"Yes...".
Although it was already difficult for him to write with his left hand, he couldn't concentrate, which made writing correctly even more difficult.
Damian frowned and dropped the pen.
"What's wrong?
Does your hand hurt?"
Liliana asked, and Damian opened and closed his left hand.
“It looks like I strained my hand muscles.”
"Really?
You should have said something.
Maybe we did too much to begin with."
Liliana took Damian's left hand with a look of concern.
Before Damian could react to her sudden touch, Liliana pinched his hand.
It was so painful that he couldn't help but groan.
“Aaaaaaaaa!”
"Take it easy.
Acupressure therapy is the most effective way to relieve muscle tension."
“It hurts!
What do you eat to have such a strong grip?!”
“You were hit by a grenade, and you are complaining about this...”
Liliana scolded him lightly, the pain making him forget all about the handwriting and his connection to Palentray.
Suddenly he noticed that Liliana's hand was much smaller than his.
He wondered how a small claw like a rabbit's claw could exert such terrifying power.
But as Liliana said, the tension in his hand gradually eased, and he felt his muscles relax.
Meanwhile, Damian had to bite his lips and bury his head on the table to avoid screaming in embarrassment.
“Is that enough?”
Liliana released his reddened hand after massaging the pressure points well, and Damian quickly withdrew it.
Liliana laughed and arranged her writing utensils.
“Let's stop here today and rest.
I think I pushed you too hard.”
“It's okay, I need to practice constantly anyway...”
Liliana was about to take the paper Damian was practicing, but he gently snatched it from her.
"I'll take this with me.
I...
I need to practice at home too."
"Okay, if you want to."
Damian folded the paper with one hand and put it in his pants pocket, then said apologetically,
“I'm sorry I wasn't able to concentrate well today, even though you took the time to help me.”
"It's okay, it's understandable that you're tired."
Liliana tried to return the coat Damian had lent her, but he stopped her.
"I'll walk you back, so please keep walking.
It's cold outside."
He offered her his arm to accompany her.
Liliana stared at his arm expressionlessly for a moment, then ignored him and began walking forward.
Damian lowered his arm awkwardly and followed her with long strides.
As he walked beside her, Liliana spoke.
“Hi Damian, I've been curious about this for a while, can I ask you a question?”
"Help yourself".
“Are you noble?”
Damian's steps faltered for a moment at that question, but he quickly walked at Liliana's pace again.
“I...I'm not a noble.”
“I'm not a noble, huh...”
“Why did you think that?”
“Well, it seems that you have a high level of education, even though you did not go to university, and you seem to have some noble manners ingrained in you, so I was curious.”
"Yes".
Damian's expression became indifferent.
“I got good grades in the academy, but I haven't mastered the rules of gentlemanly etiquette to the point where they become ingrained in my mind.
I've only learned enough to use them consciously in situations where it's necessary.
I don't care about anyone's rules of gentlemanly etiquette.”
"truly?".
Liliana turned slightly and looked at Damian's face.
His gaze naturally lowered, as he was a head taller than her.
“When are you going to take care of this?” (respectful titles such as lady or master)
At this question, Damian thought of Tennant, who must be in heaven now, and replied,
"I think I subconsciously use this phrase with women and older people.
I didn't realize it until someone pointed it out to me."
“What about the others?”
“Why should I care?”
His frank response made Liliana burst out laughing.
"You're good, Damian.
I like people like you."
"Is this correct".
Damian didn't quite understand what part of him Liliana found cute.
Before Damian could delve into this question, Liliana asked another question.
"If you're not a noble, what makes you one?
I thought you might be from a rich family if you weren't a noble, but you said you were broke today.
What did you do before you became a retired soldier?"
Damian looked away awkwardly and said,
“It's hard to explain… It's not a fun story to share with others….”
He spoke in as indifferent a tone as he could, and Liliana stepped back slightly, looking straight ahead as they walked.
"sorry".
“Huh?”
"I shouldn't have asked."
"No, it's not that...it's just a long story."
“Well, we don't have much time before we have to part ways, so we'd better postpone the long conversations until later.”
Liliana smiled cheerfully.
"It's not fair for you to only talk about yourself, Damian.
Let's talk about me too when we have time.
We still don't know much about each other."
"It's fine."
A slight smile appeared on Damian's lips.
Liliana seemed about to say something, but Damian, who was counting the room numbers, didn't hear her and said,
"Ah, this is your room, isn't it?
You should come in."
He looked at Liliana, and for some reason, her face was full of frustration.
Suddenly, she voiced her grievances to Damien.
“Hey, I said it wasn't fair!”
"What?".
"You!
Are you doing this on purpose?"
“He did what?”
“You know that...”
But her words were interrupted by someone opening the door to the room.
"Lily!
Where have you been all this time?!"
It was a very angry looking woman.
She looked to be in her early forties at most and was strikingly beautiful, tall for a woman.
She seemed taller than Nicole, the tallest woman Damian knew.
She had red hair and wore round glasses.
“Your therapy session was supposed to end by now, but you didn't come back to your room, and I was so worried!
And who are you?”
After reprimanding Liliana, she finally turned her attention to Damian, her eyes full of doubt.
The woman pulled Liliana's arm and put it behind her, then crossed her arms and stared at Damian.
“Auntie!
It's okay, it's okay.
This is Damian...”
Liliana patted the woman on the back, trying to calm her down.
"He's a new friend I recently made.
He's not dangerous."
But her words seemed to anger the woman even more.
"How did you know that?!
You shouldn't trust strangers, especially men!
You know that, right?"
“Auntie, it’s rude of me to say that in front of Damian!”
Despite Liliana's protest, the woman stared at Damian like a hedgehog raising its spikes.
“And I left you a note!”
“The note just said, ‘I’ll be back soon.’ How could I not be worried?!”
"I'm an adult!
I don't have to tell you everything I do!"
“You are sick and need care before you become an adult!”
“I am not critically ill!”
“If you are not a critically ill patient suffering from a heart condition, then who will you be?!”
Damian was involved in their argument and felt extremely embarrassed.
Judging by the way Liliana addressed her, it sounded like the woman was her aunt.
“I'm bored of being alone in the hospital room!”
“That's why I keep bringing you books and newspapers!”
“It's only temporary pleasure.
Do you know how boring it is to lie in bed all the time?”
“What is more important, to feel a little bored or to recover?”
"I wasn't alone..."
"Okay, just be quiet for a while.
Let me talk."
Damian stepped back awkwardly, and the woman who had been venting her frustration on Liliana suddenly turned her head towards him.