Episode 4. I Have a Question
“Oh, let’s just kick her out, yes? I have a bad feeling about that woman.”
Of course, before that, the priority was to quiet Wyatt, who was now making a lot of noise.
“Yes. I’ll kick her out when the time comes, so let’s stop talking.”
Lacrahan turned away to stop the conversation.
“...”
A blonde woman stood right in front of him with her children.
Lacrahan furrowed his brows for a moment, meeting her gaze.
The woman flinched, but didn’t run away or look frightened like before.
“Good timing. Would you like to talk for a moment?”
Lacrahan said politely and turned away.
Even as he walked toward the southern castle, he wondered if the woman would follow him.
Turning a corner, he turned his head slightly and saw Tatiana dragging the woman along.
“Ha.”
Lacrahan shook his head.
“Anyway, they’re coming.”
He walked through the ornately decorated south gate, his hands behind his back.
Lacrahan led the woman to the library in the southern castle's basement.
Tatiana was eventually caught by Wyatt, who followed her and was unable to enter.
Lacrahan, walking ahead, turned his head slightly and saw a woman walking in the wrong direction.
He slowed his pace and blocked her path, guiding her back.
Although he called it a private library, it was immense in size and scale.
"These are books my family has collected since before the war. There are so many rare books here that others cannot enter."
Her golden eyes slowly moved to Lacrahan's broad back.
He continued, walking ahead.
"I brought you here because I have something to say that would be embarrassing if others overheard."
The man's body was covered in solid muscle, but the hand that stroked his thin hair looked long and delicate.
Lacrahan, who had already reached the center of the library, gazed down at her calmly with his jet-black eyes.
"Let's say you can't speak."
He reached out and touched the book spread open on the stand.
“I don’t think that means you can’t move your fingers.”
The woman stared intently at the book Lacrahan was pointing to and the writing within.
“I have a question for you.”
Now, if she wanted, she could point to the words in the book and give Lacrahan an answer.
“Rain from the warehouse.”
The woman raised her head and met his gaze.
“You did it, didn’t you?”
Instead of answering, she clenched her hands, which were resting at her thighs.
“Let me ask again.”
Lacrahan raised his cold, stern eyes.
“I’m fine. I-I’m fine, so if the Grand Duke comes...”
When Lacrahan arrived, Madam Morgan was hanging from a tree.
The branches bent toward the river looked precarious, as if they would break at any moment.
“Ha.”
A fairly deep and wide river flowed on the western outskirts of Lacrahan’s castle, but due to the prolonged drought, it was treated as little more than a small stream.
However, the recent rains had raised the water level to its highest point.
“Your Highness!”
Madam Morgan, who was hanging from the tree, recognized Lacrahan and waved.
Lacrahan took a deep breath and approached the tree.
“Are you going to keep causing trouble like this?”
Madam Morgan smiled brightly, even though she was clinging to the branch, sweat dripping down her face.
She seemed to finally feel relieved with Lacrahan’s arrival.
“A kitten is hanging here. What can I do? I can’t just let it drown in the river.”
Lacrahan took off his cloak, handed it to Wyatt, and kicked off his shoes.
“Don’t you think Lady Morgan might fall into the river because of a cat?”
“I’m sorry to ask you when you’re busy. Why isn’t there a single human in this North that can go into the water?”
Seeing Lacrahan even take off his shoes, Madam Morgan felt a sense of relief. She pretended not to notice, but her body was nearing its limit and she was on the verge of falling.
“Thank you.”
Madam Morgan relaxed her body and reached out to Lacrahan, who had come closer.
And at that moment...
Kwakwakwang.
A boulder surged from the upper reaches of the river, rapidly increasing the current.
“Huh?”
While everyone was looking in that direction, the tree Madam Morgan was hanging from broke.
Madam Morgan, who had grazed Lacrahan’s fingertips by a fraction of a second, plunged into the river.
“Madam Morgan!”
Wyatt, who was right behind him, pulled back Lacrahan's body as he tried to lunge forward.
"No!"
"...!"
When Lacrahan raised his head and looked at the river, Madam Morgan had already been swept away by the rough current.
"..."
Again.
The helplessness of losing someone he loved overwhelmed him. He felt his blood draining away.
The landscape before Lacrahan's eyes distorted, the sky and the air shifted.
Shouts and the sound of shells echoed everywhere.
The three-year war between three continents had inflicted a trauma worse than hell on everyone.
He shuddered at the pain of losing family and comrades several times a day.
"No,"
Lacrahan said through gritted teeth.
Every death on this land was his responsibility.
It was a pain he had to bear entirely.
"Huh? Look over there!"
The people stamping their feet in despair pointed down the river.
There, someone was swimming out of the river, carrying the unconscious Madam Morgan.
"She's saving Madam Morgan!"
"She's alive! She's alive!"
Lacrahan ran down the river.
The sound of the water rushing beside him was frighteningly loud.
For two days, from the warehouse fire until the woman woke up, the rain had been so heavy it felt like a hole had been ripped through the sky. The current was so fierce that no ordinary person would dare venture into it.
“Who is it? Who the hell jumped into the river and saved Madam Morgan!”
Someone shouted, running after Lacrahan.
“Who in the North knows how to swim? Not in the entire Empire, right?”
Surrounded entirely by continents, it was extremely rare to find someone who could swim.
He's heard stories of people who could, sometimes near large rivers, but even those who could swim were considered rare due to the rough currents.
Lacrahan had learned to swim in the war, to get deeper into enemy territory. He was the only one in the North who could swim because he was the only one who survived the long war.
“Madam Morgan!”
Soon, Madam Morgan was seen sprawled on the ground.
“Damn it.”
Wyatt, who was behind him, cursed and ran to press on Madam Morgan's chest.
He repeatedly blew air into her mouth and compressed her chest until,
"Cough! Cough!"
Water gushed out of Madam Morgan's mouth, and she soon found her breathing tubes empty.
The crowd cheered and rejoiced.
Lacrahan, confirming that Madam Morgan was alive, let out a short breath and looked around.
The drowning person was here, but her rescuer was nowhere to be seen.
"Grand Duke! Where are you going?"
Lacrahan turned and walked toward the castle, ignoring Wyatt's call.
He saw small footprints in the castle, now empty from the commotion just moments ago. Following the trail of footsteps, which were still fading away, he saw the library where he had parted ways with the woman moments before.
"Ha."
Lacrahan widened his stride.
With each movement of his long legs, the scenery within came into view.
"..."
The woman stood where he had first stood, drenched from the inside, staring down at the book on the stand.
Lacrahan deliberately made footsteps as he approached her.
Step, step.
Golden eyes slowly turned and touched him.
The woman turned her head toward the reading stand as if she had expected him.
Her fingers rested on the thickly spread book.
Lacrahan's gaze followed where her white fingertips moved.
Ber. Che. Ri... A.
“...Bercheria?”
She pointed to the name of the goddess who had abandoned the North.
Lacrahan raised his head, his brow furrowed, and looked at the woman.
She was looking at him with a blank expression.
“Bercheria. That’s my name.”
A clear, pure voice rang out.
“Oh, let’s just kick her out, yes? I have a bad feeling about that woman.”
Of course, before that, the priority was to quiet Wyatt, who was now making a lot of noise.
“Yes. I’ll kick her out when the time comes, so let’s stop talking.”
Lacrahan turned away to stop the conversation.
“...”
A blonde woman stood right in front of him with her children.
Lacrahan furrowed his brows for a moment, meeting her gaze.
The woman flinched, but didn’t run away or look frightened like before.
“Good timing. Would you like to talk for a moment?”
Lacrahan said politely and turned away.
Even as he walked toward the southern castle, he wondered if the woman would follow him.
Turning a corner, he turned his head slightly and saw Tatiana dragging the woman along.
“Ha.”
Lacrahan shook his head.
“Anyway, they’re coming.”
He walked through the ornately decorated south gate, his hands behind his back.
***
Lacrahan led the woman to the library in the southern castle's basement.
Tatiana was eventually caught by Wyatt, who followed her and was unable to enter.
Lacrahan, walking ahead, turned his head slightly and saw a woman walking in the wrong direction.
He slowed his pace and blocked her path, guiding her back.
Although he called it a private library, it was immense in size and scale.
"These are books my family has collected since before the war. There are so many rare books here that others cannot enter."
Her golden eyes slowly moved to Lacrahan's broad back.
He continued, walking ahead.
"I brought you here because I have something to say that would be embarrassing if others overheard."
The man's body was covered in solid muscle, but the hand that stroked his thin hair looked long and delicate.
Lacrahan, who had already reached the center of the library, gazed down at her calmly with his jet-black eyes.
"Let's say you can't speak."
He reached out and touched the book spread open on the stand.
“I don’t think that means you can’t move your fingers.”
The woman stared intently at the book Lacrahan was pointing to and the writing within.
“I have a question for you.”
Now, if she wanted, she could point to the words in the book and give Lacrahan an answer.
“Rain from the warehouse.”
The woman raised her head and met his gaze.
“You did it, didn’t you?”
Instead of answering, she clenched her hands, which were resting at her thighs.
“Let me ask again.”
Lacrahan raised his cold, stern eyes.
“Are you a witch?”
The woman didn’t answer this time, and Lacrahan couldn’t decipher what her golden eyes were saying.
Emperor Gerard, who ruled this continent, called this place where Bercheria had vanished the “land ruled by humans.”
Despite the disappearance of their gods, they had won the war, and despite their absence, they had endured for half a century.
The Emperor, who proclaimed himself a god, was raging as if he would eradicate all magic from this land.
He captured all the witches and imprisoned them in dungeons, and even declared that if the gods returned, he would kill them with his own hands.
Lacrahan took a deep breath.
“Even if you are a witch, I have no intention of informing the empire.”
The woman didn’t answer this time, and Lacrahan couldn’t decipher what her golden eyes were saying.
Emperor Gerard, who ruled this continent, called this place where Bercheria had vanished the “land ruled by humans.”
Despite the disappearance of their gods, they had won the war, and despite their absence, they had endured for half a century.
The Emperor, who proclaimed himself a god, was raging as if he would eradicate all magic from this land.
He captured all the witches and imprisoned them in dungeons, and even declared that if the gods returned, he would kill them with his own hands.
Lacrahan took a deep breath.
“Even if you are a witch, I have no intention of informing the empire.”
He intended to protect them.
He suspected the rain the woman had caused was the power of the divine water.
It was impossible for anyone but a god to make rain fall. But if she possessed the divine water, it was a whole other level. She could make rain fall anytime, anywhere.
“If I could make it rain.”
Lacrahan had questioned this many times.
How far would he be willing to sacrifice his conscience for the sake of the North and its people?
He had to think it over until he was certain.
“Assuming you truly possess the power to make rain, I will grant you anything you wish.”
Lacrahan’s eyes turned coldly to the woman.
“No matter what, no matter how bad it is.”
The expression on the woman's face, which had been completely silent, changed.
Lacrahan left her to read to him.
His eyes, his expression, everything about him let her know he wasn't lying.
"You must have hidden in the warehouse because you had nowhere else to go. You're not a bad person, so you would have protected the children, even at the risk of having your powers exposed."
He expected her to respond, but the woman remained motionless, her hands clasped tightly against her thighs.
"That's why I'm walking. If I can make it rain when I need to, or stop it."
He let out a low sigh.
"Because people won't have to die anymore."
Lacrahan's gaze fell, and the woman's breath caught.
His thick eyelashes lowered, casting shadows across his dry cheeks.
He pressed his fingertips against his eyelids, as if tired.
His deep, calm eyes, unlike his manly, robust frame, sank beneath them.
"Your Highness! We're in trouble! "
A voice shouted from outside the library.
"What's going on?"
When he went out, Wyatt was desperately looking for Lacrahan.
After hearing his story, Lacrahan seemed to have forgotten that he had just been talking to a woman and ran outside without looking back.
He suspected the rain the woman had caused was the power of the divine water.
It was impossible for anyone but a god to make rain fall. But if she possessed the divine water, it was a whole other level. She could make rain fall anytime, anywhere.
“If I could make it rain.”
Lacrahan had questioned this many times.
How far would he be willing to sacrifice his conscience for the sake of the North and its people?
He had to think it over until he was certain.
“Assuming you truly possess the power to make rain, I will grant you anything you wish.”
Lacrahan’s eyes turned coldly to the woman.
“No matter what, no matter how bad it is.”
The expression on the woman's face, which had been completely silent, changed.
Lacrahan left her to read to him.
His eyes, his expression, everything about him let her know he wasn't lying.
"You must have hidden in the warehouse because you had nowhere else to go. You're not a bad person, so you would have protected the children, even at the risk of having your powers exposed."
He expected her to respond, but the woman remained motionless, her hands clasped tightly against her thighs.
"That's why I'm walking. If I can make it rain when I need to, or stop it."
He let out a low sigh.
"Because people won't have to die anymore."
Lacrahan's gaze fell, and the woman's breath caught.
His thick eyelashes lowered, casting shadows across his dry cheeks.
He pressed his fingertips against his eyelids, as if tired.
His deep, calm eyes, unlike his manly, robust frame, sank beneath them.
"Your Highness! We're in trouble! "
A voice shouted from outside the library.
"What's going on?"
When he went out, Wyatt was desperately looking for Lacrahan.
After hearing his story, Lacrahan seemed to have forgotten that he had just been talking to a woman and ran outside without looking back.
***
“I’m fine. I-I’m fine, so if the Grand Duke comes...”
When Lacrahan arrived, Madam Morgan was hanging from a tree.
The branches bent toward the river looked precarious, as if they would break at any moment.
“Ha.”
A fairly deep and wide river flowed on the western outskirts of Lacrahan’s castle, but due to the prolonged drought, it was treated as little more than a small stream.
However, the recent rains had raised the water level to its highest point.
“Your Highness!”
Madam Morgan, who was hanging from the tree, recognized Lacrahan and waved.
Lacrahan took a deep breath and approached the tree.
“Are you going to keep causing trouble like this?”
Madam Morgan smiled brightly, even though she was clinging to the branch, sweat dripping down her face.
She seemed to finally feel relieved with Lacrahan’s arrival.
“A kitten is hanging here. What can I do? I can’t just let it drown in the river.”
Lacrahan took off his cloak, handed it to Wyatt, and kicked off his shoes.
“Don’t you think Lady Morgan might fall into the river because of a cat?”
“I’m sorry to ask you when you’re busy. Why isn’t there a single human in this North that can go into the water?”
Seeing Lacrahan even take off his shoes, Madam Morgan felt a sense of relief. She pretended not to notice, but her body was nearing its limit and she was on the verge of falling.
“Thank you.”
Madam Morgan relaxed her body and reached out to Lacrahan, who had come closer.
And at that moment...
Kwakwakwang.
A boulder surged from the upper reaches of the river, rapidly increasing the current.
“Huh?”
While everyone was looking in that direction, the tree Madam Morgan was hanging from broke.
Madam Morgan, who had grazed Lacrahan’s fingertips by a fraction of a second, plunged into the river.
“Madam Morgan!”
Wyatt, who was right behind him, pulled back Lacrahan's body as he tried to lunge forward.
"No!"
"...!"
When Lacrahan raised his head and looked at the river, Madam Morgan had already been swept away by the rough current.
"..."
Again.
The helplessness of losing someone he loved overwhelmed him. He felt his blood draining away.
The landscape before Lacrahan's eyes distorted, the sky and the air shifted.
Shouts and the sound of shells echoed everywhere.
The three-year war between three continents had inflicted a trauma worse than hell on everyone.
He shuddered at the pain of losing family and comrades several times a day.
"No,"
Lacrahan said through gritted teeth.
Every death on this land was his responsibility.
It was a pain he had to bear entirely.
"Huh? Look over there!"
The people stamping their feet in despair pointed down the river.
There, someone was swimming out of the river, carrying the unconscious Madam Morgan.
"She's saving Madam Morgan!"
"She's alive! She's alive!"
***
Lacrahan ran down the river.
The sound of the water rushing beside him was frighteningly loud.
For two days, from the warehouse fire until the woman woke up, the rain had been so heavy it felt like a hole had been ripped through the sky. The current was so fierce that no ordinary person would dare venture into it.
“Who is it? Who the hell jumped into the river and saved Madam Morgan!”
Someone shouted, running after Lacrahan.
“Who in the North knows how to swim? Not in the entire Empire, right?”
Surrounded entirely by continents, it was extremely rare to find someone who could swim.
He's heard stories of people who could, sometimes near large rivers, but even those who could swim were considered rare due to the rough currents.
Lacrahan had learned to swim in the war, to get deeper into enemy territory. He was the only one in the North who could swim because he was the only one who survived the long war.
“Madam Morgan!”
Soon, Madam Morgan was seen sprawled on the ground.
“Damn it.”
Wyatt, who was behind him, cursed and ran to press on Madam Morgan's chest.
He repeatedly blew air into her mouth and compressed her chest until,
"Cough! Cough!"
Water gushed out of Madam Morgan's mouth, and she soon found her breathing tubes empty.
The crowd cheered and rejoiced.
Lacrahan, confirming that Madam Morgan was alive, let out a short breath and looked around.
The drowning person was here, but her rescuer was nowhere to be seen.
"Grand Duke! Where are you going?"
Lacrahan turned and walked toward the castle, ignoring Wyatt's call.
He saw small footprints in the castle, now empty from the commotion just moments ago. Following the trail of footsteps, which were still fading away, he saw the library where he had parted ways with the woman moments before.
"Ha."
Lacrahan widened his stride.
With each movement of his long legs, the scenery within came into view.
"..."
The woman stood where he had first stood, drenched from the inside, staring down at the book on the stand.
Lacrahan deliberately made footsteps as he approached her.
Step, step.
Golden eyes slowly turned and touched him.
The woman turned her head toward the reading stand as if she had expected him.
Her fingers rested on the thickly spread book.
Lacrahan's gaze followed where her white fingertips moved.
Ber. Che. Ri... A.
“...Bercheria?”
She pointed to the name of the goddess who had abandoned the North.
Lacrahan raised his head, his brow furrowed, and looked at the woman.
She was looking at him with a blank expression.
“Bercheria. That’s my name.”
A clear, pure voice rang out.
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