Chapter 84
“Even if you say it with that face, it doesn’t make my heart flutter.”
“Ah, well, I guess it’s not my face. Next time, I’ll have to transform into Wilhelmina’s ideal type.”
If he had said that while appearing as a man, I would have slapped him for being creepy.
Orb approached Rohan and forcibly lifted his right hand, insisting on a handshake.
“What are you doing?”
“I’ll give you a token of thanks for helping me. You won’t have to worry about your arm anymore… and your head will feel refreshed too.”
From her hand, a light poured out, similar to the one that had healed my chest.
The light covered Rohan’s right arm and gradually seeped in.
‘Where was he hurt? It looked fine when he was swinging his sword. And his head…’
A headache, perhaps?
“Anyway, with this, everything on my end is done, right?”
“Yeah. Now we just have to return you guys.”
Even though it felt like half a day had passed, according to Orb, in reality, barely five minutes had gone by.
It is said that in the fairy realm, time can be controlled at will.
‘Then if I were to speed up time here…’
Maybe something straight out of a fairy tale could happen. Imagine being immersed in paradise and returning to reality to find the world changed.
Orb seemed to read my thoughts and said playfully:
“Why? Want to experience it? If Wilhelmina wants to live here, you can… as much as you like.”
“No, I like reality.”
I just wanted to return to the annex and relax. I was already exhausted from rowing the boat while reciting poetry.
Orb chuckled and stretched a hand toward the sky.
At the same time, a faint ring of light appeared beneath our feet.
“I’ll place you back on the boat. It’ll be safer than when you arrived. Oh, and don’t tell anyone about this place. It will give them nightmares.”
I wasn’t planning on telling anyone anyway. Even if I did, I doubted anyone would believe me.
The ring of light gradually grew, enveloping us.
“See you again, Wilhelmina.”
“Yeah. I probably won’t come here again, so next time, you should come to me.”
She didn’t seem keen on going outside, so meeting in a dream as a fairy wouldn’t be so bad.
“I’ll chase away any nightmares. And also…”
Orb leaned toward Rohan and whispered something into his ear.
“What did you say?”
“A secret. Want to hear it?”
“No, I’m fine.”
Seeing Rohan’s trembling lips as he looked flustered, I assumed it was just a trivial joke.
As soon as Orb stepped away from Rohan, our bodies began to blur from the feet up.
It seemed the transfer had begun.
“Well… goodbye.”
“Yeah, take care, Wilhelmina, Rohan.”
It was an awkward farewell, considering how coincidental our meeting had been.
I waved my hand, and Orb happily waved back.
“Oh, and one last thing.”
“…?”
“Wilhelmina, you have to be happy this time. This child wishes for it too.”
My vision was becoming unclear.
The lake and Orb overlapped in my sight.
I smiled back at Orb, who had given me the words I longed to hear, as a token of thanks.
Orb responded with a bright, innocent smile, identical to that child’s.
White light filled my vision, and the gentle sound of the waves disappeared.
Instead of the fresh scent of flowers, I felt the briny smell of water… and I opened my eyes.
“G-Great Mistress?”
Rohan and I were sitting on the boat.
We were in the exact same spot where I had nearly fallen into the lake.
I slowly turned my head and looked at Nata swimming in the lake.
It seemed he was trying to figure out the situation immediately after I had fallen, glancing between under the water and the boat above.
I called out to him calmly.
“Nata, what are you doing there?”
“B-But just now, the Great Mistress fell into the lake…”
“I’m right here, aren’t I?”
“Y-Yes…”
Thanks to Orb’s kindness, even my wet clothes were completely dry.
It was hard to believe I had fallen into the lake.
“Nata, didn’t a fairy trick you?”
“Huh?”
“I was on the boat the whole time.”
Although I felt a bit guilty toward Nata, I had a promise with Orb, so I had to insist.
I handed the oar to Rohan.
“Right, Rohan?”
“…Yes. The Great Mistress and I remained on the boat the entire time.”
“….”
As the two of them insisted, Nata’s expression clouded as if doubting himself.
Maybe because he had strong trust in me, he began questioning himself.
“I-I see… Well, I did feel some fairy magic just now…”
It was almost too easy to deceive him, and I felt guilty for tricking him.
“Nata, come aboard. Let’s head back.”
“Ah, yes. Sorry about that.”
Unlike us, Nata’s clothes and hair were completely soaked.
‘Let’s see, the towel Anna gave me…’
I pulled a towel from my bag and dabbed his head dry.
“I’ll do it.”
“No, stay still.”
He didn’t know my intentions—I wanted to help because I felt bad.
As I dabbed his wet forehead, Nata turned red and looked away.
It was oddly fun, like handling a big, clumsy dog.
The fog cleared just in time, and other boats appeared.
Ilina, still energetically rowing her boat in circles on the lake, spotted me and waved.
‘So not a second has really passed.’
Just a short outing, and I was already exhausted.
“Let’s rest on the pier until they return. Nata needs to dry off too.”
Nata, still flustered, quietly followed orders and began rowing toward the pier.
I looked up at the sky, a blue expanse unlike the fairy realm.
Only then did I fully realize I had returned to reality.
And so, my first spring outing came to an end.
[As an apology for tricking you, I’ll give you the dream I mentioned earlier. Fairies never leave leftovers.]
Just before parting, Orb whispered this into Rohan’s ear.
I didn’t understand at first, but then remembered the conversation he had during the time he fought Orb.
It was about the dream in which Wilhelmina would remember Rohan.
Orb seemed to feel guilty for tricking him and putting him to the test.
Rohan wanted to say it wasn’t necessary, but he closed his mouth at Orb’s continued advice.
[Don’t end up like me. Don’t lose your memories to a curse. You know why I’m here, don’t you?]
The King of Fairies.
He was an evil god left alone after sending his human-admired wife away.
His wife chose the path of becoming a queen and living with the humans she loved, but the ending was not a fairy-tale one.
Her kingdom was destroyed by invaders, and she fell as a human, taking up a sword of fate and meeting her death.
The sisters who left the fairy realm with her met the same fate.
Witnessing this, the King fell into the abyss of despair but could not interfere due to the vow to part from his wife.
Eventually, he cursed humanity over countless ages.
I could not ignore such advice from the King.
‘What kind of dream is he going to show me?’
On the way back to the surface, Rohan felt his consciousness becoming distant.
It was as if he were being forcibly pulled into sleep, but it was not unpleasant.
When his vision was filled with light, he awoke in the past.
The first thing he saw was a large garden at sunset.
He was walking along a road that crossed the garden.
‘Here…’
He immediately recognized it as the academy garden.
It was the path he always took to reach the training grounds.
‘He’s younger. The time must be shortly after enrollment.’
Though his body couldn’t move, his vision could roam freely.
Judging by the apparent age of his body, he looked at other students walking alongside him.
They weren’t familiar faces.
They were just classmates going to the same lectures.
One of them spoke cheerfully.
“Wilhelmina covered in blood… isn’t she elegant?”
‘So it was then.’
Now he understood why Orb had called it a gift.
It was the memory of the day that left a strong impression on Rohan—seeing Wilhelmina covered in blood, a shocking and unforgettable sight.
‘What? That weirdo?’
A green-haired male student shivered in disgust.
‘I knew your taste was strange, but I didn’t expect you to like a girl covered in blood.’
The student wearing a turban shouted first.
‘Weirdo! Watch your words!’
He described her confidently, like a critic expounding on a masterpiece.
‘Don’t you know the fragile beauty of a wounded deer? Did you not feel affection seeing that? She must have been waiting for someone to come.’
‘Fragile…’
Seeing that his friends didn’t agree, he glared at Rohan in discontent.
‘Rohanos, you understand, right?’
They rarely talked, but he treated Rohan with surprising familiarity.
But Rohan stared at him coldly.
‘They just don’t understand the charm of a girl who needs protection.’
He wasn’t in love with Wilhelmina, nor was he angry at the absurd bullying.
He just needed someone to rely on and admire him.
He didn’t particularly like Wilhelmina at the time, but he found the boy’s desires distasteful.
So his reply was sharper than expected.
‘Does he really think she was covered in blood because she was conscious of him? He probably doesn’t even remember your name.’
