3. His Circumstances (3)

“……?!”

One day when it suddenly started snowing, that sensation came unexpectedly.

Constantine jumped up.

‘Saena?’

He received a signal from the shadow he had planted in her.

“Morev! Caligo!”

He immediately unleashed his power.

— Ack! No! Nooo!

As the situation clearly indicated he would be going to Saena, Constantine forcefully roused Caligo’s power that had started to resist again, and mounted Morev.

He dashed through the air like he was flying. When using the guardian spirit’s power, he could actually move several times faster than riding a carriage or horse.

He simply didn’t use it because it wasn’t a power to be carelessly shown to others. However, now he moved at full speed toward the direction of the signal without caring about such matters.

Besides, there weren’t many people outside due to the severe weather, so there wasn’t anything to worry about.

After running for a while, Constantine could spot what appeared to be her group.

‘…Seems fine. I don’t see any particularly dangerous situation.’

Still, since he was already here, Constantine hid in the shadows cast by trees and observed her appearance. Judging by her thin clothing, she hadn’t gone out on horseback, but there was no carriage.

‘Why are they pressed so close together….’

It bothered him that she was pressed against the knight, riding the same horse.

‘Why did Hips send a signal?’

The Hips he had planted in her shadow was set to respond to several external stimuli. Her screams, impacts above a certain intensity, and when another Oathkeeper besides Constantine approached.

However, from Constantine’s observation, though she looked pale from the cold, she didn’t seem particularly injured.

‘Because of the hail?’

After observing a bit longer, he could reach a conclusion.

Her group seemed to be returning toward the main road after losing their carriage due to the sudden weather change.

Even after grasping the general situation, he remained in the shadows. Since he was already here, it seemed good to confirm that they would return safely to the townhouse.

He had no intention of appearing before the group. Since this wasn’t an area where one could reasonably expect a chance encounter.

He would have continued doing so if Saena hadn’t gotten hurt.

— Ugh. I’ve never found the smell of blood so disgusting before. Don’t get closer! Master!

On their way back, Saena suddenly changed direction and got down to help people who had been in an accident in the forest. Then she seemed to have cut her hand while clearing building debris.

— Eeek! It’s revolting! Revolting! It stinks!

The smell of blood wafted strongly on the wind.

‘Really… how can she be so reckless every time.’

After watching her stumble as if about to collapse in a dangerous place strewn with sharp debris, Constantine could no longer stay hidden.

“Were you… about to fall again?”

“…D-Duke?”

He caught her just before she fell and freed her foot that was caught in the building debris. As he held her in his arms and carried her to safety, he could clearly feel her delicate body, chilled and cold.

‘Stiff and trembling like this, yet trying to save others…’

He felt both impressed and irritated.

Constantine made people step back, then used Caligo’s power to blow away the accumulated snow and clear away the building debris.

The figure of a person crouching inside appeared. Checking their energy, fortunately, they didn’t seem dead. Now that the urgent situation was handled, others could manage the rest sufficiently.

For him, Saena was more important. Her pale complexion was worsening by the moment.

“Sir, lead these people to safety and handle the situation. I will escort the lady.”

Saena’s guard knight seemed to understand when he saw her complexion and agreed.

Constantine quickly lifted her onto Morev.

He adjusted their position so she would be completely enclosed in his embrace and wrapped his cloak with its warming function around her.

“Too… much…”

“Stay still. The wind is cold.”

He only resented his own cold body.

Though holding her close as they rode wouldn’t transfer his warmth to her, he could only hope the cloak would block the wind.

* * *

Perhaps due to the sudden relief of tension, Saena had dozed off.

Constantine brought her to his mansion.

It was because his house was slightly closer. Actually, that was just an external excuse, and in reality, it was a decision tinged with personal desires.

If he had taken her to the Debov mansion, it would have ended with just dropping her off.

Then he would have had to fret without knowing whether Saena had caught a cold, or if her hand wound was properly treated.

No. To be more honest, he wanted to use this excuse to be near her. He wanted to get a little closer.

“Prepare hot water.”

“Your Grace?”

The servants were startled to see him not only suddenly appear riding Morev but also carrying someone in his arms. Royter appeared, quickly assessed the situation, and issued orders.

“Fill the upstairs bathroom tub, and prepare plenty of hot water to keep replenishing it if it cools!”

“Yes!”

Saena’s skin was severely cold. The wound on her hand looked quite serious even at a glance, with her long sleeve frozen stuck with blood.

He carried her straight to his quarters.

At first, he wondered if he should wake her, but when he realized warming her cold body was more urgent, there was no need to hesitate.

He removed only his outer clothing and entered still clothed while carrying her. As their combined volume filled the tub, that much water overflowed.

The Duke held her position so her wounded hand wouldn’t be submerged in the water, while ensuring her body was sufficiently immersed as he held her.

He steadily poured warm water over the small body that leaned against him completely defenseless in unconsciousness, ensuring her body would warm up evenly.

For her cheeks and nape that weren’t submerged, he scooped water with his hands to pour over them. The occasional brush against her soft skin kept leading his thoughts astray.

“Mmm.”

Saena’s neck fell to one side as she mumbled in her sleep.

When her tilted nape was revealed white before his eyes, Constantine somehow felt his throat go dry. He swallowed hard while staring at that sight.

He wanted to press his lips against it. Though he knew he shouldn’t, the temptation was very strong and kept pulling at him.

“Hah.”

Clearly, I am still a man after all.

He even had the illusion that fragrance was seeping from that slender neckline, making him deliberately turn his gaze away and focus intently on warming up her chilled body.

“Are you awake?”

Fortunately, Saena woke up shortly after.

He helped her out of the bathtub while being careful to keep her arms from submerging in the water. Her body, which had been frozen painfully cold, thankfully seemed well-treated now.

Though they would need to monitor her condition, she didn’t appear to be at immediate risk of developing a cold or pneumonia.

After calling a maid to help her change out of her wet clothes into dry new ones, Constantine explained why he had brought her to his mansion, and treated the wound on her hand.

Since it wasn’t a clean cut but rather tears in multiple directions, even with the high performance of the healing potion, it couldn’t be healed in one go.

Seeing the reddish traces of the wound remaining, he wrapped her hand thoroughly in bandages. To prevent her from carelessly using it.

“I will help with any care you need. You should rest well so your hand can heal.”

This woman seems to get hurt too often. It’s strange since she doesn’t appear to be the type who particularly enjoys getting into accidents.

At any rate, he now had a good excuse to stay right by her side. He attended to her care literally like caring for an infant.

“Open wide again.”

And that was… quite enjoyable.

— What are you doing when she has another perfectly fine hand! She hasn’t regressed to an infant! Master! Your intelligence is still intact, right?

…Shut up, you bastard.

Watching Saena eat the food he gave her within his domain while looking solely at him gave him enough comfort to endure Caligo’s chatter without needing to seek contact.

And that night…

— Why the adjacent room when there are so many other rooms available! The smell is terrible! You’re not really thinking of making that woman your wife, are you? She clearly dislikes it, why are you being so clingy! Master! They say a man shouldn’t stop a woman who comes but a woman who goes…

Shut up already, you bastard.

Though Caligo’s voice filled his head with endless complaints, there was something that made his mind even more complicated.

The fact that Saena was sleeping in the next room.

Having put her in the room next to his—more precisely, the Duchess’s room—despite having guest rooms available, he found himself examining his own psychology behind that action.

The owner of that room. Soon to be his wife.

It naturally made him think about ‘marriage’.

‘Not bad. Rather…’

He found himself wanting it.

‘If I could die after seeing the young master marry and create a beautiful family… I would have no regrets.’

It was his nanny’s wish—her only request…

And it was the one thing he could do for her…

In truth, Constantine didn’t want to marry either.

Not in the sense of Saena’s fierce determination to remain single.

Rather, he still hadn’t decided.

Between the duties that a Kramer heir should bear, and his personal aversion to the Covenant, he hadn’t determined which path he should take.

As such, marriage was something supplementary, a topic he had consciously put off.

‘Marriage…’

But now he felt quite the opposite sentiment.

That if he could marry Saena, whichever path he chose would become supplementary…

“Hng…”

While his eyes were closed but sleep remained far away amid various thoughts, Constantine heard a faint crying sound.

“……?”