novelCan I come to Deibta Street? (6)
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Chapter 25: Chapter 25 Can I come to Deibta Street? (6)
"Don't neglect it just because it is a small wound. Please take care of it well. If it gets infected or leaves scars on your hand, I'll have a heavy heart for that, " she said, emphasizing that it was not because she was worried about him but because of the guilt she would feel.
Hesitating for a moment after she said that, she drank a handful of water. She wiped her wet mouth with her sleeves and sat on a nearby dry rock. Then, she wrote something on the rocks with her wet hands. Obviously, she did that as she was embarrassed.
Watching her for a while, he noticed beads of sweat on her forehead. She seemed to be exhausted from her horse riding a little while ago.
"Why don't you take a break in the shade? It looks like the sun is too hot."
She opened her eyes wide at his sudden suggestion, then stood up, dusting off her hands. Approaching the base of the ash tree where Balos was harnessed, she flopped down under its shade.
She felt a bit of water on the ground but didn't care much.
He also stood up after watching her sit down comfortably.
Before he approached the base of the tree, he hardened his face when he saw the letters on the rock that she wrote with her wet hand: ~ Wendy Waltz Visited Here with Balos~
He held back a laugh at her childish writing, but this time he did not have to make any effort to memorize the Imperial Knights' code. The fact that her writing did not include his name may have hurt his feelings.
Taking his eyes off of her writing, he approached her. She was staring at a tree branch full of pale green leaves with a blank expression. The sun shining through the branches was dazzling, but she didn't hate its sparkling.
Warm winds blew over them. The stream was ran beyond their feet, and clouds in the sky were floated over their heads. Balos blew from his mouth while grazing.
She thought it was indeed a peaceful moment. She didn't expect to feel this next to this imperial knight.
She peered at his face quickly. Sunlight stretching through the branches mottled the knight's face. The mix of shade and sunshine on his face seemed like her feelings toward him.
That dizzy and peaceful face of his confused her again. She felt resentful about the light green leaves of the branches above her. How come she chose the ash tree of all the trees at this moment?
She recalled the illusion in the rain she saw the day before. It was an odd illusion whose meaning she could never understand. After obtaining the power of her index finger from the little fairy, Juasonette, she experienced its amazing power several times, but it was the first time she saw such an illusion. She frowned as she was confused at the moment. The leaves of the tree swayed well in the spring breeze, as if they didn't care a bit about her confused mind.
The swaying of lightly fluttering leaves slowly filled her view. Looking at the swaying young leaves, she felt her eyelids grow heavy. Her sudden break after a hard horse riding gave her a sweet lullaby. Although she looked straight at the sunlight and strained her eyes to stay awake, she couldn't resist any more. Her heavy eyelids closed before she knew.
In no time, she fell asleep.
"..."
Lard, who inadvertently turned his head to the sound of her smooth breathing, could see her eyes closed and asleep. A slight flush over her defenseless look made her look like a young girl.
He could only now understand why Jean Jacque described her like that when he first met her. Although her cold grass-green eyes were hidden behind her eyelids, her aura was quite different. He stared at her face for a while like a pioneer was captivated by his discovery of an unknown world.
The sound of the leaves of nearby trees fluttering in the wind at the same time was heard.
As the branches of the trees swayed in the wind, a piece of sunlight shone on her face. The sunlight coming over her defenseless face caused a sharp trembling in her eyelids. At first glance, he seemed angry at the annoying movement of the branches.
He even pondered a way to drive out this thoughtless sunlight trying to disturb her brief break.
He could block it by raising his hand, but he couldn't help but hesitate. Not only did he never act so tenderly toward a woman, but it would go against the grain if he acted frivolously. Despite that, why did he keep feeling the strong urge to get rid of that unpleasant sunlight? He could not understand.
Somewhere, there was the sound of a lark chirping. It was like a cry to urge his action. Her saw her hair swaying in the wind. He reached out to her face when he noticed that she frowned because of the dazzling sunshine. His strong hand blocked the sunshine on her face. Even during that moment he once again pondered whether he was acting rationally as a knight.
Flash!
Did she sense the movement of his hand? She suddenly opened her eyes. At that moment he was so surprised that he pretended to catch a fly unwittingly, hiding his awkward and embarrassed look. His heart was pounding as hard as it did when he was done morning training.
However, it was Wendy, not Lard, who was more embarrassed at the moment. She was absent-minded focusing on her eye muscles to hide her embarrassment.
'Oh my god! Did I fall asleep in his presence? Did he notice my wobbly mental alertness? How can I fall asleep in front of Lard Schroder, this untrustworthy imperial knight, unless I'm insane?'
But now was not the time for her to blame herself. The biggest problem for her at the moment was how to overcome this crisis. She couldn't have him notice her hang-loose mindset. She said, deliberately staring into his face. She did not forget to speak louder than usual, so that he could hear her voice clearly. She had to make her voice as clear as possible.
"Afternoon meditation clears my mind. Especially, it's even better if I do it in the outdoors. I feel like I have been refreshed after meditation."
Although her eyes had small veins here and there like a person who just woke up from a doze, her facial expression seemed to show she really looked refreshed. Of course, he didn't appreciate the freshness that she gained through meditation, but he pretended not to notice it. As if he ignored her feigned expression, he just nodded.
"Oh, that sounds good. In fact, I was worried because you were tired."
"Don't worry. This kind of horse riding is just a warm-up exercise. As we had a good rest, why don't we stand up? I think Balos also filled his stomach."
While he stopped grazing, looking at a distant place, Balos suddenly clattered its hooves as if it sensed it was time to move. He frowned unwittingly as his beloved horse reacted quickly.
Their enjoyment in the Essenturung field, which seemed a perfect moment, ended like this.
Her wet writing on the rock near the stream long dried out in the sun. He quickly glanced at the dry rock once more before leaving. He suddenly felt lonely like her writing that vanished without any trace. Without knowing at all that the source of his loneliness was his longing for her, he just turned his eyes to her yellow hair.
The writing that she left behind to prove her visit here already disappeared without any trace, but he had this woman Wendy Waltz right before his eyes. When he recognized that fact, he felt like there was flying a lark in his heart. Overwhelmed by that strange feeling, he looked up after the trace of the lark that might be flying somewhere in the sky. Did that lark fly away to seek its mate? He couldn't see its brown tail anywhere in the blue sky.
"Lord Schroder, don't lose your head. Please hold the reins tightly. As I have been fully refreshed, I'm going to drive Balos hard again!"
This time, she rolled up her sleeves, stroking Balos's thick neck, as if she wanted to enjoy riding the horse freely.
"Okay, let's go!" said Lard with a relaxed tone, trying to hide embarrassment.
Right after he said, she held the reins quickly and screamed, "Giddy Up!"
Very much excited at her shouting, Balos quickly picked started to gallop away. The tender grass in the field was scattered in all directions as Balos galloped at full speed.
The wind that was blowing around the ash tree did not stop until they became just a small dot in the distance. As if to reflect their excitement, there was heard the rustling sound of leaves constantly until they faded away like the lark that disappeared into the sky.
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