Though her vision was blurred, the sensation of his soft lips against her leg was clear.

“My lord…!”

The sensations that followed brought her back to reality. She tried to pull her leg away, but of course she couldn’t overpower him. Even though his grip was light and without force, she still couldn’t free herself.

She reached out to remove his hand, but Johannes was quicker than her. His slightly parted lips pressed against her ankle and began to suck violently. Rosalyn just stared at the scene. The rising heat kept her wet violet eyes fixed on his deeply scarred cheek.

After a few more moments of sucking out the venom, Johannes lifted his head. The red blood on his lips was obvious.

Unconsciously, her hand, which had been resting on his, flinched. As Rosalyn stared blankly, Johannes’ image was clearly etched in her eyes. Even as she struggled to breathe, she couldn’t look away.

With their eyes locked, Johannes tilted his head slightly and spat the contents into his mouth.

At that moment, the intense fear that had been rising within her began to subside, slowly fading away. The fact that she had once warned herself that he might be the one to harm her now seemed meaningless.

At that moment, the intense fear Rosalyn had been feeling began to subside, slowly fading away. The worry that she might be the one to harm herself now seemed meaningless.

As Rosalyn felt her consciousness slip away, Johannes continued to suck in the venom and spit it out. Then he tore off the end of the black cloak that had fallen at her feet.

Then he wrapped the end of the cloak around Rosalyn’s swollen ankle. He draped the noble Lombard cloak, a symbol of honour, over the dirty, blood-stained area.

If anyone else had seen it, they would surely have been shocked, but he remained unconcerned, concentrating only on treating the wound.

He carefully wrapped the cloth over the injury, taking care not to tie it too tightly, but leaving enough space to avoid discomfort.

His hands moved with practiced skill. Amidst the soft sensation of the cloth around her leg, Rosalyn slowly lost consciousness.

***

When she regained consciousness, it was broad daylight. She lay there for a while, not quite aware of where she was.

Her wandering eyes finally settled on the ceiling, where a bright, ornate mural was painted, and only then did she realise she was in her bedroom.

Still, her face remained dazed for a while. A knight standing beside her, instead of the healer tending to her leg, noticed that she had woken up and opened her eyes in surprise.

“Ah, are you awake?”

Rosalyn squinted slightly to clear her blurred vision. Amidst the overlapping images, the man’s black hair was the only thing she could see clearly. So… the man standing by her bed, checking her condition, was not the one she had expected.

As soon as she realised this, Rosalyn sat up quickly. As she looked around in panic, McGilroy quickly realised the reason and rushed to reassure her.

“Ah, please don’t worry. I’m here on Lord Moore’s orders.”

“Lord Moore?”

Rosalyn blinked weakly, unable to fully process what she had just heard.

Rosalyn remembered again the people who had arrived at Delmart Castle. Two Imperial Knights, along with about ten common knights and at least twice that number of lesser soldiers. As she remembered, she realised that the knight standing before her was one of the common knights who had been with Johannes.

Although she wanted to ask about Johannes’ well-being, she saw the healer continuing his work on her feet. With so many people around, she hesitated to mention his name.

Of course, the nights when she and Johannes crossed the lake alone in the dark were her secret.

*How much do they know?”

Though her mind was still clouded, Rosalyn couldn’t help but look nervously at McGilroy and the Healer. When their eyes met, McGilroy seemed to misunderstand her feelings and flashed a deliberately friendly smile.

“Please don’t worry, miss. The healer said the amount of poison injected was small, so it’s not serious. Isn’t that right?”

He asked, looking at the healer who was applying medicine to Rosalyn’s leg. The old man nodded quietly.

“In this case, the antidote should do the trick. If more poison had been injected, it could have been very dangerous.”

“Why add such threatening words?”

McGilroy muttered a complaint, then looked at Rosalyn to gauge her reaction. Fortunately, she didn’t seem upset or distressed.

When McGilroy heard from the healer that Rosalyn was stable, the fatigue that had been building all day finally hit him.

He had been running around since early morning to call the Healer. As he stood silently by the bed, stifling a yawn, Rosalyn noticed and spoke softly.

“I’m sorry, I must have made such a mess of your morning.”

“Oh, no! It’s nothing at all…”

McGilroy straightened his back and resumed his proper posture, and Rosalyn gave him a slight smile, causing McGilroy’s face to blush slightly.

Her beauty had always been undeniable.

There was not a single sharp feature on her small face. The smooth forehead, the well-defined nose. Her slightly upturned eyes, which could sometimes seem a little arrogant, but her full lips were simply charming. It was hard to believe that she was the daughter of that unpleasant old man.

As a knight loyal to the Emperor, McGilroy had no good feelings towards the Duke Delmart, but he could never forget the first time he saw Rosalyn Delmart. No, he doesn’t think any decent man would forget it. Not only because of her striking beauty, which attracted attention, but also because of her kind nature, which made everyone fall in love with her.

But Lord Moore wouldn’t be like that. Yes, of course. McGilroy nodded to himself, quietly forming a firm conclusion in his mind. What sort of man is his superior? Even if he were made of ice, he wouldn’t be colder than him. Does he even have emotions? McGilroy always wondered.

He had served for years, but even now he knew very little about his superior, Johannes Moore. It wasn’t from a lack of interest; it was simply that Johannes was a man with almost no visible weaknesses.

The Knights of Lombard were selected through a rigorous process, like a fine sieve, and the admission process was notoriously strict.

Johannes Moore was the only one who, at the time of his initiation, managed to obtain the unanimous consent of the reigning emperor and the commander of the Lombards, Felipe Baron.

As a result, Johannes was in the spotlight from the moment he joined, but almost nothing was known about his background.

Take Lord Robein, for example, who was also sent to the Delmart territory. Although his personality was somewhat frivolous, he was the third son of a noble family with a long history.

Unlike the Knights of Lombardy, who all had strong family backgrounds, Johannes Moore’s origins remained a mystery.

Some said he might have been the unofficial lover of Prince Raphael, the crown prince at the time. The rumours weren’t entirely unfounded at the time, as Raphael was known to be a man who recoiled at the slightest touch, despite being engaged to an adored fiancée.

On the other hand, Johannes Moore had won Prince Raphael’s complete trust and had performed his role as his follower with distinction, and his striking appearance had the ability to attract attention regardless of gender.

As a result, there were those who firmly believed the implausible rumours. Fortunately, these rumours gradually died down after Raphael became infatuated with the daughter of a lowly noble family.

There were also rumours that his unusually white hair was a sign of unusual ancestry or inferior background, but such stories were hard to believe, for Johannes Moore was a truly noble man.

Those with impressive titles who hadn’t been properly educated often revealed their lack of refinement in the smallest of movements. But there was no such sign in him. His abilities had long been recognised and there was no doubt as to his qualifications.

Nevertheless, rumours about Johannes never ceased, probably because of his lack of obvious background, his charming appearance that easily captivated people, and his overly indifferent personality.

These qualities made him vulnerable to unfounded gossip. Even McGilroy, who could be said to have a fairly close relationship with him, occasionally found himself doubting whether Johannes was really like everyone else.

As McGilroy continued with his trivial thoughts, the healer finished the examination and carefully repositioned Rosalyn’s ankle.