Looking for the Villainess’s Contract Husband
Chapter 22
“I am Lucian Cichlid, and I will be working in the infirmary here for a while as part of my practical training. May I ask what is going on?”
Why on earth are you here…?
I was dumbfounded, but the pain radiating through my entire arm pushed my confusion aside.
Whatever the case, getting out of here comes first.
I desperately tightened my grip with my fingertips and spoke hurriedly.
“……First, could you please pull me up? I feel like I’m going to fall while we’re talking.”
“Ah, of course.”
Lucian nodded readily and stepped closer. It was then that he turned to the boy and asked,
“Will you help me?”
“……Me?”
The boy, who had been frozen in shock at the appearance of an unexpected person, flinched as he replied.
Lucian tilted his head slightly. The movement looked remarkably elegant.
“I don’t think I can do it alone. Ah, or perhaps…….”
Lucian’s eyes narrowed thinly.
He looked at me hanging from the edge of the pit, then at the boy who remained frozen in the middle of walking away from me, and let the corners of his mouth curl up slightly.
However, his silver eyes remained as cold as frost.
“Were you the one who pushed her in there? If so, I suppose it makes sense that you wouldn’t want to help.”
“……\!”
The boy bit his lip, the remark hitting the bullseye. After keeping his mouth shut for a moment, he let out a deep sigh, spun around, and approached me.
Lucian watched the back of the boy’s head for a moment with an unreadable expression before following suit.
Just as my fingertips began to tremble and were about to slip, the two boys crouched at the edge of the pit and reached out, each grabbing one of my arms.
As Lucian lowered his head, his silver glasses chain slid down with a metallic rattle. He spoke in a nonchalant tone.
“I’ll take this arm, so you take the other. Pull her up on the count of three. One, two.”
“Three.”
The boy finished the count and applied strength to his hands.
As the two of them pulled, my body felt as though it were flying through the air, and I was hauled onto the ground in an instant.
Thud—
‘That was close…….’
Only after my feet touched solid ground did I realize my entire body was stiff with tension. Sitting on the dirt, I looked back into the pit I had almost fallen into; it was only about 1.5 times my height.
‘It looked so deep earlier.’
If I had known it was only this deep, I wouldn’t have tried so hard to persuade him. Feeling a sense of indignation, I turned to glare at the boy, who bit his lip with a panicked expression and jerked his head away.
At least he seems to know he did something wrong.
I then noticed Lucian standing beside the boy, dusting the dirt off his hands. Suddenly, the sensation from when he pulled me up flashed through my mind.
‘Come to think of it……’
[I don’t think I can do it alone.]
Lucian had clearly asked the boy for help, saying it would be too much for him to do by himself. Yet, the moment I was pulled up, I felt as though the arm Lucian was holding had soared into the air much faster.
‘……Nah, I must have imagined it.’
A momentary doubt arose, but I soon shook my head to clear it. After all, Lucian’s overall physique was quite delicate. His limbs weren’t exactly thin, but they were long and graceful—he looked like a reed that would fall over if given a light poke. If a body like that possessed such strength, that would be a whole other surprise.
‘Ssh.’
The wound on my palm throbbed, pushing away my idle thoughts. Frowning slightly, I looked down to see my hand, stained with blood, trembling uncontrollably. My legs, too, lacked strength.
I was contemplating whether it was okay to push myself up with these palms when Lucian timely leaned over and offered me his hand.
“Shall we head back now? The teacher seemed to be waiting for you quite anxiously.”
“Ah.”
“Take my hand and stand up.”
“……Thank you.”
I decided to accept his help readily. I used my fingers, which weren’t injured, to carefully take his hand and pull myself up, but for some reason, the texture felt strange.
‘What is this?’
Startled, I looked closer to find that Lucian was wearing tight-fitting black gloves.
‘He’s wearing gloves.’
It seemed the Duke’s personal doctor was right about him being a bit of a mysophobe. Last time… well, maybe that was just an unconscious action.
Leaving the trivial thoughts behind, I let go of his hand and walked out of the forest with Lucian. The boy followed behind us with his head hung low, keeping a bit of a distance.
“Ella, Benjamin\!”
The moment we emerged from the forest, the teacher, who had been pacing anxiously among the children, raised her voice. Thanks to that, I finally learned the boy’s name.
‘So his name was Benjamin.’
The teacher approached with quick steps. Her eyes swept over us as words poured out of her mouth.
“I was so worried. Where on earth did you go? And this wound……”
The teacher’s face hardened as she discovered my hand, mottled with dirt and blood. Hearing her words, I instinctively glanced back at Benjamin, who was biting his lip with an unreadable expression.
Seeing him look so dejected, a sigh escaped my lips.
‘……Well, there’s no need to make an enemy, right?’
Of course, it seemed he already considered me an enemy, but unless he tried to mess with me again, I had no reason to harbor any more ill will. Once I left this place, we weren’t likely to cross paths again anyway.
It would be better to leave him with a debt of gratitude rather than resentment.
‘It’s not like I’m telling a total lie, either.’
I organized my thoughts and took a deep breath. Then, I spoke in a calm tone.
“Benjamin was looking for a place to hide, but he lost his footing and fell into a pit. I pulled him out, but I think I scraped my hand in the process. Right?”
“Huh? Uh……”
When I turned to Benjamin and subtly forced an answer, his eyes shook as he stammered. It wasn’t the most satisfying reaction, but it seemed he had a conscience left.
“…….”
Meanwhile, Lucian, standing a little apart from Benjamin, gazed at me with a peculiar look. He hadn’t exactly witnessed Benjamin leading me into a trap, but I was worried he might speak up and make things complicated; fortunately, he remained quiet. I thought I might have seen a faint smile flicker across his lips.
With all these factors combined, the teacher eventually seemed to fully believe my explanation and let out a small groan.
“To think such a thing happened……”
“I wouldn’t have been able to do it on my own, but this gentleman…… arrived just in time to help, so it went smoothly.”
When I pointed to Lucian, the teacher jumped in surprise and bowed her head deeply.
“Oh, my goodness, where are my manners. Thank you. To think you had to deal with this as soon as you arrived……”
“Not at all. It was nothing.”
Lucian shook his head quietly and gave a brief smile. The teacher let out a sigh of relief and turned back to me.
“I’m glad nothing serious happened this time, but from now on, if you find a friend in danger, you must call a teacher immediately. Understood?”
“Yes.”
“But what should we do? Of all times, the healer has gone out to eat with the Director……”
The teacher’s brows furrowed in concern. It was Lucian who came to her aid.
“I can handle basic first aid. That is what I’m here for, after all. Follow me, Ella.”
The teacher’s face brightened at his words. She turned to me and said,
“Would you do that? Ella, go to the infirmary with this gentleman and get your wound treated. The rest of you, follow me.”
“Yes\!”
“Benny hyung, are you okay? The teacher told you not to go too deep\!”
Most of the children followed the teacher into the building, while some ran to Benjamin’s side and started chattering. As I watched him surrounded by the children, Lucian urged me in a soft voice.
“Shall we?”
“……Yes.”
If I left the wound on my palm untreated and it scarred, I wouldn’t be able to face my mother later. I pulled my gaze away from Benjamin and walked behind Lucian. I felt the faint sensation of someone’s eyes following my back.
* * *
“It will sting a little.”
The gloved Lucian pressed a cotton ball soaked in disinfectant against my wounded palm.
“……\!”
In that moment, a sharp sting shot from my head to my toes, and my eyes clamped shut involuntarily. It felt as if my hair were standing on end, but fortunately, I managed to keep myself from let out an embarrassing groan.
“You can make a sound if it hurts.”
Lucian murmured softly, disinfecting the wound with a serious gaze. The late afternoon sunlight poured through the window, bathing his profile and mine. Aside from the occasional sound of people and voices in the distance, the infirmary, containing only Lucian and me, was incredibly quiet.
Which meant now was the perfect time to ask about this situation. I tried my best to ignore the pain in my palm and spoke up tentatively.
“Um, how are you here? Was it perhaps on the Duke’s orders?”
