Chapter 10

Consciousness awakened.

Chloe immediately realized she was lying on a bed in an unfamiliar room.

(An unknown ceiling... smell...)

Her thoughts were hazy, and she couldn't grasp the situation.

She tried to sit up, her upper body feeling as heavy as lead.

"You're awake."

"Ah!"

The young man who had helped her earlier was sitting in a chair beside the bed, and Chloe was greatly surprised.

"Um! That, that, that... what?"

"Calm down."

"......Yes."

She took a deep breath and exhaled.

Only then could she unravel the tangled threads of her memory.

"Thank you for saving me."

Chloe bowed her head timidly, and the young man responded with a single word.

"It's fine."

It was as if he was saying it was just a matter of course.

Recalling the earlier confrontation with the three men, Chloe's heart raced.

The more she looked at the young man's well-defined features, the more she felt a blush creeping up her cheeks.

(No, no, no...)

This wasn't the time to be mesmerized.

She needed to assess the situation first, so she opened her mouth to speak.

"Um... "

"I'm Llyod Stuart. Llyod is fine."

"Ah, yes! Mr. Llyod. My name is Chloe..."

She almost said her family name but swallowed it at the last moment.

She was a runaway.

It was a quick judgment that it would be better not to reveal her identity, but she couldn't help but wonder if it was pointless since she had already said her first name.

"Chloe, I see."

Llyod seemed to accept it without any suspicion, and Chloe felt relieved.

"By the way, where... is this?"

"It's my house. Normally, we would wait for the military police to arrive and get you protected, but you looked unwell and had fainted, so I brought you here out of necessity."

"Umm... Thank you so much for everything."

Chloe bowed deeply again.

"Don't worry about it. I'm glad you woke up sooner than I expected. I was thinking what to do if you didn't wake up for two or three days."

"Um, how long have I actually...?"

"About five hours. It's like the time it takes to read a book and a bit more."

She noticed a book on Llyod's lap.

"Um..."

"Hm?"

"Have you been there the whole time?"

"Yes, why not?"

Llyod said it as if it was nothing.

"I didn't know when your condition might suddenly change, so I stayed just in case. Of course, I went to the bathroom and prepared dinner at the same time, so I wasn't sitting in the chair the whole time."

"O-Oh, I see..."

There was something subtly off about this.

Chloe felt that Llyod was a bit unusual, but at the same time, she thought he was kind for staying by her side.

"So, how are you feeling?"

"Yes, thanks to you. My fever has gone down."

She had been exhausted and then caught in the rain, which weakened her immune system.

Chloe analyzed that a good rest in a warm place was all she needed to recover.

However, Llyod's eyes widened in surprise at her words.

"You have an incredible recovery rate. You had such a high fever."

"Hehe... Yes, I guess so..."

The sudden rise in her body temperature was due to a reason other than her health.

Of course, she couldn't explain that, as it would make her face heat up again, so she wouldn't say it even if her mouth was torn open.

"Since you're feeling better..."

Llyod's tone suddenly became serious.

"First, I need to know about you..."

Gurrrr...

"......"

"......"

Her stomach!

"Hey, your face is turning red again. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine! I'm fine!"

It couldn't be helped.

She hadn't eaten or drunk anything for three days and three nights (she managed with water from the river).

It was no wonder her stomach was growling... No matter how much she justified it, it was still embarrassing.

Chloe couldn't help but cover her head with the blanket.

Seeing this, Llyod said one thing.

"...I made pot-au-feu. Do you want to eat it?"

"Pot-au-feu...?"

Chloe tilted her head, only exposing her mouth from under the blanket.

"You don't know pot-au-feu? It's a dish made by cooking meat and vegetables with consomme and salt. It's perfect for this cold season."

Gurrrrrrrrr...

"......"

"I'll reheat it."

"Thank you..."

Chloe covered her head with the blanket again.