Chapter 41
‘At that time, I gave Aaron a vague explanation, but he didn’t seem to believe me.’
The strong effects of the medicine had clouded her judgment.
And by the time the drowsiness fully wore off, she never had a proper chance to talk to Aaron again, even after organizing what she wanted to explain in her head.
He had only dropped by briefly when he heard of Dalia’s kidnapping, having brought his schedule forward, but since he was busy with work, the moment he confirmed she had regained consciousness, he left for the capital.
‘I guess I’ll have to wait until after the move to talk.’
“Are you awake?”
Dalia’s complicated feelings softened slightly when she saw Khalid opening his eyes and smiling at her.
There was no sign on his face that anything had gone wrong.
‘If it were the loyal Aaron, he would have hurriedly reported this to Khalid. Maybe he’s just putting it off for now.’
Perhaps he had been informed but didn’t care, but either way, Khalid had been focusing entirely on her health without showing a hint of emotion.
Even though the sudden kidnapping would have left him curious about many things, he didn’t ask a single question about the situation or her past. He only said to rest first and talk afterward.
‘But there’s no need to wait, right?’
The urge to confess everything and finally feel relieved welled up inside her.
“…….”
But Dalia swallowed it.
‘First, I should clear up the misunderstanding with Aaron.’
“Why don’t you sleep a bit more?”
Khalid, sitting up on the bed, held Dalia’s hand under the blanket and gently tugged her.
Dalia’s heart softened at the loving gesture, but she shook her head with a smile.
“I’ve slept plenty. If I sleep more, I’ll hibernate through the winter.”
He groaned softly and pulled her into an embrace. Dalia stayed quiet and leaned against him as she spoke.
“More importantly, I want to help with the tasks outside. When it comes to organizing or sorting, I might even be better than Roy.”
The mansion had been bustling for the past few days with moving supplies, but Roy and Khalid had prevented Dalia from lifting even a finger.
“Well… the important things are already done. I’ll leave the rest to the workers.”
“Then I can at least help with your current tasks. You said it’s to suppress monster activity, right? Aaron’s gone, so you’re doing it all alone.”
“That’s fine too. You don’t need to help.”
The refusal came bluntly.
“…….”
Khalid rejected her offer outright, without even a hint of consideration. When Dalia gave him a silent, disappointed look, he finally relented a little.
“……Since the organization of the important items is finished, we can sort out the rest together once we arrive in the capital.”
Dalia understood that this was already a significant concession and agreed.
“All right.”
Fortunately, Khalid and Roy only refused her offer to help them—they didn’t prevent her from doing things she genuinely wanted to do for her own benefit.
‘Still… they won’t even let me touch anything like moving the supplies, worried I might get hurt…’
“Then I’ll just go to the nearby village for a bit.”
“Huh? …Do you really have to go?”
As soon as the words left her mouth, Dalia gently brushed Khalid’s worried face with her fingertips.
“I want to visit the temple.”
The temple of Tempus, the god of time, who had revived her and given her the watch.
She had been planning to visit it whenever she got the chance.
She thought she might find some clue there. Once she adjusted to this place a bit, she had wanted to check immediately, but there was none in Ahmad.
So she had decided she would look for it in the capital. Yesterday, while looking at a map in the library, she noticed there was a small temple dedicated to Tempus not far from here.
“After all that chaos, things should settle down for a while.”
She said this to reassure him, but Khalid’s face darkened further as he recalled her kidnapping.
‘Seriously…’
It was frustrating that he acted as if she might die from even the slightest prick.
But on the other hand, given the kidnapping, it was understandable that his worry was overblown.
“Then maybe I’ll just take a walk.”
“Shall I come with you?”
Dalia paused as she was about to nod.
Since Aaron left, Khalid had been handling the tasks they usually did together, and lately, he rarely left his office.
“You’re busy.”
“I can spare a little time.”
“No, I’ll go with Roy.”
At that, Khalid made a fleetingly strange expression, then seemingly recalling Roy’s recent gloomy demeanor, he said simply, “All right.”
‘I wonder why Khalid’s really so busy.’
She had heard some vague explanations involving monsters and magic, but as a human, many parts didn’t quite make sense.
His main task was to prevent monsters from escaping through the “gaps” in closed doors and massacring humans, and then seal those gaps.
Most of the time, he would predict and seal the gaps before the monsters noticed them.
‘If your job is to prevent monsters from attacking humans, shouldn’t everyone worship you?’
She had once asked him that. While Aaron fumed, exclaiming, Khalid had responded nonchalantly.
He said it was better for humans to think there’s just one eccentric monster hidden away than to realize that someone is constantly holding back a threat that could annihilate them at any moment.
‘Still…’
That was just the human perspective. It wasn’t beneficial for him in any way.
Looking back, it was absurd that he received so much criticism, but at the time, she accepted it because Khalid had apparently made an agreement with the Esteir royal family.
Yet no matter how she thought about it, he wasn’t just a dragon—he was a divine beast—and yet treated like a dangerous monster.
‘I need to talk to him properly about this sometime soon.’
Dalia approached the railing of the stairs to overlook the central hall.
The staircase elegantly curved down on both sides, allowing a clear view from the upper floor where she stood to the entrance far below.
“Dalia!”
Roy, who was below, spotted her and ran over.
“You don’t have to run so fast, Roy.”
“It’s dangerous… Never mind. I can catch you now, so even if you fall from the railing, it’s okay.”
“What? I’m not going to jump from here.”
Dalia laughed at Roy’s words, which seemed to assume she would.
Even seeing her smile, Roy remained completely serious.
‘It wasn’t a joke. I guess Khalid isn’t the only one overprotective of me…’
This was overprotection to an extreme degree.
“You won’t be acting like a mother hen there too, right?”
“We’ll have to be more careful there. In the capital, there will be more contact with outsiders.”
“That’s not necessary… I’d rather just escape if needed.”
Dalia grimaced at Roy’s blunt response.
“Don’t say that. If we’re going for a walk, I’m coming too.”
“…All right. I was just about to ask you to come along anyway.”
Roy’s face visibly brightened at her words.
Dalia recalled her kidnapping.
After regaining consciousness in the mansion, she had fortunately no major injuries, but her body was bruised all over, making it hard for her to get out of bed. Seeing her struggle, Roy had blamed himself and cried bitterly.
Dalia didn’t want to see him cry like that again, so she nodded in resignation.
‘Yeah. It’s better to be overprotected than to leave this child constantly worried.’
“So, you know… I told that gray-haired man—Dalia, are you listening?”
“Huh? Sorry. Where was I?”
Dalia laughed apologetically as she strolled with Roy in the garden. Moving around might help her feel better, but suppressed memories kept surfacing.
Sensing her discomfort, Roy suddenly spoke.
“Don’t worry about Aaron. If it weren’t for Dalia, it wouldn’t matter.”
“Huh?”
“You mean about when you woke up. Aaron was just flustered. He knows you’re not that kind of person. But he has that personality, so don’t stress over it.”
Roy’s side profile as he gave advice looked surprisingly mature.
Dalia nodded slowly.
‘Right, I’m not really a married woman yet.’
The unresolved misunderstanding was unsettling, but she hadn’t lied.
‘By the way, Roy wasn’t clueless—he just wasn’t paying attention.’
Dalia looked at him anew with that thought.
“But… was it that obvious I was worried?”
“Not really… I just have quick instincts!”
Dalia laughed as she patted Roy’s hair. Apparently, he had been worried even while saying that.
When she first met him, he spoke bluntly without any filter, but now he could read the mood well.
“Thanks. I’ll cheer up.”
She wasn’t sure about Aaron, but Khalid seemed to even know about her watch. He had even blocked her from explaining, as if saying it wasn’t necessary.
‘But he might have guessed I came back from my previous life… If I explain calmly, he’ll probably accept it.’
