<Episode 102>

“Both of you, be quiet!”

At Eveline’s sharp command, both Elkais and Abellard immediately shut their mouths.

As Elkais observed her expression, Abellard quickly slipped inside and perched on the edge of her bed.

“Eve, Eve. Does anything hurt?”

“Ugh, my head…”

Her headache only worsened because of Abellard’s fussing.

“I feel like I can’t breathe.”

At her words, Elkais opened the terrace doors and the nearest window to her bed, letting fresh air in.

“I’m not the only one who remembers everything, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Of course.”

Elkais answered simply and stood nearby.

As Eveline stared at him with a complicated expression, he reached out toward her.

Smack!

“Don’t you dare touch my Eve.”

Abellard slapped his hand away.

From their actions, Eveline confirmed that they both remembered everything that had happened on the island.

“What about our bond?”

“It’s gone.”

“When the classifications disappeared, so did the bonds. So don’t worry too much, Eveline.”

Elkais reassured her while once again assessing her condition.

Seeing the confusion on her face, he felt both relieved and concerned.

“Eveline, I…”

“Eve! You need to hear how worried I was!”

“One person at a time, please.”

“Yes, one at a time!”

Just as Abellard was about to launch into his story, Eveline pressed a finger against his lips to silence him.

Without hesitation, he kissed her finger.

“Then I’ll go first?”

“…Fine.”

“The truth is, I returned a month ago. The moment I got back, I searched for you. But you wouldn’t wake up, and it scared me. The doctors said you weren’t waking up because of the shock from falling off your horse. So I used my divine power to heal you every day. But nothing worked. I even prayed every day, but the gods had vanished, and no one in the temple could use divine power anymore.”

“…What?”

“I can still use it! But no one else can. Isn’t that lucky?”

Eveline turned to Elkais, as if seeking an explanation for this absurdity.

“It seems we still carry the power of the gods.”

“When did you wake up, Elkais?”

“The same time as Abellard. The exact moment he did. As soon as I woke up, I looked for you, but…”

“…”

“They said you had lost your mind from the fall…”

“This bastard actually disappeared for a whole week.”

At Abellard’s tattling, Eveline looked at him in surprise. Elkais, frowning, clarified.

“I heard that a rare herb from the north, Bellimas, could wake you up. So I went to get it.”

“Oh, that.”

“But it was useless.”

“So he wasted his time! He disappeared for a week and accomplished nothing! Meanwhile, I stayed by Eve’s side the entire time!”

As Abellard ranted, Eveline let out a small laugh.

“Thank you, both of you. But honestly, my head is spinning.”

“Does it hurt?”

“Yes, a little.”

“Why don’t you come to my estate?”

“Shut up. You’re a Wilden, so you stay in Wilden territory.”

Elkais ignored Abellard’s remark, his eyes remaining fixed on Eveline.

“…Ha.”

Feeling an inexplicable tightness in her chest, Eveline sighed.

“You two.”

“Yes?”

“Yeah?”

“From now on, only one of you can enter my room at a time.”

Hearing her decree, both men were swiftly kicked out.

* * *

Eveline had barely been awake for long when she found herself drifting back into sleep, possibly due to the effects of her prescribed medication.

When she finally woke again, she let out a deep sigh upon realizing that the room around her was shrouded in darkness.

She felt inexplicably exhausted.

On top of that, she would have to start practicing standing up again—her leg muscles had weakened too much from being bedridden. She would have to learn how to walk again as well…

Given that nothing had changed despite her sleep, it was clear that this wasn’t one of Euros’ tricks.

“Eve.”

“Elkais.”

Eveline turned her gaze toward the person who had quietly been sitting beside her.

“I told you to leave earlier…”

“I snuck back in.”

At his mischievous reply, Eveline let out a small chuckle.

“You do realize this is trespassing.”

“What does that mean? That I entered without permission?”

“Yes.”

Elkais glanced at her, wondering if he had made a mistake, but seeing her bright expression, he decided not to worry about it.

“I just… couldn’t help it. I was afraid you would fall into an eternal sleep again.”

“……”

“Even just talking to you like this makes me so happy.”

He moved closer to the bed and reached out to her. Eveline wrapped her arms around his neck in response.

“Maybe because I just woke up, but… Elkais feels so familiar.”

As she spoke, he let out a breath of relief and pulled her closer, resting his face against her neck.

“There was something I wanted to tell you first when you woke up.”

“What is it? Are you going to propose?”

At her teasing remark, likely referencing his earlier competition with Abellard, Elkais’ face flushed red, and he was momentarily speechless. Instead, he tightened his arms around her.

“That’s not how I wanted to confess. When I saw you wake up… I lost my composure.”

“I understand.”

As she slowly loosened her embrace, he reluctantly let go, gazing at her as if trying to etch her image into his memory.

“When you were asleep, I became even more certain of my feelings.”

“And what did you realize?”

The way her eyes held only him made Elkais smile.

“I think I was happier on that deserted island.”

“……”

“Even that desolate place felt like paradise as long as I was with you. There was nothing but a small hut, yet I missed it more than any mansion in the Croppers Empire.”

Eveline reached up and gently stroked his cheek.

Elkais took her hand and kissed it, making her smile shyly.

“The rain here is different from the rain there. Here, it doesn’t affect us. But it was because of that strange rain back on the island that we grew closer, wasn’t it?”

“Are you saying you miss that too?”

“I am.”

“Wow, I never thought I’d hear Elkais say something like that.”

Eveline chuckled unconsciously and ran her fingers through his eyebrows. Seeing how they became messily ruffled, she laughed even more.

“And?”

“There were only two seasons on that island—summer and winter. Maybe that’s why I look forward to every summer with you, and I can’t wait for the winters we’ll spend together. Even the thought of future springs and autumns with you fills me with excitement.”

Feeling a little mischievous, Eveline touched his eyelashes. He slowly blinked, meeting her gaze once more.

She liked how his crimson eyes remained vivid and radiant, even against the darkness of the night.

“I want to walk in the rain with you, and through the snow. I want to be part of every moment in your life.”

She couldn’t look away from his eyes.

His voice, gentle yet filled with certainty, made her heart race—like he was both waiting for her answer and already knowing what it would be.

“It’s strange, isn’t it, that the bond disappeared?”

“It really is. I never imagined it would be erased so completely.”

“I had a feeling this was what you wanted most.”

Since Elkais had wished for the same thing, he had sensed that this was Eveline’s true desire as well. And since Euros had granted her wish, it had to be something significant.

“There was a time when I found the idea of bonds utterly disgusting.”

“Why?”

“My mother was a Royal Omega, but she gave birth to me without ever forming a bond. My father, a Royal Alpha, had everything he wanted, indulging in countless other Omegas. The reason he never bonded? It was revolting—he claimed he didn’t want to limit himself, that he wanted to spread his Alpha seed.”

Eveline already knew this, but she remained silent, wanting to hear it from him directly.

“My mother obsessed over bonds. My father avoided them. It was never going to be something meaningful to me.”

She gently caressed his cheek again, and he smiled faintly at her touch.

“That’s why, even though I was an Alpha, I never touched any Omegas. I was terrified of becoming like my father—a filthy, irresponsible man. I was afraid I’d lose control and become just another wretched Alpha.”

“……”

“I would rather have died than become someone like that. But no matter how much I denied it, I was still an Alpha. I always feared that, in the end, I would follow the same path.”

Eveline found herself drawn to his crimson eyes as he confessed his pain, looking at her as if she was the only one he could rely on.

“And I was terrified of bonds. I didn’t want to end up like my mother—pathetic and shackled by them.”

“I see.”

“But now… I finally understand what our bond meant. How precious it was.”

He wrapped his arms around her waist and gently traced her face with his fingers.

“I miss it. I miss our bond so much. I’m afraid… that I won’t be the only one filling your thoughts now.”

And with that, he began to steal her breath, drawing her into a deep, lingering kiss.

A long night was about to begin.

 

 

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