“Simon?”
What brings you here?
Simon hurriedly grabbed me.
“Th-There’s big trouble!”
“What is it?”
“The carriage to the restricted zone is leaving today! Right now!”
……What?
He stomped his feet anxiously.
“It seems the person who told me the schedule got it wrong. We have to go before it’s too late.”
“W-Where’s Thomas?”
“I don’t know. I checked his room, but he wasn’t there.”
It was enough to drive me mad. But there wasn’t even time to think.
“Your Grace, then goodbye!”
The moment I quickly said my farewell, Ricardo called out to stop me.
“You two are going to the restricted zone?”
“Y-Yes?”
“That place is extremely dangerous……!”
“Simon’s family home is there, so it’s fine.”
I cut off his words. Just then, Simon, who had been staring at Ricardo, rummaged through his pocket as if he remembered something.
“Simon, let’s go quickly.”
What if we miss the carriage like this!
“U-Um, if it’s okay with you, would you like to come with us, Your Grace?”
“……What?”
A surprised voice escaped me. But unaware of how I felt, Simon simply handed him a ticket.
“I bought three tickets including one for Sir Thomas, and it felt like such a waste to throw one away.”
That’s your concern right now?
If it’s about money, I’ll give it to you!
“His Grace must be really busy. We’ll just go by ourselves……”
Just as I tried to snatch the ticket from Simon’s hand, Ricardo quickly snatched it first. Then Simon let out a short exclamation and shouted.
“Thank goodness! If not for Your Grace, my money would’ve been totally wasted!”
Leaving Ricardo to examine the ticket closely, Simon winked at me and whispered.
“It’s a perfect chance to get close to His Grace.”
My fists tremble, trembling……
* * *
Clunk!
‘How did it end up like this?’
I never imagined I’d be riding a freight carriage with Ricardo.
The Duke squeezing his huge frame into this space.
I leaned my head against the wall. The ride was so bumpy that my head kept hitting it, and Ricardo supported the back of my head with his hand.
“You don’t have to do this……”
Why did this man come along in the first place?
I never thought Ricardo would be just as meddlesome as I am.
He looked at me with a strange expression and answered quietly.
“It was noisy.”
“Then I’m sorry for that too……”
Simon, who was sitting across from us, annoyingly chimed in.
“He’s right. It was kind of noisy.”
You just shut up.
All of this happened because of you!
While I was letting out a deep sigh, the carriage suddenly jolted hard.
“Careful……!”
Ricardo grabbed me before I could be thrown off.
“Th-Thank you.”
I stared nervously at the carriage door. Since it was originally used for loading cargo, it seemed like the door had been added later.
It looked fine on the surface, but every time the carriage jolted, I could hear the wood creaking and breaking.
‘Maybe it’s just because I’m right next to it……’
Unable to bear it any longer, Ricardo made a suggestion.
“Let’s switch seats.”
“N-No. A noble like you should sit inside.”
He narrowed his eyes, seemingly displeased with my answer.
I-I can’t help it.
I’m pretending to be an ordinary mage, after all.
At that moment, the carriage jolted again.
Crash!
The door finally broke off and fell. The jolt caused by people waking up and standing made the carriage sway wildly.
Just then, we were going uphill, and those who had stood up rolled down the carriage like balls.
Someone, reaching out to grab something, caught hold of me.
In that moment, as I was about to fall from the carriage.
“……!”
Ricardo clenched his teeth and pulled me into his arms as we fell from the carriage.
Thud!
“……”
I had closed my eyes tightly, but when I cautiously opened them, I saw Ricardo, who had rolled while protecting me.
“Y-Your Grace!”
At the sound of my voice, Ricardo slowly lifted his head. He gave me a quick once-over and let out a deep sigh.
“……Are you hurt anywhere?”
“I should be asking if you are, Your Grace……!”
I grabbed the hand that had been cradling my head. The back of his hand, which had hit a rock, was a mess.
My jaw trembled.
“W-What do we do.”
Since he fell while holding me in his arms, he must've gotten hurt somewhere worse than the back of his hand.
“Y-Your back—is it okay? Oh my god, you even have a cut on your face!”
“……”
“I-I need medicine……”
Unlike my panicked self, Ricardo just quietly watched me.
“Does anything else hurt? You didn’t hurt your leg too, did you?”
Even as I kept asking, Ricardo only stared blankly at me.
……Don’t tell me he hit his head?
Did the shock turn him into an idiot?
Just when I had that ominous thought, Simon’s urgent voice rang out.
“Anne!”
“S-Simon!”
Thankfully, the carriage seemed to have stopped not far away. I turned my head to tell Ricardo that we should go. He was still just staring at me.
“Can you get up?”
“Oh dear, what in the world happened here!”
It wasn’t until Simon approached that Ricardo finally stood up.
“Let’s head back.”
Ricardo had returned to his usual self. But I couldn’t tear my gaze away from the back of his hand for a while.
* * *
“This used to be my old house!”
Simon led us to his home.
“It’s late, so let’s stay here tonight and head into the restricted zone tomorrow.”
“Thank you for hav—”
“No need for greetings. My whole family is already in the restricted zone.”
Simon scratched his cheek awkwardly as he climbed the stairs.
“By the way, it’s a bit embarrassing since this room is too shabby for His Grace.”
“It’s fine. I’m grateful you’ve even prepared a place for us to stay.”
At Ricardo’s words, Simon let out a sigh of relief and then turned to me.
“Anne, you can use the room next door.”
“Thanks.”
“Oh, and there should still be some medical supplies in the drawer on the first floor. You seemed like you might need them, so feel free to use them.”
Saying that, Simon left the house to buy some food.
Meanwhile, Ricardo slipped into his room.
……Is he really not going to treat his injuries?
I set my things down inside the room, then opened the door to get the medicine.
“……!”
But I came face to face with Ricardo, who was just about to knock on my door.
He was holding a medical kit in one hand.
Ah, thank goodness. So he did plan to treat himself!
I’d been wondering if I’d have to barge in and force him.
“Come in. I should’ve brought this first……”
As I reached for the medical kit Ricardo was holding, he suddenly raised it up out of reach.
“……?”
“I want to check your injuries first.”
At his words, suspicion colored my face. But only briefly—then I shouted, dumbfounded.
“Who are you to say that? Your Grace, you’re the one who’s seriously injured!”
“Sit down first.”
“I’m fine thanks to you, Your Grace!”
But Ricardo walked into the room as if he hadn’t heard me. Then he said quietly.
“Your back looked like it hurt.”
“Better than Your Grace who rolled down the hill!”
“……You kept grimacing in the carriage too.”
He narrowed his eyes, displeased with my stubbornness.
“Well that’s……!”
It was true that my back hurt. But compared to Ricardo, my pain was nothing.
The cloth I’d used for a makeshift dressing, torn from my dress, was stained red. And that wasn’t all—if I took this dress off, there’d probably be no part left unharmed.
At that moment, Ricardo carefully took my hand and pulled me toward him.
My heart stirred.
Why is my wound the problem now?
Why can’t he take care of his own injuries?
I wanted to resist, but there was no way I could overpower Ricardo. In the end, I was forced to sit in front of him and warned him.
“Don’t touch me.”
Ricardo flinched. But he soon gave a wry smile and lowered his head.
“Your Grace’s injury is……”
I couldn’t finish the sentence. The string of my dress slipped off, and cold air brushed against my skin.
“……!”
When I turned around, clutching the dress, I saw Ricardo holding the string in his mouth.
As the string fell to the floor, his shameless excuse followed.
“I didn’t use my hands.”