~Chapter 96~
From then on, they repeated the same process—chew, let it drip in, and check.
For a normal person, the first time would have been enough. But Rubellots had high drug resistance, and Noxian even more so.
‘So hot and breathless.’
Instead of getting used to it, her heart felt faster and heavier each time.
She felt dizzy.
Even after working as an apothecary for half her life, she had never administered medicine this way.
Focusing so hard not to block his throat made her lips and tongue feel numb and tingly.
Finally, when Shariette judged that the proper dose was given—
“……!”
A hand gently wrapped around the back of her head and pulled her closer.
Just before colliding, at that almost-touching distance, his lips, which had just held the herb with hers, moved slightly.
“Shati.”
It was a chillingly low, hot whisper.
‘…Did he call me?’
It felt like someone had called her that before.
“Shati, you will be happy.”
“Definitely. It’s already decided that way.”
She wasn’t sure if it was a past memory or a dream.
At the edge of vague sensations, his fevered eyes stared at her as if they would consume her.
“……If you had kept a calm face, I might have been seriously hurt this time.”
His gaze wasn’t just feverish; it was longing for something he had held back for a long time.
‘Since when have you been awake?’
Shariette instinctively swallowed at the burning thirst in his eyes.
She felt heat spreading in her own body.
She pressed her lips together and awkwardly looked away.
She wanted to explain, but it was too close to speak.
Her heart pounded like a caught thief’s.
He was the first to speak.
“I told you.”
Amid the spreading heat, he slowly removed his hand from the back of her head as if putting down a heavy weight.
“Refuse if you don’t want it. Even with me.”
With a deep sigh, he brushed his still-thirsty eyes.
The tense atmosphere collapsed instantly.
Only then could Shariette sit up and speak.
Her voice trembled once as the mysterious tension vanished.
“……It wasn’t a normal method. I understand if it was unpleasant. But it was the best choice.”
Her heart still pounded heavily as proof.
She chewed and swallowed the remaining Calcasa leaves.
The herbal scent brought some calm.
“I’m not asking for excuses. I’m not upset.”
“Then?”
…The opposite was the problem. Noxian swallowed his answer.
He sat up and brushed his face again.
The herbal taste remained in his mouth and throat.
It had been a desperately careful medical act.
Any misinterpretation of it as other intentions would have felt insulting.
But damn it—how could she control instinctive reactions?
Even stopping at that point required more mental strength than pushing out a divine body.
He ignored the burning feeling on his lips.
Better to change the topic.
“Shati.”
“Why have you been calling me Shati?”
Shariette finally asked what had been bothering her.
Noxian welcomed the topic change.
“Because you’d hate Shasha. Right? That girl Maze called you that and you didn’t like it.”
She nodded inwardly.
She no longer wanted that name.
‘Shasha’ had been given by Arjen’s rat. But ‘Shati’…
“It’s safe here, Shati. Don’t worry. Come here anytime you feel pain.”
Like sugar dissolving in water, a fleeting sense of déjà vu vanished in an instant.
Shariette gave up trying to catch the strange trace and asked him:
“Then why call me differently if it’s my name?”
Was it like a pet name? Why?
Noxian smiled faintly.
“You’re mine. I call you differently from everyone else, even by one letter.”
Shariette.
Even the name that had felt foreign now distinguished her like a white crow from others.
Over time, more people began to call her by it naturally.
Even Luke or her father, who had kept a distance, began using her name freely.
Building a new world over ruins, it was natural and welcome… but a tinge of regret passed by.
“Noxian. Can you hear me? How many fingers do you see?”
Since she had closed the distance, it seemed she could take a step closer.
Not Shasha or Shariette—his first personal name for her.
Shariette asked, amused by her own strange reasoning:
“What kind of logic is that?”
“Don’t like it?”
“Not dislike, just don’t understand.”
“If you don’t dislike it, it’s fine. Shati. Short, easy to say, cute—no reason not to.”
She teased him back quickly:
“Then can I call you Noksi or something?”
Though she offered a female-like name, his eyes lit up.
“You want to call me that?”
Why would he like that?!
Normally, she’d argue, but now she was too drained.
“The herb will take effect in 30 minutes. I’ll fetch water in the meantime.”
She chose to avoid an unwinnable debate.
“No, just stay. Seems to be getting better.”
“So I’ll go check.”
“……I still feel dizzy and my head hurts.”
“That’s an excuse, right?”
“You’re too harsh with a fevered patient.”
Failing to avoid the topic, Shariette sat back down.
The light coming through the cave ceiling dimmed. Night was falling.
‘The temperature will drop more at night.’
As she thought about keeping his body warm, Noxian brought up another topic.
“Earlier, that reptile here seemed troublesome.”
“You mean your family’s guardian?”
Shariette remembered cursing it inwardly and glared.
“If it wanted respect, it shouldn’t have used someone else’s body.”
“That kind of act?”
“Not only borrowed another’s body, it touched you. Think seriously if this is how the sanctuary should be passed on.”
A truly insolent attitude.
Shariette recalled Rubenshire’s angry words:
“I gave all my grace… and yet…!”
Apparently, it had chased someone away terribly.
“Before that reptile left, it said if you fail the test, it will take back your blessing.”
“Take it back?”
“Yes. Better watch your words. Without the blessing, your body won’t survive the curse.”
Shariette warned the arrogant unbeliever.
After thinking, Noxian asked:
“Did it say anything else?”
“Yes. About power too.”
Shariette explained what she understood.
“Power comes from desire. It manifests in the form that best fulfills a wish. So any human can awaken it, regardless of lineage.”
Hearing this, Noxian reached a clear conclusion:
「This is my test, lost Rubellot. Prove it by obtaining what you most desire.」
「I wonder if you can. You lost your power, didn’t you?」
The strength to claim what he wanted.
To pass Rubenshire’s test, he had to regain his power.
To do that, he first had to break the curse that sealed it.
If he failed to resolve the curse, even a seemingly minor one—
‘Test failed. Succession canceled. Blessing revoked. Death follows.’
