While Seo-jun was busy with his work, Lucien was far more interested in getting Sora's attention. He kept following her until she finally stopped in front of a door.
Sora turned around and found Lucien grinning widely at her.
"How long are you planning to follow me?" she asked flatly.
"Am I bothering you? I just want to get closer to you," Lucien replied in an overly sweet tone.
Sora let out a sigh and opened the door in front of her. Lucien, unaware of what the room was, tried to follow her inside, but Sora immediately blocked his way.
"What do you think you're doing?" she demanded.
"Following you?" Lucien answered innocently.
Sora shot him an irritated glare.
"I'm going to use the bathroom! Why would you follow me in here? Get lost!" she snapped.
Lucien's face instantly flushed bright red with embarrassment.
Seo-jun, who had been looking for both of them, stopped short when he saw his younger brother sitting on the floor outside the restroom, leaning against the door—his face red like a fully cooked lobster.
"Hey. What are you doing there? Let's go," Seo-jun said.
Lucien stood up with a sulky expression and stayed rooted in place, staring stubbornly at the door.
Seo-jun sighed. Seeing how unwilling Lucien was to leave, he eventually grabbed him and dragged him away. Once inside the carriage, Lucien broke down in loud sobs.
Seo-jun had no idea what had triggered the meltdown. Asking only made it worse, until his head started pounding from irritation.
"Enough. Be quiet!" Seo-jun snapped.
Lucien only cried harder.
At the edge of his patience, Seo-jun abruptly opened the carriage door and jumped out. Lucien froze in shock, and even the guards riding alongside them were startled. When one of them tried to stop him, Seo-jun turned and leveled his sword at him.
"Just escort that crazy kid properly," he said coldly. "I need some time to clear my head."
Seeing how exhausted Seo-jun looked, the guard nodded immediately. He dismounted and climbed into the carriage instead, continuing to escort Lucien alongside the familiar young driver.
Seo-jun took the chance to wander into the forest. Before long, he stumbled upon a breathtaking waterfall. Sunlight filtered through the trees, making the scene feel unreal. The water was cool, clean, and refreshing to the touch—clean enough that Seo-jun decided to make a fire so he could boil some for drinking.
While waiting for the water to heat, he chose to enjoy the waterfall itself. It felt like he might be the first person to ever discover this place. After all, it had been nearly a week since his last proper bath—he'd relied on perfume just to get by.
Without a second thought, Seo-jun stripped and jumped into the water.
He soaked there, relaxed to the point of nearly falling asleep—until the sound of approaching footsteps snapped him awake.
Bare and exposed, Seo-jun panicked. His clothes were on the opposite bank.
With no other choice, he dove underwater and swam closer to the rocks, carefully peeking out to see who was approaching.
It was her.
The red-haired maid he had once encountered at the Sebastian Hanwick estate—the woman with the striking figure.
Slowly, she began removing her clothes, one by one.
From his hiding place, Seo-jun repeatedly shut his eyes, then cautiously opened them again, checking whether she had entered the water yet.
When she finally stepped in, the clear water instantly bloomed with red.
A quiet gasp of pain followed.
Concerned, Seo-jun lost his footing. His hand slipped from the rock, and he fell forward—his bare backside fully exposed.
In an instant, the woman sprang up and moved with terrifying speed, pressing a dagger to Seo-jun's throat.
Seo-jun trembled in fear, completely unaware of how absurd the situation looked—him frozen in place, and the naked woman behind him, her body pressed close as she restrained him, while Seo-jun stood rigid, gripping his sword, shaking violently from pure terror.
Not for any other reason.
Definitely not.
"What are you doing here, sir?" the woman demanded, her voice sharp and intimidating. "Were you spying on me?"
Seo-jun shook his head quickly.
"N-no… I was just trying to freshen up. You showed up out of nowhere, so I hid. Then my hand slipped—that's all."
The woman pressed the dagger even closer to his throat.
"Is that really the truth?" she asked firmly.
"Yes! I'm not involved in any political faction, so why would I spy on anyone? I just met you myself!" Seo-jun said hurriedly.
That seemed to convince her. She pulled the dagger away and sat back down, clutching her side to press against the wound.
Seeing this, Seo-jun immediately sat beside her.
"What happened to you? How did you end up with this many stab wounds and cuts like th—"
Before he could finish, the woman covered his mouth with her hand.
"You don't need to know," she said weakly. "Just help me stop the bleeding. I'm already very weak."
Her voice trembled, a quiet groan escaping her lips.
Luckily, Seo-jun had brought along a first-aid kit—one specially prepared by Sora. Officially, it was meant for emergencies in case his employer got injured, but in truth, Seo-jun had brought it because he was worried about Lucien. It was the boy's first real trip, and Seo-jun feared he might trip and hurt himself.
Seo-jun carefully helped the woman sit up, even though her body was barely holding together. He laid her down near the edge and began wrapping the open wounds with gauze, managing to slow the bleeding, though not completely stop it.
Feeling that this still wasn't enough, Seo-jun quickly dressed himself and draped his travel cloak over the woman's body.
After making sure nothing was left behind, he rushed straight to where Sora was.
Chaos erupted the moment Seo-jun arrived, leaping down from his horse while carrying an unfamiliar woman in his arms. Sora, who happened to be outside, froze the moment Seo-jun showed her the injured woman.
"Why are you just standing there? Help her—now!" Seo-jun barked.
Sora snapped out of it and hurried after him into her house. Wrapped only in Seo-jun's cloak, the woman's figure was clearly outlined beneath the fabric.
Sora kept glancing back at Seo-jun, as if checking where his eyes were wandering.
Annoyed by the looks, Seo-jun stepped closer, startling Sora into a sharp yelp—their lips nearly brushing because of how close he suddenly was.
"That look—what's with that?" Seo-jun muttered. "You take care of her. I need to use the bathroom."
Once Seo-jun left, Sora immediately questioned the woman—who she was and why she had approached her master.
The woman opened her eyes.
It turned out she had been pretending to be unconscious the entire time.
"Well, as you can see," she said casually, "I just needed his help."
"Oh, is that so?" Sora replied coolly. "Try anything funny, and I'll make sure you stop breathing before you even know why."
The woman noticed Seo-jun's footsteps approaching and instantly burst into tears, calling out desperately for the man who had saved her.
Hearing her voice, Seo-jun rushed into the guest room.
"What's wrong?" he asked anxiously. "Are you feeling better now?"