Chapter 4

“No one did!”

I shook my head firmly, looking straight into Demius’s burning eyes.

“No. Really. It was all just a chain of misunderstandings.”

And it truly was.

I was not saying it to protect anyone. It was simply the truth.

The boy had only wanted to feed the horse some sugar cubes. The horse, trapped in its stall and restless, had become excited when it saw the sugar in his hand.

The loud bald man had only shouted for help because he was afraid the boy might get hurt, and the guards had rushed over in response to his plea.

And I had only stepped in because I wanted to clear up that misunderstanding.

“It was all caused by confusion. No one is to blame.”

Even though I spoke with conviction, Demius’s frown only deepened.

“But you were hurt.”

“I’m fine.”

When I shook my head repeatedly, Demius’s eyes softened with a faint look of concern mixed with stubbornness.

“…Very well.”

After closing his eyes briefly, Demius said quietly.

“Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that this truly was a minor misunderstanding.”

“Exactly, right?”

I brightened, but his next words came out as cold as ice.

“Even so, punishment is necessary. Without discipline, order will collapse.”

“You are absolutely right.”

“…!”

Demius’s eyes widened in surprise at my response.

But the words that followed made his brow twitch.

“However, not right now.”

“And why not…?”

“There are times when rules are needed. During crises that demand quick decisions.”

“Are you saying your injury is not serious enough to count as an emergency?”

“Lord Demius.”

“…!”

His eyes widened, and the back of his neck flushed red.

Oh no, did I say something wrong?

I blinked, but then noticed that his expression had softened slightly.

“Please calm down and look at me.”

For some reason, the tips of his ears turned even redder as he stared at me.

Was he angry?

But his tightly pressed lips had relaxed, so maybe the tension was fading.

Feeling a bit confused by his expression, I continued to speak carefully.

“Thank you for worrying about me. I’m truly grateful for that. But I really am fine. And most importantly, if we keep trying to assign blame for every single thing, only those who cannot defend themselves will suffer.”

Those who cannot defend themselves.

The weak.

“A horse cannot speak for itself, can it?”

Demius gazed at me silently for a long time before letting out a soft sigh.

“I have never met anyone who worries more about a horse than themselves.”

“But I’m really fine. Look. I’ve already healed.”

I pressed the bandage lightly to show him. The scab beneath it had hardened, so it barely hurt anymore.

“It’s thanks to the precious potion someone used to heal me.”

“…”

Demius’s eyes finally lowered slightly, his expression loosening.

“Why is it that you always…”

He bit his lip, cutting off the rest of his words, then turned sharply toward the boy.

“Why did you go into the stable?”

The boy gasped and drew in a sharp breath.

“Hic!”

Startled, he began to hiccup uncontrollably.

Hic. Hic. He tried to stop, but the hiccups would not go away. His round eyes filled with tears again as panic overtook him.

I quickly reached out and stepped between him and Demius’s stern gaze.

“He said he likes horses. He just wanted to see the new one and give it a sugar cube.”

“He should have known better than to approach a horse carelessly.”

Even with my explanation, Demius’s tone remained harsh.

“Why would he put himself in danger?”

“He’s just a child.”

I blocked Demius’s disapproving stare and continued speaking calmly.

“Of course we should teach him not to do dangerous things. But children can’t understand everything yet. They learn by making mistakes and getting hurt, by realizing what they shouldn’t do. I was the same.”

I spoke quickly, barely pausing for breath.

“Once, back in my village, there was a cliff surrounding it, right? I nearly fell to my death the first time I tried climbing it. I was five.”

“…Five?”

Demius looked shocked, but I glanced at the teary-eyed boy and went on.

“That’s how I learned. You have to be careful when climbing cliffs.”

“Was not climbing the cliff never an option for you?”

“If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have been able to save you when you fell beneath it.”

“…!”

A look of realization flashed in Demius’s eyes.

He drew in a slow breath, and the anger that had clouded his face began to fade.

I smiled softly and continued.

“I’m sure you tried many things when you were little too. And in doing so, you learned what was right and what was wrong.”

I smiled faintly.

“We all grow through our mistakes.”

So.

I turned toward the boy and spoke gently.

“You must have learned a lot today, haven’t you?”

The boy clenched his hands tightly, then nodded hard.

His hiccups had not stopped yet, but his eyes were filled with a sincere light that seemed to say, ‘I’m sorry.’

After a short silence, Demius pressed his fingers to his temple and sighed.

“…You must never do that again.”

Nod, nod.

The boy clamped a hand over his mouth to stifle another hiccup and nodded eagerly.

I watched them both nervously until Demius suddenly turned to me with another question.

“Then why were you at the stable?”

“I wanted to look after Mother.”

“…What?”

His expression said he could not understand what that had to do with the stable, but I just smiled sheepishly and waved my hand.

It would have taken far too long to explain that I had climbed over the wall to avoid disturbing the guards and somehow got caught up in the whole stable incident.

Instead, I asked him a different question.

“Are you all right? You’re covered in blood.”

“I only stopped by briefly. I have to head back right away.”

Demius looked at me quietly and muttered under his breath.

“I hurried through everything just in case, and still this happened while I was gone.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s nothing.”

The bitterness at his lips softened into a faint smile.

Demius spoke in a gentle, low voice.

“I’ll return as soon as I can.”

“Um, you won’t kill the horse, will you?”

He paused for a moment, then gave a short but firm nod.

“No. I’ll tell the servants to spare it.”

“Thank you.”

Demius narrowed his eyes slightly, his tone turning a bit gruff.

“Why are you thanking me for sparing a horse that hurt you?”

“Because it makes me happy.”

“…Truly, you are…”

He let out a long sigh, then spoke in a quieter voice.

“Anyway, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to raise my voice at you.”

“You were angry with me?”

When I widened my eyes, Demius looked straight at me and gave a faint smile.

“No. Of course not.”

“There aren’t many people in this world who could make me angry anyway.”

He spoke softly, then reached out a hand toward me.

But the moment he saw the blood still clinging to his fingers, he pulled back quickly.

His lips curved in a small, regretful smile.

“Then, I’ll be going.”

“Yes. Please be careful out there.”

“I will.”

His eyes were gentle again as he glanced at the boy by my side, then turned to leave.

He walked to the door, placed his hand on the knob, and looked back one last time as if to memorize my face.

Then he closed the door slowly.

It made no sound at all, completely unlike when he had entered.

“Oh.”

I suddenly remembered something important.

Clenching both fists with resolve, I nodded firmly to myself.

I should go visit Mother.

* * *

“You’re awake!”

A bright, unfamiliar voice pierced the air.

Grand Duke Seres frowned and turned his head toward the source of the sound.

A girl with a bandaged head was smiling cheerfully as if nothing had happened.

“I’m so glad!”

“…Why is that girl here?”

No, more importantly.

Seres spoke in a low, displeased tone.

“What happened while I was unconscious?”

Linburton, standing at his bedside, quickly bent forward and whispered in his ear.

He explained that after the Grand Duke collapsed, monsters had appeared.

Demius had gone out with the knights to deal with them.

And during that time, Linburton had ordered the girl, Melissa, to leave the premises.

He insisted that he had personally watched her being escorted beyond the front gate.

Yet somehow, the girl had ended up inside the garden again.

At the stable, no less.

“…She climbed over the wall?”

How?

The Grand Duke stared at Melissa in disbelief.

Wearing that kind of dress?