Chapter 51
“May I ask where you were and what you were doing from the moment you left me until you arrived here? Who were you with? Did you consume any food or drink?”
Elion frowned, displeased by Omar’s continued questioning.
He did not like that he had to reveal his every move to this quack of a doctor.
“Your Highness, please…”
Hailey called to him in a worried tone.
He wasn’t happy about it, but he had no choice.
Elion knew well that his health wasn’t a matter that affected only his own fate.
His health was connected to the fate of many people.
It was connected to the elite knights under Fred, the staff employed at the Grand Ducal residence under Hailey—
‘And now… even to Rubiana.’
Elion let out a shallow sigh and finally spoke.
“I went to the Temple of the Vassals. To visit the Saintess.”
“What did you consume there? Did you perhaps take any medicine—”
“No. I only drank tea.”
“It is possible… that the tea contained something. A substance that destabilizes your mana.”
“What?”
Elion’s face twisted.
Was this quack physician trying to slander Florencia?
Florencia, the Empire’s only saintess and his longtime friend, would never put strange drugs in his tea.
This doctor not only had poor skills, but an unpleasantly vivid imagination.
Everything that came out of Omar’s mouth annoyed and disgusted him.
‘Ah… come to think of it…’
At that moment, the scene of Florencia offering him tea resurfaced clearly.
‘I’m sorry. I have to leave now.’
‘Ah… it’s a shame, but I understand.’
‘Take care of yourself, let’s meet again soon.’
‘All right. But the tea…’
If she hadn’t mentioned the half-finished tea, he would have forgotten all courtesy and simply left.
But Florencia had intentionally brought it up as he was hurrying away.
It had seemed insignificant then, but after Omar pointed it out, the scene felt suspicious.
‘No way… is he right? Did Florencia really give me something that destabilizes mana? Why would she? No… impossible.’
Elion shook his head firmly.
“The Saintess would never do such a thing.”
“How far do you trust humans, Your Highness?”
The abrupt question caught Elion off guard.
Elion, fundamentally, did not trust people.
When he didn’t answer, Omar continued on his own.
“I believe… humans are beings capable of discarding moral standards altogether if it means achieving their desires.”
“……”
“Do not discard doubt, Your Highness. You should be especially cautious about anything you eat or drink outside your residence.”
With that final remark, Omar left the estate with Hailey’s assistance.
Left alone, Elion sat beside the still-unconscious Rubiana and held her hand.
His mind was tangled with thoughts about Florencia.
A saintess was a holy being who wielded divine power to heal the sick.
Such a saintess would never feed someone a drug meant to harm.
And he wasn’t “someone.” They had known each other since childhood.
Florencia would never harm him—yet the seed of doubt Omar had planted refused to disappear.
He exhaled deeply, but the stuffiness in his chest didn’t ease.
He raised his head to look at Rubiana’s sleeping face.
Her pale face tugged painfully at his heart.
Suddenly, he found himself wanting to see her eyes again.
He wanted her to open them and look at him with those bright, sparkling irises.
At that moment—
“Ugh… aaah!”
Another wave of groans began.
Without hesitation, Elion pressed his lips to hers.
As their membranes touched, his mana flowed into her, and the groaning mercifully stopped.
“Y–Your Highness?”
Rubiana finally opened her eyes.
Her unusual red irises looked up at him.
‘At last!’
Elion was so relieved and overjoyed he nearly embraced her on impulse.
Only at the last second did reason stop him from behaving disgracefully.
“Why… why is Your Highness here…?”
Rubiana asked, confused.
“Stephanie found you collapsed by the lakeside. I ran here as soon as I heard. Omar came too.”
“Ah…”
Elion relayed Omar’s explanation—
That the drastic difference between yesterday’s and today’s mana intake could have strained her body, or that stress could have destabilized her mana.
Rubiana nodded calmly, seeming to understand.
“Shall I summon your personal physician? Are you uncomfortable anywhere?”
“No. I’m fine. Just…”
Rubiana hesitated, her lips trembling slightly.
Elion waited patiently for her to continue.
“…Could you… keep doing what you were doing earlier?”
At her shy request, Elion let out a quiet laugh.
It was the very first thing he had begged her for when he had awakened after collapsing—the mana-draining sensation had been so refreshing that he was wistful the instant it stopped.
He figured Rubiana felt the same way now.
Without bothering to answer, he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers again.
Rubiana, who had only just regained consciousness, and Elion, whose mana had been tampered with by someone’s scheme—
Naturally, their kiss deepened and lingered.
The fierce, breath-stealing kiss continued until their searing thirst was finally quenched.
They lay side by side on the bed, breathing roughly, and then—both burst into laughter at the same time.
Once, even holding hands had felt awkward and embarrassing.
But now exchanging mana through a kiss felt as natural as drinking water.
It was embarrassing—and funny—so they couldn’t help but laugh.
When the laughter subsided, Elion’s gentle voice came.
“How about… we go on a recuperation trip together?”
“A trip?”
“For a week. And while we’re there… just for that one week… we exchange mana like we did yesterday.”
“……”
Both their faces flushed red.
“If we call it a therapeutic retreat, no one will suspect anything. What do you think?”
“…You said you didn’t want to. That there had to be boundaries. You don’t need to push yourself.”
Rubiana couldn’t meet his eyes.
She was happy he had changed his mind.
But since his earlier refusal made perfect sense, his sudden reversal confused her.
“But I also cannot lose you. You’re indispensable to me. All we can do is try this for a week and hope your health fully recovers.”
“……”
“So? What do you think?”
“…All right.”
She finally nodded, her face red like a ripe apple.
Her heart thudded hotly.
She was happy he valued her opinion.
Excited at the thought of traveling with him.
And embarrassed—and nervous—when imagining the nights they would spend together.
Her chest bubbled with warmth.
‘Oh no… I must be crazy! What do I do!’
Her rising heartbeat felt dangerous.
Her trembling fingertips felt dangerous.
The wild pounding in her chest—thump, thump, thump—felt truly dangerous.
Afraid he would somehow hear it, Rubiana held her breath and sealed her lips shut.
“Oh, and… about how we address each other.”
Had his deep voice ever sounded so sweet?
Her heart, already chaotic, was now matched by her buzzing ears.
Forcing herself to push aside her wild thoughts, she focused on his words.
“Since our engagement is supposed to mean we’re close, we should probably use more familiar terms of address. And now that we’re going on a trip alone together…”
