34 – The End of the Winter Festival, the Crossroads of Love
Link arms on the right and spin.
Link arms on the left and spin.
As I continued the campfire couple dance for one or two rounds, my head went blank.
“Ca-Catherine said that people who dance together here become lovers!?”
No matter how much it sounds like a superstition, the meaning is different when Catherine dances with me.
Even a fool could understand that.
“C-Catherine really liked me.”
Well, there were various signs.
When Viscount Roland fixed me, Catherine kissed my cheek.
It was Catherine, who always stuck close to me.
I vaguely sensed it too.
I looked at Catherine.
The blushing lady couldn’t meet my eyes, lowered hers, and continued dancing.
I felt conceited.
If I were a drunkard, I might have already planned for children, but working as a nurse and experiencing love in a drought, I wasn’t at that level.
“Was this discussed with Viscount Roland? Or just Catherine’s childish decision?”
Kim Cheolsu, 30 years old.
He inevitably thinks of love as marriage.
And roughly heard that even in this era, love equals marriage.
You can’t take it lightly like those in their early twenties.
Moreover, Catherine is a noble lady!
Naturally, I can’t help but be aware of Viscount Roland and Lady Helen’s gaze!
I scrutinized Viscount Roland and his wife sitting at the desk like a thunderbolt.
Fortunately, Lady Helen smiled gently and waved her hand here, but strangely, Viscount Roland stared at me with cold eyes.
“Click.”
It wasn’t mentioned!
Goosebumps spread up my spine, imagining my throat being cut by Viscount Roland shouting, “You dare to look at my daughter!? I’ll slit your throat!”
“Don’t overthink it.”
At that moment, Catherine took one step closer to me.
I was startled and forgot what I was thinking.
Filling my vision was Catherine.
Her sky-blue hair caught fire, turning crimson.
“Look at me.”
Catherine’s delicate fingers held my cheek, and we locked eyes.
My heart raced.
All colors of the world disappeared, leaving only Catherine and me in this place.
It’s strange.
Just a moment ago, I was trembling, imagining my throat being cut, but hearing Catherine’s words made me feel relieved.
Somehow, I felt like everything would be alright if she was there.
My heart thumped like thunder in a silent world.
Catherine’s presence felt magnified.
“Kim Cheolsu, I…”
Jing!
The music ended.
Miss Catherine, who was about to say something, had a pained expression on her face.
The color returns.
When Miss Catherine stepped back and avoided eye contact, I could finally see the scenery around me.
But I remember it clearly.
What Miss Catherine was trying to say to me!
“Oh, Miss, you were about to say something…”
“Oh…!”
Miss Catherine’s face turned bright red as if it was going to burst!
She let go of my hand and quickly turned away.
Then she ran away.
Literally, she disappeared at a speed I couldn’t catch!
“Snap! Miss!!”
Somehow, I felt like I had to chase her right now, so I ran!
* * * *
Daisy let go of the crutch handle and clenched her chest.
It hurt as if her heart was being torn apart.
Kim Cheolsu, wearing a white robe, linked arms with Catherine Yeongae and occasionally danced closely.
Daisy felt tortured watching them.
Why she felt tortured was a puzzle to Daisy, who had no experience with love.
But if she had to express it, it felt like someone had taken away something precious to her.
“Daisy.”
Lara came to Daisy, breathing heavily with a distorted face.
As a clergywoman who prayed countless times and tried to understand others, Lara could read Daisy’s sincerity from her reaction.
“Don’t you want to chase after Kim Cheolsu?”
“Lara…?”
Daisy turned around and looked at Lara absent-mindedly.
Lara was suggesting something to Daisy.
After the dance ended, Catherine Yeongae ran away.
Kim Cheolsu was currently chasing after Catherine Yeongae alone.
“If Kim Cheolsu meets Catherine Yeongae now, there may never be another chance.”
“Lara… how?”
“Because I can see it.”
And Daisy, you are a precious comrade to me. Lara swallowed her words.
Daisy, the only warrior who survived while the rest of her family was killed by the Demon King’s army.
Daisy had been acting as if she was being chased by something throughout the warrior party.
To kill the Demon King as quickly as possible.
To fulfill the family’s revenge, to fulfill her mission.
But this child didn’t say she was going to catch the Demon King in Roland Barony.
At first, I thought it was because Lala was injured, Daisy’s condition was like that.
She must be enduring until her injury is completely healed, I thought.
But Lala saw it.
Daisy always had her eyes on the window.
When Kim Chul-soo came, her face would light up.
There was a sense of ease in Daisy’s heart.
It was a change in Daisy that Lala never thought would happen.
“I won’t tell anyone. I’ll keep your troubles a secret. Let me say it again, Daisy. Don’t you want to chase after Kim Chul-soo?”
Lala said, recalling Daisy’s changes.
Daisy gradually snapped out of her dazed state.
Lala’s words were right.
She had to hold onto Kim Chul-soo.
Otherwise, this painful heartache would only get worse.
“…I, I promised to dance with Kim Chul-soo.”
After dancing with Catherine Young-ae, Kim Chul-soo had promised to dance with Daisy as well.
Daisy easily recalled that fact.
“Yeah, I heard it too, Daisy. Go and dance with Kim Chul-soo.”
“…Thank you, Lala.”
“No, Daisy. I hope you succeed.”
“Yeah!”
With the realization from Lala, Daisy bravely picked up her crutch and went after Kim Chul-soo.
Ironically, it was the sight that Lala had always seen, Daisy leaping towards the monster.
* * * *
I, Kim Chul-soo, this might be the moment of a lifetime!
The love event with Catherine, the second-generation chaebol!
“Ahem, since Catherine is a noble lady, I guess you could loosely call me a modern-day second-generation chaebol?”
Thinking like this makes it even more amazing.
When Catherine disappeared, suddenly the knight commander, Mr. Lee Byung-sik, tried to chase after me, but Mrs. Helen stopped him.
Count Roland was glaring at me.
Did something happen between Mrs. Helen and him?
I can tell that Mrs. Helen is helping me because I’m not clueless.
I should ask Catherine later or subtly approach Mrs. Helen.
I wandered around and found Catherine.
From Noble mtl dot com
It hasn’t even been a year since I came to Count Roland’s, but in reality, Count Roland is Catherine’s barrier. If she’s determined to hide, I can’t find her!
“For now, let’s go to the food place we went to with Catherine.”
“Kim Chul-soo!”
“Yeah?”
At that moment, Daisy came running towards me with her crutch.
“Daisy? What brings you here?”
I was a little surprised.
Currently, people are all in the Yeongju Castle courtyard, so there’s no reason for Daisy to come here.
Daisy came up to me against the crowd.
“Um, will you dance with me…”
“Ah…”
Come to think of it, I had planned to dance with Miss Catherine and Daisy.
I momentarily forgot about chasing after Miss Catherine.
But it seemed to be a big deal for Daisy to the extent that she would chase after me.
‘Ah…’
Is her rehabilitation exercise that desperate? But Daisy moves well on her own.
“Can’t… I?”
Daisy’s expression was desperate.
Desperation was evident on her face.
She seemed like she would be terribly disappointed if she didn’t dance with me!
“Ahem, there’s no reason not to.”
It feels strange to chase after Miss Catherine and then dance with Daisy.
I felt uneasy, but in the end, I decided to dance with Daisy.
Because I made a promise.
Let’s quickly go and find Miss Catherine.
“Since you’re leaning on crutches, I’ll support you from the side. Walk slowly.”
I should do this with the feeling of assisting a patient’s rehabilitation exercise.
Bang!
A spark shot up from the distant Yeongju Castle sky like a spotlight.
I held Daisy’s arms. Daisy’s body trembled, and her rough breathing and heartbeat echoed in my ears. Is it strange for a woman to rely on a man? I wish she would think of me as a medical professional rather than a man.
I slowly turned around with Daisy, drawing a circle.
We didn’t link arms.
This dance is for rehabilitation.
Daisy’s face was red, and she tried to smile when she looked at me.
I suddenly had this thought.
Could it be that Daisy likes me too…?
Emotions that shouldn’t be held for a patient briefly arose and then disappeared.
At the end of the dance, Daisy looked at me blankly.
A dazed face.
She kept leaning on me, and before I knew it, Daisy had become a figure in my arms.
Daisy, who seemed sturdy and resilient, looked small.
‘Ah, should I escort her back?’
Shouldn’t a hero be even stronger?
I sighed and looked around.
In the corner, Catherine, with both cheeks swollen, was glaring at me, sobbing!