Chapter 14
“You’re right. That makes sense.”
Without hesitation, Richard took Aileen’s hands.
As always, Aileen closed her eyes and focused. One by one, glowing purple crystals began to form between their palms.
Before the stones could hit the floor, Richard quickly caught them and set them neatly on the table.
Unlike before, Aileen said nothing this time — she was entirely focused on creating the magic stones.
She’s pushing herself too hard, Richard thought.
As time passed, beads of sweat began to form on her forehead. Richard debated whether he should stop her, but before he could say anything, Aileen opened her eyes.
The table was full of glittering stones. Richard expected her to look pleased — but instead, she counted them carefully and frowned slightly.
“Thirty-one…”
“This is a decent amount,” Richard said calmly.
When he tried to let go of her hands, Aileen grabbed them again. The sudden action startled him.
Her violet eyes were intense as she said,
“Just a little more. Please, let’s make a few more.”
“It’s not good to overdo it.”
“I’m not overdoing it. I used to make fifty a day regularly.”
Richard hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
He didn’t like seeing her push herself, but from a contractual point of view, it didn’t hurt him to let her continue.
Aileen held his hands tightly again and focused once more.
As the pile of stones grew, her brow furrowed deeper. Richard, sitting across from her, could see her complexion getting paler by the minute.
Finally, when she opened her eyes again, her face was full of exhaustion — but as soon as she saw the completed stones, her tired expression disappeared.
“I think we made a lot today.”
“We did,” Richard replied. “Fifty-four in total.”
“It was worth the effort, then.”
She smiled faintly and divided the stones evenly, taking her share. Then she stood up and said,
“I’ll head back now. Adrian must be waiting.”
“Go ahead.”
“See you tomorrow, Richard.”
She had just taken a step when the room began to spin.
“Huh?”
“Aileen!”
Richard jumped up and caught her before she could fall. If he hadn’t, she would have collapsed on the spot.
Holding her arm for support, he asked,
“Are you alright?”
“I’m fine. I think I just pushed myself a little too much.”
Even though she had almost fainted, Aileen laughed it off lightly.
Richard frowned slightly and sighed.
“I’ll walk you to your brother’s room.”
“There’s no need—”
“I can’t let you fall again.”
“I said I’m fine.”
“I’m the one who’s not fine with it,” he said bluntly.
Aileen blinked, caught off guard by his tone. Richard added quietly,
“…Just do as I say.”
“Alright…”
And so, Aileen let Richard escort her to Adrian’s room.
When they reached the door, she turned and smiled softly.
“You should go rest too, Richard. You must be tired.”
“The only one who looks tired right now is you,” he said.
“I’m fine, really. I can make more tomorrow. So don’t worry about me.”
Worry.
That word made Richard pause. It felt oddly foreign — like something he had never done before.
Aileen waved and disappeared into the room.
Click.
The door closed, but Richard didn’t move. He stood there silently, staring at where she’d gone.
He had never truly worried about anyone before. Not even for his family.
He thought today would be no different.
But… why did she keep coming to mind?
Richard looked down at the small pouch in his hand. The purple stones inside glimmered softly.
He should’ve been satisfied — the goal was achieved, the contract upheld. Yet, the more he looked at the stones, the heavier his chest felt.
After a long moment, he tightened the pouch string and finally walked back to his room.
❧ ❧ ❧
The next morning, as promised, Richard had breakfast with the Walker siblings.
Adrian grumbled the whole time but didn’t skip the meal — he didn’t want to leave Richard and Aileen alone together.
After breakfast, under Adrian’s watchful eyes, Richard stood to return to his study.
“Richard!”
He stopped.
When he turned, Aileen was already standing in front of him.
Her hesitant look said she wanted something, so he waited silently.
“Do you have a little time right now?” she asked.
“For a short while, yes. What is it?”
“I was hoping we could make some magic stones together.”
Richard blinked, surprised.
“Can’t we do that tonight?”
“Of course, we’ll do it tonight too. But I want to make some now as well.”
“But your mana—” he started, frowning.
Aileen straightened her shoulders. “I took a nap, and I feel perfectly fine now.”
Richard studied her carefully.
It was true — she looked better than last night, less pale and steadier on her feet.
Checking the time briefly, he nodded. “Alright then.”
They went into a nearby room and began their work.
After producing about thirty stones, Aileen stopped and, as usual, gave him exactly half before leaving.
That evening, they made even more.
It happened to be the night they shared a room, so they spent extra time together.
By the end, they had created twenty-six more stones before Aileen finally fell asleep — this time deeply and peacefully.
And the next day—
“Richard, do you have a moment?”
And the day after that—
“Richard!”
And the day after that again—
“Richard, let’s make more magic stones.”
After several days of this, Richard finally noticed something strange.
Was mana supposed to recover this fast?
From what he remembered, Aileen had once said her daily limit was fifty stones at most.
But in just a few days, she had produced over 250.
And worse—
“Sis, try this! It’s really good!” Adrian said brightly.
Aileen didn’t respond right away. She just sat there, staring blankly with her fork halfway to her mouth.
“Sis?”
Startled, she blinked and smiled awkwardly. “Ah, right. Thank you.”
“Are you okay?” Adrian asked, worried.
And no wonder — lately, Aileen had looked terribly tired. Sometimes she’d nod off mid-conversation or stare into space for minutes at a time.
But as always, she simply smiled and brushed it off.
“I’m fine, just got distracted for a second.”
Adrian still looked uneasy. Richard watched the two quietly, his expression unreadable.
That night, Aileen went to give Adrian his goodnight kiss before heading to her shared bedroom with Richard.
By the time she knocked on the door, Richard was already inside, changing his clothes.
“Richard, it’s me.”
“Come in,” he said.
When Aileen entered, Richard couldn’t help but notice — she looked even thinner than before. Her delicate face seemed paler too.
As his gaze lingered, Aileen self-consciously touched her cheek.
“Is there something on my face?”
“…No. Nothing,” he said shortly.
Richard moved toward the bed, and Aileen followed curiously.
“Wait, Richard.”
He turned. “What is it?”
She extended her hands toward him. The meaning was obvious.
“Let’s make more stones.”
Richard frowned slightly — a rare expression from him. Startled by the change in his face, Aileen froze.
“Richard?”
“Magic stones,” he said slowly. “You mean right now?”
“Of course. It’s what we always do.”
Her lips were dry, and her skin was pale — anyone could see she wasn’t well. But Aileen stood firm.
After a brief pause, Richard sighed and offered his hands.
Aileen grabbed them eagerly and closed her eyes.
Moments later, crystals began to appear in midair, falling one by one.
But Richard didn’t even glance at them. His eyes were fixed only on her.
Her brows were furrowed tightly; her breathing shallow. She was clearly straining herself.
Her hands… they’re freezing.
Even though she was gripping tightly, there was no warmth left in her touch.
The realization darkened his expression. Finally, unable to stand it any longer, he pulled his hands away.
“Richard?”
The sudden break in contact made her eyes snap open. The stone forming in the air lost its glow and fell to the ground, dull and lifeless.
Aileen’s eyes widened. “What are you doing? We were in the middle of something important—”
“Aileen.”
His low voice made her flinch.
When she looked up, she saw his golden eyes staring directly at her — calm but firm.
“Why don’t you stop for today?”
“Why all of a sudden…?”
“You’ve been overworking yourself — not just tonight, but for days now.”
“That’s not true. I’m fine,” she said with a weak laugh.
Richard wasn’t convinced. Her smile looked fragile, almost forced.
He sighed quietly. “There’s no point lying. Your body already tells me the truth.”
Aileen bit her lower lip hard, unable to respond.
After a moment of silence, Richard asked,
“Why are you pushing yourself so hard?”
“…”
“Why are you driving yourself to exhaustion like this?”
Aileen finally whispered, her tone bitter,
“You already know why.”
“I have a massive debt. If I want to repay it all, I don’t have a choice.”
“I don’t know how large it is,” Richard said seriously, “but at this rate, you’ll collapse before you pay a single coin.”
“I don’t care,” she said quietly. “As long as I can pay it all back…”
Richard exhaled deeply, this time not bothering to hide his frustration.
Clearly, that debt had become an obsession buried deep in her heart.
But there was something Aileen didn’t realize.
“If you collapse,” he said softly, “how do you think your little brother will feel?”
