Chapter Six

Croft could tell what was going on as Livia stared down at her feet in amazement. He remembered Blake’s words: I might not know the specifics of the situation, but if anyone was hurt, it had to be her. Blake was right. Livia couldn’t even step on her right foot because of the pain.

Croft swept her into his strong arms and carried her to the nearby bench.

Livia wriggled in his arms. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Stay still for now. You can hit me later.”

“What on earth are you saying? Let me down at once.”

“I’ll let you down, so stop the thrashing.”

He lowered her gently to the bench and took a knee in front of her, ignoring her anger as he removed her shoe. Her tiny foot was covered by a white stocking. He was surprised by the size of her foot, which was barely half the size of his hand. Come to think of it, her ankles were thinner than his wrists.

How could a person be so frail? The shape of her bone was quite distinguishable between his fingers as he held her thin ankle.

As he gazed at her feet in wonder, his head began nodding of its own accord.

Livia was shaking his head by the hair with her two hands.

“You crazy…” she cried. “What is the meaning of this? Let go of my foot!”

Ignoring the grasp on his hair, he lightly tapped her big toe.

“Ouch!” She stopped pulling his hair.

As I expected. He clucked his tongue, examining her toe from various angles. It would have been easier with her stocking off, but he rejected the idea. Not knowing what he was doing, she cried out and pulled his hair every time he touched her.

After sacrificing another tuft of hair, he finally raised his head. “Luckily, there are no signs of broken bones. I think it’s just a sprain. Put something cold on it.”

“What?”

“And you should try to avoid the bones when you kick someone next time. Go for the thighs or chest instead. If you intend on hurting me, I suggest you scratch or bite. That would be more effective.”

What is this crazy man saying now? Do what to his thighs and chest? Scratch and bite? I thought he was a madman—but it turns out he’s a perverted madman!

Croft handed the dumbfounded Livia her shoes. “I will carry you to your room. May I do that?”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s better that you don’t use your ankle for a while.”

“So what’s better—ugh!”

He lifted her again.

Startled by his sudden action, she grabbed his hair with the hand that wasn’t holding her shoes, and he calmly carried her toward her room.

He was the only one who was calm. As he strode into the mansion holding Livia in his arms, the servants stopped their chores to stare. They didn’t see Livia’s hand pulling the hair on the back of Croft’s head. All they saw was the sorrow of the young lady in the arms of the shameless, half-naked Croft. They were shocked by Croft’s immorality as he carried the defenseless young lady straight to her room.

When Georgette saw the two of them, Livia in Croft’s arms with her bare feet swaying in the air, she nearly fainted. What on earth has that man done to her!

Beyond angry, the maid followed them to Livia’s room.

Croft strode into the young lady’s room and lowered her to the sofa. A lady’s room was a place even her own father seldom ventured, not to mention another man.

Croft turned to Georgette with his wild stare. “Bring cold water. It has to be very cold.”

Not knowing what to say or do, Georgette looked between Croft and Livia.

With her toe slowly swelling up, Livia gave Georgette a feeble nod. Dubiously, the maid turned to go but stopped at Croft’s next words.

“Take them off.”

The immoral man was harassing the beautiful young lady in broad daylight.

She whipped her head around. Seeing him holding Livia’s foot, Georgette turned red with anger. “How dare you?” Her eyes teared from rage as she continued to yell, determined to save the young woman’s life and honor. “No matter whether you’re going to become emperor, you cannot treat my lady like this. Even if the duke doesn’t do anything about it, this is not acceptable. I’ll do whatever I can to stop you, even if it costs me my life.”

Croft turned to Georgette and sighed. I only told Livia to take off her stocking in order to ice her foot. Why is her maid throwing her life away?

He realized Georgette was staring at the hand holding Livia’s foot. He abruptly dropped her foot. I guess people here are serious when they say that I shouldn’t touch women without their permission.

Unable to understand the customs of this place, he clucked his tongue, stood up, and turned to leave. The maid was acting precisely like Livia, seemingly ready to pounce on him any second. Despite himself, he couldn’t possibly afford to take a hit from a maid as well. He threw a final glance at Livia and stalked away.

“Georgette?” called Livia at her maid, who was staring in fury at Croft’s back.

“My lady,” Georgette replied, turning back. “What on earth happened to you?”

“I sprained my toe. Could you please bring me some ice water?”

“Your toe? How did that happen?”

“It just … happened.” She couldn’t say that she hurt herself by kicking the future emperor’s shin.

Georgette looked at her dubiously. She was surely hiding something. “My lady...”

“Georgette, please bring me some ice water.”

“Yes, my lady.” Georgette held back her tears and left Livia’s room.

After making her wait all that time, Croft must have done something horrible to her lady after she’d gone out to look for him in worry. He was the lowest of the low.

When Georgette arrived downstairs for the ice, the maids asked her what had happened. Frustrated because she couldn’t speak about Livia’s private life, she hugged the maids and shed angry tears.

And just like that, another rumor about Croft’s immortality and cruelty was born and spread throughout the mansion.

***

Oblivious to what was going on throughout the mansion, Livia placed her foot in the water that the puffy-eyed Georgette fetched and clucked her tongue. She couldn’t understand this frail body. How weak must it be for her to have sprained her toe with only a few kicks?

It was devastating to think of spending the rest of her life in such a frail body, which seemed never to have lifted anything heavier than a fork. What could she possibly do with such a body, even if she did manage to escape? She looked at her skinny, pale arm. Her delicate body showed she was the type of woman who could only survive the life of a noble.

Croft wasn’t her only problem. She needed to hatch a proper plan to survive in this world.

As she wondered how to train her useless body, the sun began to set. It would be dinnertime soon.

Someone knocked on the door. “My lady, His Highness is here to visit you.”

Behind the frustrated Georgette stood Croft in a tidy outfit.

“Please let him in,” Livia replied with a soft voice.

Georgette, who was blocking the future emperor, moved aside while continuing to glare at him.

Croft strode forward, drinking in the picture of Livia, who was still sitting on the sofa. The setting sun shone through the entire room, lending her hair a beautiful shimmer. She sat upright, her hands gently on her knees. Despite his bad mood, Croft was amazed. Regardless of her character, she was indeed a work of art, delicate as a canvas.

Croft had listened to Blake’s nagging the whole afternoon. Blake said rumors that Croft had broken Livia’s foot were spreading throughout the dukedom. Frustrated, he’d asked Croft why it was so hard to simply get along with her and advised him to apologize again.

At this point, Croft couldn’t help but feel irritated. Why did she have to hurt herself like that? If she wanted to hit me, she should have done it properly. If this continued, the duke would be likely to develop a grievance with him.

To the man who was determined to resolve their issues, Livia bowed her head and spoke in her most gracious tone. “My apologies, Your Highness, for not being able to stand and greet you properly.”

Her foot was hurt. It was obvious that she couldn’t stand up. He still couldn’t quite grasp what had happened earlier, but the fact was that he was at fault for her injury.

He quelled his irritation and spoke in a low voice. “Forget it. More importantly, I think we need to have a talk.”

“Yes, Your Highness, I think so too. Please have a seat.”

Croft sat across from her.

Livia turned to Georgette, still glaring at Croft from the door. “I think that we will not have time for tea. You can leave us.”

“But my lady …” Georgette worried about leaving her lady with the Mad Dog, but seeing Livia’s stern look, she had no alternative but to make her exit. As she left, she glowered at Croft a final time.

After a short period of silence, Croft coughed. “How is your foot?”

Hearing this from the very person who’d caused her injury was embarrassing. Livia nodded as if it didn’t matter. “It is fine, Your Highness, but I think I need to rest for a while.”

“Yes, you should do that.”

“Now that we’ve brought up the subject, I hate to say it, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to teach you dancing.”

She’d thought about this all afternoon while staring morosely at her swelling toe. Although this development had annoyed her at first, the more she considered it, the more she was convinced it was the excuse she needed. She was willing to do anything to quit being Croft’s etiquette tutor. How she accomplished it didn’t matter.

After all, a sprained toe wasn’t a bad exchange for getting her life back.