The Princess is Going on Strike - Chapter 17
Chapter 17
Ethan entered the lounge with me in his arms. He placed me on the sofa and I raised my head to look at him. He then stood up and went to the tea set that was nearby. You could tell that he was quite familiar with steeping tea with the natural movements of his hands as he measured the water temperature and added the tea leaves into the pot. I quietly watched him as he approached me, bent on one knee, and handed me the teacup. The warmth of the cup spread throughout my body as it was placed in my hands, giving me a sense of stability. I stared at the steam before looking up at Ethan. I raised the cup towards the space of the mask where my mouth was located and took a sip. The tea had a warm, fragrant lemony scent.
Was the tea made of dried ground lemon and lime? It has a strange aftertaste, but is also sweet.
I pulled the teacup away from my lips and glanced at Ethan. He tilted his head to look up at me and I couldn’t help but notice his big brown eyes which were shifting back and forth. His eyes moved down then up before meeting mine again.
“……”
There was an awkward silence. I tried to say something to break the silence within the room, but couldn’t think of what to say as I wasn’t a very social person.
What should I say?
While I was hesitating, Ethan’s mouth was shut and he showed no sign of speaking. As I couldn’t avoid his eye contact, I forced myself to speak.
“Um… Sir Ethan? If you continue to stare at me like that then…”
When I spoke, Ethan glanced at my cheek before standing up. He brought a small box from the next room and opened the lid. I could see medicine and bandages packed inside.
Why is something like this in the banquet hall lounge?
I looked confused at the box as Ethan took out the disinfectant while he wrinkled his forehead with a frown.
Is he planning on treating me? But I’m still wearing my mask.
Ethan stared at me with a disinfectant cloth in his hand.
Is he waiting for me to take off my mask?
I pondered for a moment whether I should take my mask off or not. I told myself it probably didn’t matter since I no longer had any patches on my face, but this was entirely different. While I was hesitating about taking off my mask, Ethan reached out and placed the cloth through the cracked section of my mask.
“Stay still.”
He spoke in a low voice as he dapped the cloth on my cheek. The throbbing pain that rushed in caused me to wince.
Come to think of it, I had always worn my mask because of my skin discoloration, so I never received any injuries to my face before. I guess this caused my mask to become a shield in a way.
That might have been the reason why the wound on my cheek now felt extremely painful. Ethan paused when he noticed me wincing.
“Does it hurt?”
“…A bit.”
Because it was my first time injuring my face, it was a lot more painful than I expected it to be. But that didn’t mean I wished to express it, so I forced myself to smile. Ethan stared at my awkward smile and finished wiping away the residual disinfectant with a new wet cloth.
“Cuts on the face are easily exposed to the air and can often turn into scars. Make sure to disinfect it, apply medicine, and cover it every day when you head back to your mansion.”
Ethan’s gestures made it hard to believe that he was a man with broad shoulders and thick arms. He applied ointment with a serious expression then covered it with a cloth ever so gently that it caused me to fiddle my thumbs as I waited for him to finish.
…I’m not used to such treatment since I’ve never received it before.
Even when I fell on the streets or hurt myself while working, I was never treated for my injuries. I was only mocked for being a monster. Every single mistake I made was a means of mockery to the people.
Which is why I lived my entire life trying to preserve myself from getting hurt. But…
I shifted my eyes to look at Ethan’s face, who looked at cheek then met my gaze. I opened my mouth at that moment without realizing it.
“Um…..”
Why did I do that? What was I going to say?
His eyes on me caused my mind to go blank and in the end, this was all I could say.
“Why did you carry me earlier?”
It sounded pathetic after I had asked the question. I let out a deep sigh of frustration when Ethan answered lightly.
“It would’ve been stranger if I led you away by walking in front of you or took you away by the arm in that situation. Which is why I decided to carry you out.”
“…..”
Ah.
I tried imagining myself being dragged away by his hands.
I guess it doesn’t really paint a good picture.
Ethan continued to talk as he nodded to himself with the way he handled it.
“And it seemed as if you were about to collapse if I continued to speak in that situation, so I carried you. I apologize if it was unpleasant.”
Ethan bowed his head while he apologized, but I shook my head indicating it was unnecessary. He then closed the first aid kit, rose from his seat, and sat on the other sofa across from me with a sigh. I looked at his profile as he stared out the side window.
What is this man thinking about, right now? Is he thinking he brought me here for no reason? Does he regret his actions?
Despite what the situation was, it still wasn’t pleasant to see him point a blade to the head of the Brixia Family as he himself wasn’t the head of his, yet. However, it goes without saying that Oleding was definitely at fault for insulting the Crown Prince and ruining the banquet. Despite that, because Ethan stepped up and provoked Oledin, there was a high possibility that his anger will be pointed towards Ethan. This caused me to feel troubled as it felt that I was the cause of it all.
Regalius Tome: Send us kofi~