Chapter 1: The Berkshire Family Became Her Lifeline Part 13

Marien ran without looking back as Tamilan had told her. Since she would have to go in the direction where the wolves were to reach the castle, she decided to take a roundabout path.

However, she soon had to stop.

A wolf appeared right in front of her.

Grrr—!

Although it was much smaller than the large ones she had seen earlier, it was still a wolf.

Why is it alone? Could it have been separated from the pack?

While the wolf circled around her, looking for an opening, Marien kept her eyes on it.

On closer inspection, one of its hind legs seemed to be limping.

Could she shake it off?

Looking around, Marien saw that the trees were densely packed, making it difficult for her to escape. She began to sweat coldly again from the tension.

Please, I hope I can make it.

The moment the wolf’s eyes gleamed, Marien immediately grabbed a nearby tree and climbed up.

Grrr—!

The wolf lunged, grabbing her skirt and shaking its head violently to pull her down.

“Please, go away…”

Kicking and struggling as she stepped onto the branches, the skirt tore with a loud rip as the wolf yanked it.

She hadn’t climbed a tree since she was ten years old and didn’t know if she could now, but Marien summoned all her strength and scrambled up the branches, climbing to the middle of the tree.

“Haah… Now what do I do?”

Even though she was perched on the branches, her arms and legs trembled uncontrollably. The branches were not thick and felt unstable, but she lacked the confidence to move to another.

Marien checked her stinging knees. They were scratched from climbing, and blood started to bead up.

The torn skirt revealed her scraped knees, but that was the least of her concerns when her survival was at stake.

Below, the wolf was shaking its head in frustration, gnawing at the torn fabric it had bitten off.

***

Tamilan thought she had escaped, but should Marien call out loudly from where she was?

However, if more wolves gathered, it would be disastrous.

As Marien hesitated, the wolf, which had thrown aside the piece of fabric it was chewing, howled loudly and circled the tree.

It won’t be able to climb up.

It mustn’t…

Just as she was relieved that the wolf’s hind leg was injured, the branch she was sitting on made a creaking sound.

“Ah…”

The wolf below seemed to have heard the sound, scratching at the tree with its claws.

If I fall from here, I’ll be torn apart by that wolf, won’t I…?

Clinging to the tree trunk, Marien held herself steady with a tearful expression.

Swoosh—!

A thick arrow pierced the wolf’s neck with a thunk.

“Ah…”

The wolf collapsed silently to the side, instantly killed.

It was a miracle that Tamilan, who should have been dealing with the five wolves, appeared at that moment.

As Marien sighed in relief, Tamilan nocked another arrow and finished off the wolf.

“……”

Having seen another wolf threatening her, Tamilan was seething with rage.

There would be no more wolves in Berkshire in the future. He would wipe them out completely.

After confirming the wolf’s death, he glanced up at Marien in the tree and then quickly lowered his gaze, his expression awkward. Her legs were fully exposed.

“It’s a good thing you knew how to climb a tree. Now, come down.”

Marien tried to step onto a lower branch but slipped and returned to her original spot.

“I can’t come down…”

A moment ago, she had miraculously climbed up to save her life, but now the thought of descending made her head spin.

As she hesitated, repeatedly trying and stopping, Tamilan looked up at her again.

“If you can’t come down, just jump. I’ll catch you.”

“……”

“Marien tightly shut her eyes as if making a decision and then opened them. She believed that if it was Young Master Tamilan, he would surely catch her. As he opened his arms wide, Marien took a deep breath and jumped toward him.

Thud-

The impact from catching her made Tamilan stagger back a few steps, but he quickly regained his balance.

Then, he swiftly examined her from head to toe to check for any injuries, and his gaze settled on her knee.

Though it wasn’t a wolf-inflicted wound, the skin was scraped and in a mess.

“Thank you so much for saving me, Young Master.”

“There’s no need. You were just unfortunately caught up in it.”

As he held her tightly and closely examined her, Marien’s face flushed bright red.

“Yes. But, um, you can put me down now…”

“……”

Only then did Tamilan set her down on the ground.

As relief washed over her for being alive, Marien suddenly felt an overwhelming wave of exhaustion.

“Let’s go back. I’ll escort you to the castle.”

“Young Master. Actually… could I ask you a favor?”

As Tamilan let out a long sigh, Marien, still hesitant, resolutely began walking toward her destination.

Even though she had seemed as if she would collapse at any moment, her insistence on carrying the basket was something Tamilan couldn’t argue with.

Nearby, the carcasses of the wolves were scattered around.

How on earth did he manage to handle these huge wolves?

Even though they were already dead, their appearance was still intimidating, making Marien shudder slightly.

She had come to pick raspberries, but what on earth had she ended up with? If it hadn’t been for Young Master Tamilan…

As she lifted the basket filled with raspberries and herbs, she faintly smiled.

“Thank you, Young Master.”

“Give it to me.”

With an indifferent expression, he reached out his hand to her. It seemed like he was asking for the basket.

“I can carry this much.”

Seeing his displeased expression as he tried to insist again, Tamilan keenly observed her leg.

“Your knee…”

“It’s just a scratch… Ah, but Young Master, you’re injured too!”

His jacket and shirt were torn at the chest, with dried bloodstains on his skin. Tamilan checked his own chest and shook his head.

“A wolf lunged at me, but it’s not serious.”

“We should go back quickly for treatment.”

As Marien anxiously quickened her pace, Tamilan stopped her.

“…?”

Tamilan handed her the pocket containing the emergency supplies Haint had prepared.

“There’s ointment inside. Treat your knee first.”

Marien opened the pocket he handed over and checked the contents. It was well-stocked with disinfectant spirits, clean cloths, and ointments.

“You first, Young Master. You were scratched by a wolf’s claw.”

“……”

The two settled by a nearby tree stump to treat their wounds.

Upon examining his wound, as he said, it wasn’t serious. It was a bite, but thankfully not too deep.

As Marien wiped the blood from his skin, Tamilan spoke.

“Don’t go around alone from now on.”

“Alone?”

“Yes.”

Marien looked troubled. She had no one to accompany her, and being alone was more comfortable for her.

“Like I said before, I prefer working alone…”

Tamilan pointed with his chin toward the distant wolf.

“Could you kill that? No, you’d have a hard time just evading it. There’s no guarantee you’ll be as lucky next time.”

“……”

“If you can handle a wolf like that on your own, then I won’t worry anymore.”

As Marien applied ointment to his wound, she quietly looked up at him.

“Do I worry you?”

At her question, Tamilan’s eyebrow twitched.

This tiny woman worried him.

That was why he had been avoiding her.

But it wasn’t something he would admit so easily.

“That’s not the answer I wanted.”

“Yes. I’ll make sure not to go alone.”

Anyway, since it was unlikely she could defy his words, Marien gave him the answer he wanted. After finishing treating his wound, she began disinfecting her own knee.

Tamilan, finding Marien’s agreeable reply a bit suspicious, spoke again.

“Like I’m joking right now…”

A droplet of water suddenly fell onto her knee.

Both Tamilan and Marien looked up at the same time, and raindrops were falling—plop—onto their faces.

“I did think it might rain today…”

The sparse droplets soon turned into a steady downpour.

“……”

Swaa-!

As the rain turned into a torrential shower, Tamilan and Marien were drenched in an instant. The large tree trunk provided no shelter against the heavy rain.

They hastily tidied up the area and stood.

Marien recalled the large rock she had seen when she climbed the tree to escape the wolves. It was slanted like a roof, and it looked like it might provide shelter from the rain.

“There’s a place over there where we can take cover from the rain.”

***

The two of them took shelter under the wide rock, settling into a hollowed-out space.

As Tamilan pushed back his wet hair, rainwater streamed down his neck and into his shirt.

“Are you alright?”

“Y-yes… Yes.”

As he asked, Marien bowed her head deeply in reply.

“It doesn’t look like it’ll stop anytime soon.”

He took ointment and cloth out of the pocket and handed them to Marien.

“Thank you.”

Fortunately, the inside of the leather pocket was dry. Marien wrapped her knee with the cloth and did a simple dressing, then took out a portable sewing kit from her apron.

Maids often carried sewing kits since their clothes might get damaged during work, and Marien always kept one handy.

Feeling self-conscious about her exposed knee, she anxiously tugged at her skirt and began mending it.

Marien quickly finished her mending, and Tamilan, finding it curious, looked at her skirt.

As the rain showed no sign of stopping, Marien fidgeted with her hands and hesitated, looking at him.

“If you have something to say, say it.”

“Would you like me to fix your jacket a little?”

Marien, with her sewing kit in hand, stared quietly at him, her attention caught by his torn jacket.

Though Tamilan had never worn repaired clothes before, he handed over his jacket to her.

Marien placed the damp, heavy jacket neatly over her knees and took out a dark gray thread that matched the jacket.

As she embroidered a laurel pattern along the tear, it looked rather well done.

“You were in charge of laundry, right?”

At his comment, Marien couldn’t help but smile and shook her head.

“I’m actually better at embroidery.”

Tamilan’s brow furrowed at her words.

With such skill, why was she doing laundry?

“Don’t go to the laundry area anymore. Not only is working alone inefficient…”

Tamilan paused and sighed. She looked so fragile, as if she might collapse every time she struggled alone with laundry.

As he quietly watched her, Marien softly whispered.

“I don’t do laundry anymore. You probably didn’t notice since you’ve been absent….”

That was a relief. After a brief hesitation, Tamilan reluctantly spoke.

“That’s good. You were really bad at it.”

“Pardon? I really tried my best to wash everything….”

“You were bad at it.”

So don’t even think about doing it again. Swallowing the unspoken words, Tamilan closed his mouth.

Receiving this unexpected rebuke, Marien thought she was being scolded for not even being able to do laundry and buried her head between her knees.

“But… the embroidery turned out okay, right?”

“……”

When no answer came for even what she was confident in, Marien buried her face even deeper between her knees.”

 “After a while.

Gurgle—

Why now of all times? Marien wanted to disappear into a mouse hole. She glanced at Tamilan, hoping he’d pretend not to notice, but he met her gaze squarely.

“Eat.”

He suddenly handed her the basket of raspberries, and Marien, caught off guard, took it.

Even though she had picked them herself, they technically belonged to the Berkshire estate…

“Would you like some too, Master?”

“……”

Since he didn’t say anything, she couldn’t tell if he wanted any or not.

“Will you keep it a secret that I ate them…?”

Seeing the Master sigh in resignation, Marien felt relieved and offered a raspberry to his lips.

“What’s this?”

“A bribe.”

“Ha…”

Tamilan, bewildered, bit into the raspberry she offered.