The Person I Loved Hated Me - Chapter 2

A moment of bliss after a terrifying experience.

Thanks to my injuries, I was being carried in the arms of a wonderful knight and felt incredibly happy.

Though I’d been through something horrible, I never imagined such happiness awaited me afterward. When my mother died, I thought there was no God, but it seems there really is one.

Clara was happily interpreting things this way and thanking God.

Though Clara had fallen in love with Eivard at first sight and was feeling giddy, the moment they arrived at the nearby knight station and she was set down on a bench, the injuries she’d sustained because of Ahim began to ache.

Her slapped cheek hurt, of course, but both her arms and legs had scrapes and bruises that throbbed painfully. Eivard pressed a cold, damp cloth to her cheek, disinfected her wounds, and applied ointment.

“If I’d arrived sooner, you wouldn’t have had to go through this. I hope it doesn’t leave any scars,” he said.

Kneeling before Clara as he applied the ointment, he asked if she had any other painful spots.

She found herself staring blankly at him, thinking how wonderful he looked even from this slightly downward angle, but realizing it was rude to act this way toward someone who was helping her, she quietly scolded herself internally.

“It’s not your fault, Lord Eivard. Thank you for saving me.”

“This must be hard for you. The inquiry can wait until tomorrow or later. Is Isaac your only housemate?”

When she nodded yes, he offered considerately, “Let me see you home.”

“Not at all, I’ll be fine on my own.”

“You’re not fine. You’re badly injured like this. And after what happened, you must be anxious, right?”

It was true she felt uneasy, but it was still a time when the main streets would be crowded. Though her ankle hurt from the injury, she could still walk—just with a slight limp that she was embarrassed to have people see.

Just as she was thinking she really would be fine alone. She glanced out the window and saw it was completely dark. The moment she noticed, she felt vulnerable. It was no time to worry about people seeing her limp. Walking alone at night was genuinely frightening.

“Then I’ll take you up on your offer. I’ll go home after the inquiry. The pain will probably be worse tomorrow anyway. And putting off this kind of thing just makes it more troublesome, right?”

“You don’t need to worry about us.”

“No, I’m really fine with it. What should I talk about?”

“I see. In that case…”

Eivard sat down in front of Clara and continued, “Why were you in a place like that?”

“I was on my way home from work. I’d just bought some soup from a food stall when I ran into Ahim.”

Isaac had been away on an expedition since last week, and cooking just for herself felt like too much trouble, so she sometimes stopped by food stalls on her way home from work.

“He asked me to join him for a meal, but I refused. Ahim would occasionally talk to me, but I’ve never accepted his invitations before.”

She’d been warned that leading people on wasn’t good, and she didn’t like men like Ahim at all, so she never approached him. Despite her keeping her distance, Ahim ignored it and persistently pursued her anyway.

“Since there were people around, he usually wasn’t that pushy, but he seemed to know Isaac would be away for a while, and he tried to drag me off by force. So, I threw the soup I’d bought at him and ran, but he chased me, and I ended up fleeing into a back alley.”

Young women weren’t advised to enter back alleys as dusk fell. Even though she’d dashed in on impulse to escape, Clara knew she bore some responsibility for going into the alley herself.

“What’s your relationship with Ahim?”

“He and Isaac were classmates. It started after my mother died, so I was around thirteen? He’s been pestering me since then.”

“Thirteen? That man looked older than me.”

“I believe he’s twenty-four. How old are you, Lord Eivard?”

“I’m twenty-two. If you don’t mind me asking, how old are you?”

“I’m eighteen.”

“So that means Ahim was nineteen and pestering you when you were thirteen?”

“That’s right.”

Eivard seemed shocked, his blue eyes widening. Of course, he would be. In a society where adulthood was recognized at fifteen, Ahim, a full-grown adult had been harassing a girl not yet of age and forcing his attentions on her.

Even if Clara had been more mature than other girls her age back then, it was socially unacceptable. Whether or not Ahim was actually a pedophile, it would certainly look that way.

“Franz was in the same class as Isaac too, wasn’t he? So that’s how you knew. To think a man like that was a knight, I’ve never seen him before.”

“Ahim was dismissed from the knights four years ago.”

“If we investigate, I’m sure we’ll find other reasons for that.”

Eivard crossed his arms and seemed to be thinking something over. Clara placed her hands on her knees and stared intently at his handsome face, lost in admiration.

Being attacked by Ahim had been scary, but since it led to meeting such a wonderful person, she decided it was worth it. Clara was good at moving on quickly, even after unpleasant experiences. Partly due to her background, she’d had plenty of hardships, so she was used to it.

While this was going on, Franz arrived.

“Looks like the inquiry is over. Captain, I’ll take Clara home,” Franz said cheerfully, but Eivard stood up and said, “I’m going, so you’re not needed.”

“I hear you were in the same class as Ahim.”

“That’s right. Though he’s long since not a knight.”

“It seems he knew about Isaac’s expedition. If we dig deeper, I’m sure more will come to light. I leave it to you.”

Eivard stood beside Clara, said, “Excuse me,” and slipped his arms behind her back and under her knees, lifting her up.

It was so sudden she gasped in surprise, and he averted his gaze as he said, “I’m worried about the injury to your leg.”

She was overjoyed, but being carried all the way home was embarrassing. When Clara blushed and honestly said so, he offered to take her on his horse.

Riding together sounded perfect. As a delighted Clara fluttered her hand in a wave to Franz, he smiled and waved back.