When the large prey it had been aiming for was pushed out of sight, the crocodile’s eyes rolled and looked at Claudel.

She had fallen to the ground with the remnants of the poorly constructed wooden platform they had just been standing on.

The crocodile bit her in an instant.

“Aagh!”

Biting her leg, which was barely a handful even with boots on, the crocodile turned towards the swamp it lived in with its prey in its mouth.

Seeing this scene, Kaian’s vision briefly went white, then his blood boiled and he felt like his heart would burst.

“No!”

He drew his sword in one breath and rushed towards the crocodile.

“Everyone, cover me!”

However, not a single knight moved at his command. They seemed distracted amidst the ladies who were screaming and fleeing towards the forest where the rest tents were set up.

Thwack.

Kaian chased after the crocodile, stepping on its back and leaping up to precisely stab his sword between its eyes, behind the crown of its head.

Blood spurted from the crocodile’s head.

Thwack, thwack, thwack.

Kaian repeatedly pulled out and thrust in his sword.

Then the crocodile’s body, which had been holding up even with Kaian’s weight on it, went limp and fell to the side.

“…Huff. Huff.”

Kaian habitually shook his sword to remove the blood and filth as he turned towards Claudel.

Claudel’s condition was terrible.

The woman, who had been dragged some twenty meters in an instant, was so badly scratched all over that she looked like a rag.

Even so, the mouth that had bitten her was not wide open, so he gritted his teeth and used both hands to pry open the dead crocodile’s mouth.

“…”

He tightly closed his eyes.

The leg that the crocodile had bitten hard and dragged her entire body with was mangled, with some bones exposed.

The light deer leather that had suited her sleek and neat appearance had failed to function as protection.

As Kaian was dumbfounded at the horrific sight, it was then that those who had been busy fleeing in the opposite direction when called suddenly crowded around to watch.

“What a relief!”

Someone among them said.

‘Relief? A relief?’

In Kaian’s ears, stunned by shock, he heard their buzzing voices.

“To think Vermonte was bitten. What a great relief!”

Relief?

“Heaven helped us. It’s a relief.”

A relief? This?

“It’s a relief that the lord is safe…”

Wham.

Kaian punched someone who was babbling about relief next to him without even looking.

In the sudden silence, as if cold water had been poured, Kaian’s angry voice dropped.

“Bring a stretcher.”

[This is the timeline separator]

The crocodile hunt that everyone had been looking forward to for three years ended in a mess and was called off.

Crocodiles were precious game.

Though troublesome to catch, their large bodies yielded plenty of meat, and when skinned, their unique and beautiful patterns were very useful.

Crocodile hunting was a big event in the Temnes territory, filling men with a sense of triumph and noble ladies with vanity and anticipation for the luxury items that would be made afterwards.

Disappointingly, it ended when the Vermonte bride, who had been married for less than a month, was bitten by a crocodile while the lord was giving the opening speech.

“My goodness. If it’s Vermonte, that’s just like her. To ruin the hunting competition.”

“Still, isn’t it such a relief that our lord wasn’t bitten?”

“To think Vermonte was bitten. I guess even the crocodile thought it was okay to eat someone like Vermonte. Hahaha.”

“Now that you mention it, that’s right. With that red hair, she’d be perfect as hunting bait, easy to spot.”

Outside the castle, this incident became a hot topic of gossip.

However, the atmosphere inside the castle was a bit different.

The lord, who had been personally diminishing the lady’s dignity and humiliating her even in front of the servants, was now personally nursing Claudel.

Inside Claudel’s bedroom, Hannah was crying while rubbing Claudel’s hand against her cheek with a bewildered face.

“My lady. Boo-hoo.”

Hannah herself was in a state with medicine applied and bandages wrapped on her cheeks and arms here and there.

When Claudel was bitten and dragged away by the crocodile, Hannah was the first to throw herself to grab her.

She even bravely kicked at the crocodile’s mouth that had bitten Claudel’s leg, but it was not enough.

Kaian looked at the doctor with a hardened expression.

The doctor, though he had committed no crime, felt like dying as he tried to report Claudel’s condition straightforwardly to Kaian, who was emitting an ominous aura.

“First of all, the wounds on her body, though they look serious and widespread, are abrasions, and there are no other wounds like stab wounds.”

“The leg?”

Yes. The leg was the problem.

“My assistant and I performed a procedure to reconnect the mangled muscles and skin…”

“Just tell me the main point briefly.”

Instead of Claudel’s treated leg, it was the doctor’s heart that was being mangled. However, since Kaian, who had reportedly rescued her himself, must have already seen the state of Claudel’s leg, the doctor swallowed hard.

“We’ve done all the treatment we can. We need to be careful to prevent infection from here on. If gangrene sets in and the skin or muscles start to rot, additional surgery to cut off those parts will be necessary.”

“Aagh! No! Our lady…”

Hannah’s wailing grew louder at the doctor’s words.

“…It might be difficult for her to walk again.”

“I see.”

Kaian replied without a change in his expression.

“You may withdraw now.”

“Yes. Yes.”

The doctor, who had been called from the clinic in the castle and had spent two full nights working on Claudel’s treatment, fled with a pale face.

“Sob. Oh, my lady. What should we do?”

“You’re noisy.”

Kaian rebuked.

“You too, you may withdraw now.”

“No, I don’t want to!”

“I’ll be here.”

When he glared at her, Hannah finally left Claudel’s room reluctantly, crying loudly enough to echo in the corridor.

As silence fell, Kaian was finally able to properly examine Claudel.

Strangely, Claudel seemed to get smaller every time he looked at her.

He had thought before that her face could fit in the palm of his hand, but today she looked even smaller than when he had compared her last time.

How long had it been since he had seen her sleeping peacefully?

Her delicate skin had been scratched during the crocodile attack, leaving her cheeks and arms covered in scabs.

However, this was not the problem at all.

Her leg.

The anxiety he felt when he saw the crocodile’s teeth embedded in her leg, which had seemed so thin it might barely make a handful.

Even if it healed completely, the doctor’s words that she might have difficulty walking weighed heavily on Kaian’s heart.

“Why on earth did you save me?”

Hadn’t she disliked him?

He thought she would resent him for the things that had happened since coming to Rowen Castle.

She had saved him.

She was his benefactor.

Considering the relationship between Vermonte and Temnes, who were desperate to kill each other, if she had just left him to be seriously injured or die from infection as the doctor said, Duke Vermonte would have greatly praised her.

As she was officially his wife, she could have inherited Temnes’ assets as her share and could have considered a fresh start.

“Perhaps you…”

Liked me?

The woman who had always maintained an expressionless, indifferent face and never allowed him near her.

Could she have actually been attracted to Kaian himself, to the extent of throwing her own body and risking her life to save him?

…Like I am.

“Ugh…”

The last faint thought that briefly crossed his mind dissipated as Claudel groaned and opened her eyes slightly.

“Ugh.”

Claudel moaned softly.

However, given that her physical condition was at a level where she should have been screaming and crying, her reaction seemed too weak compared to her injuries, causing a slight sense of disconnect.

“How do you feel?”

“It hurts.”

When Claudel answered weakly, one side of his chest ached.

“I see.”

“Am I badly hurt?”

“A bit.”

“I see.”

Kaian continued to be concerned about Claudel’s reactions.

‘Is she the type not to exaggerate?’

On the battlefield, he had seen countless injured people.

Even grown men would cry out in pain.

Especially for noble ladies, appearance was considered a major standard of charm, so their situation was very different from men who could regard a scar or two from the battlefield as medals of honor.

Yet her reaction was barely this much.

Should he consider her brave, or indifferent?

But can a person be so indifferent even to themselves? She’s human after all.

However, Kaian, not wanting to talk about Claudel’s damaged leg as it didn’t seem helpful for her recovery, kept his mouth shut, partly feeling relieved.

Kaian had the doctor’s assistant waiting outside bring medicine.

Claudel took in one go the medicine that the doctor had said to give generously as it might be too bitter and cause vomiting.

Why is she so unlikable, not saying it hurts when it hurts, or it’s bitter when it’s bitter?

Kaian ignored something that kept bothering him uncomfortably.

“Rest a bit more.”

“Yes.”

As she closed her eyes, Kaian sighed.

“Don’t worry too much about your leg.”

He gently held the sleeping woman’s small hand.

“I’ll find a way to heal it somehow.”

[This is the timeline separator]

Kaian had changed.

As if he had forgotten the times when he would yell at Claudel, get angry every time he saw her, and rebuke her, he now tried to treat her quite kindly.

Hannah grumbled as she arranged the flowers Kaian had sent.

“I thought he was trash, but I guess he was human after all. He does have a conscience.”

Her criteria for judging trash was solely based on whether one treated Claudel well or not. As Kaian’s attitude towards Claudel had become gentler since the accident, Hannah, who had been full of complaints, seemed to have slightly raised her harsh evaluation of Kaian.

“How is it?”

Hannah, who had abundantly arranged roses in a vase, showed it off. Claudel nodded.

“Pretty.”

“The flowers are innocent, after all.”

She smiled contentedly, pleased with her own arrangement.

“Which do you like better, this or the flowers that came yesterday?”

“Today’s.”

As Claudel said this, Hannah took down the vase that had been on the bedside table and put up the newly arranged one.

Now Claudel’s bedroom looked like a flower shop. This was because Kaian sent flowers every day.

“It’s about time for lunch.”

Hannah arranged a table and chair next to the bed.

“I was worried because you weren’t eating much for a while. But I’m relieved that you’ve been eating a bit more lately. You need to eat well to recover quickly.”

Now Claudel only had bandages on her leg.

The wounds on her body had healed cleanly a long time ago.

The wound on her leg was deep, but it fortunately avoided the concerns they had worried about.

Hannah was relieved at the news that it was healing well with only scars remaining.

Knock knock.

“Yes, come in.”

Hannah answered cheerfully.

However, contrary to the expectation that it would be maids bringing lunch, the one who entered the room was Antione.

Antione deliberately wore ballet-like shoes with ribbons tied neatly at the ankles, as if to show them off. Wearing a dress that came up to her calves, revealing her ankles to show off those shoes, she smiled brightly and said to Claudel.

“I heard you became a leg cripple?”