Chapter 54 Five More Minutes
As Veronia said, no matter how much she looked around, there was no adult who looked like a teacher.
“Yeah. It doesn’t seem safe, especially playing in the lake. Speaking of which, shall we go closer and check it out?”
“Sure.”
Veronia and Judith walked towards the lake. The air was getting quite chilly as the evening approached, but the children jumped in, splashing, as if they weren’t cold.
Watching the children laughing wildly, Veronica and Judith found themselves smiling from ear to ear.
Then it happened. Judith shuddered and pointed her finger at the back of the lake.
“Nia, look! Is that… floundering, right, and not splashing around?”
“Ah…”
Veronia turned her head and saw where Judith was pointing. In the distance of the lake, a child seemed to be floundering.
Veronia ran straight to the lake. She threw off her robe and plunged into the water with a dip.
The lake wasn’t very deep. But the bottom was uneven, shallow in some places and suddenly deep in others.
She didn’t stop walking. The water grew deeper and deeper, until it was above her waist. Now it was just a short distance away from reaching the child.
At the sound of the child’s weak voice, Veronia clenched her molars and pushed forward.
“Awww!”
That was it. Suddenly, the bottom lake way and the water got deeper, and Veronia had to flounder.
But she soon regained her bearings and began to swim. It was a bit awkward, as she hadn’t been swimming in a long time, but once she learnt how to swim, it was easy.
The child had lost all strength to struggle and was now sinking slowly to the bottom. When Veronia finally reached the child’s side, she wrapped one arm around his unconscious neck.
Veronia immediately started swimming back towards the shore. She was urgent to get out of the water before it was too late.
Swimming with a child in her arms was hard enough, but her skimpy clothes were a problem: her weight made it harder, and her feet kept getting caught in the hem of her skirt.
‘I should have taken off my skirt and just jumped in my underwear,’ She thought.
A wave of belated regret washed over her. But she caught her breath and moved her limbs without effort.
“Ugh!”
As she feared, the hem of her skirt had caught on something. With her free hand, she tried to tug at it, but in vain.
‘Oh no!’
She was losing strength. She was afraid that if her strength was completely exhausted, she would sink with him.
She was about to make one last effort. A large hand grabbed her hand.
‘Killion!’
His strong arms pulled her and the child up at the same time. Veronia sighed with relief in his firm embrace.
‘I’m alive!’
Killion’s arms were the safest place in the world. It was a surreal feeling.
‘I think I’ve had this thought before, in his arms…’
She doesn’t know if it was the release of tension or the exhaustion of struggling on her own. Veronia’s eyelids slowly closed in Killion’s strong arms. Consciousness drifted away.
“Your Excellency!”
“Your Excellency, are you all right?”
As Killion, carrying Veronia and the child, came to the surface, there was a stampede of waiting feet. Killion lowered the unconscious pair to the ground.
“Nia! Nia! Nia! Are you okay? Nia!”
“Oh my God, Marco, what is going on!”
Judith used her speciality, heat magic, to dry Veronica and the child’s body. The others brought blankets and draped them over their limp bodies, stretching their arms and legs.
But neither Veronia nor the child showed any sign of opening their eyes.
“…Nia, open your eyes. Nia!”
Killion’s heart skipped a beat. He held her tightly in his arms, squeezing her shoulders and arms, calling her name.
“Gulp! Khek!”
Veronia finally spat out the water and opened her eyes.
“…Nia! Thank goodness, you’re awake, you’re alive, you’re alive…”
Killion pulled Veronia into a tight embrace. She looked dazed in his arms, still not quite grasping the situation. After a moment, she regained her composure and asked.
“What about the child? Is he okay?”
“…”
Unable to answer her question, Killion turned his gaze to the child.
“Marco! Open your eyes, Marco, sweetheart!”
“Marco, brother, wake up, brother, wake up, brother… don’t die! Aaahhhh!”
The child’s body was limp in the director’s arms. She was clutching him hard, but he didn’t respond
Cries could be heard here and there. Terrified children were dripping with tears.
Veronia rushed to the child.
“I’ll do it.”
Taking the child from the Mother Superior, Veronia laid him on the floor.
‘I don’t think he’s over 10 years old, so the holy power won’t work. If it does…’
There was only one way. Artificial respiration.
Veronia cupped her hands together, compressing the child’s chest several times before blowing into his mouth. She repeated the chest compressions and breaths.
Veronia and the people gathered around the child watched in amazement at her unconventional method. Gradually, her hands became weak and her entire arm shook. Still, she gave it her all until the very end.
“Khek! Khek! Khek!”
Finally, the child spat out the water and opened his eyes. Veronia’s face lit up with joy.
‘He’s alive!’
The abbot and his friends, watching from the sidelines, rushed to Marco.
“Marco, you’re alive!”
“Brother, Brother, Brother!”
The lakeshore became a sea of tears,
Veronia, drained of strength, sat sagging, when something warm landed on her shoulder. She looked up to find Killion draping a robe over her.
“Can you walk?”
Veronia shook her head in concern. She could barely move her head as her body was too weak to move.
Killion didn’t hesitate to pick her up, and she whimpered in his arms.
“Thank you.”
“Thank you for being alive.”
“…”
She lifted her head and looked up at him. His face was rigid, as if he was nervous.
Meanwhile, a step away, Windler’s eyes widened as he followed them. His eyes widened as he suddenly recognized the image of Veronia in Killion’s arms, her face fully exposed.
‘I recognize her! Someone who looks like Nia!’
He scanned her face once more, eyes darting about, before coming to a conclusion. Over and over again, it seemed he was right.
‘She looks like the Princess of Veronia who died five years ago…’
The color of her hair and the color of her eyes were different, but her aura was similar.
In fact, he doesn’t remember exactly what the noble Princess looked like, as he never saw her in person. But he does remember her distinctive aura.
Come to think of it, the voice seemed to be similar.
‘Ah, so… that’s why His Excellency is so enamored of this commoner!’
He thought it was strange.
He had never shown interest in anyone other than the Princess, so he was surprised to find himself suddenly interested in someone else, and even more puzzled that she was a commoner with a child.
‘It must have all come from his longing for the Princess, and that’s why he fell in love with Nia the moment he saw her.’
Lost in his own thoughts, Windler nodded slowly, as if it all made sense now. His eyes, which held Killion’s and Veronia’s, were suddenly wet with moisture.
***
Krak, krak, krak.
The red flames of the fireplace, filled with firewood, crackled incessantly. The air in the infirmary was thick with heat.
Veronia and Killion lay still on the small beds next to each other. Judith’s heat spell had dried them out, but they needed to rest for a while, according to the nurse’s diagnosis.
Marco, the drowning boy, was back in the living quarters, resting.
“I think we should get going, too.”
Veronia said as she pushed herself to her feet. Outside the window, the night was already turning gray.
Killion, lying in the bed beside her, reached out and nudged her shoulder.
“Five minutes,” he said, “five more minutes.”
“…”
Veronia nodded at his suggestion and lay back down. Krak, krak, krak- the sound of burning wood echoed quietly in the deserted infirmary.
Killion turned his head from where he lay and looked at Veronia. She was staring blankly at the ceiling.
“It was dangerous… You could have died.”
“…”
The low, bassy voice made Veronia turn her head to look at Killion. Their gazes locked at the ground.
Killion spoke again. This time, his voice was thicker with resentment.
“What are you thinking, jumping into the lake?”
“I didn’t have time to think, I had to save the child.”
At her sincerity, Killion wiped his forehead and let out a shallow sigh.
“You’d better think about it next time, you have a child and a family waiting for you, you should treat yourself a little better.”
