A faint smile appeared on Lucas's face, as though he had achieved a small victory.
He reached for the plate and brought it closer to her.
"Here."
Irene slowly extended her hand, but stopped when she remembered that she could barely see because of the bandage covering her eyes.
Her hand remained suspended in the air for a few moments.
Lucas found her frustration extremely amusing. Pretending not to understand,then he said
"What?"
Irene remained silent for a moment before saying irritably,
"I can't see it."
Lucas raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, right. You can't see. I completely forgot because you said, 'Hand me the plate.'"
Irene fell silent. Then she let out a deep sigh and muttered under her breath,
"Really annoying."
Lucas smiled.
"It's not very polite to speak that way about someone who's helping you."
"I didn't say anything."
"Of course."
He said it in such a way that made it obvious he did not believe her at all.
Irene furrowed her brows.
"Give it to me."
Lucas held the spoon out toward her.
"Open your mouth."
Irene froze for a moment.
"What?"
"You said you can't see, didn't you?"
"I can eat by myself."
"Then how are you going to do that when you can't see anything?"
She fell silent, unable to find an answer.
Lucas sighed, then said,
"Don't worry. I'll make sure to put only a small amount in your mouth so you don't choke."
"That's not reassuring at all."
Lucas chuckled lightly.
"Come on."
Irene hesitated for a moment, then opened her mouth.
Lucas carefully placed the rice inside.
Irene silently chewed the food.
Lucas began staring at her face. Just a moment ago, she had been acting like a fierce cat ready to pounce on everyone... but now she was eating her food like nothing more than an innocent angel, as though nothing had happened.
Before Lucas realized that he had become lost in his thoughts, Irene had already swallowed the food.
"What? Is that all?"
She said it in an extremely cold tone.
Lucas looked at her for a moment.
Then he laughed to himself and scooped up another spoonful of rice.
"Open your mouth so I know when you're finished."
"What? If you're not good at feeding someone, you could have just called my maid instead."
Lucas ignored her complaints and said,
"I want to do it myself... Open your mouth now."
Before Irene could say anything, Lucas placed the food into her mouth.
I can hardly believe he's the same person... What is wrong with him all of a sudden?
He continued feeding her while Irene remained silent.
At first, she felt embarrassed by having to depend on him like this.
But she was so exhausted that she no longer had the energy to object.
After several spoonfuls, she suddenly stopped.
"That's enough."
Lucas stopped.
"You've only eaten a little."
"I said enough."
"But you need to eat more."
"I told you, I'm not hungry."
Lucas set the spoon aside and looked at her, his tone becoming serious.
"Irene."
Irene still wasn't used to him calling her by her name like that, so she replied with agitation,
"What?"
"You've barely eaten anything since you came out from under the rubble."
Her expression changed slightly.
"I'm fine."
"Stop saying that."
Irene fell silent.
Lucas continued calmly,
"You're not fine."
She did not answer him.
"You were trapped beneath the rubble for several days. You lost a great deal of your strength, and your body is covered in bruises and wounds. And yet all you do is repeat that you're fine."
Irene tightened her grip on the blanket.
"I'm not as weak as you think I am. I'm still alive because I endured the worst of it beneath that rubble... and I managed to survive. So you all don't need to worry about me. I just want to return to the palace now. Why do I have to repeat myself more than once?"
Her voice suddenly rose.
Silence fell.
Irene breathed heavily, then relaxed her body again.
"I'm just... tired."
Lucas lowered his gaze for a moment.
Then he said in a gentler voice,
"I know... I'm sorry."
She said nothing.
He reached for the cup of water.
"Here. Have some water and calm down."
Irene hesitated.
Then she took the cup from him.
"I'll drink it myself."
He let go of it.
She raised the cup to her lips and drank slowly.
Lucas watched her until she finished.
Then he reached out and took the cup from her.
"And now, the medicine."
Irene sighed tiredly.
"Give it to me. I'll take it myself."
Lucas opened the small medicine bottle.
Then he suddenly took her hand gently.
Irene's heart skipped a beat.
He moved her fingers along the bottle and said,
"This cap here is a little large, so take the medicine slowly so you don't spill it on yourself."
Irene felt uncomfortable because of his touch.
"Okay...I understand!!"
She raised the bottle to her mouth and drank at an incredibly fast pace, causing Lucas to suddenly freeze at how quickly she had done it.
She abruptly lowered the bottle and scrunched up her face, her body suddenly tensing because of the awful taste of the medicine.
"Bleeergh... It's so bitter..."
"Of course it's bitter. It's medicine."
Irene finally lifted her face.
"Oh, look at yourself... Didn't I tell you to drink the medicine slowly? You've completely spilled it all over yourself."
Lucas took some tissues and roughly wiped her clothes, completely forgetting that she was a woman at that moment.
Irene did not fully realize what was happening because she was still suffering from the aftertaste of the medicine.
Then he raised his finger toward her face and began wiping away the slightly sticky traces of medicine from her skin.
"Look at your face, too."
Irene realized what was happening finally and suddenly froze.
Lucas was wiping around her mouth with his thumb.
Irene's face grew hot, and she felt embarrassed. She had never experienced a situation like this with the opposite sex in her entire life, so she had no idea how to deal with it other than lowering her head slightly in embarrassment.
A few seconds later, Lucas realized what he was doing... and he could not take his eyes away from her face.
She really was beautiful. Her cheeks were flushed, and her expression was unbearably adorable.
Lucas smiled unconsciously.
This... this is the side of you that you hide from the world. You present yourself as mature and speak in a way far beyond your age... but you fiercely hide this fragile side of yourself. It's amusing... I want to see more of it.
Lucas slowly and deliberately raised his thumb toward her lips and began wiping away the remaining traces of medicine from them, with no intention other than removing the medicine without hurting her.
Suddenly—
Irene slapped his hand away forcefully and shouted,
"What are you doing, you pervert?!"
That word echoed through his mind several times.
Pervert...? Me?
Irene covered her mouth with her fist and continued in her hoarse voice,
"You're trying to take advantage of the fact that I can't see so you can do that again!"
Lucas tried to process what she was saying.
Huh...?
His voice began to rise.
"What the hell are you talking about?! Do what again?!"
Her voice rose as she tried to move farther backward.
"You're pretending you don't know, but I know you took advantage of the moment when I was unconscious and kissed me while we were about to die! You pretend you're not that kind of person, but you do these perverted things!"
He stopped for a moment.
Lucas was rendered speechless as he tried to process what she was saying.
Then the memories began returning to his mind once again...
That moment he had completely forgotten beneath the rubble...
When he had been trying to keep Irene conscious through artificial respiration...
To be continued.....
(I really enjoyed writing this one and the one after it stay tuned for the next one it just needs little touch ups 🤭)