My Ruin to You - Chapter 231

Just as Roseline was about to pass by Valen, her foot caught on something and she stumbled.

“Careful.”

As if he had been waiting for it, Valen caught her arm. His speed was so swift, it was as if he had anticipated her falling.

“……”

Roseline lowered her gaze to inspect the ground. She was certain her foot had caught on something hard and long, but the ground was flat earth, without even a small pebble, let alone a protruding rock.

“Did you… trip me?”

He gave her arm a tight squeeze before releasing it and shrugged his shoulders. It was an affirmation. This bastard. Roseline bit her lower lip and scanned her surroundings. There were many eyes watching. Everyone was pretending to look elsewhere in perfect unison, but it was obvious their ears were wide open.

“…If I may be so bold, might I ask why you are doing this?”

She softened her tone, but she couldn’t control the clear intent mixed in her glare. Valen, looking at her sharply raised eyes and forcibly upturned lips, tilted his head.

“Hmm. Perhaps I felt wronged.”

“……Pardon?”

“Don’t be too pleased. No matter how much they worried about you, it couldn’t have been as much as I did.”

She was dumbfounded.

Roseline couldn’t hide her bewildered expression. The man’s face, as he voiced such childish jealousy, was so serious that a meaningless laugh escaped her. Valen, who was watching, narrowed his eyes.

“What are you laughing about, as if you’ve done something good?”

Contrary to his scolding words, the corners of his mouth had also relaxed. It was right after that Valen reached out his hand.

“Hold still.”

Stopping Roseline as she flinched and pulled her head back, he gently brushed the hair disheveled from her hurried steps behind her ear. It was a soft, ticklish touch.

“…Th-Thank you.”

“So you can say things you don’t mean.”

“……”

“You just want to leave quickly, your eyes rolling all over the place.”

“That’s not it, it’s just that there are too many eyes on us.”

“Shall I pluck them all out then?”

The knights, who had been sneaking glances while pretending not to, flinched and shook their heads in surprise.

“Why are you acting like this again?”

“It’s a joke. You may go.”

He laughed lightly as if it weren’t serious and gestured toward where the Manifestors were waiting. But Roseline didn’t move. The reason was that his subtly subdued eyes gave her pause.

Roseline pondered. It’s astounding that his behavior has now escalated to threatening people’s eyeballs in front of everyone, but if I point it out, we’ll just fight again. If that happens, Valen’s mood will sour, and the uncomfortable disposition of His Highness will have a massive impact on the entire camp. More than anything, I don’t want to waste any more emotion on such fruitless outcomes. Yes, I, the low-ranking and kind one, shall endure.

“Will Your Highness be going to your tent?”

“Naturally.”

“Shall I accompany you to your tent?”

Roseline beamed a smile. She thought he would obviously be pleased, but contrary to her expectations, he crossed his arms and looked her up and down slowly. His cheek bulged as his tongue rubbed against the inside of his mouth. It was a sign of his displeasure.

“You put me in the tent, and then what?”

“…Then what?”

“What are you planning to do, and where?”

His voice, dropping down, was exceedingly cold. As if he suspected Roseline was scheming some mischief behind his back.

Separate from her feeling of absurdity, she somehow felt sorry for Valen. The person who couldn’t take words at face value and kept adding interpretations this way and that must be the most exhausted.

“I was mustering my courage because you seemed jealous… If you don’t like it, fine. I’ll take my leave.”

Roseline turned slowly. Then, before she could even take a single step, her arm was caught.

“Who said I didn’t like it?”

He stood beside Roseline and looked back at the commander. As if to prevent Roseline from changing her mind, he called for the commander, and a knight clad in plate armor stepped forward. Roseline winked toward the young ladies waiting for her and timidly splayed her fingers, sending a hand signal. It meant, “Please wait.”

Unlike the other young ladies who tilted their heads in confusion, Schnitzel caught Roseline’s meaning and similarly raised her index finger, pointing somewhere. It seemed to be in the direction of the infirmary, so Roseline nodded.

“If you’re done, look ahead. You’re going to fall.”

Does he have eyes on the side of his head? Even while staring straight ahead, he uncannily noticed Roseline’s distracted actions.

“…Yes.”

Roseline replied meekly. He walked so close their shoulders nearly brushed, and behind them, the knights assigned as guards followed in a line, maintaining a slight distance.

“We’d heard the rumors, but the Young Lady is no ordinary wall either.”

“Of course. Just hearing His Highness’s voice makes my knees go weak, I don’t know how she’s so bold.”

“Who isn’t? But His Highness seems exceptionally kind to the Young Lady.”

“He must want to clear out the savages and hold the ceremony before winter comes.”

“Then why don’t you try using some of your influence, Sir?”

As the Grand Duke moved away, those left behind also began lifting their heads one by one, their eyes following the retreating figures. While it was an unspoken rule of the camp to pretend not to know about the Grand Duke’s romantic affairs, this was the first time they had been seen so close together, so their eyes were drawn involuntarily. Although Roseline was in charge of the Grand Duke’s treatment, what happened inside his tent was unknowable, and outside of it, they strictly separated public and private matters, never getting close, making this all the more conspicuous.