Safe & Sound in the Arms of an Elite Knight: Volume 1 by Fuyu Aoki

Author:Fuyu Aoki [AOKI, FUYU]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: J-Novel Club

Chloe jolted upright, gasping.

An unpleasantness coated her back, her neck, all over her body.

She panted, lungs starved for air.

Calm down, calm down... You’re okay...

She concentrated and took control of her breathing—in, then out—in, then out. She fought to coax her pounding heart to slow.

After a few moments of controlled breathing, Chloe regained her composure.

She took a look around.

She was in a simple bedroom, not a grand and lavish estate.

An early morning glow seeped in through the windowsill. The sound of chirping birds graced her ears.

Recognizing that this was in fact the spare bedroom on the first floor of Lloyd’s home, Chloe breathed one final sigh of relief.

“That dream again...” she mumbled.

It was the same awful, recurring dream—the one that showed her images from that nightmarish day against her will. It seemed that her unconscious was pushing back against her forced attempts to purge the day’s events from her memory.

Although the frequency of her nightmares was still manageable, she was worried that experiencing them nightly would affect her work in the daytime, and that was something to be avoided.

She sat silent for a bit.

There was no point in dwelling on it now. She wiped the sweat that had beaded off her brow, and pulled the covers over her once more.

She prayed that she would not see the nightmare this time.

◇◇◇

A week had passed since Chloe became Lloyd’s housekeeper.

“I like this,” Lloyd said, heaping a spoonful into his mouth.

Though his face was as impassive as always, Chloe couldn’t help but think that it had softened around the edges, just a little.

“I’m glad!” she said in response.

This morning, like every morning, the two sat around the dining table, enjoying Chloe’s homemade breakfast.

“I’ve never had scrambled eggs before,” said Lloyd.

“Really? It’s quite the simple fare, I would think...”

“I never really thought to cook eggs, to be honest.”

“...You eat them raw?”

“Simple, right?”

“In that case, you can look forward to a different egg dish every day starting today.”

“You certainly sound...motivated?”

They dined over light banter and idle conversation. The morning’s menu consisted of bacon, sausages, croissants—all part of a balanced and calorically-dense breakfast; there was salad too, for good measure.

Ever since that first day, Chloe partook in the exact same menu as Lloyd, though in much smaller portions. As she munched away, she noticed that Lloyd had been staring at her. “Is...there something on my face?”

“No, it’s nothing important.” Lloyd’s gaze swept from Chloe’s face down to her torso. “It’s just that you’ve been looking a lot healthier lately.”

“Healthier?”

“You’ve put on some weight.”

Chloe let out a shrill whimper. “I-I have?!”

“That’s a good thing. You’re almost average now,” nodded Lloyd, a sincere look on his face.

Chloe let out a small sigh of relief. “I suppose I have been eating three square meals a day now.”

“A positive development.”

“Well, it’s not like me being average is going to be much of an improvement at all,” said Chloe in a self-deprecating tone.

Lloyd slightly furrowed his brow and lowered his voice to a whisper. “You should really learn to see yourself in a more objective light.

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