3. Impulsive Act

“This can’t be happening.”

How could this happen?

Eileen rubbed her lips forcefully with the back of her hand until they turned red, but the slimy sensation remained firmly embedded in her mind with no intention of fading.

“Aren’t you making too much fuss over just a brief touch of lips?”

“S-shut up!”

Unlike Eileen who looked like she was about to cry, Aaron’s expression remained calm.

“Besides, didn’t you say I was a hallucination? Whether you kiss a hallucination or do whatever else, it shouldn’t matter, right?”

“Argh! Keep your mouth shut!”

He was actually stirring up the very part that Eileen desperately wanted to erase from her memory.

“Why? You were the one who crashed your lips into mine first, not me.”

“Will you be quiet?!”

A hallucination probably mimics the person’s personality exactly. Otherwise, there’s no way a hallucination could be this annoying.

Eileen raised her throbbing arm and struck Aaron’s chest with all her might.

“Huh……?”

But something was very strange. Setting aside the pain in her hand, Aaron’s chest felt too solid to be a hallucination.

“Lady Eileen?”

Moreover, she could hear his heartbeat pounding loudly. It thumped as if announcing that he was still alive.

With a growing sense of dread, Eileen cautiously placed her hand on Aaron’s cheek.

“Ugh, what are you doing?”

“D-does it hurt?”

“You’re asking that after pinching my cheek so hard?”

Could a hallucination feel pain……?

More importantly, were hallucinations always this vivid?

Trying to hide her trembling from the confusing truth she didn’t want to believe, Eileen carefully opened her mouth.

“D-Duke Aaron.”

“What is it?”

“Am I still alive?”

“I’ve told you several times already. You didn’t die; you’re alive.”

Her heart sank to the bottom before rising again. At the same time, a redness began spreading across Eileen’s face.

‘W-wait, then the kiss just now……!’

“Aaaahhhh!”

Once again, a scream echoed through the quiet forest like a resonating hum.

“Sob……”

“How long are you going to keep this up?”

“Be quiet……”

Even if it happened by mistake, why, why did her precious first kiss have to be with Aaron de Monston of all people……!

The surge of bitterness showed no sign of subsiding.

“How could you react this strongly just because our lips accidentally touched.”

Aaron remarked with surprise at Eileen’s face, which showed no signs of calming down but was growing increasingly red.

The heat that had spread across her cheeks continued to grow, turning even her ears bright red. Her face looked like it might burst into flames at any moment, giving him a strange sense of satisfaction.

“M-maybe it’s just an accident that you can brush off, Duke Aaron, but it was my first k… kiss!”

“Really? Pfft.”

Faced with this unexpected response, Aaron’s lips twitched as he chuckled.

She’s kind of cute.

Tears had already welled up in Aaron’s eyes.

“You find this funny?”

Ah, I’ve gone mad too. To think that Eileen would look cute to me.

Aaron found himself utterly ridiculous for having such absurd thoughts in a situation like this.

“Don’t worry, Lady Eileen. What we did was just a collision of lips. A real kiss is much more pass—”

“Be quiet!”

When Eileen shouted with her face burning red, Aaron burst into laughter again.

Perhaps I enjoy teasing people?

Aaron gently shook his head at his own amusing conclusion. Then, with a face still full of mirth, he removed the dry leaves and twigs stuck in Eileen’s hair.

“Well, it was my first kiss too, so don’t be too angry.”

“Y-you crazy duke! Is that supposed to be comforting?”

Even so, Aaron felt he could be endlessly amused in this moment.

“Stop crying and get up. We need to go back now.”

By now, the sun was gradually disappearing below the horizon, and darkness began to spread all around them. Aaron extended his hand to Eileen, who still looked upset.

“What are you doing?”

When Eileen just stared blankly at his hand without taking it, he tilted his head slightly and urged her.

“……I think I sprained my ankle when I fell.”

“Tsk. Was that why you fell earlier too?”

Aaron clicked his tongue and frowned.

Then he looked around briefly and seemed to be contemplating something.

The Aaron she knew would have left her alone, telling her to wait for the rescue team.

In that case, she would grab his ankle and never let go.

Eileen narrowed her eyes at Aaron, her resolve firm.

“Get on.”

But contrary to Eileen’s expectations, Aaron knelt in front of her and showed his back.

“Did you hit your head?”

“No, I didn’t. No matter how much I dislike you, this much is just basic manners.”

The incomprehensible situation became like a tight rope, binding Eileen’s body.

Then Aaron’s gruff voice flowed into her ear.

“What are you doing? Are you going to freeze to death here?”

“No! Thank you!”

Eileen answered as soon as his words fell.

If she provoked his temper again, he might really leave her behind this time.

Of course, the Aaron she normally knew wouldn’t even have considered offering his back to her.

Her heart fluttered due to the confusing situation. Nevertheless, she leaned against his back for survival.

“How much do you eat to be this heav—”

“Be quiet! Telling a lady she’s heavy! Where are your manners?!”

Aaron was indeed Aaron after all.

As soon as he started carrying her, he complained, and Eileen quickly cut him off.

“I’ll leave you behind.”

“I’m sorry.”

However, Aaron had the upper hand in this fight. Eileen pressed her lips tightly together and buried her face deeply against his back to hide her flushed face.

“But Duke Aaron, someone like you wouldn’t have cared if I fell or not, so why did you come to save me?”

Suddenly, a strange confidence welled up in her—the feeling that she could say anything when she couldn’t see his face. Eileen voiced one of the questions floating in her mind.

“I just felt like I needed to save you in that moment. Even though I knew jumping down the cliff was crazy, I just…… I just wanted to save you.”

“It’s really unexpected, but…… Thank you for saving me, Duke.”

“If I knew I’d have to carry someone as heavy as you like this, I would have gone back alone and sent a rescue team instead.”

Aaron smiled slightly and slowly took one step at a time through the darkness.

She seems to like eating, but I wonder if she’s actually eating properly.

Eileen was infinitely lighter than he had expected, but Aaron deliberately added a teasing remark.

“……If I’m too heavy, you can put me down.”

“Can you walk?”

It was undeniably a crisis—they were stranded, and any misstep could lead to serious harm. Yet, ironically, bright smiles spread across Eileen and Aaron’s faces.

“Come to think of it, Duke, why are you so mean? I really want to hit you sometimes.”

Along with giggling laughter, a slightly excited voice reached Aaron’s ears.

“I’m not. Besides, aren’t you meaner? Who was it that kept tormenting me about my supposed crush on Cordelia?”

Aaron adjusted his posture to make Eileen more comfortable before retorting sarcastically. Though Eileen couldn’t see it from her position on his back, Aaron’s eyes were curved more beautifully than the crescent moon hanging in the sky.

“What? Duke, you’re meaner! When we first met, you picked a fight with me! And I only bother you because you took away the theater I cherish!”

Eileen, who couldn’t possibly know the truth, raised her head and shouted with surging emotion.

Aaron really is annoying.

She sighed irritably.

“I picked a fight with you from our first meeting? When did I do that?”

“When did you? Are you joking?! You stepped on my lemon tart and picked a fight demanding I return your money and time!”

The moon became temporarily hidden by passing clouds, bringing momentary darkness. But those clouds soon disappeared. The surroundings brightened once again, infinitely brilliant.

“Is that so? Then I’ll put you down.”

“I’m sorry.”

The two, seemingly forgetting the time they had been hostile toward each other, felt somewhat more comfortable now as they exchanged frivolous questions and answers while making their way through the forest.

The cool forest filled with Aaron’s rough breathing and Eileen’s increasingly loud groans of pain.

“Lady Eileen!”

“Duke Aaron!”

Teary voices calling for the two of them could be heard clearly.

“They seem to be nearby.”

“I can walk from here. Please put me down.”

“After making me carry you all this time, now you want to get down? Besides, you can’t walk. Just stay on my back until we meet the others.”

“But……”

“No.”

Despite Eileen’s protests, Aaron firmly refused. Then he adjusted his posture again to make Eileen more comfortable and headed toward the direction of the voices.

“Lady Eileen!”

Cordelia, who had been looking around anxiously, caught sight of someone walking toward them covered in dirt.

She could tell just from the silhouette. It was definitely Eileen.

Cordelia ran toward the figure, forgetting she was even wearing a dress.

And there, she made a surprised expression upon encountering an unexpected person.

“……Duke Aaron?”

“Ah, Lady Cordelia. So you were here.”

Aaron greeted the tear-streaked Cordelia warmly. Unlike the sobbing Cordelia, Aaron’s voice remained calm.

“Lady Eileen is right here.”

“You must have been so worried, Lady Cordelia……”

With an awkward laugh, Eileen peeked her head out.

“Lady Eileen fell from a cliff and sprained her leg, which is why we’re late.”

“From a cliff……?”

A cliff?

Cordelia’s mind went blank at this unexpected answer.

“L-Lady Eileen……”

Tears finally spilled from her increasingly reddening eyes. The endless flow of tears was heartbreaking just to witness.

“I’m sorry, Lady Cordelia……”

“No, Lady Eileen! I’m just glad you’re safe.”

Not wanting to make Eileen worry, Cordelia rubbed her eyes forcefully and did her best to lift the corners of her mouth.

“We should go to the hospital now. Duke Aaron, you must be tired, so I’ll carry Lady Eileen from here.”

Luke, who had followed Cordelia, looked with concern at Aaron, who was drenched in sweat.

“It’s fine, Count Luke.”

“Duke Aaron, you’re tired. You can put me down now……”

“No, Lady Eileen. Don’t worry about me and just relax.”

Though Eileen tried to dissuade him, Aaron lightly shook his head, insisting he was fine. Then, without showing any sign of fatigue, he carried her toward where the carriage was waiting.

* * *