Chapter 1.1 – Shower

It felt like being trapped inside a fiercely pouring waterfall. 

Nothing could be heard except the sound of rain pounding on his eardrums. 

Kaiden was thrown back to the time when he leaped into the temple waterfall, famous for its healing powers, during the era when mystical training methods were prevalent in the Royal Knights Order. 

The pouring water streams immobilized his body and shook his soul entirely. But after the fleeting ecstasy of being shattered and reborn, only pain remained. 

“Gasp, gasp….” 

The rain started without warning, as if it would swallow the world whole. The helplessness of that day, when he couldn’t open his eyes or breathe, gripped by something overwhelmingly supernatural, revived and weighed on his chest. 

It had been over a hundred days since he first saw her in Ferindale. 

Kaiden hadn’t breathed easily for a single moment. From the moment he first saw her…. 

“Surely somewhere around here….” 

Without knowing why, he retraced his steps along the path. The straw barn he passed earlier should be around here somewhere. 

“Damn.” 

Though he managed to find his way through the blinding rain, the barn door was firmly locked. 

Kaiden pressed his back against the damp outer wall and inhaled the cold air pooled under the narrow eaves. 

Rain fell from his soaking wet hair. Thunder roared like a beast lurking in the clouds. 

A bolt of lightning struck from the clear sky. The weather, which had been clear just ten minutes ago, suddenly became as chaotic as his mind. 

“Serves me right.” 

Kaiden muttered, looking down at his drenched appearance. 

If he had known this would happen, he would have stayed home. If he met her in such a state, wouldn’t it be a disaster? It would be better not to see her for a few days. …No. Is there anything worse than not seeing her for a few days? 

Rian…. 

He closed his eyes and repeated her name in his mind. 

A name he dared not speak aloud. Would he ever be able to call this utterly lovely name tenderly? 

He didn’t even have the courage to exchange a light greeting, like, ‘The weather is nice today’ 

Just the thought of her peach-colored cheeks and lips made his body twitch. The faint traces of the s*men he spilled thinking of her as soon as he woke up this morning might still be somewhere in his room. 

Was he a beast, not a person? 

He twisted his lips self-deprecatingly. 

“Sigh….” 

The sky, ominously darkened like divine punishment, showed no sign of clearing. The sight of thick raindrops mercilessly beating the dry grassland, raising a mist, was almost surreal. 

…It feels like the sky is pouring water on me to wake me up. 

Kaiden found himself like a mouse caught stealing an apple emitting a sweet scent while sneaking around someone else’s house, facing the cold gaze of someone who poured cold water from beyond the sky. 

“Sir Kaiden?” 

If not for the one who appeared through the curtain of pouring water at that moment. 

“Oh, it was you, Sir! I was startled, thinking a bear had come down from the mountain seeing you from afar, but I’m glad I came! What would you do if you got hurt, standing in the rain like this, dear knight?” 

If not for that, he would have believed this shower was divine punishment and turned back to the castle in despair. 

“Please follow me! What are you doing? It gets freezing when night falls!” 

Vowing never to set foot in Ferindale again. 

“Hurry! I said let’s go!” 

Promising never to repeat the past hundred days of wandering around her every night with such gloomy desires, hoping to see the face of a woman he barely knew, who was also married, or touch her body, or even brush against her in the wind. 

He reluctantly let go of the chance to suppress and kill such dirty and filthy desires. 

* * *

“It’s already like night….” 

Rian murmured, looking out at the darkness seeping through the window shutters. 

The room, lit by a single small candle, was as dark as midnight. Although it was deep autumn, Ferindale was a place where the sun set late, so it should have been the time when the reddish sunset shone. 

Shaaah, thud-thud-thud, the heavy rain began pounding on the wooden slate of the roof as if it would break it in the pitch-black darkness. 

She put down her knitting and stood up abruptly. She ran out to the goat pen, covered it with a tarp, and thoroughly checked to ensure the rain wasn’t getting in before returning to the living room, soaking wet. 

“Ah, maybe I should just sleep early….” 

Was it because the autumn rain was cold? After changing into dry clothes, fatigue suddenly overwhelmed her, and she yawned. 

She had been busy working all day since dawn. She had harvested the last potatoes and carrots of the year, tidied up the garden, collected dry branches to fill the firewood shed, and even cleaned the goat pen, which delayed dinner. 

Now, even if thunder roared, she felt she could sleep soundly as if she had fainted. 

It was then. 

“Rian! Rian! Are you home?” 

Bang, bang, bang, the voice shouting through the log house’s front door belonged to her relative, Pin. 

“Uncle Pin?” 

Why is he here? He must have known it would rain, yet he’s wandering outside in this weather. 

Rian opened the door, puzzled. 

“What brings you here? Is something wrong?” 

“Oh, thank goodness you opened quickly. May I come in?” 

“Of course. Please come in.” 

Pin shook off his raincoat and stepped inside. 

Then, a large shadow standing behind him suddenly entered Rian’s view. 

“Sorry to intrude.” 

He was a giant man whose head almost stuck out above the small door. 

…A noble. Though he lacked any special ornaments and was wrapped in a plain brown leather cloak, she could tell. 

Adult men who shaved their faces clean were typically those who served the king. It also meant they belonged to a class that could afford to care about cleanliness. 

Probably a knight. 

Though it was unclear if he had a sword at his waist, hidden by the cloak, a specially trained physique always showed a distinct difference from ordinary people. 

Given his imposing build and noble posture, he was undoubtedly a true knight, not a thug posing as one. 

A real knight in Ferindale. 

“I was caught in a sudden shower while walking on a nearby hill….” 

Her heart fluttered at his low, rich voice. 

Wow…. The rumor that nobles learn a refined way of speaking must be true…. 

Even his low mumbling was filled with an attractive resonance, and she blinked in amazement. 

“Ah, yes, a shower….” 

She trailed off, pressing down on her noisy chest. 

The gentle reverberation left by his voice seemed to tickle her waist. It felt like only his beautiful face was illuminated by the sun’s rays behind the clouds. 

The sensation, unfamiliar and astonishingly loud, left her bewildered. 

“A shower….” 

The reason she forgot to greet the noble respectfully was entirely because of that. 

“Oh, are you startled to see a noble for the first time? Oh dear! Don’t stand at the entrance, come inside, Sir Kaiden! You’ll catch a cold!” 

Sir Kaiden…? 

Ah, so it was this man. 

Rian finally realized that he was the protagonist of the rumor that had stirred the small village of Ferindale. 

Kaiden O’Connell. He was one of the king’s seven knights. He had come on leave to take care of his late mother’s hometown house. 

The young knight who appeared in the rural village was talked about in exaggerated tales like the hero of a legend, and Rian’s relatives and neighbors who visited her house would excitedly chatter about him. 

However, since her father’s funeral last year, Rian, who had been cooped up working at home, had never had the chance to encounter this noble traveler. 

“May I come in? …Rian.”

Suddenly called by name, she flinched greatly and blushed.

“Y-yes, of course. It’s humble, but please come in.”

Rian lowered her eyes, overwhelmed by the mix of fear and admiration rising in her chest.

When she first heard the news that a knight of the king, a real noble, had appeared in the village, she had brushed it off indifferently, not even remembering it.

But now, witnessing his presence face-to-face, her heart was stirred by overwhelming emotions.

“I-I’ll quickly prepare some warm tea. You might need a bath too… Uncle Pin, could you help our guest?”

He seemed like an angel descended from heaven. Like the angel with a sword painted on the church wall. 

Are all nobles as beautiful as him…?

“Rian! Do you have Dein’s ceremonial robes? You didn’t throw them away, did you?”

“They’re in the bottom drawer of my room. Please fetch them, Uncle.”

Just the presence of the large man and Uncle Pin moving around made the small house feel bustling for the first time in a while.

Rian moved busily. She poured the goat milk she churned in the morning into a kettle and placed it on the stove. Standing stiffly in front of the stove, she dared not even glance toward the room where the men had entered.

The man, drenched from the rain, was probably changing into the wedding attire her father had cherished in her room.

Would the clothes fit well? He’s much taller than Uncle Pin, so maybe….

Rian’s father was a man known as the knight of Ferindale. Born a poor farmer, he was a romantic who harbored lofty chivalry. Though he never formally learned the sword, he was as robust as a real knight, with a manly physique and strength.

Thus, he led the way in helping and protecting the villagers. And last winter, he lost his life fighting bandits who came over the mountain….