VBOM CH 62

Chapter 62

As I stared at the building crackling and burning in front of me, I barely managed to speak.

“Co… Coa, what do we do…”

“There’s a good chance he already made it out. Let’s look around together.”

“R-Really?”

That gave me a glimmer of hope. I grabbed Coa’s outstretched hand, trying to stand—but suddenly, a strong force lifted me up all at once.

When I turned my head, my eyes met with bright blue ones.

“Raymond!”

“Eilene. It’s dangerous to stand so close to a burning building.”

Once he had helped me fully up, we stood face to face.

“You’re safe!”

“Of course. What’s with that look—like you just saw someone come back from the dead?”

Raymond joked, smiling. His face was just a bit smudged with soot, but he didn’t seem hurt at all.

At that moment, my nose tingled. My heart had fallen into a pit of despair, and now it was soaring again.

“I thought something happened to you. I was so scared—waaah!”

I burst into tears and buried my face in his chest, pointing at the burning hideout.

Raymond staggered a bit from my sudden hug but then wrapped his arms around my shoulders.

“You must’ve been really scared, Eilene.”
“I was. So scared. Uwaaah…”

I cried like a child, soaking his shirt with my tears. But Raymond didn’t seem annoyed—he just patted my shoulder and comforted me until I calmed down.

“Feeling better now?”

“Yeah… sniff.”

As my tears faded, Raymond gently lifted my chin to check my face.

“You look okay now. Let’s go—we’ve got a lot to do.”
“Okay…”

He was right. The village needed help immediately, so I wiped my tears and got moving.

At the center of the village, people had formed a long line from the well to the burning buildings.

Someone would draw water in a bucket, then pass it down the line to the next person, and so on, until it was thrown on the flames.

It wasn’t the most efficient method, but it was the best they could do until backup arrived. At least it could stop the fire from spreading further.

Raymond and I joined in, working alongside the others.

After a while, we heard cheering from the far end of the village. Then the sound of gushing water.

Help had arrived.

Footsteps approached. Six robed mages had come.

They gathered in front of the burning buildings, raised their hands, and muttered incantations.

Suddenly, water came pouring down from the clear sky like a waterfall, soaking the buildings.

The raging flames disappeared, leaving only charred remains behind.

“Wow! It worked!”
“Thank you so much!”

The crowd cheered loudly.

In a world without fire trucks or hoses, fire was a terrifying thing—especially when the buildings were all made of wood. Once flames started, they were almost impossible to stop.

But the hardest part wasn’t putting out the fire—it was getting help from mages.

Mages rarely worked with commoners. They only responded to requests from nobles or royalty.

As expected, it was Raymond who had called them.

Evan approached with the mages and spoke.

“Your Grace.”

The mages all bowed to Raymond in unison.

Everyone nearby turned to stare.

“W-What? Did they just call him Your Grace the Grand Duke?”
“Is that true?”

The people were stunned. The heroes who just saved their village were bowing to him. That friendly young man from their village was actually a high-ranking noble—royalty, even.

“You arrived just in time. Well done.”

“O-Of course, we were happy to help…”

The mages were clearly flustered by Raymond’s warm and polite tone.

As soon as they walked away, I overheard their whispers.

“Was that really the terrifying Grand Duke?”
“Right? I was shocked he actually thanked us!”

Wait—Raymond’s not always kind?

Come to think of it, in the original novel, he was a powerful villain with tons of charisma. I had gotten so used to seeing the softer side of him, I had forgotten that version entirely.

After two hours of hard work, the fire was finally put out, and the village slowly returned to a calm state.

But there were still people who were injured.

Most only had minor burns and cuts, but some were in worse condition. Even with the local doctors doing what they could, there was a limit.

“Because of the Emperor’s interference, we can’t get any priests or healers,” Evan reported with a grim face.

In this world, healing mages were far rarer than regular ones. Most belonged to temples, which were strictly controlled by the imperial family. Only a handful of freelance healers existed—and they were nearly impossible to find.

That’s when I knew.

It was my turn to step in.

I looked around for someone.

“Where’s Melas?”

“I’m right here, my lady.”

Melas had heard me and came over.

He seemed to already know what I was planning. We exchanged glances—no words needed.

“Raymond, I’ll be back in a bit.”

I took Melas’s arm and followed him.

Oddly, my back felt hot—like something was burning.

When I turned around, I saw Raymond smiling and waving at me.

Melas took me to a hidden well.

There, I used a bunch of empty bottles he had brought to make healing potions.

He watched with fascination.

“Wow… I had no idea it worked like this.”

I felt a little embarrassed, but he kept complimenting me so much I powered through.

In the end, I made about 30 potions.

“Distribute these to the people.”
“Huh? What are these?”
“Potions.”
“W-Wow! How do you have so many?!”

Melas took them and had the soldiers hand them out to the villagers.

Instantly, the Grand Duke’s group became the village heroes.

When they sprayed potion on someone with severe burns, the skin immediately healed like a newborn’s.

“A… A miracle!”
“Thank you. Thank you so much!”

The whole village turned into a sea of grateful tears.

Some had lost their homes, but as long as they were healthy, they could rebuild.

Hearing their cheers made me feel warm and proud.

But a little worry also crept in.

What would I tell Raymond?

He had seen everything, yet said nothing about the potions. I was grateful he hadn’t asked—but his silence made me even more nervous.

“Eilene. Shall we go?”

Once things settled down, Raymond gently took my hand.

Since the old hideout had burned down, we had to move to another.

Not far away, there was a similar building—a tavern with small rooms upstairs.

We entered one of the rooms. It only had a mini table and a two-seater sofa, so we sat side by side.

“You did great today. It’s all thanks to you. The village is safe now.”

“No, it’s thanks to you. You brought the mages and stopped the fire.”

“Nope. It was your healing ability.”

The moment he said that, my eyes widened.

He had said it with certainty—his gaze never wavering.

“H-How did you know? Did Melas tell you?”

I had nowhere to hide, so I asked honestly, my voice trembling.

“So… Melas knew too?”

Judging by his reaction, Melas wasn’t the one who told him. Then… how?

Suddenly, something clicked.

“Wait… Did you wake up during the healing? When I was treating you?”

“Treating me? How exactly did you do that?”

“Well… it was… um…”

I was trapped. It felt like I had dug my own grave.

There was no other way he could’ve figured it out—so it must’ve been that.

But why was I the one being questioned?

Still, I had a card to play.

What I did wasn’t romantic—it was medical treatment.

“CPR?”
“So… a kiss, then.”

Raymond cut right to the point.

No! It wasn’t a kiss—it was CPR!

Okay, yes… maybe my tongue accidentally brushed his a bit…

“So Eilene healed me… with those lips.”
“Ah…”

Then I remembered something: the awkward way we had parted after his surprise kiss last time.

That memory came rushing back, and my face heated up instantly.

And then, to make things worse, Raymond pulled me into his arms—making both my cheeks even redder.

“After I woke up, I kept thinking about how soft that felt. I nearly lost my mind.”
“Ahh…”

“So just stay like this. I still need some healing, you know.”

He gently held the back of my head, aiming for my lips again.

The soft touch made my vision blur for a moment. He didn’t plan to stop, either—his kiss was slow, deep, and persistent. He kept pulling me in closer, not letting go.

It was so intense, I couldn’t even breathe. As my breath hitched, he finally pulled back.