Chapter 50

“C-Costance!”

Startled, she called his name loudly.

Sir Costance hesitated for a moment at her voice, then grabbed Sampio by the collar firmly.

Sampio, who had been hit by Costance, spewed out rough curses without pause.

“You bastard!”

He flailed his arms and legs, trying to land a blow on Costance. But no matter how large Sampio’s build was, he couldn’t defeat Sir Costance.

Thud!

As Costance struck him again, Sampio’s face twisted in pain.

“D-damn it! I just wanted to get some money!”

“What?”

“I didn’t intend to harm the woman! Just money… only money!”

Sampio pointed at her.

What was he talking about with me and money?

Costance, who also didn’t understand, glared at Sampio menacingly.

“Speak clearly.”

“Damn it!”

Sampio panted heavily. Then, taking advantage of a momentary lapse, he slipped one hand into his pocket. What Sampio pulled out was a folding knife. The blade was deep and sharp, like a hunting knife.

“Costance!”

She called out urgently. Realizing the presence of the knife, Costance grabbed the blade with his hand without hesitation.

With his remaining arm, Costance struck Sampio’s face hard. With a dull sound, Sampio fell backward.

“Argh!”

Costance, holding the knife, looked down at Sampio with a cold gaze.

Blood dripped from Costance’s hand. Sampio, realizing the opponent before him was not someone he could defeat, hurriedly got up.

“A-alright. I’ll just leave… So… huh!”

Costance threw the knife toward Sampio.

The knife sliced through the air and embedded itself deeply into the ground. Sampio turned pale as he saw the blade deeply lodged right next to him. If he had moved slightly to the side, it could have been his leg impaled by the knife.

“…”

Costance walked toward him.

“I said I’m sorry! I-I was wrong! S-so! Ugh!”

Sir Costance grabbed Sampio by the collar. He whispered something in Sampio’s ear in a voice too low for her to hear.

Sampio’s face turned indescribably white. He quickly got up and vanished from her sight. His retreating figure resembled someone terrified after encountering a beast.

“…”

A heavy silence settled over the place where Sampio had left.

“Noona!”

“Vivi! Are you okay?”

At that moment, the voices of the boy and the Madame came from behind. They were each holding a frying pan and a fencing sword.

“Where is that guy? Vivi!”

The boy and the Madame looked around as they spoke. She hesitated about how to explain the situation, then realized there was no one around. Costance had disappeared in the meantime.

“…Vivi?”

The Madame called her with a worried voice.

“…Irini chased him away. It seems he’s afraid of cats…”

“Meow.”

She explained the situation absentmindedly. Only then did the boy and the Madame relax their tense expressions.

“Still, you never know when that guy might show up again, Vivi.”

“I don’t think he’ll come back now…”

“Don’t be complacent. How about staying at our place for a few days? Irini can come too.”

The Madame held her arm and suggested. She was about to reply when she noticed a figure standing behind a tree. It seemed Costance had hidden there.

“No… I don’t want to impose.”

Even as she answered, her gaze kept drifting toward Costance.

“Vivi, this is really dangerous.”

“Actually… I’m sorry. If I feel any gaze, I’ll go straight to your house. I promise.”

At her insistence, the Madame and the boy relaxed their expressions. Still, the Madame, worried about her, spoke again.

“Vivi, take this. It’s not a real sword, but it hurts quite a bit if you hit someone with it.”

The Madame handed her the fencing sword. Unable to refuse, she held the sword. The Madame and the boy offered to walk her home. She moved her feet at the Madame’s urging.

Even as she walked, she glanced behind the tree.

“Meow, meow.”

Irini, aware of Costance’s presence, meowed.

* * *

As soon as she got home, she searched for the medicine she had put in a corner.

The Madame and the boy had gone home… She checked that no one was around and then ran with Irini to the back of the tree trunk.

There, Costance, who hadn’t left yet, was leaning against it.

“…Why did you come out again when it’s dangerous at night?”

Costance spoke lowly when he saw her.

“…Why are you here?”

“Don’t blame me. If I hadn’t been here, you would have been hurt, Vivi.”

Costance spoke through gritted teeth. He was extremely angry, clutching his injured hand tightly. Blood dripped from the wound.

“Stop it!”

“Vivi?”

She intercepted Costance’s hand. He widened his eyes at her sudden action. She swallowed her tears as she unfolded each of his clenched fingers. His hand, which had been tense, completely relaxed.

“…Really… what is this.”

It was a knife with a deep blade. She expected the wound to be severe, but it was much deeper than she thought. The smell of blood was strong from his soaked hand.

“It’s ugly.”

Costance tried to pull his arm away, but she urgently held onto it.

“It’s not ugly.”

“…”

“It might sting a bit.”

She washed the blood off his hand with a bottle of water she had brought.

“Please… sit down. It’s uncomfortable to treat you like this.”

At her words, Costance sat down without a word. She also knelt, placing the medicine on the ground. Costance watched the medicine she had brought with a blank expression.

“You still had these?”

Following Costance’s gaze, she flinched.

Pads, medical tape, alcohol, and ointment for wounds, among other things. Come to think of it, these medicines… were the ones Sir Costance had bought for her when she was injured during the protest clash.

“…It was a waste to throw them away.”

After cleaning the blood-soaked hand, she applied ointment to the wound. Costance didn’t even flinch, as if it didn’t sting. He just persistently watched her hands treating his wound.

Her heart ached under his gaze. She hoped her heartbeat wouldn’t be loud enough to pierce her skin and reach Costance’s ears.

“Don’t do such things in the future. After all, you’re a soldier, aren’t you?”

“Such things?”

A wrinkle formed between Sir Costance’s eyebrows.

“That guy tried to harm you, Vivi.”

“But does that mean you can beat someone as if you’re going to kill them.”

“It wasn’t as if I was going to kill him.”

Undoubtedly, Sampio probably lost a few teeth from Costance’s punches.

“In fact, I restrained myself from breaking an arm.”

“Costance.”

“That way, that bastard won’t dare approach you again.”

He spoke roughly.

“Vivi, even though this is a small village, it’s still a place where people live. Someone like that guy might try to threaten you again.”

“I can handle myself.”

“Can you really handle it?”

Costance asked, looking down at her. He grabbed her hand with the one she had just bandaged. She was so surprised that she couldn’t even scream.

“What are you…!”

Costance tightened his grip on her hand.

The pressure gradually increased, as if it would crush her hand to powder. Her hand might really get crushed!

When she let out a groan, Sir Costance immediately released his grip.

“Even with an injured hand, I can easily overpower you, Vivi.”

The pad was stained red.

“Sometimes, you’re too careless.”

“When I say I can handle myself…”

“Vivi.”

“…Someone like Sampio, I have several ways to deal with him. I can use the fencing sword, throw sand, or threaten with a dagger.”

The quickly spoken sentences broke the somber atmosphere. After speaking, she focused again on Costance’s hand.

“I don’t like that you get hurt because of someone like Sampio.”

He looked at her with slightly surprised eyes, his mouth shut.

“Costance, you’re a soldier. You work for the empire.”

She removed the soiled pad and placed a new one over the wound. She wrapped a bandage around it to prevent the wound from reopening. Now, there wasn’t a drop of blood on the once-soiled hand.

“But because of me… you’ve made an enemy of someone you wouldn’t normally deal with and even got injured. I don’t like that.”

“…”

“This precious hand. Don’t use it for me, use it for those who truly need it, Sir.”

She released Sir Costance’s hand. He stared blankly at her hand as it fell away.

“Then… why do you keep running away if you think of me like that?”

He asked.

“Have I… have I done something wrong?”

He spoke, his voice trembling in front of her.

“…I’m sorry.”

“What on earth?”

When she bowed her head deeply, he anxiously moved his lips.

“…Actually, I’ve been thinking. About what you said, Vivi. That damned difference in status. Yes, I understand.”