<Episode 20>
“Eve.”
Elkais, on the verge of fainting, recalled the conversation between Eve and Abellard.
<So, how are you going to heal me?>
<Come with me.>
<I don’t like imprinting.>
From that conversation, Elkais realized that the mark on Eve’s neck, the attempt at imprinting, was not the work of anyone else but Abellard, and that she had unwillingly followed Abellard because of him.
Because of these two things, his chest felt strange.
After wiping his face with a dry towel, he looked around at the mess that had been made. As expected, there was no one around. His body seemed completely healed.
Abellard’s use of sanctity was not a dream.
So, does that mean the Lady Eve Wilden followed Abellard, who was not in his right mind, for my sake…?
Elkais was confused. But he knew that he owed her a debt.
He tightened his grip on the knife.
He realized that his attire had changed to a groom’s tuxedo, just like when he woke up here for the first time.
Suddenly, he was surprised to find a piece of paper wedged in his clenched fist. He opened his hand and checked the contents of the note.
[Eveline Wilden is a royal-grade omega.]
He looked at the unfamiliar white paper for a moment before crumpling it up and throwing it away.
Then, regaining his composure, he began to track the pheromones as he had done when he first encountered Eve.
* * *
“Brother.”
“Yeah?”
“Why is Brother’s cloak blue?”
Come to think of it, it was strange. Elkais’ cloak was a bright red, but the one Abellard wore was a dark blue, almost navy.
“Does it suit me?”
“Yes, it does.”
Since it seemed like conversation wouldn’t go anywhere, I decided to keep it short.
Talking would only make us tired.
So we continued our hike in silence.
Perhaps because it was an uninhabited island, there were no traces of human presence. Smugglers wouldn’t have ventured up here.
The trees were densely packed, and insects of various kinds were making noises nearby.
Swiftly, I pulled out my gun, removed the safety pin without hesitation, and aimed at Abellard.
Bang!
“Eve…?”
“It’s a snake.”
A snake, likely a black mamba, fell from the branch right beside him.
“Oh…”
“I’m sorry. Mambas are fast.”
“Thank you.”
Thanks to that, I felt like I could keep walking without letting go of his hand.
The gun, perhaps heated from the previous shot, felt warm against my thigh where I had it strapped.
Feeling my energy rapidly deplete due to the heavy wedding dress, I had no choice. As we ascended the mountain, the forest became denser. It was better to wear a thick wedding dress than risk getting bitten by bugs.
In reality, I wasn’t really thinking that way. I was essentially hypnotizing myself. After all, the person next to me was none other than Abellard.
“Eve.”
“Yes?”
“Put this on.”
“Okay.”
It was hot, but my dress had no sleeves, so I could endure it. The only problem was that it was very heavy.
Putting on the coat he gave me made it even hotter. But it was better than being bitten by unknown insects.
I never thought my hobby of studying ecology before entering the police academy would come in handy like this.
“Eve.”
“Yes?”
“Shall we hold hands and walk?”
“Yes…”
I was too exhausted to resist.
I thought I might hear myself panting, but as we walked further, I was too tired to even notice.
Walking the mountain, almost supported by Abellard, took about two hours.
He occasionally infused me with his sacred power to restore me to my original state, but the mental fatigue was considerable, nearing its limit.
“Is this the place?”
“Yeah.”
The place we arrived at was a temple. Not just any temple, but one with sky-blue columns and stained glass filled with bright blue hues.
I knew smugglers were coming and going, but a temple…?
“It’s the Temple of Yulias.”
“I see.”
Yulias was one of the three gods. She was the goddess of healing and responsible for the present among the past, present, and future.
Taking a moment to catch my breath and receive his sacred power, I straightened my back and walked again.
“It would’ve been nice if you were also a swordmaster.”
“Why?”
“I would’ve asked you to trim my heels a bit.”
“I can’t do that… Should I break them for you?”
“No, thanks.”
I declined, fearing I might just end up losing my shoes. I would be back in this attire in a week, but for now, I couldn’t afford to live without shoes for a week.
Led by him, the entrance to the temple looked quite sacred.
The door was decorated with a stained glass picture of the goddess, and I felt a sense of nobility, perhaps because she was the goddess of healing.
A halo was drawn above the image of the goddess caring for the sick.
Abellard used sacred power at the entrance of the temple.
“Huh…?”
“Why are you doing that?”
He used sacred power at the entrance again.
Abellard looked back at me, then used sacred power at the entrance again.
It felt like coming home after a hard day’s work only to find out that the landlord had lost the keys.
“The door won’t open.”
“…Why?”
He seemed perplexed and tried using sacred power randomly again, but the firmly closed door didn’t budge.
“Stop it.”
“Eve… But…”
“Let’s go back to the cabin.”
Abellard looked sad again.
But it was for the better. It was dangerous for Abellard and me to be alone, and I was worried about Elkais.
So we had to go back down the mountain.
“I guess I’ll have to break the heels after all.”
“Yeah…”
With high heels, running was also a problem. While I managed when climbing up, I didn’t dare to try going down. It felt like my ankles were screaming.
“I’ll do it for you.”
“Okay.”
He started to take off my shoes, then quickly undid his cloak and spread it on a nearby rock.
“Sit here.”
“Yes.”
He took off both pairs of my shoes and took them behind a tree. There was a flash, and then a sharp sound like something hitting the tree.
When he brought back the shoes, the heels were neatly trimmed.
“They broke nicely. Right?”
“…”
I wondered if he could detach the heels with sacred power, but that didn’t seem to be the case. He must have used his sacred power to drive nails into the tree to cut them.
Still, I was pleased with how neatly the heels had come off.
“Here you go.”
“I’ll put them on.”
“Shall I put them on for you?”
“Yes, go ahead then.”
I said that because I thought it would be troublesome. He slowly took hold of my ankle and put on the shoes.
It felt ticklish, and the refreshing scent emanating from his clothes seemed to linger.
“Abellard.”
“Yeah?”
“Let’s hurry. It might take a while to get down the mountain.”
“Yeah.”
I said that because it seemed like it would take half a day just to put on the shoes.
He immediately put on the shoes.
“It’s comfortable.”
“That’s good.”
We walked again.
With the heels lower, the descent became easier.
As we purposely walked faster, Abellard pushed sacred power into my fingers, and my strength gradually returned.
“Stop it.”
“Eve walks too fast, and I worry.”
“But you don’t have infinite energy.”
“Yeah…”
Whether it was because we had been hiking for a long time or because it was late, the sun was already setting.
I had noticed this since the last time, but the days on this island were very short. Although the weather was similar to Kenya in Africa, the sunset was as fast as in winter.
Rumble!
“Let’s hurry.”
“Yeah.”
As we rushed down, I slipped and fell. I quickly got up and continued walking.
I couldn’t afford to get wet in the rain. I couldn’t afford to lose my composure and behave like a beast either.
I couldn’t be sure if Elkais would be okay in the cabin. But if Abellard was there, I could endure hunger even if it came.
“Eve…!”
There was a sound of earth collapsing, and he slipped next to me.
“Don’t walk too fast.”
“Okay.”
I held Abellard’s hand, anticipating that he might slip, and then we descended faster.
After a while, we arrived at the cabin.
“Eve.”
“Oh, Your Grace Elkais.”
He looked at us with widened eyes as if surprised.
“Are you both okay?”
“Why are you holding hands?”
“Whether we hold hands or not, what does it matter to you?”
As it seemed like he was trying to pick a fight between alphas, I tried to let go of his hand. But Abellard held on so tightly that I couldn’t.
“Are you really the Abellard I know?”
“Then who else would I be?”
Elkais glared at Abellard, showing hostility.
That was understandable. I also found it difficult to adapt to the changed Abellard.
“Let go of his hand.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
At that moment,
Rumble! Crash!
Lightning struck.
Of all places, it hit the cabin, the perfect place to take shelter from the rain.
We looked at the cabin in shock, and it was already on fire.
Shooosh!
The rain started pouring.
“Ah!”
“Ugh…!”
Startled, I immediately let go of Abellard’s hand.
The amount of water pouring down was substantial.
Gradually, I stopped thinking altogether.
Looking at Abellard and Elkais, their eyes seemed to change as they faced the Rut Cycle.
I had to regain my composure. I am a human, not an animal. Please.
“Eve, I can smell the scent of an omega from you.”
Elkais’s eyes, which had been filled with hatred towards me, lost their edge.
“That’s impossible.”
He must have taken suppressants, yet he can sense omega pheromones.
“Seriously, Eve. I can smell omega pheromones from you.”
Abellard was behaving as if he had gone mad.
I have no choice.
“If you come any closer, I’ll shoot.”
The lunatics approached despite the gun.
Bang!
“Next time, I’ll aim for the head.”
The bullet grazed Elkais’s shoulder and embedded itself into a tree.
