novelDon't come to Wendy's flower shop (10)
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Chapter 19: Chapter 19 Don't come to Wendy's flower shop (10)
"The juice of the vegenta stem had antiseptic properties, which is very good for wounds. The disinfectants sold at clinics also contain it."
He nodded at Wendy's kind explanation. Looking at Lard, she felt he seemed to listen very seriously to her explanation. His closed lips, the sharp bridge of his nose, and her eyes, and his hollowed eyes caught her eye.
She put the squeezed juice of the vegenta stalk to the side of the table and turned to face him again.
A couple of silver lights in the room were reflected in his gray eyes. She thought they were like a bunch of stars in the night sky, a cluster of stars that could be seen every day in the night sky. Perhaps she deliberately thought like that so as not to think of the silver poplar by the river.
The moment she saw that tree, she recalled what she felt on that day, such as the scent of grass and the wind, the loneliness while looking at the shadow of the silver poplar by the river. She didn't want to recall those feelings while looking at Lard.
"Do you have anything to tell me?"
She asked him after she realized that he was staring at her with a different expression than a minute ago.
"Well, I was surprised at your calm reaction when you saw the wound on my palm. Most women would have screamed at seeing blood, but you're not surprised that much. Apart from your good knowledge of the use of plants in detail, you're very good at treating my wound."
"...You should not compare me with the women of noble families. If you live alone, you need to know how to treat yourself to some extent. You can't do anything if you are screaming every time something happens to you. As far as the use of plants is concerned, I've come to get interested in it because my job is related to it."
She replied casually as if she thought what he asked was nothing special. He had a faint smile, as if she already anticipated her reaction like that.
"You had better not wield a sword for the time being, unless you can hold it with your left hand."
After carefully applying the ointment from the medicine box over the wound, she wrapped it with a bandage. She thought she wrapped it too tightly, but she didn't feel up to unwrapping it in the middle to loosen it, so she quickly finished. She felt she treated her as best she could to get out of a sense of guilt towards him.
"You have wet hair. Please wait, I'll bring you a towel."
"No, it's okay. Can I have a cup of warm tea instead?"
Her eyes trembled at this.
'Oh, it looks like he has never been serviced any tea before. Why is he asking me for tea whenever he meets me?'
"... If you don't mind tea, let me bring it to you."
Wendy replied with a small voice, hiding her true feelings. Later on some day she would commend herself for her move today, recalling it was an excellent way of her dealing with him.
"Thank you."
Sweeping his wet hair from his face, he spoke in a normal tone. Of course, he wouldn't be moved just because of a cup of tea, but she was a bit annoyed by his reply. She wasn't sure his mere mention of 'thank you' was the expression of his true feelings because his reaction was so dumb and insensitive even though he had already been served tea twice.
She hurried to the kitchen, boiled water and brewed the tea. She briefly agonized over whether brew it bitter on purpose but didn't as it went against the grain as someone who enjoyed her own tea.
Carefully placing the mug on the table, she stood up again, feeling chilly through her wet clothes. She hurriedly built a fire in the fireplace and sat before her steamy teacup.
For a while, the two drank tea silently. The sound of pouring rain was like a monotonous melody. Glancing at his hand holding the mug, she briefly appreciated the scene of somebody else in her own space in her house.
She didn't feel a sense of repulsion until he entered the door. She momentarily thought it would not be that bad to stay with a stranger if she thought of him or her as invisible.
If it remained silent like this, she thought very briefly that it would not be too bad and the glow of the fireplace made her a little sentimental. However, such a feeling was as light and futile as dandelion scattering in late spring.
Soon, she decided that she felt satisfied with the thought that she had repaid her indebtedness to this man.
By making a fire in the fireplace, she blew away a sense of guilt that remained in her heart. She vowed that she would go back to her normal life because she repaid her debt of gratitude for the wound on his palm. Of course, it was Wendy Waltz's own calculation.
"I hope you don't have any more nightmares because of what happened today... Don't worry too much because the guy didn't seem to have a grudge against you, but I think you had better not hang out with him."
Lard once again urged her not to socialize with Yoda. As she wouldn't be bothered by what he said, she feigned laughter deep inside, but she didn't ridicule his intention because she felt he was sincere, to say the least.
"I could deal with him on my own, but thank you for your help anyway. Even though it was an accident, I am very sorry to see your hand wounded like that. As the wound was not so serious, it will soon heal over time, but I feel sorry because it's inconvenient for you for the time being."
She cleverly offered quasi-apologies. If he wanted to find fault with this, he could, but he gave it a pass this time. She clearly expressed gratitude for his help, but at the same time she felt somewhat reluctant to show her true feelings candidly because of her rebellious mind.
Her cunning way of speaking provoked this brusque knight's mind again. Her untactful remarks overturned the Wendy Waltz ship quickly on its smooth path.
Lard opened his mouth at last, "I feel more uncomfortable as you say you are sorry. If that's the case, let me make a suggestion to you that you can lessen your debt of gratitude."
With a smile, he took out a silver envelope.
"It's a ticket to the Jerus Orchestra concert. I was in a difficult position because I was looking for a partner to accompany me. If you would be my partner, I think I would be able to get out of my trouble. Can you help me?"
Her face hardened hard like a man pulling a face because he was showered with the dirty water from mopping. Wasn't the Jerus orchestra an imperial orchestra?
Everybody knew that the members of the orchestra were on the government payroll. Such a concert was one of the top five places she should not go in any circumstances.
"Lord Schroder, I'm sorry, but it doesn't seem like a good place for me to attend. How can I dare to attend such a concert exclusively reserved for noblemen? If I went there, I would disgrace your name. How can you go around if the rumor spreads that the chief of the imperial knights is hanging out with a commoner woman?"
"...It's surprising that you're concerned about that. Wendy, I am not ashamed at all even if I go to an imperial banquet with you."
With a gentle smile, he replied. It seemed that his way of speaking seemed to blame her ill-advised thinking. In fact, he asked her to be his partner for the royal concert because of her provocative remarks, but he thought that it would be very pleasant to go to that boring concert with this woman.
Of course, he couldn't understand why he thought so, but it was his true intention to go to the concert with her. His suspicions about her, which started with the accident at the museum and his encounter with her at Linus National Medical Center, didn't matter at this moment. He may have been feeling a little sentimental because of the warm glow of the fireplace and the quiet rhythm of the heavy rain outside.
"If you are really nervous about the gaze of noblemen, you may enter the concert late. As I don't enjoy the concert very much, it's not a problem at all if I arrive late. So, please do not reject my request. You are the only woman who can hold my wounded hand."
She now found herself in a situation where what they said, 'To sow the wind and reap the whirlwind. ' She took a deep breath quietly and blamed herself for her thoughtless remarks.
She overlooked the fact that he wouldn't be deceived by her shallow trick, but she couldn't give in at this point.
"Although you had your hand hurt like that, I don't think there are many young ladies who can reject the request of a handsome knight like you. So, you don't have to worry about that. As I have repaied your kindness by serving you a cup of tea, please withdraw your request."
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