~Chapter 92~
“Lady!”
Startled, Leon and Jose shouted. The bear monster had fallen, but since Amel took a direct hit from the bear’s attack, she probably wasn’t safe either. It was such a desperate situation that they couldn’t even look at the scene properly…
『Witch!』
Camarin, now back in his owl form, flapped his wings through the smoke, searching for Amel. But Amel wasn’t alone in the smoke.
As the smoke cleared, a tall man’s silhouette appeared. He was lowering his sword, blocking the front with gray aura.
“My lord!”
“Y-Your Grace!”
Finally realizing who it was, Jose and Leon called out in a hurry.
Christan, who glanced at them for a moment, sheathed his sword and knelt down to hold Amel. Amel, barely breathing, looked at him and reached out her hand.
“…Your Grace.”
“Mm.”
“I… I want to ask something…”
She moved her lips, but soon her eyes closed. Before her weak arm could fall, Christan quickly caught it and gently placed it over her body.
After composing himself for a moment, he picked up Amel and asked,
“What on earth happened here?”
This question was for Leon. To understand why Amel had come, it was best to ask her escort rather than Jose, who had stayed near the mountain.
Leon, who expected Christan to talk to Jose, was startled when Christan looked at him. He hurriedly explained,
“Well, after Lady told me to wait here, she went up first. Then suddenly she brought that bear-like thing…”
“No, I mean—what was the reason for coming to Siad territory?”
“Ah… To collect stone honey? I think she came because she needed it as a potion ingredient.”
“Jose, has anyone ever collected stone honey from White Rock Mountain before?”
“No, I haven’t heard of it. Stone honey is found in a few places, but there’s so little that it’s not worth climbing the mountain for it.”
“Hmm…”
Christan looked at Amel in his arms with a frustrated face. Her clothes were burnt here and there, her left arm was swollen, and her eyes were tightly shut with no sign of waking up. In that moment, Christan felt anger boiling up and scanned the area nervously.
“And what is that?”
He was talking about the new magic circle that had appeared.
“Ah, we missed a magic stone. When it was activated, it drew a magic circle that created a rift, but thankfully, Lady Winterfall’s knight destroyed the rift.”
“So he finally became a Master. Given the situation, I’ll skip the congratulations.”
“Y-yes.”
Leon lowered his head, not caring about the lack of congratulations. He felt more that he had failed to protect his master.
“My lord!”
“Your Grace!!”
At that moment, they heard voices calling Christan from below. Bern and the mage rushed over, breathing heavily. The mage, especially weak, was almost lying on the ground to catch his breath.
“Huff, oh… You’re too much. You asked for teleportation magic, but then you just rushed off alone… I’m so tired…”
Christan had been able to protect Amel thanks to the mage. The mountain was too steep for horses, but with the mage’s magic, he had reached Amel’s side at once.
“You came at just the right time.”
Holding Amel, Christan approached Bern and the mage.
“Bern, have the mage break all the magic circles on this mountain. Search for any magic stones that might be hidden. Also, call for a doctor.”
“Understood.”
Bern wanted to ask what Christan would do in the meantime, but as a loyal informant, he didn’t say it aloud.
“Mage.”
“Yes?”
“Teleport us right now. The location is…”
“Hotel Valentine, room 303.”
Leon answered quickly. The mage, still sprawled on the ground, barely managed to sit up and began chanting the coordinates for Hotel Valentine.
“—.”
A white flash filled their eyes, and suddenly they were in a strange room. The empty bottles rolling on the table proved this was the hotel room where Amel had stayed.
Christan let out a sigh and gently placed Amel on the bed.
Seeing her on the white bed sheet made her injuries look even more serious. He felt he should do something right away.
He regretted not teleporting to a hospital. Christan looked around.
But Amel carried most things in her pouch, so nothing was left in the room. He had to untie her pouch to find anything useful.
“……”
After a short hesitation, Christan reached out. Carefully, avoiding unnecessary contact, he unfastened the leather pouch from her waist and opened it with a deep breath.
The pouch was full of all sorts of things—potions, a sleeping bag, tent, snacks, extra clothes—almost like a traveling merchant.
‘But why does she never carry her diary in here?’
Christan remembered the trouble caused when Amel’s diary was found by the Count. He took out a clean cloth and a water bottle from the pouch.
He poured water into the kettle and heated it over the fireplace. When the water was warm, he wet the cloth and wiped the dirt from Amel’s body.
This reminded him of when he once collapsed from allergies.
‘It’s a completely different situation.’
Sweat, blood, dirt—all stained the cloth, but nothing about it felt dirty to him. No amount of dust could hide her loveliness.
‘When you nursed me, what did you think?’
Even without asking, he could guess. The woman with those big, beautiful eyes must have secretly admired how handsome he looked, thinking she’d never seen him like that before.
But now, as Christan looked at Amel lying unconscious in bed…
“……”
His gray eyes, always turned to her, became cold. He gripped the cloth tightly, drops of water dripping to the floor.
“Whether it was an accident or a planned trap…”
He set the wrung-out cloth on the table quietly and wiped his hands.
“Both must be killed. If it was on purpose, I can’t let it go.”
With clean hands, he returned to Amel’s side and gently touched her clean face. Her skin was warm, but at least she didn’t have a fever.
It was a relief, but a doctor still needed to arrive soon. Seeing her swollen left arm made him feel pain too. Amel had never been this badly hurt before, so it hurt even more.
“Amel.”
Christan quietly looked at her right hand, held in both of his.
“I wish… you’d grab me by the collar, like last time.”
“……”
“Or feed me that strange potion and then faint again, then wake up to confess your feelings. I’d answer you right away.”
Amel gave no reply. She was unconscious, so of course she didn’t. Still, that fact made Christan’s heart ache, as if her silence meant she no longer liked him.
Even if she really didn’t like him anymore, he didn’t have the right to complain. She always showed her feelings, but he only answered with rejection or avoidance.
Conrad Winterfall didn’t send Christan away for no reason. Whatever the intention, he had hurt Amel’s heart, and this darkened Christan’s expression.
“Sigh…”
He let go of her hand gently and stood up. The doctor would arrive soon, so he wanted to close the curtains around the bed.
As he pulled the curtains, Christan happened to look at Amel. Their eyes met, and he froze in place.
“……”
At some point, Amel had opened her eyes and was looking at him.
