IBMLS 21

Chapter 21

For a moment, Davin could not properly comprehend the situation before him.

What is this? What is happening? There’s no way Anise could suddenly end up like this. Anise was clearly…

But the image of Anise smiling brightly and telling him to go get some proper rest vanished from Davin’s memory in an instant.

What was I just thinking about?

No—whatever thought had slipped away didn’t matter right now.

Right now, Anise was dying before his eyes, her face deathly pale.

Davin was overwhelmed by the unbelievable sight.

With great difficulty, he forced his stiffened arms to move and reached toward the pale Anise. The moment he felt her icy skin, a shiver ran through him and his shoulders trembled. It was as if she had been submerged in the lake for a very long time; there was not a trace of warmth left.

No. Absolutely not!

Davin hurriedly unleashed his holy power. Other people were watching from nearby, but he did not hesitate in the slightest. His identity being exposed no longer mattered. Saving Anise came first.

But no matter how desperately he poured out his holy power until his entire vision turned white, Anise’s breathing did not return. When the brilliant light surrounding them finally faded, Lana stared at Davin with tear-filled eyes and a shocked expression. Yet Davin could only stare blankly at Anise’s motionless body.

Too late…?

The holy power he possessed could save even someone on the verge of death, as long as even the faintest spark of life remained. But it could not revive someone who had already died. That was the limit of holy power itself. Even by borrowing the power of the gods, one could not overturn divine providence.

Just moments ago, Davin had poured into Anise an amount of holy power that not even the Pope could imitate. Had this been a battlefield, at least twenty people would have recovered from it. Yet even so, Anise’s breathing never returned.

Which meant the Anise before him was already completely dead.

Everything was over.

“That can’t be…”

Davin’s eyes shook violently. The words escaped him unconsciously.

“No…”

Barely managing to breathe through the suffocating pressure in his chest, Davin trembled violently.

“No, this can’t be happening…”

How… how could this happen?

Dizziness overtook him, and Davin staggered before collapsing to his knees.

All his life, he had known that the god of fate had never once been on his side.

Still, wasn’t this too cruel?

He had never tried to covet a place beside Anise, nor had he asked to be loved in return. All he wanted was permission to watch over her from afar. Had even that modest plea been considered excessive greed by the gods?

Davin had never once taken leave while living here. So what had Anise said to him this morning?

“I think this is your first time taking vacation, right?”

When he silently nodded, Anise smiled slightly and praised him.

“Good choice. Go clear your head outside for a while. Spend some of the money you’ve been saving too… You should start preparing to return to where you truly belong.”

That was what Anise had murmured.

His insides had burned at those words, but he stayed silent. He did not tell her that he was going to interview with the Imperial Knights today so he could remain by her side even after she married the Emperor.

And yet, of all days, this happened on the very day he left his post?

Unable to accept this reality, Davin tightly grasped Anise’s hand. But no matter how tightly he wrapped his own around it, the cold hand did not warm at all.

His body shook uncontrollably.

If only he had stayed at the estate like usual, this never would have happened. He would not have lost Anise in such a meaningless, hollow way.

It was almost as though someone had known Davin would be an obstacle and deliberately waited for the day he was absent before doing this to Anise…

Despair washed over him once more—the crushing feeling that fate had abandoned him again—but Davin shook his head and forced the emotion down.

This was not the time to waste grieving.

Three days. They said it took three days for a human soul to completely leave this world.

Before then, he had to bring Anise back.

There was still time to reverse this.

Davin hurriedly checked Anise’s arms and neck. But nowhere could he find the gift he had given her. After searching through all of her belongings, his eyes trembled.

“The wish-granting stone…?”

When he had first offered it to her as a gift, Anise looked at the tiny white stone hanging from a thin string with an amused expression. Her face clearly said, What kind of new prank is this? so Davin answered seriously.

“It’s neither a joke nor a lie.”

Anise blinked before asking him with a mischievous smile,

“Then how do I use it?”

“You tell me your wish.”

At his answer, Anise looked as though she was about to burst into laughter.

“I can’t use it on my own?”

“No. Those are the activation conditions.”

Watching Davin’s serious expression, Anise tilted her head uncertainly, wondering whether he was joking or genuinely serious.

“So… if I have a wish, I just tell you?”

“Yes.”

After hearing his answer, Anise lowered her head and giggled before glancing back up at him. It was obvious she didn’t believe him, and Davin frowned.

Seeing his expression, Anise burst out laughing.

“Okay, okay. Fine! I’ll carry it around with me all the time! And if I ever have a wish, I’ll make sure to tell you!”

Then she smiled brightly and thanked him.

But now, among the belongings scattered around the unconscious Anise, that tiny stone was nowhere to be found.

Had it sunk into the lake when she fell in… or else…

Davin’s eyes trembled as countless possibilities raced through his mind, but he bit down hard on his lip and forced himself to stay calm.

No matter what, he had to find the wish stone quickly.

It was their only hope.

Davin immediately ran toward the lake where Anise had fallen.

When everyone told him to go rest, Davin had stubbornly refused. Yet now he still hadn’t appeared by the following afternoon. He must have fallen into a deep sleep.

Well, he’s earned it.

Without Davin around, I felt a little empty, but not upset. If anything, I was relieved that he seemed to finally be getting proper rest.

Since both male leads were resting in their own rooms, I spent the entire day leaning against my bed reading.

By late afternoon, sunlight slanted through the windows and poured deep into the room. The intense rays reflecting off the floor and walls gradually began to strain my eyes as I sat reading on the bed. Feeling my eyes grow dry and tired, I closed the book and blinked repeatedly.

When I pressed my fingers against my eyes, the imperial maid attending me asked carefully,

“Are your eyes tired? Shall I prepare something warm for them?”

“Yes, please.”

At my answer, the maid rose from her seat, saying she would bring warm water and towels.

At that moment—

Bang!

The door burst open violently from outside, and someone suddenly rushed in. I jumped in surprise. The imperial knights stationed outside the bedroom hurried after the intruder, trying to stop him.

The person who had rushed into my room stopped the instant our eyes met.

“Haa… haa…”

It was Davin.

It looked like he had woken up and immediately run here. He was breathing hard. His bare feet—something I had never seen before—and his completely disheveled hair caught my attention. Whatever had frightened him so badly, cold sweat was dripping from his forehead.

Startled, I asked him,

“What happened, Davin? What’s wrong?”

Davin stared at me for a long moment before slowly approaching.

Then he reached out and grabbed my hand.

The hand holding mine was trembling violently.

“Davin?”

When I looked up at him in surprise, he held my hand tightly and stared at me blankly for a long time. Everyone else watched him in utter confusion.

At last, Davin seemed to regain his senses and let out a deep sigh.

“…It’s nothing.”

Yet even as he answered, he still did not let go of my hand.

I could still feel his fingers trembling, so I stayed still. Whatever it was, he must have been terribly shaken.

Did he have a nightmare or something?

Well, he had spent such a long time under the pressure of protecting me alone. Maybe that stress had finally caused him to have a bad dream.

Sensing Davin’s anxiety, I didn’t pull my hand away and simply let him hold it until he chose to let go himself.

Unlike usual, his appearance was completely disordered.

Davin looks really good in dark blue. Mental note.

The navy sleepwear made his pale skin stand out even more. His uncombed hair, tousled in every direction, looked almost as though it had been scattered by the wind.

He’s handsome again today, our male lead.

Unable to suppress my satisfaction, I smiled softly.