Chapter 29
He finally spoke.
“Before Brother Harnen left, he gave me a nullification spell tool. It’s a spell that can nullify the regression magic cast on me for about a day.”
“A nullification spell tool?”
I tilted my head in confusion.
The shattered glass bottle I saw yesterday beside the two masked figures who attacked As must’ve been that spell tool.
“Yes. Of course, curses are usually only touchable by the caster, so there might be some side effects.”
“Side effects? What kind?”
I widened my eyes in surprise at the unexpected twist.
Seeing me freeze up in shock, Aches let out a soft chuckle.
“It changes every time, but the most common one is a fever.”
“A f-fever? So it hurts a lot?”
“It won’t be that bad this time, so don’t worry. My brother made it with the highest-quality materials.”
“Well… that’s a relief…”
Still, that didn’t mean it wouldn’t hurt.
I swallowed the rest of my sentence with a sullen expression.
Aches glanced briefly out the window and spoke lazily.
“So we have to make sure his efforts don’t go to waste.”
“Right, of course…”
I wasn’t sure of the exact context, but there was nothing wrong with what he said, so I nodded in agreement.
Aches seemed pleased with my response and spoke again.
“Go ahead and eat. The stew’s going to get cold.”
“Okay.”
I nodded and dipped a piece of ciabatta bread into the stew before bringing it to my mouth.
As we ate in silence, I finally worked up the courage to ask a question that had been lingering in my heart.
“…Um, hey.”
“Yeah?”
“All this time… why did you avoid me?”
Since yesterday—no, since five years ago—this question had been sitting in my heart, waiting to be voiced.
Aches paused for a moment before speaking slowly.
“…Because I was afraid you might hate me.”
“What?”
What was he talking about? Why would I hate him?
I looked at him, dumbfounded, my mouth hanging open.
Perhaps my reaction made it clear how ridiculous the thought was, because he chuckled softly.
“I know now. That there’s no way that would ever happen.”
“Of course not! I swear on everything I have—it would never happen!”
I shouted firmly.
For a moment, his eyes darkened with emotion.
He stared at me quietly, then slowly lifted the corners of his mouth into a smile.
“Yes… never, even if you stake everything, Einra.”
Breakfast ended on a surprisingly peaceful note.
After placing the empty dishes in the sink and rolling up my sleeves to wash them, Aches came over and asked,
“Einra, how long has it been since you cleaned the garden?”
I tried to recall.
“Hmm, I think I did a big cleaning in the spring, but nothing since then… Why? Does it look weird? Is it dirty?”
I asked cautiously, hesitantly.
He shook his head.
“Not really. It’s just that there’s some trash that must’ve blown in from somewhere. I thought I’d clean up while I was at it, that’s all.”
“Trash? I didn’t see any… Anyway, I’ll take care of it. You already cooked, I can’t ask you to clean too.”
“I’d feel guilty for freeloading like that. Let me do it, please?”
Aches lowered himself to eye level with me and blinked cutely.
His long black lashes veiled and revealed his sparkling red eyes, like precious gems.
I was so captivated by those jewel-like eyes that I nodded without even realizing it.
“Y-yeah… sure.”
“Thank you, Einra.”
He smiled so sweetly and brightly as he thanked me before stepping outside.
I stood frozen in place for a moment, then collapsed on the spot, my face blazing red.
“Who… Who…!”
Who told him he could smile like that?
I silently screamed, pounding the innocent wall with my fists—
Until they started to sting.
✦✦✦
Outside in the garden, Aches casually scanned his surroundings and moved his aura.
It was definitely easier to control aura in an adult body than a child’s.
He cast an aura barrier around the house to block outside sound from reaching inside, then calmly began eliminating the assassins lurking nearby, one by one.
There were ten in total. Judging by their skill, half were A-rank, the other half S-rank.
Had he still been in a child’s body, they would’ve been formidable.
“D-Die!”
It happened while he was taking out half of them with a sword he’d taken from the first assassin he killed.
One of the remaining assassins pulled a pendant from their coat and hurled it at him.
Reflexively, Aches struck it with his sword, but even that slight contact activated its effect—purple light shimmered from the pendant.
The same light he had seen when the regression spell was first cast.
‘A tool made by that bastard Dante, no doubt. A suppression spell?’
It seemed like a spell meant to suppress his aura.
Unlike yesterday’s high-level nullification spells, this one was hastily made and lacked power—so the effect wasn’t significant.
But the memory of yesterday stirred a dark expression on his face.
—That bastard who tried to kill Einra… I should’ve butchered him, tortured him to death.
“Gahhh!”
His grip slipped. He had meant only to subdue the assassin, but ended up twisting their neck grotesquely.
After glancing briefly at the lifeless assassin, Aches quickly turned to face the rest charging at him.
‘As long as I’m here, Grand Duke Baharman will keep sending assassins.’
He thought grimly as he slit the last assassin’s throat.
Though he tried to be clean, it was impossible to completely avoid a mess.
Letting the body drop, Aches glanced at the pool of blood beside it.
“A clean-up is still a clean-up.”
He muttered casually, then began erasing all traces of the corpses and blood from the garden—
So Einra wouldn’t notice.
✦✦✦
Ding. The door opened.
I flinched at the sound as I was preparing tea and snacks for Aches, who was cleaning the garden.
When I turned around, Aches stepped inside and met my gaze with a smile.
“Einra.”
He strode toward me confidently.
I stared at him blankly before hurriedly looking away, flustered.
“Um, do you… want some tea?”
I fumbled with the teacups, trying to stay calm.
He chuckled softly and nodded.
“Yes, I’d love some.”
“O-okay, give me just a second.”
I habitually reached for the dew tea, then paused.
“Um… would you like dew tea?”
I glanced at him.
He smiled warmly, eyes curving as if delighted.
“I’d love that.”
“O-okay, just a moment!”
Excited, I pulled out the jar filled with hydrangea leaves.
After sending Aches to the living room, I returned with two cups of dew tea and a few cookies on a tray.
“Here you go.”
I had served this tea to little As a few times before, but giving it to the adult Aches felt different.
Heart pounding, I watched as he brought the teacup to his lips. Only when I saw his expression soften after the first sip did I finally relax.
Nibbling a cookie, I glanced at Aches and hesitantly spoke.
“Um, Aches.”
“Yes, Einra?”
“How… how have you been all this time?”
I asked as gently as I could.
Aches paused mid-sip, then looked at me.
He tilted his head slightly and asked,
“What do you think I’ve been through?”
“…You spent five years on the frontlines in the war with the Semel tribe. You must’ve had a really hard time, right?”
Even as I said it, I realized how foolish the question was.
How could I ask someone who had risked their life for five years on the battlefield how they’d been?
Of course it had been hard!
‘Stupid Einra…’
I drooped my head in guilt.
Aches silently watched me before putting down his teacup and moving closer.
“Einra.”
He sat at my feet and gently rested his cheek on my thigh, looking up at me.
“I… it’s been really hard.”
“Aches…”
“Every single day of those five years, I thought of you. Without fail.”
His red eyes dimmed with sorrow.
“I kept wondering… what could I do so Einra wouldn’t hate me? Would being kind be enough? Would winning the war make her not hate me?”
“R-really…?”
I reflexively echoed his words and cursed myself inside.
While he was suffering… I was just foolishly getting butterflies.
I’m such a terrible person!
