Chapter 08

“I wonder if it made it safely…”

Lorelia murmured softly, her face full of worry.

“You should be more concerned about your own condition, my lady.”

Ferin said as he adjusted the shawl that had slipped from her shoulders.

Startled, Lorelia quickly reached up.

“I can do it myself.”

She wasn’t used to being taken care of, so her reaction was unusually flustered.

Ferin withdrew his hand and asked—

“Then… are you alright?”

“Ah, yes. I heard you covered for me. Thank you.”

After speaking with Ria, she learned that she had been described as someone who fainted from shock after seeing her brother collapse.

That must have been Ferin’s doing.

“You dismissed the knights. I assumed you didn’t want to be found out.”

Ferin scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

So this is why he’s a male lead, she thought.

It was such quiet, considerate kindness.

Lorelia smiled faintly.

“So that’s why I’m thanking you. But… have you thought about my offer?”

Ferin didn’t have the luxury to waste time like this.

His younger sibling was suffering from mana sickness.

Mana sickness referred to illnesses caused by mana.

Without purification stones, it couldn’t be cured—

And in severe cases, even those wouldn’t work.

That was exactly why Lorelia had approached him.

A naive Ferin…

…someone whose future she might already have changed.

She looked at him.

Ferin hesitated, then bit his lip and spoke—

“…I don’t understand what you want from me. No matter how I think about it… you don’t seem to lack anything.”

To him, Lorelia looked complete.

Elegant.

Always smiling faintly, her long lavender hair flowing beautifully.

Her eyes looked calm—

Though he wasn’t perceptive enough to notice the emptiness within them.

Lorelia took a slow breath and spoke—

“I plan to leave this house, Sir Ferin.”

Her voice was steady.

Firm.

There was no hesitation.

“…You? Leave the ducal house? Why…?”

Among the knights, Lorelia was known as a devoted daughter.

Someone who deeply cared for her family.

…In reality, that image only masked the truth—

That she couldn’t speak up to them at all.

Still—

Hearing that she wanted to leave was shocking.

Lorelia hesitated, then answered—

“You’ve heard the nickname ‘troublemaker noble lady,’ right? Not many people would love someone like that. Not even her family. So I just…”

She paused, then lifted her head and smiled brightly.

“I just want to be loved.”

Before Ferin could process that, she continued—

“I can give you what you want. I can create dozens of purification stones. You saw it yourself—how I treated Hailan.”

White energy flickered at her fingertips again.

Her eyes curved gently.

“What do you think? Let’s make a contract. It’s not a bad deal for you.”

Ferin stepped closer and grabbed her hand.

“That ability—what is it? And… is it related to why you collapsed?”

His rough hand covered hers, hiding the glow.

Lorelia tilted her head slightly.

“If you’re not my ally, I have no intention of revealing my strengths or weaknesses.”

She smiled playfully.

After a moment of silence, Ferin spoke—

“…Let’s make the deal. I’ll give you what you want, and you’ll use that ability where I need it.”

His expression was completely serious.

Lorelia nodded without realizing how tense she had become.

Ferin sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

His blue hair shimmered in the moonlight.

“So… how do I give you what you want?”

He looked slightly flustered.

His ears and cheeks were faintly red.

“First, I should explain. What I use is purification. I can cleanse mana and remove all impurities.”

“So that’s how you…”

“…calmed Hailan down.”

Ferin nodded slowly.

Lorelia continued—

“If I use it too much, I start coughing up blood. That’s what you saw. But it’s not life-threatening.”

“Were you surprised?”

She smiled lightly.

This kind of concern was new to her.

Warm.

She adjusted her shawl again, feeling a strange flutter in her chest.

But Ferin’s expression grew more serious.

“…Even so, you still feel pain, don’t you?”

Lorelia was momentarily speechless.

Of course it hurt.

Coughing up blood wasn’t normal.

Still—

She had endured it.

“…Please don’t push your body too far.”

Ferin said quietly, his face filled with worry.

That kind of concern—

It made her chest ache.

“I’ll try.”

Of course, she couldn’t promise that.

She would have to push herself to her limits—

To understand them, and eventually surpass them.

Still, she couldn’t say that out loud.

If she did, he would only worry more.

She smiled softly.

“From now on, you’ll be my swordsmanship teacher—and my guard. In return, I’ll use my ability for you.”

“Your teacher…?”

“Please teach me swordsmanship. Even if it’s just the basics.”

That alone would be enough for her.

After all, Ferin would one day become the Empire’s top knight.

“…Alright. But before that, there’s something you need to know.”

Ferin took a deep breath.

“It’s about my sibling.”

What Lorelia heard about the child’s condition—

Was worse than she expected.

Their flesh was rotting due to mana.

And yet they hadn’t received proper treatment.

In the novel, it hadn’t been described in such detail…

Lorelia swallowed her thoughts.

There was no time to waste.

The house Ferin led her to—

Was old and worn down.

“Excuse me.”

In the novel, it had never said his sibling died.

That was why she had felt reassured.

They won’t die.

That was what the story implied.

But—

That wasn’t reality.

Ferin and his sibling were real people.

They suffered—

Even while she had been complacent.

Ferin opened the door.

A foul smell filled the air.

It was hard to breathe.

“I’ve tried every herb that’s said to help… but nothing worked.”

Ferin moved his hands restlessly, almost as if making excuses.

When people exposed their weakest side—

They often felt ashamed.

His face darkened.

“Sir Ferin, don’t worry. I’m here.”

The foul air could be cleared with a simple motion.

She smiled reassuringly.

She was the one holding his sibling’s life in her hands.

Every action she took could weigh heavily on him.

“This way, right?”

She followed the stronger scent of herbs.

But she didn’t need to go far.

On a creaking mattress—

Lay a child whose flesh had partially rotted.

The illness had eaten into their body, making them look almost like a corpse.

“My lady… this may be too much for you to—”

Ferin stopped mid-sentence.

The child lay completely still.

His eyes trembled with fear.

“It’s okay. I’m fine.”

Lorelia gently took his hand before he could panic.

“Please clear away the herbs. And remove anything impure nearby.”

She took off her shawl.

She couldn’t waste purification.

It had to focus entirely on the child.

“May I… hold their hand?”

Up close, she could hear faint, uneven breathing.

The more contact, the faster the healing.

But the body was so damaged, there was barely anywhere safe to touch.

Ferin nodded silently behind her.

She had never treated something this severe before.

Her breathing trembled.

She had underestimated this.

She had been arrogant—

Thinking she could save them easily.

Now she had to succeed.

No matter the cost.

Even if it meant collapsing—

Even if it destroyed her body—

She had to save them.

She took the child’s hand—

Choosing the least damaged area.

Even that small contact told her everything.

The body was rotting from both inside and out.

I have to heal them.

A dense white light poured from her hand.

It spread between them—

Brighter than dawn.

It began removing the accumulated mana.

At the same time—

The child’s decaying body slowly regained its color.

“Cough—”

It was only when she had purified one arm—

That she couldn’t hold it in anymore.

Something hot surged up her throat—

And she coughed up blood.