Marriage And Absente - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

He wandered around and sometimes concentrated on the sounds surrounding him. The rustling of the trees, the birds chirping, and the roars. These sounds would make even a brave man feel eerie as if he was left alone in the mountains.

He turned and looked at the hut again. Those eyelashes and cheeks that kept reddening. As he trembled over those overwhelming feelings, he suddenly remembered the feeling of those green eyes. He remembered the way she stroked and the area she touched as if these feelings had been burnt onto his skin by her fingertips.

Then suddenly, he felt pressure around his stomach. He thought of the woman sleeping quietly with her mouth twitching as if she was biting on a bitter candy. It’s reckless, but will it be bothersome?

His nose reddened as she looked at her eyes. He tried not to react if possible. It wasn’t a relationship that would last long.

He walked to the storage to check his armor. However, it was locked with a latch. The door made a rattling sound, but it didn’t open. He could easily open the door by force, but he didn’t want to destroy her storage.

Besides, he wasn’t confident in his axing skills. He didn’t remember anything about his status, age, or name, but at least he didn’t lose his nature from birth.

I am still myself …

So there was nothing to be afraid of for not remembering a single name.

“Uhm …”

He was right about to turn back when he heard a soft voice in the middle of the night.

“Are you awake?”

“Yes.”

“You don’t need to come in. I was about to go out.”

“That … I’ll give it back to you. It was difficult to put inside the house, so I put it in the storage, but I think you would feel more comfortable if you had it by your side—”

“No, it’s okay.”

He cut her words. Perhaps because she sensed his stern and firm attitude, she didn’t say anything more. She could feel him glancing at her. The overwhelming feeling came back to him. Before his insides felt suffocating again, he went back.

Swan walked silently behind him.

“If you are uncomfortable sleeping on the floor—”

“I’m okay.”

Under the weak light, Swan stiffened. Her eyes resembled those of a frightened beast as she shook her head to avoid his gaze. It took him a long time to choose the right words to motivate his rejection.

“Don’t worry. It’s just that have many things on my mind, so I can’t sleep.”

“I see …”

“…”

“Let’s stop here. Please, have some rest.”

Swan whispered, breaking the silence. He nodded and then lied down on the thin mattress.

She couldn’t sleep, even on the bed. Thete was a continuous rumbling sound.

When will I be able to sleep?

When she opened her eyes again, the stillness of the night was gone, leaving no trace.

***

Maybe it was because he spent the entire night on the floor, but he couldn’t feel relaxed even though he was already stretching his body, twisting his shoulders from side to side, and pulling his arms. The hardness of the floor against his back and the cold temperature brought a refreshing energy to the whole body. He looked up at the table while touching his lukewarm forehead.

A tray was on the round table. He scanned the empty house and walked to the table. It was breakfast. He was wondering what was in the basin, but it turned out it was just water to wash his face. His breakfast consisted of stew and a few pieces of fruit. Honestly, he didn’t want to eat that much.

His stomach was empty, but all the meals Swan served didn’t fit his taste. He tried not to express it, but he thought she had already realized it … Still, she prepared it for him. He looked down at the table with a withered face, then turned his gaze and stared at the bed.

Seeing a blanket and a fairly spacious bed, he began to get drowsy. He remembered how he stayed up until dawn because he was on the floor all night. As if he was possessed, he walked to the bed before laying down on it. Felling the softness of the blanket and pillows, he closed his eyes.

How much time has passed? When he tried to regain his lingering consciousness and opened his eyes, Swan was beside him. Seeing a blurry, slender figure brought him to his senses. It was when she touched the corner of his mouth.

The terrified woman stepped back and tried to get up, but he reflexively grasped her wrist, making her fall.

“Ouch!”

A short scream rang in his ears as he let go of her wrist.

“I’m sorry.”

“…”

Swan blinked. The two looked at each other silently for a while, then turned their heads almost at the same time.

“You must have been tired.”

“…”

“You haven’t had breakfast yet …”

Swan looked at the table. The cold stew and the washbasin caught his eyes. He got up and walked to the table. He washed his face with cold water and wiped his face with a folded towel next to the washbasin.

Meanwhile, the woman went to the kitchen with the cold stew and fruit.

“Please take a seat; I’ll prepare lunch.”

The woman put the basket in the corner and then turned around. He looked at her back as she started to heat the stew again after lighting up the fire.

After preparing a meal with toasted bread, yellow fruit marmalade, and hot stew, Swan took out a small bowl with medicine. It was then that he remembered the wound on his side. He forgot that the cut on his side hadn’t healed yet. He couldn’t feel the pain enough to worry about it even though the tingling feeling still remained.

“Before eating, I will look at your wound. Then you’ll take your medicine half an hour after lunch.”

Swan approached him with ointment and bandages in her hands. He lifted his shirt naturally as she bent her knees and approached his side before trying to look closely at the wound.

He felt tingly when her breath touched his skin. Her breath mixed with her scent seemed to reach the skin when the bandage was removed. The woman’s fingers, which were thinner than usual, touched the healing wound.

Did she just come after wandering through the grass? A bit of dirt on the end of her skirt came into his eyes. Suddenly, the smell of soil and grass arrived at the tip of his nose. Swan, who was carefully looking at his wound, was about to apply the ointment. Suddenly, their eyes entangled as Swan’s nose reddened.

The young emotions in her green eyes were as transparent as drops of water. Her eyes looked like they could burst at any moment. The hand holding the ointment hesitated.

Her transparent green eyes were strangely dark. Even though they were transparent, the impression of them being dark and distant was stronger than the feeling of them being transparent. In addition, the corner of her eyes was not blunt, but sharp, which only further strengthened that impression.

Her wild, wavy, strawberry blonde hair touched his side and tickled him. An unfamiliar, yet familiar scent mixed with her breath and penetrated into his nasal cavity.

It was the scent that he smelled on the blanket. It resembled jasmine or a similar herbal scent. The smell of leaves was present from the top of her head to the breath that came out of her lips.

“… Would you like to do it yourself?”

“No.”

Swan passed him the ointment, but he looked at her hand before shaking his head. The side was a difficult position to see. As he shook his head, the woman’s expression got noticeably brighter.

Even though her expression was annoying, her scent that sipped into his nose made his mouth feel dry. The ointment-soaked finger touched his side.

The fingers that touched his skin were white and thin. As Swan applied the ointment, she took a bandage and wrapped it around his waist. She seemed prudent as she carefully wrapped the cut. It looked like she was hugging his waist.

“Do you feel uncomfortable?”

“No, it’s fine.”

“If you are feeling uncomfortable, please tell me.”

He looked down at the woman without hesitation. Swan picked up the remaining bandages and ointment before getting up. After that, they both started eating. It was when they scooped a spoonful of stew in their mouths that Swan began to speak carefully while glancing at him.

“About the bed.”

“I’m fine, so you can use it until your body heals. So … at least until you go down to the village.”

“There is no need. I am fine.”

Swan raised her head. There’s no way to persuade a man who refused persistently. He was quite stubborn. He was indebted to her, so it was natural. In addition, it was the bed of a woman, so it could be uncomfortable that her bed would have other people’s body odor on it.

Besides, he was a noble. According to Tom, the nobles always regarded the common people’s houses as no more than dwarves’ dens, so this bed wouldn’t be enough.

But still, he was a patient. She couldn’t let him sleep on the hardwood floor. Swan stopped hesitating and opened her lips.

“Sleeping on the floor is bad for your wound. For me, it doesn’t matter, so—”

“Then let’s use it together.”

“Sorry?”

“Didn’t you say a guy named Tom will come and make a bed? We’ll be sharing this bed until that person comes.”

“That’s …”

“It looks like the bed can be used by two people anyway.”

“That’s right, but …”

Swan lowered her head while scratching the bottom of the bowl with the spoon. The bed was wide enough for two people. It seemed to have been made in order for a married couple or sisters to be able to use it.

He gazed at the woman. No matter how noble he was, he was not such a shameless man to let a woman sleep on the cold floor. Anyway, he was a knight, while the woman in front of him was a lady. A knight has to value a lady more than their own comfort, even if she wasn’t a noble lady.

Even if she wore simple clothes, a lady was still a lady. Besides, no one knew how many days it would take for another bed to be made. He couldn’t let such a fragile body sleep on the floor.

“If only one person can occupy the bed, it should be you, lady.”

“But …”

“Letting a lady sleep on the floor is not an example a knight should give.”

“But, Sir Knight hasn’t healed yet …”

Swan stuttered before closing her mouth while pouting. He looked at the freckles on her nose. Her young face was in anguish. After hesitating for a long time, Swan finally nodded.

***