Chapter 43
Kiara chattered on as she slowly undid his armor.
“Things got a little better after Madam Raelin took me in, but she couldn’t stay by my side all the time.”
“You must’ve been lonely.”
“Of course. It would’ve been nice if I could at least read a book, but I can’t even do that… Alright, all done. Could you lift your arms a bit?”
Her request came so naturally in the middle of her rambling that even Ael — who’d insisted on undressing himself until now — followed her lead without complaint. Seeing him, usually so prickly, quietly yield to her touch made Kiara feel rather proud.
‘Perfect. Since it’s come to this, I’ll strip him down so thoroughly he’ll never want anyone else to do it again, not once he’s experienced how good I am at this.’
Clenching her fist with renewed resolve, Kiara began to help Ael out of his leather armor.
But, of course, things were rarely as easy as she imagined.
‘…So heavy!’
To begin with, it was ridiculously heavy. Kiara stiffened in horror, though she kept her expression carefully neutral. After all, she had insisted on helping.
Still, she couldn’t quite keep the complaint from bubbling up. In a cautious voice, she asked:
“…Do all soldiers wear stuff like this in battle?”
“Ah, I’m not really a soldier… Technically, I’m in the Order.”
“Is that different?”
“…Mobility matters more for us. So the armor’s actually on the lighter side. Why? Too heavy?”
Ael glanced up at Kiara, who was standing beside him, trying to take off his armor. Strangely, it seemed to be taking an unusually long time. He cast a suspicious look at her, but Kiara only responded with a bright, innocent smile as if nothing were wrong.
“Oh, no! It’s not because it’s heavy… I told you earlier, didn’t I? You looked a bit uncomfortable, Ael… I was just worried you might be hurt or something.”
“I… I told you, I’m not hurt…”
Come to think of it, Ael’s reply denying her concern sounded oddly unnatural. But right now, Kiara had no time to pay attention to such things.
‘My own problem’s more urgent right now… Seriously, he calls this thing light?’
Kiara discreetly clicked her tongue.
That physique of his wasn’t just for show.
She shot a resentful glance at Ael. The armor he wore and moved around in so easily was already making her break out in a sweat just from lifting it slightly. Her hands were slick with sweat, and she was worried they might slip, so she couldn’t focus on anything else.
Because of that, she completely failed to notice that as she pulled the armor up, Ael’s tunic was coming up with it.
“I told you, you only need to take off the armor!”
Ael suddenly raised his voice, clearly flustered.
He was so serious about it that the startled Kiara didn’t even realize his tunic had ridden up along with the armor.
Seeing him react so differently from usual, obviously shaken, Kiara began to wonder.
Why was Ael making such a fuss all of a sudden? The armor was already heavy enough to kill her.
‘Damn it, should I just throw the whole thing off? Why did I even insist on helping in the first place?’
They say desperate times call for desperate measures[1] — and sure enough, the resolve Kiara once had to gracefully remove Ael’s armor had long since vanished. With a grunt, she yanked the armor off him in one go. Trying to be careful at a time like this would just waste energy.
“There. It’s off. Happy now?”
“Y-Yeah, good job—ugh.”
Ael groaned low as he answered, his voice catching. Kiara’s handling had been a bit too rough, and it seemed the armor had hit his torso. But to react with that much pain from just a bump?
Come to think of it, he’d sounded awkward every time he insisted he was fine earlier. Kiara narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously and glanced at the hands that had touched him.
‘No bloodstains.”
There was no visible blood, but that made it even more concerning — hidden injuries could be far worse. She needed to check thoroughly. Ignoring Ael’s attempt to stop her, Kiara quickly yanked up his tunic.
“W-What the hell is this?!”
She cried out in horror.
¹The actual Korean proverb that was used here was “화장실 갈 때 마음, 나올 때 마음 다르다더니” which translates more literally to “They say the heart (or mindset) is different when going to the bathroom and when coming out.” This is often used to chastise someone for being a hypocrite, making promises when they’re desperate and not following through once they got what they wanted (in this case, after having used the bathroom). The novel is basically poking fun at how Kiara’s gracious attitude turns into the opposite of that once she starts physically struggling.↩
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