“Ugh, it stinks! Hey, get away! You filthy thing, how dare you come here?”
“The rotten smell is really coming from you. But let me ask you one thing. Do you really eat poop for a living?”
“Eww. Don’t say such dirty things! Don’t come closer! Hey, I said don’t come!”
Following the unpleasant words, stones came flying. The randomly thrown stones hit Karan’s body and fell.
Thud, thud, thud.
Karan didn’t dodge.
But why doesn’t it hurt?
Ah, it’s a dream.
Karan was watching his younger self as a third person.
When was this?
Was it when he came to Bedrokka as a child and was disappointed after failing to open a mana channel?
It must have been when he ran away, disliking the gazes of adults who were more disappointed than he was.
When everything crumbled under their looks that said he was useless, their words that subtly crushed him as defective.
The day he helplessly surrendered himself to children who mocked him as a barbarian, spat on him, and threw money at him.
Even if it wasn’t exactly that day, he couldn’t have gotten revenge against those little kids anyway since he shouldn’t have been discovered in Bedrokka, but that day he didn’t even feel angry.
I deserve to be treated like this.
Young Karan thought.
“Stop it! What are you doing?”
At that moment, there was a child who stood in front of him.
Karan looked up. A girl barely a palm taller than him was taking the stones in his place.
“W-w-what? You came and got hit yourself. We didn’t throw at you!”
The children who had been aggressive towards Karan now hesitated and started to run away.
She must be from an important family.
“Little one, are you okay?”
That child from the important family turned to young Karan and asked kindly. When Karan only blinked, the space between the child’s eyebrows narrowed.
“Does it hurt? Are you too upset to speak?”
It did hurt, but he wasn’t too upset to speak.
The reason he couldn’t speak now was because…
‘Heavens…’
The child in front of him was unrealistically beautiful. She was white and smelled nice. There were stars embedded in her large eyes.
“Hmm, you don’t have a fever.”
Young Karan startled and stepped back. The child had touched his forehead. She touched him without hesitation.
“…I’m dirty. Don’t touch me.”
Karan mumbled, not wanting to harm the child.
“You? You’re not dirty. Who said you’re dirty? Those jerks from earlier? That’s a lie. You’re not dirty at all. You’re clean.”
That can’t be true. Karan is a dirty barbarian.
“Where’s your home? I’ll take you there.”
Karan shook his head.
“You don’t have a home?”
“…No.”
He answered after a long pause. He didn’t want to appear as a homeless wanderer.
“You don’t want to go home, do you?”
The child read Karan’s mind as if she had entered and exited his thoughts.
“Me neither.”
The child muttered and smiled brightly. But why did that smile feel so chilling?
“Then, do you want to play with me?”
The child reached out her hand.
“I’m… from Tetris.”
“Really? That’s interesting. I’ve never met someone from Tetris before.”
He thought she would curse at him and run away like those children earlier when he revealed he was from Tetris.
Karan’s eyes wavered.
“Is this your first time in the capital of Bedrokka? Are you here on a trip? Have you seen the city center? Have you tried the street food?”
The child kept asking questions. Karan had to keep shaking his head.
“There’s so much you haven’t done. Let’s do it together!”
The child pulled his hand. From the back alley to the main street, from the shadows into the bright light.
After that, he followed wherever the child led. When he was with her, no one bullied him.
That’s why Karan thought the child must be someone of great importance.
While it was simply because he hadn’t revealed that he was from Tetris.
As time passed, Karan’s tense heart relaxed, and a smile returned to his lips.
“A whole day has passed already.”
Around sunset, the child let go of his hand.
Both the child and Karan looked at the crimson-dyed street with regretful eyes.
“… What’s your name?”
“You’re asking now. It’s Elise. Elise Worton. And you?”
“I’m…”
Just as he was about to say his name.
“There you are, brat!”
A toad-like man approached. Elise’s face instantly turned pale.
Elise quickly shielded Karan and said,
“Go quickly, let’s meet again next time!”
He couldn’t ask when. Because Elise had already run towards the toad-like man.
The sun was setting. The long shadows of buildings enveloped Elise.
Karan watched Elise sink into the darkness and thought.
Next time, I’ll pull you out of the shadows.
****
Karan wanted to ask.
Are you still in the shadows? Can I bring you into the light?
As the desire surged, his eyelids lifted. The person he had longed to see was right before his eyes.
“Elise…”
Elise held her breath. When their eyes met, she felt dizzy.
Love came so suddenly and unexpectedly.
‘No.’
Elise denied it. Not a denial of her own love. The emotion within her was too clear to deny that.
What she denied was the part about it coming suddenly.
It wasn’t sudden at all. Only the realization was sudden; love had been slowly seeping into Elise for a very long time.
When was it?
When Karan fixed her hair with a pin? When he punched Chase? Or was it during one of the countless nights they spent together?
The exact moment didn’t matter.
What mattered was that Elise had developed feelings for Karan that she shouldn’t have.
Their marriage was a contract, and contracts aim for success.
When personal feelings interfere with a contract, the chances of failure increase.
Especially if the feelings are one-sided.
Elise had learned painfully in her past life how love could make a person foolish.
She couldn’t repeat that foolishness again.
So she had to keep these feelings to herself, let them wither and fade away.
“…Elise?”
Karan’s lips moved. The fact that her name was the first word from his mouth made her heart flutter.
“Your Highness, how are you feeling?”
Elise deliberately asked stiffly to hide her emotions.
“It hurts.”
However, her carefully contained emotions spilled out at Karan’s words.
Elise’s eyes shook violently. She jumped up and examined various parts of Karan’s body.
“You’re in pain? Where?”
Karan pressed his lips tightly together.
“Your Highness, please tell me. Where does it hurt? Hm?”
Elise urged.
“No, don’t speak if it’s difficult. I’ll call a doctor right away…”
As Elise was hurriedly turning away, Karan reached out and grabbed her. She felt strength in his hand that gripped her tightly.
The strength of Karan that she hadn’t felt for days.
In that moment, Elise’s strength left her and she collapsed to the floor. Before Karan could catch her.
“Elise!”
Karan sat up. Perhaps because he had been lying down for so long, his head spun when he got up.
Karan swallowed a groan and came down from the bed.
He thrust his face close to Elise, who was sitting dazed.
Barefoot and shirtless, Karan seemed unconcerned about such things as he focused entirely on examining Elise.
“Elise, are you hurt somewhere? Look at me. Your face had become gaunt… How many days have passed? Have you been eating properly? What about sleep?”
Elise’s unfocused eyes gradually became clear. She rolled her large eyes to look at Karan.
Their gazes intertwined in the air.
“Karan…”
It’s really Karan. He’s awake. Only now did it feel real.
“Yes, Elise. I’m here. Oof, Elise.”
Elise suddenly hugged Karan’s neck tightly. Surprised by the sudden embrace, Karan’s body tilted backward. He fell on his backside while still holding Elise.
“Karan, Karan…”
“Elise, what’s wrong? Hm? Did someone hurt you? Elise…”
Elise buried her face in Karan’s shoulder and kept shaking her head.
“Are you in pain somewhere?”
“No. I’m not in pain.”
“Then why…”
Karan stopped mid-question. Elise’s back was trembling slightly. His shoulder soon became damp.
Her feelings were conveyed not through words, but through tears.
I must have been asleep for quite a long time. Elise must have been very worried.
“I’m sorry, Elise.”
That was all Karan could say.
****
The news of Karan’s awakening spread quickly through the Magnus palace.
Ilaria arrived with several doctors. After more than two hours of examination, the departing doctors unanimously said.
“He’s healthy.”
Karan spent the afternoon eating light liquid food to awaken his long-inactive digestive system, and slowly walking around the room.
He was with Elise the entire time.
Elise summarized what had happened during the time he was asleep.
“You’ve been through a lot, Elise. Every time we go to a gate, I end up being useless and you have to struggle.”
It had happened in the past too. Karan stopped walking and sighed.
Every time he realized his own incompetence, it felt like the ground was sinking beneath his feet.
An indescribable sense of inadequacy appeared on his face.
“Don’t say that, Your Highness. I’m glad I can be of help to you. Your Highness, will you be alright alone in the evening?”
Elise asked as she saw Karan sit on the sofa.
Asking if he could be alone was a question you’d typically ask a toddler who had just learned to walk, but far from being offended, Karan felt pleased.
And shamelessly, he wanted to answer that he couldn’t be alone.
But knowing how much Elise had struggled over the past few days, he nodded.
“I’ll be fine. You don’t need to worry about taking care of me anymore, Elise.”
Elise smiled bitterly.
The reason she had stayed by his side wasn’t just for care.
She thought it was for care, but it was actually because of her desire to see him for a long time.
What she had done for Karan wasn’t some noble sacrifice.
But she couldn’t show these feelings to him, so Elise simply nodded lightly in response.
And night came.
After confirming that Karan had entered the bathroom, Elise went outside.
She headed to the room that Ilaria had prepared separately. There, the person she had been waiting for was present.
Feu Orces.
