Chapter 383

Roughly drying only my hair, I sat on the bed.

Opposite me sat Ruben. Although we had spent many nights together, it was the first time sitting facing Ruben dressed in pajamas and peering at him this closely. Unlike when we were under the blanket or sitting side-by-side, unable to find a place to rest my gaze, I only looked at the child’s fingertips.

A dragon and tree pattern were engraved on the fragrant oil bottle, which was a little longer than my middle finger and of a size to be completely covered if grasped with a hand. When Ruben turned and opened the fragrant oil cap, a round jade blocking the bottle’s entrance was seen first. Wondering what that bead was used for, Ruben affectionately explained.

“I definitely wanted to pack this for Mika…. so you can comfortably use it anytime.”

“Anytime?”

“Ung, if you roll the bead on top of this here…. like this. The fragrant oil inside the container smears out. Then it doesn’t spill out all at once or anything, so it’s a bit more comfortable to use.”

Indeed, a fragrant grass scent wafted out following Ruben’s fingertips.

It was a somewhat familiar scent. As I twitched my nose, Ruben thrust the fingertip smeared with fragrant oil right in front of my nose, offering me to smell it. I inhaled a deep breath. The child looked at me intently with eyes expecting an answer. The names of grass flowers I knew were not many. I mumbled an answer.

“…Silver Lace? Is that correct?”

“Ung, that’s correct.”

The child smiled radiantly again.

Silver Lace was the name of the white grass blooming full in Ruben’s garden. When I went to play at the palace, the child had told me about the plant he liked. The subtle scent and pretty appearance came clearly to mind. Along with Ruben’s affectionate voice saying he likes things that don’t change.

Because it was a scent closer to a grass smell rather than a flower scent, even smelling it repeatedly it felt subtle.

Ruben continued to explain.

“I like Silver Lace too, but…. we often sleep outdoors, and we don’t know where we might have to hide in the future, right. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] I thought it wouldn’t be good to go around wearing a thick and flashy scent, so I picked this one.”

“…Mm.”

“How is it? Is it okay?”

“Yes, it’s good.”

It was good that it wasn’t a strong scent bothersome to the nose, but what I liked even more was that it was the same scent from the grass Ruben cherished and liked, planting it to the fullest in the palace. If I go around applying this, Ruben will think of me even sitting inside his palace.

Now, as I held out my hand asking him to give it to me, the child placed his hand on my cheek just like that. At the fingertip lightly touching behind my ear cartilage, my body stiffened. It is a place someone else’s hand would not reach. When the fingertip slippery with fragrant oil rubbed the tender skin, I grabbed the child’s wrist and hand at once to stop what he was doing.

Ruben’s cheeks were still red. I had no way of knowing whether he noticed my wicked heart and was pressing me, or if originally this thing called fragrant oil was meant to be applied by gently rubbing like this.

The child’s hand caught roughly in my grasp was warm. I let go of the hand as if pushed, pushing it away.

“I, I will do it. You just need to teach me.”

“…Shall we?”

The child did not force it.

Ruben gently swept the jade bead with the tip of his index finger.

Ruben’s hand is a Knight’s hand. Having a certain build, he had refreshing and slender hands. The inside of the palm, which had to grip a sword, was hard and had calluses, but the back of the hand was not so. My gaze went once more to the skin, which was thin enough to transparently show prominent veins.

“At first you just do a little bit like this, and apply it here.”

He said look, so I looked. When the child pulled his soft earlobe forward, pointed behind it with his fingertip and rubbed it, my throat somehow felt dry. A slick luster circulated on Ruben’s fuzzy skin.

I…. I knew Ruben had a small mole behind his left ear. I knew it even before Ruben pointed and showed it just now. Does Ruben know too? If the child knows too, I wondered if it was really okay to show me everything like this.

Ruber did not have a beard yet.

Most people of the Cieron Empire had thinner hair quality and less hair than those of the Central Plains, and there were many guys who never grew a beard their whole lives.

Still, Ruben’s smooth face somehow looked special. As the child drew his fingertip along the sharp line connecting from under the ear to the tip of his chin, I swallowed my saliva.

“And apply it on the wrist like this too.”

This, I know too. Lifting the fragrant oil bottle, the child lightly tapped the round tip once on the inside of each wrist where the pulse beats, crossed both wrists, and rubbed them.

Without looking at the wrist he told me to look at, my gaze touched the broad chest beyond it. I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them.

Ruben unreservedly rolled his sleeves up to his upper arms. The arms without a single scar were properly trained, bulging harder the closer they were to the elbow, but the color of the folded skin part was light so I couldn’t look directly at it.

The child’s voice sank methodically. It felt like I was smelling a water scent, not a grass scent. As if I had plunged deep underwater, my ears were muffled, making the child’s voice sound distant.

“After that, put it in the palm of your hand and roll it about three times like this…. apply it to both elbows like this….”

“…”

“Apply what’s left at the end on your heels, like this.”

I couldn’t even let out a gasp. Greatly flustered, I unconsciously half-raised my body. Even knowing the startled child was looking up at me with round eyes, I couldn’t sit back down in my seat. Flourishing my sleeves grandly, I tumbled off the bed as if rolling down, and slipped into my shoes.

“…Mika?”

“I-I’m sorry!”

I immediately ran out of the room. With a bang sound behind my back, the door closed.

Greatly startled, my heart pounded.

Here in Cieron, a person’s foot was not a very secret part. It was because women’s dresses puffed out like bells, making them cumbersome.

If a shoe came off, everyone considered it manners for the people around to properly put the shoe back on. Didn’t my maternal uncle also not put my maternal aunt in his eyes when he helped her as the heel of her shoe got stuck in a flagstone and she was at a loss.

But it’s not like that for me. I couldn’t do that.

In the Central Plains, encountering another person’s bare foot was an exceedingly secret and shameful thing. Even that Zhuge guy, didn’t he end up marrying Murong Yeonhwa just because he grabbed her ankle once.

Even if it was to save a life, it was something that deserved a scandal. Of course, between guys, there was absolutely no caring about each other’s dirty feet, but….

Knock, knock.

A cute sound, too lacking to be called a knock, was heard from the closed door behind my back.

Ruben grabbed and twisted the doorknob with a clack, clack to open the door, but because I held it tightly and wouldn’t let go, the door didn’t open. From inside the door, I heard Mikaa, calling me cutely again, but I couldn’t answer.

What if the child gets sulky again. Even swallowing my worry, I couldn’t budge. Unable to do this or that, I stood like a totem pole in front of the door. Since I didn’t hide my presence, Ruben must know I am here too.

The child paced around in front of the door as if puzzled.

The sound of his walking stepped on my chest bit by bit.

“Mika…. are you there?”

“Yes, please sleep first.”

“…Are you not coming in?”

“No, that’s not it.”

I swallowed a deep breath.

I recalled Ruben’s face, who had whined feeling disappointed that I came in late today. I didn’t want to create something to be disappointed about twice in one night. Also, even if Ruben isn’t sorrowful, I can’t stand in the corridor all night. If by chance even an attendant passed by, what excuse could I make.

However, I also didn’t have the confidence to open the door right away. I let out a phew of burning breath.

“…I will enter, a little later.”

Haha. The sound of Ruben laughing came from beyond the door.

At the clear laughter bursting out as if he couldn’t endure the joy, my face grew completely hot. Unable to stand straight, I leaned my back against the door and slid down. I kneaded my face with both hands, but no matter how hard I tried, my already messed-up face didn’t easily return.

And Ruben never treated me roughly.

“Ung, understood. Don’t make me wait long.”

“…Yes.”

However, this time too, I couldn’t keep the promise right away.

It is truly difficult to count how much time passed. It feels like a brief moment passed, and it also feels like fifteen minutes passed. Unable to wait, Ruben came to the front of the door again, knocked, and called me.

“Mika, I’m cold. Let’s sleep together.”

“…”

Only then did I open the door, pretending I couldn’t win.

As soon as he saw my face, the child smiled again, and that face was exceedingly bright and radiant. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] It is amazing every time how a person can shine like this. I don’t know if his sulkiness was all gone before I knew it, but Ruben lay down resting on my arm today too.

Neither Ruben nor I could fall asleep. We knew without any back-and-forth conversation. Just lying side by side, we endured the passing of time. Occasionally, my chest pulled tightly and my lungs expanded, making my heart flutter so much it was painful.

******

I received the second Ranunculus along with breakfast.

Until the attendant setting the table left, the Ranunculus didn’t open its mouth, but its fist-sized head and even its round body were entirely dyed light purple. I could immediately tell just by looking at that color. It was Marianne. They were safe after all. Glad, laughter came out.

As soon as the attendant left, even before eating, I urged the Ranunculus and pestered it to speak.

Then the guy, flapping its wings broadly, shouted even before greeting.

“No, do you have your minds or not? Michael should have come this way, what do you mean throwing the Prince that way!”

Indeed.

Benjamin must have heard quite a lot of nagging too, laughter came out again. Marianne’s ringing voice was endlessly welcome. Even though it’s obvious she must have been upset for a long time over Glotin Tenor’s matter, it was pitiful how she fussed asking about our well-being first.

Marianne asked this and that for a long time, such as did it take a long time to get to Yulan, were you hurt, were there many Jiangshis or monsters on the way, and only then did she inform us of their news.

“Fortunately, we succeeded in coming back out the way we came. Although Anne, who was following at the very back, was hit wrongly by a falling rock. After seeing Peter fall together trying to save her, and Seniors Hugh and Elwin shouting for us to go first, the five of us ran sweating towards the direction of the holy site of the Sun…. The God of the Sun was waiting. Saying, ‘Good work’.”

“…”

“On the morning of exactly the fourth day after the cave collapsed, the God of the Sun said he saw those four moving towards the direction of Felix. The healing artifact we have is a Type-5, right. So we were relieved thinking they didn’t die at least….”

Marianne’s voice grew wet.

“The god said the darkness of the Indus Canyon cleared up so he could look inside…. In the eyes of the God of the Sun, only the Prince could be seen, and Michael couldn’t be seen. I really thought my heart dropped.”

“…”

I couldn’t be seen?