<Episode 15>
Abellard wiped the shallow wound on his cheek left by the bullet that grazed past him with his hand. Then, he looked at the hole in the cabin wall where the bullet had pierced through.
Although Abellard only felt a slight vibration from the bullet passing by his side, there was now a hole the size of a soccer ball in the cabin wall.
He stared at the hole in the cabin wall as if in shock, then spoke up.
“You know how to use magic?”
“…”
“Since when?”
“Don’t change the subject.”
He wiped the blood trickling down his cheek and returned to his smiling face.
“Still don’t want to.”
“Then it’ll be difficult for my brother to stay unharmed.”
“If you really wanted to kill me, you wouldn’t have said that.”
In the original work, it seemed as if only Elkais had an impressive personality, but in reality, Abellard’s personality wasn’t that great either. At least, Abellard was not an innocent person despite his appearance.
“So, how will you treat him then?”
“Come with me.”
“I don’t want to go with you.”
“Alright. Come with me.”
Suddenly, I was surprised by the hand holding my arm, and when I turned around, Elkais was holding onto me with eyes barely open.
“Let’s treat him first.”
It was all because of guilt.
If only I hadn’t lied about him being afraid of thunder, he wouldn’t have almost been bitten by a tiger. Moreover, the reason he followed me into the cabin was because I was almost killed by a jaguar.
From the beginning, it felt like it was all my fault because the other person, whom I disliked from the start, had shown me kindness.
But if Elkais were to die because of me… could I still live on without feeling anything?
“Are you promising?”
“Yes.”
Abellard was smiling broadly, but I didn’t want to meet his gaze.
I took the knife Elkais had and cut the rope binding Abellard’s arm.
Then he stood up and came over to sit next to me. He gently removed Elkais’s hand, which was gripping mine with tenderness.
“We made a promise.”
“Yes.”
As Abellard used his divine power, the surroundings became dazzlingly bright. Then, as the light subsided, I could see Elkais returning to a healthy state.
“No need to check?”
“Yes.”
His breathing returned to normal, and his pale, exhausted face regained a healthy complexion.
“Let’s go before nightfall.”
“…Yes.”
He got up immediately and gestured for me to follow.
Before stepping outside, I handed the knife back to Elkais. I glanced back, worried if he was okay, but despite still being disoriented, his physical condition seemed fine.
“Just a moment.”
“Why again?”
“…Nothing.”
“Let’s go.”
I followed as Abellard held my hand and led the way.
The sun was setting, gradually disappearing.
By the time it was starting to get dark, we had been walking for a while.
Rumble!
“It’ll take some time to get back to where we met last time.”
“I’m taking a shortcut.”
Perhaps because it seemed like rain was imminent, Abellard’s pace quickened.
Whether it was because his body had grown or his stamina had improved, it was remarkable that he could move at such a speed. In the past, he wouldn’t have been able to keep up this pace.
Although he still wasn’t wearing a shirt, he had put on the black trousers of the tuxedo Elkais had given him while bathing.
“Brother.”
“Yeah?”
“How did your body change like this?”
He just smiled back at me over his shoulder. Then he looked ahead again and started walking, but perhaps because it was an uphill climb, he began to exert himself. We had been walking for over 30 minutes at a brisk pace.
“When did you arrive here?”
“Of course, it was just yesterday. Brother, you came on the same day, remember?”
“No.”
He tightly gripped the hand he was holding and pulled me along as if urging me.
The gun brushing against his thigh felt warm due to his heightened body temperature.
“I arrived here a year ago.”
“But we had a drink together last week.”
“I see.”
Since he was standing in front of me and pulling me along, I couldn’t tell if he was lying.
I couldn’t measure his heartbeat with a lie detector, nor could I make him confess through hypnosis.
“Why did you try to take me away?”
“Because it’s dangerous.”
“Is it because of Duke Robein?”
Both of us were in danger, but logically, Abellard, who was walking around shirtless, didn’t seem any less dangerous than Elkais.
“Yeah.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
“I don’t know.”
He seemed like he had no intention of explaining what he had said.
But he should at least pretend to keep his promise.
Rumble!
“Let’s hurry.”
“Yeah.”
We climbed the mountain so fast that our breaths were nearly cut off. The dark clouds didn’t seem promising.
“Eve.”
“…”
As I walked, my breath caught in my throat. I raised my head to look ahead, sensing something unusual in his voice. It was a jaguar.
“Grrrr…!”
“It’s Dangerous!”
At the moment Abellard was about to draw his gun, he couldn’t because he was holding me tightly.
We fell together like that.
“Rrrroaar!”
Rumbling!
The roar of the jaguar was so loud that it pierced through the thunderous sound that could have torn our ears apart.
“Ugh…!”
As Abellard struggled under the jaguar’s attack, strength drained from his body.
After regaining composure from the initial shock, he pulled out his gun. Then, he aimed directly at the jaguar, who was growling and baring its teeth.
Bang!
“Ugh!”
Bang! Bang!
The jaguar fell instantly after the first shot hit its head.
Though I knew it was dead, I still instinctively fired two more shots. I couldn’t explain why, but perhaps it was because of Abellard, who was trembling and sitting in front of me.
“Eve…”
He seemed to be reaching out with his back, as if using sacred power. Then, he emitted light and cried out.
“It hurts so much.”
“It looks like it does.”
Abellard shed tears as he healed his own body, and then he sat on the ground. I helped him up by grabbing his arm.
“It seems like we won’t be able to go any further up.”
“Eve…”
“Near the waterfall, there should be a cave. Let’s stay there for the day.”
“Yeah…”
Every time he blinked, large tears rolled down his cheeks.
His azure eyes sparkled like glass beads, which was both endearing and confusing. I couldn’t tell if his intention to protect me, despite knowing I had a gun, was deliberate or not.
The original Abellard wasn’t brave enough to risk his life like this. Despite being cunning like a fox, he was a coward.
“Eve, I can’t walk anymore.”
“Let me carry you then.”
“Oh…”
He struggled to stand. Seeing how difficult it was for him to walk, I sat down first and said, “Hurry.”
“No, I think I can walk.”
“Then let’s hurry.”
“Yeah…”
This time, I took Abellard’s hand and pulled him up.
I was worried he might be too heavy for me.
He didn’t seem as large and heavy as Elkais, but he certainly didn’t look light. If Elkais was a grizzly bear, then this one might be comparable to carrying a jaguar.
Ignoring the blisters forming on my feet, I continued walking.
Rumbling!
“Eve… I’m so tired…”
“Yes.”
Despite his words, I kept walking.
Strangely, my breathing became increasingly labored, while he seemed to be doing fine. Clearly, he was exaggerating his fatigue after gaining some weight.
But as he continued crying, my harsh thoughts began to fade.
He was still crying. Whenever our eyes met, he smiled, but tears streamed down his face when he blinked.
“How can you cry and still breathe so easily?”
“Hahaha.”
Trying to change the mood, I asked him that, and he laughed in response. Then, using the back of his free hand to wipe away his tears, he continued walking.
Finally, we reached the cave under the waterfall. It wasn’t too difficult to descend since there were rocks carved into steps.
I knew there was a cave right below the waterfall. I had seen it in the original work.
Sssshhh!
As soon as we arrived inside the cave, it started raining.
However…
“Grrrr…!”
“Grrrr…”
It was evident that the jaguar that had attacked us earlier had been living in this cave.
The two jaguars looked mature.
“Ha.”
“Eve…”
Not wanting him to jump in front of me again, I locked eyes with the jaguars and walked slowly, holding onto my skirt.
Predators pounce when their prey averts their eyes and turns away.
“Don’t move, Abellard.”
“Eve… But…”
“Quiet.”
I gestured for him to stop talking and pulled out my gun.
Bang!
“Argh…!”
As soon as one was hit by the bullet, the other one lunged straight at us.
“Eve…!”
I shouted to Abellard.
Bang!
I fired straight at it, but in my confusion, I only grazed its tail, hitting the wall instead.
“Abellard!”
The jaguar attacked him, pushing him further and further towards the outside of the cave as he struggled to resist.T/N: Hey guys my coffee page is no longer working and I won’t be able to use it. Until I find a solution I’ll keep posting new chapters on Moonligh novels.
anyway here’s an extra chap for you guys. Thanks for waiting patiently fo me. Im feeling better now ☺️
Thank you 😊 Glad to hear you are doing better 🤗