Chapter 17
Tinkle, poof. The Magical Boy Appears! (5)
“Don’t speak.”
Rudolph pleaded, swallowing his tears.
“Don’t tell me I’m wrong.”
His hand covered my mouth, as if begging me, Please, don’t leave me.
His hand, already cold, turned icy from tension.
But I wasn’t done speaking yet.
I tapped the back of Rudolph’s hand briefly, signaling for him to let go.
Rudolph shook his head desperately, refusing.
“Please, please… Odelia…”
I couldn’t tell if he was begging or simply letting out his sorrow as he buried his face in my lap, sobbing as if pleading for his life.
His heartbreaking, pitiful cries echoed for a long time.
“Rudolph.”
“…Please.”
“Look at me, Rudolph.”
Gently, I lifted his head and met his eyes.
His tear-stained face was a complete mess, and for a moment, he looked like an abandoned child.
“I hate your obsession.”
“…”
“That feeling you have… it’s filthy. I don’t want it. I don’t need it. I hate you for tormenting me with that feeling.”
At my words, Rudolph’s head dropped limply.
Those hurt eyes I saw just before he lowered his gaze wouldn’t leave my mind.
It hurt so much, like my chest was burning, to cast aside someone who had begged so desperately for me to hold onto him.
But I had a reason to return home, no matter what.
“…Why? Why won’t you love me?”
Rudolph, head still down, asked in confusion.
“I did like you. I just resent you for locking me up like this.”
“If I didn’t lock you up, you would run away…”
Just like a child who hides their treasure in a box so no one else can see it, I must have been that kind of treasure to Rudolph.
Something he didn’t want to show others, something he wanted to keep hidden forever in his treasure box to be happy alone.
But I was a person. And people cannot live in cages.
And Rudolph needed to learn that, for both my sake and his.
“I don’t want to live trapped. That’s why I hate you for locking me up.”
“…If I let you go,”
Rudolph lifted his head, asking in a pleading voice.
“…If I let you go, will you love me?”
His trembling fingers clutched at my skirt. His pale hand gripped so tightly that it looked bloodless, the pain in his hand speaking louder than any words of honesty or sincerity.
I carefully covered his aching hand and nodded.
“At the very least, I won’t hate you.”
“…That’s not enough.”
Seeing Rudolph, desperate for love like a parched man craving water, made me chuckle a little.
He was like an abandoned child, pitiful and stubbornly demanding love. It was absurd how much he looked like a stereotypical male lead from a tragic romance novel.
For someone so desperate, it hadn’t even crossed his mind to use that pretty face of his to try to win me over.
Well, it would have been impossible anyway, given how messy his face was right now.
“I will like you. I’ll never hate you.”
“Really? Really, truly?”
“Yes, because I like kind wizards.”
At my words, Rudolph grabbed my arm like a devout believer clutching the hem of a god’s robe.
Tears still streaming down his face, he pleaded with me.
“Please, like me, Odelia.”
At that moment, the air around us changed.
Warm sunlight streamed down my back, and a familiar scene filled my vision.
It was my room.
Rudolph was still clinging to me, sobbing pitifully, as I gave him a gentle smile.
“Thank you, Rudolph. You really are a kind wizard.”
He probably couldn’t see anything through his tear-soaked eyes, but he still managed a pained smile at my words.
That smile was so pitiful, so tragic, that I hugged him, making up for all the hugs I hadn’t given him until now.
He was a bit too big to hug comfortably, but Rudolph quietly nestled into my arms, swallowing his sobs.
This man, once the cruelest and coldest genius wizard in the novel, was now just a fragile, easily wounded person who had struggled to survive in a world that hurt him.
Maybe that’s why all the harsh words I had used to hurt him now filled me with regret.
If only I had used words that hurt him a little less…
As I thought that, I gently patted the back of his head.
“Don’t hate me anymore, Odelia.”
Rudolph was still sniffling, apparently deeply shaken.
He was so cute, so pitiful, that it made him even cuter.
I let out a small laugh and nodded at him.
“Okay, I won’t hate you anymore. So you have to listen to me now, okay?”
“…Okay.”
Hearing Rudolph’s firm reply, I slowly got up.
It was time to deal with the next problem.
“Rudolph, I need to go see my brother now. I’ve been gone for almost a week—”
“Two weeks.”
“…What?”
“It wasn’t a week. I slowed the flow of time in the Magic Tower back then.”
Rudolph’s words sent chills down my spine.
“So you’re saying that right now…”
“It’s been two weeks here.”
My mind went blank, and I collapsed onto the bed.
I heard Rudolph’s worried voice beside me, but I needed a moment to cool my head.
Two weeks. Not even just one week. Two whole weeks.
I had worried that even a week might break the kids’ mental states, but two weeks?
They weren’t just mentally shattered—they might have crumbled into dust and blown away by now.
Lying there thinking about it, I suddenly sat up.
“This won’t do. Sitting here won’t fix their shattered mental states. Rudolph!”
At my call, Rudolph turned his head sharply like a cat being called.
“I’m going to fix everyone’s mental state. What about you?”
“I’m coming with you.”
Rudolph answered confidently, as if asking why I was even asking something so obvious.
And so, I took Rudolph and headed straight for Baizen’s office.
I couldn’t stop thinking about how he had looked on the crystal sphere, his head lowered as if about to cry. I hoped he hadn’t been like that this whole time.
With a worried heart, I opened the office door.
“Get out!”
An ink bottle flew toward me the moment the door opened.
If Rudolph hadn’t quickly put up a shield, it would have hit me right in the face.
But before I could even get angry, I saw Baizen, looking utterly exhausted.
“…Brother?”
At my call, Baizen lifted his head, as if hearing something unbelievable.
In just two weeks, Baizen’s face had become a mess.
His previously short hair was disheveled, and his always neat beard was patchy and unkempt, with deep dark circles under his eyes.
His mental state was visibly in ruins.
“Brother, I’m ba—”
Before I could finish, Baizen strode toward me.
He was a big man to begin with, and seeing him approach silently with that scary expression made me instinctively flinch.
If he was really angry, I hoped he would hit the kidnapper Rudolph, not me!
I waved my hands in front of me, ready to use Rudolph as a shield, and shrank back.
But no matter how long I waited, I didn’t feel Baizen’s hand.
Curious, I peeked, and there he was, standing close, meeting my eyes.
“Uh… Brother?”
“O… del… lia?”
His voice was slow, as if denying reality.
“…Yeah, I’m back now.”
At my words, tears started pouring from Baizen’s eyes like a waterfall.
Wait, what the heck was I supposed to do in this situation?
I was speechless, seeing this nearly 190cm giant crying as if he didn’t know what to do now that he had found me.
What was this, one of those tweets where a soldier returns home, and their dog greets them and starts crying?
Was this my fault? Did I make him cry?
Feeling oddly like I had just abused a puppy, I cautiously patted Baizen’s back.
“Brother? Look, I’m really safe and sound, okay?”
“Really… Odelia?”
“That’s right! Look closely… Ta-da! It’s Odelia! Odelia Snifter! So please, stop crying—”
“Odel… it’s really Odelia… hoo… hooo…”
Trying to lighten the mood with a “ta-da” was useless as Baizen burst into even louder sobs, calling my name.
You’ve got to be kidding me.
Him calling my name while crying made it feel like it really was my fault.
As I awkwardly patted Baizen to calm him, Rudolph clung to my waist, starting to whine too.
“Rudolph, not now! My brother is crying because of you! You need to apologize!”
“…No.”
At that, Rudolph’s eyes started welling up with tears too.
Hey, you brat, why are you crying now?
Seeing even Rudolph crying made my head pound.
Still, I thought it was best to handle this river of tears first, so I quietly patted both of their backs to comfort them.
“Okay, okay, I don’t know why you’re all so sad, but let’s stop crying for now—”
“Miss?”
Just as I was about to say, “Let’s stop crying and talk,” the office door opened, and two women entered.
It was Annie and Lucy.
“Lucy! Annie!”
Calling out to them in relief, Annie and Lucy ran into my arms as soon as they saw me.
“Miiiiiss!!! Where… where have you been!!!”
“Waaaaah!!! Miss Odeliaaa!!!”
I found out later that they had been telling stories about me to Baizen after I disappeared, trying to keep him from going insane.
That’s why, the moment they saw me, they both started crying like a pair of wailing alarms.
Annie, wiping away tears, bombarded me with questions: Are you hurt? Did you eat properly? Why are you so thin? Meanwhile, Lucy, always calm and serious, just kept sobbing my name.
With two men at my sides and two women in my arms, I was completely immobilized.
My body, already frail, had grown even weaker after a week of being stuck in bed, and now it was screaming in pain from being squeezed.
Please, can we stop now—
“Odelia?”
Wow, even His Highness is here, still showing up at the marquisate’s office. Damn it.
Just as I was about to try calming everyone down, Ian appeared, mumbling my name with a dazed look.
Shuffling forward with unsteady steps, Ian stopped in front of me, unable to touch me directly, so he pressed his fingers against me as he started to cry.
“Hic… this, really… Odel… huu… Odelia, right?”
“Yes! It’s Odelia! So please, Your Highness, don’t—”
“It’s Odeliaaaaaaa!”
Ignoring my plea, Ian, having confirmed it was really me, burst into tears.
Then, as if claiming his rightful spot, he moved behind me and hugged me, crying loudly.
“I said stop crying already!”
“It’s angry Odeliaaaaa!”
When I snapped at him lightly, Ian, looking delighted, cried even louder. Next to him, Baizen nodded vigorously, crying in agreement.
I’m going to lose it.
Glancing toward the entrance, I saw the butler Arkon and Strah standing there, wiping tears from their eyes.
I tried to send them a look begging for help, but it was as if they couldn’t even see me.
With five different people crying around me, the mixed sobs were blasting my eardrums, but since this was all because of my disappearance, I couldn’t even get mad.
And even if I did get mad, they would probably just cry harder, saying, “You’re really back, we’re so touched!”
So I decided to just endure it a bit longer.
Why did I even get kidnapped in the first place…
Blaming my own victimhood, I had no choice but to endure a little longer in this sea of tears.
