Chapter 54
Hmm.
There is one trait of homebodies. They hate going out, but once they do, they surprisingly enjoy it. Though they still think home is the best once they’re back inside.
I’m feeling that way right now. It was nice talking about various things with Enfrise, and the cooler-than-expected breeze has improved my mood.
“…”
Without asking how I felt, Enfrise just kept glancing at me. Sitting on the spot he spread out for us, I quietly looked at the lake before speaking.
“Do you think I can swim?”
“What?”
I honestly haven’t swum since elementary school because I’m afraid of water. I’ve swallowed water a few times after sinking.
But maybe Chaperil’s body is different. That thought suddenly struck me, perhaps because of the hot weather.
“The water looks inviting.”
I thought a secluded lake like this might feel more… desolate. But contrary to my expectations, the surrounding grass wasn’t too overgrown and the lake water was clear. In fact, it seemed even clearer than the pool water I remember…
It would be refreshing to go in.
“This place is too deep… Next time, let’s go somewhere suitable for swimming.”
“That makes sense.”
If there’s a small pond or a stream nearby next time, I might try swimming there.
“Are you good at swimming, Grand Duke?”
“I’m not particularly good either. I don’t really like the water.”
“Really?”
That’s unexpected. He seems like he’d be good at everything.
Typical male leads seem to be good at everything, right? Well, I guess there are male leads like him too. It’d be less charming if they were perfect at everything.
“What does the Grand Duke enjoy?”
“What do you mean?”
“Anything. Food, books…”
“I see…”
Enfrise paused, looking out over the lake, lost in thought.
He always stands so straight. Is it because of his martial arts training?
The gently blowing breeze brushed through his short black hair. I felt like I could gaze at the water watching it flow softly.
Ah, I hadn’t noticed before because I was so captivated by his eyes, but his eyelashes are really long too. Amid the intertwining leaf shadows and sunlight, his jet-black eyelashes seemed to dance darkly and brightly.
One leg stretched out, the other slightly bent with his arm resting on it, which looked cool too. Plus, the way the pants stretched taut over the bent knee that made his butt…
Ahem.
Ohhh, why do my eyes keep wandering there?
Once you start seeing it, there’s no unseeing it. Why is a man’s butt so attractive? That seems like cheating.
“Excuse me…”
“Hmm?”
When I answer while looking at his butt feels like I’m talking to the butt. Feeling a bit guilty, I looked up to find Enfrise’s face flushed as he watched me.
…Oh no, did he realize where I was looking?
“…”
“…”
Enfrise subtly lowers his legs, and the tautness around his butt…
Ah, he noticed.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it… The Grand Duke’s butt is just really well-shaped.”
“…”
“I won’t look at it anymore.”
Swoosh, Enfrise raises his hand and uses the back of it to cover his face. Is he trying to cool down his face?
“I’m not sure if you’re being too honest or if you’re teasing me.”
“Oh, I’m being honest, of course. Wouldn’t I get arrested if I were teasing you like that?”
This sounds like sexual harassment.
“Even if you’re sincere… such comments are better left unsaid…”
“Umm. I’ll be more careful.”
I certainly never thought about touching or anything of that sort, but I must admit, even if sincere, my comment was rather close to sexual harassment.
I did go too far this time.
“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I wasn’t thinking.”
“It’s not that I’m uncomfortable… It’s just, um. I’m not sure how to respond to that kind of comment since it’s the first time I heard it.”
Do you really need to answer? Something like, ‘Pervert!’?
Well, but that wouldn’t be like Enfrise. Him pondering how to respond is very much like him.
“Shall we get out the lunch then?”
I turned to Enfrise who was still at a loss. He then moved the basket that had been on the edge of the thin picnic mat to the center.
But do you really need such a huge basket for a picnic? What did he pack that it’s this size?
“Ugh!”
It’s, it’s so heavy!
I tried to lift the basket slightly to straighten the crumpled mat, but it wasn’t easy. Didn’t Enfrise carry this with one hand?
It feels like it weighs as much as a 20kg sack of rice!
“Ah, it’s heavy.”
You don’t say?! It’s incredibly heavy!
Are your arms made of iron? I thought they were just robust, but maybe they’re actually made of metal, painted ivory on the outside.
To blend in with humans…
Let’s stop it. We’re not drifting into a sci-fi novel.
“I saw the Grand Duke carrying it with one hand and thought it wouldn’t be so heavy.”
I could lift it if I really tried, but I guess I was caught off guard because I thought it would be lighter. My joints are aching a bit.
I frowned slightly, and Enfrise had caught this, looking concerned.
“Did you hurt yourself?”
“No?”
“…”
He stared intently into my eyes, and I instinctively tried to hide my arm behind my back. It’s not on purpose, really. It’s just a reflex.
Unfortunately, Enfrise didn’t miss that movement.
“Is your arm hurting?”
“It’s not hurting, but… I think I strained it a bit because it was heavier than I expected.”
Such things usually heal on their own.
If I were still living my old life, I’d have to keep doing housework, so I might have applied a pain relief patch, but now I can just rest quietly.
“Please let me see it.”
“It’s really okay.”
“If the inflammation gets worse later, it will be troublesome.”
“Eh, it’s fine.”
“Chaperil.”
Uh.
When he called my name in a low voice while staring fixedly made it impossible for me to continue joking about the situation. What is this? Some kind of debuff?
It’s like being hit with a stun.
“Which arm hurts?”
“The right one…”
Enfrise carefully moves my arm, supporting it from below. Perhaps because of the way he supports it, it feels sore but not painfully so.
“Could you stretch your arm out a bit?”
“Like this?”
As I exerted some force, I felt a slight pain in my elbow. Enfrise sighed deeply when he saw me wincing.
“Is it alright if I roll up your sleeve for a moment?”
The sleeve of my summer dress was wide and ended midway down my forearm, so rolling it up wasn’t difficult. I nodded, and Enfrise carefully rolled up the fabric without touching my bare skin.
He then gently held my arm again and after a careful examination, he let out a sigh that was hard to tell if it was relief or frustration.
“It seems you might have exerted too much force in surprise, given that you’re right-handed. Fortunately, it doesn’t look like it’s dislocated. You should be fine.”
“Can you actually see that?”
Well, it’s not like my elbow would dislocate from just that, but… is that something you can actually see with the naked eye?
“Yes. If the elbow had really come out, it would be visible. Let’s rest it for a while and keep an eye on it. We’ll have to check again before we go back.”
Hmm, there’s no need to be so overprotective.
It’s not entirely unfamiliar to me. My family….well, my grandmother and siblings, didn’t really care much about my health. If I was sick, it was my own responsibility, by their standard. But my friends were different. When I showed up with a cast on my broken arm, they acted as if the world was ending.
One of my overly dramatic friends screamed, and others gathered around, forming a crowd. As they saw my cast, they bombarded me with questions about how it happened and worried comments about how I wouldn’t be able to rest at home, suggesting I should have been hospitalized instead…
Everyone threw their advice at me all at once based on their own experiences, mixing it up so much that it became a bit confusing. It was touching and amusing, and I liked the feeling of being so full of warmth.
It was a type of warmth I’d never received before.
But Enfrise’s overprotectiveness…. feels different. Compared to my friends’ noisy concern, his is quiet and composed. Yet his face turns somber whenever I wince, as if the world is ending, and his voice trembles subtly even as he speaks calmly. His hands shake more than mine, even as he assures me it’ll be okay.
All these seem to express just how much he cares. It brought a strangely unfamiliarity.
“It’s okay, Grand Duke. It doesn’t hurt that much. It’s just a bit sore.”
“Yes. But please let me handle such things in the future. I wouldn’t want you to get hurt…”
Oh dear, this is almost bringing me to tears.
Does he think of me as some fragile child? No matter what, I’m surely not that delicate. Does he act this way towards others as well?
That might feel a bit offensive.
No, maybe not. Both Tambor and Enfrise himself mentioned that they don’t really connect with others much. So maybe it’s just because it’s towards Chaperil, that he’s like this.
…Well, that’s something I’ll just have to accept.
A slight chuckle escaped me without realizing it. Perhaps taking that as a sign of reassurance, Enfrise’s expression lightened a bit.
“I’m not a child, you don’t need to worry so much. A bit of massage later on should fix it.”
“I certainly don’t think of you as a child. If I did, that would be…”
Enfrise started to say something then suddenly paused, his eyes wavering suspiciously.
“…No, it’s nothing.”
What was that about?
That… what?
“What’s that about?”
“…, if, it it’s about the massage, it might be better if I do it for you than if you try to do it yourself.”
It was clearly a diversion, but his anxious expression as he said it was too cute, and I missed my chance to press him further. Meanwhile, Enfrise.
“If it’s alright with you… shall I do it?”
He asked with a red face.
__