Chapter 90
***
Night had arrived.
After changing into my pajamas, I leaned against the window, waiting for Blanche, but there was no sign of the bird anywhere.
‘I thought he’d appear immediately.’
Could something have really happened to that fool?
It was too early to jump to conclusions.
Perhaps he intended to show up only in the early hours, when everyone else was asleep.
‘I should wait a little longer.’
I perched on the windowsill to find a position comfortable enough to wait for a long time.
From this spot, the view was far wider than usual.
My room’s window faced the garden below. Up close, the garden could be seen; looking further, the sea stretched out in the distance—a truly magnificent location.
‘The night view feels different too.’
The moon was bright tonight. The scenery, worthy of being captured on canvas, unfolded beautifully before me.
Just gazing at the moonlight reflecting off the sea and the stars densely scattered across the night sky brought a sense of calm.
But after several hours of waiting, the beautiful scenery barely registered in my mind.
‘I’m sleepy…’
As my eyelids grew heavier and I yawned widely, I heard the faint sound of flapping wings near my ears.
I sharpened my senses, heightening my vision and hearing to confirm.
From afar, the approaching bird became clearer, its wingbeats more distinct.
‘Blanche!’
He had finally come.
I watched him fly toward me with a joyful heart—but his behavior seemed strange.
‘Why is he like that?’
The bird wobbling toward the mansion seemed drunk, or at least unsteady. His wingbeats weren’t their usual strong, purposeful rhythm.
I waited, puzzled, as he drew nearer.
At last, when he leapt straight into my arms…
‘Ugh!’
A bright light flashed before my eyes—Blanche had returned to his original form.
His heavy weight pressed down on me.
Combined with the speed of his flight, my body inevitably tilted backward.
I quickly summoned my magic to cushion my fall against the floor.
It helped prevent the disaster of crashing onto the stone floor with nothing to protect me.
‘What would have happened if I didn’t have this power?’
If I were just an ordinary girl, I’d probably have fallen helplessly and gotten seriously hurt.
I took a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart, and gently pushed Blanche’s shoulders to relieve some of his weight.
“Blanche, what are you doing, jumping in like that?”
But he didn’t respond at all.
“Blanche?”
Uneasy, I hurriedly sat upright, and his body slumped limply to the side.
At the same time, a metallic, pungent smell hit my nose.
‘The smell of blood!’
Startled, I rushed closer to Blanche.
“Blanche!”
His face was pale, completely drained of color, as he groaned in pain while lying on the floor.
Examining him closely, I saw his chest, rising and falling with each breath, was stained a deep crimson.
‘Was he stabbed in the chest?’
Hastily, I unbuttoned his shirt, intending to provide first aid.
Yet despite the blood soaking the fabric, his chest beneath was completely unscathed.
‘Then what’s this blood? Did he cough it up?’
If Blanche had bled for reasons other than an external wound, there wasn’t much I could do.
I could provide emergency care like stopping bleeding or wrapping a bandage, but I had no deeper medical knowledge.
‘I’ve never even learned recovery magic.’
Still, I couldn’t let anyone see Blanche in this state.
I needed to explain who he was, but I couldn’t think of a single plausible excuse for others.
‘But I can’t just stand by…’
As I furrowed my brow, a familiar face suddenly flashed in my mind.
‘Lien!’
***
I cracked the door open and looked down the corridor. It was deep into the night, and the house was silent.
‘No one’s here.’
Satisfied, I hoisted Blanche onto my back and ran down the stairs.
Lien’s room was right below.
As soon as I reached the familiar door, I knocked hard. Not long after, it opened.
“Milady?”
Lien looked surprised to see me carrying a large man on my back. Given the late hour, it was an understandable reaction.
“Come in first. We need to talk inside.”
The staff managed the mansion in shifts 24/7. During the New Year’s holiday, supervision was laxer than usual, but anyone could pass through this corridor at any time.
Seeing me glance around nervously, Lien stepped aside slightly, making room.
I slipped inside and laid Blanche on the bed. Lien exhaled and came to stand beside me.
“Did you cause another accident?”
His gaze held countless unspoken questions. But this time, I was confident.
“I didn’t do anything.”
“Nothing? Yet you barge in at this hour carrying a passed-out man?”
“I didn’t make it happen!”
I complained indignantly, shoving Lien toward the bed.
“Check his condition first. There are no visible wounds, but his shirt was soaked in blood. He must have coughed it up.”
Lien sighed again and began examining Blanche.
The check-up wasn’t long.
“How is he?”
“This isn’t a normal internal injury,” Lien said, frowning.
Since appearing as a doctor in the mansion, he had never looked so displeased.
“Is he in serious condition? Is treatment difficult?”
“We can only give him time to recover on his own. This is…”
Lien trailed off and looked at me.
Before he could finish, another voice explained the situation.
<These kinds of internal injuries usually don’t occur unless he resists black magic.>
Skah, who must have been there unnoticed, was lounging calmly by Blanche’s head, his long tail swaying leisurely.
“Black magic?”
<Yes, black magic.>
Skah’s gaze on Blanche sparkled with interest.
<The black mages of this side disappeared long ago when the Liam Magic Kingdom fell. Then this must be an internal conflict among the demons. Very interesting.>
“So, you’re saying Blanche was harmed by his own kind?”
<Highly likely.>
“But…”
Blanche wasn’t an ordinary demon.
Even though he abandoned his position as Demon King after meeting me, he was still a leader among demons.
If he fell victim to demonic black magic…
‘Could there be a rebellion in the demon world?’
It seemed entirely possible.
‘The king abandoned his position for over 500 years to worship humans…’
From a human perspective, it’s like an emperor gets beaten by a strong monkey, loses his mind, and then worships that monkey as king. Naturally, some would be dissatisfied with such a situation.
It was almost surprising nothing like this had happened sooner.
‘But it’s all speculation.’
The truth could only be heard from Blanche himself.
“When will he wake up?”
“It will take a long time.”
“How long? Over a week?”
Lien’s expression subtly shifted.
‘Did I underestimate it?’
Given the severity of his condition, it would likely take longer.
“Two weeks? Three weeks? Surely not over a month?”
“No one knows the exact duration. At least several years, though.”
“What? Several years?”
