Pardon the Abduction, Holy Knight - It's an Emergency - Chapter 2.7

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“Stop…”

“Sir Knight?”

I paused as I was wiping Adriel’s forehead with a damp cloth and disinfecting it.

Is he awake?

However, Adriel, who I thought had regained consciousness, only contorted his face as if in pain.

It seemed he was having a nightmare.

After looking down at him for a moment, I was about to cover him with the blanket and leave the room.

“Don’t go…”

But I couldn’t because he grabbed my wrist.

It was fortunate that Wit had left the house, saying he would try to persuade Taro.

If he had seen this, he would have made a fuss again.

“…?”

As I tried to pull my hand away, Adriel gripped my wrist even more tightly.

Is he awake or not?

“Don’t go…”

“……”

What kind of dream is he having to plead so desperately?

As I was wondering what to do, I let out a deep sigh at Adriel’s continued murmuring.

“Father… Mother…”

Suppressing the sleepiness that was creeping up on me, I sat at the edge of the bed and looked down at him as he struggled in agony.

Mother, Father…

I could guess what kind of dream Adriel was having.

If it was a nightmare related to his family, it could only be that.

The night when his entire family was murdered by demons.

Before the demons broke in, Adriel had fallen asleep while playing in his secret space.

Thanks to that, he was able to survive, but he had to listen vividly to the sounds of his parents and younger sibling dying while he curled up in hiding.

Adriel entered the temple out of guilt for surviving and to seek revenge on the demons who killed his family.

But not long after, he unfortunately got caught by Rosemary and ended up being imprisoned…

After looking down at him for a moment, I brushed away the hair covering Adriel’s forehead.

“I won’t go.”

Normally, I would have just ignored him and left the room.

But the reason I feel this concerned might be because I understand Adriel’s situation.

“I’ll stay here, so sleep comfortably.”

How sad it is to lose one’s family.

I know it well.

“…Sleep comfortably, Sir Knight.”

Is my voice reaching him?

The question was quickly resolved. Judging by how Adriel’s pained expression gradually relaxed.

I found myself smiling slightly without realizing it.

His long, neatly lowered eyelashes twitched, and then his eyelids lifted.

Soon after, Adriel’s drowsy gaze fell on me.

He blinked slowly with a face still heavy with sleep. His gaze was fixed on me, and there was still strength in the grip on my wrist.

“……”

“Sir Knight?”

I called out to him softly because he was too quiet.

Then, as if struck by lightning, he who had been staring at me blankly raised his upper body.

“Why, here…”

Adriel’s trembling eyes wandered around the room as if lost.

Himself lying on the bed. Rosemary stuck right next to him.

As a look of suspicion began to appear on his face, I quickly explained the situation.

“Let me tell you in advance, I didn’t do anything.”

He looked at me with distrustful eyes.

“What’s with that look? I didn’t do anything, I tell you.”

“……”

“No… Okay. First, do you remember fainting?”

After being lost in thought for a moment, he nodded slowly.

“Do I look like someone who would abandon a person who’s fainted?”

“……”

“Do I really look like that?”

If so, then I have nothing to say…

“Geez. You’ve misjudged me. I’m not actually like that, you know? Besides, Sir Knight, you were even bleeding… That’s why I laid you down here.”

“Why didn’t you leave right away?”

To do something while I was asleep? That’s exactly what his eyes were saying.

I couldn’t help but laugh wryly.

I raised my hand which he still hadn’t let go of.

“I wanted to, you know.”

And I waved it in front of his eyes, conveying a sense of injustice.

“But how could I leave in this state?”

Adriel, suddenly realizing what he was doing, released my wrist as if it were scalding hot.

I rubbed my newly liberated wrist, noticing the redness left behind by his intense grip.

“My lady. That hand…”

“No, but come to think of it, this is ridiculous. Shouldn’t I be the one more annoyed right now? I was happy thinking I could finally sleep in a bed after so long… But instead of sleeping, I end up nursing you and getting my wrist grabbed.”

Of course, the fact that I couldn’t sleep and was in this situation was, strictly speaking, Taro and Wit’s fault, not Adriel’s.

However, receiving such strange suspicion out of nowhere made this whole situation annoying.

What kind of misfortune is this when I was sleeping so well?

Grumbling, I glanced at him sideways, but Adriel couldn’t take his eyes off my wrist.

He seems flustered, doesn’t he?

Still, seeing him fidget uncomfortably makes me feel a little better.

“Anyway, since you seem to be alright now, I’ll be going. Please sleep here tonight.”

“Wait.”

As I was about to get up from the bed, Adriel called out to me urgently.

When I looked at him quizzically, Adriel mumbled, trailing off.

“Don’t you need treatment?”

“What? It’s fine. Why would I need treatment for something like this? It’ll disappear with time.”

“But still…”

“I said it’s fine. Don’t worry about me and just sleep.”

His gaze fixed on my wrist was now becoming uncomfortable.

When I hid my hand behind my back, Adriel slowly raised his head to look up at me.

Looking at me steadily, he said solemnly.

“You didn’t do that, my lady.”

“What didn’t I do?”

“You just said you couldn’t ignore me when I was in pain. Given that you have at least that much conscience, how can I not be concerned?”

What’s this? Is he picking a fight?

As I narrowed my eyes, Adriel calmly lowered his gaze.

“Even if it was in my sleep, I want to take responsibility for my actions.”

“What responsibility?”

I’ve always felt this, but this knight is excessive in everything.

Adriel’s lips moved slightly before he spoke.

“Anything… you can punish me…”

He’s really going too far!

I quickly shouted.

“Are you joking?! What punishment for a grown adult, not a child…”

I held my forehead and sighed.

Really, what does this person take me for…

No, at this point, isn’t Adriel the problem? Seeing him act like this every time, could it be that he actually wants this?

If not, maybe he’s doing it on purpose to torment me.

Either way, I don’t like it…

I shuddered and rubbed my arms.

Adriel, not seeing my reaction, just kept his head bowed like a convict quietly awaiting his sentence.

Ah, really…

After calming myself, I continued.

“Anyway, I’m fine, so don’t worry about it. You were having a nightmare, so it’s understandable.”

“…A nightmare, you say?”

Adriel, who had been resigned, looked at me with questioning eyes.

I nodded.

“Yes, a nightmare.”

“What kind of dream…”

“How would I know? You were groaning, so I just thought you were having a bad dream.”

He doesn’t seem to remember what he dreamed about, and I didn’t want to tell him the unpleasant content unnecessarily.