Translator and Editor: Effe and Yonnee

‘A weak voice..’

It was a long night when she opened her eyes. A night when everyone is asleep. The lit candle was almost burnt out and the light flickers uneasily.

Tessa slowly blinked her eyes and looked around the room. She thought the structure and furniture to be familiar, so she was in her room in the annex.

‘Why am I here..?’

She remembered being taken hostage by the Young Marquis, but from then on, her mind was fuzzy. She seemed to remember vaguely that she was moved by someone in the middle. Tessa found someone near the bedside once she tried to move her body to find Mani.

“Ah..”

Half-hidden in the darkness, she saw Hert sitting on the chair, his eyes closed. Tessa took a breath unknowingly at the sound of his quiet breathing. Why was he here?

Hert had never even come to the annex. When calling Tessa from the castle, he always used the soldiers or knights under his command. He never walked near the annex.

Tessa saw that Hert was asleep and slowly stepped out of the bed. Her neck, tightly wrapped in bandages, was uncomfortable, and her whole body was aching, but she couldn’t just lie down like this. Above all, her throat was dry and her stomach was a little hungry. She had to find Mani.

“Where.”

The moment she put her feet on the floor, a large hand supported her trembling body. Suddenly, Hert was looking at Tessa, frowning at her.

“Where are you going.”

“That, that..”

“If you need anything, tell me. I will bring it to you.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay. I can do it, ah!”

Hert lifted Tessa gently and put her back on the bed. Tessa, who suddenly returned to her original position, looked up at Hert with a slightly bewildered expression on her face. It was only then that he could clearly see Hert’s figure hidden in the darkness.

Darkened and sharpened eyes. Dark blonde hair that was cluttered, and lips raised as if they were roughly bitten. She doesn’t know what he did to his shirt, which was usually held together without a single wrinkle, but there were a lot of wrinkles and a button or two were unclasped.

“Don’t, just tell me. Because the doctor said you should rest. Water?”

Hert got up naturally, walked over to the table and grabbed a glass of water. The sound of filling the glass with water echoed through the room. Tessa just looked at Hert with a puzzled look on her face until a glass of water was held in front of me. Why was Hert doing this to me?

“What are you doing?”

“How could the lord be here..”

“Can’t I be here? Is there anywhere in this castle that I cannot go?”

“It’s not..”

“Then you don’t like me in your room?”

“Oh, no, it’s not..”

“Then drink.”

Hert held out the glass of water to Tessa again. Reluctantly, Tessa looked into his eyes and drank a little water. When she drank the water, her throat, which was aching as if it was going to crack, seemed to get better. But she still didn’t understand why Hert was doing this to her.

“Do you need anything more?”

Hert asked, taking the glass of water back. Tessa shook her head at this.

“Hungry.”

“..Yes?”

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“It’s.. I think I’m fine.”

Tessa shook his head once more. Actually, she was a little hungry, but not to the point where she couldn’t stand it. Above all, it was early morning. Everyone was sleeping, but because of her, she didn’t want to wake anyone. It didn’t matter if she filled her hungry stomach after dawn. Just because she doesn’t eat right now doesn’t mean she was going to die.

Hert, on the other hand, had a different idea. He stared at the slender woman’s stomach. In fact, not only her stomach, but also her limbs, which looked like only bones, were carefully examined by him. He wished she could move well with a body like that. Did she even eat? It seemed like he had to see how much she usually eats with his own two eyes.

Hert walked towards the door to call someone.

“I’ll ask them to prepare something simple right now.”

“No, it’s okay if you don’t..”

At that moment, Hert turned to Tessa. There was annoyance on his face. He showed a clear sign that he didn’t like it. For that reason, Tessa struggled to remember if she had done something wrong.

But there was nothing to guess. No matter how she looked at it, she didn’t really do anything.

Before long, Hert spoke harshly.

“I don’t care what you think of me. It’s only natural that you hate me. But don’t say that you don’t like it that much.”

“..What? What do you mean..”

“Stop saying that you’re ‘fine’, damn it.”

At Hert’s low voice, Tessa shut her mouth. Hert had a lot to say, but then he turned his back with a small sigh.

“..Fine. Even if you don’t like it, I’ll tell them to bring it.”

Hert went out and called the servant, and ordered him to bring a simple meal for Tessa to eat. After the servant disappeared, Hert closed the door and returned to the room.

Fortunately, Tessa was still there. But she looked even more confused when Hert reappeared.

“Look at me.”

Hert stretched his hand out to Tessa’s forehead. The man’s hot hand gently wrapped Tessa’s small forehead.

Her cold body was suddenly warm. It seemed to help that he lit the furnace all the time she slept. He didn’t show it, but Hert let out a sigh of relief.

“Anywhere uncomfortable.”

“..N, no.”

“If it hurts, don’t hide it, tell me right away. Whether you call the doctor or the maid, get treatment. Don’t collapse like this every time.”

Tessa looked up blankly at Hert, who took his hand off her forehead. Because the way he checked the fever on her forehead overlapped with that of the boy who had nursed her all night long.

Of course, she knew that she shouldn’t project the Hert of that time to the present Hert, but over and over, she could only see a boy who was kind to her.

‘No, don’t do this.’

Tessa reflexively held back the tears as they welled up. But as time passed, the tears continued to fill her eyes.

It was strange. She cried so much when he only checked her forehead. It must have been something Hert would have done without thinking. Her tear glands must have been broken.

‘It’s nothing. To Hert, I am nothing.’

Wake up. The man in front of her was no longer the Hert she once knew. First of all, she needed to know her place. Had she not given up on that yet?

Tessa scolded herself. The rebuke made her chest hurt like it was, but she didn’t stop. Because she never should dream in vain again. Because that was the reality given to Tessa.

Didn’t he say it in the commotion the Young Marquis caused in the daytime? She’s nothing to him. That was correct. Tessa and Hert had to have nothing to do with each other.

Tessa had to try not to expect from him as much as possible, even when Hert appeared before her eyes. He didn’t come to save her, but only to catch the Young Marquis. She kept repeating the thought over and over again as he stabbed her neck with a knife.

However, the condition of her body was worse than usual, so tears eventually ran down her cheeks. Seeing Tessa’s tears, Hert’s expression hardened. It was frustrating. Why was she crying? Was she hurt anywhere?

He was about to get a close look at Tessa’s face. Tessa mumbled first, lowering her head.

“What—”

“It’s okay. Nothing, really nothing.. Just, in the eyes.. It felt like something was in my eye.. I’m sorry.”

Tessa hurriedly wiped the corners of her eyes with the hem of her sleeve. Still, tears flowed nonstop. This shouldn’t be the case. Even seeing her crying must have been one of the things Hert didn’t want to see.

“I’ll, I’ll stop, quickly.. I’m sorry, I’m really sorry..”

Constantly apologizing, Tessa squeezed her eyes shut.

“.....”

With Tessa crying in front of her, Hert was silent for a moment.

He looked out the window. The deepening night was still not going away. Maybe that’s why. The hatred for Tessa was shattered in a very short time.

Hert cautiously reached out towards Tessa’s face. Then he restrained the woman’s arms as she casually rubbed her eyes.

“You still have the habit of rubbing your eyes.”

“.....”

“Don’t cry.”

Hert’s hot hand gently touched Tessa’s eyelids. He wiped the tears from her cheeks with his thumb. The two remained silent for a while.

Hert closed his eyes and looked down at Tessa, who slowly calmed down. Her face was smaller than the palm of his hand. There was a time when it was nice to just stare at this face all day. It was a fact that he couldn’t deny, and he didn’t want to hide. That’s how much he liked this woman in front of him. No, he didn’t just like her. He loved her.

‘Hert!’

Back then, Tessa was always bright and lively. It wasn’t just that. She was a sweet, kind, caring little angel. The children of the orphanage naturally liked and followed her, and the teachers praised her.

Tessa also had excellent skills. The sound of her singing as she sang was as pure as a little lark, and the lines of her body as she danced made anyone fall in love.

The clear blue sky, the rustling of the wind, and the ginger-colored hair fluttering in it. Everyone loved Tessa singing her songs and dancing.

Hert never forgets those moments.

So he wanted to give her everything.

But not now.

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