dirty gold coins one by one. 

However, without showing his approval, Edric put his blanket back on again.

He didn’t want to go through something terrible again; believing in someone and then being betrayed.

Experiencing it once in his life was enough.

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