The Cowardly Young Lady and the Escort Knight

Chapter 3: A First Day with No End in Sight (2)

As he stopped imagining and opened his eyes, the hairdresser was the first to come out of the door and lightly nodded his head towards Patrick.

Then, without saying a word, he left the reception room as it was.

The next to come out were the dressmaker and two maids.

Unlike the maids, who didn't have the room to give him a glance because they were holding several boxes, the dressmaker seemed to be overflowing with room as she had empty hands.

She looked back at him and sent him a hand kiss with very sticky eyes.

"Hehe, goodbye, cute escort~"

"........"

Patrick replaced his greeting with just nodding his head.

He couldn't say anything because he was holding back what he wanted to say.

As if knowing all his feelings, the dressmaker giggled and left the reception room.

Only after the rustling sound of her skirt faded away was he able to let out a sigh filled with frustration.

'What is it, really.........'

Fortunately, that woman was a dressmaker, that is, a position he would hardly ever meet.

He desperately hoped that he would never meet her 'almost', but 'never' and looked at the still open bedroom door.

There were no footsteps heard, and no shadows flickered from the inside.

Just the door was open blankly.

'Huh? Why aren't they coming out?'

The moment he tilted his head wondering if they weren't ready yet, the hem of a dark green dress flowed out of the bedroom.

And in the scene that followed, Patrick's eyes widened on their own.

Red hair reminiscent of maple leaves.

Most of it was stretched out long, but some of it was neatly braided down on either side of her ears so that it would sway.

What came into view next was skin as white as the word transparent came to mind and a gaunt face.

And purplish eyes reminiscent of violets that were half open.

She must have been wrapped in messy cloth before entering the room.

Seeing that she hadn't replaced it with anything else, it seemed that the blindfold itself didn't match the dress, so she had taken it off.

Whoever made that decision, Patrick wanted to applaud and say they did a very good job.

Cecilia's eyes were so beautiful that the splendor of the green frilled dress that wrapped around her skinny body was overshadowed.

'She's really pretty.'

Her face and body were skinny, which was a flaw, but it was a problem that would soon be solved as she would be living comfortably here from now on.

If she took a walk in the sun with the help of a maid, her complexion would get better.

The Cecilia of a month or two later would be several times more beautiful, so much so that the appearance he saw today would completely disappear from his memory.

Perhaps there would be people who would envy Patrick for getting slapped by her.

'Is that a bit much?'

Patrick, while self-deprecating, continued to look at her.

Was it because she felt his gaze?

Cecilia, who was walking out hesitantly while holding the maid's hand, suddenly moved her head and turned to him.

"......Uh."

And then she made a groan-like sound and closed her eyes tightly!

Patrick felt as if he had seen fear in her eyes for a very brief moment.

'What is it?'

When she realized that someone was watching her, she widened her eyes as if surprised by it.

Then, she quickly closed them as if she shouldn't have done that.

It seemed like a reaction as if she could see him, but could he have been mistaken?

'No. I must have seen it right.'

The distance from the wall he was standing on to Cecilia's bedroom door wasn't that far.

Moreover, sunlight was pouring in from the large window, so it was so bright that even the dust floating in the room could be seen clearly.

He was only eighteen years old, and there was no disease in his eyes, so there was no way he could have seen it wrong, right?

That is, she really felt his gaze and was surprised and closed her eyes.

'It's not that strange, right?'

Patrick had heard it said vaguely once.

Blind people's eyes don't match each other's directions as much as sighted people's because they can't see, so ordinary people are startled without even realizing it when they see them.

Cecilia was said to be sixteen years old.

Most girls of that age care about even the thickness of their hair ties.

So she must have closed her eyes because she didn't want to look strange to others.

'But she noticed so quickly even though I'm a little far away.'

The story that other senses become more sensitive when you can't see was probably true.

Then, is it really possible to tell who someone is just by the sound of their footsteps or presence?

Maybe that blind swordsman who single-handedly turned the ancient bull monster that was trying to trample the village into pieces of meat was also a real person...

"Ugh!"

"……?!"

Patrick was startled by the sudden exclamation and woke up from his reverie.

When he blinked his eyes quickly and looked straight ahead, Cecilia was slightly lowering her body and frowning as much as she could.

"Get up, Lady Cecilia. You must hurry."

"J-Just a moment... please... my feet hurt..."

It seemed that her feet hurt because she wasn't used to the shoes.

Moreover, the floor was a soft carpet, so she must have missed her footing and twisted her ankle.

From what he saw when he first greeted her, her legs and ankles were so thin that the bone shapes were all showing, so he should be worried that she might have broken it beyond just twisting it.

'No, more than that, I have to go too. Get a hold of yourself!'

He almost ended up staying in the room blankly by himself.

While self-deprecatingly saying that he still didn't realize that he was an escort knight, Patrick quietly moved his feet and stood about two steps behind Cecilia.

'Is this right?'

And then he inwardly tilted his head.

He had never seen a real escort knight, nor had he heard the rules of conduct, so he wasn't confident.

'Well, I'll just be like Sir Albert's adjutants.'

He remembered that the adjutants went with him to serve and escort Sir Albert.

So he should just stand similarly to that.

Even after Patrick convinced himself like that, Cecilia was still bent over and only let out a thin groan.

Seeing that she couldn't straighten her back easily, it seemed that it wasn't just a little painful.

'Did she twist her ankle?'

The moment he was about to ask, he saw the tutor gesturing to the maid.

Then, the maid was startled and seemed to hesitate a little, but soon she bit her lip and grabbed Cecilia's hand tightly, raising her up!

A rough touch that couldn't find consideration at all.

It was only natural that she lost her balance again as she staggered again.

"Ugh?!"

The fan that was in her right hand flew into the air.

Her body, which had been swaying precariously, began to lean over very greatly.

The maid reached out her hand in panic, but it was already too late.

The precious lady's knees would soon collide with the floor.

The disaster that Cecilia herself had foreseen was about to come true.

And it was his role to prevent that.

Patrick quickly reached out and grabbed her right hand, which was flailing in the air.

"Uh?!"

At the same time, he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her back slightly.

It was good that her back was straightened, but things weren't as easy as he thought.

Perhaps because she was unfamiliar with the shoes, she couldn't get her balance easily and kept stomping her feet here and there.

Of course, there was no guarantee that her feet would only step on the floor,

Thud.

"……!"

It could be said that it was only natural that his instep, which was closest, was damaged.

But who would have known?

Thud. Thud.

".........?!"

That her feet would keep stomping on both insteps, even exactly the same spot!

It was something that was hard to believe even if she had done it on purpose, but the blind lady was doing it while flinching in surprise!

'Kkeuaaaaaa!'

Patrick screamed miserably inwardly and clenched his teeth tightly.

If he made a sound out loud, Cecilia would be even more frightened.

If she thrashed around even more in this situation, then she might really fall and break a bone!

'Absolutely not......!'

He could never let such a disaster happen.

He was an escort knight.

Even if he lost both feet, he had to protect the target......!

'This much isn't anything, but still......!'

After enduring the pain and holding her until she got her balance for a while, her feet finally stood on a suitable spot.

'Ah, that's a relief......'

His instep, which had barely been freed from the endless pain, was complaining of a tingling pain that went beyond just being numb.

Maybe he really wouldn't be able to walk properly this time.

Still, Patrick, feeling relieved for the time being.

A sigh mixed with lament and relief leaked out small from his mouth, relieved of tension.

Was it that that reached her?

"Hic?!"

"Ah."

Cecilia's shoulders visibly shook, and she began to thrash around greatly!

"Kyaaaa! Let go of meeee!!"

"Lady Cecilia, Lady Cecilia, Lady Cecilia, please calm down! You'll get hurt if you do that!"

"Ra, rape! I'm being raped! Save meeee!!"

"Please calm down, Keuek?!"

A much more intense pain than before traveled up his instep.

Along with that, his body began to tilt precariously because she was thrashing around with all her might to get away!

"Waaaaa?!"

"Keuek......!!"

In his consciousness, which had become dizzy from the pain, Patrick hugged her tightly and tilted his body back.

A dull pain spread through his back and the back of his head.

Still, it didn't hurt as much as he thought because the carpet on the floor was soft.

The pain in his instep was much greater than that.

Maybe he really had cracked a bone.

'Leave that alone, what about Lady Cecilia?!'

Patrick hurriedly looked at the lady who was groaning and was lying on top of his body.

A small girl with her red hair disheveled and trembling.

She was groaning, but she was just surprised, not groaning because she was hurt somewhere.

'That's a relief.'

Patrick turned his head to the side and let out a sigh of relief, loosening the arm that had been holding her and letting it droop to the floor.

"La, Lady Cecilia!"

Then, the maid ran over right away and picked her up, holding her halfway.

Patrick, fearing that she might step on him again, sat down a little further back and then gently touched her instep, which had almost danced.

A tingling pain shot up from his instep as soon as his hand touched it.

The pain was so extreme that his eyebrows immediately furrowed, and he almost made a sound.

'It hurts like hell......'

He desperately wanted to take off his shoes and check, but he couldn't do that since it wasn't his private bedroom.

Seeing that the tutor was urging him to 'hurry', there wouldn't be any time to take care of the wound.

He carefully moved his feet and staggered to his feet.

He felt intense pain every time he moved his feet, but he seemed to be able to walk somehow.

"Ha...... I can't help it."

The tutor picked up the fan that had fallen on the floor and held it herself.

Then, while supporting her waist, she grabbed her right hand.

She had the maid hold her remaining left hand and began to walk forward step by step.

Without giving him a single glance.

"........"

It was something he had to do.

Still, wasn't it polite to ask if he was okay?

'Ah, right. Just an escort, huh.'

Since he was left alone anyway, he could just look at his feet once and follow them.

Patrick took a deep breath of the sigh he had been holding back and headed to the bathroom.

He grabbed a linen towel from the shelf and sat down on the floor, slowly taking off his shoes.

"Wow."

His instep was completely bruised.

The side that Cecilia had stepped on last was so swollen that it was difficult to even take off his shoes.

'I won't be able to run for a few days......'

He sighed and wrapped his feet with the cloth and tied it tightly.

This wouldn't heal him, but it would at least fix his feet a little, so he would feel less pain.

'Let's go for now......'

After stuffing his feet into his shoes, Patrick began to move slowly.

Let's ask to see a healer when the greeting with the Count is over.

While vowing weakly.