Chapter 40
“Wahk!”
I screamed at the top of my lungs, startled out of my wits.
What—what the heck?
My dad is standing right there, eyes wide open, glaring in this direction, and someone dares to touch me…
‘Wait—it stopped?’
I tilted my head in confusion, staring at Bertolt and Father Harzen, who stood completely motionless.
Right.
I screamed loud enough to rattle the heavens—there’s no way Dad would just stand still if time hadn’t stopped.
So that means…
“Hello.”
I turned my head slightly and found the boy smiling at me, the corners of his eyes curved up in a playful crescent.
It was the same boy I had seen a few days ago in the back garden of the Empress’s palace.
Even in daylight, his eyes were stunningly beautiful—no, wait, that’s not the point here!
“You—you!”
Well, well. What a perfect timing.
I jabbed a finger at him with my free hand, raising my voice.
“Just what are you? How did you stop time?”
“Only now you decide to ask me that?”
The boy replied with the same easy smile.
“You really are slow, aren’t you?”
He looked far too relaxed, completely unlike the other boys his age in the village, who were usually brimming with restless energy.
“Answer me first.”
I shoved away the unnecessary thoughts and pressed him again.
“Are you… maybe one of those people who act for the sake of the world?”
“For the sake of the world?” He tilted his head slightly, then smirked, one corner of his mouth curving up.
“Ah… those pests.”
Unlike the innocent smile he had given me earlier, his expression now was sharp, twisted with a scorn far too blatant for a child.
“Did you just lump me in with those bugs?”
“B-bugs?”
I never said anything that harsh…
“T-then what are you? How do you just show up like this, talking like you know everything?”
I stammered under his overwhelming presence, but forced myself to puff out my chest.
The key to winning was confidence. Always confidence!
“I told you already.”
Still smiling, he answered with that same maddening cheerfulness.
“I’m the one destined to fall in love with you.”
“…Are you crazy?”
No sane person would ever say something like that with a straight face.
I stared hard at him, genuinely asking.
He chuckled again.
“Well, maybe you are a little too young to be talking about love and such.”
At least he was aware of that much—so maybe his head was still intact.
“For now, think of me as an ally.”
“An ally?”
Like a father or grandfather figure?
“Yes. I’m on your side. I may not be of much help yet…”
“That’s no ally at all!”
“I can at least cheer for you.”
“I don’t buy it…”
Talk was cheap. And people who only talked big rarely turned out decent.
I eyed him with suspicion, but his red eyes—burning like flames—curved once again into a crescent as he laughed.
“Still… you seem pretty comfortable with me already.”
“Eh? Do I?”
Now that I thought about it, maybe he was right. I usually didn’t throw around things like ‘Are you crazy?’ at people I had just met.
Maybe it was because I had saved him before?
“Good is good,” he shrugged casually.
I stared at him a little longer before asking,
“Anyway… can you tell the future or something?”
Since he kept saying things like we were destined to fall in love, maybe he was some kind of prophet? That would explain all the cryptic things he had said last time too.
“That’s such a trivial ability. What I can do is far greater.”
“Predicting the future is… trivial?”
Was he bluffing, or serious? Hard to tell. But stopping time certainly wasn’t trivial.
“Are you maybe… a time traveler?”
“Not quite so grand as that.”
So stopping time wasn’t “grand,” but time travel was? I couldn’t make sense of his standards.
Still smiling, he kept his bright, mischievous look fixed on me.
‘He didn’t laugh this much last time,’ I thought. Maybe the summer heat had gotten to him? Or maybe his fever hadn’t gone down yet.
“Strictly speaking, even stopping time isn’t exactly my power. It’s more like… a byproduct.”
“A byproduct?”
“I can’t say more than that.”
“Ugh…”
Then why even bring it up! Just making me more curious.
“Anyway.”
I pouted, then asked again.
“Why are you even here? No, I bet you won’t answer that either. Why did you show up in front of me of all places?”
“And why am I able to move when time is stopped?”
He grinned.
“Finally, a proper question.”
“??”
“It’s because of a contract.”
“A… contract?”
“I can’t explain the details yet. But as for why I came here—last time was an emergency.”
Then, catching me off guard, he leaned in close, his eyes glimmering.
“And today? I was curious.”
“Curious…?”
“Curious whether you were doing well.”
What kind of reason was that?
“So every time you wonder if I’m okay, you’ll just pop up like this?”
That would be… very inconvenient.
But he shook his head.
“No. From now on, I won’t be able to stop time like this again.”
“Oh.”
“Why? Do you want to see me more often? Then maybe I can—”
“No thanks.”
Excuse me, I’m very busy.
If he hadn’t stopped time, I’d already be off minding my own business.
“Cold. So cold. You’ll hurt my feelings.”
He muttered playfully, though he clearly didn’t mean it.
“Aren’t you curious about what I know? Why don’t you ask?”
Of course I was curious. But…
“What if you die?”
Like that maid who had collapsed before my eyes.
If he was “sanctioned” by the world, if he dropped dead in front of me…
“I wouldn’t be able to save you. I can’t heal something like that.”
Just like with Mother—we had called physicians, but it hadn’t been enough. The world itself had enforced the spoiler’s death.
“I don’t want to see anyone die in front of me again.”
I opened my eyes, speaking firmly.
This time, he didn’t laugh. He only watched me quietly for a moment, then reached out to gently ruffle my hair.
“I can’t tell you much, anyway. But remember one thing—”
He paused.
“I really am on your side.”
His hand was unexpectedly kind, but… hey! Who gave him permission to pat my head?
“You—!”
I was about to snap, when suddenly he dropped his hand and smoothly changed the subject.
“As for that man… you don’t need to be so wary anymore. You’ve already twisted things, haven’t you?”
“Huh? Bertholt?”
“The one you should really be worried about is—”
But he frowned, cutting himself off.
“…I can’t say more than that.”
“Good. Don’t.”
Stay alive, boy. Please.
“Anyway, this was fun.”
He stood, ready to leave.
Instinctively, I grabbed his sleeve.
“Will you come again?”
At least make a reservation before you show up next time. My heart can’t handle all these jump scares.
“Not for a while. I can’t let your guardians catch me yet.”
“I see.”
“But… I’ll come soon enough.”
He gently pried my hand away, smiling softly.
“See you again.”
I watched his figure fade away into nothingness.
“Wait!”
A sudden thought struck me. The most important question—I hadn’t asked!
“What’s your name?”
Through the thinning outline of his body came a faint laugh, his final answer drifting to me like a whisper on the wind:
“Fer.”
His voice was like the mist at dawn—cool, yet strangely warm.
Mysterious, and unforgettable.
✨ End of Chapter 40
