Chapter 152
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“It seems okay.”
He kept changing the angle of her foot and ankle while asking the sa question repeatedly.
“How about this?”
“It’s fine.”
Despite her continuous reassurances that she was alright, he still did not seem convinced, his expression worried.
After carefully examining one ankle, he shifted positions to kneel in front of her other foot.
“Let
take it off first.”
lody nodded at his suggestion of removing her
shoe.
This ti too, he maintained an equally ticulous examination process on the other foot, being fair.
“Your ankle really doesn’t hurt at all?”
“I already said it doesn’t.”
“Well, that’s a relief then… Oh, here’s so swelling.”
Lifting his head slightly, Ronny furrowed his brow towards lody’s leg area.
In truth, lody was wearing a modest dress that fell down to her ankles. But the thin fabric had ridden up when she turned to sit properly earlier, revealing her reddened shins beneath the white lace.
“That must really hurt.”
Ronny gripped the end of the lace, his brow deeply creased in concern.
When he gently touched the swollen area with his fingertips, lody let out a pained sound.
“This will probably bruise. Should I get so dicine?”
But lody shook her head.
“It’s okay, it will go down over ti.”
“Still, this is really…”
He leaned his face closer to her injury, seeming apologetic and unsure what to do.
“…You know, Ronny.”
Observing his behavior, lody called out to him carefully.
“It would probably be better to apply so dicine after all?”
He kept his gaze fixed on lody’s leg as he asked, and she shook her head again.
“No, that’s not it. Your posture doesn’t seem very proper.”
“Huh?”
Finally, Ronny lifted his head at her pointed remark.
He must not have realized until then, too focused on examining her injury.
His hand was gripping the hem of lody’s dress, naturally having pushed it up to around her knees to get a closer look at the bruise.
Of course, lody understood he had only lifted her dress to check her injury more carefully.
But it was not exactly a proper posture for an adult man and woman, leaving room for misunderstanding.
Ronny alternated between glancing at his hand and at lody for a mont. His movents seed unnaturally stiff, like a malfunctioning clock.
“Huh.”
Suddenly realizing how precarious his conduct was, Ronny imdiately shook his head vehently.
“That, that wasn’t what I ant at all!”
Of course, being close friends with Ronny, lody could not resist teasing him a bit over this opportunity.
“Was it not?”
Though she only ant it jokingly, the flustered Ronny did not seem to take it that way.
The mont she asked, his face turned beet red.
“I…I an, I wasn’t harboring any ill intentions by doing this.”
His hand gripping her dress hem trembled as he ntioned “ill intentions.”
“Huh.”
Belatedly, he let go of lody’s dress and quickly turned his head away.
Even the back of his neck visible above his shirt collar had turned bright red. It was almost pitiful enough to make the teaser feel apologetic instead.
“I know.”
So lody lightly patted his shoulder in a comforting gesture.
“Ronny would never harbor ill intentions towards .”
Even with her reassuring words, he only hung his head lower in seeming self-reproach.
It appeared he felt he had wronged her sohow, so lody decided to comfort him further.
“We used to show each other our legs all the ti when we were kids, rember? We just wore shorts that went down to our knees back then.”
“That and this…are the sa thing?”
He weakly refuted while shaking his head, but lody just shrugged nonchalantly.
In any case, he seed calr than before, which was a relief.
“Heh heh.”
“Don’t laugh. I feel utterly mortified.”
He settled on the step three below where lody was seated, drooping his head between his knees in seeming embarrassnt.
“Ronny.”
lody lightly tapped his hunched back, making him lift his head slightly.
“…What?”
The weak response soon ca.
“Thank you.”
“Huh?”
Ronny turned to her in surprise. What was there to thank him for when all his recent actions had been blunders?
“The truth is…”
lody clasped her hands over her knees.
“Mr. Middleton and I had an unpleasant history before.”
“…Oh.”
Ronny gave a small nod, his expression unreadable as lody continued.
“You wouldn’t know since I never told you or my parents about it. Can you keep this a secret?”
“Yeah.”
He replied sowhat sullenly, as if feeling odd about the matter.
“And that’s why I’m thanking you, Ronny. I was honestly quite relieved.”
“You…were?”
“Yes. The nerve of him to insult the Baldwin Duchy right in front of !”
lody clenched her small fist firmly as she spoke, prompting an involuntary smile from Ronny.
Not only was she glad over his actions, but he appreciated her cherishing the ducal honor as well, even though it was natural for a Higgins.
“I’m glad if that made you happy.”
“No, ‘happy’ is too small a word. ‘Imnsely satisfied’ would be better.”
The continued praise made Ronny’s shoulders unconsciously straighten proudly.
Now that he considered it, he had done quite the admirable thing by punishing soone who displeased lody, had he not?
“From now on, let
know if anyone bothers you again.”
“Really…I can tell you?”
Of course, Ronny nodded firmly. If there was anyone troubling lody, he wished to intervene and help without hesitation.
“Thank you. Then I’ll let you know.”
“Oh, wait a mont.”
Ronny paused, seeming to notice sothing.
“…?”
He took off his shoes and neatly placed them in front of lody’s feet.
It seed improper to him for her to be sitting on the stairs barefoot.
“Put them on.”
“What about you?”
“What about ?”
He shrugged casually before pushing his shoes closer to her again.
lody pondered briefly before slipping her feet into his oversized dress shoes one by one.
The shoes still retained so warmth and were so large that her toes did not even reach the ends, the uppers towering far above her feet as well.
“…They’re huge.”
Her amazed murmur made Ronny chuckle lightly.
“You’re just small.”
“I don’t rember the size difference being this big before though.”
“It’s always been this much of a difference?”
“I see…”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
Ronny shifted down a few steps below lody’s feet, just like when examining her ankle earlier.
As lody lifted her head from staring at the oversized shoes, their eyes t at the sa level.
“So tell , who else has been bothering you?”
His question made the corners of lody’s eyes crinkle slightly, though it seed more from amusent than worry this ti.
Why was she smiling so prettily while talking about being bullied? Just as Ronny wondered that…
“Ronny.”
She gave a decisive answer.
“Huh?”
“Ronny Baldwin, my friend. You don’t know him?”
“……”
“He bullies
terribly.”
Ordinarily, Ronny would have imdiately protested “When did I ever?!”
But today, feeling guilty over wronging lody, he could not bring himself to be so brazenly defensive.
Instead, he sullenly asked with a resigned expression,
“How…does he bully you?”
“For starters, he runs away whenever he sees . I chased after him and ended up falling down these stairs.”
That was undoubtedly his fault, so he hung his head deeply in apology.
“…I was in the wrong, dear Miss Higgins.”
“Dear? Is that what you call soone who doesn’t even open their door no matter how much you knock?”
“Huh.”
That too was true, making Ronny’s head droop even lower.
“When you’re the one always waltzing into my room without knocking at all.”
“That too was very wrong of , dear Miss Higgins.”
“So.”
lody gazed at him sternly with narrowed eyes.
“Why exactly did Ronny grab that man by the collar?”
“…Well.”
He bit his lip contemplatively.
Just recalling the vile things that bastard had spouted about lody at the party made his blood boil again. Belittling her efforts and calling her vile nas.
“You won’t tell ?”
“……”
“Or could it be…that person was also rude to Ronny?”
“What?!”
“If not, that’s a relief.”
“Ha, you’re worrying about
now? Did you think I’d get so enraged over so trivial insult from the heir to a minor earldom?!”
If it seed Ronny had been gritting his teeth over a personal slight from soone of such low status, that would be a misunderstanding.
Such inferiority complex-driven remarks could never truly wound him.
But when it ca to matters involving lody, it was a different story altogether.
…Though he did not understand why, it simply was.
“That bastard said sothing about you… How dare he.”
Ronny clenched his lingering fury into tight fists.
He still considered it sheer luck that Isaiah had accompanied him to that soiree.
Otherwise, who knows if Stewart’s reckless words might have been spread around unchecked by soone.
And then that shaless Stewart Middleton had the nerve to not only send a marriage proposal here, but to co visiting lody in person with flowers as well.
It was only natural for Ronny’s vision to turn red in that mont.
By the ti he regained his senses, he had already rushed over to attack.
Ronny did not regret his actions in the slightest.
“Um…”
As he scowled with barely restrained anger, lody carefully spoke up with a contemplative expression.
“There was that ti before when you and Isaiah beat up the heir to a minor earldom. Could it be…”
“…?!”
Taken aback by Ronny’s stunned reaction, lody went ahead and nodded, reaching her own arbitrary conclusion.
“He must have said sothing about
there. Am I right?”
“No, that’s not…”
“Was I wrong?”
Unable to refute her rapid questioning, Ronny forgot his original protest and simply shook his head instead.
“…You’re not wrong.”
“Then why didn’t you tell
about it?”
“Well…”
Ronny trailed off without finishing that thought, his lips remaining shut.
“If you had told , I wouldn’t have acted so rudely towards you and Isaiah that day.”
Recalling her behavior from then, lody sounded slightly apologetic, prompting Ronny to reassure her.
“You didn’t act rudely.”
“Or was I unpleasant at least?”
The slightly teasing smile as she said that looked rather adorable, so Ronny averted his gaze, feeling his face grow hot again.
“…You know, Ronny.”
After a brief pause, lody spoke up again in a calr tone.
“From now on, instead of shutting
out like that, please tell
these things too.”
“……”
“Above all, if you can tell Isaiah, then you really shouldn’t hide it from , a Higgins.”
“I suppose…you’re right about that too.”
He let out a dejected laugh, and lody smiled wryly in return.
“And thank you again for getting angry on behalf of the Higgins.”
Ronny shook his head replying “No need” as he carefully studied lody’s expression.
He wondered if she might be upset upon learning that her prospective fiancé had been spouting insults about her at that party.
But fortunately, she did not seem the least bit bothered.
“…That’s a relief.”
“Hm? What is?”
“That my dear Miss Higgins does not seem distressed, that’s a relief.”
“There’s no reason for
to be gloomy.”
lody shrugged before shaking Ronny’s oversized dress shoes making clunking sounds.
“I got new shoes after all. Aren’t they pretty?”
“Your friend who chose them has excellent taste.”
The two exchanged light-hearted banter before bursting into laughter together.
“Now that I think about it.”
Suddenly, lody seed to recall sothing and clapped her hands.
“Didn’t we used to get scolded for just sitting on the stairs playing like this when we were kids?”
“That’s right, because stairs are dangerous. Enough for a lady to fall and get hurt like this too.”
“Ow.”
lody poked at her shins with a slight grimace, the swelling seeming a bit worse.
“Back then…when they warned us not to play on the stairs, I feel like Father said sothing.”
“Ah, that’s right! The thing Mr. Higgins used to say like a habit?”
“Yes, that one. That if we played on the stairs, ghosts would…”
As they tried recalling that distant childhood mory together, they simultaneously rembered the rest at the sa mont.
“Cling to our shoulders!”
“Cling to our shoulders!”
After shouting it out in unison while looking at each other, they sohow ended up staring intently at each other’s shoulders as well.
“Ahaha.”
lody laughed awkwardly while fiddling with her long hair.
“…We don’t believe that anymore though, right?”
Her tone carried a hint of lingering unease, prompting Ronny to confidently laugh it off.
“Of course not? They just made that up to stop us from playing on the stairs.”
“I suppose so.”
So the two paid no heed to the frightening admonitions from adults in their childhood.
Though they did end up unconsciously patting their shoulders before abruptly standing up from the stairs together.
But that was simply because continuing to sit around chatting on the stairs did not seem like a good idea.
This was a thoroughfare, not a seat after all.
“Oh, right, your shoes.”
Ronny placed lody’s fallen high-heeled shoes in front of her again.
“Can you walk in them, or should I carry them for you?”
“I’m okay.”
He supported lody’s arm as she changed back into her shoes, in case she lost her balance again.
“Thanks.”
Ronny also put his shoes back on that lody had returned.
The lingering warmth felt rather odd.
“…Well, I should go back to my room then. I need to change too, and I have an unfinished painting.”
As lody took the first step down while speaking, Ronny quickly followed alongside her.
“Want
to walk you to your room? Can you make it alone?”
Though he offered his arm, lody lightly shook her head.
“I’ll be fine now.”
Still, she thanked him for the courtesy before descending the stairs alone.
“……”
Ronny remained on the stairs, looking down at his outstretched arm.
For so reason, he felt a tinge of regret.
He had wanted to continue talking with lody so more, and also…
“…What a pointless thought.”
He muttered to himself before turning to head back up the stairs.
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