I gently touched my palm against his massive chest and said softly, "Can I get up now? I have the worst headache ever, and I need something to make it go away." I even gazed up at him through my lashes and smiled prettily to ensure that I looked as docile as I possibly could so that I wouldn't seem so unusual and impetuous to him.
I felt him stiffen for a moment, and then he abruptly let me go. As much as I expected that, I just didn't anticipate that he'd be so rough as to suddenly pull away and get off the bed like he was on fire.
I sat up, watching him in confusion.
Standing there with his back to me, he looked at me over his shoulder, and I could tell, even with that mask on his face, that he was frowning darkly at me.
I sighed. Did I do something wrong? And here I had thought I was on the right track to gaining an ally in this new world I happened to stumble upon.
I licked my lower lip, inserted my hair behind my ear, and asked, "Caleb?" Then I paused and thought that I had better start addressing him correctly if I wanted him on my side.
I cleared my throat and said softly and gently, "My lord? I was just wondering about my circumstances."
I watched Caleb rake his fingers through his hair as if he were deeply frustrated. Was I bothering him?
But of course, me getting home was more important than his damned morning frustration. Hence, I continued sweetly and softly. "I would like to return home as soon as possible, please."
After all, that elderly couple who had been transported into another realm in Europe had been able to return home. Otherwise, their story wouldn't have been in a magazine article, right? So there had to be a way. I was sure of it. I just needed to figure out how, and the only way was to get people who'd be willing to aid me in finding the solution.
"Returning home is not possible," Caleb said darkly, his back still to me.
"Oh." I made the sound, feeling rather disheartened.
Caleb said, "Not until we've sorted out the raiding problem and made sure the border is safe again."
So the border of this land wasn't safe, then? And there was raiding? But of course, I had vaguely heard about that last night when they were talking. Was this also the reason I was being chased? Because they had thought I was a member of the bandits who had been stirring up trouble? Had that been why they had interrogated me last night? To clarify if I was one of them or not?
"I see," I said in understanding. "Then I'll help. I mean, I honestly don't know how, but I'll help as long as—"
"A small thing like you helping us, little elf?"
My heart skipped, and my stomach flipped the moment I heard that deep, resonant voice. My gaze shifted, and I saw Felix making his grand entrance into the tent.
It was first thing in the morning, and already, he was making such tasteless remarks. Of course, I was offended instantly. Yes, I knew that I was a small thing compared to those demon-like men with herculean strength, but I was sure I'd be able to do something to help. After all, returning home to my family was my top priority, and I must do whatever it took to reach that goal, even helping these men clean up the raiding mess.
In the middle of the room, I noted Felix glanced at Caleb with a raised brow. Then the man burst out laughing, as if he couldn't help himself. He said, "Seems like you've dug your own grave, Caleb. Did you even get a wink of sleep at all?"
Caleb snapped, "Shut up!" and then walked out of the tent, leaving me to wonder what was wrong with him. Honestly, he was behaving rather oddly from the moment I started talking to him and trying to draw him into my yet nonexistent circle of allies. Then again, I barely knew the man, so this was probably normal behavior for a tsundere like Caleb in this realm.
Alone with Felix, I instinctively brought my knees up to my chin and hugged myself tightly into a ball to protect myself against his advances. The man must have noticed my action, because he chuckled again in amusement, and his eyes, no doubt, were twinkling.
He came toward me on the bed, leaned over, and ruffled my hair playfully. I noted that he was holding a pair of very large black leather boots and white socks in one hand.
"Morning, little elf," he said. "Did you sleep well?"
I said, "I have a headache, so if you can give me something to make it go away, that would be awesome, thanks."
"Must have been because of Aria."
I raised my brows. "Beg your pardon?"
"She was invading your memories last night. We needed to make sure you're not an enemy."
I was right, then. They had suspected that I was a member of the bandits.
So Aria had invaded my memories last night. Was it some sort of magic? Was that why I had felt like I could trust her? And this morning, I was having such a bad headache. Would that be a side effect?
"I'll tell Aria to bring you something." Just as soon as he said that, he placed the boots and socks on the bed and got down to his knees. Then he wrapped his hands around my ankles. "Now, let's see how your feet are doing."
His touch felt warm against my skin, and my body relaxed in reaction.
"Excuse me?" I asked, a little flustered.
"Your feet. Are they still sore?"
Is he concerned about me? I wondered. And now that he was asking me about my feet, I had just realized that I hadn't been feeling any sort of pain or discomfort since I had woken up.
I loosened my knee joints and rested my legs across the length of the bed. Felix began inspecting the soles of my feet like he was a doctor, which was rather amusing since he looked nothing like a doctor, especially when he was wearing that intriguing mask and was dressed like a warrior in a fantasy world.
He gently ran a thumb along the sole of my foot and even touched here and there, which made me quiver in reaction. He must have noticed because he flicked his gaze to me, a smirk playing about his lips.
Suddenly, I had the urge to pull away because of the sinfully dark look in his eyes.
"Hmm... Looks good. All healed," he said.
All healed?
I hastily leaned forward and checked the soles of my feet. To my surprise, there were no wounds there. No cuts. No bruises. Just smooth flesh.
Then why the bloody hell was he taking so long to look at my feet? There was absolutely nothing there to see or be concerned about.
Felix said, "Aria applied some balm on your wounds last night. Looks like they healed just fine."
That fast? It must have been a very special balm for my wounds to heal that quickly.