It continued to snow. The sun rose over the horizon, but the clouds hung stubbornly in the sky. There was so much snow on the ground that their feet were soon drenched, and they gave up going to breakfast and returned to the dorms.
“Ugh…”
Louise looked down at her completely wet leather shoes.
“Achoo!“
Her wet hair and clothes were a wreck, and her hands felt like popsicles. After parting from Simon at the stairs, Ian walked Louise back to her room.
“You have towels?”
“What?”
“I mean dry towels.”
He casually followed Louise inside. Her limbs were exhausted, but she managed to pull out some towels from a drawer.
Salag salag.
Ian took it from her and started drying her hair with it.
“You're soaked to the skin. You need to change your clothes first…can you move your hands?”
“Me?”
“Who else is here?”
“My hands…”
Louise looked down at her hands. They felt numb, and they were starting to swell a little.
“I can move it.”
“Thank goodness. I'll bring some lukewarm water, so you should change your clothes first.”
She wanted to ask why, but his expression was too serious for her question him. Besides, she did need to get out of her wet clothes. Ian stepped away while Louise fought with her b.u.t.tons. It was not easy to undo them with her frozen fingertips. Maybe she could ask Ian to do it…
‘What the h.e.l.l am I thinking?'
No matter how much dirt they brushed off each other in childhood, this was a different matter. Louise tugged on an extra s.h.i.+rt and skirt, suppressing the lewd inner demon. Soon Ian returned with two large bowls of water.
“Sit down.”
He placed a bowl of water down in front of the bed.
“It's not hot. It is lukewarm, but—What are you doing?”
Ian turned around and saw that Louise was scratching her back. Her frozen hands were starting to thaw and she was gaining the sensation of pins and needles.
“Don't scratch yourself.”
“But I'm itchy.”
“And why are you wearing woolen socks?”
“My feet are frozen.”
“Really, you idiot!”
A flash of frustration crossed Ian's face, and he picked up Louise and carried her to bed. After carefully wrapping her trembling shoulders with a thick blanket, he sat down in front of her.
“You should think about warming yourself properly if your feet are frozen.”
“But…”
Without asking for permission, Ian pulled off Louise's socks.
“Don't take them off!”
“Stop talking nonsense and put your feet in the water!”
Louise knitted her brows, then dipped her toes into the bowl.
“Ahh…”
Although the water was lukewarm, she felt as if thorns were stabbing her feet. Eventually the sensation faded away. Ian watched Louise's feet wiggle in the water for a moment before standing up.
“Your skin was frozen.”
He replied to the unspoken question then dipped a towel into the other bowl.
“It's dangerous to place it in something hot all of a sudden, so I followed you because I thought you wouldn't know that.”
Louise managed to crack a smile on her stiff lips.
“Is that knowledge for survival?”
“Yes, but this time it's courts.h.i.+p. It seemed like anything I learned was useful.”
He twisted the towel to wring the water from it.
“Give me your hands.”
He then wrapped the towel around them.
“Now put your hands on your face.”
“It's very ticklish.”
“I suppose so.”
“It hurts.”
“It will.”
He sat in front of Louise, feeling relieved now.
“And you?”
“Me?”
Louise nodded down at him. His hair looked almost dry, but his clothes were completely damp and he was likely on the verge of catching a cold.
“I'm fine. I told you before, I don't catch colds.”
“Ah, but I looked it up in a book.”
Louise recalled the story about a "disease which discriminates status" which he had mentioned before.
“It was born from the imagination of local n.o.bles after hearing about the capital. They had no idea when they'd get the opportunity to actually go there—in other words, it's the result of vain hope born from an uncertain status.”
“So?”
“Disease doesn't care about status. You can also catch a cold.”
“I won't.”
He smiled lightly and splashed the part of Louise's ankle which wasn't submerged in the water.
“You're frozen to your knees. Why on earth did you leave without your coat?”
“I forgot.”
“I guess all three of us were out of our mind today.”
Louise made a sound of agreement as she pressed her face against the towel.
“I forgot to say this, but I'm glad you got the results you wanted.”
“Thank you.”
“You're incredible. You're so smart when you study…"
“I'm always smart. And why do your hands keep creeping up!”
Louise now pointed to his hand that was near her calf.
“Your whole leg is cold.”
“Well I'm fine now.”
“You don't look it. Look at your knee, it's blue.”
“It's really okay, so how about you take care of yourself first.”
“Well, my jacket is a little wet.”
He stood up and Louise gave a sigh of relief. Now Ian would go back to his room. To be honest, it was kind of weird for him to touch Louise's leg, even if he was treating her.
“Take care when you go back—”
"It'll dry out if I take it off."
“What?”
She thought he was leaving.
“It's coming down like crazy.”
He stared at the flurry of snow out the window as he pulled off his jacket.
…President. You call that jacket 'a little wet'? There was no limit to his lying!
No, his s.h.i.+rt was wet too. Oh my G.o.d, it was stuck to his body! Louise stared at his s.h.i.+rt with her jaw clenched, while he looked out the window with a relaxed face.
“The snow going to pile up quite a bit, don't you think?”
Can't wait to read ahead? You can get 18 of these chapters on Crystal Crater's Patreon for only $3!
The Male Lead's Villainess Fiancee +4
Remarried Empress +6
Return Of The Female Knight +5
I Died And Turned Into A Cat +3
