HDBMTD 79

~Chapter 79~

“Before the resurrection incident, there were stories about people who miraculously came back to life after being in a state of cardiac arrest. Those stories were spreading around the hospital.”

“…But in fact, those who had their souls taken by the Hwan-Gwi must have turned into them,” I said.

“Yes. The Governor’s son was one of them. But when I asked later, it turned out that he didn’t turn into a Hwan-Gwi, he just miraculously recovered,” Nocturne explained.

I recalled the healers saying, “It was a real miracle!” and “Maybe it was the Princess’s energy that did it.”

“When I heard that, something didn’t seem right. I wanted to check it myself,” I continued.

Since Nocturne had said that the Cambiata Club cleanup would be in a week, I figured we had enough time to visit.

I looked at Nocturne, gauging his reaction, and surprisingly, his answer came easily.

“Alright, let’s go together,” he said.

“Thank you,” I replied, trying to hide my surprise.

I didn’t expect him to agree so easily. I thought he would be more concerned about my health and insist that I rest.

‘Well, now we’re a Pair,’ I reminded myself.

We both had a common goal—to eliminate the Cambiata Club, and Nocturne couldn’t just keep overprotecting me forever.

I felt lighter. Not only did the goal of cleaning up the Cambiata Club seem achievable, but my personal goal of making Nocturne fully independent also seemed more possible now.

As the carriage moved, I looked out the window at the scenery and saw Nocturne staring quietly at me from beside me.

He thought to himself, “I said I shouldn’t let her run off by herself. It’s better to stick together.”

Nocturne knew how powerful S-rank psychics could be. If Aria made up her mind to escape, no one could stop her. Of course, if he had to control her, he could always restrain her with something like a collar, but that wasn’t something he wanted to do unless it was absolutely necessary.

To truly help Aria recover, Nocturne thought it was better to accompany her and help her through everything.

His goal was to help Aria—without her realizing the truth, preventing her from using her abilities, and making sure she found emotional stability to avoid self-harm. Achieving all three of those things was difficult, but necessary.

The Cambiata Club cleanup, which should have been a priority, had already been pushed to the back of his mind.

“Ha…” he sighed without realizing it.

Aria turned to him.

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

Her eyes, reflecting the bright sunlight, looked pinkish.

…She must be planning to leave me after everything is done, even though she looks at me so lovingly, I thought.

“I’m just a little tired,” Nocturne answered with a smile, then reached out to gently brush her hair away from her face. Aria spoke up, her voice full of concern.

“You must have had trouble sleeping last night, didn’t you?”

Nocturne narrowed his eyes slightly and replied, “If I say yes…”

Then he leaned in closer to Aria, whispering softly near her ear, “Next time, can you stay awake until the end instead of falling asleep in the middle?”

“…”

As his lips brushed her ear, Aria’s face slowly turned red. Watching her fluster like that made Nocturne feel a bit gentler.

He smirked faintly.

“I’m just kidding. It’s okay to fall asleep… Ah,” he began, but then stopped, quickly correcting himself, “What matters is that you feel at peace.”

“…”

“You said my kiss brings peace to your heart.”

“…Yes,” Aria replied politely, nodding.

Looking at her, Nocturne felt an intense thirst he couldn’t explain. He gently cupped her head in his hand and kissed her lightly.

It was as if he was trying to fill the unfillable.

1. My name is

The atmosphere in the carriage to the Governor’s mansion was calm.

Nocturne played with my hair as I leaned against his shoulder, looking out at the scenery.

The city of Seribil, where the Empire’s hospital was located, was interesting to look at. The poor district was behind, but the central area was well-kept. The roads were paved smoothly, and as we got closer to the Governor’s mansion, grand buildings appeared.

The most impressive feature was the huge river that ran through the city. Although it wasn’t as big as the sea, it still carried the risk of being tainted with magical energy. Without proper management, it could become a deadly, polluted river.

But the river in Seribil was clear and vast, almost rivaling the Empire’s rivers in size.

The clean water made the city thrive, and Seribil looked like it would continue to grow steadily.

I turned slightly and asked, “Duke, could you light a fire for me?”

“In a moving carriage?” Nocturne frowned slightly.

“It’s dangerous.”

“No, I mean once we arrive.”

“Why? Do you want to use your telepathic ability?” Nocturne asked, noticing the way I shrugged my shoulder.

Using psychic abilities was as natural as a bird flying or a dog sniffing for a psychic like me.

But Nocturne didn’t seem to agree with it.

“You said using your abilities makes you hurt,” he replied.

“Did Tita say that? It’s better now,” I responded, trying to sound reassuring.

“Yeah, right,” Nocturne scoffed, but then seemed to reconsider, his tone turning softer as he added, “Since the time we came back from Ghost Village, you’ve been really tired. You’ve probably been overusing your abilities. It’s a sign that your body is under strain.”

“I won’t use it too much. A little won’t hurt…” I tried to reassure him.

“I’m worried that you won’t be able to control it. Is it necessary for the investigation into the Governor?” he asked.

I nodded, and Nocturne spoke to his assistant.

“Lance.”

“Yes, Duke?”

“When we arrive at the Governor’s mansion, quickly find out what the Princess wants to know and report back through telepathy.”

“Understood!”

I watched in surprise as Nocturne turned to me with a smile.

“Alright, now you can use Lance as your telepathic tool.”

“…”

I was at a loss for words. How could I use Lance like my own psychic ability?

But Nocturne began to gently pet my head again, as if everything was solved.

I sighed and looked out the window, noticing the thick fog ahead.

“The fog is thick outside.”

The driver, hearing me, spoke through the partition.

“Apologies. The fog is so thick, I took a wrong turn. I’ll find the right path quickly.”

Just then, a group of children with stones in their hands ran toward our car. They were throwing stones at something but froze when they saw the car.

The car screeched to a halt.

“What’s going on in the middle of the road? We almost had an accident!” the driver yelled.

“Sorry! A monster appeared!” one of the kids shouted.

“A monster?” I asked, surprised, and quickly got up.

I looked in the direction the children were pointing, and there was something hazy moving.