Chapter 10
“Have a safe trip, young master!”
Ricardo stepped outside after receiving the broker’s cheerful farewell.
The pouch hanging from his belt felt heavy.
It contained the change he had received after paying with the earring Rosina gave him.
I didn’t expect that earring to be worth this much.
Even after buying an entire mansion, there was still money left.
Ricardo sighed as he recalled the luxurious sapphire earring she had given him.
Of course, the house he chose was a modest one—something a single adult might live in.
Still, it was a two-story mansion, and this was none other than Laeta, the capital city.
It was the most expensive place for housing in the Glexinia Empire, the center of the Southern Continent.
And she just handed something that valuable to me so easily.
Considering her power and presence, she didn’t seem like someone who would be easily taken advantage of.
Did she treat other people this way too?
The thought suddenly made him feel strangely irritated.
He still didn’t know why he felt this way, but he decided not to think about it further.
Right now, dealing with that reaper alone was already exhausting enough.
Anyway… where did she go? She said she’d wait outside.
After checking to make sure the money pouch was still there, Ricardo looked around.
No matter how much he searched, Rosina was nowhere to be seen.
At first he wondered if he simply hadn’t spotted her.
But the more he thought about it, the less likely that seemed.
Someone with that appearance couldn’t possibly go unnoticed.
Standing under sunlight, Rosina Winslet practically sparkled.
Ricardo was confident that even in a much larger crowd, he would still be able to find her.
Did she go somewhere for a moment?
Thinking that, Ricardo intended to wait for her.
But before long, anxiety crept in.
Rosina was someone who could leave for anywhere at any time.
Unlike her, who could locate him through the protective barrier, he had no way to find her.
He might never see her again.
Where on earth did she go?
Ricardo ran a hand roughly through his hair.
At that moment, a sharp scent brushed against his nose.
It was a smell Ricardo knew well.
He had lived his life constantly covered in wounds.
“…Blood.”
Muttering quietly, Ricardo immediately started walking.
The scent of blood drifted toward a dim alleyway, growing stronger with each step.
Soon he reached the entrance of the alley.
But instead of entering immediately, he hesitated.
Now that he was this close, the situation inside became clearer.
It wasn’t just the smell of blood.
There was also a loud, unsettling sound—like someone desperately gulping down water in thirst—echoing through the corner of the alley.
Ricardo had definitely heard that sound before.
No way…
The thought flashed through his mind.
He stepped into the alley at once.
There, he finally found the person he had been searching for.
But the sight before him was nothing like he expected.
Along one wall of the alley, long rose vines had grown wildly, tangled together.
The stems swayed slightly in the wind, crawling across the ground like snakes and filling the alley.
That part, at least, wasn’t surprising.
Hadn’t he seen before that she fed those roses?
But this…
“What are you doing right now?”
He asked as he saw blood running down Rosina’s slender wrist.
His voice trembled, though he barely noticed.
The dagger in the hand of the long-haired reaper seized his attention.
It was the knife she had taken from him earlier.
The one she said was too damaged to use.
And now she was using it like this.
Even harder to believe were the roses eagerly devouring the blood as if they were accustomed to it.
Gulp. Gulp.
The sound he heard earlier became louder.
Standing in the middle of a field of vivid red roses, Rosina looked as if she might be swallowed by them at any moment.
“Oh, you’re here.”
Rosina spoke calmly when she noticed Ricardo.
Her face was far too composed.
“Sorry, but wait a moment. Once their meal begins, it has to be finished. Otherwise they’ll keep pestering me for food whenever they want.”
There was undeniable familiarity in the way she held out her palm to the roses.
It clearly wasn’t the first time she had done this.
That realization sent chills down Ricardo’s spine.
He stood frozen, unable to speak.
Rosina looked at him quietly for a moment before turning her gaze back to the roses.
Her expression suggested that the look he was giving her was something she was already used to.
“Even if it’s disgusting, bear with it a little longer. It’ll be over soon.”
Strangely, those words snapped Ricardo back to his senses.
What bothered him most were her red eyes, behaving as if she were accustomed to being looked at with disgust.
He didn’t want to become just another such memory for her.
“W-Wait.”
Before Ricardo could finish speaking, Rosina lifted the dagger again.
Without giving him a chance to stop her, she cut her palm once more.
A new wound appeared beside the first.
Ricardo’s face turned pale.
“Stop it!”
He rushed forward, pushing past the rose vines and grabbing Rosina’s wrist that held the dagger.
With anxious eyes, he examined her carefully in case she tried to cut herself again.
“Are you crazy? Why are you doing this?”
Rosina’s body swayed slightly from the sudden contact.
Blood splattered as it ran down her arm.
Rosina frowned as she noticed the drops staining Ricardo’s white shirt.
“Your clothes are dirty now.”
“That’s not what matters right now!”
How could she be worrying about clothes in a situation like this?
Even if she was a reaper, how could she—
Ricardo’s thoughts were in chaos.
He blurted out whatever came to mind.
“W-Wait. I can heal your wound.”
It had been some time since Rosina helped stabilize his power.
Before, he couldn’t control it properly.
But not anymore.
Hadn’t he healed all the wounds that used to torment him constantly?
Surely he could heal this one too.
Ricardo closed his eyes and focused.
Soon, blue light—matching the color of his eyes—began to gather at his fingertips.
Following his will, the light flowed toward Rosina’s wounded palm.
That should do it.
Remembering how quickly his own wounds usually healed, Ricardo opened his eyes.
But the wound on her palm was still deep.
The blood hadn’t stopped.
The roses were still busily moving around her hand.
“Huh… why?”
Tilting his head, Ricardo closed his eyes again and focused harder.
Maybe the wound was deeper than he thought.
If he used a bit more power—
But when he opened his eyes again, nothing had changed.
The only difference was that the roses, now satisfied with their meal, were beginning to disappear one by one.
“Why…?”
Ricardo felt completely confused.
Had he been using his power incorrectly all this time?
No.
His own wounds had definitely healed.
Just as he tried to gather more power—
“Stop.”
Rosina, who had already dismissed all the roses, grabbed Ricardo’s hand.
The hand he had been gripping so desperately slipped away easily.
“Are you planning to announce to the world that you’re here?”
“So what if I am?”
“Remember the reaper we encountered last time?”
Ricardo flinched.
How could he forget?
The sound of that reaper approaching—the horrifying scraping noise—was still vivid in his memory.
“There are things far worse than that targeting you. Even I have limits when it comes to suppressing your energy. So try not to use your power.”
Rosina released his arm and pulled a handkerchief from her clothes, pressing it against her wound to stop the bleeding.
Ricardo kept staring at her injured palm.
After a moment of thought, she sighed softly and spoke.
“The healing power of Chelus doesn’t work on reapers.”
“Is it because I’m weak? If I get better at controlling it—”
“No. You were simply born that way.”
That can’t be true.
Ricardo lowered his head, barely suppressing the urge to scream.
If that was true…
Then it meant there was nothing he could do to help her.
He had thought that if he trained his healing power well enough, he could become someone Rosina needed.
That was why he had waited for her in the ruins and practiced so hard.
For the first time in his life, Ricardo felt true despair.
Not even when his nanny abandoned him had he felt this way.
“Then… is there nothing like what you gave me?”
“What do you mean?”
“The barrier.”
Slowly, Ricardo lifted his head.
Now he was looking directly at Rosina.
“Something that protects your body. Don’t you have anything like that?”
Rosina laughed softly.
“Oh, that’s what you meant. I don’t have anything like that. But I’m much stronger than you think, so it’s fine.”
Still smiling, she set down the dagger and placed her uninjured hand on Ricardo’s head.
It was the smile he liked.
Her warm hand gently ruffled his hair.
And yet, the heaviness in his chest wouldn’t go away.
Even though this situation wasn’t his fault, he felt like a hypocrite—someone who knew about another’s sacrifice and allowed it to continue.
As if unaware of his thoughts, Rosina continued speaking with a faint smile.
“I should protect my own body.”
“There’s no such thing as that. Let me receive a signal too.”
“A signal?”
“Yes. So I can know when you’re hurt.”
The moment he finished speaking—
Rosina burst into laughter, as if she had just heard something truly amusing.
Her quiet laughter tickled Ricardo’s ears.
“You don’t need to protect me. You’re still a child.”
Inside Ricardo’s blue eyes, a determined light flickered.
It lasted only a moment, but anyone who saw it would have recognized the emotion.
…A child.
Ricardo murmured the words silently and clenched his fists.
Watching Rosina laugh as if nothing had happened earlier, he made up his mind.
Even if this reaper never asked for his help—
He would find a way to help her anyway.
Ricardo had no intention of letting go easily of someone who had finally come into his life again.
