RATBA 33

Chapter 33

After making a contract with Nathan, we grew close, comforting each other’s wounds.

I heard about his painful past—how he had lived in solitude under a curse.
He, too, stood by my side whenever I was in trouble, protecting me.
I still remember vividly how relieved I felt every time he shielded me with his back.

Even so, he’s…

“Don’t you dare speak ill of my fiancée!”

Not wanting to hear any more, I sharply cut him off. Then, I opened my eyes.

Now, everything became clear.

I was, as expected, submerged in water. And standing before me was the one I had been conversing with.

A man with skin so pale it seemed tinged with blue, and hair as deep blue as ocean waves.

“……!”

Before I realized it, my eyes widened in shock.

I had never seen someone so unrealistically blue before.

But even more surprising was the fact that his entire body was translucent.

How could anyone mistake him for human at a glance?

“……A spirit?!”

Seeing his inhuman form, forgotten fragments of my past rushed back all at once.

“That’s right! I came here to find you! To find a spirit!”

While searching for a spirit, I had become separated from my group and ended up at this lake.

And then, I heard a voice by the lakeside:

[If you wish to make a contract with me, step into the lake.]

Naive as I was, I submerged myself in the water—only to lose consciousness in the arms of this man… no, this spirit.

As I recalled everything, he gave me a crooked smile.

Then, he circled around me with the smooth, fluid movements of a fish.

For an ordinary human without webbed feet, such movement underwater was impossible.

He was undoubtedly the spirit I had been desperately searching for.

Tsk, it would’ve been easier for both of us if you’d just stayed oblivious…

“Why did you try to drown me? I only came to propose a contract! Send me back out of the lake!”

When I tried to swim upward, he flicked his finger.

A transparent bubble formed around me, trapping me inside.

Like a fish in an aquarium, I pounded against the bubble’s surface with all my might—but it was useless.

All I did was amuse him.

Hmm…

He observed me for a long while, as if I were a zoo exhibit.

Then, he slid smoothly into the bubble.

“……!!”

Startled, I scrambled backward, only to land hard on my rear.

Of course, in such a confined space, there was nowhere to go.

Eventually, he stroked my head with his translucent hand.

Damp and cold—the discomfort was indescribable.

You asked me to send you back?

“Yes! Right now! My fiancé is waiting!”

And what if I refuse?

“…….”

As I froze, his smile deepened.

If you want to escape, try struggling all you want. Like a pitiful mouse trapped in poison.

---

The returning expedition team was shrouded in a heavy atmosphere.

To make matters worse, Claudia was nowhere to be seen, and some of the members were frantically scratching at their own skin.

It was as if they were proving, firsthand, that the expedition had been anything but successful.

Nathan silently approached the group and grabbed the shoulder of Luke, who stood at the front.

“Where is my fiancée… Where is Claudia?”

Though it often seemed like Luke treated Claudia harshly, he was still her blood-related older brother.

If anyone knew what had happened to her, it would be him.

And indeed, Luke had seen Claudia’s fate more clearly than anyone else.

But what Nathan didn’t yet know was that Luke had not protected her until the end.

“Speak!”

Luke kept his head bowed, concealing his emotions.

He was displeased—how dare this man, a mere future duke, interrogate him so rudely over something as trivial as Claudia’s life or death?

But since Nathan was royalty, he couldn’t openly glare back.

“……She’s dead.”

“What… did you say?”

“She slipped off a cliff… and fell. There was water below, so we couldn’t recover the body.”

Nathan shook his head as if refusing to accept reality.

Then, a thought struck him, and he pressed Luke further.

“Wait—if she fell into water, then her fate is uncertain, isn’t it? Why declare her dead so definitively?”

“The cliff was simply too high—”

“No, before that—what were you doing instead of protecting your sister? Answer me!”

Luke stayed silent.

The other expedition members, who had witnessed everything, grew increasingly bewildered.

They had held back, assuming Luke would confess—yet here he was, omitting his own sins.

Finally, one of them spoke up.

“Your Highness. The truth is, before Lady Claudia fell, she and Lord Luke had an… altercation.”

“An altercation?”

“It seemed to escalate into a physical struggle. Then suddenly, her body went over the cliff. Lord Luke was blocking our view, so we couldn’t see clearly… but it almost looked like she was pushed.”

Nathan couldn’t believe his ears.

No way…

Claudia, pushed by her own brother?

His gaze bore into Luke, demanding an explanation.

Cornered, Luke shot a glare at the knight who had spoken before defending himself.

“That’s not true. Don’t take his word for it. I didn’t push her—Claudia just lost her footing and fell on her own… Gahk!!”

Luke couldn’t finish.

Nathan’s fist had slammed into his face.

“Brother!”

Naila screamed in shock.

A stir rippled through the sailors and knights.

“Tch.”

Amid the chaos, Nathan clicked his tongue, quietly furious.

In his mind, he had shown restraint.

Luke was still Claudia’s flesh and blood, and there was no definitive proof he had pushed her.

Yet Luke couldn’t get up. He lay on the ground, clutching his nose as blood dripped between his fingers.

“Ugh…”

The excruciating pain radiated from his nose to the back of his skull.

Luke groaned, dazed.

I was… punched in the face?

Never in his life had anyone dared to strike him—a noble of such high birth—with such crude violence.

Nathan didn’t give him time to recover. He grabbed Luke by the collar and yanked him upright.

“Say that again. She just ‘lost her footing’?”

“…….”

“You couldn’t even protect her, and now you’re shifting the blame? Pathetic.”