201: Chapter 110 Temporary Dust Settling 201: Chapter 110 Temporary Dust Settling Leaning on his long sword, Leon stood with his back against the corridor wall, guarding the open door of the Lord’s room.
He glanced at the noble youth who still lay on the floor, deep in slumber.
According to Knight Marcello, the boy seemed to be the child of Baron Anquela, a second son of a noble who had been sent to serve as a Knight Attendant in the Farolis Family for many years.
The youth had been redressed by Leon, but it seemed that the effects of the drug had not worn off, and he continued to sleep soundly, oblivious to everything.
Looking at the other side, there lay two bodies dressed as castle servants, thieves in disguise.
The tall and the short thief’s corpses were perhaps due to the effect of the poison, stiff and bizarre, beyond saving.
In desperation, without other options, Leon asked Marcello to gather all the liquor and water that could be found in the Lord’s room and forcefully poured it into the two thieves’ mouths.
Then there was pressing and inverting their bodies; Leon even resisted the urge to vomit as he reached into their throats, trying to induce vomiting.
But all attempts were in vain.
The poison, perhaps previously hidden in their mouths unknown to others, was too potent to be countered.
Leon slightly regretted not bringing Kovis along with him, for if his young mage were there, perhaps there might have been some hope.
But how could he have anticipated such an emergency would arise during this mission?
Who would have thought that, despite the Baron Castle’s stringent layers of defense, thieves plotting against the lady of the Thorns Flower family would infiltrate?
Had Olivia not been targeted by one of those desperate thieves and subdued him in the middle of the night, thereby accidentally uncovering the conspiracy against the Lord’s Wife, they might indeed have succeeded.
Fortunately, they ultimately rescued Lady Adelina.
Leon also felt fortunate that the three of them did not pause for a moment and arrived just in time.
Although he only caught a fleeting glimpse just now and didn’t see it very clearly…
Leon guiltily glanced at the Lord’s room.
Alright, he admitted in his heart, his gaze did instinctively wander uncontrollably at the first glance…
and he saw a little bit…
a little bit of what a straightforward man like him…
should not have seen.
However, this also confirmed that, although Lady Adelina’s dress had been torn off, judging from the position and signs, she had presumably not been dishonored.
Their arrival had not been delayed by a moment.
Not only was the Baroness’s life saved, but Lord Eriv’s honor was essentially intact as well.
Of course, Leon firmly remembered the words reiterated by Marcello before he left, to him and Olivia.
To avoid trouble and to ensure that the relationship between the Sealing Lord and his wife would not suffer from an embarrassing rift in the future, in their later reports, the timing of the lady’s rescue would be slightly adjusted with a tactful modification of the timeline.
After all, the two thieves were now thoroughly dead, and no one else knew that the lady and the young man from Anquela had been stripped bare when they entered the room.
Such matters are better kept from distressing Baron Eriv.
If rumors were to spread, it’s feared that Lady Adelina and the young man from Anquela could jump into the Rushina River and still not wash away the scandal.
Hearing footsteps approaching from inside the room, Leon turned his head to look at Olivia, who was finally finished and stepping out.
He could now cast his gaze towards the bed far away and look directly at Lady Adelina, who still lay in a deep sleep, now dressed in a new gown by Olivia.
As for Leon and Marcello, two grown men, it was only proper to avert their eyes from the Baroness in her state of undress, thankfully there was a young girl at hand.
“It was hard work, Olivia; I’m grateful to you.
After tonight, you are the Thorns Flower family’s great hero,” Leon praised the young girl with a smile.
He did not speak idly, not only because of the plot that Olivia had stumbled upon.
But also because it was thanks to her that they could use her tender, weak voice to lure the thieves to the door.
Had it just been himself and Marcello, two men, whether by speaking out and alerting those inside the room or directly breaking in, they could not have avoided making the lady a hostage in their hands.
The most severe consideration was, although the purpose of the two thieves was still unknown, their attitude of promptly committing suicide with poison rather than face interrogation suggested that, should their plan fail, they would unquestionably kill Adelina without question.
They wouldn’t even leave room for negotiation.
Thinking about it now made Leon shiver with fear.
One misstep and Lady Adelina’s fate could have been entirely different; he managed to achieve a relatively perfect outcome.
Olivia came beside Leon, resting her back against the wall, and blinked at him, “Hmph~ Glad I could be of help.”
The young girl then looked towards the other end of the corridor and asked Leon, “Where is Knight Marcello?”
“He has gone out to gather knights and soldiers to seal the castle,” Leon explained, “and by the way, to see if the intruder who entered your room is still alive, and whether he has committed suicide like those two thieves…” His heart ignited with fury at the mere thought of that bastard, wishing he wouldn’t die so easily.
Especially after witnessing Lady Adelina’s ordeal, he now wanted to carve that bastard into pieces.
Even though the man hadn’t the slightest chance of success, Leon was still furious.
It was like being called “Amynos,” even if the one who cursed you could never truly be an “Amynos,” you’d still become enraged by their insulting words.
Leon struggled to suppress his irritation in front of the young girl, not wanting to let his bad mood affect Olivia.
as his gaze lowered and saw the girl’s bare little feet on the corridor floor, the irritation in his heart was replaced by an involuntary concern.
All three of them had rushed over so quickly that there hadn’t been time to put on shoes; they were all barefoot.
“Didn’t you hurt your feet?” Leon asked, looking up at her, remembering that the girl had kicked the door open in the tower; if a splinter had pricked her, it would have made him deeply concerned.
Olivia shook her head with a smile: “No, I often ran around barefoot in the village when I was younger.
How could I get hurt with such smooth floors in the castle?”
Leon listened, yet seemed not reassured.
He leaned his sword aside and squatted in front of the young girl, gesturing with both hands, “Still, let me take a look, just to be sure.”
At the same time, he looked at her seriously and probed, “May I?”
Olivia was stunned momentarily but didn’t see any harm in it, so she obediently lifted her right leg, with the sole of her foot facing Leon.
Her cute toes wiggled adorably back and forth: “See~ it’s alright, don’t worry, I’m pretty tough!”
Leon, looking down, didn’t respond.
He reached out naturally and cradled the young girl’s clean, delicate foot, then gently stroked its sole, as if unintentionally, beginning to wipe the dust and grime from her foot.
His gaze was as focused as if he were cleaning a piece of art.
The unexpected sensation tickled Olivia, causing her to blush.
Yet the girl didn’t want to retract her foot rudely from his grasp.
For the moment, she had no choice but to endure the strange embarrassment, allowing Leon’s hands to brush over her feet…
Inside, Leon couldn’t help but let slip a cunning, triumphant smirk.
Heh~ got to touch it~
As he playfully squeezed the girl’s delicate foot, Leon also couldn’t help but internally justify his wandering hands.
Secretly touching a lover’s foot isn’t a crime!
Clearing his throat, Leon didn’t dare to overstep.
After cleaning the dirt from the girl’s feet, he set down the “treasure.”
Turning his head towards the Lord’s room, he noticed several pairs of indoor slippers beside the bed, revived by the newly lit candlelight from within.
He immediately went into the room and nonchalantly picked up a pair.
the Lord’s Wife’s shoes!”
Olivia, witnessing Leon about to help her into them, retreated anxiously, hiding her feet.
Although the girl had recently learned of her unique heritage, having been a commoner for over a decade, she instinctively hesitated at the thought of handling noble’s personal belongings.
“Hey, it’s not like you’re taking them home.
You saved the Lady’s life and honor.
Borrowing a pair of shoes to cover your feet for a while is nothing; Lady Adelina is kind.
If she wakes up, she wouldn’t mind even if she gave you a carriage-load of shoes,” Leon consoled, still helping her into the slippers.
Even if he knew Olivia’s feet weren’t so easily hurt, he didn’t want to see her bare feet sullied by the floor.
While reassuring the girl who was anxiously eyeing the noble’s shoes and subtly tiptoeing, Leon continued to wait for Knight Marcello to return with reinforcements.
After about ten more minutes, he finally saw Marcello and Balfe, along with a few knights who had also attended the evening banquet, rushing towards this corridor.
Knight Balfe approached quickly with a tense face: “How is the Lady?”
“The Lady is alright; she’s asleep inside, and we’ve opened the windows to let in some air.
She’ll probably wake up soon,” Leon replied.
Finishing, Leon turned to look at Knight Marcello: “Is that bastard I broke the leg of dead?”
“No, he’s still alive, and he was howling when I went there,” Marcello shook his head, then added viciously, “I’ve taken him to the dungeon.
We’ve temporarily stopped his bleeding, and soon the Torture Master will extract everything that scoundrel knows!”