“What is it?”
It smelled sweet.
“I put some alcohol in the cocoa drink. The immobility incense has affected your senses, so you need to drink a little to calm it down.”
Elisha sipped and drank the liquid. The sweet taste occupied her tongue first, and the taste of alcohol came in as an aftertaste. She had a headache. Elisha laid on the bed.
“Sleep,”
he bluntly whispered.
“We can’t leave here for a while anyway. They will be wagging their tongues downstairs because you and I are supposed to be fucking like crazy.”
Elisha nodded slowly. Her whole body felt very heavy as if she was a cotton ball soaked wet in water.
“It’s better to go out tomorrow morning.”
“…..Yes.”
Elisha settled herself in bed.
The last time she had seen him, his eyes had been frightening. Elisha closed her eyes.
Did symptoms of paralysis include a sudden desire for sleep? She rubbed her drowsy eyes. She thought so.
***
Klok!
There was a sound of something being struck. Elisha lifted herself up. She was still donning only underwear and an underskirt, with a thick robe draped over her. She spotted Ian and Nora standing side by side in front of her.
“You’re lucky I don’t have a sword in my hand right now.”
“Yes, General.”
“I’m ashamed.”
Elisha’s focus sharpened and cleared up. Lucerne was wearing a glove on one hand. He slapped Ian in the face with that hand. Nora was standing next to him.
“Give me an excuse. Both of you.”
“I have nothing to say. It’s all our fault. The entire process for terrain identification, variable calculation, and escort of your wife was insufficient. We will make up for it.”
Ian’s prostrated. Nora also spoke in a low and sober timber,
“Please bestow a punishment on me. I’m deserving of it and will fully accept it.”
Elisha sat up, lifting herself up. Ian and Nora’s eyes followed her as she rose from the bed.
“Stop it,”
Elisha said softly.
“If we try to hold everyone accountable, I am also liable. I ordered both of them not to come into the office with me. And…. Judging from the fact that they planned to attack me, I think it was the work of those who kept monitoring my movements, waiting for me to leave the mansion. The Black Lion Knights’ main duty is to fight on the battlefield. To act as an escort to a noble lady is trivial compared to what they usually do, so please don’t indict them.”
Lucerne glanced at Elisha. She was startled because the anger in his eyes did not subside.
“I made a mistake on a relatively trivial matter, please understand.”
“…….”
“Why do you decide that? It’s not your job to decide the weight of my orders. Elisha.”
Elisha shut her mouth. Lucerne ordered his knights:
“Get up.”
The knights got up. Elisha was nervous that Lucerne would slap Nora across the face. Lucerne saw Elisha’s stony face and shoulders tighten with tension. His annoyed eyes glanced at Nora and Ian, irritated.
“Out—both of you. Go through the window so you don’t get caught.”
“We understand and accept.”
“And, Elisha said, the attackers seemed to be vagrants. If it’s Jacob’s or Marco’s work, the attackers would have already been killed. From today onwards, investigate unidentified corpses.”
“Yes, we understand and obey.”
They also bowed to Elisha and left. Elisha tried to raise herself from her sitting position, but was struggling. Lucerne looked down at her.
‘How long did I sleep?’
It’s still bright outside. She saw Ian and Nora wearing the same clothes as the morning before, so it didn’t seem like many hours had passed.
Lucerne approached her. His large body cast a shadow on Elisha.
“How much of your senses have you regained?”
“Enough to move my tongue. But it’s like I’m wearing weights on my limbs.….”
“It’s slow. Do you want to drink more?”
Elisha shook her head. She didn’t know what senseless state her senses would return to her if she drank more. Lucerne took off his glove and peered closely at Elisha.
“So, it is your fault?”
“The attackers did it.”
“You’re saying something different from before.”
Lucerne noted as if it were ridiculous.
“If I have to pick one… I said… I ordered Ian and Nora not to come into the office. It was a very small office, and—”
Elisha shut her mouth. How could she admit how spellbound she was by the sight of Lucerne on the balcony from the alley?
“How should you make up for it? I didn’t scold Ian and Nora enough.”
“…….”
“Do you want to be punished instead?”
Elisha spoke obediently:
“Please do whatever you want.”
