Chapter 23
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The Male and Female Leads Broke Up - Episode 23
Unless Aiden woke up and I asked him directly, there was nothing I could figure out no matter how much I racked my brain over it.
I decided to simply focus on what I could do in the present moment.
First, Aiden had perspired considerably.
His shirt was drenched with sweat, but I couldn't very well undress him and wipe it away.
So I resolved to at least wipe away the sweat beading on his face.
The basin of water and towel that Mary had brought earlier were still sitting on the table.
I rose quietly and submerged the towel in the basin, soaking it thoroughly.
Then, holding the damp towel, I approached the bed and began carefully wiping Aiden's face, starting from his forehead.
'He really is strikingly handsome.'
It was absurd to harbor such thoughts while tending to a sick person.
Yet despite that, Aiden's appearance was striking enough to inspire such musings.
From his sculpted forehead—neither too broad nor too narrow, perfectly proportioned to his face and partially concealed by his hair—to his violet eyes hidden behind long, delicate lashes, the sharp line of his nose extending straight from the bridge to the tip, his lips now firmly closed yet moderately full and tinged with color, and despite his refined features, the bold, angular definition of his jawline only enhanced his allure all the more.
'Get a hold of yourself.'
Even as my mind wandered to his appearance, my hands continued their work diligently.
After I had cleaned his face and the area around his neck thoroughly, I returned to the chair to watch over him—or so I intended, but ultimately I succumbed to drowsiness and fell asleep.
It seemed I had grown quite exhausted from wandering about all day.
Sitting in the chair with my head buried against the bed, my posture was terribly uncomfortable, yet I fell into a deep sleep without dreaming once.
How much time had passed?
As consciousness gradually returned upon waking, my thoughts immediately turned to Aiden, and I opened my eyes in alarm.
Upon opening them, Aiden still filled my vision.
The difference from before I fell asleep was that he was gazing at me with an oddly tender expression.
And what was strange was that I was the one lying in the bed, not him.
"Have you awakened?"
With our positions reversed, Aiden was now sitting in the chair where I had been before falling asleep, and his words carried an unexpectedly gentle warmth.
"...Yes?"
Still not fully awake, I reflexively echoed his question back to him.
"Ah!"
But that lasted only a moment—suddenly clarity struck, and I let out a small cry as I pushed myself upright in the bed.
In my haste, I swung my arm too broadly and struck my elbow hard against the wall.
"Ow!"
"Are you all right?"
Aiden rose hastily from the chair, which toppled backward with a thud as he did.
But he paid it no mind and gently grasped my injured arm.
The gesture felt so unfamiliar that I stared at my arm in his grasp for a moment before turning my gaze back to Aiden.
"Ah, yes. I'm fine."
I barely managed to collect myself and replied.
But the sudden contact sent my heart racing wildly, and there was no way I could control the tension that surged through me.
"Um, my arm..."
I thought it best to put some distance between myself and Aiden, so I asked him to release my arm.
At that, the large hand that had been gripping my arm firmly loosened and withdrew.
I seized the opportunity to press myself against the bed's headboard, watching Aiden with guarded eyes.
My reaction seemed to displease him—his expression hardened ever so slightly as he looked at me.
"When did you wake up?"
Deliberately avoiding his persistent gaze, I started with light conversation to calm myself.
"Not long ago."
"I see. You could have simply woken me instead of going through the trouble of moving me to the bed..."
I spoke as though such effort wasn't necessary, deliberately putting distance between us by pressing against the wall.
Silence fell over the room in that instant.
Fear crept in that he might hear my heart still pounding violently, so I rushed to fill the silence with chatter.
"You must have been unwell. You even lost consciousness. Are you feeling better now?"
"I'm fine."
"That's a relief. You remember what happened, don't you?"
"Yes, I remember."
"Then there's no need to explain how you came to be here."
"I apologize for the intrusion."
"No, it's not like that. I was passing through that road, and if I hadn't heard you, something terrible could have happened. I'm truly grateful."
I waved my hand dismissively, insisting it was nothing.
"It seems you live nearby."
"No, I was simply... passing through somewhere."
"I see."
As I continued conversing with Aiden, my racing heartbeat gradually calmed.
So I ventured to ask what truly puzzled me.
"But... was your neck being strangled by the necklace?"
I had expected Aiden to look flustered or uncomfortable at this question, but surprisingly, his expression remained completely unmoved.
It seemed he had anticipated I would ask this.
"What makes you think that?"
Still, Aiden fixed me with a sharp gaze.
"You kept clutching your neck in pain. And I remember when I asked if your necklace was beautiful, you said it was beautiful but dangerous. That's what made me realize."
He had said exactly that.
That the necklace was beautiful yet dangerous—a lifeline held in his own hands.
So I deduced that the necklace was the source of his suffering.
"You're correct."
He conceded faster than I expected.
"Then why do you still wear it? Couldn't you simply remove it?"
"If that were possible, I would have done so."
Only then did I realize how foolish my question had been.
After all, who willingly wears something that causes them pain?
He must be wearing it because he cannot remove it himself.
But he said nothing more about the necklace.
It was clear he had no desire to discuss it further.
I was perceptive enough to understand that much, so I didn't press the matter.
And I kept silent about what I had sensed earlier as well.
As silence settled over the room, I noticed light gradually seeping through the window—dawn was breaking.
Aiden rose from his seat.
At his sudden movement, I looked toward him, and despite the lightness of his motion, his expression was quite subtle.
"I should take my leave now."
"Ah, yes."
"If perhaps the Orphanage— no, never mind."
Whatever he had been about to say, Aiden cut himself off.
"Thank you once more for saving me. I hope the rest of your journey brings you joy."
Aiden hurried toward the door.
"Travel safely."
I nodded slightly and saw him off at the doorway.
I watched his retreating figure until it disappeared from sight, then returned inside the room.
'We likely won't meet again.'
For coincidences, we had crossed paths quite frequently.
But as the thought struck me that such coincidences would no longer occur, a sudden sense of regret washed over me.
Yet reminding myself that he had been a stranger from the start and that our connection was nothing particularly special, I was able to shake off the melancholy easily.
That morning, we departed Ulita as planned, and as I had anticipated, I could not see him again.
And in the blink of an eye, another year had passed.
* * *
We were in the middle of lunch at a restaurant during our carriage ride, stopping to eat.
By now, we sat at the same table without hesitation and dined comfortably together, though the journey to reach this point had been anything but easy.
To them, I was their master, and sharing a meal with their master was something they could never have imagined.
But as I continued to insist, not dining together had become the strange thing.
I paused for a moment, studying each of the three people seated around the table.
Mary, William, and Lian.
Since Mary and William had been adults from the beginning, there was little visible change from two years ago.
The only difference was the love shining in their eyes for each other.
Lian, on the other hand, had grown considerably, transforming from a child into a young man.
I stared intently at Lian, who was tearing into bread in front of me.
At that, Lian set down his bread and fixed his gaze on me.
When I first met Lian, I must have misjudged his age.
Or perhaps he hadn't eaten well enough and was smaller than his peers.
Though only two years had passed, Lian now appeared to be around sixteen years old.
"I think your age must have been wrong."
"Pardon?"
Lian looked at me with confusion, unable to grasp my meaning.
"Don't you think?"
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