Adelia's breath caught as she stared at him, momentarily lost in thought. Then, remembering she was supposed to answer, she turned away slightly and muttered, "...You're welcome."
Azel managed a genuine smile, and she stole another quick glance at him. He looked so different when he didn't have that mischievous spark in his eyes—almost... gentle.
But just as she had that thought, he flashed one of his usual devious grins, and she was forced to take back her earlier impression.
"So, you do have some skill in taking care of injuries, I suppose," he commented.
Adelia regarded him coolly. "You thought I was lying..." It wasn't a question; it was more of a statement.
"Of course," Azel replied without hesitation. "Could I have made it any more obvious?"
Adelia shot him a glare with wide eyes. "Then you were being foolish," she told him plainly. "If you had believed me and allowed me to tend to your injury even a moment earlier, you wouldn't have collapsed."
In an instant, Azel's expression turned serious after that last statement. He stared at her, the intensity in his gaze nearly making her knees buckle.
Why... why was he looking at her like that?
"I would have passed out either way," he said solemnly. "Because I did something I shouldn't have."
"...Did something you shouldn't have?" She echoed after him. "What do you mean?"
Azel sprang up from the bed, striding towards her and stopping only a couple of inches away in just two long steps.
Adelia looked up, confused and wary, at the man who now towered over her, her heart racing as she swallowed nervously.
"You…" he began, his tone serious. "What are you?"
His question nearly knocked the wind out of her. She stared up at him with widened eyes, her heart pounding so hard against her chest now, that she could hardly breathe.
What did he mean? Did he... did he perhaps find out something about her?
Her hand instinctively found its way to her chest, fingers brushing against the familiar bump of the pendant beneath her clothes, and her eyes widened even further.
Her pendant!
How could she have been so careless? She had been brought here all the way from that empty street. She must have spent several minutes in this room before they could find a healer and her clothes had been changed...
'No… no, no, no!'
She had been so occupied with worry for Edward ever since she woke up that she hadn't even spared a thought for herself.
And now, her oversight had cost her.
He must have seen the pendant, he must have recognized it. But when... when did he…?
The urge to whimper gripped her throat, but she remained firm. She wasn't going to give herself away so easily!
Azel observed her strange reaction. He could hear the pounding of her heart so clearly and the smell of fear emanated from her so strongly, that he felt guilty.
Yes, guilty.
Because he knew... he understood how she felt, so much that he wanted to pull her into his embrace.
Scaring her had not been his intention; he was only curious... and wary, but mostly curious.
He wasn't able to read her, and his attempt had backfired to the point that he collapsed.
Him!
The fear in her wide eyes already told him what he needed to know. She was hiding something, and judging by her reaction, it was something she was too afraid to reveal.
Azel thought it would be terrible of him to pressure her into telling him and it seemed unlikely that she would open up to him either.
After all, he was just a stranger; he meant nothing to her.
That last thought sent a pang of pain through his chest, that he managed to ignore. He drew away from her carefully, his eyes fixed gently on her, but her tension didn't ease, not even a little.
Then, he feigned suspicion by narrowing his eyes at her. "I doubted something I shouldn't have." He completed, but it was an absolute lie. "You... are you truly a noble?"
Adelia's breath caught for a moment, her eyes taking on a confused look as if she couldn't immediately process what he was saying.
'What?' she thought, the hard pounding of her heart coming to a stop despite herself. 'Was that... was that really what he wanted to ask?'
Azel's eyes remained on her. "You look like you can barely do anything on your own," he stated, his usual sly grin in place. "So how is it that you know how to treat wounds so... expertly?"
Adelia swallowed and a cool wave of relief washed over her, almost making her want to sink to the floor and cry.
"What do you mean by that?'' She managed to keep her voice steady. "I am far more capable than I look!"
Azel crossed his arms and studied her, his expression more questioning than anything. But she still blushed under his gaze.
"Why... why are you looking at me like that?" She sputtered.
"I'm just trying to confirm your words," he replied with a lopsided smile. "From what I've observed, you don't strike me as someone who could even lift a purse full of gold coins. So, how did you manage to lift the bowl of water you used to clean my wound?"
Adelia looked like her glare could bore a hole through him, her earlier fear completely forgotten. Azel's lips twitched as he picked up on the smell of her relief and mild anger.
"You… you—" she stopped herself, taking a deep breath. "I lifted the bowl of water the same way any other normal person would."
Azel feigned a concerned look as his brow furrowed. "Ah… I thought my friend had lifted it for you… are your hands alright, milady?" he inquired. "I realize that tending to me must have taken a lot of work. Allow me to give you a massage to show my grat—"
"Absolutely not!" Adelia exclaimed, her face flushing as she backed away a few steps. How could he even suggest such a thing?!
"You're merely a commoner," she glared at him. "How dare you presume to touch the hand of a noble lady?"
Azel's eyes twinkled with amusement as he chuckled. "But you didn't seem to have a problem with me touching you when I supported you a few hours ago, milady," he remarked. "I held both your shoulders to prevent you from stumbling, remember?"
Her thoughts went back to that moment a few hours ago, she was so disoriented at that point in time, that she hardly even thought about it.
If Adelia's cheeks could grow any redder, they certainly did. "That... that was necessary," she stammered. "But massaging my hands is an entirely different matter!"
"I can assure you that it is also necessary, milady. Your delicate hands deserve proper care," Azel assured her.
Now that he thought about it, he didn't know if he should be happy or furious that she still saw him merely as a commoner.
Had she not heard what Fabian had called him? Or had she chosen to ignore it altogether?
Azel narrowed his eyes at her; no, Fabian had definitely done something. He had probably erased that bit of memory from her mind.
He fought the urge to sigh in exasperation. Well, it didn't matter... not really. As long as no other memories were tampered with, he could tolerate it.
Adelia's nostrils flared. "They do not," she retorted. "My hands don't require any special attention."
"Even after all that work?"
"Yes!" She wanted to answer, but her stomach betrayed her with a growl before she could even voice her response.
They stood facing each other with widened eyes in absolute silence before Azel cleared his throat loudly.
"Why didn't you tell me you were hungry, milady?" he inquired, his lips pursed in an attempt to hold back the laughter building within him.