“As expected, you get the same answer from the same person…”
Melos muttered helplessly.
Perhaps he was offering a second apology to me for my memory loss.
The story flowed like water.
In the midst of those painful days, one day, out of nowhere, I ended up by Carlion’s side, and then I got caught up in a lot of scandals, and in the end, he said it was love at first sight and proposed to me, leading to a happy ending for the two of us.
“For more details, you should ask His Highness directly.”
“Is it already over?”
“The spoilers I can give end here.”
Melos joked as he tidied up the magical detection artifacts. I rose from my seat with regret. Dante was already asleep, and amidst my complicated thoughts, I realized I needed to find the answers from the person involved.
“Can I come back here tomorrow?”
“Starting tomorrow, I’ll come to the room where you’re staying myself.”
“Alright. Have a good night.”
As the stars fell asleep, the window was painted with a faint moonlight. As I reached for the doorknob, I turned my head and subtly asked him,
“But didn’t you have a fiancée?”
“Well…. considering His Highness’s personality, did such a thing even exist?”
* * *
As I stepped out of the reception room, Laila was leaning against the wall. Having worked late into the night, she had been dozing off with her eyes closed, only to jolt awake at the sound of the closing door, hastily wiping away any drool.
“Oh, should I escort you to your room?”
“The room is fine, I can manage on my own.”
“Then, perhaps at least to the bathing facilities…”
“I’ll manage that on my own too. It’s easier that way.”
The guest room was just one floor up from here. If I went straight up the stairs, Calion’s bedroom was right there, with the guest room where I would be staying next to it. Dante’s room was directly above on the third floor.
“I’ll just sneak in for a quick peek before leaving.”
From the fourth floor upwards were the servants’ quarters. If I quietly left from the second floor after checking, cautiously climbing the stairs again should be fine.
Calion had set a rule to accompany Laila whenever he moved, but not to restrict her actions, he said. So, solo actions were allowed.
“Just to check on her condition, just to see if she’s alright.”
It was purely out of concern. Like visiting an allergy patient and feeding them chicken without knowing anything, solely with the heart of a sinner.
After parting ways with Laila on the second floor, I slowly climbed the stairs again and arrived at Dante’s door. The handle was easily pulled.
Creak―.
The door opened peacefully as if in disbelief, narrowing the gap before settling back into place.
Thunk―.
I turned my head quietly.
Dante was lying still on the bed, sound asleep.
“Mmm….”
As I approached closer, I was startled by a more serious sight than expected, even having to stifle a gasp with my hand.
His face was flushed with fever, patches of hives dotted across his skin. The rasping sound of his labored breaths echoed in the room. Just as I had heard from the attendants and Melos, his neck looked swollen, making it difficult for him to breathe.
“What should I do?”
My legs weakened in shock. The sight was too overwhelming, causing me to sink to the floor beside the bed, unable to move.
I numbly gazed at Dante, sitting next to him and gently pulling him into my arms, holding onto his smooth fingers. Tears threatened to spill from my eyes.
“You must have been in so much pain. I’m sorry…”
Doctors and healing wizards had come, administering medicine and treatment, but that wasn’t what mattered. Ultimately, the root cause was me. The thought of causing such pain to someone else’s precious child made my eyes well up with tears.
My chest felt tight. As I wiped the dampness from my eyes with one hand, Dante opened his eyes slightly and murmured sleepily, as if in a dream.
“Mom…?”
“Mm, go back to sleep.”
However, as I reached to cover him with the blanket, Dante grabbed my hand.
We held hands and looked at each other.
“Are you going to leave me again?”
“What…?”
“Please don’t go. It’s my fault…”
I’ll do better. It’s my fault. His tearful plea left me momentarily speechless. The tears I had been holding back began to fall onto the blanket.
Oh.
“I, I’m…”
I’m not your mom…
But I couldn’t bring myself to say that to the pleading child. I simply bowed my head in silence. Until Dante fell asleep again.
“I’m sorry.”
I’m sorry for not being your mom.
With our hands still intertwined, I gently kissed his forehead and then raised my head again. With all my strength, I gathered the magic within me, transforming it into the power of water to activate a healing spell.
I didn’t hesitate.
I merely wished for this child not to suffer because of me.
Hiss…
Ssshh…
As the fever subsided, the hives faded away, and the sound of breathing in the room became steady.
I blended sensory magic with the changed attributes of the wind’s power to soothe the child, ensuring that no pain would be felt.
With a sigh of relief, I wiped away the cold sweat, checked the peacefully sleeping face one last time, and smiled softly.
Patting his stomach absentmindedly, I hummed a tune.
“Sleep well, little one.”
Our baby…
What seemed like a momentary rest turned out to be the next day when I opened my eyes.
“Hmm?”
Chirp chirp.
Sunlight flooded into the room as the curtains were drawn open.
I blinked twice in confusion, registering the sound of birds chirping and the fact that someone had opened the curtains.
…Was it Laila?
I rolled my eyes around in my prone position, my neck muscles stiff from leaning against the bed.
It seemed like I had collapsed from exhaustion.
Considering I had poured all my magical energy into healing Dante the previous night, it wasn’t surprising.
“It was a bit much, wasn’t it?”
Despite being promoted from a junior to an intermediate mage, changing the inherent attributes and even performing healing for someone was challenging.
The calculations for magic spells were intricate, requiring constant focus. Any lapse in concentration would render the spell ineffective, especially for someone like me, who relied heavily on innate magic without much expertise.
“Ouch, my shoulder.”
I massaged the sore muscles and looked up, only to find a thick blanket covering my shoulders.
Rough but gentle.
“Surely, I didn’t spend the night here.”
It was Calion Blysias. He slowly bent his knees and wrapped me up in the blanket up to my lower back. It was an uncomfortably warm gesture for the morning weather, which felt more like late spring or summer.
Before I knew it, I was cocooned in the blanket like a silkworm and laid on the bed.
“I, I didn’t spend the night… I slept well.”
“Let me see your hand. Let me bandage it for you.”
“You’re going to bandage my hand too…?”
“You were hit by an offensive spell. Humans don’t heal easily when exposed to my magic.”
That’s why he was making a cocoon-like wrap, except for the hand that was injured yesterday. When I offered my hand, Calion skillfully retrieved a bandage from the first aid kit. However, upon seeing my palm, still swollen and red, he sighed deeply and murmured.
“Your perfect healing spells don’t work. No, it seems like my magic doesn’t work.”
“Does that mean you’re refusing?”
“Yeah. And those damn warnings too.”
Though I felt enraged just hearing his voice, I didn’t lash out at him directly. My demeanor, however, turned fierce, and my tone hardened. I closed my mouth tactfully.
While rolling my eyes elsewhere, Calion asked, “Do you know how to use sensory magic?”
Even if my magical power had weakened, performing such advanced magic was almost impossible, they say. But it’s not impossible.
“You just gather all your magical power and focus it in one place.”
“Seems like empty talk, like studying from textbooks and passing exams with honors.”
…Why is that empty talk?
“Isn’t that entirely possible?”
“Wouldn’t you rather cut yourself with a knife?”
…???
For a moment, both he and I looked at each other as if unable to understand each other’s thoughts.
