The Red Witch - Chapter 22
The caution with his words, the way he hid his hand — everything made sense now.
“Make sure to bring some willow bark decoction as well. We’ll need to keep feeding it to her tonight and into tomorrow morning.”
“T-Tomorrow…?”
At the mention of “tomorrow” from Ael’s mouth, Raelin quickly looked up. Did that mean the immediate measures he had spoken of were no longer necessary?
Ael, who had been staring at Kiara’s hand, answered the unspoken question without even looking at Raelin.
“Thank the witch. The reason you’ll be able to make it through tonight safely is all because of her.”
As if something had just occurred to him, he added while heading towards the door, looking at Raelin.
“Once the medicine is ready, just leave it at the door. It’s better if you stay out of sight from now on, if you’re afraid of the curse.”
Raelin disappeared in a hurry, practically running down the tower stairs, her footsteps loud enough for Kiara to hear. It was unlike her usual quiet nature.
‘…It hurts…’
Had the commotion subsided? Only then did Kiara feel the pain, and she winced, staring at her hand. The wound on her palm started to throb painfully. Eil, who noticed her change in expression, asked with concern.
“Does it hurt?”
“…Ah, yes… yes, a little…”
“Hold on a bit. It was a good thing I asked for plenty of willow bark. You seem to have a fever, too. Your face keeps turning red.”
At Ael’s gentle worry, Kiara’s face flushed again. The Ael who had been so frightening just a moment ago felt like a completely different person now.
Kiara stole a glance at Ael’s hand. He hadn’t spared a second for his own wound, too focused on hers, and now the cut had split wide open.
“…That must hurt…”
The words slipped from her lips before she could stop them. Ael heard her muttering and let out a sudden snicker.
Just moments ago, he’d been thinking it was nothing — not torn, not hacked, not ripped open — so it didn’t count as real pain. The bleeding had stopped, hadn’t it?
The one who’d been dripping blood this whole time was her, after all.
And yet, here he was, laughing, while Kiara stared at him in confusion.
“Is bleeding…funny to you? I don’t think it’s very funny…”
But regardless of her scowling face, Ael didn’t stop. In fact, he laughed even louder, his shoulders shaking. Only after a while did his laughter settle enough for him to respond.
“…Didn’t realize you’d be this entertaining. Then again, you were pretty fun in bed.”
“B-bed…?”
“Oh, what, you didn’t enjoy it? I’m sorry if it wasn’t.”
Kiara blinked at him, dazed. That last sentence — I’m sorry — sounded so strange coming from someone as smug as he was.
Was this… what Madam Raelin had warned her about?
‘Lady Kiara, men can be very sensitive about those matters. Especially your soulmate — he’s quite tender-hearted, you know. No experience with women, either. So if you could… set aside what you liked or didn’t like, and just offer a little praise when you can, I think that would help a great deal.’
Madam Raelin had practically been a tutor to Kiara ever since her arrival in Altnebra. She taught her everything from language to daily customs to court etiquette.
Naturally, education on married life had also been included as part of her wedding preparations. Though, perhaps because Raelin was a rather elderly lady, some of her lessons were a bit vague. And when it came to the king, she sometimes seemed extra cautious. Which made comments like that one all the more confusing.
Her soulmate was tender-hearted?
‘…I heard the king is seven years older than me. What on earth does that even mean?’
Maybe Raelin hadn’t been talking about the king at all. Maybe it was just a general warning about all potential partners of a Red Witch? Could it apply to Ael too…?
That was hard to imagine.
Kiara tilted her head. Still, Raelin had said she was a rather promising student, hadn’t she? Then as a model pupil, it was only right to apply her lessons with enthusiasm, especially now.
With a sudden flourish, Kiara started reacting with exaggerated gusto.
“No! It was fun! Very fun!”
And as far as fun goes, well, it wasn’t bad.
…It hadn’t been bad at all.
So she went on, piling on every superlative she could think of.
“Extremely! Tremendously! Absolutely!”
She just couldn’t find the right word for it, but truthfully, it had been very enjoyable. Euphoric, even. Like something out of this world. She’d been so swept away she’d felt like she was going out of her mind.
No wonder she’d been so heartbroken to find him gone when she woke up. She must’ve grown attached. Emotionally? No, not really. But, physically? Definitely physically.
Well then, maybe she wasn’t overdoing it after all. Since they’d already started down this road, and who knew when they’d have a moment like this again, she might as well shower him with praise. It wasn’t like it cost her anything. Besides, they said he was sensitive.
Who knows? Maybe her words could save her life. Or two — if you counted the next woman he ended up with.
…Okay, maybe thinking that was overestimating him a bit.
