Chapter 51
Since I had slept for five days straight, the dates had flown by. Let’s see… 7, 8, 9…
Heh, uhuhuhuhu.
I let out a meaningful laugh to myself and then lifted my head to look at Rixion Luhanes.
He was watching me with concern, as if I had suddenly gone mad.
Oh, our parents and Michael hyung also used to look at me like that all the time.
“No, it’s fine. It’s okay.”
I waved my hand cheerfully.
“You’ll lose interest in me soon anyway, so whatever.”
“Me… lose interest in you, Liz?”
He asked with a smile on his face, after I had casually mentioned it.
I furrowed my brows at the way he looked at me, as if he couldn’t understand.
“I told you not to call me Liz!”
I tried to wag my finger at him like before but lost my balance and staggered for a moment.
Rixion Luhanes didn’t panic at all; he simply grabbed my hand and closed the distance between us naturally.
“Liz… what do you mean by that? That I’ll lose interest in you soon?”
Then, in a gentle voice as if soothing a child, he asked.
Annoyed by his somewhat patronizing attitude, I replied sulkily.
“I literally mean that you’ll have no more interest in me. What else could it be?”
“…….”
Even after I repeated it, Rixion Luhanes still looked completely confused.
I decided to say what I wanted regardless.
“Still, I’ll let it slide because I’m generous!”
Ahem! I said proudly, puffing up as if I were bestowing a great favor.
“Play with me all you want, but then put me back in my place!”
I was really being generous, but Rixion Luhanes didn’t react much.
Feeling slightly offended, I thought, “Should I just take it back?” When I considered it, he smiled at me warmly, as usual, and said,
“I want to keep you with me. Can’t I?”
“No.”
I shook my head firmly, as if to say that his words made no sense.
“Why not?”
“Why what? If it’s not allowed, it’s not allowed!”
“Do you hate me that much?”
His tone was still gentle, but there was a hint of hurt in his voice. His blue eyes met mine with a bitter smile.
Of course, I wanted to say, I hate you! But somehow, I was at a loss for words.
It didn’t feel right to say I hated him, yet I didn’t want to admit I didn’t hate him either.
While I hesitated, the man’s eyes softened, and he spoke gently, again in a childlike, coaxing manner.
“If you stay by my side, I’ll give you anything you want in return.”
The words “anything” made me perk up without even realizing it.
“Anything?”
“Anything.”
“Even the head chef from your family?”
“…….”
I asked seriously, and Rixion suddenly dropped his head and laughed.
I’d seen him smirk sarcastically before, but I had never seen him laugh this hard.
Startled, I blinked, and when he finally raised his head again, he smiled like he was extremely pleased and muttered,
“Oh… I didn’t know… hearing it from you actually sounds really nice.”
I frowned at him. That wasn’t the important part.
“I asked if you’d give me the head chef.”
“…….”
Rixion seemed like he was about to burst into laughter again, quickly turning his head and biting his lip.
He took a deep breath and then returned to his usual composed expression, nodding.
“Yes, I’ll give you anything—the head chef or whatever. So… will you stay by my side?”
I felt dizzy, unable to enjoy the thought of recruiting the Luhanes household’s head chef for my own family.
‘Ah… my head’s spinning.’
Sleepiness hit me, my vision blurred, and my stomach felt a bit off.
At that point, I barely remembered who was in front of me or what I was doing.
“Liz, are you okay?”
Rixion Luhanes’s worried voice snapped me back to reality, reminding me that I had just been talking to him.
“I’m totally fine!”
Right now, I was full of confidence, feeling like I could even fight a dragon barehanded.
To prove I was okay, I pushed his hand away and stood up on my own, but I immediately wobbled. Rixion’s hand caught me, preventing me from falling.
Naturally, I ended up half leaning on him. I looked sleepily at the broad chest in front of me.
Then, a thought came to me, and I asked,
“Are you okay now?”
“…Huh?”
At his confused gaze, I explained, as if I had to.
“You were hurt. I tried to fix you, but then I suddenly got sleepy and couldn’t finish.”
“Liz… can you explain what you mean in detail?”
“I… fixed you.”
I puffed up my chest again. Ahem!
Yes, yes. I had saved Rixion Luhanes when he was nearly dying.
Of course, it was mostly my fault he was near death in the first place. But still, I saved him. That means he should treat me well.
No treating me like a toy and laughing at me!
Yet, Rixion didn’t look convinced at all. He just stared at me with a serious expression, without even saying thanks.
I felt offended. I wasn’t lying. I really had fixed him.
“Look, like this…”
To prove my words, I placed my right hand over his left chest.
I pondered for a moment. I should say some grand magical spell here. What should I say?
In the name of love and justice… no, not that. Liz’s million volts… also no. Darker than twilight… hmm, not that either.
Finally, I improvised a spell that came to mind.
“Heal, sesame!”
Thinking back, it was probably the lamest spell ever, but it worked.
A massive ball of light shot from my hand into his heart.
Whoosh! The light that had engulfed the entire dining room quickly disappeared, as if it had completed its mission.
I opened my nearly-closed eyes and looked at Rixion Luhanes.
See? I told you I was amazing, right? I’m really incredible, right? I looked at him proudly—but suddenly felt something dripping from my nose.
At the same time, Rixion’s eyes froze in shock.
Ah, damn. Right at this moment… snot?
I awkwardly wiped under my nose with my hand. But then—
“Huh? It’s bleeding.”
What I thought was snot wasn’t. Blood had stained the back of my hand. I was shocked for a moment, then sleepiness hit me harder than ever.
“Liz!”
Just as I was about to collapse like a doll with its strings cut, a large hand grabbed me, preventing me from falling.
I muttered as my consciousness faded,
“Ah… I forgot…”
I had even forgotten who was in front of me.
“But… this… is a secret from that guy…”
“…That guy?”
Just before completely losing consciousness, I frowned at the question and muttered,
“Of course… that guy…”
Even though I was extremely sleepy, I managed to reply before falling completely asleep.
“Rixion… Luhanes.”
I wasn’t even sure if I had said it properly.
“I finally managed to get a message from the white rat.”
The candle flickered as the man quietly relayed the information.
In the darkened room, the lone candle was the only source of light.
Even that was too weak to illuminate the entire room, barely enough to see the shadow of the person standing in front of him.
“Surveillance has intensified, so it seems it will be difficult to contact them for the time being, and this may be the last message.”
Half-hidden in the shadows, the man spoke respectfully while watching the person in front of him.
Unable to read his expression due to the darkness, I felt uneasy. He wiped sweat from his brow with a handkerchief and continued.
“As you said, it seems likely that the story of Duke Luhanes collapsing was a trap. The mage visited only once. No members of the council or clergy came by, and he appeared perfectly fine two days later.”
“So they deliberately pretended he collapsed, increased the guards, and even called my sister to stage a play?”
It was the first voice I heard since entering this space.
The man carefully raised his eyes from the ground.
The person standing before him was the ruler of the Holy Empire of Astel, Pope Abelius, the representative of God.
