If You Leave Without a Word - Chapter 81
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
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Now it was time to unwrap the bandages. Agatha’s careful hands grazed the exposed skin as she gingerly began to untie the bandages, her fingertips white with tension.
“Oh my…”
Finally free from the confines of the bandages, the cool air kissed his shoulder, and Agatha let out a sigh of horror.
“The wound is so severe. You’ve been lying, saying it’s okay?”
Her tone was like scolding a child.
“The wound has mostly healed. Those are just scars now.”
“Still, don’t move at all. And for a while, absolutely do not use this arm.”
She dampened a cloth with warm water and gently cleaned the wound. Cain’s face almost contorted in pain when the cloth touched him, but he didn’t show it. Instead, his focus was elsewhere.
“Oh dear. It must be so painful…”
As she leaned in close to inspect the wound, a sweet fragrance emanated from her. Perhaps it was from the dried flower petals used in her bath.
Gone was the flustered Agatha who blushed and fumbled as she undressed him, replaced now by a solemn wife intently examining the wound. Cain, surprisingly, was the one flustered by the closeness of her body.
He hadn’t expected this, turning his head away to avoid looking directly at her.
Agatha took her time with the treatment, trying not to irritate the wound.
While she applied the ointment, Cain’s jaw muscles tensed up, indicating his pain. Seeing this, Agatha quickened her pace.
“Does it hurt a lot?”
She worried if her clumsy touch might be causing him more pain. She thought she had learned properly from Liana how to clean and rebandage a wound, but in practice, her hands were not as quick as she had hoped.
Realizing her own doubts and regretting stepping in to assist instead of calling a servant, Agatha’s doubts deepened just when Cain caught her hand.
“It doesn’t hurt, but from here, I better do it myself.”
“What should I do… It seems I hurt you because I was clumsy. I’ll call a servant.”
“It doesn’t hurt, I told you.”
Cain caught Agatha as she tried to step away and wouldn’t let her go. As she looked up at him questioningly, his ears were noticeably red. Was it because he was clenching his teeth too hard?
As she floundered in uncertainty, Cain pulled her close and seated her beside him on the bed.
“It’s not like that. Just stay put.”
“Not like that? What do you mean?”
It felt like a riddle. Agatha blinked in confusion as Cain let out a sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a sigh.
“Don’t you see how this situation we’re in might be considered dangerous?”
“Dangerous?”
She tried to guess the meaning of ‘dangerous’ as he meant it but couldn’t grasp his intention.
“Is it dangerously clumsy how I applied the medication? No, this won’t do. I really should call a servant,”
“That’s not what I mean, Agatha.”
Finally, a deep sigh escaped him. Clearly, her intervention had made things awkward. As she attempted to get up, still feeling guilty, Cain still didn’t let her go.
“There’s no one here, and here I am barely clothed, and we are sitting on a bed.”
He pulled her closer by the wrist he held. Mentioning the bed seemed to spark realization, and Agatha tensed up with anxiety.
Just a word, a gesture, and she was this frightened; what was she thinking, rushing to undress him and treat his wound?
As she stiffened up, refusing to relax despite his leading, Cain finally burst out laughing.
“Did you dismiss the servants hoping for this to happen?”
“No, of course not. What are you saying!”
Agatha’s cheeks flushed red instantaneously, revealing her emotions in an unabashedly pure manner.
Perhaps it was due to starting her formal education in managing and concealing emotions at a relatively late age? Or maybe it was simply because Agatha was inherently guileless.
Cain had experienced countless women who tried to seduce him. From maids who gazed at him with longing eyes while he made his way to the imperial court, to noblewomen and princesses at various royal events trying to strike up a conversation with him, their number was beyond counting.
Even Princess Alexandra had begged her father to consider him as a fiance after seeing him at the emperor’s birthday celebration. There were even women who would disrobe in attempts to seduce him.
Yet, he had never been emotionally stirred by any of them, nor had his gaze ever lingered at them.
But now, with Agatha, an unfamiliar feeling surged within him for the first time—a desire to press his lips to this small woman before him.
Gently pulling her closer, Cain pressed a kiss to her forehead.
