Negative thoughts crashed over Nadan Laphelia relentlessly.
‘He’s really coming, right?’
“What if he was lying…”
Even if Valentin didn’t come, there was nothing Nadan could do.
Feeling frustrated, Nadan went up to the tower. In the room at the very top, which had a considerably high ceiling, there was a tree taller than Nadan by a head.
It was small in size, but otherwise unremarkable and ordinary.
“And yet this is my life gauge.”
This tree was the Tree of Life that Nadan Laphelia had mentioned.
If Nadan couldn’t break the curse before all the leaves fell, she would close her eyes along with this tree.
‘I was already worried that a few more leaves seemed to have fallen since I first came here.’
Seeing it thinned from before made my chest ache.
For now, it still looked lush, but it was a tree that could bare itself at any moment.
Watching her life gauge dwindle was not a pleasant experience. Nadan took out the telescope that had been one with her for the past two weeks and looked out the window.
‘Trees, and trees, and… a carriage?’
It was a black carriage.
Nadan jumped up from her seat and rubbed her eyes. Then, she brought the telescope back to her eyes. Through the glass, she saw a rose emblem engraved on the side of the carriage.
A long sword piercing a rose, petals scattering.
“He really came.”
Valentin hadn’t lied.
He had come to keep his promise to Nadan.
Realizing that, Nadan’s tail began to wag uncontrollably, rivaling the speed of a helicopter propeller.
Nadan immediately dashed down to the first floor. She failed to control her strength, and the handrail of the stairs turned to dust in her hand, but she casually ignored it.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The rabbits perked up their ears and emerged, startled by the noise that echoed throughout Laphelia Castle.
“Pii?”
“Valentin is here!”
That one sentence was enough.
Nadan sprinted through the garden and reached the firmly locked iron gate in the blink of an eye.
Only when she was in front of the gate did she realize that she hadn’t even looked in the mirror. She roughly combed back the fur on her head with her hands.
‘I must maintain my dignity.’
She had already lost all the dignity she didn’t have much of while rushing here, but it wouldn’t matter as long as Valentin didn’t know, right?
While Nadan was catching her breath, she saw the black carriage smoothly come to a stop through the bars of the iron gate.
And finally, the door of the carriage opened, and the figure of the man she had longed for so much appeared.
A firm chest and broad shoulders that couldn’t be hidden by the white shirt, and long legs that harmonized with the soft beige pants.
The moment he stood firmly on the ground with both feet, Nadan felt as if time had stopped. As if the world revolved around him.
Nadan blankly stared at Valentin through the bars, and she only came to her senses when she met his eyes.
Because Valentin’s neat lips had thinned.
“Ahem…!”
Nadan fixed her gaze on the bricks for no reason, pretending not to see anything, and pulled the lever. The firmly closed iron gate slowly opened to both sides.
Now, there was nothing separating them.
He quietly looked up at Nadan from where he was and politely greeted her.
“Thank you for the invitation.”
Inviting him?
‘Wasn’t it practically a threat?’
Nadan felt like she could cry at his consideration of packaging the threat as an invitation.
“May I come in?”
He tilted his head to the side and asked as a formality, and Nadan couldn’t bring herself to answer, only nodding her head.
If her voice trembled, it would be obvious that she was flustered.
Valentin smiled as he gazed up at Nadan and stepped over the threshold of the iron gate into the garden.
Everything, really everything, felt like it would work out.
* * *
Valentin spent three days doing everything Nadan had prepared with him. Exploring Laphelia Castle, having tea time, reading, and even playing chess.
The best part was that Nadan now had someone to talk to.
When she spoke, someone answered. Such a simple thing, yet so joyful.
Of course, it wasn’t that conversations with the rabbits weren’t enjoyable. If it weren’t for the rabbits, she would have forgotten how to speak in the past four months.
How grateful she was for their existence.
Nadan gently nudged the mother rabbit, who was sprawled out at her feet, and opened her mouth.
“If it’s not too rude, may I ask—what do you do?”
“I manage a small village.”
He stirred the coffee in his teacup with a teaspoon as he answered.
Managing a village. He looked young, but already? If he’s managing a village, is he a civil servant?
‘Or perhaps it’s his father’s territory? Could it be that the man before me is the son of a lord!’
Well, his appearance and atmosphere were like a clergyman, but the aura he exuded was noble, like that of a powerful person.
As Nadan widened her eyes, Valentin corrected her thoughts with an awkward smile.
His face said that he could see right through what she was thinking.
“My father is also a manager… but I didn’t inherit it. I earned it through my own efforts.”
How capable and confident he was.
He was also skilled in conversation.
He had a charm that made people curious about what he left unsaid with answers that were just two percent short of perfect.
Valentin was a swamp I couldn’t climb out of.
Nadan was succumbing to his overflowing charm, smashing all the furniture inside the castle.
Crack, crash, bang!
From the stair railings to the sofas, tables, and even the sturdy oak doors, everything turned to dust in her hands.
Each time, Valentin would cross his arms and closely observe what she was doing.
The more solid and difficult to break something was, the more his eyes sparkled.
“Can you break marble?”
Seeing Valentin smiling brightly as he looked at the floor connected to the pillars, Nadan’s fist naturally pointed downwards.
‘But what if the castle collapses?’
She briefly regained her senses. Seeing Nadan hesitate, Valentin stopped her.
“My thoughts were short-sighted. You could get hurt, so it’s best not to try marble.”
Did he think she was hesitating because she might get hurt? She heals faster than others, so it’s fine.
Still, she didn’t want to be crushed to death under the castle, so she obediently nodded.
The magic castle would immediately repair the broken parts on its own, but this time, the speed of collapse might not keep up with the speed of regeneration.
Thus, for some unknown reason, Valentin had a great interest in Nadan breaking things.
And she liked that, so she put on a smashing show every day.
‘Is he a pervert?’
The suspicion crossed her mind but quickly disappeared.
‘This is nothing. People are bound to have a few odd quirks.’
He looked too kind to even kill a person, so she just assumed that he was attracted to her masculine side.
‘Speaking of injuries, why was he hurt last time?’
Valentin, who had sustained a not-so-light injury when he first visited this place, came to mind. The question naturally popped out of her mouth.
“Why were you hurt back then?”
Valentin immediately replied.
“I was attacked by demonic beasts during reconnaissance.”
“Demonic beasts?”
“Yes, the number of demonic beasts has been increasing for the past few years. I went on reconnaissance to the Black Swamp after hearing news that a new type of demonic beast had appeared, and I was attacked.”
According to the map, the northern part of the Oman continent was the Black Swamp, where magical beasts lived.
Magical beasts were definitely not sentient beings, but they were said to have some intelligence and could distinguish their territory from that of humans.
‘But what are demonic beasts?’
Reading the questioning look on her face, Valentin kindly added an explanation.
“Magical beasts become demonic beasts when they are exposed to black magic for a long period of time. They are beings that have almost lost their sense of self and reason. Their forms are so diverse that it is impossible to identify them all.”
His melancholic green eyes, visible beneath his long eyelashes, scanned her face thoroughly.
“Magical beasts and demonic beasts are both troublesome, but demonic beasts are more difficult to deal with. There are so many mutations.”
“Mutations?”
“They evolve in ways we never expect. They gain unimaginable power, or, in rare cases, they gain human-level intelligence. Of course, those cases are considered legendary.”
It was a completely different world. Magical beasts and demonic beasts.
Fighting against such terrifying species made Valentin look even more amazing.
“Ordinary people usually don’t distinguish between magical beasts and demonic beasts. Magical beasts usually don’t leave their territory, so if they appear in human villages, people just assume they are demonic beasts.”
As Nadan nodded like a child listening to a fairy tale, he suddenly leaned into her with a smile.
‘Oh, goodness.’
She widened her eyes to avoid being caught off guard.
“Why, what is it?”
“There’s something I’m curious about.”
Nadan was taken aback by the unexpected words.
Well, it was understandable that he would have many questions. It was amazing that he hadn’t asked anything until now.
Until now, Valentin hadn’t asked her anything about herself.
He hadn’t even asked about the rabbits, who clearly understood what she was saying. He was indifferent to everything.
“Ask away.”
As Valentin leaned towards Nadan, the refreshing scent of flowers and the cozy scent of soap wafted into her nose.
He lowered his voice as if he were telling a secret.
“What is at the top of the tower?”
Nadan clamped her mouth shut.
The top floor had Nadan Laphelia’s portrait, all sorts of magical tools, and a small tree that showed her remaining lifespan.
It was also the only place Valentin hadn’t been allowed to enter when touring Laphelia Castle.
‘Since there’s a portrait of Nadan Laphelia, it’s also the perfect place to confess the curse.’
Was it really okay to tell Valentin about her curse?
Even though she had vowed to return to being human by receiving a kiss, she was wary of breaking this peaceful time.
As Nadan hesitated and couldn’t answer, Valentin stepped back.
“You don’t have to answer if you’re uncomfortable.”
His expression, which said that it really didn’t matter, made her anxious for no reason. She had only been with Valentin for three days, but her feelings for him were becoming uncontrollable.
‘Maybe this person won’t despise me.’
Having barely made a decision, Nadan slowly rose from her seat.
“I’ll show you.”
And she moved with heavy steps, as if she were about to accomplish a great feat. Valentin, who had closed his mouth at her serious expression, followed behind her.
After climbing the stairs for a long time, a door that didn’t seem to fit in with the ornate castle appeared.
Nadan sighed very softly and inserted the key into the lock.
The door opened with the sound of metal clashing.
A telescope placed by the window, unidentified books and junk piled up inside a huge bookshelf, a tree planted beyond a round table, and a large portrait that took up half of one wall.
Inside a golden frame beautifully crafted with butterflies and flowers, Nadan Laphelia looked down at them with her red lips arrogantly drawn.
Having become somewhat immune to beautiful people after spending time with Valentin, Nadan glanced at him.
‘What will he say? He’ll definitely say she’s beautiful, right?’
Because she had a face that would elicit admiration as soon as you saw it.
But Valentin, who had been quietly looking at Nadan Laphelia’s portrait, silently moved to a place where he could see the Latulenta Forest at a glance.
‘What is it? Why doesn’t he say anything?’
No, wouldn’t he usually say something? There’s a beauty who could conquer the world with her face!
He doesn’t even ask who she is.
Perhaps after seeing a perfect face in the mirror every day, he can casually dismiss a beauty like Nadan Laphelia.
‘Attractive people, seriously…’
While Nadan was flustered and pondering the brain structure of a beautiful person, Valentin was already examining the telescope.
“Were you waiting here for me to come?”
He tapped the telescope he was holding with his finger.
‘How can he make even that look cool?’
Nadan readily answered.
“That’s right, I was wondering when you would come…!”
Wait a minute, how did he know that she was eagerly waiting for him?
Her mouth dropped open in shock.
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