Chapter 8: Breakfast with Amber

Edwin was lying on the bed thoughtfully with his eyes open. He was thinking to himself what to do next until he was startled by a sudden voice from outside. When the maid told him that Amber had invited him to have breakfast, Edwin immediately got out of bed and began to put his clothes on.

Edwin had just put on his pants when the cloth at the entrance to the tent burst open and Olivia walked in. Because he had no extra clothes to sleep in last night, he had taken off all his clothes and slept wearing only his underwear.

"..."

Edwin and Olivia continued to stare at each other for a while without moving. Olivia didn't think that Edwin had been changing, and Edwin hadn't expected someone to suddenly walk in, so they were both taken aback and didn't know what to do for a while.

Edwin was the first to pull himself together and immediately picked up his white shirt from the chair next to him and began to wear it. As a result of his gesture, Olivia also regained her composure and immediately lowered her head and averted her eyes from Edwin. Her whole face was red. However, she did occasionally cast furtive glances in Edwin's direction.

"I-I-I-I'm sorry, Mr. Edwin, I didn't know you were dressed." Olivia stammered.

"It's okay." 

Edwin had his shirt on as he spoke. Then he turned toward Olivia and spoke in a gentle tone.

"Now, If you'll excuse me, I'd like to get prepared quickly so as not to keep Miss. Redwood waiting."

"Ahhhh!? L-Let me help you, Sir Edwin!" 

Still reeling from the events of earlier, Olivia quickly grabbed the clothes on the chair and rushed to Edwin's side. She tried to help him get dressed, but you could tell from her frantic movements and worried expression that she wasn't quite herself.

For a moment Olivia really felt as if her soul had left her body when she saw Edwin with his incredibly handsome face and perfectly chiseled naked upper body. Even later, when she came to her senses as a result of his movements, she still didn't fully process the situation. Then Olivia heard Edwin's words and decided to help him to hide her own awkwardness.

Suddenly, finding this lovely, confused maid in front of him, Edwin tried to calm her down "C-Calm down, miss! There's really no need for that, I can dress myself!"

"N-No problem! As a maid, it is my d-duty to help the guests." Olivia said quickly as she tried to take off Edwin's shirt.

"I-I'm already wearing my shirt! Why are you trying to take it off?!"

Olivia spoke with concern. "Y-Your shirt is wrinkled because you put it on too quickly! L-Let me fix it for you! I-It's my fault after all, S-Sir Edwin!"

Edwin was trying to resist Olivia while looking at her adorable red face, which now was full of distress. Edwin realized that talking normally was not going to calm her down when he saw that Olivia's focus was elsewhere, moving only with worry.

Edwin suddenly grabbed both of Olivia's wrists and shook her gently. As a result, Olivia dropped the clothes she was holding and raised her head in surprise, locking eyes with Edwin. At that moment, Edwin began to speak to Olivia with a serious expression but a soothing voice.

"There's no need to panic, calm down, please." Seeing that Olivia was focused on his eyes, he continued. "First of all, you don't have to worry about what just happened. If you think I'm going to tell someone about it and make things difficult for you, relax, I won't tell anyone." 

Edwin had assumed that Olivia was worried about being punished for her mistake as a maid and that was why she was worried.

"..."

Olivia continued to stare into Edwin's bright blue eyes without saying anything.

"So, uh... What's your name?"

"...Olivia."

"Olivia... That's a good name. Okay, Olivia, first of all, you don't have to call me Sir, you can just call me Edwin."

"Edwin..." 

As Olivia said Edwin's name, she continued to stare at him without even blinking. Seeing this, Edwin found Olivia's red face and dazed expression extremely cute, so he smiled and reached up to stroke Olivia's hair.

"Olivia, could you give me a moment to dress then? You don't want to keep your lady waiting, do you?" He said gently.

Olivia's beautiful eyes widened and she looked at Edwin with an expression of disbelief. Realizing what he had done, Edwin quickly pulled his hand away from Olivia's head in apprehension.

"I-I'm sorry!?! I, uh, I mean... I intend to-"

As Edwin tried to explain his impulsive act, Olivia suddenly turned around and dashed toward the exit of the tent. Just as she was about to step out, she paused for a moment.

"E-E-Edwin, noblewomen are addressed as 'lady', p-please keep that in mind!" 

Olivia spoke without turning around, her voice was a little higher than it should have been. After giving her reminder, she quickly ran away. By the time Edwin realized what had happened, he was already alone in the tent. Sighing to himself, he began to mutter.

"...Haaa, what a wonderful morning."

Meanwhile, Olivia's heart was beating madly as she ran with all her might towards Amber's tent.

'Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!?! This guy is dangerous! I almost couldn't resist kissing him!!!' 

She still couldn't believe what had just happened. Olivia had really wanted to kiss Edwin in the heat of the moment. Luckily Edwin's sudden attack took her out of the situation. But for some reason Olivia didn't feel very happy about it.

Olivia slowed down and stopped after running for a while, thinking she had run far enough. With a flushed face, she took deep breaths and tried to calm herself down. Some people who had just woken up were looking at her with amazement. They had never seen her like this before.

Looking at the ground, she began to mutter in her mind, 'Amber... If you are serious, you better act fast before someone else makes a move.' She put her hand over her heart and felt its rapid beating. After a while she lifted her head and started to look behind her dreamily. 

'Edwin... What a beautiful name...'

…

Half an hour had passed since the incident in Edwin's tent. The sun was shining brightly and the camp was alive with the chatter of soldiers lining up to receive their meals.

Edwin, meanwhile, had changed out of his armor and was making his way towards Amber's tent. He looked fresh and neat again, having had a chance to clean himself up last night. 

Edwin was wearing a plain white shirt, a gray vest and dark brown trousers. His light blond, slightly wavy hair rippled with every step he took, and this, combined with his handsome face, gave him the appearance of a prince from a fairy tale.

Since it was breakfast time, Edwin made his way calmly to Amber's tent without meeting anyone on the way. When he got there, the soldiers guarding the tent noticed someone coming and immediately tried to block him, but when they saw Edwin, they froze in their tracks.

"Excuse me, Lady Amber has asked me to join her for breakfast. I was wondering if you could let her know I'm here." Edwin spoke gently.

The guards guarding Amber's tent were four burly female warriors. Hearing Edwin's words, these four experienced warriors, who normally would have been feared, now became like young girls, fidgeting and blushing with embarrassment.

Before the guards could recover, Amber's authoritative voice sounded from inside the tent.

"Sir Edwin you can come in, please don't wait outside."

"Then excuse me..." Edwin replied in a polite tone

After his words, Edwin made his way to the entrance of the tent. As he passed the guards, he gave a little nod of greeting. The guards, sobering up at the sound of their mistresses' voices, clumsily nodded in return.

As soon as he entered, Edwin saw a table in the center of the tent with various dishes on it. In the corner of the table, away from the entrance, Amber sat in a chair, wearing a red dress and an elegant smile, looking at Edwin. 

Directly behind Amber, Olivia was standing respectfully with her hands clasped in front of her. When Edwin entered, she averted her lovely eyes from him and pouted cutely. But since Edwin's focus was not on her, he did not notice this cute gesture.

"Good morning Lady Amber, thank you for inviting me for breakfast." 

Amber covered her mouth with her hand and gave a graceful laugh. "No need to thank me, Sir Edwin. It is the least I should do for the man who saved my men. Please, don't stand." Edwin's address to her changed, but he said nothing. 

At Amber's words, Edwin immediately sat down in the chair opposite her. He took the handkerchief next to the plate in front of him and tucked it into his collar. Although he was not used to interacting with people, he was not ignorant of common courtesy. 

During his training with the Goddess Livian, Edwin had learned some of the common courtesies from the books he had read in his spare time. Of course, since he was trying to mimic what he had read, his movements were a bit rough. Fortunately, no one had noticed.

And so, after both of them looked at each other with a polite smile, they started having breakfast together.