CHAPTER 042
"Earlier, I threw myself over here. I thought I landed pretty well, but..."
"It doesn't seem like you did."
Wow, such blunt honesty!
"Let me see."
Lewis knelt down on one knee in front of me to get a closer look.
I lifted my dress slightly to check my ankle.
"It's all swollen."
Indeed, my ankle was noticeably more swollen than the other.
"They say once you sprain an ankle, it keeps happening..."
My poor ankle! As if having a weak knee wasn't enough, now my ankle too!
Lewis, still looking serious, said to me as I felt hopeless.
"Hold on. I'll use a healing spell right away."
He immediately cast the spell.
Amazingly, the throbbing pain in my ankle subsided, and the swelling started to go down.
"How is it?"
"Wow, it's amazing. It doesn't hurt at all!"
"Selina! Lewis!"
Just then, I heard Michael's voice from afar.
I turned to the direction of the voice and saw Michael and Bella hurrying towards us.
"Why did you go ahead? We were lost for ages."
Bella scolded Lewis and then turned to me.
"Selina, what happened here?"
"That young lady is Selina? Even Lady Redmond?"
Michael also looked at us with wide eyes.
With Lady Redmond passed out and the bear defeated, it was easy to figure out what had happened.
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
"No, I'm fine. It's just that Lady Redmond brought a rabbit that had lost its mother into the camp..."
I briefly explained the situation to the twins.
Bella examined me closely as she listened to my explanation.
"At least your limbs are intact. Bears are so dangerous, why did you come in here?"
That's a scary thing to say, Bella!
But maybe Bella wasn't exaggerating. If it weren't for Lewis, I would've been a goner...
Lewis spoke to Michael.
"You take care of the young lady. I'll take Selina."
"What?"
Suddenly, my view shifted dramatically.
Lewis had picked me up.
"Marquis, I can walk! You healed me, didn't you?"
I asked, surprised, but Lewis shook his head.
"You're still in the recovery stage. You shouldn't strain yourself by walking until the spell fully takes effect."
So I wasn't completely healed yet?
"But walking back like this will look a bit strange..."
"No one's watching anyway. By the time we reach the camp, you'll be fully recovered."
"No one's watching? Are we invisible?"
Bella asked Michael, but Lewis ignored her comment.
In the end, I stayed quietly in Lewis's arms.
Michael made Lady Redmond float a couple of inches off the ground.
He could do that, but he chose to carry me?
It was a strange sight: the twins and Lewis walking, me being carried, and Lady Redmond floating.
I ended up wrapping one arm around Lewis's neck to adjust my position.
"Hold on tight so you don't fall."
"Okay."
Following Lewis's instruction, I wrapped my other arm around his shoulder.
And then I was a bit surprised.
His body was...
Not that I'm a pervert, but it was genuinely unexpected. Lewis always seemed slim.
Lewis was a mage who rarely had to use his body.
Just look at his attire today, it clearly shows he didn't join this hunt for the thrill.
I thought he wouldn't have much muscle, but... he was unexpectedly firm.
His shoulders were broad, and the muscles were thick...
As I subtly compared them to my own, Lewis suddenly asked.
"What are you doing?"
"Pardon?"
Oh no, caught!
"You seem suspicious. What were you thinking?"
"Nothing! I just... my shoulder felt stiff..."
"You were looking at my body weirdly."
"No way! I wasn't looking!"
I was looking! My heart pounded as I vehemently denied it.
Overreacting only makes you more suspicious. Why did I forget that?
My reaction seemed to confirm Lewis's suspicion. He smirked playfully.
"You were looking."
Oh no, now I'm branded as a bad person.
But the embarrassing moment was short-lived, as we finally reached our destination.
As we entered the clearing, all eyes turned to us. Charlotte emerged from the crowd.
"Lady Elsner! Where have you been?"
"Well..."
Let's forget this embarrassing moment.
I began to explain what had happened to the curious ladies.
* * *
While the ladies surrounded Selina, the hunting competition participants focused on Lewis's catch.
"As expected of the Marquis. He caught such a large one!"
"It's huge."
Even Philip was amazed.
Philip, who had hunted many beasts in the forest, approached Lewis in admiration.
"It seems the victory this year goes to the Marquis."
"Is that so?"
Actually, Lewis didn't care. His concern was only Selina.
Lewis glanced at Selina.
Caught up in the commotion, Selina was busy explaining the situation to the ladies.
He wanted to talk to her, but she clammed up whenever they were together.
It was just a joke.
It was amusing to see her embarrassed, so he teased her a bit, but it seemed to have embarrassed her a lot.
Embarrassment fades over time.
Lewis waited patiently for Selina to be free from the ladies.
But even as time passed, the ladies didn't leave her side.
He knew she was close to Bella, but not this close.
'I'm your friend too. How long will you leave me standing here?'
Normally, he would have gone straight to her and claimed a spot beside her, saying, 'Talk to me too.'
But he held back.
He decided to give her space since she didn't seem in the mood to talk.
In the meantime, the awards ceremony for the hunting competition began.
The Emperor, who appeared on the podium, was impressed by Lewis's catch.
"Impressive. It seems the Marquis of Bloomberg has come to shine in this hunting competition!"
How bothersome. Lewis accepted the award from the Emperor amidst applause.
Ah, but this does feel nice.
Lewis glanced at Philip. The runner-up looked disappointed, clapping reluctantly.
In contrast, Michael, who scored third highest, was smiling.
Lewis looked back at Selina. She was also watching him due to the ongoing ceremony.
Their eyes met, and she flinched as if wanting to avoid his gaze.
'You didn't expect me to look at you?'
Lewis chuckled. Since he had won, he might as well enjoy the victor's privilege.
He boldly announced in front of everyone watching him.
"I dedicate my victory to Lady Elsner."
Selina's mouth dropped open.
'Oh my gosh!' her expression seemed to say. Her reaction amused Lewis.
After the hunting competition ended, all the nobles who had gathered for it boarded their carriages.
Lewis was ready to leave too.
But he didn't plan to go alone this time.
"Ride with me. I'm going to the Duke's residence too."
"You're not going straight to your residence?"
"No."
He decided to go to the Croft Duke's residence instead of his own.
So, he asked Selina to ride with him, but Bella quickly intervened.
"No way. Selina rode with me here."
"So she'll ride back with me."
"That's not fair. She came with me, so she should leave with me."
Both had their own points.
"Whose side will you take?"
Michael watched Selina with amusement.
What was this situation? Selina, looking bewildered, suggested,
"How about we all ride together?"
"Too cramped."
"Too stuffy."
The carriage is spacious!
Bella and Lewis's objections were baseless.
But what could she do? They didn't want to.
Selina subtly chose Bella's side.
"I'll ride with Bella. Marquis, you can ride with Michael!"
"Is that so?"
Lewis wasn't happy with that.
He was already annoyed that he hadn't had a proper conversation with her earlier because of the ladies.
'No choice then.'
To ensure he had her by his side, he decided to use another method.
Lewis said seriously,
"My head hurts."
"Your head? You should be fine now, right?"
She remembered clearly that just being near him calmed the noise.
But Lewis lied without batting an eye.
"It's not enough. I got a headache from worrying about you."
I can't think straight.
Lewis held his head, and Selina's face filled with concern.
"Because of me?"
"Yeah. A friend almost died, of course, I was shocked."
He made sure she didn't misunderstand.
"All the stress made it worse. I can't think straight."
If he had to, he could just shake hands and leave, but he wanted to hold onto her.
"Stay by my side and calm me down."
"Marquis..."
In the end, Selina changed her mind. She decided to ride in his carriage to the residence.
Selina sat comfortably next to Lewis.
She thought sitting opposite wouldn't help him calm down properly.
"Would you like to rest your head?"
"Why?"
"Sleeping is the best cure for a headache."
I'm not sleepy though?
It was all an act. But since he didn't respond, Selina took his silence as hesitation.
She smiled awkwardly.
"You can lean on me."
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