When Auston opened his eyes again, it was a dark night, not even moonlight. An unfamiliar ceiling appeared in his hazy vision. As soon as he regained consciousness, pain struck him as if it had been waiting for him.
“Ugh...”
Auston let out a faint groan and habitually used his arms to raise his upper body. But immediately afterward, he groaned and fell back onto the bed. It was because of the pain all over his body as if someone had beaten him.
“What is this...”
Auston muttered a curse, placing one hand on his forehead. Then, the events of the past before he lost consciousness began to come back to him, albeit belatedly.
“Oh, that’s right! That son of a bitch... Ouch.”
Austin let out a scream-like sigh without realizing it, and then he jerked up, leaning forward to endure the pain. Only after the pain subsided to some extent did he manage to raise his head. He looked down at his body and saw that his exposed upper body was wrapped in bandages.
'Did you treat...? Who...'
"Mr. Dosler!"
At that moment, the face of Rubia that he had seen just before losing consciousness came to mind. At the same time, his heart sank. Auston looked around hurriedly. In the dark bedroom, only the scarlet candles were dimly flickering.
‘...Let’s run away.’
A determined light flashed through his hazel eyes. Auston decided to escape to Belfort Castle while no one was in the room. However, his magical power was somewhat unstable to use teleportation magic because his body had not fully recovered yet. Before Rubia could see him like this, he was about to crawl out of Count Glever’s mansion and lower his legs under the bed.
“I think it would be better to lie down...”
“Whoaaaa!”
Suddenly, an ominous muttering pierced his ears, startling Auston and covering his chest with both arms. He quickly turned his head toward the voice and found Rubia sitting on the sofa with her hair hanging down over her face, and began to babble.
“Ah, no. What the...! How long have you been there...”
'Shit.'
As he continued to speak, Auston realized that Rubia was wearing a negligee, just like his last memory, and immediately shut his eyes tightly and turned his head away. Even in this situation, he can’t help but notice something like that.
“...”
Rubia, whose face looked a little hurt, let out a deep sigh. She got up, walked closer to Auston, and sat down on the edge of the bed. Auston had his eyes closed, but he almost opened them reflexively at the sensation of the bed slightly shaking. Rubia stared at Auston and opened her mouth in self-mockery.
“...That’s what I wanted to ask.”
“Yes, yes?”
“You suddenly appeared in my garden, bleeding a bucket, and passed out. As the landlord, shouldn’t I be asking for something like that?”
At those words, Auston opened his eyes belatedly. He kept looking back at Rubia and lowered his head. Earlier, he was so focused on getting out of the mansion before Rubia caught him that he didn’t realize it. But now that he looked closely, he saw that his entire upper body was covered in bandages, but he didn’t feel the pungent smell of blood or the pain that should have been felt from the wound. It was just that his whole body was sore and throbbing as if he had been hit by someone. Auston grimaced in puzzlement.
'What happened? Did the madam come back? It doesn't seem like it's time.'
Only healing magic can heal wounds in such an instant. However, it was impossible to heal oneself with healing magic, and currently, there were no magicians in the North except for Auston. It was natural since he had seen Sylvia, the only magician who had stayed in the North, leave with his own eyes.
"Are you trying to die again?"
No, that's not what I meant.
"Did I end up meaning only that much to you?"
That can't be true. You've come to mean... something to me.
"Was I that incompetent?"
"So my love wasn't worth trusting you even a little bit in the end!"
It wasn't you that I didn't trust...
'Here...I can't handle magic.'
More precisely, in Kelvetia, magic was extremely unstable. It was a land where even those who could handle swords and magic as if they were breathing were rendered defenseless in an instant. That was Kelvetia.
“Ugh...”
Auston let out a faint groan and habitually used his arms to raise his upper body. But immediately afterward, he groaned and fell back onto the bed. It was because of the pain all over his body as if someone had beaten him.
“What is this...”
Auston muttered a curse, placing one hand on his forehead. Then, the events of the past before he lost consciousness began to come back to him, albeit belatedly.
“Oh, that’s right! That son of a bitch... Ouch.”
Austin let out a scream-like sigh without realizing it, and then he jerked up, leaning forward to endure the pain. Only after the pain subsided to some extent did he manage to raise his head. He looked down at his body and saw that his exposed upper body was wrapped in bandages.
'Did you treat...? Who...'
"Mr. Dosler!"
At that moment, the face of Rubia that he had seen just before losing consciousness came to mind. At the same time, his heart sank. Auston looked around hurriedly. In the dark bedroom, only the scarlet candles were dimly flickering.
‘...Let’s run away.’
A determined light flashed through his hazel eyes. Auston decided to escape to Belfort Castle while no one was in the room. However, his magical power was somewhat unstable to use teleportation magic because his body had not fully recovered yet. Before Rubia could see him like this, he was about to crawl out of Count Glever’s mansion and lower his legs under the bed.
“I think it would be better to lie down...”
“Whoaaaa!”
Suddenly, an ominous muttering pierced his ears, startling Auston and covering his chest with both arms. He quickly turned his head toward the voice and found Rubia sitting on the sofa with her hair hanging down over her face, and began to babble.
“Ah, no. What the...! How long have you been there...”
'Shit.'
As he continued to speak, Auston realized that Rubia was wearing a negligee, just like his last memory, and immediately shut his eyes tightly and turned his head away. Even in this situation, he can’t help but notice something like that.
I’m clearly trash that can’t even be recycled...
While Auston was internally cursing at himself, he couldn’t even say a word.
“...”
Rubia, whose face looked a little hurt, let out a deep sigh. She got up, walked closer to Auston, and sat down on the edge of the bed. Auston had his eyes closed, but he almost opened them reflexively at the sensation of the bed slightly shaking. Rubia stared at Auston and opened her mouth in self-mockery.
“...That’s what I wanted to ask.”
“Yes, yes?”
“You suddenly appeared in my garden, bleeding a bucket, and passed out. As the landlord, shouldn’t I be asking for something like that?”
At those words, Auston opened his eyes belatedly. He kept looking back at Rubia and lowered his head. Earlier, he was so focused on getting out of the mansion before Rubia caught him that he didn’t realize it. But now that he looked closely, he saw that his entire upper body was covered in bandages, but he didn’t feel the pungent smell of blood or the pain that should have been felt from the wound. It was just that his whole body was sore and throbbing as if he had been hit by someone. Auston grimaced in puzzlement.
'What happened? Did the madam come back? It doesn't seem like it's time.'
Only healing magic can heal wounds in such an instant. However, it was impossible to heal oneself with healing magic, and currently, there were no magicians in the North except for Auston. It was natural since he had seen Sylvia, the only magician who had stayed in the North, leave with his own eyes.
Auston tried to ask Rubia a question after guessing how long he had been unconscious. However, Rubia answered his question as if she had read his mind a step ahead.
“It was clear that if we didn’t treat Dosler’s wounds and stop the bleeding immediately, you would die from excessive bleeding. So I contacted Count Cuvid and asked him to send a healing wizard from the capital, offering him as much money as he wanted.”
"...for a moment."
As Auston listened to Rubia's bland explanation, he suddenly stopped talking out of anxiety. He placed one hand on his forehead and asked, "No way."
“You said you’d give him as much money as I wanted... How much did the wizard who cured me ask for in compensation?”
“I gave it to him because he asked for 30 gold for travel expenses and medical expenses.”
“Are you crazy?”
The harsh words spilled out of his mouth before he could stop them. Rubia's purple eyes widened slightly. However, Auston was too full of self-loathing and anger to notice it.
'That son of a bitch...!'
Auston ground his teeth at the wizard whose face he didn’t know. No matter how urgent the situation was and how far away it was, 30 gold was too much to pay for just one healing spell. Even Auston, who was known for being picky about money, had never demanded more than 5 gold for a business trip or healing spell. But the fact that Rubia, who was just starting to establish herself as Countess Glever, had been swindled by such a swindler for that one thing made him uncontrollably angry. Strictly speaking, his anger was directed at the wizard who had demanded such a high amount.
“It was clear that if we didn’t treat Dosler’s wounds and stop the bleeding immediately, you would die from excessive bleeding. So I contacted Count Cuvid and asked him to send a healing wizard from the capital, offering him as much money as he wanted.”
"...for a moment."
As Auston listened to Rubia's bland explanation, he suddenly stopped talking out of anxiety. He placed one hand on his forehead and asked, "No way."
“You said you’d give him as much money as I wanted... How much did the wizard who cured me ask for in compensation?”
“I gave it to him because he asked for 30 gold for travel expenses and medical expenses.”
“Are you crazy?”
The harsh words spilled out of his mouth before he could stop them. Rubia's purple eyes widened slightly. However, Auston was too full of self-loathing and anger to notice it.
'That son of a bitch...!'
Auston ground his teeth at the wizard whose face he didn’t know. No matter how urgent the situation was and how far away it was, 30 gold was too much to pay for just one healing spell. Even Auston, who was known for being picky about money, had never demanded more than 5 gold for a business trip or healing spell. But the fact that Rubia, who was just starting to establish herself as Countess Glever, had been swindled by such a swindler for that one thing made him uncontrollably angry. Strictly speaking, his anger was directed at the wizard who had demanded such a high amount.
Auston spoke in a somewhat sharp tone, feeling guilty for causing trouble to Rubia.
“You must know that a sum like 30 gold is an absurd amount for someone like the Countess. Why on earth did you do such a thing?”
“...”
“Even without that, the Count Glever family is in a situation where they are putting all their efforts into strengthening their family’s foundation and standing, so why is it only...”
Are you willing to suffer this kind of loss because of someone like me?
“You must know that a sum like 30 gold is an absurd amount for someone like the Countess. Why on earth did you do such a thing?”
“...”
“Even without that, the Count Glever family is in a situation where they are putting all their efforts into strengthening their family’s foundation and standing, so why is it only...”
Are you willing to suffer this kind of loss because of someone like me?
Those words never made it out of Auston's mouth.
Thump-
“Someone like me... Huh?”
The momentum of Auston, who had been speaking excitedly, suddenly subsided as if he had been splashed with cold water. He opened his eyes wide and let out a trembling voice without realizing it.
“Someone like me... Huh?”
The momentum of Auston, who had been speaking excitedly, suddenly subsided as if he had been splashed with cold water. He opened his eyes wide and let out a trembling voice without realizing it.
Rubia was crying. Rubia, who had been listening to Auston with an incomprehensible expression, finally shed tears with a sound. She laughed coldly, making a face that was distorted to the point that Auston had never seen it before.
"Ha..."
“Wh, what, why, why are you crying?”
Along with Rubia's tears, Auston's heart also fell to the floor. Auston was so flustered that he couldn't speak properly and stammered. He instinctively reached out to Rubia's wet face, but quickly closed his fist and pulled his hand back. Rubia wiped away her own tears and glared at Auston fiercely. However, no matter how much she wiped away her tears, new streams of water quickly flowed across her cheeks. In the end, Rubia laughed like she had lost her mind with her tear-stained face.
“Does that matter to you in this situation?”
"As expected, fantasy is fantasy..."
"You... wouldn’t cry because of me... If you were telling me to get lost, wouldn’t I know?"
When Auston finally lost consciousness after saying such nonsense, Rubia was momentarily overcome by a fear so great that she forgot to breathe. When she found out that the former Marquis Glever was preparing for treason, and when the Marquis Glever was demoted to a Count because of that, and when she first appeared in front of people as a Countess, she wasn't this scared.
"Ha..."
“Wh, what, why, why are you crying?”
Along with Rubia's tears, Auston's heart also fell to the floor. Auston was so flustered that he couldn't speak properly and stammered. He instinctively reached out to Rubia's wet face, but quickly closed his fist and pulled his hand back. Rubia wiped away her own tears and glared at Auston fiercely. However, no matter how much she wiped away her tears, new streams of water quickly flowed across her cheeks. In the end, Rubia laughed like she had lost her mind with her tear-stained face.
“Does that matter to you in this situation?”
"As expected, fantasy is fantasy..."
"You... wouldn’t cry because of me... If you were telling me to get lost, wouldn’t I know?"
When Auston finally lost consciousness after saying such nonsense, Rubia was momentarily overcome by a fear so great that she forgot to breathe. When she found out that the former Marquis Glever was preparing for treason, and when the Marquis Glever was demoted to a Count because of that, and when she first appeared in front of people as a Countess, she wasn't this scared.
Rubia was afraid that Auston would never open his eyes. She could picture that feeling so clearly before her eyes. The target of it, Auston, was maddeningly angry that he was talking like that.
“I was so... worried.”
Rubia's words, as if chewing through her teeth, leaked out. For a moment, Auston doubted his ears. However, Rubia clenched her fists and began to pound his chest as if trying to shatter all his illusions. At the same time, the tears that had been flowing drop by drop from her eyes burst out all at once.
“You little bastard, the first thing you say when you wake up is, what? Are you crazy? Is that something you should be saying? Is that something you should be saying?”
“Uh, uh. Countess?”
Auston looked stunned once at Rubia's tears, twice at the words coming out of her mouth, and three times at the fact that her fist didn't hurt at all.
'No matter how much the trauma has healed, how can it be like this... how can I not feel anything, no, that's not it.'
Auston suddenly regained his senses and grabbed Rubia's arm as she struck him recklessly.
“Just a moment. First, calm down...”
He tried to calm her down, but she flailed her arms and kicked wildly. At that moment, Auston's body swayed. She leaned her forehead against his chest and screamed.
“I was so worried...!”
“...”
“How scared I was...”
The words that came out of her mouth gradually became closer to sobs. Rubia finally leaned against Auston's chest as if she were being hugged and began to sob. He could feel the delicate body in his arms trembling. Auston, who had received all of those sensations, finally let out a silent sigh as his heart sank.
'Ah.'
I must be crazy.
“I was so... worried.”
Rubia's words, as if chewing through her teeth, leaked out. For a moment, Auston doubted his ears. However, Rubia clenched her fists and began to pound his chest as if trying to shatter all his illusions. At the same time, the tears that had been flowing drop by drop from her eyes burst out all at once.
“You little bastard, the first thing you say when you wake up is, what? Are you crazy? Is that something you should be saying? Is that something you should be saying?”
“Uh, uh. Countess?”
Auston looked stunned once at Rubia's tears, twice at the words coming out of her mouth, and three times at the fact that her fist didn't hurt at all.
'No matter how much the trauma has healed, how can it be like this... how can I not feel anything, no, that's not it.'
Auston suddenly regained his senses and grabbed Rubia's arm as she struck him recklessly.
“Just a moment. First, calm down...”
He tried to calm her down, but she flailed her arms and kicked wildly. At that moment, Auston's body swayed. She leaned her forehead against his chest and screamed.
“I was so worried...!”
“...”
“How scared I was...”
The words that came out of her mouth gradually became closer to sobs. Rubia finally leaned against Auston's chest as if she were being hugged and began to sob. He could feel the delicate body in his arms trembling. Auston, who had received all of those sensations, finally let out a silent sigh as his heart sank.
'Ah.'
I must be crazy.
The string of reason that had been hanging on precariously snapped with a snap. Auston let go of Rubia's wrist and instead hugged her back deeply.
“...!”
Rubia, who was completely buried in Auston’s arms with both hands, opened her tearful eyes wide. Their bodies were pressed together with only the hem of her thin clothes and bandages between them. Auston bent down and hugged her as if wrapping her, and awkwardly patted her back.
"I'm sorry."
“...”
“Thank you for worrying about me...”
At the words that Auston spoke softly, Rubia's tears, which had been paused for a moment, burst out again. He carefully stroked her head as she cried sadly. A rambling babble flowed out of his mouth.
“So stop crying... Ah, no. If you want to hit me more, then hit me more..."
But the next moment, his voice died down as if it had been eaten by something. What took its place was the sound of wet hearts and skin touching.
“...!”
Rubia, who was completely buried in Auston’s arms with both hands, opened her tearful eyes wide. Their bodies were pressed together with only the hem of her thin clothes and bandages between them. Auston bent down and hugged her as if wrapping her, and awkwardly patted her back.
"I'm sorry."
“...”
“Thank you for worrying about me...”
At the words that Auston spoke softly, Rubia's tears, which had been paused for a moment, burst out again. He carefully stroked her head as she cried sadly. A rambling babble flowed out of his mouth.
“So stop crying... Ah, no. If you want to hit me more, then hit me more..."
But the next moment, his voice died down as if it had been eaten by something. What took its place was the sound of wet hearts and skin touching.
***
"Are you trying to die again?"
No, that's not what I meant.
"Did I end up meaning only that much to you?"
That can't be true. You've come to mean... something to me.
"Was I that incompetent?"
"So my love wasn't worth trusting you even a little bit in the end!"
It wasn't you that I didn't trust...
Twinkle.
“...!”
The dizzying mind calmed down the moment her eyelids opened. As soon as she regained consciousness, Sylvia raised her upper body as if bouncing.
“Randall?”
A breathy call escaped her lips. Sylvia looked around in confusion. Then, suddenly, the sky caught her eye. There was no sun or moon. Only a sky as red as blood.
"Ah."
At that moment, her senses completely returned. Sylvia blinked blankly, taking in the red sky.
“...lKelvetia.”
Back here again. The color drained from her face as she realized that she was in Kelvetia. It seemed like she and Randall had gotten separated in a different place while traveling to Kelvetia...
“...!”
The dizzying mind calmed down the moment her eyelids opened. As soon as she regained consciousness, Sylvia raised her upper body as if bouncing.
“Randall?”
A breathy call escaped her lips. Sylvia looked around in confusion. Then, suddenly, the sky caught her eye. There was no sun or moon. Only a sky as red as blood.
"Ah."
At that moment, her senses completely returned. Sylvia blinked blankly, taking in the red sky.
“...lKelvetia.”
Back here again. The color drained from her face as she realized that she was in Kelvetia. It seemed like she and Randall had gotten separated in a different place while traveling to Kelvetia...
'Here...I can't handle magic.'
More precisely, in Kelvetia, magic was extremely unstable. It was a land where even those who could handle swords and magic as if they were breathing were rendered defenseless in an instant. That was Kelvetia.
Sylvia gritted her teeth and groaned as she stood up. Fortunately, there were still no monsters or demons around her. Sylvia immediately surrounded herself with darkness and erased the scent of humanity. A red aura swirled around her golden eyes. She bit her lips and glared straight ahead.
'Just wait a moment, Randall.'
This time, I will go find you.
'Just wait a moment, Randall.'
This time, I will go find you.
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