Chapter 37
Were Liber and the rest of the dismantling team all geniuses?
As Ranje was lost in such carefree thoughts, Erna plopped down beside her.
“B-Blood…”
“Do I look that bad?”
Ranje pulled a handkerchief from her inner pocket and casually wiped her mouth.
“I’ve been using the handkerchief you gave me. These days, I don’t wipe things on my skirt anymore. This kind of thing comes in handy…”
“If that’s the extent of it, we don’t need to worry too much,” Heine assessed, and Erna swallowed back her tears. Ranje grumbled quietly, clearly displeased by their attitudes.
“I can’t get up.”
“Then why did you charge toward the center! You told me not to do that, remember?!”
“I couldn’t just stand by while you were fighting.”
Before Erna could get angry, Heine interrupted with a rebuke.
“I understand that you don’t trust me, but ignoring your own safety like this is unacceptable.”
“Exactly! How are we supposed to fight together in the future if you do things like this?”
“Shouldn’t we first hope that we won’t need to fight again? I think it’s important to prevent incidents like this from happening in the first place.”
“Miss Erna, there’s really no need to worry.”
Even as she was being helped to her feet, Ranje didn’t stop talking, prompting Heine to deliver a cold diagnosis.
Ranje decided not to speak further. Erna looked visibly relieved. Ranje genuinely didn’t have the energy to say another word.
‘So sleepy…’
She tried to keep her eyes open. A heavy fatigue pressed down on her forehead and back. She hadn’t properly rested the night before, and she’d used up every bit of her magical power—it was inevitable.
All three of them were exhausted, so their steps toward the forest were sluggish.
Before they even reached the work site, the dismantling had already been completed. They were greeted by Liber’s team.
After confirming their safety, Liber asked in a tense voice:
“What about the beast?”
“Ranje broke the summoning spell, so it disappeared.”
Everyone had feared that the beast might rampage into the capital if the barrier was lifted, so sighs of relief echoed from all around.
“There was such a loud noise… Thank goodness.”
“You guys finished sooner than expected, too.”
Ranje’s remark was short, but what they had accomplished couldn’t be expressed so simply. It had taken less than a quarter of the expected time.
“That’s unexpected…”
Even though Ranje muttered a comment that could be taken as annoyance, Liber only looked a bit awkward.
“Well… that’s because it wasn’t our doing.”
“Huh?”
Liber stepped aside.
Ranje finally noticed someone approaching from within the forest—the place where the barrier had likely first started unraveling. He was being supported, clearly exhausted, but when his eyes met Ranje’s, he stood on his own, staggering slightly.
“That man spent the whole night outside, working backwards through the spell. We just helped finish things up.”
To be honest, Ranje wasn’t sure if this was a dream or reality.
“He really shouldn’t be here…”
She mumbled in a daze, and before she knew it, Lenart was standing right in front of her, answering her words.
“Hearing you worry about me is surprisingly refreshing.”
The fact that he deliberately replied in such an annoying tone confirmed it—this was definitely real. Half-asleep, Ranje muttered:
“You came because you were worried about me, didn’t you?”
Lenart couldn’t deny it.
If he hadn’t been worried about her, he wouldn’t have stood up in front of the Emperor or spent all night deciphering the barrier at the exam site.
‘They must’ve reported this already.’
He had anticipated that Ranje and the examinees would try to escape in this direction, which is why he had approached the forest. But the moment he arrived, he couldn’t avoid being seen by the exam officials.
Still, Lenart didn’t regret his decision. In fact, he felt oddly refreshed—like this was his first time experiencing such a pleasant emotion. Maybe it was because this so-called junior and her older sister had both survived.
“If we’d known you were coming, everyone would’ve been more motivated.”
Ranje, blinking sleepily, still managed to speak.
“If we could easily know what’s going on outside, this wouldn’t be a barrier—it’d be a greenhouse,” Erna mumbled from beside her.
Clearly disliking him, Erna only glanced at Lenart, who chose to focus on Ranje instead.
“I didn’t expect you to be this happy.”
But it was Lenart who seemed more delighted.
“I was thinking about you a lot…” Ranje admitted honestly.
The voice she’d heard within the rift—she was sure it had been his.
There wasn’t time to dwell on the realization. A wave of drowsiness surged over her, this time irresistible. Ranje didn’t even try to force her eyes open.
She felt her body start to slump—someone barely caught her as she fully lost consciousness.
When she opened her eyes again, Ranje was staring at a familiar ceiling. It was the bedroom at Countess Simone’s estate.
She sat up groggily. Outside the window, the sky was dim.
‘Did I sleep too long?’
But when she saw Calisa enter with a grim expression, Ranje felt something was off.
“What day is it?”
“The day after you returned from the exam site.”
She was surprised to hear she’d slept over a day, but considering all that had happened, it wasn’t unreasonable.
Tilting her head, Ranje listened as Calisa explained the situation.
The estate was basically functioning as a hospital.
Eleven people had collapsed from fatigue and dehydration—twelve if you included Lenart.
Thanks to Lenart contacting Petra the moment he left the palace, they had managed to safely bring in the group of patients. But Calisa’s troubles had only just begun.
Even with the servants mobilized, managing the entire situation wasn’t easy. Though the beast wasn’t an ordinary animal, they had to monitor everyone in case of some kind of infection.
Fortunately, the more serious issues were being handled by Petra, allowing Calisa to focus on her role.
“His Excellency is waiting for you. If you’re able, please go to the study,” she relayed Petra’s message and then returned to another patient room.
Ranje got out of bed and rotated her ankle. Maybe because she was the first to fall asleep, her condition had recovered pretty well. Nothing hurt.
‘The others are physically okay too, right?’
Calisa had said they were mostly just overwhelmed by shock.
In Lenart’s case, the physical exhaustion had been worse. It was understandable, considering he’d worked overnight to dismantle such a massive barrier almost by himself.
But when Ranje arrived at the study, Lenart was already there.
“You okay?” she asked.
“Shouldn’t I be the one asking that?”
Still, Lenart scanned her from head to toe. Considering she’d even coughed up blood, she looked far too lively, leaving him torn between relief and disbelief.
“So… you’re really fine?”
Having seen her collapse before his eyes, Lenart still couldn’t relax.
And once again, Ranje gave him a strange answer.
“That kind of thing can be overcome with grit.”
“What are you even saying?”
“Courage and health are the virtues of a fine lady.”
She was so carefree, it made him feel like a fool for worrying. Even if she heard what happened at the palace, she’d probably just blink and move on. In the end, Lenart chuckled faintly.
He figured her attitude might be contagious, and he didn’t force himself to act serious anymore.
What was done was done. In that regard, Ranje was wiser than he was.
“I apologize for being late,” said Petra, entering the room and prompting Lenart to straighten up.
Petra suppressed a smile. No matter how composed he tried to act, this incident had revealed his impulsive side.
“I heard you helped us.”
Ranje stood up, beaming at Petra.
“You two are under my patronage. Of course I’m responsible for your safety.”
“But you helped everyone else too.”
Petra replied curtly that she couldn’t just take the sisters and Lenart alone—it would’ve looked odd. But Ranje took her hand with a sweet voice.
“Still, thank you, unni.”
Petra pulled her hand away.
“…You should probably see Calisa today. I think you hit your head.”
Lenart also gave her a doubtful, worried look.
Their lukewarm reactions made Ranje snort and return to her seat. Sure, her words were exaggerated, but her gratitude was completely genuine.
They had survived a dire situation—and without Petra, they might still be lying on the ground, or worse, captured by that academic organization or whatever it was… with the other poor candidates.
‘Speaking of which… what’s going to happen with the exam?’
Would she have to retake the practical test?
While she was pondering, Petra placed something on the table.
At first, she thought it was a coin—but upon closer look, it was a small medal.
It had a spiky star engraved in the center, like a 16-point compass rose, and a snake biting its own tail around the edge.
“What is it?”
“One of the examinees found it. After the beast disappeared, undigested contents spilled out, and this was among them.”
If it was near the beast, it was probably Heine who found it. Ranje turned the medal over, inspecting it.
“A memento, maybe?”
Lenart also looked curious, so she handed it to him.
“This is…”
He furrowed his brow for a moment, then his expression changed as if he remembered something.
“Have you seen it before?” Petra asked.
Lenart hesitated before replying.
“…I don’t know what it’s used for, but I’ve definitely seen this symbol. A few of my peers used it last year.”
Apparently, he wasn’t close enough to them to know the full meaning.
‘Well, I guess he didn’t have many friends either.’
Ranje took the medal back from Lenart’s hand.
As she bent her neck and back to peer at it in poor posture, a vague memory began to surface—just out of reach.
