“What, what is it?”

The man, while pinning me against the wall, was breathing heavily. His body rose and fell with each breath, looking precarious.

“Did you come alone?”

The man asked me in a voice full of suspicion.

His behavior was extremely rude to someone who’s trying to help, but considering his original status and my position, I couldn’t question his rudeness. Of course, I knew his status because I was familiar with the original novel!

And from his perspective, it was a situation worth being suspicious of. A strange woman bringing him to a warehouse and treating his wounds—I’d be suspicious too.

I didn’t want to unnecessarily stir up trouble. If he mistook me for an enemy and killed me, it would be disastrous.

In the end, I nodded slowly. He seemed worried that I might have brought someone.

“I-I’m alone.”

When he heard my words, the man held his breath to see if there were any sounds outside.

The sound of our breathing was buried under the loud rain.

“…You’re alone.”

I tried to twist my body to get away from the man, but he leaned on my shoulder.

His head touching my shoulder was hot. No, not just his head. His whole body was burning up.

At that moment, the man’s body slowly collapsed to the floor.

“Hey!”

I urgently supported his body and sat down.

He was incredibly heavy.

It made sense.

He was about a head and a half taller than me and full of muscles.

I groaned as I turned his body so he could lie down properly.

Now that I looked, his wound had worsened.

“Ugh, that must hurt.”

Blood was continuously flowing from the open wound.

It was a wonder he wasn’t dead.

Clicking my tongue, I picked up the potion that had fallen to the floor.

As a maid, I could only afford a low-grade potion.

Potions were hard to come by since they only came from the Magic Tower, and high-performance potions were, of course, very expensive. Only nobles or wealthy people could afford them.

Well, even though it was low-grade, it was better than nothing, so I had saved up to buy it, and now it was being used here.

It was a potion I had barely managed to buy with my hard-earned money, but if it could save the lives of the people in Count Maynard’s household and mine, it was worth it.

I had been curious if the potion would actually work, and now I had the chance to find out. I opened the potion bottle without hesitation.

I was about to use the potion on the man but, out of curiosity, brought the bottle to my nose.

Surprisingly, the potion had no smell.

What the heck. Potions are nothing special. Now that I had checked, it was time to use it.

I slowly poured the red liquid from the bottle onto the man’s wound.

As the liquid touched the wound, it began to emit a faint light.

It glowed like a neon sign. The light emanating from the wound shone softly and then slowly faded.

Where the light disappeared, the ugly wound had slightly healed.

It seemed it was indeed a low-grade potion. Only a thin layer of new skin had formed over the open wound, and it looked like the wound would reopen if the man moved. The low-grade potion’s ability was limited to stopping the bleeding.

I felt a bit disappointed, but if I bought another one later, it could be useful.

After finishing my thoughts, I brought the prepared handkerchief to the man’s wound and wrapped it with cloth to secure it. It was clumsy, but it would still be a great help to the man. The wound had closed, and the bleeding had stopped, reducing the risk of dying from excessive bleeding.

Looking up at the man’s face again, he seemed much more comfortable.

Was this enough?

If he safely got through the rainy season, he wouldn’t have to come here again. That way, Miss Veronica’s future wouldn’t be filled with misfortune. After all, the two wouldn’t have met!

Good.

I should bring him food occasionally to prevent any problems and keep him fed until he leaves.

I felt proud, thinking I had protected the future of my beloved Miss Veronica.

And I had also changed my own future from dying.

“But he really is handsome.”

I muttered quietly as I looked at the man lying on the floor.

Miss Veronica, the protagonist of this novel, was beautiful and lovely, but the villainous sub-male lead was also a sculpted beauty. The male lead must be even more handsome than this man.

I brushed the man’s wet hair aside and slowly examined his features.

Sharp, blue eyes hidden behind tightly closed lids, a prominent nose, gently closed lips, and a defined Adam’s apple beneath his chin.

How could his skin be so smooth?

And what about that body?

“No, get a grip.”

I shook my head to clear my thoughts as I stared at the man.

He was someone unrelated to me. It would be better if he remained unrelated in the future.

I confirmed that the man was asleep and stood up.

The emergency treatment was done, and there was nothing more I could do to help.

***

“Ugh.”

Alexander frowned as a sharp pain shot through his lower left abdomen, slowly opening his eyes.

The room was dark as if it were evening, with no light coming in.

‘Where am I?’

Alexander tried to recall.

He had been waiting for a woman named Claire to return.

He remembered pushing Claire against the wall as she entered and confirmed she was alone.

Yes, he remembered up to that point.

But he had no memory beyond that.

Alexander looked around.

It was still the warehouse.

He sighed in relief, confirming he was still safe in the warehouse.

Fortunately, it seemed Claire wasn’t an accomplice of the traitor.

With that thought, Alexander slowly sat up.

His abdomen still hurt from the stab wound.

As he absentmindedly touched the wound, Alexander felt something unfamiliar.

What his hand touched was cloth wrapped like a bandage.

Looking at the carefully knotted cloth, Alexander let out a small laugh. It didn’t look skillful, but it showed meticulous effort.

***

“Claire, what brings you here at this hour?”

While I was gathering food in the kitchen, the head chef, Rotger, questioned me.

I was startled, not expecting anyone to come, and stood up abruptly.

“Ah! Well, I’ve been feeling hungry lately, maybe because I’m growing, so I came to see if there were any leftovers I could eat as a midnight snack…”

I awkwardly smiled and lifted the tray in my hands.

On the tray were a few slices of ham from dinner, warm potato soup, two boiled potatoes, three boiled eggs, bread, and a glass of goat milk.

“If you eat that much after dinner, won’t you feel sick in the morning?”

Rotger’s voice was full of concern.

He was right. If I ate all that and went to bed, I’d surely feel sick in the morning. But this wasn’t my food, so it didn’t matter.

“I’m fine. Can I take this?”

Rotger frowned but nodded.

I bowed to Rotger and covered the tray with a lid before leaving the kitchen.

It was still raining outside.

I looked at the rain for a moment. Before leaving, I carefully covered the tray with a waterproof cloth. It would be troublesome if the food I had prepared got wet.

After checking everything, I pulled my hat down and stepped into the rain.

Even with a thick raincoat, the rain was so heavy it felt like it was piercing my skin. Would I end up covered in bruises?

I hurriedly walked to a place where I could escape the rain.

The warehouse was as silent as the day before.

I familiarly lifted the tray with one hand and opened the warehouse door.

“Hey? I’m coming in.”

Without waiting for the man’s permission, I quickly stepped inside. As soon as I entered, I set the tray down on the floor and took off my raincoat.

The raincoat was good at keeping the rain out, but it was quite heavy. Wearing it made me tired quickly.

I placed the raincoat aside and looked for the man.

He was sleeping on a makeshift bed of straw.

I considered leaving immediately but decided to stay, seeing the heavy rain. Since it was pouring outside, I might as well rest here for a while.

The straw was quite comfortable. I sat down and stared at the man.

How many chances would a maid like me have to look at a duke’s face up close?

Probably never.

But this was an exception.

In this warehouse, this man wasn’t a duke.

He was just an injured man who didn’t want to reveal his identity.

And I was his savior.

So it was okay to look at him like this.

The man’s face was so handsome that I never got tired of looking at it.

I could look at him all day without realizing how much time had passed.

His flawless, smooth skin, sharp features, and firm chest that moved up and down with each breath.

Most of all, his blue eyes, which were shining like jewels, were truly enchanting. They were looking at me…

Wait, they were looking at me?

Startled, I took a deep breath and looked at the man.

“Your face is red.”

The man teased me with a pleasant, low voice.

I tried to act nonchalant and cleared my throat.

“It’s because it’s hot.”

I answered casually, and the man chuckled playfully.

“In this weather?”